Firestorm

32

The two sleek SU-27 jet fighters made one more low pass over the valley as if they were trying to see how low they could come to the ground, then pulled up and vanished.

"Playing games," Dewitt said. "Probably don't let them fly them all that much, it gets expensive, so they play around when their leash is cut."

"Wouldn't care if they stay away," Murdock said.

It was twenty-five minutes more before the trucks in the valley below pulled out with their Chinese soldiers. Then Red and Magic took their weapons, added more camo streaks to their faces, and headed up the hill.

"Check it out and come back," Murdock told them. "Don't get into a firefight with anybody. We don't want our Chinese brethren to know where we are."

Less than half an hour after the two men left to scout the new route, Jaybird called from the tunnel entrance.

"Might want to check this out, L-T."

Murdock looked down the valley and saw a formation of six medium-sized choppers churning along. Then they turned and the formation fell apart a little as they came straight up the valley toward the tunnel.

"They could be real trouble if they have even ten troops each," Jaybird said. "Big trouble."

They kept watching, and soon the birds wheeled to the left, did a 360, and headed back the way they had come. A minute later they were out of sight.

"Now what the hell was that all about?" Dewitt asked. "Were they ready to drop off troops to sweep this area?"

"Maybe they got some radio message that this one had been covered and they moved on to another zone," Murdock said. "It's good to remember they have that kind of mobility. They can get troops in faster and where trucks can't go. Which is bad news for us bears."

"I saw that movie," Jaybird said. "The Bad News Bears."

"Let's talk," Dewitt said. Murdock and Jaybird settled down near the entrance. "Our main objective is to get to the fucking coast where we can get wet and hope for a U.S. Navy pickup. How do we accomplish that?"

Jaybird shrugged. "Hell, we move east. We move silent at night and not get in any more firefights."

Murdock shook his head. "Ideal but impossible with all of the troops and equipment they have blocking us. We're going to have to go through one of these major units sooner or later to get our asses into the water. I hope it's later when we're on the coast road down there."

"There's a coast road?" Dewitt asked.

"My make-believe map doesn't show it, but there must be a coast road."

"So, just before we hit the water, we use the SATCOM and let Uncle know about where we are and that we want a pickup, and then we start swimming," Jaybird said.

"Without our rebreathers and our fins," Murdock said. "So we don't count on any five-mile swims."

"Don't forget, we've got two wounded," Dewitt said.

"We swim at the pace of our slowest man," Murdock said.

"So, how do we get to the coast?" Jaybird asked.

"I hope Red and Magic can tell us where the fuck it is," Murdock said. "That will help. Then we look over the terrain and make our plans."

"What about our ammo supply?" Dewitt asked.

"Jaybird, make a survey. Find out what ammo every man has left including for the AK-47's."

Murdock tried to remember the sketch maps they had seen of the China coast. He knew they had traveled south some, but mostly west to get away from Amoy. Then they had switched to a southern and easterly route, and now he wasn't sure where the hell they were. Maybe ten klicks from Amoy. But just where the Taiwan Strait was, he couldn't be sure.

Jaybird came back with the report. He'd written it all down in his ever-present notebook, a three-by-five-inch number with a spiral bind on the top. He was never without it.

He gave a rundown. The gist of it was that the men had about half of their ammo left. They had six AK-47s in good working order, had thrown away two that jammed. There were about seventy-five rounds for each of the 47's. Murdock had three magazines for his MP-5, and so did Dewitt. Murdock had an AK-47 as well.

"So, we can punish anybody who gets in our way," Murdock said. "Just which way are we heading?"

Ten minutes later Red and Magic came back. Red was laughing.

"Hell, we been going east all the time. We need to swing southeast. We could see the sun off the water out there. Must be six, maybe seven klicks. Quite a few small hills between us and Mother Water."

Magic got in his say. "Just over the top of the hill toward the south is another valley. Sweeps down maybe two miles. Didn't see nothing in it. No buildings, no people, no army, choppers, trucks, just nada."

"So, looks like we head south and east," Murdock said. "What time is it?"

Jaybird told him. "Almost 1700."

"Be dark in two hours. We move out of here then. Catch a quick nap or blow your nose. Tell the guys we'll be leaving combat ready at 1900."

Two hours later, just before they left, Murdock told them everything he knew. "We've got water southeast maybe five to seven klicks. That's our route. It'll be dark soon and we should be safe in these woods until then. Usual formation. No firing unless directed. We want to sneak and creep through here so the Chinese don't know where we are and zero in on us again."

They filed out of the tunnel in combat formation. Red led out as point man with Murdock and Holt coming behind. They spread out to five-yard intervals and moved up the hill.

Then minutes later Red sprawled in the grass and weeds looking over the brow of the hill. Murdock went down beside him.

"Anything?"

"Not a fucking thing moving down there. Be totally dark in ten. We wait or go on down?"

Murdock studied the area. There could be troops on both sides of the valley. They could walk into a cross fire.

"We wait for full dark. It looks too easy down there."

When they walked through the valley later, they ran into no opposition. It was empty and quiet.

They were almost at the end of the valley, where it opened on a larger flat area and slanted slightly to the east, when Red gave two clicks on the radio. Everyone hit the dirt. Red came back to Murdock.

"Company up front. Not sure how many. Sounded like a squad, maybe more. I smelled a fire. Might be cooking."

"Let's take a closer look," Murdock said. They worked up slowly, crawling the last twenty yards so they could see. They found two small cooking fires and ten soldiers crowded around. There was no attempt made at security, no effort to hold down noise or light from the fire. Why should they? This was their home turf.

The two SEALS crawled out of hearing range and then hurried back to the platoon. Murdock briefed them and sent the Second Squad to the left. He and the First Squad took the right. They formed in two lines at right angles to each other on the back side of the camp. It gave a cross fire with no danger of hitting friendly flesh.

Murdock gave the Second Squad five minutes to get in position and clear fields of fire. Then he leveled in with his AK-47 from forty yards out and fired. A soldier standing near the fire went down with a round through his chest. The rest of the SEALS opened up as well.

Murdock saw a second man near the fire take a round in the chest, and another in the head and pitch into the dirt. The soldiers scrambled for cover and their weapons. Only one shot was fired at the SEALS. Two Chinese caught rounds in their backs as they turned and tried to run out of the firelight.

The others huddled under any cover they could find. But cover from one side left them open to fire from the other side.

Thirty seconds after his first shot, Murdock hit his mike three times, a cease-fire order.

The weapons went silent. Murdock and his men moved up cautiously. One Chinese lifted up and fired a machine pistol. He missed the SEAL closest to him. Ron Holt fired his shotgun and the double-aught buck nearly cut off the soldier's head.

Seven of the ten Chinese lay dead on the ground. Nobody had shot at the fire. Jaybird checked the food. There was one large pot filled with rice that had cooked and was cooling.

"Hey, L-T," Doc called. "Look at this. A pair of chickens roasted to a turn. Anybody want to share?"

They tore the chicken apart while it was still hot and licked their fingers when it was gone. Some of the men dug into the rice. They found some hard biscuits of some kind, but passed on them.

"Ammo," Murdock said. "Find any AK-47 magazines you can. We might need them."

They reported fourteen magazines, and distributed them to the men with the AK-47's.

They moved out quickly, aware that their fire and the three men who got away would be spreading the word. Somebody would be on their tail again.

Soon they came to a small stream. "Canteens," Murdock said. "Put the pills in them and let's keep moving." They filled their canteens, added the Halazone tablets, and marched down the valley. It felt better now. They knew where they were going. They had seen water. Above all else they wanted to return to the sea from which they had emerged.

Murdock came up to Red twenty minutes later. He stood beside a dirt road waiting for the rest of them. The road angled to the right again.

"This angle should put us right back moving southeast," Red said. "Do we risk the road?"

"Damn right," Murdock said. "Maybe we can make better time and get to the water. Keep us moving."

They did make better time for twenty minutes. Then feeble headlights showed in front of them. Murdock used the radio to get everyone off the road into the dry ditches. He and Jaybird lay in the ditch waiting. When the truck came close enough to see, they could tell it was an older civilian rig. Murdock ran into the middle of the road holding his AK-47 over his head. A sequel of brakes sounded and the old rig shuddered to a stop and the engine stalled.

Jaybird ran up to the driver's side of the rig and jerked the Chinese out of the seat. He stumbled and fell, and when he hit the dirt two rounds from Jaybird's MP-5 tore into his chest.

Ross Lincoln ran up and checked the dashboard. He found a switch and hit it and the stalled engine turned over, fired, and caught. It was a farm truck with a stake body on it. Murdock looked in back. There were two bales of hay and some cans and a heavy tarp. They shoved off everything except the tarp and the men climbed in.

"This thing is older than I am," Murdock said. Lincoln drove, and Murdock and Ching rode in the front seat. They turned the truck around and drove south.

"Bound to be a village here somewhere," Ching said. "This isn't a bad road for rural China."

Murdock stopped the truck. "Is that tarp big enough to cover all you bravehearts?" he asked. They opened it up and tried. It would work. "If we need it, cover up everyone. May be a village up ahead."

They drove for ten minutes at the outrageous speed of thirty miles an hour. That was as far ahead as Lincoln could see the road with the faint headlamps.

Around a corner they saw lights ahead.

"A village," Ching said.

"Ching, you drive. Lincoln and I'll be in back. You might run into somebody we don't want to see in this little town. Play it cool as you can. If we have to, we'll shoot and scoot."

They got in back and tucked the tarp around all the SEALS. Murdock was at the driver side with his MP-5 ready and a good-sized hole in the front of the tarp that he could see through.

The village was little more than a collection of thirty or forty houses and a few stores closed for the night. They were almost through the town when a figure walked into the headlights and held up his hand. The man had a pistol on his belt and a garrison-type cap which Murdock guessed made him a local policeman.

Ching stopped the truck and the policeman walked out of the lights and up to the side of the rig.

Ching called a greeting to the man as he came up. The cop didn't answer, and tried to look inside the cab in the faint light. Murdock was sure the man could see little. The policeman barked something at Ching in Chinese.

Murdock lifted the MP-5 muzzle until it centered on the policeman's back and eased his finger to the trigger.