Firestorm

39

When the CH-46 landed on board the carrier a half hour later, Murdock refused a stretcher and walked with his men following the white shirt across the landing deck.

Two Navy corpsmen met them and ushered the four wounded to sick bay. Murdock made sure that Ronson, Frazier, and Fernandez were all being treated before he let the medics look at his arm. By that time it was dripping blood again.

The doctor shook his head as he cleaned out the wound.

"Slug went all the way through, missed most of the muscle tissue, but you won't be doing any push-ups for a while." The doctor was quiet for a moment. Then he looked at Murdock's buttocks and the backs of his legs. "Lieutenant, are those shrapnel wound scars?"

"Yes, sir."

"What I thought. I'm new here, haven't seen any from shrapnel before. It all come out yet?"

"Yes, Sir."

"You're one of the SEALS?"

"Yes, sir."

"Figures." They both laughed. When Murdock's arm was patched up, he checked on the other three. Fernandez was out of bed working on a tray full of food.

"They said I could have whatever I wanted," he said between mouthfuls.

Frazier's side wound looked worse, his doctor said. He'd be in sick bay for at least a week before he could be moved.

Horse Ronson sat up in bed and worked on a tray of food. His doctor told Murdock his concern.

"The bullet hit a bone, but didn't break it. Not even a hairline crack. It's going to be painful for at least a month after the bullet wound itself heals. Be sure you keep watch on him."

Murdock said he would.

Don Stroh tracked down Murdock and shook his hand.

"Next time, Don, don't cut it quite so fine. I figured that we had maybe twenty minutes left down there on China soil before those hordes would be all over us."

"I pulled every string I knew of, even some I didn't know about. I think the person-to-person with the two Presidents is what did it. Made old Lee Teng-hui so chagrined that we'd helped out his little island so much he just about had to come around. It was him or nobody."

Stroh brought out an envelope with satellite photos.

"You boys did one hell of a job. Take a look at your recent handiwork."

The photos showed the two Chinese Luda-class destroyers mired almost to their main decks in the mud and slime at dockside. The missile warehouse on the bay had been blown into kindling, and all the buildings for a block around it were flattened or burned to the ground.

"Our shots of the missile-assembly plant show a lot of repair trucks and other rigs around it and not much missile work getting done. What did you do inside that one?"

Murdock told him about disabling the elevator that led to the basement and flooding it with the fire hoses.

"Oh, your old man called about an hour ago. Wants to talk to you when you get here. Said he'd call back."

"How the hell does he know where I am?"

"He's a congressman. He can pull a lot of switches that I can't even touch."

Somebody handed Murdock a phone. "For you, sir," the sailor said. Murdock took the handset.

"Yes, sir, Murdock reporting sir."

A chuckle came from the other end. "Well, Blake? Aren't these newfangled phones and satellites just the best? How are you? Hear your mission is over and you're back on the U.S. shipping. Good. How did it go?"

"You should know that by now too, Dad."

"I'll get it tomorrow. Nice little picnic, but now it's time you have a leave. I'll talk with your CO out in Coronado. Why not come to D.C. and let that arm heal and you recuperate? You must have at least two months leave time by now.

"Fact is, your mother has a girl she wants you to meet. Now, don't say no right away. I sent a picture of her to Don Stroh. He should have it for you. Her name is Ardith. Take a look and then we'll see what you have to say."

"Dad, you know how I feel about Mom trying to pair me off."

"Yep, but she still does it. You'll be home in a couple of days. I'll call you in Coronado. Still hoping to get you into the legislative branch of government. You'll be invaluable on the Hill."

"I'm already in government service, Dad."

"Sure, sure. My job will be open in ten years or so. Want to groom you for it and then move you up to senator. Yes, sir, that would be fine."

Don Stroh came up with another envelope. He gave it to Murdock. He opened it automatically and out fell a picture of the most gorgeous girl Murdock had seen in years.

"Dad, I have Ardith's picture. Pretty."

"Yeah, she is. She's Ardith Manchester, the daughter of Senator Manchester of Oregon. And she's a lawyer, so sharp it makes my head spin. She's his chief of staff but will get snapped up by one of the bureaus or one of the secretaries' offices soon."

Murdock grinned. "Never can tell, Dad. I might be able to get free for a couple of weeks. Not going to do much with this arm for a while."

Jaybird came into the sick bay and looked at the picture. He growled. Murdock told his father good-bye and turned the picture around so Jaybird couldn't see it. "Get your own girl, swabby," Murdock said.

Jaybird laughed. "Just as soon as we get to San Diego, L-T. You can bet on that."

They all laughed and Murdock could feel the tension of the mission start to fade away. He smiled. It was good to be alive, to be back in friendly hands. He watched Jaybird and saw the dedication there. It stirred him. To hell with D.C. He was a SEAL. That got him to wondering about the next mission. Murdock was looking forward to it. As he lay there, he began to wonder just what their next assignment would be and where it would take him and SEAL Team Seven Platoon Three.