Firestorm

31

Murdock had sat at the mouth of the mine tunnel and watched day come to China. It was the first time he'd seen it — and, he hoped, the last. He stared out through the concealment of the brush in front of the opening. He could see what he figured was five miles to the east. There was no sign of the Taiwan Strait. How far were they from the water?

He wished he could push aside the ground mist and some haze as the day brightened. Some of it would burn off or blow away. Maybe then he could see the strait shimmering to the east.

Now he concentrated on the mission at hand. He had his men safe for the time being. He had spotted no military traffic below. Jaybird up in the lookout had seen nothing to alarm them. Only one truck had been spotted, and it had appeared to be a farm vehicle of some kind. It had driven into the valley about three miles out and stopped at a pair of low buildings.

Murdock wished he had a 20-power scope. Usually a SEAL had little use for one, but right now in this ground war phase of the mission, a long-range scope would be handy. As he watched, he saw a three-truck convoy roll from the left side of his view into the middle of the valley and stop. He could see figures leaving the trucks. They seemed to be talking about something. Then they all got back in the rigs and drove away past the rest of the valley and out of sight to the north.

The SEALS' luck was holding so far. All they needed was another ten hours of good fortune and they could head for the beach.

Two hours later, Murdock called Jaybird.

"Nothing doing, Skipper. All quiet out in front."

"Good. I'm sending Red up to replace you. Time for some shut-eye for you. He'll be up directly. Nothing new on the big radio so we don't know about any help coming."

Red woke up when Murdock shook his shoulder. He came awake at once ready for action. No warmup required.

"Yeah?"

"Take the lookout from Jaybird. I'll show you where it is. Keep your Motorola on and your eyes open. If we get any visitors who look like they will overrun this spot, get your ass back down here without being seen."

Red nodded and headed up the hill to where Murdock pointed.

Jaybird came back, waved at Murdock, and sacked out. Murdock called Dewitt over.

"You had any sleep?"

"Some."

"Good. My turn. If I'm out more than three hours, wake me. If any troops head this way, give me a yell. I'm due for a nap." Dewitt said he'd handle it, and went to the front to look out at the valley.

It was almost 1400 when Dewitt awoke Murdock.

"We got some company. Not sure how far they'll come this direction. Near as I can tell, there's about a hundred of them. A Chinese infantry company maybe."

Murdock came to his feet at once and went to the front of the tunnel.

At least a hundred, he decided as he watched the line of green-clad figures working slowly up the valley. They were spread thin over the mile-wide opening, but it was narrowing as they came forward. He saw four big trucks a mile behind the figures. They must be rushing men to every possible spot where the enemy could be and letting them sweep forward. Bad news.

The troops looked to be doing a good search job, poking into piles of brush and growth, checking out trees and the one building in the area below. They were still two miles away, but there was no indication they might stop their search.

"What do you think, Skipper?" Dewitt asked.

"Same as you. We wait and see how far they come. If they get here we hope to hell they don't find the opening to this tunnel. If they do we're fish in a barrel."

"But the odds are better staying in here than trying to run for it," Dewitt said.

"Agreed. We've used our skill and talents up to this point. Now we have to sit back and see how our luck is running. We win or lose on one throw of the fucking Chinese dice."

Murdock touched his throat mike. "Red, you still there?"

"That's a Roger."

"Better get your butt down here. Try not to leave any tracks, especially around the entrance. Want to have all of our chicks in one basket here."

"I'm moving. Over a hundred of them soldiers out there. Hope we don't need to tangle with them."

Both the officers watched the Chinese move ahead slowly. They were in a long line of skirmishers. The SEALS could see now that the men had their rifles slung over their shoulders with the muzzles down. They were out on a hike.

They came closer.

Twenty minutes later they were within a half mile of the tunnel. The opening had narrowed as they came up the valley. Murdock counted again and saw no more than fifty troops. Half of them must have split off and taken the valley next to this one. Good. Fifty was a hell of a lot better than a hundred.

Red joined Murdock and Dewitt inside the tunnel.

"Red, wake everyone up and get them ready to travel," Murdock said. "All gear stowed, everything set for a firefight. Check all weapons and have them locked and loaded."

"We busting out of here, L-T?"

"If we have to. Odds aren't so bad now, maybe four to one. I want the MP-5 guys first, then the CARS, and the heavy stuff behind." Jaybird came up rubbing his eyes. "I sleep that long?"

"No, you're still dreaming. Take a look out front." Jaybird did, then leaned back in. "Less than a quarter of a mile. They gonna make us in here?"

"Hope not. If they do, we crash out of here with the MP-5s chattering and head to the side, across the slant of the hill. See those trees over there maybe eighty yards? We'll make a stand there until we can bug out."

"Bug out?" Dewitt said. "I haven't heard that term for twenty years."

"It still works." Murdock went back to the front of the tunnel and stared through the branches of their handmade blind. The Chinese were closer now. They didn't seem dedicated to their search. He could hear some bantering and laughter. Now and then a sharp command came from someone, but soon the talking started again.

Directly ahead of the tunnel, he saw six Chinese soldiers working their search. They probed into heavy brush, trampled some down, checked a small stream that splashed by. They worked closer.

Someone yelled at them and they stopped and looked left and right. They were ahead of the line. They waited.

Murdock motioned Jaybird up with his MP-5. With hand signals he told Jaybird to take the left three and he had the right three. The soldiers were still a hundred feet away.

The platoon leader knew that he and Jaybird could waste these six and the rest of the Chinese wouldn't know it for a while. Then they could find the gap and close in and it would be a tough fight. If they hit the six, they would have to be in the process of moving out fast. They could hear the six men talking now. Murdock signaled Ching to come up. He listened, but shook his head. "A word here and there. They're too far away."

The three men watched as the soldiers moved closer. Murdock aimed at the three on his side and waited. Sweat popped out on his forehead. He hated waiting. All his years in the Navy had never taught him patience. He remembered the prayer his mother had told him once. "Lord please grant me patience — and do it right now!"

The Chinese were within fifty feet now, and Ching nodded. "They're talking about a leave they went on. Many girls, much wine, and plenty of food."

"Fucking big help," Jaybird said.

Now the soldiers looked left and right and slowed.

Murdock squirmed where he sat looking out from the hole. The Chinese moved again. Now they were within twenty feet of the blind made of cut-off branches rammed into the ground. If they hit it with their rifles, the whole thing might fall down revealing the tunnel.

The Chinese chattered again and Ching nodded. Then one of them held up his hand and the talk stopped. He looked to the left. The soldier laughed and waved at his buddies. He said something and they all cheered.

Murdock looked at Ching.

"Break time," Ching said. "They have a ten-minute rest period and can drink water if they have any."

The six men looked around, then walked forward to within six feet of the blind and sat down in the shade.

Murdock signaled Jaybird to move back. He and Ching sat near the opening watching the Chinese. They drank from canteens, laughed, and talked.

Ching listened, but couldn't even whisper what they were saying. They were so close Murdock could smell their sweat. He looked at his watch. Ten minutes would be an eternity. Then where would the six Chinese soldiers go? If they found the blind and the entrance to the tunnel, it would be time for the SEALS to shoot their way out and get over to that patch of thicker trees. He'd lose some men, he knew. There were just too many Chinese out there.

They waited.

Murdock held up five fingers. Ching nodded.

After nine minutes on Murdock's watch, the Chinese soldier evidently in charge of the others stood, yawned, and stretched. He said something and the others stood. They talked back at him, and he shouted something and they quieted. He waved, and they began walking away from the blind.

Murdock looked at Ching. When the soldiers were twenty feet away he whispered. "He said they were moving back to the trucks. The search here was over."

Murdock took his finger off the trigger of his room broom. It was over for the moment.

Ed Dewitt came up and looked out. He nodded. "About time we got a little good luck for a change. Where will they go when they get in the trucks?"

"They said something about getting back to the trucks and moving down four kilometers," Ching said. "Damn glad they closed off the search right there."

"Anybody who wants to sleep can sack out," Murdock said. "We'll have a long night of it, so better get some rest while you can. Frazier, you'll be on the lookout as soon as it's safe to take a hike up there."

Murdock looked around until he spotted Red Nicholson. "How you doing, sailor?"

"Good. I'm good. What do you need?"

"Soon as it's safe to leave, want you and Magic to go up and over this mountain and see what's on the other side. Also hope you can see the water out to the east."

"Will do."

Ed Dewitt called to Murdock from the opening. "Better come see this."

Murdock bent down and looked out just in time to see two jet fighters go roaring across the valley not more than five hundred feet off the ground.

"The Russian-built jets are back," Murdock said. "Now I wonder what those Chinese are up to this time."