by Mike McNeff
“Okay, ladies, your ride outta here is coming. Remember, we were never here. The Russians came and got the other woman, whatever she called herself and you escaped. Don't contradict anything you see in the press. It's essential to our survival you follow that script.”
“Thank you, everyone.” Jessica said. “You're truly wonderful.” She reached out and touched Mark's shoulder and he put his hand on hers.
“Sometimes,” Robin replied. “Now, on your way.”
The women started polling as the team faded into the jungle and Robin saw Jessica looking back at Mark.
The team moved two miles down the coast to the Talinga River delta. Marv found a cave one hundred yards from the beach and everything dropped; packs, recovered chutes and tired bodies.
“SpearTip to Fatboy.”
“Go SpearTip.”
“What's our estimated extraction time?”
“We're in Davao City, so it will be forty-eight to seventy-two, SpearTip.”
“Roger,” Robin replied with a tired voice.
He looked at his men around him, their faces ghostly and showing disappointment in the glow of chemlites.
“Well gentlemen, you heard the news. Looks like this will be home for a couple of days. Before any of you turn in, I just want you to know how proud I am of all of you. We pulled off a very difficult mission with less than ideal prep time. The important thing is four terrified women are going home and none of us got hurt. It doesn't get much better…”
“Okay, boss,” Burke interjected. “Enough with the speeches. Can we just go to sleep now?”
Robin laughed. “Yeah, go to sleep. I got first watch.”
NINE
THE RAIN CONTINUED COMING DOWN two days later when Gary Perkins showed up in a fishing boat. It took three runs in a small life boat to get all the men and equipment on board. They were all glad to get out of the cave.
Robin looked out on the transom of the boat. The monsoon weather had the boat riding waves like a roller coaster and half the team were bent over the rail even though rations ran out the day before.
“Well, I guess we're separating the men from the boys!” Rocky flashed a sardonic grin.
“Be gentle, Rock. Most of those guys over there were born and raised in the Arizona desert.”
“I know, Rob. I'm just feeling a little superior right now. We pulled off two great capers with none of us getting more than scratches and bruises.”
Robin looked up at the sky as rain incessantly splashed on his face. “We were damn lucky. I wouldn't want to HALO in a storm like this.”
“In my experience, success in operations like these depends on luck more than we care to admit. I suppose that's why we always say God is on our side.”
Robin looked at his teammate. “I'm glad to have your experience on this team, Rock. There are very few team leaders who can depend on every man. I can.”
“I wouldn't have missed this gig for the world. We're doing important work and making good money to boot.”
“It is pretty damn good right now.” Robin looked at the rail huggers. “Well, for some of us.” Both men laughed.
“Rob!” Gary Perkins slid down the ladder from the bridge. “We have radar contact with two high speed boats coming towards us on the starboard bow. They've been shadowing us for at least four hours before we picked you up.”
“Do we know who they are?”
“The skipper isn't sure, but he thinks they may be Indonesian pirates.”
“Rocky, get everybody on deck ready to fight and please ask Burke to bring up my rifle and tactical vest.”
“That's a big roger, boss.”
Robin climbed up to the bridge and entered the wheelhouse.
A grizzled mariner who had manned a landing craft during the invasion of the Philippines in 1944 at the age of seventeen, Gary found Johnny “Whisky” Walker after doing a little investigating on the Davao docks. Walker's landing craft sunk and he ended up fighting with the infantry. He fell in love with a Filipino girl and never left.
“Hey, Skipper,” Robin nodded to Walker. “You ever deal with Indonesian pirates before?”
“That I have, Colonel.” Robin cocked his head. “Gary told me your rank. The boy thought he had to impress me I think, but I figured you for an officer right off.”
“Is that good or bad?”
Whisky looked to the transom where the team prepared for trouble.
“Judging by the way those men look up to you, I'd say it's a good thing.”
Robin looked at his men for a thoughtful moment. “Tell me more about these pirates.”
“They took one boat from me, when I was young. Kids were little, didn't think I could chance a fight. They tried again last year. Me and my boys fought ’em and beat ’em. I figure we killed four of ’em. If those boats are pirates, they're coming after me. It ain't your fight.”
“Bad guys on the prowl are always our fight.”
“Well in that case, there is a forty mike-mike grenade launcher in the forward hold just under the doors on the bow. Might come in handy.”
“How'd you manage to get permission to carry that on your boat?”
“Who said I had permission?”
Robin laughed. “I'll put a man on it. You maneuver, we'll do the shooting. I suggest you head right for them, to present a smaller target.”
“We'd better get on it. The scope shows two circling and two more coming up on our starboard beam.”
Burke brought Robin his rifle and vest. “Burke, there's a forty millimeter grenade launcher under the doors on the bow. Get it manned with a radio!” He turned back to Walker. “Skipper, does your radar give us accurate range?” Robin asked as he buckled his vest.
“Aye.” Robin stepped up to the windshield. Mark Warren, who had an uncanny ability with the grenade launcher, stood behind the weapon. Burke looked up at him and Robin held up four fingers and their radios were ready on Tac 4. Robin searched his mind for the spec sheet on the M19 40mm grenade launcher until it surfaced. It had an effective range of about sixteen hundred yards and a maximum range of twenty-two hundred yards. He couldn't lock on a target so he would have to estimate between sweeps of the needle on the screen. He peered into the scope.
The Skipper made the turn into the pirates, putting two of the targets at two thousand yards off the port bow.
Robin picked up his radio. “Target…013 degrees…1900 yards…fire two!”
Mark sent two rounds out.
Robin saw two water spouts, but no explosions.
One pirate boat kept charging forward, but the other slowed way down and started to turn. The two starboard targets were now off the bow within maximum range.
Robin quickly re-worked the calculations for the remaining port target.
“Target…016 degrees…1600 yards…fire four!” Robin immediately re-focused on the two boats on the starboard bow. “Target…089 degrees…1900 yards…fire two!”
The advancing pirate boat on the port side exploded in a fireball as his partner raced away apparently not wanting to end up the same way.
The men cheered.
Robin turned to check starboard. Water spouts erupted just missing the pirates. Large green tracers whipped over and around the fishing boat followed by the sound of a heavy machine gun ripping across the water.
“Target…dead ahead…1200 yards…fire four!” Water spouts shot up again and one of the boats took a hit, but no fireball bloomed. The boat, however, turned away. More tracers came at the fishing boat and men hit the deck as rounds smashed into the lower cabin spewing shrapnel in all directions. Robin looked back at the transom and saw Doug Ariel and Willy Young lying on the deck. Robin grabbed his rifle and went on the bridge deck. “Fire at will!” The whole team opened fire.
A rocket propelled grenade (RPG) swooshed over the transom along with the tracers from the machine gun. The 40mm grenade launcher thumped rhythmically. The sheer amount of metal hurtling at the pirate boat began to take effect, even at f
ive hundred yards. A man fell off the boat as pieces of it flew in the air. At three hundred yards, the boat began to disintegrate. A grenade made a direct hit and the boat disappeared with a loud bang in a huge black cloud.
Robin jumped down to the transom. Both Doug and Willy Young had been peppered by shrapnel. Doug had a large ugly wound in his left shoulder. Willy had taken hits on the upper part of his back. Robin could see a large piece of metal embedded in Doug's shoulder. Burke had opened Willy Young's medical kit and he handed Robin a syringe of morphine. Robin pushed it into Doug's thigh. Willy rose off the deck and crawled over to Doug.
“I'll take it from here, Rob.”
Robin started to object until he saw Willy's hands move confidently into the bag and retrieve scalpels and a large forceps to remove the metal.
He looked at Robin. “We should get him below.”
Doug shook his head. “No! I'll just get seasick again. Just do what you got to do here.”
“Give me another morphine, Willy.” Willy handed Robin another syringe.
“Don't knock me out, Rob. I hate…”
“If I knock you out, you dumb shit, you won't be seasick.”
Doug thought for a minute. “Okay, stick me.”
Three hours later, the rain finally let up. Robin stood on the bridge deck sucking in deep breaths of ocean air. If he didn't know better, he'd have thought he was seasick, but he knew almost losing a man ate at his gut. The metal in Doug's shoulder was a chunk of a shattered 12.7mm machine gun bullet. A direct hit with such a large round would've killed him. Burke treated Willy's wounds and they were not serious.
Robin looked up and marveled at the lush blanket of stars. They seemed to be mysterious, but reassuring companions on his journey through life. He and Karen spent hours on camping trips teaching the kids about the constellations. Robin's heart filled and he longed for Karen's arms around him. A kaleidoscope of recent memories cascaded through him. He focused on one overriding thought. His love for Karen grew every day. She was his constant companion, even seven thousand miles away.
TEN
ROBIN STOOD IN THE WHEELHOUSE as the boat gently kissed the dock in front of a large compound on the northwest coast of Mawes Island across from Davao City. Several young men from a group of thirty people stepped forward to grab mooring lines.
“That's quite a crowd, Whisky.”
“Don't worry, they're all family. No loose tongues. This is our home.”
“You've got one hell of a big family!”
“Yes, sir. And one hell of a good family.”
Robin made his way through the crowd coming up the gang plank then walked up the wharf to where Ernie and Jamie waited by a Land Rover.
“Here's the money you wanted.” Ernie handed Robin a plain brown envelope. “You sure you want to give him that much?”
“You see all those people?”
“Yeah.”
“They're all family.”
Ernie's face lit up. “Gotcha, boss. A ready-made army, no less.”
“Amen, brother.”
Robin walked back to the boat swarming with “family” unloading equipment and checking machinery. Walker and a man of about forty were looking over the damage from the bullets. Robin took him aside and handed him the envelope.
“Skipper, your fee is in there, plus a sizeable retainer I hope you'll accept in case we need you…or your family battalion here…in the future.”
Whisky looked in the envelope and gave a low whistle. “You certainly are persuasive, Robin.”
“It's my job.”
“Hold on boys,” Walker said as Burke and Willy were coming down the gang plank carrying Doug on a stretcher. He motioned to his family and a beautiful dark haired woman stepped forward. “Rob, this is my eldest daughter, Dr. Maria Walker. I thought you might want her to look at your man.”
“I've already made arrangements…”
Maria's eyes flashed with annoyance. “I'm a board certified neurosurgeon. I know what I'm doing.”
Robin nodded and Maria walked over to the stretcher. She asked Doug some questions then knelt, removed the bandage and took a long look at the wound. She spoke with Willy for a minute and then carefully replaced the bandage and touched Doug's cheek. Robin didn't like the look on her face when she returned.
“It's a good thing you called ahead, Papa. I have an ambulance waiting to transport him.”
Robin hesitated. “Doctor, we can't…”
“We need to get him to my hospital immediately. It may have already been too long, but at least I can prevent further nerve damage. I have an idea of what you are worried about and I guarantee his identity and presence will be confidential.”
Robin took a deep breath. “All right.” He knelt by the stretcher. “You know we have to get Ivanov back to the states, Doug. You'll be on your own for a while. Any objections?”
“No, boss.” Doug's gaze locked on Maria.
Robin looked from Doug to Maria and back. He smiled. “I guess not. Burke, Willy, take Doug to that ambulance.”
“He'll be well taken care of,” Maria said smiling down at Doug.
Robin thought Doug was going to float off the stretcher. “I'm sure, Doctor.”
As Maria led the way to the ambulance, Whisky whispered to Robin. “I trust that man of yours is a good man.”
“He is, Whisky.”
“Is he married?”
“No, why do you ask?”
“I haven't seen my daughter look at a man like that for many years. She was married once. The no good son-of-a-bitch stole her blind and left her with a broken heart.”
“Doug's pretty much in the same boat, on that score. There seems to be a connection there, but who knows? They just met.”
“Just makin’ sure.”
“As a father of two daughters, I completely understand.”
Three hours later, the team winged for Hawaii. Robin sat with Jamie, waiting for a connection with Bill Grassley. “Pick up the headset, Rob. He'll be coming on.”
Robin put the headset on just in time to hear, “Bill Grassley.”
“Hi, Bill. We're headed back.”
“Rob, it's good to hear your voice. How is everybody?”
“We had to leave Doug in Davao City, he'll have to undergo surgery to minimize nerve damage to his shoulder. Willy got some minor wounds to his back. Everyone else is fine.”
“Do I need to do anything about Doug?”
“He's in good hands.”
“Good work on these missions, Rob. You guys are proving your worth in spades.”
“We do our best.”
“What can you tell me about the Russian woman you rescued.”
“She was in bad shape, beaten mercilessly and repeatedly raped before we got to her.”
“What you don't know is she's one of the KGB's top assassins. She's taken out several western operatives. The Brits and the French are a little peeved we had her and didn't terminate her.”
“When we saw her, she was a victim. We don't kill injured hostages even if they are assassins. But I won't let that affect future decisions if we meet again.”
Robin thought it best to change the subject. “On another note, get a hold of Chris Fleming and tell him to get his butt up to Seattle.”
“Why?”
“I want to turn Ivanov over to him. We can do it quietly and smoothly with Chris and avoid any complications.”
“That's a great idea. I'll get on it.”
“I'll call again when we're a couple of hours out of Seattle.”
“Okay, that'll be fine.”
Robin took off the headset and leaned back in his chair. “So Jamie, how've you been?”
“Worried about you guys.”
Robin nodded. “There probably were some things to worry about.”
“That doesn't sound like you.”
“So far, our worst casualty has been you. The events over the last two years have taught me the difference between luck and skill. In a combat
operation, we need both to survive. We increase our odds by having top skills, but we need a least a little bit of luck to get back alive. We've had a good run of luck, but I just don't know how long it will last before we lose someone.”
“You guys are one of the best trained teams in the world.”
“You mean ‘us guys’. Training is one of our edges. The other is you.”
“Me? What do you mean?”
“You're our intelligence analyst. I will not commit our team to action without your intelligence estimate the mission has a probability of success.”
Jamie's face took on a very serious look. “I don't like the idea the team's success is based on my decision.”
“It isn't. It's always based on my decisions. I know the nature of intelligence. It can be unreliable. But I know you're absolutely reliable. You give me the best intelligence and I make the decisions.”
“I appreciate your confidence in me.”
“You've earned my confidence, Jamie.” Robin stood up. “Now, I've got to check on Ivanov.”
“Damn, I missed you guys!” Emmett promptly gave Robin a bear hug the minute he came through the holding area door. “Promise me you won't leave me behind next time.”
“I didn't want to leave you behind this time.”
“What's the deal with Doug?”
“He's in good hands. He needed surgery and I think the doctor is also going to work on other wounds.”
“What other wounds?”
“The doctor is a lady and they seemed to click.”
Emmett's face broke out in a grin. “A little lovin’ would do that boy a world of good.”
“How's Ivanov doing?”
“Okay. He gave me some problems in the beginning, but I straightened him out. He's been asking me about American prisons and I think he wants to work a deal to do all of his time in our country. He ain't too keen about going to Britain or France.”
“He apparently isn't too dumb.”
“Not on that score.”
“I'll talk to you later, I want to get a debrief done before we land.”
