Free Diamond Rain: Adventure Science Fiction Mossad Thriller (The Spy Stories and Tales of Intrigue Series Book 2) by Michael James Gallagher Page A

of men walking across the countryside below
them. 
    As the helicopter
approached, the mass of men looked up and shaded their eyes as one.  Sue Ann
trembled inside.  The synchronization of the movement was more than uncanny, it
was unsettling in the extreme.  She looked around for a place where the helicopter
might land but she saw none.  The mass of humanity sprawled out in every
direction like African ants on the march in the savannah.
    “Thomas, did you see
when they all looked at us together?  And I mean – together?  Eerie.”
    “Eerie’s not the word. 
I got the exact slice in the video from the time signature.  We can cut it out
and use it on the next story.  It gives perspective to the enormity of these
guys advancing across borders.”
     
     
    ****
     
    Many kilometers away, Colonel Lau clicked on
an icon on his desktop.  Live, streaming conversation from Captain Yukimura’s
helicopter filled his ears.  All is going according to plan, he thought,
as he stopped multitasking, flexed his fingers together in front of his face
and laughed out loud as he listened to Thomas’ little speech.  General Chou
was right again. Sometimes less control works better than a tight fist, thought
the chief of Operation Long March .
     
    ****
     
    “Take us closer, Captain,” Sue Ann requested. 
Her tone was insistent but Yuki hesitated.
    “I am responsible for
getting this craft back in one piece, so I need some confirmation that these
guys aren’t armed.”
    “Understood.  But I
need close ups and I have to try to get an interview,” said Sue Ann.
    Thomas decided to try
to ease the apparently growing rift between the pilot's concern and Sue Ann’s
ambition.
    “Let’s fly over Lake
Khanka,” he said.  “There’s bound to be more opportunity there for a short clip.”
    “I suppose that’ll do,
but we come back here if there’s nothing there.   Agreed?”  Sue Ann said, not
surrendering.
    “Agreed,” Thomas said. 
Yuki nodded too.
    As the enormous lake
came into view, brisk winds curled high waves across the surface. Descending
towards the lake revealed a sea of humanity either on makeshift rafts, in commandeered
fishing vessels or in the water holding onto flotsam.
    “You can’t see the
water for the people and boats in it,” said Sue Ann, her voice hollow with
shock.
    “I’ve never seen
anything like it,” added Yuki.
    Thomas was busy jotting
down footage times to help him with editing for slideshows to accompany their
article.  Screen shots like these would guarantee huge numbers of hits on their
website.  His spiral pad was a mass of small scribbles, cameraman’s shorthand.
    “How big is the lake,
again?” asked Sue Ann.
    “A little more than
4000 km square,” answered Yuki, referring to her visor.
    “Thomas.  Find me a
lake that size in the States so readers can get their bearings.  This is
impossible to imagine.  How many people are we looking at here?”  Sue Ann was
muttering as she tried to get her head around what they were seeing.
    “Ah, I’m a trivia
freak,” said Thomas.  “I can do that.  How many kilometers have we covered
since we started seeing people, Yuki?”
    “Let’s just round it
off at say 100 square kilometers, that is if they stop on the other side of the
lake,” replied Yuki.
    “That’s what I thought
too.  So look, if these guys are shoulder to shoulder down there, that means
almost 10 million people per square kilometer.  Just multiply by 100.”
    “That’s almost the
whole population of China.  You can’t be right.”
    “They’re not like
sardines everywhere.”
    “Still, it’s a lot of
fucking people,” uttered the three of them almost in unison.   Silence followed
as they got their heads around the concept.
    Sue Ann snapped out the
reverie first.  “Drop me onto one of those bigger fishing vessels, Captain.”
    Thomas interrupted.
    “I’ve got a better
idea,” he said.  “Look at that peninsula deep in Russia.  We