Chapter 298: Operation Polar Bear
Russia. The Vladov Shipyard, a facility rumored to have been abandoned long ago.
Although it's currently occupied by a group of terrorists, the Russian authorities seem completely unconcerned, negotiating with them diplomatically, seemingly in no rush whatsoever.
You have to understand—this is Russia, where everyone's got a temper, where they'll down a bottle of vodka and go wrestle a bear, where even during hostage rescues, they never give terrorists an inch, going straight for the full assault, taking out hostages and terrorists alike.
You think they've suddenly gone soft? Yeah right.
The only explanation is that there's something here that makes the Russian government cautious, and Ron really couldn't think of any other possibility besides nuclear weapons.
And that's exactly what it was.
"This is a Project 885 Yasen-class attack submarine. No wonder the Russian military hasn't launched a full-scale assault. They've been playing it cagey. They must be worried the terrorists will go scorched earth." Hobbs spotted the submarine's profile through his binoculars and immediately identified its class based on his extensive experience.
"Told you so." Ron rolled his eyes. Behind them, besides the Toretto crew who'd been brought along for the mission, Ron's entire elite team was also present.
Only the "B-team" remained in Los Angeles holding down the fort.
"Remember, guys—even though future history books might not record this moment, I guarantee it's a pivotal turning point that could change the course of human civilization. Every move we make will determine the world's future.
If that thing actually launches a nuke, then no matter where it's aimed, we'll be facing World War III. Trust me, you absolutely don't want to see that happen."
"Don't worry, boss. They're just a bunch of reckless assholes. We can handle them easy," Mr. Smith was the first to step up and agree.
"I'm not worried about those assholes," Ron said, pointing seriously to the sky, completely dismissing the terrorists. "What I'm really worried about is this. I don't know what Cipher will pull, but she'll definitely be one of our toughest opponents."
Ron glanced at his watch, figuring Toretto should be making his move soon, and waved his hand. "Let's roll."
He was the first to climb into the tarp-covered bed of the pickup truck, where beneath the canvas lay the prototype of Ron's new exoskeleton suit.
Before going to New York, Ron had intended to give the suit to the Shaw brothers, but Howard had only provided this one combat-ready unit, so he simply stripped off the jet thrusters and gave them to the brothers, keeping the suit for himself.
Ron got into the truck, and his team followed suit. The convoy slowly made its way across the snow toward their designated ambush point, leaving only Hobbs and Toretto's crew behind.
"I don't belong here. My lifestyle is way too different from this place. The ladies know me, they know what I look like, but I just went to take a leak so bundled up that I almost didn't recognize my own junk," Roman complained quietly.
O'Connor teased, "Is it because you're wearing too many layers and your dick is too small to find?"
"Hey! Who are you talking about? I'm not like that at all! If you're so confident, let's drop our pants right now and compare. Loser washes the other's underwear for a month—deal?!"
"Quiet!" Hobbs stopped the chatter behind him, staring tensely at the road ahead. "It's Toretto. He's here. Jesus Christ, why is he alone? Are these terrorists working with Cipher too?"
"I don't think so, sir." O'Connor, having stopped joking and gotten serious, grabbed another pair of binoculars and crouched next to Hobbs. "Look at the dock. There's no welcoming committee. They actually seem on edge. They've even raised the barriers. I'm guessing he's planning to ram straight through."
"He must be insane. I have to stop him!" Letty stood up, but O'Connor immediately pulled her back into the snowbank. "Toretto never does anything he's not confident about. He must have a plan, like..."
A low humming sound filled everyone's ears. An invisible electromagnetic pulse rippled outward from Toretto's car, frying all electrical equipment within a 150-meter radius.
Even the barriers, which were halfway raised by electric motors, dropped, turning the gate into an open road.
The cause was the EMP weapon Toretto had stolen from Hobbs.
"He's in! He's through! We have to stop him!" Roman shouted, trying to run to the vehicles, but Hobbs pulled him back.
"Don't forget—our vehicles also have electronic ignitions. If he hits us with that thing now, we'll be dead in the water!" Hobbs turned to Tej. "I showed you all the technical specs on that EMP weapon. How many more times do you think he can use it?"
"At most, only once more. To maintain speed, the car can't recharge, so it's running purely on battery power. Even if his ride is packed full of batteries, he can only fire it one more time."
"Okay, then we wait until he uses it again before we move out," Hobbs nodded and grabbed the radio. "You copy that, Ron? What do you say?"
"Then we do it your way. We move when you do." After Ron finished speaking, he told Hank to pull the truck over, then he stripped off his coat and climbed into the exosuit.
Thump thump thump
Hank knocked on the suit's outer shell from outside. "How's it looking, boss?"
"Everything's green," Ron fired up the suit and briefly tested the upper limbs inside the truck bed, without getting out, because a power cable was still connected to the truck to keep charging the suit's battery pack. "Except for the battery being hammered by this weather, leaving only 20 minutes of operational time, we're good to go."
Currently, the battery with the highest known energy density is lithium-ion, which gets severely affected by temperature, especially in this frozen Russian hellscape, where the battery capacity had dropped by a full third.
Ron sighed helplessly. "Arthur will drive me over in a bit. Find yourself a sniper position and make sure nobody interferes with my work, understand?"
"Understood."
As soon as Hank finished speaking, Toretto's car had already driven beneath the nuclear submarine being serviced. A military attack helicopter lifted off from the dock and dove toward him aggressively, with anti-tank missiles mounted on both sides, ready to fire at any moment.
Even a tank would be shredded by those, let alone Toretto's ride, which was only reinforced with bulletproof glass.
Just as everyone was holding their breath for Toretto—
BUZZZZZ
The EMP weapon fired again...
(End of Chapter)
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