Deadly Force (21 page)

“Jaybird, if that's you I'm gonna kill you,” Murdock said on the net. There was no response. “Figured,” Murdock said.

The machine moved slowly forward. The figure crawled under the roof-mounted machine gun and angled down to the slanting front. He eased forward and down. Then his arm came out and it worked over what must be the viewing port, Murdock decided. He could imagine Jaybird jamming the inch-thick puttylike C-4 into the half-inch-wide viewing port, then punching in the timer detonator and pushing the timer.

A few seconds later the figure retraced his climb to the top and then jumped off to the street, did a shoulder roll, and came up running for the safety of the buildings across the street.

The small tanklike vehicle slowed, then stopped. They heard metal on metal as one of the side doors opened. Before anyone could leave, the C-4 went off half inside the armored personnel carrier. The sides of the rig bulged for a second. The unlatched door blasted off its hinges and flew into the street. Smoke billowed from the open doorway, the viewing ports, and the off-side door, which had also blown open and sagged on one hinge.

“Move to the center street, form up, we're out of here,” Gardner barked into the Motorola. The fourteen SEALs and one Loyalist guide raced to the middle street and quickly
jogged away from the now-burning half-track. A moment later an explosion ripped through the rig as flames found the fuel tank.

Ten blocks away from the police station, Gardner eased the men to a walk. “Any more casualties?”

Nobody spoke up, then a strange voice said, “Hey, I shit my pants when that fucking Jaybird . . .”

“Jaybird, I'm at the end of the line. Get your little ass back here, now.” Everyone knew it was Murdock's voice.

Jaybird waited at the side of the street for the rest of the detail to pass him. He fell into step beside Murdock.

“Sorry, Cap. It just seemed like a good idea at the time. Hey, no harm, no foul.”

“Against a direct order is something of a foul.” Murdock shook his head. He grabbed the smaller man and gave him a hug and lifted him off the ground. “Jaybird, you little bastard. Don't you never die, you motherfucker. Not never. Don't even think about it.” It was the traditional best tribute one SEAL could give to another. He put Jaybird down and they jogged to catch up with the rest of the platoon.

“Wonder what the driver thought when he saw that putty coming in through his view port?” Jaybird asked.

“I'd let you go back and interview him, but it's my guess he's in no condition to answer any questions.”

They both laughed and caught up with the rest of the platoon.

 

Two miles past the last house, Gardner called a halt. Mahanani found Sadler and checked him out using his small flashlight.

“Not good, Senior Chief. Tore up your forearm. Had to be a ricochet. It's a furrow three inches long. Still bleeding like a bastard. I can stop it with enough pressure. You want a morphine?”

Sadler, sitting on the ground, nodded and leaned back until he was lying down. “Damn, not supposed to hurt this much.”

Mahanani took the MP-5 from him and handed it to the closest man, Jefferson. Then he spent five minutes sterilizing and then medicating the wound. He wrapped it tightly
and then put another bandage over that. He pushed one more ampoule of morphine into Sadler's right arm and helped him stand up.

“Hey, Chief, what day is this?”

“Who the hell knows? The only easy day was yesterday. Let's get out of this stinking town.”

“We're ready to march, JG,” Mahanani said.

 

An hour later they found the Skyhawk where they had left it, and thirty-five minutes later after a roundabout route, they settled down on the edge of the soccer field at Tinglat. It was a half hour to dawn when the SEALs hit their cots. Most went to sleep instantly.

 

That morning Murdock came alive at 0730, had chow, and reported to Mojombo's tent. “One more cop station down and dirty,” Murdock said. “We picked up one slightly wounded. What's with our spies in the capital city?”

“We set up a relay radioman down near ten-mile dock. These radios we took from the police are good for well over ten miles, so we can get reports. We changed the frequency on them so the cops can't hear us. Tehabo reported in late last night. So far they have found no large number of guards around any of the police or military buildings. They did pick up one important statement that Kolda made to the newspapers. He said if the violence, the attacks by the Loyalist Army, do not stop, the American, Don Stroh, will be publicly executed tomorrow morning by a firing squad.”

 

 

Murdock gathered all the SEALs around him just outside his tent. He told them about the threat to Stroh. “So what are we going to do about it?”

“We find out where public executions are held,” Jaybird said.

Murdock pointed at Jaybird. “Go ask Mojombo and any of the Loyalists soldiers who might know. Move.”

“When we find out, we move out tonight, chopper down to the five-mile line, and infiltrate the area they will use for the execution,” JG Gardner said.

“Agreed. We'll work out an exact time.”

“We take one Loyalist with us for each of us,” Lam said. “They have some good people.”

“Sounds reasonable. Go check with Mojombo.”

“We try to cut down the force protecting the area before any civilians or the death party comes,” Sadler said. “Which might postpone the deed.”

“Sounds good. Depends how and where they plan to do it.” Murdock frowned. “Hope it won't be six riflemen with Stroh against a block wall on some downtown street.”

“Either we go in blackface and gloves, or we have to be totally hidden by daylight,” Jefferson said. “Hell, Howard and me will be okay. You honkies gonna be up a crick.”

“Trouble is, we're a foot taller than most of these natives,” Howard said. “Hard to hide that.”

“Bradford, check with Mojombo to see if he's heard anything from our spies. Maybe we could snatch him tonight before daylight and before they start the walk to the wall.”

Ching scowled. “Say it takes us twenty minutes to
chopper to the five-mile zone. Then we infiltrate to the downtown area we want in another hour. We recon the potential lockups, pick out our hide-holes, and go to ground. Another half hour. We've burned up two hours to target. Unless the spies can pinpoint the holding cell.”

If we left here at 0100 we'd have some time to play with,” Donegan said. “Like if there was no good places to hide. We might have to pull back a ways. I like the blackface-and-gloves idea myself.”

Jaybird came back. “Mojombo says there is a wall just in back of the open market that was once used for executions. That could be the site. It would give us a lot of cover in the market stalls. He said the other spot could be the Central Police Station. It has a concrete-block wall on one side. It's also been used before.”

“Great, we have two execution locales,” Vinnie Van Dyke said. “I don't like the idea of splitting up our platoon.”

Lam came back, and everyone looked at him. “Mojombo says he knows what we're thinking of doing. He'll be over shortly to advise us. He says a one-on-one wouldn't work with his men. But he could send along a squad of twelve men with a sergeant to be under the control of Commander Murdock. He's talking to D.C. and will be here when he's finished.”

Murdock drummed his fingers on his knee where he sat on the ground in front of his tent. “Kolda doesn't have to be brilliant to know that us SEALs are still in his country. He can also figure out that his threat is going to pull us into his house. All he has to do is tell one of his Army colonels to provide him the firepower he needs for a good ambush, then try to lead us into the trap.

“We have two possible incarceration spots for the men. One would be the Government House, the other the Central Police Station. He knows that Mojombo has riddled the Central Station once before. So it must be vulnerable. So would he choose the Government Building? It could have more soldier guards, a greater number of rooms and places to hide the prisoners.”

Mojombo had walked up and listened to Murdock.

“Yes, I quite agree that he knows that we will try to outguess him. That still leaves the two spots where the men are held. I just heard from our men in the city. Tehabo has infiltrated the units at both spots. From what he says, the men at the police station are secretive but gloating in a way. They say if anyone tries to shoot their way into that area, they will be met with a total surprise. Nobody will say what it is, and Tehabo was run out twice when he tried to walk into the restricted area. It could mean they have a deadly ambush set up even though the men are not held there. Or it could mean the ambush is to protect the prisoners.”

“What about the Government Building?” Gardner asked.

“Tehabo gives me another story. He says it all looks calm and normal at the Government Building. There are always a lot of soldiers around it as regular guards. He wandered a lot of halls and even got into the basement, and he found no spot that had any more guards than any other. No part had been restricted. But he says that could be a low-key way of hiding the men.”

“So, we're still snookered,” Murdock said. “I like the idea of trying to free the two men tonight, before they parade them down to some block wall. That will be a much safer operation. Should mean fewer federal rifles around. So let's consider the rescue by darkness instead of at the hanging.”

“I might have a solution,” Mojombo said. “Don't split your forces. Let me take twenty men and borrow two of your SEALs with the Bull Pups. We'll take the Central Station because from our intel it has the most danger and probably the best possibility of housing the two captives. You take your SEALs and investigate the Government Building.”

“Done,” Murdock said. “What about timing?”

“You'll be flying down. The chopper could come back and take us down as a second load to a different area. Save a lot of hiking that way. The pilot and copilot will have one of our radios and one of your Motorolas. He should have a specific pickup spot for both of us to come in on call.”

“We could leave at midnight and your men could get out of here at 0100. I'd suggest you cut your squad to sixteen men including two SEALs. Any more and the chopper is going to split a seam.”

Murdock looked over his men. “Any comments or questions?”

Jaybird cleared his throat. “Skipper, is there anyone in the Loyalist camp who might have worked in the Government Building, or knows the layout of the two floors, and is there a basement?”

Mojombo grinned. “Bingo. I have two men. Both worked in the Government Building for five years. One was a janitor. He knows every nook and cranny in the place. I'll detach both men to you as soon as I can find them.”

“Now, it's almost 1100,” Murdock said. “Let's check weapons again, clean them up, and get your ammo ration from wherever you got it. We need a count on how many twenties we have left. Each man give me a count. Anything else?”

Mahanani held up his hand. “Sir. I've been watching the senior chief. His wound is deeper than I first thought. I think he should take a ride out to the medics on the carrier. I'd feel a lot better about it.”

“Do it. Take him with you. While you're on the carrier, see if you can requisition two hundred rounds of 20mm HE. I don't see why their rounds won't fire in our weapons. We won't have the airburst potential, but the HE effect will do for now in case we run out. Get the senior chief moving.” Murdock paused. “We need two Bull Pups to go with Mojombo. Let's make it Howard and Jefferson. Mojombo, that way your squad will be all black. Its not racist, it's color-coding.” That brought a laugh. “Howard, you take my Bull Pup and I'll pack your MG. Jefferson, you already have a Bull Pup. You two find out when to report to Mojombo.”

Murdock called Bill Bradford. The big man responded at once. “Bring your sketch pad and some sharp pencils. I want you to make a drawing for us.”

Ten minutes later the two Loyalist soldiers came packing
their AK-47's. They reported to Murdock. Their names were Kaedi and Sandari.

“Do you men know if the Government Building has a basement?”

“Yes, sir,” Kaedi said. “It does. I was a janitor there. I know the whole building.”

“Good. This is Bill Bradford, he's an artist. Tell him about how long and how wide each floor is. He'll make an outline, and then you show him how to fill in the rooms so we can label them. It might take two or three sheets for each floor.”

Kaedi nodded and they began. Murdock looked at Sandari. “What did you do at the Government Building when you worked for them?”

“I worked as an accountant on the second floor for three years.”

“Did you get around the building a lot?”

“Yes, but mostly on the second floor.”

“Is there a basement?”

“Yes, under about half of the building. The newer section does not have any underground.”

“Could our two men be locked up in the basement?”

“Oh, yes. There are storage vaults down there. One for the nation's gold supply, one for paper money, one for valuable documents.”

“Are they airtight?”

“Oh, no. Once a clerk was locked in overnight and it didn't hurt anything except his pride.”

“How do we get to these vaults?”

“From the main back door there is a hallway to the left. Halfway down it is another door marked ‘Basement.' Stairs go down, but no elevator. Twenty steps. No security doors or guards when I was there.”

“You are going to show us the way once we get inside, Sandari. Why did you join the Loyalists?”

“The government accused my brother of being a spy for a foreign country. They had a quick, illegal trial and then they shot him. I want to kill fifty of them.”

“Good, Sandari. Good to have you with us. You go find Jaybird and tell him to stick to you like glue. Thanks for
your help. You'll be flying out with us tonight. Stay with the SEALs until then. Okay?”

“Okay, Commander,” Sandari said. He saluted. Murdock returned his salute.

He heard the chopper take off. It was a calculated risk letting it fly out to the carrier and back. But they could use the 20mm rounds, and he didn't want to take a chance on the senior chief losing his arm to some tropical infection.

Bradford finished the sketches of the two floors and the basement. Kaedi said the best place to hold prisoners would be in the documents room in the basement. They would check that first when they got inside. If the prisoners weren't there, the SEALs would work through the rest of the building.

Noon chow turned out to be a corn-and-rice mixture with baked fish and a side of sliced carrots. The surprise of the day was coffee. They had found five five-gallon cans of ground coffee in the loot from the President's warehouse.

Just after noon, a runner came to Murdock's tent. He was wanted on the SATCOM. Murdock went to the leader's tent and took the offered handset.

“Murdock here.”

“Billings, Commander. What to report about the Vice President and Mr. Stroh?”

“Nothing yet. We're trying to pinpoint their location. We think we have it down to two spots. We'll raid both those places tonight. It's about 1300 here now. We should be on site in twelve hours. We will take all precautions to keep the two men safe, and as soon as we have them in our hands, they will, I say again, sir, they
will
be transported directly to the aircraft carrier.”

“Good. The President said you were a good man. Good luck on your mission. Oh, one word from Cliff Donaldson, the CIA director. He said if there is no way to rescue Don Stroh alive, he is to be terminated. He's a storehouse of CIA data and can't be allowed to be kept by a rogue leader who could sell him to any one of four or five interested parties. Do you understand, Commander Murdock?”

“Yes, sir. If Mr. Stroh can't be rescued, he must be terminated. Understood. Will comply. Wilco.”

“That's it then. The President sends his best and wishes you success in your mission.”

“Thank him for the men. We'll report in when the mission is over no matter what time it is. Are we five hours ahead of you?”

“I think that's it, Commander. Signing off.”

Murdock put down the handset and stared at Mojombo. “You heard the orders. They are binding on you too, since we're both looking for the same prize.”

“I understand, Commander. If we draw the prize, we will make every effort to bring out both men. If it is impossible to rescue them and we have the ability, Mr. Stroh will be terminated, but not the Vice President. Right?”

“Correct. It won't come to that. I have a good feeling about this raid. We're going to bring them back. One of us. Right now I couldn't guess which one of us it will be.”

Murdock called Gardner into their tent and dropped the flap. “Let's have a little critique of the mission last night,” Murdock said. “First, your evaluation.”

“Yes, sir. First I appreciate the chance to run the operation. On top, we accomplished our purpose. The police station was burned out and they lost at least a dozen men, maybe more. We had only one casualty, and that's not life-threatening. Our movement to the objective went well. Our guide did his job. Lam was as efficient as ever and brought us to the right spot. The actual firefight could have gone better. The men coming from outside and attacking us was a surprise. I should have expected something like that. We did reduce them, and scared off the five who escaped from the car fire.

“The armored personnel carrier was another surprise. I didn't know their Army had any such rigs, let alone the police. Frankly it stumped me. I've never met anything like that before.”

“That's why Jaybird took it on,” Murdock said. “We've busted up a dozen or more of them. Almost always with C-4 or TNAZ in the tracks. Stops them dead. Jaybird was showing off a little. He likes to do that. I just hope one of these days it doesn't get him or some other SEAL killed.”

“That was about it. We formed up and moved out.
Mahanani took care of the wound and we hit the takeoff spot and got home.”

“Want to rate yourself from one to a hundred?”

Gardner rubbed the back of his head. “Damn, well, I guess a ninety. Five off for the squad outside the station and another five on the personnel carrier.”

Murdock watched the junior-grade lieutenant. He'd done well, and would soon have his own platoon. He was good. How had he stayed a JG so long? “I disagree with your figure. It should be a ninety-five. The squad of shooters outside didn't surprise me. The personnel carrier did. So, Lieutenant, put a big eagle's feather in your floppy. You did good.”