“Watch to the left shore,” Murdock said.
They saw two houses with lights still on. It was almost 0130 hours. The third house was another hundred yards upstream. It had two lights on and beside it stood two tall trees.
“Hit the shore,” Murdock said. “Lam, take a look at that house with the two tall trees. See if you can spot a guard. Let’s hope he’s a smoker.”
Both boats grounded against the shore and one man stepped out and held them there. Lampedusa lifted out and vanished into the night without a sound.
The lights in the house ahead by the tall trees snapped off, one room, then the next.
“This might not be it,” Murdock whispered into his mike.
They waited. Murdock checked his watch. Lam had been gone five minutes. Murdock’s earpiece came alive.
“Cap, this is the one. I heard a guard yelling at the man inside. That was just before the lights went out. The inside guy yelled back in English with some highly uncomplimentary terms. Must be the senator. I’ve got an EAR. You want me to take out the rear guard while I know where he is?”
“Roger that. Your weapon is free.”
They all listened for the typical whooshing sound of the enhanced acoustic rifle, but heard nothing.
“Bingo on the back guard,” Lam said. “Want me to find the front one and send him to beddy bye?”
“That’s a roger, Lam. We’re moving up. Everyone on shore, quietly and move forward in squads. Alpha Squad hold while Bravo moves to the house. Bravo will try to contact the senator and enter from the rear. Move.”
Another rifle shot jolted into the night, again on the other side of the river. Trigger-happy guards? Someone celebrating? Murdock guessed that the average Chinese citizen was not allowed to own a gun. He let Bravo Squad move out first, then followed with his own, waving to Jefferson who held the boats and dragged them higher on the gently sloping shoreline. Murdock took the point and moved slowly, silently through a smattering of hardwoods along the riverbank. There were no other houses this side of the target.
A moment later Murdock heard the swoosh of the EAR weapon. It was quickly followed by his earpiece activating.
“That’s two down, Cap. Second guard was a smoker, dumb fucker. He’ll have a long sleep and a headache tomorrow. I can see no other army units of any kind along the street. No cars. A few bicycles here and there, but nobody riding them. Looks all clear.”
“Concur,” Ed DeWitt’s voice said on the radio. “Clear front.”
Murdock hurried then, running as silently as possible the last thirty yards to the house. He flattened against the door pointing for his men to take cover at various spots. Then he tried the door. It was not locked.
He turned the knob and pushed the door open.
“Senator, is anyone home?” Murdock said in a loud stage whisper.
Murdock heard movement to his left and swung the MP5 submachine gun to cover, his finger on the trigger.
“God bless the U.S. Navy,” a throaty voice said. The sound was so choked with emotion, Murdock could barely make out the words.
“Senator, the Chinese guards front and back are unconscious. Are there any other soldiers around here?”
Quiet sobbing was the only answer. Then another voice came through the blackness.
“No, there are no other troops anywhere nearby that we know of. I’m Mrs. Highlander. You must be Navy SEALs. We’re ready to travel. No luggage, only my purse and my daughter’s purse, and Greg’s briefcase. We can take those, can’t we?”
“Yes, Mrs. Highlander. But we must be so quiet we can’t even hear ourselves. There are fifteen men outside around this house, did you hear any of them?”
“No, only a funny whooshing sound.”
“Good, get your daughter, and we’ll leave. Senator, are you all right now? We need you to move about a hundred yards downstream with us.”
“Yes, yes, I’m good now. I just couldn’t stop—”
“No problem, Senator. Alpha Squad, and three civilians coming out the rear door. Bravo and Lam head for the boats. Give us perimeter along the way facing out. Alpha let’s be a circle around the senator and his wife and daughter. Almost shoulder to shoulder. You know the protective routine. Do it, now.”
He felt the senator touch his shoulder, then his wife came holding the daughter’s hand.
“Come out the back door right behind me, Senator. Hook your hand in my webbing. Mrs. Highlander you hold your husband’s belt in back, and hold your daughter’s hand. Now, Let’s move smartly, but try not to make any noise.”
They left the rear door, then moved into the yard and the brush. Six SEALs appeared on each side and in back and in front. They all could reach out and touch the senator or his family. Nobody said a word. Murdock saw the Bravo Squad spread along the one hundred yards in a protective shield.
Murdock faded back to walk beside the civilian. “Senator, you’ll be in the boat with me. These are rubber inflatable boats, sturdy, can’t sink and each has a silent motor. Your wife and daughter will be in the second boat to distribute the weight. We must sit low and bend over on command if we come into any trouble. Understand?”
“Yes, sir,” the senator said.
“I heard too,” his wife said. “We’ll do whatever you say.”
It took them ten minutes to work their way slowly to the boats. Jefferson knew they were coming from the radio com. He had the boats turned around for easier boarding. The SEALs put the civilians in first, two SEALs getting their feet and legs wet in the process.
Mrs. Highlander started to apologize for letting the men get wet. Kenneth Ching shook his head. “Ma’am, us SEALs are wet most of the time. No big deal. Just so you’re safe.”
“Everyone onboard?” Murdock whispered in the Motorola.
“Bravo Squad boarded,” DeWitt responded.
Murdock counted bodies in his boat. Nine of them. The senator wasn’t as big a man as he had feared. There should be no trouble with the IBSs.
“Move out and start motors,” Murdock said.
They were fifty yards down the river flowing with the current, making a good ten knots with the help of the motors, when they heard an engine, then saw lights bobbing along a road just off the river.
“Guard change,” The senator whispered to Murdock. “They come every night at two A.M. I forgot to tell Mr. Stroh that.”
“Things are going to get hairy in about five minutes,” Murdock whispered into the mike. “Open up the motors for a little more speed. Like to get to the mouth of the river before any troops arrive.”
The boats picked up speed, but the motors gave off a soft rumble. Murdock knew an alert guard could hear it. But would there be anyone on guard duty in a tiny village on a small stream like this? He doubted it.
The stutter of machine guns at the house they had just left surprised Murdock. The weapons fired six or seven ten-round bursts. Enough to wake up everyone in the area.
“Lift it up another notch on the motors,” Murdock said. “Let’s trade noise for speed.”
The little craft churned downstream faster, Murdock figured about fifteen knots. They still had two and a half miles to go.
Lights blossomed along the right shore. They moved to the other side of the river trying not to hit any bars or trees. Now a rifle shot sounded behind them and to the right side. More lights snapped on. They heard motors starting, then gears grinding as heavier trucks moved out.
“Anderson, unwrap the SATCOM. Have somebody hold the dish until you get your beep, then try to contact the Pegasus. He needs to know we’re coming out.”
Howie Anderson, gunner’s mate second class, was the new radioman in the platoon. He knew the radio. Jaybird held the antenna and moved it back and forth until Anderson stopped him.