The ops officer rolled his eyes. "Jesus Christ! It's a little too late for that."
Edberg looked at him. "What do you mean?"
"Shit, sir, Tiger element is already past the point of no return. They don't have enough fuel to make it back out."
Edberg winced as he remembered that. The OH-58 had barely enough fuel to make it to the target on a one-way trip. That was the way it had been planned. He decided to hold off on giving the turnaround order until he put this monkey on Macksey's back. He didn't know what the hell was going on up there in Virginia, but it was a little late to be pulling this stuff.
"Hammer Base, this is Eagle Leader. Over."
He heard the chairman's voice come back over the radio. "This is Hammer Base. Over."
"We've got a problem with an abort at this time. One of my elements is on a helicopter that doesn't have enough fuel to make it back out of Colombia. Over."
There was a pause. "What's time on target? Over."
"2230. Over."
"Is there any way you can get those people in the helicopter out? Over."
Edberg considered the options. "My best bet would be to link up the Tiger element with our exfil bird coming in from the coast, but that will be kind of flaky. We don't have a linkup point designated other than the target." Another thought hit Edberg. "I've also got two men on the ground in addition to Pike's two people, pulling surveillance. They were supposed to come out by the HH-53. Over."
The irritation in the chairman's voice was evident. "Do you have a backup plan to get them out? Over."
"Roger, they have an alternate for coming out covertly, but there's no provision in there for Pike's people. Over."
"Wait one. Over."
Macksey put down the mike and looked over at Pike and Linders, who had been following the conversation. He shook his head at Pike. "You sure managed to get things rolling, didn't you?"
"Sir, things are so far in motion that it's just as dangerous to abort at this point as it is to continue the mission," Pike argued. He was still mad at himself for not having changed the abort code word from the other Hammer missions. It only stood to reason that Macksey would remember it.
Macksey turned to Linders. "What do you think?"
Linders carefully weighed his answer and then committed. "Sir, I agree with Pike. The plan is to hit the target, not to abort. I think they can execute the plan better than they can piecework out an abort this late."
Pike wasn't through. "Sir, that's an American soldier being held by those people. An American soldier who went on a mission under your orders. Are you going to quit and not even take a chance at rescuing him? I've heard you speak out at the POW and MIA meetings. Were those just words you were spouting or did you really mean what you said?" Pike was also hoping the tirade he had thrown in Macksey's office earlier in the week was still fresh in the man's mind.
Macksey's next statement indicated he was wavering. "What's the chance of success for this strike? For getting Powers out?"
Pike shook his head. That was a question he expected from a politician, not a military man. "Sir, you know I can't give you that. It's a good plan and they're the best soldiers you have. There's risk involved, but those men are willing to take that risk. Give them a chance."
Macksey turned and stared out the window at the MP car in the parking lot, the car he had brought to take away Pike. He reached over and picked up the mike.
Edberg pressed the headset in tighter as the radio came alive.
"Eagle Leader, this is Hammer Base. Ignore Cage Thunder. I say again, ignore Cage Thunder. Mission continues as planned. Over."
"Roger that, sir. Mission is a go. Over."
"Good luck. Hammer Base out."
Edberg turned to his ops officer with a big grin. "We're going in."
Thompson had monitored the entire exchange between Belvoir and Eagle Leader over the SATCOM but had not said a word to Riley or Westland, who were huddled nearby. His heart had been in his throat listening to the exchange. Like all the men of Delta he wanted action, and the thought of an abort this late made him almost physically ill.
Hearing the last go, Thompson turned to the two. "Time for you all to head on down. Good luck."
Riley gave a thumbs-up and led the way down the hill.
Pike gestured toward the chairs stacked in the corner. "You two might as well grab a seat. We've got a little while to go."
A red light started flashing and a caution segment light appeared on the console of the OH-58. Rabitowski stared at it in concern. "What the hell is that?"
Cullen kept his attention fixed on the terrain ahead. "Fuel warning light."
Rabitowski didn't like that. "I thought you said we'd have enough fuel to make it to the target. Are we going to make it or not?"
"Should."
"Should!" That answer didn't please the old sergeant major. "Listen, kid, I've got thirty years in this here green machine, and I don't want to end it by running out of gas and becoming part of the countryside."
"Relax, Sergeant Major. All that light means is that we're low, not that we're out. We should have about twenty minutes left. We'll make it. And if we don't," Cullen added mischievously, "I'll just autorotate into the trees."
"Just great," Rabitowski muttered to himself as he checked the map. "Checkpoint 24. That's the last one before we hit our final reference point." He looked at the stopwatch. "Right on time. Don't screw this up, kid, by running out of fuel. You done a good job getting us this far."
"No sweat, Sergeant Major."
The ramp opened and the air swirled in with a roar. Edberg pushed himself up tight behind the jumper in front of him. One minute out from drop. It was too late now even if they changed their minds back in Virginia. He was no longer hooked into the SATCOM. Once he got closer to the ground he'd be able to talk to Thompson on the FM radio.
Edberg kept his eyes fixed on the glowing red light above the ramp. He took a few deep breaths. The light turned green and the ten men shuffled off the ramp in formation.
Edberg felt the plane's slipstream grab him and buffet him about. He spread his arms and legs and arced his back in an effort to stabilize. He had barely achieved that state when he pulled his ripcord. His chute blossomed above him and he oscillated under the canopy.
Quickly getting his bearings, Edberg spotted the other members of Eagle spread out below him. He dumped air and caught up with them.
Rabitowski heaved a sigh of relief as the lights from the target popped into view. Cullen raised their altitude for the final approach. The blinking of the fuel warning light for the past twelve minutes had gotten on Rabitowski's nerves. They'd find out in another minute or so if the villa guards would fall for the ruse. The theory was that the guards would not fire on the helicopter since it was the same type aircraft as the one that Ring Man owned.
Rabitowski's headset crackled as he heard Thompson for the first time over the short-range FM radio. "Tiger, this is Snake. I can hear you coming. Situation at target as briefed. LZ clear. Break. Riley, you're clear to go. Over."
Cullen swung the chopper around in a left-hand bank and they approached the villa from the south.
The muted buzz of the inbound helicopter reverberated through the air. Riley boosted Westland up on the wall, then reached up and grabbed her hand as she helped him up alongside her.