Last Op

Chapter 11

Flying about two miles off the coast, the Sea King started making several passes along that stretch of water. Nothing had been spotted during the flight out. The pilot turned east, maneuvering the chopper closer inland, then started the same routine, flying north, south, then reverse. With the speed and direction of the current, any debris should have floated closer to the beach.

Grant and Adler sat at the edge of the cargo doorway, dressed in wetsuits, booties, and swim fins, their masks hanging around their necks.

“See anything yet, Joe?” Grant continued looking at the water passing under the chopper.

Adler pressed the binoculars against his eyes, moving his head slowly, trying not to miss one square inch. “Nothing, skipper. Not even a life vest. You sure we’re in the right area?”

“Can’t be sure, that’s why I asked Lieutenant Norris to fly this route. That eighteen footer couldn’t have gone farther out with one small engine. I’m bettin’ somebody was out here waiting for those two men.”

The chopper started banking as Grant heard, “Captain Stevens!” The co-pilot, Lieutenant Taylor, stepped behind him. “Sir, we’re coming up on something. You should be able to see it any time now.”

Both Grant and Adler leaned forward, trying to catch sight of the debris. “I see it, skipper! Two o’clock!”

The pilot reduced speed then slowly brought the chopper to hover fifty feet above the water.

“Looks like it might be part of a door. There’re some broken planks.” Adler lowered the glasses. “Are we gonna go take a peek?”

Grant looked up at Taylor. “Lieutenant, can you take us down to ten feet?”

“Our pleasure, sir! What speed?”

“No more than ten knots. We’ll signal when we’re ready for extraction,” Grant said.

Taylor gave a thumb’s up, then relayed the order to Lieutenant Norris.

In order not to disturb the floating debris, the pilot maneuvered the chopper farther away. The lower the chopper got, the more water swirled and kicked up.

Grant and Adler were ready. They sat in the doorway waiting for the “go” signal. They rubbed some spit inside their masks, put them on, and adjusted the straps.

The green light came on. With their arms close to their chests, their hands pressing their masks against their faces, they left the chopper, first Grant, then Adler three seconds later.

Popping up to the surface, they signaled Taylor with a fist high in the air. Taylor saluted, then stood-by.

Grant and Adler started swimming toward the debris. The current was strong. The debris field had already drifted well past where the smoke had been first spotted.

Grant called, “Gonna take a look!” He pointed down. Taking a deep breath, he disappeared beneath the surface.

He dove straight down, then started swimming back and forth, slowly expanding his search. He looked up, seeing Adler swimming through debris.

The odds of finding anything were slim to none, but he had to give it a shot. If they had more time, he’d have the chopper take them farther north.

He looked down one more time before he started his ascent, breaking the surface about five feet from Adler. Spitting some water from his mouth, he asked, “Anything?”

Adler was hanging onto a large piece of wood, part of a door. He held it toward Grant. “This is what I saw from the chopper. Appears to be some blackening around the edges. With all these pieces, it looks like this boat went ‘boom’ big time.”

Grant examined the wood. “Seen anything with numbers?”

“Not yet.” Adler shoved the wood away.

Treading water, they maneuvered their way through a field of broken, burned debris, most too small to recognize.

“Wait a minute,” Adler called, as he reached for something. He swam back to Grant. “Is this what you’re looking for?”

Grant reached for the piece of wood slightly bigger than his hand. Located near the jagged edge was part of the number five and what looked like the letter J. “What the hell would I do without you?”

“Not much!” Adler laughed. “Have you seen enough? Should I signal for the chopper?”

“Do it!”

Adler lit off the flare then held it high overhead. Within seconds of spotting the red smoke, Norris aimed the chopper for the extraction point.

Taylor double-checked that one end of the ladder was secured, then he dropped the rest over the side. He stood by, ready to assist.

Below, Grant and Adler fought the heavy wash spraying over them and swam toward the ladder. Adler reached up and grabbed hold, then started climbing, with Grant right behind him.

Once they were aboard, Taylor asked, “Where next, sir?”

Grant replied, “Take us back to St. Mawgan, Lieutenant.”

“Aye, aye sir.” Taylor returned to the cockpit.

Adler took off his face mask, then pushed his hood back. “So, what now?”

Grant laid his swim fins behind him. “Quick call to Torrinson first. Then… well, then we’ve gotta find that bastard Webb.”

“You think he went the way of that other guy, what’s his name? Carter?”

Grant put his foot up on the deck and rubbed his leg. “Wouldn’t surprise me, Joe, but I sure as hell hope not. We need to run our own form of G2 (interrogation) on him. Some serious shit is about to happen and we can’t find the players.” He picked up the piece of wood, running his finger over what was left of the number five. “Can’t screw around anymore. How are those nimble fingers of yours?”

Adler held up his hands, wiggling all his fingers. “Just say the word and these little digits will perform more than admirably!”

The chopper touched down on the field behind the EOD building. While Norris shut down the engine, Taylor rushed from the cockpit. He stopped near the door, just as Adler and Grant jumped out. “Everything okay, sirs?”

“We’re good, Lieutenant, and thanks for the help!” Adler responded.

“Any time, sir!” Taylor replied.

“You’re not off the hook, yet,” Grant laughed, as he grabbed his swim fins from the deck. “We may need your services again real soon, so I’d like you to remain on base. Contact your C.O. and give him a heads-up. If he needs further authorization, ask him to contact Admiral Torrinson at NIS in D.C.”

“Yes, sir. Where should we contact you?”

“Just call EOD.” It dawned on him how much he’d said that lately. He gave a quick “thank you” salute. He and Adler ran across a field of damp grass, heading for EOD.

Henley came running around the side of the building, stopping short when he saw the two men. “Did you find anything?” he asked anxiously.

Grant caught his breath and answered, “Not much. Look, we’ve gotta get out of these wetsuits. Meet you in your office in twenty.” Not waiting for a response, he headed to the barracks with Adler running alongside him.

Henley was sitting behind his desk, swiveling back and forth, puffing on a cigarette and drinking Coke. He swallowed the last mouthful, then threw the can in the trash. Looking at his watch, he reached for the phone to call his wife, when a knock at his door interrupted him. “Come!”

Grant came in ahead of Adler. “Did you get any word from RAF search and rescue, Jack?”

Henley smashed the cigarette in the ashtray. “No bodies had been spotted. They patrolled along the coast but still hadn’t seen any.”

Adler had posted himself next to the door, just waiting for Grant to say something, to come up with their next move. He watched silently as Grant paced back and forth. Finally, he decided to offer his own opinion. “I’m thinking those two got a ride back to the beach. You, too?”

Grant stopped and slapped him on the shoulder. “Two great minds, my friend!”

Then he turned to Henley. “Jack, what’s that brother-in-law of yours look like? Describe him.”

“About five eight, light brown hair, kinda long but not quite to his shoulders. It doesn’t look anything like it did when he was in the RAF. He’s got brown eyes. Part of his right eyebrow is missing from an accident when he was a kid, apparently. Wait a minute.” He reached into the middle drawer of his desk, pulling out a photograph. “Here’s a picture of him and Victoria. It’s not too recent, but he looks about the same.”

Grant examined the color photo, memorizing facial features. The two didn’t look much alike. Victoria had blue eyes, straight blond hair just to her shoulder, and was about five inches shorter than her brother. There was something about the look on her face. She was smiling, but it seemed like a forced smile.

He handed the photo to Adler before asking Henley, “Anybody check out his house or flat? I think you said he lived in St. Columb Major.”

“It’s a flat, and no, none of us have checked it.”

“And the last time you saw or talked with him?”

“The night you and I met at Sailor’s. I don’t know if Vicky’s called him, but they usually don’t talk every day.”

Grant sat on the corner of the desk. “Something else to put on the list,” he said under his breath. “Does he usually just take off?”

“Maybe just during this past year. Every once in awhile we wouldn’t hear from him for a couple of days at a time.”

“Any explanation from him?”

Henley shook his head. “He’s a grown man. None of our business, although we suspected he took off for some party-time away from here. And since it’s the weekend, I wouldn’t be surprised if he already left town.”

“With anybody in particular?”

“Don’t know.”

Grant’s eyes narrowed. “Seems you know very little about your own brother-in-law, Jack.”

Henley started to respond when he heard Becker from the outer office. “Commander!”

“Come on in, Chief.”

Becker poked his head in the doorway. “Sir, a call just came in from the Brit CID office downtown. They want Captain Stevens to pay them a visit… today, sir.”

Henley shot a glance at Grant before saying, “Okay, Chief. That’ll be all.”

“Yes, sir.” Becker closed the door.

Grant decided the situation was getting out of hand, especially when it came to Henley and his wife, because Colin Webb was a major suspect.

“Jack, I think Victoria needs to be protected. We’ve got to get her away from here.”

Henley looked at him. Part of him couldn’t believe what was happening, and the other part was angry as hell. “And where the fuck do you suggest she go, Grant? Where?!”

Grant didn’t hesitate. “We’ll put her on a chopper to Mildenhall and make sure she’s guarded twenty-four seven. Think she’ll be safe there, Jack?”

Henley could only stare at Grant. “Christ! Jesus Christ, Grant!” He slammed both fists on the desk. “How the hell did it come to this?! I know one thing. When this shit’s over, I’m resigning.”

“Knee-jerk reaction, Jack, and you know it.” He started to reach for the phone. “Look, I’m gonna need one of the vehicles.”

Henley swung his chair around toward the window, flicking a hand over his shoulder. “Sure. Anything you want.”

Grant stared at Henley’s back as he said to Adler, “Joe, check with Chief Becker. Have him get a vehicle ready for us.”

“Are we gonna need any gear?” Adler pointed with two fingers and a thumb up, meaning weapons.

Grant nodded. “And bring a couple of radios.” Adler left. “Jack, call your wife. Tell her you’ll be home late and for her to be ready to leave when you get there.”

Henley spun his chair around. “What the hell am I…?”

“Come up with any excuse that works, Jack… but she’s gonna be on that chopper to Mildenhall. I’ll contact the pilots. They should’ve gotten authorization by now.” He walked over to the door. “I’ll use the phone in the outer office. Call her now, Jack.”

As Grant closed the door behind him, Adler stepped closer. “Skipper, got a vehicle fueled and ‘froggy’ and the gear’s on board. Chief Becker and I coordinated the radio frequencies.”

“Thanks, Joe.” One short call and Grant got confirmation from the chopper pilots. They’d be ready for passengers.

He decided to put off the visit to Brit CID. Marine Lieutenant Colonel Donaldson was more important. Security for the nukes had to be stepped up.

“Let’s go, Joe.”

On the way to the EOD van, Adler said, “In case you’re wondering, I called the admiral when I arrived here.”

“Haven’t had time to call him, Joe. Been running ‘balls to the wall’ these past few hours. Any idea if he’s had that meeting with State?”

“He said he met with SECDEF and SECNAV.”

“Anything about SIS being brought in?”

“Negative. I mean, he didn’t bring it up.”

“Guess we’re still on our own then.”

“That’s a good thing, isn’t it?” Adler laughed, as he got into the passenger side of the van.

“Maybe not this time.”

It wasn’t the answer Adler was expecting. “I guess you’re right.”

Grant opened the driver’s door, seeing his .45 in the holster with a loaded clip laying next to it. He took out the weapon, then rammed the clip in. He slid the weapon back into the holster.

“But tell me, skipper, what the hell just happened back there?”

Grant attached the belt around his waist. “You mean between me and Jack?”

“Yeah. I wasn’t exactly hearing friend-to-friend chatter.”

“I don’t know,” Grant answered, shaking his head, “but he’s scared shitless about something. He just won’t talk.”

“Maybe he just needs time.”

“It’s something none of us have, Joe.”

“So what’s next then? We going to see the cops?”

Grant adjusted the holster on his hip, as he slid behind the steering wheel. “Not yet. Need to talk with the marine C.O.”

“Okay, but I’ve gotta tell you something,” Adler said in all seriousness.

“I suppose you’re hungry.”

“Damn straight! I’m up for trying some good English food.”

“How about fish ‘n’ chips or a Cornish pasty?”

“I need more than a pastry!”

“Pasty! Pasty! A complete meal in a compact design, easy to carry, good for travel,” Grant laughed as he backed out of the parking space.

“I’ll give it a shot.”

“Afraid you’re gonna have to wait. More important shit to do first.”

“That’s cruel. That’s damn cruel!”

“Here,” Grant said, reaching into his pocket. “Chew on this!” Adler took the Snickers and stripped off the wrapper.

Grant put the van into drive, when he saw Henley in the rearview mirror, running after him, waving almost frantically. He hit the brakes.

“What the hell…?” Adler spat out, bracing his hands against the dashboard.

“Something’s goin’ on,” Grant replied. He rolled down the window, and ducked his head out just as Henley got to the van. “What’s wrong, Jack?”

Henley grabbed the door frame with both hands. “Victoria! She’s not answering the phone!”

“Why the panic? She could just be… ”

“No! No! She doesn’t have a car. There’s no place for her to go at this hour. She’s always home getting dinner ready. Something’s wrong, Grant! I’m sure of it!”

Grant slammed the gearshift into park. “You drive!”

Adler was already climbing into the back seat. Grant slid over to the passenger side. “Go!”