Death Blow

19

Murdock picked up the SATCOM handset and hit the send button.

“Skyhigh give us a call. This is Queen.”

“Read you, Queen. Que pasada?”

“Small problem. A frigate in Hong Kong was getting ready to sail on an exercise at oh six hundred. They will now shove off in twenty-three minutes. We’ll just about be at the edge of the Chinese islands down there by the time they catch us. Any ideas?”

“We’ll discourage them before they get to you. Some flyovers, maybe a rocket or two across their bow. Give them the idea we don’t want them following you.”

“Sounds good to me. You have guns free?”

“Will check with CAG but we should be free.”

“Weapons we have can’t stop a frigate. Good luck, Skyhigh.”

“Same-o, same-o in the wet.”

Captain Prestwick looked at Murdock. “That’s pretty heavy action you’re talking about.”

“Only kind the Chinese understand. A slap in the face doesn’t help much. A roundhouse right to the jaw is more effective. A CIA guy I know says our State Department has authorized extreme measures to rescue your ship. They say the Chinese have committed an extreme act of barbarism in kidnapping four thousand people. They say the international community will accept any action to get you back, including what otherwise might be considered an act of war. See how important this ship and you people are?”

Captain Prestwick smiled. “Well now, it’s good to know that we were missed. When we get free, we’ll have some other problems to deal with. For example we’re three days behind our schedule. We might not have dockage at our next stop, and our supplies might run a little low.”

“Damn,” Murdock said. “The rich guys will have only one entrée instead of their choice of three?”

The captain laughed. “Yeah, I guess that’s about the size of it. But will we get complaints!”

“Tell them they have been a part of history, and work up something in your print shop to commemorate the occasion. Then sign it for all twelve hundred and you should have a winner.”

The captain brightened. “Well now, that does sound like a good idea.”

The phone rang and a crewman pointed to the captain. He took it and listened for a minute. “Yes, understood.” He hung up.

“One more small problem. Our overhead radar reports that a flight of three aircraft is approaching us from the east at mach one speed. They suspect they are Chinese fighter aircraft.”

Murdock took the SATCOM handset again.

“Skyhigh, we have any Tomcats up there? We just picked up three bogies coming in from the east. Probably MiGs. You have any data?”

“We have them. Three Cats will meet them for some friendly conversation. The Cats don’t have weapons free unless fired upon. We have your ship in sight, will buzz you in about five to let you know we’re in the area, then check on that Chinese dinner delivery frigate.”

“That’s a roger, Skyhigh. Good luck.”

Murdock had the Motorola on while he talked to the pilots. Now he had some reaction.

“Hey, Skipper, would the EAR work on a MiG?” Jaybird asked.

“Might, if he came in close enough. Say you had a head-on shot when he was on a strafing run. Might knock him out, which would in effect shoot down the sucker.”

“What’s the range of the EAR?” Bradford asked. “Know we’ve used them out six hundred yards.”

“Don’t remember anything farther,” Murdock said. “Something we should test when we get a chance. Set up targets and watch for a blast effect. Or maybe just put Bradford out a thousand yards and see if we can get to him.”

“I’ll pass on that one, skipper.”

Murdock went down from the bridge to the Lido deck to watch for the jets. He wondered if there would be a long-range missile duel, or if they would come up, and do flybys, and wave at each other.

The pair of F18s thundered by at two hundred feet over the Queen of the Sea, one on each side. The cracking, roaring, blasting sound of the jet engines must have awakened half the ship’s people. Then the Hornets lifted up, and kept flying toward Hong Kong where the Chinese Navy frigate should soon be getting under way.

Anderson brought the SATCOM to the Lido deck where he set it up and they followed the aircraft talk on channel two.

“Tom One, I have three bogies at twenty thousand feet out about forty miles and closing.”

“Roger that, One. No radar yet. If they lock on, we’ve got a war on our hands.”

“If they lock and fire, we do the same. Roger that, Tom Two.”

Captain Prestwick came down and stood with them. “The Chinese Navy radio, unscrambled, just reported that the frigate Dandong five forty-three has just cast off and is on the way. We are twelve minutes to the bottom of the islands. It should take the frigate thirty minutes to move the thirteen miles to the bottom of the islands at twenty-six knots. We may just slip out past the Chinese islands, but still be well within the twenty miles of territorial waters that China claims.”

“Queen calling from Skyhigh. Your ears on?”

“Yeah good buddy, you must have been on the road with your CB. What’s cooking?”

“CAG says we can’t overfly Hong Kong, so we’re sliding back into your area and around the islands. How long before the frigate gets to your position?”

“Skyhigh, the captain estimates we’ll be six or eight miles past the islands into territorial waters when the frigate catches us.”

“Oh, yeah. We can claim anything past three miles is international waters. He won’t be there for another twenty-eight minutes. We’re low on juice, going to take a drink from a tanker and be back. Watch the store for us.”

“Roger that, Skyhigh.”

The three men stood there, watching the sky, then looking at the island they were passing. Chinese territory. A few minutes later they all looked at their watches.

“We still have twenty-two minutes before he catches us,” Anderson said.

The speaker on the SATCOM came on.

“Queen, can you read the Tomcats?”

“Loud and clear, Toms.”

“We’re edging back out of Chinese air, and taking the bogies with us generally west of your position. Teasing them away from you. We’ll keep in the territorial zone if possible. So far they are coming to us. No radar, no lock-ons, no firings.”

“Good, Tom One. We don’t want them raking the Queen with twenty-millimeter fire.”

“Roger that. We’ll keep in contact.”

The men stood there watching the blue water boiling past the big ship. Were they moving fast enough? Murdock wished that he knew. They worked slowly past a big island on the left that must be five miles long. He could see lights from at least one town, so it was inhabited. That was the last one, the one they had to get out beyond three miles to claim international water.

Murdock watched to the rear to see if he could see the Chinese Naval frigate coming up. Not so far. It would have lights, or maybe not. He wasn’t sure. He did know that they would beat the frigate to international waters but not by much. Once there, the F18s would have their say. Now all he could do was stand and watch.

“Queen, come in,” the SATCOM speaker said.

“Yes, Queen here.”

“Tom One. The MiGs are going with us. Estimate that we’re about two hundred miles from your position. MiGs are hanging back, must be trying to figure out what we’re doing. We penetrated their air space by ten miles, now we’re back in the wet and going generally northwest. They keep about five miles behind us. So far no radar targeting, which is what we like. Take care.”

“Thanks, Tom One. Be careful up there.”

Captain Prestwick had been staring to the rear and he nodded. “Yes, I can see the frigate. She’s showing lights and charging along. Maybe a mile behind us. What time is it?”

“Four twenty-five,” Murdock said. “It gets light here about what oh five thirty? Another hour of darkness.”

“Frigate should overtake us in another half hour. See the island over there? That’s Pok Liu Chau. I’ve seen her on the charts often enough. Five miles long and the end of Chinese territory around here. Three miles beyond that and we’re in better shape.”

“Queen, this is Skyhigh.”

“Skyhigh, the frigate is closing,” Murdock said. “We’ll just about be in the three-mile area when she matches us.”

“If she fires any weapons at or near you, we have weapons free,” the pilot said.

“Any plans before then?”

“Yeah, going to do our circus act. Two and I will do a fly-by at mast-top level one on each side of the ship, coming from her bow. Shake her up a little. Let her know for sure that we’re up here.”

“When is the show? We figure she’s about half a mile behind us.”

“Any minute now, we’re making our turn and lining up. You’ll hear us after we pass you.”

“That damn frigate is gaining on us. I’m waiting for her to fire a shot across our bow and order us to stop.”

“Would you?”

“Not a chance. Another few minutes and we’ll be past the island and then three lousy miles and we’ll be in generally considered to be international water. She won’t have the guts to fire into us, even with a machine gun.”

“We hope,” Murdock said.

The two jets screamed past the big ship a quarter of a mile away not over fifty feet off the water and roared into the distance showing fiery jet exhausts behind them.

“I’m always amazed at the raw power those jets have,” Captain Prestwick said. “I wonder if this will slow down the frigate at all? I better get back to the bridge.” He turned and left.

“Couldn’t we use the EAR on the frigate?” Howie Anderson asked.

“She won’t get close enough for that,” Murdock said. “They know about the patrol boats, that they were disabled. They won’t know how we did it, but they’ll stand off just to make sure. She might try to cut in front of us and make the liner turn, hoping to turn her all the way round and back into Chinese waters.”

“We just cleared that big island,” Howie said.

“Queen, I guess you heard us go by.”

“Skyhigh, you were low on that one. Any reaction from the frigate?”

“Not that we could see. She’s about a thousand yards behind you and gaining.”

“Anything else you can do, Skyhigh?”

“Only thing we’re authorized to do is fire some twenty millimeter over her bow. Discouragement.”

“We’re well within range of her guns, but I don’t think she’ll fire on us. Will she fire on you?”

“I don’t think so, unless we hit her with some of our warning shots. We’ll make damn sure not to hit the frigate. We’re moving on her now before she gets too close.”

Murdock and Howie ran to the other side of the ship where they had a better view of the dark shadow of the frigate boiling up behind them. Now she was about five hundred yards back.

The F18s came in one at a time, strafing with 20mm rounds across the bow of the destroyer thirty yards out. The big ship hesitated, then went back to full throttle.

Murdock and Howie Anderson ran up to the bridge and got in contact with the planes again.

“Queen, she isn’t going to give way. I can’t shoot her until she shows some aggressive act.”

“Understand, Skyhigh.”

“She’s coming closer,” Captain Prestwik said. “She’s trying to cut us off.”

Murdock touched the Motorola mike. “EAR guns, get on the port side, both of you now.”

Murdock watched the 350-foot-long Chinese frigate bristling with guns, rockets, and antennas charging toward them. The Chinese man-of-war was less than fifty yards behind them and Murdock felt his stomach twist.

“She’s not trying to cut us off, Captain, she’s going to ram us. EARs are you ready?”

Murdock listened to the earpiece.

“Go, go,” both SEALs said.

“When she gets to twenty-five yards and is still aimed at us amidships, blast the bridge and control area with three shots each. On my command.”

Murdock watched the Chinese frigate move closer, it turned away a moment, then came back heading directly for the side of the big luxury liner.

“Fire,” Murdock said into the Motorola mike.

“Captain, hard right rudder to get away from her.”

The captain hesitated, then gave the command and slowly the big ship began to turn away from the frigate.

The first two rounds hit the frigate’s bridge, but Murdock couldn’t tell if they penetrated through the row of windows. He watched the second two rounds hit and sensed a change in the big frigate. It slowed, then slowed more until it was simply coasting ahead on its momentum.

The shooters sensed it too and aimed their third shots at men near deck guns. The men went down and didn’t get up. The big luxury liner turned like a four hundred foot long log. Slowly, ever so slowly. The frigate came closer, closed the gap but it was only coasting along on the speed it had built up.

“Nobody at the controls,” Murdock said. “Our enhanced audio rifle knocked out everyone on the bridge. She’s dead in the water until new personnel realize something is wrong and rush to the bridge. By that time we’ll be well out to sea.”

They watched as the Queen veered away from the frigate that slowed and then stopped. It was a half mile behind them in minutes and the Captain shook Murdock’s hand.

“She was going to ram us, damage us so we would have to return to the closest port, Hong Kong. It would be reported as an accidental collision in the South China Sea. Those damn Chinese are always plotting, aren’t they?”

“They were this time.”

“Queen, what the hell happened down there?” Skyhigh asked on the SATCOM. “Looked like that frigate was going to slam into the Queen amidships, then she slowed and stopped.”

“Our secret,” Murdock said. “We zapped them with our new secret weapon. We knocked out everyone on the bridge. They’ll wake up in four hours with the granddaddy of all headaches.”

“Can we fit one on my eighteen?”

“Sorry, these are for grunts only. Thanks for slowing her down.”

“We’ll cap you until you’re outside their twenty-mile zone, then we better head for the home field.”

“Roger that, Skyhigh, and thank the Tomcats for us, too.”