Book 8 Chapter 5
“Wah.”
I could hardly call it a valiant decision.
I think it had more to do with disgust.
“Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhh!?”
Boomerang-shaped creatures covered everything. Creepy patterns reminiscent of crop circles crawled along their frog-like dry brown skin.
I accidentally let go thanks to a shock similar to seeing a swarm of cockroaches covering the wall.
Had I dragged my sisters down with me?
Or had they let go too?
It was disturbing how it felt more like floating than falling. I felt a blast of wind crash into me and my vision started spinning. Was it a 10m drop? I didn’t even have time to prepare myself before I hit the sludge-like muddy water and was swallowed up by the current.
“Gah, dammit!?”
I desperately moved my arms and legs despite not knowing which way was up. I felt a powerful resistance at my waist. Yes, I still had that lifeline connecting me to Erika and Ayumi. Not that it did us any good now that we’d fallen.
“Bwah!!”
I somehow managed to get my head above water.
The fallen metal tower was directly above. What had happened to those wriggling frog-like things? If they were still covering that tower, they could rain down on my head at any time. And who said they were only on the tower? How many were in the water with me already!? Did they bite, sting, dissolve you, or lay translucent eggs inside you? I had no idea what the threat even was, but that meant I had no way of defending myself!!
But those thoughts were cut off by something that far surpassed anything I had imagined.
With the disturbing roar of a fire consuming oxygen, the steel beam overhead burst into flames!?
I didn’t even have time to gasp.
Although if I had inhaled without thinking, it only would have scorched my windpipe and lungs. I was saved by a powerful force pulling me underwater.
Even in the muddy water, what happened next could not have been more obvious. An awfully sticky orange light covered the water’s surface like a ceiling.
I started to open my mouth in surprise, but a slender hand forcibly covered it. Black leather danced in the corner of my vision.
Erika? And Ayumi too!?
The fiery ceiling remained overhead for more than ten seconds. I was terrified. I had no idea how long a human could hold their breath, but waiting these ten seconds did not guarantee that I would get to breathe during the next ten seconds. What if it stayed like this for a minute, ten minutes, or an hour? I would drown!!
The blood must have rushed to my head from holding my breath for so long because I felt an uncomfortable heat and pressure like my entire head was gradually swelling out.
Just as the darkness of the night returned to the surface above, my patience ran out. I had heard of people pulling off seemingly superhuman feats of strength in emergencies. That must have been how a human like me managed to break free of my sisters and swim desperately for the surface. I actually pulled it off.
“Bwah!! Pant, pant, ah!?”
I finally breathed new oxygen into my lungs.
Even in this storm, some sticky flames remained on the collapsed broadcast tower that had partially crushed so many buildings. Was that what the explosion was about? The fire on the water’s surface had only been a side effect or stray shot. The true target had been the makeshift bridge. Had ‘something else’ been burning away the slimy, dry brown things covering the complex arrangement of steel beams?
“Fuguu! Onii-chan, hurry back down!!”
“Ayumi?”
I didn’t know what she meant, so I turned toward Ayumi who had been swept a bit away despite the lifeline connecting us.
For a moment, I thought I had been struck by lightning.
That was how overwhelmingly bright the flash was. A white light had fallen from overhead.
“Wha-?”
It hurt. It was like having invisible awls jabbed into my temples. I held up a hand to protect my eyes, but that was not enough to escape the dull pain.
But.
Something was obviously wrong, but what was it!?
This was not one of the searchlights directed at us from a distance. It came from directly above, but what kind of light could shine on me from that angle?
There was something there.
In the sky.
Unidentified intelligent extraterrestrial lifeforms.
Had it been a bomb or a heat beam? Some kind of deadly weapon had been fired straight down to fry all of those things. A flying object the size of a light car and shaped like a shuriken had come to a complete stop overhead despite the powerful storm.
I couldn’t help it.
I really couldn’t.
Even as the current swallowed me up, a ridiculous word escaped my lips.
“A UFO???”
My mind was reaching the limit of what it could process. I mean, how much of this could I accept? The country’s largest broadcast tower had fallen in the storm. The Tokyo city center was deserted. The slimy things with dry brown crop circle patterns moving along their skin were aliens. And now there was some other UFO attacking them??? I wanted to ask when the world had gone crazy, but no! That wasn’t even a question! It had gone crazy from that very first moment when we were trapped in that dangling elevator, right!? If this was a dream, why couldn’t I wake up!? If it was virtual reality, wouldn’t someone please let me log out!?
But that was when the mysterious piece of technology shouted with a human voice.
“Sorry!!”
It was…the same voice as that megaphone?
“A-a drone? Is that a JSDF unmanned weapon!?”
The spotlight-like light moved elsewhere. It did not move like an airplane or helicopter. The beam of light drew out curves like it was using the dark night as its canvas. Powerful explosions enveloped everything not far downstream.
Ayumi and Erika pulled themselves toward me using the lifeline around our waists and we huddled together in the water. A voice called out to us from overhead.
When I stared into the distance, I could see what the “UFO” was launching down at the ground.
“Missiles?”
“If that’s a JGSDF air-to-surface missile, then it’s probably a Tokara Habu.”
That made sense.
It did make more sense than aliens attacking aliens, didn’t it?
No, this was still crazy. I couldn’t compromise on making sense here. Either aliens were attacking or the JSDF was wielding deadly weapons in the middle of Tokyo!? How could I call either of those normal!?
“Those missiles were developed in advance for use with the tiltrotor, but as the deployment of the tiltrotors continued to be delayed, the use of the missiles was also delayed. Instead of burning away a large field out in the middle of nowhere, these are precision-guided self-propelled sniper rounds that pinpoint strike a target hiding in an urban area. These anti-Archenemy incendiary weapons were developed by a science lab based on a request from the Bright Cross. You could call it an unwanted relic of a former age.”
“What are those doing here!? I thought even peashooters were banned in this country!”
“They’re supposed to be used in response to natural disasters. Have you ever heard of a fire extinguisher bomb? A high-powered explosion can be used to instantly put out an out-of-control wildfire or industrial fire. Japan was originally a country of wooden buildings, so we have long had a culture of destroying the surrounding buildings to prevent the spread of a fire.”
“We have eliminated the obstacles in the water,” said the voice from the drone. “If you follow the current, you can leave the blockade line. If you are taken near the red signs, immediately grab onto the closest building. You will be sucked underground through the floodgates if you move past there. Sorry, but that’s all we can do for you!!”
“Fugu.” Ayumi was bobbing above and below the torrential water’s surface. “Looks like we have to do what they say for now. We can’t escape that big drone by swimming blindly through the water.”
“…”
The voice from the sky might sound strong and reassuring at first.
But it was not.
I couldn’t let this minimal assistance get to me.
All they had done was block up the entrance to the cage because they did not want the beast getting out. They were telling us to say in here for days on end with “something” they knew was too much for them. Looking at the big picture, that might be the right decision. But it meant they could not protect us.
If we were going to tear down their plan, they would fire one of those things at us next time.
“Ayumi, do you know what time it is?”
“Fugu? Not really, but I know it has to have been a long time since we left the elevator.”
“I checked on my phone earlier. It’s nearly midnight.”
I knew she understood the ramifications of my short answer.
The JSDF might intend to settle in and spend two or three months carefully saving what lives they could while making sure the secondary damages did not spread.
But that wouldn’t work for us.
The sun would rise just before 6 in the morning. That meant our Vampire sister had a set time limit. All of the buildings around here were half-destroyed by the storm and flood. There was no guarantee we could find a hideout that would keep out all sunlight and all the underground malls and subway facilities would be flooded. And even if we did find a convenient hideout, what if those slimy aliens attacked? Erika couldn’t go anywhere during the day, but we would probably be helpless without anywhere to run.
And Ayumi was at risk too. That Zombie sister normally had herself injected with a cocktail of preservatives to manage her body, so she could not afford to soak in this muddy sludge for long. We really should have been getting her to a hospital for a detailed examination.
When would all of this be over?
In Zombie movies, survivors who ignored the rules and tried to escape the quarantine area were seen as enemies of humanity since they needlessly increased the risk of infection. When I was watching those stories in the living room while munching on chips, I had thought it all seemed so ridiculous. But it wasn’t. If they did as they were told, they would die. It might be for “the greater good”, but it would take a real piece of work to not even try to rescue your family from that conveyer belt into the incinerator.
If no one bothered to explain the identity of the threat, you had no way knowing if you were healthy or infected. So how could you accept It when you were denied help again and again because of some unspecified danger?
“We have to do something.”
The inside of the blockade line contained the fearsome storm, the floodwaters, and those mysterious unidentified intelligent extraterrestrial lifeforms. The outside contained the JSDF with their drones and sniper rifles.
“We have to.”
If we did not find a way to cross that line before dawn, my sisters’ bodies probably wouldn’t last.
For the time being, we let the current carry us away from the visible blockade line. The UFO drone stayed with us for a bit, but after seeing us grab onto a nearby building as instructed, the spotlight suddenly moved elsewhere.
“Does that mean we’re outside the alert zone?”
It felt like they were saying we were powerless.
Needless to say, our only goal was to get Erika and Ayumi outside of the quarantined area before dawn.
We entered through a door that was only a broken silver frame now. It may have been a glass automatic door to begin with. The dark interior was flooded with hip deep muddy water. Vampires could not enter a home without permission from the owner, but did this count as ruins instead?
However, the first thing to catch my attention was not the darkness, the risk of glass shards, or the unpleasant muddy water.
“Ugh! What is this stench?”
I covered my nose with the upper arm of my black coat.
It was not quite a rotting smell. The powerful odor stabbing into my nose was even worse than a sports clubroom during midsummer.
Once I shined my phone’s backlight around, something came into view: a reception counter, large cages in the water, and posters depicting dogs and cats that were soaked but still attached to the walls.
“Was this a pet shop?”
“Fugu!? The cages are underwater, Onii-chan!!”
I knew this was hardly the time. We were already a step behind. But I couldn’t bring myself to tell Ayumi no.
However.
“Shh. Wait just a moment, Ayumi-chan. Some of the cages are broken.”
“But! They probably just bumped into each other in the current. Although that may be for the best. Right, Onii-chan? That means the puppies may have had a chance to survive.”
“…”
Wait.
The cages were broken…and the animals escaped?
“Dammit, get away from there, Ayumi!! This is where that croc and carnivorous fish came from!!”
“Fugu?”
Those may not have been the only broken cages. The hip-deep muddy water felt a lot more dangerous all of a sudden.
And yet.
“I-is there no way to know which are dangerous and which aren’t? I don’t like this. We need to help them, Onii-chan.”
Argh.
“We need plastic sheets.”
“Eh? Eh? What?”
“Or anything else that can make a float. We can’t lift those cages ourselves!”
We really shouldn’t have been doing this.
Still, we climbed the narrow stairs to the second floor and dragged out some blue plastic sheets we found folded up in the corridor. If we tied them up properly and added waterproof duct tape to seal up the seams, they could be made into bags.
“Maxwell, check some site or another for how to tie a cloth wrapper.”
“Sure.”
The bags could remain deflated for now. A pet shop was bound to have air compressors for the tropical fish. They did not want all their expensive fish to die during a power outage, so they would have emergency batteries too. After attaching the air compressor and rubber hose to the battery for power, I returned to the first floor.
First, I brought the deflated bags under the water and attached them to the cages with duct tape. Then I used the machine to fill them with air. The heavy cages floated up in the water.
“Okay, Ayumi, push it with me! You don’t need to think about lifting it!!”
“Okay, got it!”
To make a long story short, the results were…not great. The dangerous animals strong enough to break free of their cages had already left. And the harmless dogs and cats could not survive long with their cage underwater. Most of it was assessing the damage after the fact, but a handful of the smaller animals had survived.
Still…
“It’s alive.”
After lifting up several cages to no avail, excitement finally filled Ayumi’s voice.
“This bunny is still alive! And a few of the dogs!! Ah ha ha. Thank goodness. I’m so glad!!”
I could never match her positivity.
That said, we couldn’t exactly bring all these animals with us. The most we could do was free the pets from their soaked cages, dry them off, and put them in other, clean cages. And after that…
“Onii-chan, what are those water bottles for?”
“I’m making simple time-release devices. If we leave them here, they’ll starve to death, but if we leave them a bunch of food and water, they’ll eat it all right away instead of pacing themselves.”
“Fugu…”
“We can’t just release them from their cage, Ayumi. If they slip in this storm, they’ll just drown. And even if they survive, they’ll be in danger if they go feral.”
Which was why I had prepared a compromise.
“This will make a set amount of food and water fall down every so often.”
There was still a limit to what this could do. It only increased their chances; it did not guarantee they would be saved. I did not want to consider the possibility that Tokyo’s city center would be sealed off for years, but you never knew.
“Let’s create an environment where they can wait for rescue. That’s all we can do.”
“Okay, Onii-chan.”
“Don’t look so down. No one will come to save them if we can’t tell someone where they are, so we need to get out of here as soon as we can.”
“Fugu! You’re right, Onii-chan!!”
“Technically, you could have me pass on the information via the internet,”
I did not let Ayumi see that message on my phone’s screen. Maxwell really needed to learn some tact.
And with that, we needed to review what information we had.
As a Vampire, Erika was weak to sunlight. We were unlikely to find a hideout that could fully block out the sun after the storm and flooding had ravaged the city. And even if we did find one, those boomerang-shaped slimy aliens(?) were out there. If they found us and attacked during the daylight hours, we could not escape outside.
The dirty floodwaters put a Zombie like Ayumi at risk too. It did not come up much in normal life, but she could not stay in unhygienic environments for long.
That meant we had to escape outside the blockade line as quickly as possible. Our tentative goal was to do so before dawn.
To do that, we needed to know how the JSDF was detecting humans or those slimy things approaching the blockade line.
I doubted it was anything as simple as keeping an eye out with binoculars. If they could not afford to miss anything in that labyrinthine urban environment, human eyes were not enough. The city was flooded, but was the security camera network still running? Did they have smaller scout drones flying around? Were they watching from satellite? I could think of a number of possibilities, but I had no evidence of any of them. For one thing, you heard talk of the JSDF all the time, but it was a bit of a mystery what that organization really and truly did. Did they have what it took to respond to a crisis? Depending on who you asked, you would probably get very different answers to that fundamental question.
It looked like I had to rule out each possibility in turn.
“Maxwell.”
“Sure.”
“I want to measure the JSDF’s reach. What’s the internet situation like? Since my phone is connected and they can fly that drone around, some line must still be up and running. List up everything you can find, both government and civilian.”
“I will only be repeating what I reported back in the Skytool.”
Since Maxwell insisted on saying that up front, I must have developed an unnecessarily high-quality algorithm.
“First of all, I am hijacking a priority signal code used by the police and firefighters. Simply put, I am using the civilian fiber optic cables and wireless LANs. It is hard to tell since ordinary users have been forced out, but Tokyo’s internet environment is still active, both wired and wireless.”
“Does that mean the security cameras and security company sensors are still up too?”
“Sure. But while those cameras are designed for use at night, they still require plenty of light. They were not made to record anything while the city of Tokyo is pitch black. Nor are they positioned to capture people moving freely through large holes in walls and ceilings. The coverage area should be considerably reduced.”
Still, they would have free use of the security cameras meant for use inside dark banks and department stores after hours. The next time we saw one, it might be worth going to the effort of destroying the camera from a blind spot.
“What about the JSDF’s drones? They can’t send them instructions without getting a signal to them, but I doubt they’re piggybacking on a civilian line.”
“They are likely using a wide-area wireless datalink that uses a large antenna on the ground. Although I can only guess because decrypting their signal would be too difficult. Incidentally, it took me so long to notice the signal because they are using a band far removed from the standard communication signals for phones, wireless internet, and TV broadcasts. They are using VLF.”
“Explain.”
“Sure. VLF, or very low frequency, refers to signals with an amplitude as large as 20m. The attenuation is incredibly low, so it was used by a pre-GPS coordinate data system that covered the entire world with just 8 surface stations. That service has since ended.”
I meant no disrespect to the developers, but this reeked of being a military relic. GPS was reliant on the US. They were an allied nation, but it still meant the service was reliant on a foreign country. The JSDF may have continued developing some older tech to have something entirely our own.
“What about a satellite connection?”
“There are a few signals being sent out, but the transmission frequency is low. Too low to be assisting a squadron of drones flying around down here. That is probably being used to communicate with their higher ups.”
So did we only need to do something about the large antenna they were using on the other side of the blockade line?
“Are there any other notable signals? Are there any active bands or users other than civilian broadband and the JSDF’s datalink?”
“There are myriad signals out there, including the standard frequency for radio clocks and satellite broadcasts that do not rely on broadcast towers. In the 6 Kantou prefectures other than Tokyo, TV T’s broadcast is down since it relied on the Skytool, but BS Lambda is continuing to air late-night anime and the message boards are going nuts saying a new champion has risen.”
Those fans always got overly worked up about every little thing, didn’t they? Of course, I often worked late into the night, so you could call me one of them too.
“We can rule out anything that only goes one way, so is any of it two way?”
“The terrestrial digital broadcasts allow the viewers to participate using the d-button.”
“Not good enough.”
“Sure. If we rule out the TV broadcast signals, there are still a few amateur radio signals out there.”
Kh.
“Does that mean there are other survivors in the quarantined area!?”
“No. The signals are coming from outside the blockade line. They are most likely sending out signals at random intervals to see if anyone responds. Think of it like sonar pings. And they are not necessarily doing this out of concern for your safety. They may just want the attention they will get on social media if they can post that they discovered some survivors. After all, we live in an age where running across a burning building is considered good luck because the video is sure to earn plenty of likes.”
“You mean?”
“For now, you should probably focus on the JSDF datalink.”
VLF, was it?
They had to have a huge antenna on the ground, or maybe on a boat because of all the flooding. If we broke that or found a way to jam or hack the signal, we wouldn’t have to worry about those UFO-like drones dropping missiles on our heads.
Of course, the city’s security cameras and satellite imagery were also a threat, but it was a dark and stormy night. They could not get any decent images with those thick thunderclouds overhead and thermography would not function properly with the cold rain pouring down on everything.
We had a chance.
Would it be best to travel just below the water’s surface, to hide among all the garbage and other flotsam, or to find oxygen tanks and use the submerged subway? If we could do something about those drones making unpredictable patrols in real time, we might be able to escape before dawn.
I had to think.
Just because those were real weapons designed by a group of expert engineers did not mean they were perfect for every application.
As in all things, no machine could solve all problems. Nor could you try to create one that did. Organizations gathered a variety of pieces like in a game of shogi or chess and used them to cut the enemy off from every conceivable direction. Right?
In that sense, the JSDF was not in a great position since they could only send in those drones.
That was like playing shogi with 10 or 20 of the exact same piece. And while the drones were convenient, they could never be the stars of the battlefield. They were like the knight or lance in shogi.
So where was it?
Obviously, it wouldn’t be that easy to find, but it had to be somewhere. All of the weirdness of this situation seemed concentrated on that giant hole.
The question was whether or not the JSDF was aware of that hole.
“If we’re going to escape, which direction should we go?”
Ayumi asked that fundamental question while drying her hair off with a towel we had found. Just like when I had tossed her a towel earlier, why didn’t she ever think to dry off her thin jogging clothes too? And the way that troublesome sister held her hands up to her head looked all the world like she was intentionally accentuating the see-through part!! Keep in mind this was a much more direct problem since there was no nametag shield on the chest!
“We shouldn’t try it where we were caught before, right? So would the opposite direction be best?”
“No, the JSDF are contacting each other via radio. Word of our presence will have spread around already. I bet the defenses will be just as strict no matter which way we go.”
If we wanted a slow but certain solution, finding a seam in their defenses and slipping through there like threading a needle would be best.
But that wasn’t an option for us.
“We don’t have time to figure out where exactly the JSDF’s blockade line runs. Much less finding an opening in it! We would have to spend days memorizing their patrol routes.”
“Fugu.”
“We have to escape before dawn, so we have around 5 hours. If the risk is the same everywhere, we should take the shortest route. That’s the only blockade line location we know, so we need to break through there. It’s our only option.”
With a sound like a louder version of buzzing bug wings or an electric shaver, one of those spotlights passed by right outside the window. The bright beam pierced down from the heavens and moved around.
It was one of those drones.
Was it carefully patrolling the area, or were there just a lot of them?
Erika made sure to stay as quiet as possible while whispering to me.
“But, Satori-kun, I don’t have to tell you that is also the most dangerous option, do I? The risk for all of us is the same that way, but it does nothing to lower the actual level of risk.”
That was true.
If we decided that was our only option and charged in, that drone would arrive above us. And it could destroy us in seconds if it wanted to.
“Erika, it sounded like you could see the soldiers in the darkness behind the searchlight.”
“This time, they were JSDF.”
“You mentioned a semi-auto weapon, but did they have anything else?”
“No. They appeared to be using infantry equipment,” replied Erika. “A flooded disaster environment is a tricky thing to work with. Boats, cars, and hovercraft are all locked out. Also, those specialized sniper rifles are fairly niche items, so I doubt there were enough to equip all the troops surrounding the quarantine zone. I imagine most of them are equipped with 5.56mm assault rifles.”
“Assault rifle rounds will fly for more than 700m, but they can only really target a moving object at between 200 and 300m, right?” added Ayumi. “Especially in a storm powerful enough to knock down the tower. The military is all about showing off, so I bet they exaggerate when they list the specs.”
The two of them were weirdly knowledgeable about this, but it probably went back to their time with the Bright Cross.
“It depends on the exact situation, but unless you move into the wide-open higher areas, they should have a hard time getting a direct line of fire within all these labyrinthine buildings,” said Maxwell. “You should be able to ignore that threat.”
The threat would return once we got close enough to cross the blockade line, but that was fair enough. There was no point worrying about it before we reached that point.
“Maxwell, I want your opinion on those drones’ movement. Are they mostly manually or autonomously controlled?”
“Based on the level of communications traffic I have observed, they are likely being manually controlled. In other words, it is the same as an RC helicopter. Drones and tiltrotors have always had trouble maintaining stability against crosswinds, so it would be dangerous to leave a program in control during this storm.”
“…”
“That said, they are using the JSDF datalink, so it cannot be hacked with a cyber-attack so easily. As for jamming, they are using signal band as niche as VLF, so you would likely have trouble acquiring the materials needed to produce the appropriate signal.”
No, wait.
If they were mostly controlled manually, would that mean…?
“Maxwell, do you think the JSDF is intercepting the communication signals we’re using?”
“No. If they were, the drone would have contacted you sooner. I believe my communications are continuing to hide within the other signals.”
“You mentioned some amateur radio signals in addition to the datalink, right? The ones coming from outside the blockade line.”
“They are almost certainly ‘sonar pings’ being sent for fun. Responding and asking for help will only get you posted on social media and message boards where people will laugh at you.”
“But the JSDF is intercepting those signals, right?”
“Sure. They are not encrypted and they are not camouflaged as another format.”
“…”
I thought for a bit.
Did I have all the puzzle pieces?
“Maxwell, forget the JSDF datalink. Can you move down a level and listen in on the police and firefighter radio signals? The ones you said were talking about aliens.”
“Sure. I can, but that is a massive amount of information. Anything I should search for?”
“I want to hear the people on the scene. How much confusion is there? This has to have come as a complete surprise for professional and amateur alike. There’s no way they’re staying calm.”
Those UFO-like drones were manually controlled.
We couldn’t attack the drones themselves or the datalink, but we might be able to stop them another way.
“I also want as many images as I can get of the drone launch site on the other side of the blockade line. I want to know its layout and design. Civilian satellite maps might not be of any use with defense whatever-you-call-its, but there have to be people out there who love that kind of thing. Check the internet for any photos uploaded by a hobbyist holding a camera with a bazooka-like super-telephoto lens despite the pouring rain.”
“I imagine I will find a lot of fake photos.”
“Compare them to the weather data. The wind direction and intensity of rain changes from moment to moment in this storm, so use the date and time in the photo metadata. You’re supposed to be a disaster environment simulator, so don’t tell me you can’t do it.”
“Sure. I am honored you have finally found a use for me outside of forehead glasses class rep swimsuit dances.”
Things were changing.
It wasn’t much, but the tides were turning.
“Onii-chan, what does all that mean?”
“That we might just be able to do this.”
We never stood a chance of winning in a firefight.
Adlibbing our way into that top-of-the-line military datalink was out of the question. We were not the heroes from an action movie or foreign drama.
When we pursued only the realistic options, it quickly became clear what we had to aim for.
Yes.
That field was becoming an obvious threat, but even the professional soldiers and organizations must not have come up with a definite countermeasure yet.
“I have picked up the amateur radio signal,” said Maxwell. “I am ready when you are.”
“Understood.”
Now, then.
We had to escape this sunken city abuzz with UFO-like drones and slip past the JSDF’s blockade line. And we had to do it before dawn. We had just under 5 hours and we would only get one shot at it. We
