“Commander, I’m Lieutenant Commander Murdock reporting with my seven men for this recon.”
“Welcome on board, Commander. I’m Martin London. Some of our people took British names when the British ruled our country. I hope this will be a quieter trip than my last one.” London was about five-six and square-cut like an oak beam. He looked all military, and had deep-set eyes that almost were lost in his intensely black face. Murdock knew that this man was exactly what you saw. He would have no pretenses and would say precisely what he thought.
“You were shot up pretty good as I’ve heard,” said Murdock. “We have no plans to draw any fire. In fact, we’ll go without running lights. No lights showing of any kind except red interior ones if you use them. I need some personal input on the river, the land, and the people.”
“I understand perfectly. I’ve seen films of your team’s work. You are excellent at what you do. I commend you. I just hope that our forces will never have to come up against your men.”
“I don’t see how that would ever happen.”
“Let’s hope it doesn’t, Commander. Strange things are going on in my country these days. Are you ready to shove off?”
“Ready, Commander.”
They left the dock at 1815. Murdock had been assured that it would be totally dark at 1900 this time of year. The craft would make seven knots upstream, so they wouldn’t be in the danger zone before darkness fell.
Murdock settled back along the rail and watched the river. It was slow-moving, and trees, plants, and vines grew almost to the water’s edge. He wasn’t sure how close they were to the equator, but it couldn’t be far away. His cammies had been sticking to his back all day, and he looked forward to a slightly cooler time once the sun set.
There had to be fish in the water, but he didn’t see any signs. Plenty of bugs swarmed around the water, but no fish was interested. Along the edge of the water he saw several people. One was carrying a load of firewood on his back. He could be walking into the city to sell it. Murdock spotted smoke from what could be cooking fires. The smoke lifted out of the trees and went straight into the air.
Once he saw three children splashing in the water. It was almost dark when he spotted an opening in the trees. A small stream came in from the side, and along each side were open spaces that had been planted with some type of row crops — vegetables, he guessed. Then the night closed in and he could see little.
The pilot of the craft moved out into the middle of the forty-yard-wide river. The speed of the water increased as the shores came closer together.
Murdock wasn’t sure what he would find up here. There were few boats along the river. He could hire a fishing boat if he had to, but this worked better right now. It tied in the local military so they wouldn’t get uptight about a foreign contingent barging into their territory. If it wasn’t for the Vice President, the locals would never have agreed to the SEALs’ visit. Now he had to make the best of it and get something accomplished. Like snatching the Vice President back from the rebels whether he wanted to come or not. That could be a problem later, but for now he was content to do his recon and see where they went from there.
The coxswain cut the forward speed as the night deepened. He had only a silver moon shining off the water to go by. Then a large fire blossomed on the left-hand shore. Murdock wondered what it was for.
“Spooky,” Jaybird said from just behind Murdock. “Why are they having a bonfire?”
“Let’s go over and see,” Murdock said. Commander London appeared at Murdock’s side.
“Must be a celebration of some kind. Our people go overboard with ceremonies and festivals. You want to come in over there? As I remember, there is a small dock there we could tie up to.”
“Let’s do it, Commander. SEALs front and center. Going to take a walk. Bring your weapons, but keep the muzzles pointing down. Everyone up to speed?” He heard soft replies. He made a net check on the radio, and everyone sounded off in sequence.
The boat nudged a used tire bumper tied to the dock, and quick hands tied up the boat.
“I’ll go with you,” Colonel London said. “Might be able to smooth the way some for you.”
The fire now showed fifty yards away through some trees. They took a well-used path, and slowed when they came closer.
“Yes, it’s a wedding,” London said. “People out here go all out on weddings. Sometimes the party lasts a week.”
“Why don’t we stay in the shadows here,” Murdock said. “Could you bring over two or three of the guests we could talk to?”
“What we came to do, I guess,” the boat captain said. He walked away, and a short time later brought three men back with him. One was so drunk he could hardly walk. But he could talk.
“Have you heard of Mojombo Washington?” Murdock asked him.
He looked at the boat captain and grinned. “Oh, sure. Yes. Big man in the jungle. Wants to throw out the government. Hear him every time he goes past in his boat.”
“Do you agree with him?” Murdock asked.
“Will this sailor shoot me?”
“No one will hurt you.”
“Well, most of us like Mojombo. He’s trying to help us. We bring him food to help feed his soldiers.”
“Most of the village people feel this way?” Murdock asked.
“Most, except the spies for the Army. We hate the spies.”
They talked to the other two men, and both said about the same thing.
“Let’s get back to the ship,” Murdock said. He looked at the Sierra Bijimi officer as they walked. “How far are we from Sierra City?”
“Eleven or twelve miles.”
“Let’s try the next village,” Murdock said.
In the boat Murdock talked with the captain again. “You think that General Assaba knows how loyal these villagers are to Mojombo?”
“He doesn’t want to know. He wants to hang on as long as he can. I have no respect for him. He isn’t even a real general. He’s never fired a gun except to kill someone in cold blood.”
“You’ve seen him kill a person?”
“I was his Naval advisor until he realized he didn’t need one. Yes, I saw him murder three men he suspected of plotting against him. All were good Army officers.”
“Would you testify to that on a videotape for me?”
“No. Never. It would be my death warrant. I’ll never go against the government. Not until someone shows me that he has the guts and skill and the manpower to win. Mojombo doesn’t have it yet. He could. We’ll just have to wait and see.”
The next village was only fifteen minutes up the river. They came to a rickety dock, and Murdock, London, and the men got wet getting to shore. Commander London found two men they talked to. Both said about what the men at the first village did.
One looked closely at the boat captain. “Are we going to get in trouble with the Army?”
“No,” Murdock said. “This man is our guide. No one will harm you for saying what you think.”
On the walk back to the boat, Murdock turned to the commander. “I trust that none of this talk will be repeated to anyone in the military.”
“I have no report to make out on this trip. I will tell no one. My only hope is that your and your men might hasten the day when we can have a truly democratic government and a strong military.”
As the boat neared the dock in Sierra City after the fast downstream run, Commander London took Murdock aside. “I’ll do one thing for you, Navy SEAL. I’ll report to Colonel Dara that the population we talked to were generally cool toward Mojombo, and still back the government.”
“Thanks, Commander. That could be a great help.”
10
The interrogation room was warmer than the rest of the air-conditioned station. Detective Petroff took off his suit jacket and fitted it over the back of a straight chair. He stared hard at the young black girl sitting across the empty table.