“What about the Government Building?” Gardner asked.
“Tehabo gives me another story. He says it all looks calm and normal at the Government Building. There are always a lot of soldiers around it as regular guards. He wandered a lot of halls and even got into the basement, and he found no spot that had any more guards than any other. No part had been restricted. But he says that could be a low-key way of hiding the men.”
“So, we’re still snookered,” Murdock said. “I like the idea of trying to free the two men tonight, before they parade them down to some block wall. That will be a much safer operation. Should mean fewer federal rifles around. So let’s consider the rescue by darkness instead of at the hanging.”
“I might have a solution,” Mojombo said. “Don’t split your forces. Let me take twenty men and borrow two of your SEALs with the Bull Pups. We’ll take the Central Station because from our intel it has the most danger and probably the best possibility of housing the two captives. You take your SEALs and investigate the Government Building.”
“Done,” Murdock said. “What about timing?”
“You’ll be flying down. The chopper could come back and take us down as a second load to a different area. Save a lot of hiking that way. The pilot and copilot will have one of our radios and one of your Motorolas. He should have a specific pickup spot for both of us to come in on call.”
“We could leave at midnight and your men could get out of here at 0100. I’d suggest you cut your squad to sixteen men including two SEALs. Any more and the chopper is going to split a seam.”
Murdock looked over his men. “Any comments or questions?”
Jaybird cleared his throat. “Skipper, is there anyone in the Loyalist camp who might have worked in the Government Building, or knows the layout of the two floors, and is there a basement?”
Mojombo grinned. “Bingo. I have two men. Both worked in the Government Building for five years. One was a janitor. He knows every nook and cranny in the place. I’ll detach both men to you as soon as I can find them.”
“Now, it’s almost 1100,” Murdock said. “Let’s check weapons again, clean them up, and get your ammo ration from wherever you got it. We need a count on how many twenties we have left. Each man give me a count. Anything else?”
Mahanani held up his hand. “Sir. I’ve been watching the senior chief. His wound is deeper than I first thought. I think he should take a ride out to the medics on the carrier. I’d feel a lot better about it.”
“Do it. Take him with you. While you’re on the carrier, see if you can requisition two hundred rounds of 20mm HE. I don’t see why their rounds won’t fire in our weapons. We won’t have the airburst potential, but the HE effect will do for now in case we run out. Get the senior chief moving.” Murdock paused. “We need two Bull Pups to go with Mojombo. Let’s make it Howard and Jefferson. Mojombo, that way your squad will be all black. Its not racist, it’s color-coding.” That brought a laugh. “Howard, you take my Bull Pup and I’ll pack your MG. Jefferson, you already have a Bull Pup. You two find out when to report to Mojombo.”
Murdock called Bill Bradford. The big man responded at once. “Bring your sketch pad and some sharp pencils. I want you to make a drawing for us.”
Ten minutes later the two Loyalist soldiers came packing their AK-47’s. They reported to Murdock. Their names were Kaedi and Sandari.
“Do you men know if the Government Building has a basement?”
“Yes, sir,” Kaedi said. “It does. I was a janitor there. I know the whole building.”
“Good. This is Bill Bradford, he’s an artist. Tell him about how long and how wide each floor is. He’ll make an outline, and then you show him how to fill in the rooms so we can label them. It might take two or three sheets for each floor.”
Kaedi nodded and they began. Murdock looked at Sandari. “What did you do at the Government Building when you worked for them?”
“I worked as an accountant on the second floor for three years.”
“Did you get around the building a lot?”
“Yes, but mostly on the second floor.”
“Is there a basement?”
“Yes, under about half of the building. The newer section does not have any underground.”
“Could our two men be locked up in the basement?”
“Oh, yes. There are storage vaults down there. One for the nation’s gold supply, one for paper money, one for valuable documents.”
“Are they airtight?”
“Oh, no. Once a clerk was locked in overnight and it didn’t hurt anything except his pride.”
“How do we get to these vaults?”
“From the main back door there is a hallway to the left. Halfway down it is another door marked ‘Basement.’ Stairs go down, but no elevator. Twenty steps. No security doors or guards when I was there.”
“You are going to show us the way once we get inside, Sandari. Why did you join the Loyalists?”
“The government accused my brother of being a spy for a foreign country. They had a quick, illegal trial and then they shot him. I want to kill fifty of them.”
“Good, Sandari. Good to have you with us. You go find Jaybird and tell him to stick to you like glue. Thanks for your help. You’ll be flying out with us tonight. Stay with the SEALs until then. Okay?”
“Okay, Commander,” Sandari said. He saluted. Murdock returned his salute.
He heard the chopper take off. It was a calculated risk letting it fly out to the carrier and back. But they could use the 20mm rounds, and he didn’t want to take a chance on the senior chief losing his arm to some tropical infection.
Bradford finished the sketches of the two floors and the basement. Kaedi said the best place to hold prisoners would be in the documents room in the basement. They would check that first when they got inside. If the prisoners weren’t there, the SEALs would work through the rest of the building.
Noon chow turned out to be a corn-and-rice mixture with baked fish and a side of sliced carrots. The surprise of the day was coffee. They had found five five-gallon cans of ground coffee in the loot from the President’s warehouse.
Just after noon, a runner came to Murdock’s tent. He was wanted on the SATCOM. Murdock went to the leader’s tent and took the offered handset.
“Murdock here.”
“Billings, Commander. What to report about the Vice President and Mr. Stroh?”
“Nothing yet. We’re trying to pinpoint their location. We think we have it down to two spots. We’ll raid both those places tonight. It’s about 1300 here now. We should be on site in twelve hours. We will take all precautions to keep the two men safe, and as soon as we have them in our hands, they will, I say again, sir, they will be transported directly to the aircraft carrier.”
“Good. The President said you were a good man. Good luck on your mission. Oh, one word from Cliff Donaldson, the CIA director. He said if there is no way to rescue Don Stroh alive, he is to be terminated. He’s a storehouse of CIA data and can’t be allowed to be kept by a rogue leader who could sell him to any one of four or five interested parties. Do you understand, Commander Murdock?”
“Yes, sir. If Mr. Stroh can’t be rescued, he must be terminated. Understood. Will comply. Wilco.”
“That’s it then. The President sends his best and wishes you success in your mission.”