Firestorm

8

Somewhere in the afternoon or evening they had eaten. Food had been brought to them in the classroom as they worked over plans and equipment and details for each of the four missions. An officer came in from the commo room.

"Lieutenant Murdock, we have confirmation from the satellite photos. There is a definite buildup of aircraft and personnel around the airfield near Foochow. It's a definite."

Murdock thanked the ensign and hurried over to the table detailing the strike on the airfield. He told them the news and they adjusted their plans, mostly for transport, infiltration, and egress.

At the Amoy table he checked the plans. They looked solid. He talked to Lieutenant Dewitt.

"So we go first on the nuke. That's up at Fuching. Fine. If all goes well we get in and out in an hour. Then we need to move our asses all the way up to Foochow. That's over thirty klicks, and how the hell we gonna get there?"

"Use our IBSS in and out of the island and the nuke, right?" Dewitt asked. "Probably the best, give us a base of operation."

"We bug off the nuke island after our hit, then call in our handy-dandy little submarine for a joyride thirty miles north. At twenty knots, that's going to take an hour and a half. Lots of night still left."

"Then we move into this airfield. The only trouble, it's about five miles inland." Murdock figured it could be done. Two missions the same night was nothing new to them.

"Yeah, a long walk but not a tough one," Dewitt said, "All we have to do is not make any noise or rouse any Chinese farmers or villagers."

"So we get in, no problem," Murdock said. "Getting out might be a little hairier. They'll have choppers to throw at us if they can find us. And those damn jets of theirs, the SU-27s, are no slouches. They can carry a shit-pot of missiles and bombs."

"So we get in, do our job, and get out before the sun comes up," Dewitt said. "Sounds interesting. We taking both squads on each mission?"

"So far that's the plan," Murdock said. He heard someone come in the door and looked up. He couldn't believe it. His father, the U.S. Congressman, who should be back in his office in Washington D.C., taking care of business. Murdock pushed away from the table and went to meet his father. He grabbed his hand and pulled him toward the door. In the companionway he frowned at the politician.

"what are you doing here?"

"Checking up on you. I'd been in Taipei on a fact-finding trip and I heard that some of our SEALS were out here. I took a chance one of them was you. Oh, it just happens that Captain Slash Victor who runs this floating island is a longtime friend of mine. Called him from Taipei and he said, yes, indeed you were on board."

Congressman Murdock chuckled. "Hey, swabby, a congressman has more clout than an admiral, especially when he's on the House Military Affairs Committee."

Lieutenant Murdock nodded. "To say the least, you are one hell of a surprise. We're right in the middle of planning one of the biggest operations I've ever been on. I should get back."

"Take ten and let me talk to you. If those men of yours are as good as everyone says, they can get along without you for ten damned minutes."

The SEAL nodded, led his father into the classroom, and tapped the coffeepot the mess steward had set up at the far end of the room. They found a small table and two chairs and sat down to sip their brew.

"I've got something in my pocket I can't help telling you about," the older man said. "It's an absolute plum, a situation that only comes along once every ten years or so. It's all mine."

"Dad, I told you before."

The congressman held up his hand, cutting off his son. His voice was low, yet intense. No one could hear him except Blake Murdock.

"A man high up in the Administration owes me. It's time to collect and I want to make it count. You can do ten times the good for our country in this spot as you can out here getting all wet and getting shrapnel in your ass."

The congressman chuckled. "You bet I heard about your last little job over there in Lebanon. This spot is one that would bring you an immediate promotion to full commander and one of the top spots in the Navy."

"Dad, I know you mean well, but I'm happy doing what I'm doing. This is important work."

"Probably, but so is being the top aide to the Chief of Naval Operations. Admiral Lucian Quenton."

Blake looked at his father as his own jaw dropped. He was rarely surprised, but this time he couldn't find a thing to say. He stared at his father and shook his head. At last his vocal cords came under his control.

"You said top aid to the CNO?"

"Right. I've talked with Lucian about you. He says he couldn't be happier with anyone else. He'll be delighted to have you on board."

Blake Murdock could grin now. He knew his father. The old politician wasn't telling the whole story.

"Dad, didn't Admiral Quenton say something else after you tossed my name in the hat?"

The congressman moved around in the hard Navy chair. Then he sipped his coffee and looked away. He took a deep breath and then nodded.

"Yeah, he said you would turn me down."

"Dad, he was right. I talked to him this morning by radio. He gave me this new mission. It's important. So important I can't even tell you what it is. This is a job that must be done, and right now my men and I have been tabbed to take on the load. We do the job or we go down the hard way trying, and if we go down, the whole damn United States and the West is in heavy shit right up our eyeballs."

Blake stood and held out his hand. "Dad, thanks for stopping by. I'm sure you can get transport back to Taipei and then finish your junket."

"Oh, damn. I didn't think it would be this hard. I should have known. I had hopes that after this stint of maybe five years with the CNO I'd set you up to run for my seat in Congress, then six years later you'd get elected to the Senate, then in about ten years we'd make a big boost and run you for President."

Blake laughed. "You're a dreamer, Dad."

"Oh, somebody else said to give you a big hello. Jeannie Reilly."

Blake grinned. "Little Jeannie. Haven't thought of her for years. What's she doing now?"

"She's a lawyer, working for State. Damned good, from what I hear. Graduated second in her class at Harvard Law a few years back."

"Little Jeannie. We were quite a pair in high school."

"Always figured you two would get married." The congressman darted a quick look at his son. "Wonder if it's too late for anything to develop there."

"Way too late, Dad. Now I really do need to get back. We have four separate missions two hundred miles apart and the coordination is vital. Thanks for coming."

Lieutenant Blake Murdock shook his father's hand again, walked him to the door and waved, then closed it behind the congressman.

Murdock headed for the nuke table. It was well past time that they settled on the type and numbers of weapons for each man and what kind of explosives they would carry. Then there was the timing they would need. When would they insert into the Taiwan Strait from the submarine? When would they get picked up again by the undersea craft?

The serious business of getting the detailed planning for each of the four missions moved along.