Ambush sts-15

by Keith Douglass

  “I haven’t heard him being read his rights,” Price said. “If this is even an informal session, shouldn’t he have his lawyer present?”

  “Commander Price,” Williams said. “He hasn’t been arrested, so we have no need to read him his rights. The same with a lawyer. That would be true once he had been arrested. This is simply a fact-finding meeting with interested parties.” He paused. “Mr. Bradford?”

  “I don’t care what Xenia says, I had nothing to do with her painting or selling fake old masters. Hell, I just wish I could paint that well, then I could do a lot better on my work. I only learned about her old masters when she let me look at a painting she was working on in her studio two weeks before we left for the Philippines. I knew at once what it was and what she was doing. We talked about it. I did not feel that I needed to run to the authorities, like if someone was threatening to kill a person.

  “That was two weeks before we shipped out. I never knew she sold her paintings to the man in Santa Barbara until that night. I never had anything to do with the painting or selling of the paintings. It came as a total shock to me that she was doing this. We both knew it was against the law. Fraud, I would imagine it would be. That’s about it.”

  Murdock looked at the woman. “Miss Jefferson, doesn’t the district attorney’s office insist on a good deal of evidence against a person before they issue an arrest warrant?”

  “Yes.”

  “I don’t see how you could possibly have such evidence against my squad member,” Murdock said. “Do you?”

  “When the warrant was first issued, we had what we believed was enough evidence for the document.” She looked at Bradford, then back at Murdock. “Since that time, the police have done considerable backgrounding on Xenia, and we have talked to the other artists working and displaying their art at the showroom. We have determined that one of the others in fact did know that Xenia was copying old masters and selling them through a contact in Santa Barbara. They told us yesterday that they were sure that Mr. Bradford did not even know about this trade, and they were absolutely positive that he had nothing to do with the painting or selling of the pictures.”

  “We tracked down Xenia when she lived in Sedona, Arizona,” Detective Jones said. “This morning we received back information that Xenia had two outstanding warrants in Sedona. One for defrauding an innkeeper. She skipped out on over a thousand dollars in back rent. The second was for copying and selling old-master paintings.”

  The assistant district attorney stood. “Gentlemen, we are withdrawing the arrest warrant, and clearing any record there may have been of it. We find Mr. Bradford has committed no crime and he is free to go.”

  “HoooRah!” Bill Bradford bellowed.

  The three civilians turned and walked quickly out of the room.

  The Navy men stood and grinned, and all shook Bradford’s hand. Then Price frowned. “Bradford, that picture of the two seagulls and the fishing boat. Is that for sale?”

  “Oh, you bet. All of my paintings are for sale.”

  “How much is that one?”

  “Unmounted, it’s a hundred and twenty-five. But for you I’ll put it in a good frame and you can pick it up here at the commander’s office, if that’s all right with him.”

  Price took out his billfold and counted out 130 dollars. “Forget the frame, Bradford, I’ll take it as is. I have exactly the right spot for it in my den and it needs a special frame.”

  Price went to his car, and Murdock and Bradford walked back to the Third Platoon office. Bradford grinned.

  “Hey, you look happy,” Murdock said.

  “Haven’t felt this good since I sold my first painting,” he said. “Have a hundred and thirty to go on the rent. Now we need another painter to fill in the slot. Doesn’t look like Xenia’s gonna be there for a while.”

  “I’d say three to five,” Murdock said.

  “When’s the fish fry?” Bradford asked.

  “Fish fry?”

  “Sure, we have one after every hairy mission.”

  “No fishing right now, let’s make it a hamburger burn, Saturday night. I’ll get the Senior Chief organizing it. Bring your own burgers. I’ve got everything else.”

  “Lots of beer, Skipper, I feel like lots of beer.”

  In the office, Murdock snorted when he saw DeWitt behind the desk.

  “Couldn’t stay away?”

  “Hell, somebody has to mind the store. We’ve got a killer schedule set up for tomorrow. Senior Chief is putting together the hamburger feed cookout at your place for Saturday night, and then we have six replacement candidates coming in Monday for interviews. I wouldn’t miss that.”

  DeWitt moved, and Murdock dropped into the chair. “Is that all? Nothing important going on? Like how is the arm doing? What is Milly up to, and when are you going to have your first kid?”

  DeWitt looked up sharply. “Milly been talking to you?”

  “No, just probing. Ardith’s here. Maybe we can get together Sunday at your place and do something.”

  “Yeah, sounds good. Whatever happened to those new rebreathers we were going to get in from England with the computer that automatically feeds the right air mixture into the system? The ones we can dive as deep as we want with and still have the right mix. Did we order them?”

  “Give Stroh a call. That’s his baby.”

  “Yeah, I will,” Ed said. “Senior Chief, get in here, we got work to do.”

  Murdock settled back. Yes, the good old home base. Now if Don Stroh and the CIA just gave him two months of easy time to train and work in two new men, he’d be happy. The phone rang. He picked it up.

  “Third Platoon, Murdock.”

  “How did it go with Bradford?” Ardith asked.

  “Let me tell you about that,” Murdock said. He kicked his feet up on the desk and leaned back in the chair and grinned. Oh, yeah, it didn’t get much better than this.

  SEAL TALK

  MILITARY GLOSSARY

  Aalvin: Small U.S. two-man submarine.

  Admin: Short for administration.

  Aegis: Advanced Naval air defense radar system.

  AH-1W Super Cobra: Has M179 undernose turret with 20mm Gatling gun.

  AK-47: 7.63-round Russian Kalashnikov automatic rifle. Most widely used assault rifle in the world.

  AK-74: New, improved version of the Kalashnikov. Fires the 5 .45mm round. Has 30-round magazine. Rate of fire: 600 rounds per minute. Many slight variations made for many different nations.

  AN/PRC-117D: Radio, also called SATCOM. Works with Milstar satellite in 22,300-mile equatorial orbit for instant worldwide radio, voice, or video communications. Size: 15 inches high, 3 inches wide, 3 inches deep. Weighs 15 pounds. Microphone and voice output. Has encrypter, capable of burst transmissions of less than a second.

  AN/PUS-7: Night Vision Goggles. Weighs 1.5 pounds.

  ANVIS-6: Night Vision Goggles on air crewmen’s helmets.

  APC: Armored Personnel Carrier.

  ASROC: Nuclear-tipped antisubmarine rocket torpedoes launched by Navy ships.

  Assault Vest: Combat vest with full loadouts of ammo, gear.

  ASW: Anti-Submarine Warfare.

  Attack Board: Molded plastic with two handgrips with bubble compass on it. Also depth gauge and Cyalume chemical lights with twist knob to regulate amount of light. Used for underwater guidance on long swim.

  Aurora: Air Force recon plane. Can circle at 90,000 feet. Can’t be seen or heard from ground. Used for thermal imaging.

  AWACS: Airborne Warning And Control System. Radar units in high-flying aircraft to scan for planes at any altitude out to 200 miles. Controls air-to-air engagements with enemy forces. Planes have a mass of communication and electronic equipment.

  Balaclavas: Headgear worn by some SEALs.

  Bent Spear: Less serious nuclear violation of safety.

  BKA, Bundeskriminant: Germany’s federal investigation unit.

  Black Talon: Lethal hollow-point ammunition made by Winc
hester. Outlawed some places.

  Blivet: A collapsible fuel container. SEALs sometimes use it.

  BLU-43B: Antipersonnel mine used by SEALs.

  BLU-96: A fuel-air explosive bomb. It disperses a fuel oil into the air, then explodes the cloud. Many times more powerful than conventional bombs because it doesn’t carry its own chemical oxidizers.

  BMP-1: Soviet armored fighting vehicle (AFV), low, boxy, crew of 3 and 8 combat troops. Has tracks and a 73mm cannon. Also an AT-3 Sagger antitank missile and coaxial machine gun.

  Body Armor: Far too heavy for SEAL use in the water.

  Bogey: Pilots’ word for an unidentified aircraft.

  Boghammar Boat: Long, narrow, low dagger boat; high-speed patrol craft. Swedish make. Iran had 40 of them in 1993.

  Boomer: A nuclear-powered missile submarine.

  Bought It: A man has been killed. Also “bought the farm.”

  Bow Cat: The bow catapult on a carrier to launch jets.

  Broken Arrow: Any accident with nuclear weapons, or any incident of nuclear material lost, shot down, crashed, stolen, hijacked.

  Browning 9mm High Power: A Belgium 9mm pistol, 13 rounds in magazine. First made 1935.

  Buddy Line: 6 feet long, ties 2 SEALs together in the water for control and help if needed.

  BUD/S: Coronado, California, nickname for SEAL training facility for six months’ course.

  Bull Pup. Still in testing; new soldier’s rifle. SEALs have a dozen of them for regular use. Army gets them in 2005. Has a 5.56 kinetic round, 30-shot clip. Also 20mm high-explosive round and 5-shot magazine. Twenties can be fused for proximity airbursts with use of video camera, laser range-finder, and laser targeting. Fuses by number of turns the round needs to reach laser spot. Max range: 1200 yards. Twenty round can also detonate on contact, and has delay fuse. Weapon weighs 14 pounds. SEALs love it. Can in effect “shoot around corners” with the airburst feature.

  BUPERS: BUreau of PERSonnel.

  C-2A Greyhound: 2-engine turboprop cargo plane that lands on carriers. Also called COD, Carrier Onboard Delivery. Two pilots and engineer. Rear fuselage loading ramp. Cruise speed 300 mph, range 1,000 miles. Will hold 39 combat troops. Lands on CVN carriers at sea.

  C-4: Plastic explosive. A claylike explosive that can be molded and shaped. It will burn. Fairly stable.

  C-6 Plastique: Plastic explosive. Developed from C-4 and C-5. Is often used in bombs with radio detonator or digital timer.

  C-9 Nightingale: Douglas DC-9 fitted as a medical-evacuation transport plane.

  C-130 Hercules: Air Force transporter for long haul. 4 engines.

  C-141 Starlifter: Airlift transport for cargo, paratroops, evac for long distances. Top speed 566 mph. Range with payload 2,935 miles. Ceiling 41,600 feet.

  Caltrops: Small four-pointed spikes used to flatten tires. Used in the Crusades to disable horses.

  Camel Back: Used with drinking tube for 70 ounces of water attached to vest.

  Cammies: Working camouflaged wear for SEALs. Two different patterns and colors. Jungle and desert.

  Cannon Fodder: Old term for soldiers in line of fire destined to die in the grand scheme of warfare.

  Capped: Killed, shot, or otherwise snuffed.

  CAR-15: The Colt M-4Al. Sliding-stock carbine with grenade launcher under barrel. Knight sound-suppressor. Can have AN/PAQ-4 laser aiming light under the carrying handle. .223 round. 20- or 30-round magazine. Rate of fire: 700 to 1,000 rounds per minute.

  Cascade Radiation: U-235 triggers secondary radiation in other dense materials.

  Cast Off: Leave a dock, port, land. Get lost. Navy: long, then short signal of horn, whistle, or light.

  Castle Keep: The main tower in any castle.

  Caving Ladder: Roll-up ladder that can be let down to climb.

  CH-46E: Sea Knight chopper. Twin rotors, transport. Can carry 25 combat troops. Has a crew of 3. Cruise speed 154 mph. Range 420 miles.

  CH-53D Sea Stallion: Big chopper. Not used much anymore.

  Chaff: A small cloud of thin pieces of metal, such as tinsel, that can be picked up by enemy radar and that can attract a radar-guided missile away from the plane to hit the chaff.

  Charlie-Mike: Code words for continue the mission.

  Chief to Chief: Bad conduct by EM handled by chiefs so no record shows or is passed up the chain of command.

  Chocolate Mountains: Land training center for SEALs near these mountains in the California desert.

  Christians In Action: SEAL talk for not-always-friendly CIA.

  CIA: Central Intelligence Agency.

  CIC: Combat Information Center. The place on a ship where communications and control areas are situated to open and control combat fire.

  CINC: Commander IN Chief.

  CINCLANT: Navy Commander IN Chief, atLANTtic.

  CINCPAC: Commander-IN-Chief, PACific.

  Class of 1978: Not a single man finished BUD/S training in this class. All-time record.

  Claymore: An antipersonnel mine carried by SEALs on many of their missions.

  Cluster Bombs: A canister bomb that explodes and spreads small bomblets over a great area. Used against parked aircraft, massed troops, and unarmored vehicles.

  CNO: Chief of Naval Operations.

  CO-2 Poisoning: During deep dives. Abort dive at once and surface.

  COD: Carrier Onboard Delivery plane.

  Cold Pack Rations: Food carried by SEALs to use if needed.

  Combat Harness: American Body Armor nylon-mesh special-operations vest. 6 2-magazine pouches for drum-fed belts, other pouches for other weapons, waterproof pouch for Motorola.

  CONUS: The Continental United States.

  Corfams: Dress shoes for SEALs.

  Covert Action Staff: A CIA group that handles all covert action by the SEALs.

  CQB: Close Quarters Battle house. Training facility near Nyland in the desert training area. Also called the Kill House.

  CQB: Close Quarters Battle. A fight that’s up close, hand-to-hand, whites-of-his-eyes, blood all over you.

  CRRC Bundle: Roll it off plane, sub, boat. The assault boat for 8 SEALs. Also the IBS, Inflatable Boat Small.

  Cutting Charge: Lead-sheathed explosive. Triangular strip of high-velocity explosive sheathed in metal. Point of the triangle focuses a shaped-charge effect. Cuts a pencil-line-wide hole to slice a steel girder in half.

  CVN: A U.S. aircraft carrier with nuclear power. Largest that we have in fleet.

  CYA: Cover Your Ass, protect yourself from friendlies or officers above you and JAG people.

  Damfino: Damned if I know. SEAL talk.

  DDS: Dry Dock Shelter. A clamshell unit on subs to deliver SEALs and SDVs to a mission.

  DEFCON: DEFense CONdition. How serious is the threat?

  Delta Forces: Army special forces, much like SEALs.

  Desert Cammies: Three-color, desert tan and pale green with streaks of pink. For use on land.

  DIA: Defense Intelligence Agency.

  Dilos Class Patrol Boat: Greek, 29 feet long, 75 tons displacement.

  Dirty Shirt Mess: Officers can eat there in flying suits on board a carrier.

  DNS: Doppler Navigation System.

  Draegr LAR V: Rebreather that SEALs use. No bubbles.

  DREC: Digitally Reconnoiterable Electronic Component. Top-secret computer chip from NSA that lets it decipher any U.S. military electronic code.

  E-2C Hawkeye: Navy, carrier-based, Airborne Early Warning craft for long-range early warning and threat-assessment and fighter-direction. Has a 24-foot saucer-like rotodome over the wing. Crew 5, max speed 326 knots, ceiling 30,800 feet, radius 175 nautical miles with 4 hours on station.

  E-3A Skywarrior: Old electronic intelligence craft. Replaced by the newer ES-3A.

  E-4B NEACP: Called Kneecap. National Emergency Airborne Command Post. A greatly modified Boeing 747 used as a communications base for the President of the United States and other high-ranking officials in an emergency and in wartime.

  E &
E: SEAL talk for escape and evasion.

  EA-6B Prowler: Navy plane with electronic countermeasures. Crew of 4, max speed 566 knots, ceiling 41,200 feet, range with max load 955 nautical miles.

  EAR: Enhanced Acoustic Rifle. Fires not bullets, but a high-impact blast of sound that puts the target down and unconscious for up to six hours. Leaves him with almost no aftereffects. Used as a non-lethal weapon. The sound blast will bounce around inside a building, vehicle, or ship and knock out anyone who is within range. Ten shots before the weapon must be electrically charged. Range: about 200 yards.

  Easy: The only easy day was yesterday. SEAL talk.

  ELINT: ELectronic INTelligence. Often from satellite in orbit, picture-taker, or other electronic communications.

  EOD: Navy experts in nuclear material and radioactivity who do Explosive Ordnance Disposal.

  Equatorial Satellite Pointing Guide: To aim antenna for radio to pick up satellite signals.

  ES-3A: Electronic Intelligence (ELINT) intercept craft. The platform for the battle group Passive Horizon Extension System. Stays up for long patrol periods, has comprehensive set of sensors, lands and takes off from a carrier. Has 63 antennas.

  ETA: Estimated Time of Arrival.

  Executive Order 12333: By President Reagan authorizing Special Warfare units such as the SEALs.

  Exfil: Exfiltrate, to get out of an area.

  F/A-18 Hornet: Carrier-based interceptor that can change from air-to-air to air-to-ground attack mode while in flight.

  Fitrep: Fitness Report.

  Flashbang Grenade: Non-lethal grenade that gives off a series of piercing explosive sounds and a series of brilliant strobe-type lights to disable an enemy.

  Flotation Bag: To hold equipment, ammo, gear on a wet operation.

  Fort Fumble: SEALs’ name for the Pentagon.

  Forty-mm Rifle Grenade: The M576 multipurpose round, contains 20 large lead balls. SEALs use on Colt M-4A1.

  Four-Striper: A Navy captain.

  Fox Three: In air warfare, a code phrase showing that a Navy F-14 has launched a Phoenix air-to-air missile.

  FUBAR: SEAL talk. Fucked Up Beyond All Repair.