Ed DeWitt stood nearby, listening. Murdock waved him over. “Ed, take one man and check out the air-conditioning intake on the back of the place. See if we can get four men in there without being seen. We’ll go with a hot firefight if we need to, to get to the intake. That will be a big factor here.”
“Agree. I’ll check it out now.”
Ten minutes later the six-by came with the rest of the gear the SEALs had bought from the mainland, including the four EAR weapons. These are Enhanced Acoustical Rifles, and are non-lethal. They pump out a blast of sound waves that hit a target or go inside a room and bounce all around. A hit or near miss can put the target man down and unconscious for two to four hours. When the target wakes up, he is not damaged physically. The SEALs first used the weapon in the mission to Northern Japan.
Being non-lethal and non-destructive, the EARs would be important elements here.
Murdock assigned the EARs, two weapons to each squad. He had a mix of the H & K MP-5SD4 9mm submachine guns with suppressors, and the Bull Pups with the exploding rounds. When he was happy with the mix he called over Chief Natterby.
“Where are the sensitive areas, the transmitters, receivers, all the electronics equipment in the commo center?”
“Almost all of it is on the third floor. It’s sealed up separately from the rest of the building for security and protection from an attack that would produce explosive fragments, shrapnel, accidental damage.”
“First two floors administrative?”
“Yes, sir.”
“How many friendlies do we have in the building? How many would normally be there on a working day like today?”
“Between a hundred ten to a hundred thirty. Usually there’s a commander and a captain aboard.”
“Now, how many terrorists would it take to capture and neutralize the communications center?”
“My guess would be at least ten, maybe fifteen. There are six separate master control centers. They would have to be shut down and locked down.”
“Are there weapons in the building?”
“Not that I know of. Nobody wears weapons during working hours. The guards at night have side arms. Interior guards.”
“There must be a weapons locker somewhere. You’ve never seen one or heard about one?”
“No, sir.”
“So there’s little chance for any armed resistance from inside. Let’s hope that the tear gas and the EARs do their job and we don’t have to use any of the 20mm.”
Ed Dewitt came back with his report.
“The air intake is plainly marked, and we’ve got clear passage to it out of sight of anyone at the rear windows. No need to wait for darkness.”
Five minutes later the two Humvees boiled into the parking lot with the weapons and ammo. DeWitt’s squad grabbed the cases of tear-gas canisters. They came twenty to a carton and there were four cartons.
DeWitt talked to the Humvee driver, and took from his toolbox a heavy pair of side cutter pliers, a three-foot pry bar, a heavy hammer, and three screwdrivers.
Murdock looked at the tools.
“All we have to do is lift off a screen over the input pipe and we’re in business,” DeWitt said.
Murdock had scouted the area fronting the communications building. It was an administration office of some kind, with a two-foot-high rock wall in front of it next to the sidewalk. Plenty of cover for his riflemen.
“This is a radio net check,” Murdock said on his lip mike. “Alpha Squad report.”
He listened as six of his seven men reported. Kenneth Ching had not logged on.
“Jaybird, find Ching and get him wired,” Murdock said.
Ed DeWitt checked his squad and counted all of them.
“Ed, it’s your lead. Dump in at least forty of those canisters as fast as you can pop them. We’ve got another twenty rounds up here we can lob into the windows if we need to. We’ll give it five minutes after you tell me the gas is on the way. Then if we have to, we’ll use the EAR.”
He looked around. All of the SEALs were there except Lam. “Bravo Squad men with the EAR, give them to Alpha. Your play, DeWitt.”
DeWitt had parceled out the canisters to four of his squad. Each man had fifteen in a box. They moved out just as Lam came in from his recon.
“Place is wrapped up tight as a fourteen-year-old wannabe. Saw the section for climbing. Looks reasonable with no visual from the windows. Parking lot behind the building shows some activity. Like the rear door could be open from time to time. Might be good to watch it with three men for possible entry. That’s about it, Cap.”
“Lam, pick two men and cover the door. Take flashbangs and grenades, but use the fraggers judiciously. Could be over a hundred friendlies inside. Let us know on the Motorola if you get inside. Go.”
Murdock looked at the rest of his squad. He carried his Bull Pup and an MP-5 over his back. He gave a case of twenty tear-gas canisters to Ronson and they moved out. They had no machine guns or long-range sniper rifles.
Murdock hesitated at the last cover before they would be in the open. He wanted the tear gas to get inside before he moved. He held up his hand and the men stopped.
Two minutes later he had word on his radio.
“Murdock, that’s forty of the canisters into the intake pipe. Sucked the stuff away in an instant.”
“Good. Hold there for another dose.”
Murdock nodded at Jaybird, who led the way around the corner of the building. They walked down the sidewalk as if they belonged there, about ten feet apart. Then all at once they dropped behind the stone wall and had the entire l50- foot frontage of the communications building covered.
Murdock edged up and looked over the top of the wall. No activity at the front door. The windows were all covered with blinds. He studied the windows again. They were a newer kind, not the old double-hung or casement. He figured they would extend up about six feet off the floor inside.
“Okay, we’re in position if anyone runs out the front door gagging on the gas. The gas has been circulating through the air-conditioning system for… four minutes. We’ll give it another three.”
Somewhere ahead he heard a screeching as a window opened.
“Who spots that window?” Murdock asked.
“I’ve got it,” Bradford said.
“Closest man to it with an EAR put a shot through that open window. Who has it?”
“Got the sucker,” Ron Holt said. They heard the familiar whoosh of the enhanced beam of sound as it shot out, darted through the window, compressed, and thundered into an explosive-type sound with high-stress wavelengths.
“One EAR blast inside,” Holt said.
They waited.
“We’re inside,” Lam said on the Motorola. “Took out two dudes in civvies and with non-military hardware. They are down and wasted. We’re in some back rooms. Orders?”
“Can you smell any tear gas?” Murdock asked.
“Negative. In a small room — storage, incoming shipments, that sort of thing.”
“Stay put for now. Capture anyone who comes in. See if you can look out the door without giving yourself away. Let me know if you smell the gas.”
Another window opened along the front. Ching was closest with an EAR. He put a round through the opening.
They waited.
“The gas isn’t doing it,” Murdock said into the mike. “How many Bravo Squad at the trucks?”
Paul Jefferson, Engineman Second Class, came on the set. “Three of us, Cap,” Jefferson said.
“Move out and meet DeWitt at the back door. Wait for him there.”
“That’s a Roger.”
“Ed, dump the rest of your tear gas, then get to the back door unseen. Move in with Lam and begin to clear rooms. We’ll be working the front side.”
“You got it, Murdock. Dumping the stuff now. Take us about five to get out of here and through the buildings, then back to the other end of this one. Out.”