The civilian Murdock had seen at the admiral’s office flipped up a face mask and took off a head covering. He looked at a small meter and nodded.
“Yeah, I get a point-four reading. Which means there is a little bit of radiation leakage on the bomb. Not unusual. Not dangerous. A point-four is like about three hundred wristwatch dials glowing all at once.”
Admiral Bennington stepped up. “So the truck with the bomb inside was parked here. You’re sure?”
“Yes, sir.”
The admiral turned to one of his aides. “Any reports from the gates? Most interested in the closest one.”
“Yes, sir. I have a report from gate five that would be nearest to this spot. A beer truck went through about two hours ago. Looked like one of the trucks that normally services the clubs in this area.”
The admiral headed for his car. At the door he pointed to Murdock. “SEALs follow me. They are off-base now. We can really use your talents for this one.”
At the gate the same man who had checked the truck through was still on duty. He dug out the paper. The truck was not one that usually supplied the base. It was the New Wave Brewery. There was no such name in the phone book or with information.
Admiral Bennington leaned against his car and turned an unlit cigarette around and around with the fingers of one hand.
“We have a live, armed nuclear bomb out there in the city streets of Honolulu. It could be set off accidentally or on purpose at any time. How the hell do we find it?”
Three of his aides standing around simply shook their heads. The admiral looked over at the four SEALs.
“Murdock, you’re the resident genius on this sort of chase. Just what the hell can we do next?”
“The civilian police have to be in on it now, sir. They might be able to find that beer truck. Honolulu PD and the State Police can throw out a lot of eyes watching and they can get on it in twenty seconds. They have a lot of units out there. Get the best hard description we can on that truck from the gate guard. Now we have to think about the entire island as the target area.”
“The second I call the police, the newspapers and TV get the story. There could be a horrendous panic.”
“Don’t mention the Chinese or the bomb,” Murdock said. “This truck could contain some highly secret material. That should be enough to get the cops moving and not create a panic.”
The admiral talked quietly to another aide, who left for the admiral’s car, where Murdock guessed there must be a radio or cell phone they could contact the police with.
Admiral Bennington looked up. “Now, what the hell can we do next?”
Nobody said a word. The admiral looked at the four SEALs.
“Murdock, you’ve been our answer man so far. Any more suggestions?”
“Yes, sir. If you haven’t already, stall the noon deadline tomorrow with the Chinese about this situation.”
“Working on that.”
Murdock watched the NEST team trying to track the truck from where it parked. The men moved out ten feet, then reworked the ground with their sensors. They tried it again, then gave up.
The captain who had gone to the admiral’s car pushed out of it and hurried over to the admiral. They talked a moment. Then Admiral Bennington turned to the two dozen men around him.
“You might as well know this up front. The State Department has just approved a request of the Chinese Navy. They have asked for safe passage for a Chinese cruiser and two destroyers to approach within a mile of Pearl and bring a cease-fire agreement. We don’t know what it is. We have been ordered to stand down any aggressive action against the Chinese troops on or near Hawaii, on the sea or in the air. The State Department, speaking for the President and the National Security Council, has ordered us to stand down. We’ll be notifying all of our commanders under fire of the order.
“We still have to find that damned truck. It isn’t covered in any way by this order. Let’s get on it, people.”
12
The admiral headed for gate number five, and Murdock and his men drove back to their quarters on Pearl. They turned their cars and trucks in at the motor pool. The big search on Pearl was over.
“Stand down,” Lam said back in their quarters. “That mean all the shooting has stopped?”
“It’s supposed to,” DeWitt said. “Always hard to get the field units all to stop shooting at the same time.”
“So where is the bomb being taken?” Ronson asked.
“Where would you take it?” Murdock asked.
“From that gate they could go north into Pearl City and up into the middle of the island. Or head for Honolulu and Waikiki Beach. Hell, I’d head for the beach.”
“Hell, yes,” Holt said. “Them bastards who smuggled in the bomb want to go for a midnight swim on the beach down there.”
Murdock went to a phone. He’d been feeling downright naked ever since they turned in the vehicles. So if some cop did pick up a sighting on that beer truck, what could the SEALs do about it? Nothing.
“Admiral, thanks for taking my call. I have one more suggestion. How about my troops in a pair of Humvees with full arms and ammo ready to chase down that beer truck if the cops sight it anywhere? Be a hell of a lot better than to have the cops and their parabellums.”
“You’d stay on-base?”
“Thinking about putting one rig in Honolulu and the other one in Pearl City. We could be ready in case they went south or north. We have one SATCOM. We’d need another one so both rigs would have them for coordination.”
“Do it, but keep the weapons out of sight until you need them. We’re supposed to stand down. I’ll have a SATCOM sent over to the motor pool. We’re on TAC Three at my HQ. Keep in touch there about your position.”
“Thanks, Admiral. It would speed up things if one of your people could authorize the rigs from the motor pool.”
“Done, SEAL, and good hunting.”
An hour later they were rigged out and ready to go. In the bottom of the Humvee’s open space there were two leaded blankets folded and ready for action, courtesy of the NEST contingent.
DeWitt took his pick of positions and chose to go north. Murdock took his squad south and worked the non-tourist streets near the Ala Moana Highway, which lanced through the heart of Honolulu. They had a generous supply of weapons, including the two EARs and all of their Bull Pups and MGs and sniper rifles.
It was just after midnight when the first report came in. Holt had the SATCOM tuned to the CINCPAC frequency and heard transmissions most of the night. No one had spotted the beer truck.
About 0030, he perked up and called to Murdock. He put the sound on the speaker.
“That’s about it, Admiral. Unit 342 said he saw the beer truck and thought nothing about it. He had just come on duty and hadn’t checked out all the standing orders. He’s sure now it was the New Wave Brewery truck.”
“His position and direction,” the crisp military voice asked.
“He was on Kapiolani Boulevard and it looked like the truck was heading for the freeway.”
“Thanks. Give a double alert for all your police units in that area and on the freeway to watch for the beer truck. A one-ton van with blue-and-red lettering and paint job.”
Murdock told Ching to head for the freeway. It was in the center of town well north of the Ala Moana main drag. He made two turns and came out on the King Street on-ramp to the Lunalilo Freeway heading east.
“DeWitt, did you get that trans from CINCPAC?”
“We did. We’re working on the best route from here to your position. If he comes west on the freeway, we might spot him. We will close the gap toward you, so keep us informed where this cat might be prowling. Set up a meet if you get any solid info about the truck. We’re moving.”