Overhead, a dozen jets dived down out of the clouds and aimed their sights on G.o.dzilla. The monster was soon engulfed in clouds of smoke and flame.
G.o.dzilla bellowed in rage as the munitions struck him again and again. The beast covered his eyes with his mighty five-fingered claws. His gigantic tail thrashed, stirring up the waters of the Inland Sea. Powerful waves battered against the frigates with colossal force, but still the warships pressed on, pouring fire on the gigantic creature that loomed ahead.
The noise of the blasts and the echoing howls of the beast rolled across the sea and land. The clamor slammed against Brian"s ears in waves, pounding his eardrums until he reached up and covered them with his hands. Still, the awesome sound penetrated his ears and made his chest vibrate. Brian closed his eyes, shutting out the terrible vision of destruction unfolding in front of him.
"Nothing can survive that!" Ian Smelt cried over the noise. "G.o.dzilla"s finished."
But Brian knew better. Dr. n.o.beyama is right. Nothing can kill G.o.dzilla, he said to himself. The monster is like a force of nature, like a typhoon, an earthquake or a hurricane...
Mankind is helpless against brute force such as this!
Unexpectedly, there was a split-second lull in the firing. It was just enough time for the j.a.panese fighters to dive down and drop their ordnance on G.o.dzilla. But instead of explosives, Brian was surprised to see that the fighters were dropping guided bombs filled with napalm - burning jellied gasoline.
He watched in horror as G.o.dzilla burst into flame!
In seconds, the greater part of G.o.dzilla"s body was covered with hot orange fire. The monster bellowed and flailed his arms wildly as the napalm scorched his head, neck, chest, and back.
G.o.dzilla"s wails of pain rolled across the water.
"G.o.d, how horrible," Ian Smelt muttered.
Then, as the F-15Js released the last of their bombs and climbed into the sky, a burst of blue fire streaked toward them. Two of the aircraft were engulfed in the radioactive stream and exploded instantly.
The other fighters kicked in their afterburners and flew away as fast as possible.
Still on fire, G.o.dzilla dropped down, splashing into the Inland Sea. Waves washed over the frigate that was closest to the monster. The Mogami capsized as tons of water slammed against her.
Within moments, G.o.dzilla rose again. Most of the chemical flames had now been extinguished. Yet parts of his arms, face, and head still smoldered, and he cried out in agony once more.
The tanks and artillery on the bridge resumed firing, but the barrage was much less intense. They must be running low on ammunition, Brian realized.
Whatever the reason for the weakened attack, it had tragic consequences. The diminished firepower allowed G.o.dzilla to get alongside the Seto Ohashi Bridge.
As G.o.dzilla loomed over the soldiers and tanks stationed on the bridge, the men began to abandon their posts. With nothing standing in his path but the span of the bridge itself, G.o.dzilla charged.
The monster slammed his ma.s.sive bulk against it. Incredibly, the structure held. Although the cables that reached from one end of the bridge to the other shook and vibrated, they did not break. But the men, tanks, trucks, and rocket launchers that dotted the span were not so fortunate.
As the bridge shook, everything on it was bounced violently around. Men and machines were tossed into the air. Helpless soldiers were thrown over the edge of the bridge. They plunged, screaming, into the waves that lapped against the foundation hundreds of feet below.
G.o.dzilla flailed again. This time one of the towers cracked. When he slammed the bridge once more, several trucks exploded, spreading fire and burning fuel along the entire span. The screams of frightened men mingled with the sound of G.o.dzilla"s roar.
Again G.o.dzilla struck, and, at last, the bridge gave way. It literally split into two, spilling vehicles and men into the Inland Sea.
In less than a minute, the entire span of the Seto Ohashi Bridge came tumbling down.
With a mighty roar of triumph, G.o.dzilla moved past the tangled wreckage of steel cable, concrete, and vehicles. The frigate Noshiro"s path was blocked by the shattered bridge, but still the warship futilely fired missiles at G.o.dzilla"s retreating back.
As Brian watched from his vantage point on the shopping mall roof, G.o.dzilla moved slowly away from the destruction. Smoke still poured off his body where the napalm had scorched him. But as G.o.dzilla departed, he did not look back.
The battle at the bridge was over.
Sickened by the destruction he"d witnessed, Brian sank to the roof. He hung his head and blinked back tears. He sat, motionless and speechless, for a few moments. Then he felt a tap on his shoulder.
Ian stood over him. "We"re going," he said. "Max is staying behind to wrap things up and give a final, on-camera report. But we"ve been ordered back to Tokyo."
Brian nodded dumbly and struggled to his feet. Without saying a word, he walked slowly toward the service elevator.
Forty-five minutes after the Blackhawks departed for Tokyo, Max Hulse and two technicians were loading the INN helicopter in preparation for their own departure.
Two Marines, including the stern-faced sergeant, served as their bodyguards. They were almost ready to lift off when three ragged figures appeared on the other end of the parking lot. The strangers began to shout and wave at the helicopter.
The figures began running toward the INN aircraft. The sergeant, wary of trouble, dropped to one knee in a defensive position. He pointed his M-16 at the strangers.
"Halt!" the Marine cried, raising his hand. Two of the figures slowed down, but the third kept coming. He was shouting something now, but the Marine couldn"t hear him over the sound of the chopper"s engine. Max Hulse turned and saw the man approaching.
"Halt and drop to the ground!" the Marine cried again, still pointing his weapon at the trio.
Now the youth in the lead slowed, but still approached warily. He continued to shout something. Finally, they understood what he was saying.
"Mr. Hulse!" the man shouted. The newsman heard his name being called. He reached down and touched the barrel of the sergeant"s weapon.
"Let them come closer," the newsman said. Then he waved the three dirty figures forward. The tallest youth reached the helicopter first. He stopped when he saw the soldier, who still held the M-16 at the ready.
"Whoa," the man said. He wore a dirty safari jacket and tattered pants. He was covered in mud, as were the two who remained behind.
"I"m an American," he said. "Look!" He offered them his plastic I.D. card.
"I work for INN," the man insisted. Max Hulse took the plastic card out of the youth"s grimy hand. The other two figures cautiously approached. The Marine was surprised to see that one of them was a woman.
"My name is Nick Gordon," the youth said. "And that"s Yoshi Masahara and Lieutenant Emiko Takado. We"ve been following G.o.dzilla for days - since the rocket attack on the San-yo plain - and boy, do we have some great footage for you!"
Max Hulse smiled at the three of them. "Hop in," he said. "We"ll take you hack to Tokyo."
"Gee, thanks, Mr. Hulse," Nick said as he climbed into the chopper.
As he settled into his seat, Nick leaned over to Max Hulse.
"You know, Mr. Hulse," he said with a grin, "I"m a really big fan of yours..."
CHAPTER 19.
TOKYO!.
June 18, 1998, 10:27 A.M.
INN network headquarters
Tokyo, j.a.pan
Brian sat in his cubicle, watching the monitor in front of him, which was tuned to CNN. The world was still on emergency footing, but things had been a bit calmer in the last few days.
After the terrible attack at the Seto Ohashi Bridge, G.o.dzilla had moved through the Inland Sea virtually unopposed. When he hit the deep waters of the Pacific Ocean, he vanished from sight. Even the submarines that were detailed to follow the creature soon lost track of him in the silent depths of the ocean.
For over a week now, the people of Tokyo had lived in fear - waiting for the attack that they were sure would come.
After the debacle on the San-yo plain, the j.a.panese government was reluctant to order a city-wide evacuation of the capital. There was nowhere they could send the millions of people who lived in the Tokyo metropolitan area, anyway. All of the rail lines and highways southwest of the capital were smashed already. Many of the cities were leveled as well.
Despite the reluctance of the government to move people out of Tokyo, many citizens left on their own. The NHK network estimated that fully one-third of Tokyo"s population had already fled. More were trying to leave. Airports and docks were jammed. Prices for airline tickets at first doubled, then tripled. Now you couldn"t get a ticket out, at least not legitimately - they were available only on the black market, for exorbitant prices.
G.o.dzilla"s present location was still unknown. The one bright light in all the darkness was Nick and Yoshi"s triumphant return to INN headquarters. In his heart of hearts, Brian had nearly given up hope of ever seeing his friends again. But they had defied the odds and happily returned from the dead.
The two men were given a heroes" welcome. News executives - including the ever-skeptical Everett P. Endicott - were thoroughly impressed with the ma.s.sive amount of footage and verbal reports they brought back with them. Nick and Yoshi had a.s.sembled a unique record of a society devastated by a force unlike any other.
For days, Yoshi"s hours of taped footage was aired on INN. Nick"s verbal reports - kept on audiotapes - were also broadcast. No one had any doubt that Yoshi would win an Emmy Award. There was even talk that Nick might win one, too. He had already been offered a very lucrative book contract by Random House.
In the days alone in the "wilderness," Yoshi and Lieutenant Emiko Takado had grown very close. After their return, Emiko had been called back to j.a.panese Self-Defense Force headquarters and rea.s.signed. Now Yoshi just moped around the INN offices, missing her terribly. But at least he knew that, after the crisis was over, he would be reunited with her.
On the other hand, Brian noticed no progress between May McGovern and Nick. She still gave him the cold shoulder, and he still seemed to pretty much ignore her.
"Hey, Brian!" Nick greeted his roommate. "What"s new?"
"Not much," Brian shrugged. "Still no word on G.o.dzilla, even though the U.S. submarine fleet and the Russian Pacific fleet have both joined in the hunt."
"Don"t worry," Nick replied. "G.o.dzilla will show up. I"ve got a feeling in my gut."
Just then, an intern handed Brian an envelope. It had been hand-delivered (the j.a.panese postal service had suspended operations in Tokyo the day before - the same day the j.a.panese stock market had suspended trading). Brian saw his name scrawled on the white envelope, along with the address of INN, but nothing else.
Brian tore open the envelope.
Inside, he found a single sheet of paper. It was a letter from his still-missing uncle.
Dear Brian, Dr. n.o.beyama and I have decided to act on our own. We"ve developed a lure, and are now installing it in a small private airplane somewhere on the main island - I"m sorry I can"t tell you exactly where.
Since the j.a.panese government - and the governments of the world - seem helpless to act, or are determined to do the wrong thing, we are preparing our own plan of defense.
Watch the skies. If G.o.dzilla attacks Tokyo, we will try to lead the monster to the deepest part of the ocean. Then we"ll crash-dive our aircraft and sink, with the lure, to the bottom of the Pacific Ocean. We hope that G.o.dzilla will follow us to the deepest part of the Mariana Trench.
We are both fully aware that this is a one-way trip. There is no way to carry more fuel on such a small plane - and, as I say, we are on our own in the belief that this lure will be successful.
Whatever happens, remember that I"m proud of you. Don"t mourn for me or for Dr. n.o.beyama. I"ve spent my entire life defending our country, and we are both ready to die to defend the world - and for what we believe in.
Remember, son, keep watching the skies.
Uncle Maxwell Brian felt sick. Tears filled his eyes. I"ve got to find them... stop them! Brian thought. But he knew it was impossible. Even if he found his uncle and the j.a.panese scientist, what could he say to convince them not to throw their lives away on an untried theory?
As Brian"s mind raged, Nick looked down at his stricken friend.
"Hey, buddy," Nick asked. "What"s the matter?"
But before Brian could reply, a commotion broke out in the newsroom. Brian and Nick rose to their feet to see what was going on. Everyone was staring at the television monitors. The regular programming had been replaced by an emergency broadcast.
"Emergency!" the voice on the television said.
"G.o.dzilla is in Tokyo Bay... repeat, G.o.dzilla is in Tokyo Bay! Please evacuate the coastal areas in and around Tokyo. Repeat... G.o.dzilla is in Tokyo Bay."
Outside, civil-defense sirens began to wail. Their shrill sound echoed through the streets of Tokyo. The eerie blare was a herald of disaster - G.o.dzilla had returned!
While Tokyo prepared to wage war against a prehistoric monster, a war of another kind was brewing in the INN newsroom. This particular war began when a memo appeared on Nick"s and Brian"s computer screens - courtesy of electronic mail.
The memo, in essence, fired them both. And it was signed Everett P. Endicott.
The two young men met each other in the hallway outside the bureau chief"s office. Without knocking, Brian and Nick stormed past a startled May McGovern and burst into Endicott"s inner office.
"What"s this all about?" Nick cried, waving a printout of the memo.
"Yeah," Brian sputtered, his indignation temporarily stealing his vocabulary.
Endicott rose ponderously from his chair and raised his arms. "I know you"re upset, boys -"
"Don"t give me that "boys" c.r.a.p, Chief!" Nick interrupted. "We "boys" gave this network top news ratings for the months of May and June..."