The crew chief came back and hollered at Murdock. “Ten minutes to our LZ. The lieutenant says he’ll let you off, then move back three miles and shut down.”
“Tell him to keep his Motorola on too,” Murdock said. The sailor nodded and went back to the cockpit.
Five minutes later the chopper pilot found a road through the wilderness, and followed it to a spot where a small bridge spanned a stream. He put the bird down just past the bridge and the SEALs poured out each door, setting up an immediate perimeter around the CH-46.
When the SEALs had cleared the ship, the pilot lifted off, showering the men with dust, dirt, and a few stray pebbles from the downward wash of the rotor blades. Then it was up and away. The SEALs formed up in twin diamonds and began to move on a compass bearing due west. The immediate area had an open space near the creek and extending a quarter of a mile to the start of the timbered slope that lifted upward.
They established a pace of about three miles to the hour, due to the altitude and the drag bags. The idea of the bags was that by pulling them along, most of the weight rested on the ground and the man didn’t have to carry it, just drag it.
The timber was mostly pine and some fir, with clumps of oak and cedar. They moved through it with Lam fifty yards out front watching, checking out any problems he could see.
They had covered a mile and a half up the slopes when they came to a fence. It was new, with steel posts set in concrete and four strands of bright new barbed wire. The SEALs stepped between the middle two strands, and then pulled the drag bags under the bottom one.
On the point, Lam hit the dirt when he heard something to his left. He lifted up and looked, then dropped down. A moment later a pair of steers walked past some brush, grazing as they moved slowly toward the men. Neither animal looked up. Lam grinned and reported his find to the troops, then kept moving forward.
A mile later they came to the top of a sharp little ridge, and Lam eased up so he could look over it without skylining himself and becoming an easy target. He peered under the brim of his floppy hat and just over the ridgeline. Ahead a thousand yards on a broad mesa, he could see the ranch buildings. He called up Murdock, who took a look at them with his binoculars.
“Okay, we’ve got the buildings. Looks like they’re set on a flat area. I can’t see any movement or any bodies. How about you?”
“Saw one man run from the ranch house out to the next building to the left. Only action. So there are troops in there.”
“So where is the President and his people?”
“What would we do in the same situation?” Lam asked. “If we had this spot and overwhelming firepower moved in, we wouldn’t be able to hold the buildings, right? So where would we go?”
“Scatter and make a lot of trails for the bad guys to try to follow,” Murdock said.
“Makes sense. About what I’d do. So, the President and his advisors and the Secret Service shields probably aren’t in the ranch house or the other buildings.”
“Roger that, but there could still be some of the staff. You don’t run a place like this with Mom and Pop.”
“True, so we can’t hit them with the twenties.”
They stared at the setup again. Murdock moved his view to the left and grunted. “See to the left of the buildings, that flat area just below the level of the ranch house?”
“Oh, yeah, Skipper. Looks like three burned-out Fifty-Threes.”
“Agree, and next to them are?”
“Two smaller choppers, maybe the ones the bad guys arrived in.”
The two SEALs looked at each other and grinned.
“Oh, yeah, what do you make the range, Skipper?”
“Eight hundred yards,” Murdock said, and pumped a 20mm round into the chamber on the Bull Pup, then sighted in the laser on the chopper nearest him. When he had the target he squeezed the trigger. Seconds later the airburst ripped through the pristine-pure high Sierra air right over the first chopper. Shrapnel rained down on it, and some hit the second chopper nearby. Murdock didn’t use the laser on the second round. He sighted in and fired. The contact round jolted into the engine compartment of the bird, and it exploded in a gush of flames, soon involving the second helicopter.
“Two men just ran out of the ranch house,” Lam said. “They are looking at their transportation out of there. Now they are zigzagging back to the house like they expected to be shot at.”
“So, they know we’re here,” Murdock said. “Let’s get the troops up here and move forward.” He flipped his lip mike down from where it rested against his floppy hat.
“You men heard two shots. We just splashed two enemy choppers. There are terrorists at the ranch house. Let’s chogie that way and figure out what the hell to do.”
Ed Dewitt came up with Jaybird and Senior Chief Sadler.
“How many men?” Jaybird asked.
Murdock rubbed his jaw. “Chopper that size could pack in maybe eight men. So we’re looking at sixteen, maybe eighteen tops.”
“The fucking odds don’t seem fair,” Sadler said. “I mean, those poor sods up there don’t have a tinker’s damn chance in hell.”
Murdock put down his glasses. “DeWitt, take Bravo up that gully over there and position at the left side of the buildings. My squad will work the right end and when we get within three hundred yards, we’ll take a look and see what we have. Move out.”
Murdock held his Alpha Squad until DeWitt had traversed the hundred yards to the left side of the complex and the ravine. Then Murdock moved his men over the ridge in the cover of the trees and down the far side. Eight hundred yards to the ranch house. He wondered if those inside would realize that a much better armed force was coming against them and that they couldn’t hold the buildings. Would they flee into the brush and trees as well and try to get lost? It depended what they had done so far. If they had captured and murdered the President and his staff, their job would be done and they would exfiltrate out of the area, and try to reach a Korean settlement in San Francisco or Los Angeles where they would blend in.
Lam led the squad as scout. He moved from tree to tree and hurried through brushy areas, then went flat as he saw something ahead he didn’t understand.
“Come take a look, Skipper.”
Murdock moved up, bellied down in the grass next to Lam, and pulled out his glasses.
“Off about three fingers from that big pine out there, looks like a red splotch. Could it be a red shirt or a dress?”
They concentrated with their binoculars. “Moving,” Murdock said. “Oh, yes, that’s a dress. Must be part of the President’s party or staff. Get up there without getting shot by the Secret Service and let them know we’re coming.”
“Roger that,” Lam said, stowed his field glasses, and eased to his feet. A moment later he vanished into the brush and trees. The red dress was less than a hundred yards ahead. Well away from the ranch house but within sight of it. They must have seen the Korean helicopters destroyed. Murdock knew the general route Lam would take to approach the friendlies. Try as he might, he couldn’t detect the scout as he moved through the trees and undergrowth.
Murdock used his mike and told the rest of the SEALs what they had found. He told the squad to come up to his position. The other men spread out five yards apart near Murdock waiting to see what happened.
The Motorola earpieces spoke.
“Skipper, I’m at about twenty yards from them. I have four civilians. One definitely Secret Service with his Uzi with stock extended. Another is an older woman. The other two are young women, who might be on the staff at the ranch. I’m moving in softly.”
Lam pushed up the mike so it touched his floppy hat, and edged around the pine tree and then angled into some heavy brush. He worked ahead slowly now, not moving a branch, not stepping on a dead branch or pile of leaf mold. He put weight on his foot only when he knew it would not make any noise.
Ahead was a six-foot-wide open space. To go around it would take twenty minutes. He watched the fou
r people. All could see the opening if they looked his way. Two faced away from him. A third sat on a log staring straight ahead. The Secret Service man moved back and forth watching mostly uphill through the trees toward the ranch house.
Lam waited until the man turned and headed away from him, then darted across the opening and faded into the brush. One of the women staring straight ahead turned and looked at the opening, but Lam had gone across it. She shrugged.
Lam moved again, slowly, cautiously. He came within ten feet of the group, and waited until the Secret Service man paced away from him. Lam surged forward silently and walked beside the government security man.
“You must be Secret Service,” Lam said.
The man jolted around, started to swing the Uzi upward, but Lam caught it and kept it aimed away from him.
“Hey, I’m a friend. Easy with the sub gun. I’m Lampedusa, a Navy SEAL. We’ve come to help you.”
The Secret Service man stepped back, his eyes still wide, sweat popping out on his forehead. He shook his head in wonder. “How in hell did you do that, slip up on me that way? I’ve been watching for anything.” The Secret Service man shook his head again and grinned. “Damn, but I’m glad to see you. I’m Horowitz. How many SEALs are there?”
“Sixteen of us, sir. Let me call up my boss.” He flipped down the mike. “Skipper, all clear to come forward. Four here are A-OK.”
“You on a radio net with the other Secret Service people?” Lam asked.
“Yes. We check in every hour.”
“You lose anybody on the attack?”
“One of our men is missing, doesn’t report on the net. We don’t know what happened to him.”
“So your net may be compromised. The North Koreans could have one of your radios listening. Are all of the civilians safe?”
“Not sure. The commander of the North Koreans said they would execute prisoners every half hour. We’re not sure if they did or not. I watched the first one. They said they would kill Secretary Alvarez. I saw the shot and saw her fall, but they might have faked it. They did it again a half hour later. I heard the shot. I don’t know if anybody was killed.”
“So don’t tell your net that we’re here. They only know that somebody blew up their choppers. We like to surprise the North Ks.”
“You took out their helicopters?”
“Yeah, with a twenty-mike-mike rifle.”
“You kidding. A round that big from a rifle?”
“New. Show you one when they get here. Where are the rest of the party and the President?”
“Our plan was to scatter if anything happened,” Horowitz said. “The Koreans came in suddenly and burned our birds, and we knew we couldn’t hold the ranch house so we all split. The plan was for two men to take the President and two more to take the Vice President generally to the north. I know they made it out of the house and to their first holding point. Beyond that we haven’t heard much except the net checks.”
A booming voice came through the air. It was an amplified voice on a bullhorn.
“Secret Service men, it is time to come in and give up your weapons. We have captured the President and killed the two men trying to protect him. I repeat. We have captured President Dunnington.”
17
“Is he bluffing?” Lam asked.
“One way to find out,” Horowitz said. He took out a small radio and pushed a button. “This is Five. Mr. President, are you safe?”
They waited, but nothing came over the air. After a twenty-second pause a voice responded.
“This is Four. I’ve had no transmission from the President in a little more than an hour.”
“Four, on the net checks, did you hear everyone?”
“All but the missing man.”
“Then something may have happened to the President. I’m calling for a radio check by the numbers,” Horowitz said.
Lam listened as four Secret Service men checked in.
Horowitz scowled. He looked at Lam. “We could be in a lot of trouble here. I’m Five, the man we lost already is Seven, and the two with the President who didn’t check in are Six and Eight. That means they might be out of range, or captured, or worse.”
The speaker on the Secret Service radio sounded.
“So, Secret Service, you came up three men short on your radio net,” the voice with the same strange accent said. “That is correct. Three of your men won’t collect their retirement, and we have the President. So far he is safe, well, and he has not been harmed. Later it will be dark. We ask that all of you return to the ranch house where you will be more comfortable. The cook is now preparing a fine meal for you.
“We’re not sure how you destroyed our helicopters, but it is of little concern. We have two other plans to leave this area without them. So come in now and we will not harm the President. You have three hours before dark to get here. I suggest that you hurry.”
Horowitz jumped as Murdock edged into the small clearing.
“That’s my CO, Horowitz, it’s okay.”
Murdock and the rest of Alpha Squad came in and at once established a perimeter defense around the position. The commander came over to the pair.
“Commander Murdock, this is Mr. Horowitz, with the Secret Service.”
The men shook hands. Lam told Murdock about the claim that the President was captured and the two men with him dead.
“Is it possible?” Murdock asked Horowitz.
“The Koreans have at least one of our radios. So they have captured or killed at least one of our men. The President’s guards didn’t respond to my radio net check. So something is wrong.”
“What’s the range of your sets?” Murdock asked.
“On flat land about ten miles. Up here it could be a mile depending on the terrain. A ridgeline could block out the signal.”
“Think the President just might be out of range and the Korean is bluffing?”
“Could be.”
Senior Chief Sadler and Jaybird came in from the perimeter, and Murdock filled them in.
“Could you have blown up their choppers?” Sadler asked Horowitz.
“Sure, if we could have moved in close enough,” Horowitz said. “I always carry a fragger on jobs like this.”
“So the Koreans don’t know that anyone else is here,” Murdock said. “That’s good. We can give them a few surprises.” He looked at the Secret Service man. “Any of your men have long guns?”
“Nothing but the Uzis. We usually work close-up.”
“We have the rifles and machine guns if we need them. Now all we need to do is to figure out what to do. DeWitt, we’ll leave our mikes open. Cut in whenever you want to. We’re having a strategy session.”
The woman in the red dress walked up to the group.
“Commander. I’m Beth Arnold, the President’s National Security Advisor.”
Horowitz broke in. “Commander, this is Major General Beth Arnold of the U.S. Army.”
The four SEALs saluted her. She returned a crisp professional salute. “General, I’m Lieutenant Commander Murdock, this is Senior Chief Sadler, Operations Specialist Second Class Lampedusa, and Machinist’s Mate First Class Sterling. We always have enlisted men help when planning an operation.”
“May I sit in on your session? I’ve had some experience.”
“General, by all means. You’ve seen the ranch house. We haven’t. Where would their strong and weak points be?”
“It’s a ranch-style house, long and one-story. The kitchen is on the extreme left end, the large living room and activity rooms in the center, and the bedrooms mostly on the right-hand side. There are twelve bedrooms. They probably have the President in one of them, if they really have him.”
“I’d say we have to assume that he’s a captive, so we can’t use our 20mm rounds on the house,” Jaybird said.
“Agreed,” Murdock said.
“It’s got to be a silent hit,” Lam said. “We move up and watch and wait and try to pick them off one at a time, quiet
ly.”
“You have suppressed weapons?” the general asked.
“Yes, two of the new Mk 11 from Knight with the twenty-inch barrel and silencer. Then we have other silenced weapons including our MP-5 sub guns.”
“The way Lam slipped up on me without a sound, I would have been a dead man if he’d wanted me to be,” Horowitz said. “Be sure to use Lam.”
“I’ve heard about SEALs’ work before,” General Arnold said. “You’re the platoon that the CIA and the President use for covert operations, correct?”
“Yes, ma’am,” Murdock said.
“Damn glad you’re here. Should we send men into both ends of the house, say three on each end, and start working silently toward the center?”
“Good idea, but first we’ll have to take out any exterior guards,” Senior Chief Sadler said. “Be good to get two men up there quickly to check it out in what’s left of the daylight.”
“I agree,” DeWitt said on the Motorola. “Lam and Fernandez would be my picks.”
“Lam, you and Fernandez get on your horses,” Murdock said. “Each of you take the silenced M-11. Move up on each end of the place. Close enough so you can find any exterior guards. Report back by radio. Then hold your positions for our arrival.”
Lam lifted his Knight sniper rifle and vanished into the brush.
“That’s a roger on this side,” DeWitt said on the radio. “I sent Fernandez out. He goes up to about fifty and checks the scene.”
“Right,” Murdock said. “Be sure nobody in the house can see you, Fernandez and Lam.”
General Arnold looked at Murdock. “You have any extra cammies with you?”
“Yes, ma’am, but…”
“No buts about it, Commander. Find a man about my size and get his spare shirt and pants. I’m going with you and this damn red dress isn’t a combat outfit.”
Murdock grinned. “Glad to have you on board, General.”
Sadler nodded at Murdock and went to the perimeter. Murdock looked through the trees at the ranch house over seven hundred yards away. “Where would they be keeping the President, if they have him, General?”
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