It had double locks on a hinged door. Less secure than the previous one. Quinley applied TNAZ blocks, molding them around both hinges on the four-foot-wide door. The SEALs moved back down the hall fifty feet, and a moment later Quinley came racing down the steps and around the corner, putting his hands over his ears.
The explosions were sharper this time, and just as effective. The steel gate sagged to the side, blown off both hinges but still fastened with the lock. They kicked the gate open further and hurried through. Murdock motioned his men along both walls, and he pointed at Red Nicholson, his scout.
Red went up the corridor, and around a corner. He was back in half a minute. "Bingo, L-T. We've got cell blocks up here, but they're all empty."
"How many?"
"A bunch. Extend to hell and gone to the left and right."
"No prisoners?"
"Nary a damned one, L-T, and two security gates like this one are wide open."
"Let's go have a look."
It was as Red had said. They jogged down the aisle in the center. The cells were open, but showed signs that they had been used recently.
Loudspeakers boomed.
"All prisoners, this is general lock-down. A general lock-down. No prisoner will be outside his cell. Any so found will be shot on sight."
Murdock scowled. Where the hell were the American prisoners? He put his men on double time, and they ran down the cell block. Twenty yards ahead, a stuttering machine gun sent a rain of bullets toward them. They flattened out, and four men in the front of the line of SEALs returned fire.
The lighting was faint in the cell blocks, but with their NVGs they spotted two Kenyan soldiers ahead working with a jammed gun. Red used his M-4A1 and cut down both men with two bursts. The SEALS ran forward.
The two Kenyans had guarded a cross corridor. This security gate was shut tight. Ahead they could see more cell blocks, but better lighted.
"Do it, Quinley," Murdock said. It was routine now. Quinley hit the gate on the hinges again, and the SEALS were through in thirty seconds.
When the sound of the blast died down and their hearing came back to normal, they could hear men chattering somewhere. They listened. English.
Murdock motioned his men down the corridor. Almost at once it opened into a catwalk over a huge room with two floors of cell blocks and guards patrolling below. Murdock hit his mike. The green-clad troopers were looking around after hearing the explosions. Some had cowered behind cover.
"Got them," Murdock said into the mike. "Looks like our guys. Go to the floor. Fire over the ramp. Watch for any ricochets into the cells. Those are our boys down there. Don't fire until we're at the other end. Then use the silenced shooters."
He left DeWitt's crew there, and with his seven men moved slowly and silently along the catwalk-like structure to the far end. It was about fifty yards.
They used the silenced MP-5s when Murdock turned them loose. DeWitt's crew nailed three of the Kenyan ranger guards before they knew what happened. Murdock's squad cut down four more on his end of the cell block.
A moment later every light in the cell-block area went out. Murdock grinned in the blackness. "Good, we use the NVGs. We can see them, they can't see us."
Murdock used the mike. "DeWitt, spread out your men to cover this area. I'll take my guys down some stairs I see ahead. Must be a control area here somewhere. We need it to get those cell doors open."
"Hey, you guys up there. Americans, right?" The voice came from below. A shot blazed in the darkness from below.
"Yes. Keep quiet so they don't shoot you. Stay cool," Murdock yelled. A round came his way, but missed. He moved his squad out to the door. He and Red went down the steps cautiously. They found two guards below bewildered by the blackout.
Red moved up on one and clubbed him with his rifle butt, and gunned down the other man. They dragged the dazed Kenyan back, but then realized he might speak no English. Murdock slapped him back to consciousness.
"Die in ten seconds or talk to us in English," Murdock snarled.
The man groaned, felt his head, and looked to where he could make out the vague shadows. "Yes, English. Who the hell are you?"
"We ask the questions. Where are the cell-block control panels?"
"End of corridor to left. Not far."
"Good, you might live through this. How many soldiers and guards here?"
"Only fifty soldiers. Guards all run away."
"Let's go to the control panel. We can see in the dark. Lead the way. Remember, you yell a warning, you're dead."
The soldier nodded. They lifted him to his feet. Nicholson twisted one arm behind his back and held it, and let him walk ahead. They passed up sure shots on two guards down the corridor as they turned left into another smaller hallway. At the end, they came to a door. The man motioned toward it.
"Get them to open it," Murdock whispered. "Say it in English."
The Kenyan nodded. The black man pounded on the door. "Open up, open up! Orders from the commander!"
Nothing happened. He pounded the door again and yelled the same words.
Again, nothing happened. "Red, go bring up Quinley. This is another metal door, probably an electric lock. We'll blow it."
Murdock heard some of the 4-A1 rifles firing from where they had been. Good, only fifty defenders. Much better odds.
Quinley came puffing up with his extra load of explosives. He looked at the metal door through his NVGs.
"Lock looks too tough. I'll hit it and the two hinges. Three shots of TNAZ. Get back around the corner when she blows." He worked on the door as he spoke. He put timer detonators in each of the three chunks of explosive, all set for ten seconds. He got the SEALs back, then pushed in each timer, activating all three, and sprinted for the corner and around it. He had his hands over his ears. The other SEALs did the same, as did the captured Kenyan soldier, who was still with them.
The three sharp explosions were magnified by the narrow spaces. The sound, and a pair of shock waves, roared through the tunnel-like passages. This time they sounded like three 155's going off in your clothes closet.
Red Nicholson was first around the corner with his stubby rifle set for automatic. The door had been blown off both hinges and had pivoted inside still connected to the twisted locking mechanism. A stunned dark-green-clad soldier came out waving a rifle. Nicholson blew him backwards with a three-round burst and charged in after him. The dead Kenyan was the only man in the control center.
The lights were all still out. There had to be a master switch somewhere. Murdock looked at the control panels. All of the labels and directions were written in Swahili and in English.
"Jaybird, find the right buttons and open the cell doors," Murdock said. Murdock left Ken Ching to back up Jaybird and deal with the captured Kenyan, and took the other five men with him toward the cell block. Just as they rounded the corner, a squad of six rangers opened fire. The SEALs jolted back.
Ronson let out a yelp and then gritted his teeth.
"Check him, Doc," Murdock said.
Ronson had taken a round through his right forearm. Doc rolled back his sleeve, and put a compress over it.
"Hold that tight while I get some supplies," he told Ronson.
"Oh, damn. What's that, an AK47 slug?" Ronson asked.
"Probably," Doc said. He pulled his pack around and took out some larger squares of gauze, and a short stretch bandage like an Ace. He sprinkled the wound with some antiseptic and healing powder, put on two new squares of gauze, and then wrapped it tightly with the stretch bandage and fastened it with a double-hook clip.