The medic cut deeper into the muscle, and then used a long thin probe to explore inside the leg. He felt a scrape. Bone or lead? He didn't know. Had to be lead. Too far from the bone. He worked that side again. Yes, the slug. He felt around with the probe again, trying to get on the other side of the bullet. It didn't move. He took the long thin pliers-like device, which opened on the end, and pushed it-into the cut.
DeWitt groaned in his unconsciousness.
Mahanani wiped sweat off his forehead, and probed again with the instrument. He touched the lead, then again. He opened the tool and tried to grasp the slug. It grated, and then slipped off. He felt blood on his lip as he bit harder, then pressed the tool deeper into the officer's muscle tissue. He opened it again, and this time felt a solid hold on the piece of lead. He began to ease the tool out of the wound.
It moved half an inch, then slipped off the slug. Murdock stood by, mopping up the blood that ran out of the wound.
Mahanani worked the probe again, found the slug, grasped it with the pliers-like device, and clamped it as hard as he could. He worked it slowly outward. It moved a quarter of an inch, then again another quarter of an inch.
Three more times he lost the slug and had to grab it again. Five minutes after he had made the first cut, he edged the dark gray slug out of the hole.
At once, Murdock handed him sterile two-inch squares of bandages. He pressed them onto the wound, then put on four more, and wrapped the leg quickly with roller bandages. They all sat there watching, waiting for the blood to stop oozing out.
It didn't. Mahanani gathered more bandages near the leg, then cut off the blood-soaked cloth and pressed in new squares and bandaged it again. This time they could tell that the blood was stopping. They all breathed easier, and Mahanani wiped his hands on his pants. He gave the patient two ampoules of morphine and sat back.
"Now we wait," he said. "We should be able to move him tomorrow, but he won't be doing any walking for some time."
"Base camp," Murdock said. He touched the Motorola. "This is base camp," he said. "We'll be here until we get the general. Dig out your hide-holes and get the best camouflage you've ever found. The slug is out of the JG's leg, but he isn't running any marathons. We'll find the general, leave some security here with DeWitt, and then jump off from here when we're done. Questions?"
There were none, and Murdock went to scrape out a hiding place for himself. It was starting to get dark, so they should be safe at least until morning. Unless the boat captain figured he could get another payday by turning them in.
Murdock put out two security men and relaxed. Why didn't he tell Charley to bring back some food when he returned? Murdock was getting hungry. He was sure the men were half — starved. They also needed some water. He'd talk with Charley and Pete when they got back.
Murdock had situated his hiding place ten feet from where DeWitt lay. DeWitt had regained consciousness and with it, whimpered with the pain even through the morphine. Mahanani would stay with him until he was better. At least they didn't have a fever to worry about.
Darkness swept down on them suddenly, and Murdock changed guards and told them to stay on four hours, then pick a replacement.
Murdock dozed.
Someone pulled on his shirt. He came awake. He automatically jerked the MP-5 up ready to fire.
"Easy, easy," Jaybird said. "The scouts are back. They brought a dozen big loaves of rice bread, a batch of cheese, and two big bottles of water they say should be pure."
Murdock gave a big sigh, and took a half-loaf of bread and a square of cheese.
"The water bottles will be coming around," Jaybird said.
"What did the scouts find?" Murdock asked between bites.
"Charley wants to tell you."
Charley came up in the darkness. He sat beside Murdock and smiled. "Found general. At golf course closed down five years ago. He opened it, had it mowed and three greens repaired. He play three holes six times for his eighteen holes. High score."
"Where's the course?"
"About five miles from here. Easy road."
"Does the general have any guards with him?"
"Plenty, watch all holes, go with him to some hotel."
"Will he be there tomorrow?"
"Man say he play every day for month. Be there tomorrow in morning."
"Good work, Charley. Get some rest." Jaybird sat nearby. He looked at Murdock. "So?"
"So, we let the men sleep until midnight, then we move out and find the golf course and plan our hit. We'll use the fifties and hope we can discourage the troops on hand."
"Sounds reasonable."
"We leave Mahanani here with another man for security for DeWitt. The rest of us go and hope for a quick hit and a getaway."
"About time we used the fifties. See you at 2400."
Murdock didn't realize that he had gone to sleep. Douglas shook his shoulder, and he came up with the MP-5 at the ready.
"Wake-up time, sir. It's 2400, time we get moving."
Murdock went to check on DeWitt. Mahanani had been dozing, but came awake when Murdock walked up. He checked DeWitt and looked up.
"Doing better, Skipper. He's been sleeping, the morphine is helping. Hear we're moving out about now."
"You and Adams are on guard duty for security on DeWitt. You probably won't have any trouble. With daylight, work up some kind of camouflage for the JG. We'll see you when we get back. By then we'll need some kind of transport for DeWitt, unless we can grab a boat at that dock."
When Jaybird got back to his spot, Jaybird was there and said the men were ready to move out.
Murdock sent Adams over to stay with the medic, and the rest of them followed the two Korean scouts toward the golf course.
At that time of night, there was little activity around the few houses and buildings they went by. The golf course had been built on former farmland, and had gotten in trouble with a stringent North Korean land-use law. But a general in charge of everything can change anything.
They found the golf course after an hour's hike. Murdock scanned the three holes the general had reactivated. There were trees and shrubs growing on the rest of the course, plus lots of weeds. The course had been closed down, but the officials at that time must have forgotten to put it back into farm use.
Murdock and Jaybird chose a natural growth of trees that must have at one time been between two fairways. They did a little clearing, and had good fields of fire at the third green from just over 150 yards. Fish in a barrel.
Murdock put the two fifty-caliber weapons ten yards apart, and made sure their fields of fire were wide open. Then he put the rest of the platoon on security and backup around them. He placed the four PSG1 sniper rifles one on each side of the fifties and two in the middle. They would have six shots at the general before the Koreans knew anyone was there.
Murdock and the men settled down to wait. Charley said that often the general was on the course at daylight. He evidently was an early riser. This might be his last day to get up, Murdock mused. There was no reason that the SEAL marksmen could miss at this range.
Murdock began thinking about his retrograde movement. He'd pull back through the course, make for the small hill they had come over, and then find the dock and his other three men.
Depending on who was chasing him, he'd steal a boat or simply dive into the bay and swim out to sea. But what about DeWitt? He was a SEAL. He would be able to swim better than walk. He would be stronger tomorrow. Other possibilities cluttered Murdock's brain. They could carry DeWitt to the dock, put him on a boat. They might find a truck, drive down the coast, and find a boat or a better place to get into the sea and swim out to contact the RIBs. No, they had to contact the destroyer first with SATCOM before they went into the water. Give a location.
His mind whirled. Everything was so tentative. Play it by ear. What if there were too many alternatives'?