"Then let"s go," Brian said, jumping off the roof.
"Okay," Nick agreed. "But it"s my turn to drive."
On the other side of Tokyo, on the tarmac of Haneda Airport, sat twelve military helicopters. As their rotors were revved up by the ground crews, the pilots and weapons officers listened to a final briefing.
The helicopters were U.S.-built McDonnell Douglas AH-64A Apache attack helicopters - perhaps the most advanced attack chopper in the world. These aircraft were manned by members of the j.a.panese Self-Defense Force.
Trained by the United States military for night fighting, each Apache crew was supplied with an integrated Pilot"s Night Vision System. This optical system, which involved a futuristic helmet called an IHADSS (Integrated Helmet And Display Sighting System), enabled the helicopter pilot and weapons officer to have a clear field of vision, even on the darkest nights.
"I hope you will not have to rely on night vision," their commanding officer, General Sato, told his men as they awaited takeoff.
"So far, Tokyo is still lit, and you should have no trouble spotting your target."
As the general briefed his men, technicians were replacing the sixteen h.e.l.lfire missiles that were fired from pods on either side of the Apache with a new type of weapon.
"We have replaced the explosive warhead of the h.e.l.lfire missiles with a newly developed tranquilizing agent," General Sato informed them.
"This substance has been designed to knock the creature out. The substance is harmless to human beings and to the environment - but it should be effective against G.o.dzilla, if our scientists are correct."
As the general outlined the plan of attack, the ground crews finished loading the new type of missiles. When he saw the "go" signal from the ground controller, the general finished his briefing.
"Do your duty!" he said, gazing at his soldiers with pride.
The helicopter crews shouted in unison as they raised their arms above their heads. Then they boarded their aircraft with grim determination.
One by one, the Apaches began to lift off the tarmac in a cloud of dust.
When all twelve Apaches were airborne, they joined up over Haneda Airport and headed toward the heart of Tokyo.
"This area looks awfully familiar," Nick said, alarm in his voice. Brian blinked. He didn"t know how Nick could find any familiar landmarks in the ruins they had been driving past for the last ten minutes.
For over an hour, they had paced G.o.dzilla"s advance. Usually, they drove their car parallel to G.o.dzilla, keeping one eye on the monster and the other on the road and the direction they were taking.
In the last half-hour, G.o.dzilla seemed to have doubled back the way he"d come. Following him, Nick and Brian found themselves in the heart of the destruction.
At first they just smelled smoke. Then they began to pa.s.s buildings that were ablaze. A few times, they had to detour around crumbled buildings and rubble-strewn streets. Once they stumbled upon a fire truck and a horde of firemen battling a tremendous high-rise fire.
Fortunately, G.o.dzilla had not employed his radioactive fire since destroying the power lines. Though burning buildings were plentiful, most of the city remained free of fire damage.
Nick had slowed down considerably since they reentered the area of destruction. He often had to maneuver to avoid debris, and he even hopped the curb once or twice to get around chunks of concrete.
Once, he had to swerve to avoid a corpse. Brian thought about stopping and checking on the victim, but it was painfully obvious that the person was dead. No one could survive such wounds.
The sound of destruction still rang around them - interspersed with the wail of civil-defense sirens and the blare of ambulances and other emergency vehicles. Occasionally, G.o.dzilla could be heard, too. His bell-like roar rang through the shattered streets of Tokyo.
Once in a while, Brian and Nick would stop and try to find something on the television. But when Tokyo Tower had been leveled, it had also brought down the microwave transmitters at the top. All the two of them got on the screen was dead air.
When they tried the radio, all they could hear were local stations. Neither of them could speak j.a.panese well enough to understand the announcer"s rapid-fire speech.
And so they just drove. The destruction was so monumental, so complete, that they soon grew numb to the sight of it. Silently, they pressed on. They continued to follow the monster, but no longer knew why.
Neither of them had used the camera or the tape recorder since their "adventure" began.
"Oh, no!" Nick cried, slamming on the brakes. Brian, who did not have his seat belt fastened, was thrown forward.
"What the -" he exclaimed. Nick was staring at the shattered block in front of them.
"Look!" Nick cried, pointing. At first, Brian just saw more destruction. Broken concrete, twisted steel girders, gla.s.s and debris scattered about. Down near the end of the block, a whole apartment complex had fallen to one side. It looked eerily familiar.
"That"s the INN dorm!" Brian said. He shifted his gaze, searching for the INN building itself. Where the building once stood, there was only a three-story pile of rubble. Nick put his foot on the gas and they warily drove toward the building they had once called home.
"I see somebody!" Brian cried, pointing. There was a dirty, ragged figure sitting on the curb. Brian couldn"t see the man"s face, which was buried in his hands, but the man seemed oddly familiar.
"That"s the chief!" Nick cried in shock and surprise. He stopped the car and jumped out. Brian quickly followed. Both youths ran to Endicott"s side.
"Hey, chief," Nick said, shaking the man"s shoulders. "Are you okay?"
Everett P. Endicott slowly lifted his head. His face was streaked with soot, and his eyes were oddly vacant.
"Mr. Gordon," he replied dazedly. "We were looking for you earlier..."
"What happened?" Nick demanded. "What were you doing here?"
The bureau chief blinked. "Someone had to stay behind and man the studio," he said. "I couldn"t ask anyone else to do it..."
Endicott"s faraway stare remained fixed as he relived the events of the past hours.
"Everyone had left on the helicopter," he droned on in an unemotional voice. "Everyone but you and Mr. Shimura. I took over control duties. I kept the satellite feed going. Then G.o.dzilla destroyed Tokyo Tower." The portly man began to sob.
"I watched poor Max die," he said as tears streamed down his chubby cheeks. "Then May came in and said we had to go... that G.o.dzilla was coming."
"May!" Nick cried. "May is here, too?" He looked around. "Where is she?" he demanded, shaking Endicott"s shoulders. The man shook his head and pointed to the ruins of the building behind them.
"She said she"d meet me in the lobby, but when I got down there..." His voice drifted off and his eyes stared forward, unseeing.
"He"s in shock," Brian muttered.
"We"ve got to find May!" Nick cried again. "We"ve got to find her!" With that, Nick ran toward the ruins of the INN building, screaming May McGovern"s name over and over again.
Brian didn"t want to leave the bureau chief, but he also wanted to help find May - if she was still alive. Then, at that moment, he heard the sound of helicopters - lots of helicopters.
He looked up as twelve Apache attack helicopters flew over their heads like a horde of angry wasps. They headed directly toward G.o.dzilla, who was still moving, blocks away.
In the town of Kakegawa, less than a hundred miles from Tokyo, a single-engine Cessna sat alone on the runway of the local airport. Light spilled from a nearby hangar, where two men busily worked on an electronic device the size of a small suitcase. A burst of weird, high-pitched sound sometimes filled the hangar as they tinkered with the machine.
"How"s this?" Admiral Willis asked as he adjusted the frequency again. He threw a switch on the side of the device and another burst of noise echoed throughout the huge enclosure.
Dr. n.o.beyama looked at his notes and nodded enthusiastically. "That"s perfect," he said. "According to my data, the lure is now set at the precise frequency of G.o.dzilla"s own brainwaves."
"Then I think it"s time to go fishin"," the admiral said, shutting off the sound machine. "Let"s install this baby in the airplane and get out of here."
While Admiral Willis lifted the device, Dr. n.o.beyama closed his notebook and placed it on a table piled with papers, graphs, and blueprints.
As the two men left the hangar and approached the Cessna, a jeep suddenly appeared at the other end of the airport. The vehicle, which had the markings of the j.a.panese Self-Defense Force painted on it, raced across the tarmac. With a final squeal of tires on pavement, the jeep skidded to a halt in front of them.
Lieutenant Emiko Takado hastily exited the vehicle and blocked their way. She put her hands on her hips and stared at the two men.
"Emiko, what are you doing here?" Dr. n.o.beyama asked, surprised by his a.s.sistant"s sudden appearance.
"I"m here to stop you both from killing yourselves," she replied, her eyes flashing. "I know what you"re planning."
Admiral Willis, still holding the device, stepped up to her. "It"s the only way to stop G.o.dzilla," he said evenly.
"NO!" she cried, shaking her head. "If the lure really does work, then you must tell the government... or the military.... Surely someone will listen?"
"There is no other way," Dr. n.o.beyama said. "We have tried to convince the authorities, but they would not listen. Now it is up to us."
Admiral Willis walked past the young woman and approached the airplane. He climbed into the Cessna"s c.o.c.kpit and began bolting the device to the dashboard. Lieutenant Takado and Dr. n.o.beyama followed behind.
"Please, Admiral," Lieutenant Takado persisted. "This plan is suicide!"
"The lure works," the American replied as he continued to install the device. "Dr. n.o.beyama and I intend to use it to draw G.o.dzilla to the deepest part of the Pacific Ocean. As I said before, it"s the only way..."
"But why don"t you just lead the monster out to sea," she argued. "Surely, when the military knows that the device works -"
Dr. n.o.beyama put his hand on her shoulder. "No, Emiko," he said, interrupting her. "If we hesitate, more people will die..."
"Then just throw the device overboard when you"re out to sea," she said. "Turn the plane around and fly back to j.a.pan."
"I"m sorry, Emiko. It"s a one-way trip," Admiral Willis answered. "We have enough fuel to lead G.o.dzilla all the way to the Mariana Trench. But not enough to get back."
Emiko"s eyes filled with tears.
Dr. n.o.beyama sighed. "Don"t be sad," he said. "We"ve made our decision, and have no regrets.
"My notes are inside the hangar. Give them to the military when we are gone. Whether we fail or succeed, perhaps they can use this knowledge in some way."
Lieutenant Takado was silent for a moment. "I will miss you both," she whispered finally.
Dr. n.o.beyama smiled. "I think you"ve wasted enough time working for an old man like me. I also think that Yoshi Masahara is a fine man, and you will both be very happy."
The Cessna"s engine sputtered to life. Dr. n.o.beyama climbed into the c.o.c.kpit next to Admiral Willis. The two men waved good-bye as the airplane began to move across the tarmac.
Lieutenant Emiko Takado watched as the Cessna taxied down the runway, its running lights blinking. Then it shot into the sky and disappeared in the darkness. In less than a minute, the sound of the engine faded, too, and Emiko was alone.
CHAPTER 22.
HELICOPTER ATTACK.
June 19, 1998, 1:23 A.M.
Somewhere over Tokyo
Lieutenant Ogata in Apache One radioed his squadron.
"The creature is below us now," he said. "Prepare to attack!" The other pilots acknowledged his command and formed up behind his aircraft.
When all was in readiness, he spoke to his weapons officer, who rode in the c.o.c.kpit behind him. "I will sweep low, between those two rows of skysc.r.a.pers," he said. "Fire when you are certain you will not miss."
Lieutenant Ogata hoped that the missiles would be effective, but despite his commander"s a.s.surances that the tranquilizer in their tips was powerful, and posed no danger to the human population, he wanted to take no chances.
"Make every shot count!" he said. Then he guided his helicopter down toward G.o.dzilla.
"May!" Nick shouted. "Can you hear me?"
He stumbled through debris and tripped over chunks of concrete. He looked all around, searching for any clue to her whereabouts. His search was unfocused and unplanned - it was born of desperation, not logic.
I have to find her! a voice inside his head screamed.
Nick heard the sound of rotors overhead but ignored them. His only concern was finding May. As he climbed over the rubble, Nick"s foot caught in a long steel cable and he tripped. He landed hard, falling against a huge steel box.