“Lam, Sadler, Jaybird, JG, Mahanani, Sandari, and Stroh, front and center for a powwow. Now.”
They gathered under some tall trees at the edge of a field where the chopper was supposed to land.
“Sonofabitch, they did it to us again,” Jaybird said.
“Somebody said if you get raped enough times, it doesn’t hurt anymore,” Mahanani said. “This must be our tenth time.”
“Enough,” Murdock said. “Our concern now is how we get out of here and up north. Evidently the federal folks have patrols or blocking units or something in this area. They may have been expecting some reaction from the Loyalists or us.
“First, our main package. Mahanani, how is the Vice President holding up?”
“He’s tired, but delighted to be out of prison, as he put it. He can walk and looks to be in good shape. What do we have, about fifteen miles yet?”
“Close to it,” Jaybird said. “Do we have any energy bars, chocolate, anything that might give him an energy boost?”
“Tried chocolate bars, but they melted and ran out of my vest,” Mahanani said. “We have something else that I don’t remember the name of. We’ll give him a bar every hour.”
“Good. Lam, about how far are we from the trail north and should we take it?”
“Not the one along the river. The federals will have that zeroed in. They know we go north. It’s a no-brainer for them.”
“So, do we crash jungle for fifteen miles?” JG Gardner asked.
Sandari shook his head. “No jungle. There are dozens of trails that go to the north. Some move away from the river a mile. The federals can’t cover them all.”
“Can you find them for us?” Murdock asked.
“I know the trails, but I can’t guarantee that they will be safe.”
“Pick out what looks like the safest one. You and Lam recon it for a mile, then come back. Go, now.”
Murdock looked at the other men. “Okay, you guys. We’ve got ourselves a little problem here. Put on the other uniform. In their place what would you do about us?”
Senior Chief Sadler took the lead. “Patrol forces squad size so they could cover more trails. Then in back of them, I’d put a blocking force for a surprise. Say we blast through a seven-man squad and think we’re home free. The blocking force hears the firefight, moves up and establishes an ambush, and catches us in a deadly crossfire with their AK-47s, MGs, and sub guns.
“They would have a good-sized force at the five- and ten-mile docks, knowing that we’ve used river transport before. It wouldn’t make any difference if there was no boat there. We could call it in when we arrived and they could blow us out of the water and off the dock.”
Lieutenant (j.g.) Gardner took the floor. “Why not go out three miles from the five-mile bridge and set out two-man patrols walking six or eight of the main trails north out of town? Cover them all. Walk these men back and forth from the eight- to ten-mile marks. These men would be expendable, but if they made contact with the enemy, it would pinpoint the location of the Loyalists. Then we rush in massive forces and overwhelm the bad guys, in this case us.”
Murdock held up his hand. “So when we move, we go slow and easy. If we run into any enemy, we reduce them with the EAR if possible to keep from giving away our position. Then hope to squeeze through their dragnet and move up the trail toward the village. How far will we need to move north before we’re out of the danger zone?”
Jaybird looked up. “They want us bad, Skipper. I’d say they’ll have troops out at least fifteen miles.”
“Mahanani, how are our two tenderfeet?” the commander asked.
Mahanani slapped Stroh on the back. “This gung-ho, shit-kicking CIA desk man who never thought he’d be in the field has actually fired a few shots in anger. Him and his trusty AK-47. He’s now a genuine, imitation, ersatz SEAL. He’ll make it fine if he doesn’t try to be a hero and learns to keep his head down.
“Our other man could be a problem. He’s showing some signs of stress. His pace has slowed, but there doesn’t seem to be any physical impairment, except one small limp. Hey, damn big word for me. I don’t think we’ll get to the point where we have to carry him. I’ve thought about a horse cart if Sandari could scare up one. Most of the trails are good for another five miles before they close in. One of those motorcycles would have been great. I’d suggest the cart if possible, and that would give him a rest, and then maybe we can put him on the horse for the last ten miles.”
“Can you saddle a cart horse?” Jaybird asked.
“Most horses over here would probably go either way,” JG Gardner said.
“To find a horse and a cart, we’ll need a village,” Murdock said.
“Lam told me he smelled cooking fires a while ago,” Jaybird said. “He figured there was a small village about a mile ahead. We’re downwind.”
Ten minutes later Lam and Sandari came back. Both were sweating from the run back down the trail.
“We found a trail looks good,” Lam said. “No sign of any military.”
“How close are we to a village?” Murdock asked Sandari. “We hope to buy, rent, or steal a horse and a cart that the Vice President can ride in.”
“Half mile straight ahead to a village,” Sandari said. “For cash dagnars I can find a renter.”
“Go now and meet us on the trail. We’ll be moving ahead at once.”
He took the stack of bills Murdock gave him and left.
“Lam, take the point. We’re walking, and keep it reasonable so the Veep can stay with us. Let’s keep five yards apart. Move out.”
The Vice President was hurting. He had developed a slight limp, and now it became worse. It took them ten minutes to do the half mile to the village, Murdock realized. He was glad when he saw a cart with cushions in it and a sturdy-looking horse hitched to it.
“I don’t need no stinking horse cart,” Adams shrilled when Murdock asked him to step on board.
“You might not need it, Mr. Vice President, but the rest of us do so we can make better time. The quicker we get out of the danger zone out about fifteen miles, the better off we’ll be. Doesn’t that make sense?”
Adams wilted as he stepped onto the cart and settled into the cushions. “Yeah, you’re right, Murdock. I’m being bitchy. Sorry. I want my AK-47 back just in case. Hell, I can still shoot.”
After that they made better time. Murdock put the horse cart in the middle of the line of march, and Lam had them at a seven-miles-an-hour pace. It was an easy jog that they could keep up for miles. Even the horse liked it at somewhere between a walk and a canter. One of the SEALs led the horse by a line.
They had hiked another three miles before Lam used the Motorola. “Better hold it in place, troops. We have a small problem up here.”
It was the simplest kind of roadblock Murdock and Gardner saw as they worked their way up to take a look through the murky night air.
“Damn log across the trail. We can get over it easy, but the cart will have trouble.”
“Anybody defending behind it?” Gardner asked Lam.
“I smelled some cigarette smoke but it’s gone now. Not sure if it came from there or some nearby village.” Lam shrugged. “Odds are there’s at least a squad behind the log. They must have cut down a tree to get it in place.”
Murdock called up Rafii. “That leg wound hurt your knife-throwing arm?”
“Not a bit, Skipper.”
“Good. We may have visitors up front. I want you, Lam, and the JG to work up on the right-hand side of the trail. Go through the brush and vines and be as quiet as Lam is. If it’s only two or three, see if you can get them with thrown knives. Any more, Lam, take the rest out with silenced shots. Take MP-5s.”
The three men faded into the jungle, and Murdock tried to hear them moving forward but he couldn’t. He was sure Lam was showing the others how to get through, around, under, or over the vines and trees and plants that luxuriated in the tropical rain forest.