Chapter 17 - Steel and Fire“They’re breeching the perimeter!” Marcus yelled, firing three shots out the crew door with his sidearm to cover our flank.
“Engine Three starting!” Daniel screamed, pushing the fuel condition levers forward.
The second engine roared to life, adding to the deafening acoustic pressure inside the metal shelter. The hangar doors in front of us were half-closed, chained together by heavy rusty iron links.
“We don't have time to open the doors!” I yelled, gripping the four throttle levers with my right hand and stepping hard on the manual brake pedals. “Engines One and Two—start!”
The remaining two engines burst into life. All four massive Allison turboprops were now screaming at maximum idle power, filling the hangar with Hurricane-force wash that blew away dust, debris, and two tactical operators who were attempting to slide down ropes from the hovering Osprey.
“Sarah!” Marcus shouted, jumping into the jump seat behind me and slamming the crew door shut. “The chains on the door won't hold!”
“They don't need to!” I yelled back, pushing all four throttles straight to the forward stops.
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The thirty-ton aluminum beast surged forward. The four giant propellers chopped through the air, and the nose wheel of the C-130 slammed directly into the rusty hangar doors.
With a horrifying sound of rending metal and snapping iron chains, the Hercules burst through the hangar walls into the bright morning sunlight, dragging twisted sheets of metal behind it as it rolled onto the main runway.
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