Murdock smiled. "Captain, I understand the feeling. But our boss just slightly outranks everyone on board. Of course this one is for Admiral Kenner. His request."
"Roger that, Commander. Well, your outline looks fine to me. I'll order the two RIBs over here now and you can check them out. They come with a crew of three, but you can cut that to two if you want to. You have all the ordnance you need?"
"Check that out this afternoon, Captain. Your powder room should be able to supply us with plenty. We can go with TNAZ if nothing else."
"You want to swim in the last mile?"
"I understand the NKs don't have much coastal radar, and what they have probably won't pick up the RIBs. A mile swim is a walk around the block for us, sir."
"Right. When will you push off?"
"Captain, I figured with the ride on the destroyer for forty miles north, we'd need to allow an hour and a half. We've decided to hit the cave just at dark, before the frigate can get out of its nest. Dark comes about 1800. We'll need fifteen minutes to move the last nine miles in the RIB, and then a half hour for the swim to shore."
Ed had been adding up the times where he sat beside Murdock. He showed Murdock the figure.
"So, about two and a quarter hours for insertion. We'd need to leave here at 1530 to make our time sked. We don't mind being a few minutes early."
"Sounds reasonable. I've assigned the destroyer Cole DDG 67 for your transport. We'll lift your men and the two RIBs over to the Cole by helo. No sweat there. Have your men on deck at 1520 and we'll take care of the rest. Anything else?"
"Crews on the RIBs. Keep all three men on board. We'll only have fifteen SEALs."
Murdock and DeWitt stood.
"Thanks, Captain. We'll try to get this NK frigate out of your hair."
After noon chow, Murdock told Jaybird to put the men down for a rest period. They had their personal gear ready, regular loads of ammo, and room for explosives and mines. Murdock and Jaybird went to the ordnance officer and laid out their plans.
Lieutenant Commander Morton smiled when they told him their mission.
"Yeah, more like it," he growled. "What the hell would do the best job the quickest? A frigate, you say. That's about three hundred feet long. Blow her stern off, she'd sink like a bulldozer in heat. We've got some new limpets that really pack a wallop. Only trouble is they weigh about fifty pounds each."
"Flotation collars?" Jaybird asked.
"Yeah, make them neutral buoyancy," the commander said, his eyes sparkling. "Yeah, we've got some of those. Want four of them beauties? If you can get them going off within twenty seconds of each other, they should just about tear that old frigate to pieces. What is she, an old Russian tub?"
"My guess," Murdock said.
They picked out the flotation devices, made sure they would hold the big limpets, then asked the commander to have them on the flight deck in half an hour. Murdock left Jaybird to shepherd the mines upstairs and to make sure where they were when the SEALs arrived later.
By 1430 Murdock had his platoon moving up the ladders toward the flight deck.
Topside, they found the two RIBs and the limpet mines with their flotation gear. The SEALs brought ten pounds of the TNAZ and timer/detonators.
A destroyer steamed alongside the carrier a quarter of a mile off. A flight deck officer checked with Murdock, and shortly two Sea Knights rolled on scene. One rigged the two RIBs on slings, and lifted away with the cargo. The limpets and their flotation collars and the SEALs loaded into the second chopper, and it took off chasing the first one.
Two hours later, Murdock and his SEALs hunkered down in the sleek ten-meter RIBs as they motored at five miles an hour toward the just-visible North Korean shore through the dusk. They were twenty minutes behind schedule, but it wasn't the SEALs' fault. There had been a small mix-up by the destroyer on its speed to the ten-mile-limit line.
Close enough. Just so the raider didn't slip out of the cave before they got there. All they needed were three or four minutes in the water under the ship. Then five minutes more to get out of the immediate vicinity so the underwater concussion didn't knock them unconscious like a school of flopping fish.
Murdock checked his watch. It was 1750 and they were nearing the mile mark. In a half hour it would be dark. The seals wore full black neoprene wet suits, caps, boots, and gloves. The neoprene traps water inside the suit, which is warmed by the body to help insulate the diver. Each man had a face mask and LAR V Draeger rebreather unit, which allowed the reuse of oxygen and emitted no telltale bubble line to give away the diver.
They had the insulated jungle boots and flippers ready in hand to slip on just before diving. Each SEAL had his individual weapons strapped to his back. This time they didn't bring the heavy .50-caliber sniper rifle.
"We about there?" Ed DeWitt asked Murdock on the Motorola. The rest of the men had already put their personal radios away in waterproof pouches on their combat vests.
"Looks like it," Murdock said. "You ready for a swim?" Both the motors cut off and the sleek RIB boats coasted to a stop. The men were paired and tied together with buddy cords, eight to ten feet of thin nylon line to help them stay together. The line also was a good communication tool underwater.
By pairs, the SEALs went overboard. They swam down fifteen feet, leveled out, and moved toward the coast. Murdock had the attack board, a piece of molded plastic with two hand grips and a bubble compass in the center. It also held a depth gauge and a Cyalume ch emical tube to twist to turn on and regulate the amount of light needed to read the instruments. Murdock moved until he had the right compass heading, and stroked out underwater at the normal rate of travel.
Each man in the platoon knew exactly how many strokes it took him to swim underwater a half mile. They had practiced it so much it came as second nature. They were totally at home in the water.
Murdock watched Holt, who shepherded one of the fifty pound limpet mines on its zero-buoyancy collar. It slowed Holt, just as Murdock figured the big mines would be slowing the other three teams that were responsible for the limpets.
Murdock slowed his stroke to match Holt's.
After a quarter of a mile he tugged on the buddy line and took over the mine, giving the attack board to Holt. The problem was more one of bulk than weight, but still, the blunt collar had to be pushed through the water.
At the half-mile point, they traded off again.
Murdock expected no guards, sentries, or even patrol boats in this area. The South had taken no offensive action against the North's Navy, so they would be snug and feel secure.
Less than a half a mile from the shore, Murdock heard an engine sound coming at them fast. He gave three quick jerks on the buddy cord and he and Ron Holt moved upward to sneak a peak.
Murdock's face came out of the water only enough so he could see. To the left he spotted the boat, one of the larger patrol craft that North Korea had. Their Navy was miniscule. The frigate they were going for tonight was the largest boat in the NK fleet.
As Murdock watched, the patrol craft continued on its way toward shore. This could have been the farthest it ventured off the home country. Murdock concentrated on the landfall. From there they would parallel the shore for about one more klick; then the town and the caves should show.
Murdock didn't worry about losing any of his platoon. Ed DeWitt had an attack board as well. By previous arrangement the swimmers began to surface after every half mile. Murdock counted his four teams, which came up within twenty yards. He saw DeWitt break out of the water and wave.
He had his six men. All accounted for.