Danger Close (Shadow Warriors) (32 page)

“I know that. We also can’t meet like this very often, either.”

“God, no…if Lane ever catches me—” She choked back a sob.

“She won’t. Look, stay in touch, but only as necessary. If things start looking bad, contact Chesty again.” Every shred of his being screamed out for him to protect Cathy. She was in real jeopardy. Boland loved her. He didn’t want to see her die. Helplessness sheared through him.

Some of the haze of euphoria dissolved, leaving her more clearheaded. “What if things do heat up? What can you do?”

Boland’s eyes glittered. “Whatever becomes necessary. I’ll pull the rug out from under heaven and hell if need be. Don’t worry—I’ll be there for you, Cathy.” His voice broke. “Do you believe me?” She had to! And he would—with the last breath in his body, the last beat of his heart—willingly give his life to save hers.

Tears sprang to her eyes. “I shouldn’t believe you, Jim. My head is screaming at me that you lied to me once before. You used me. But my damned heart says to swallow everything you’re saying.”

His smile tore at her senses. “Listen to your heart and your gut instincts. Neither will lead you wrong, babe.”

“You’re such a romantic, Boland,” she accused, slowly rising. So was she, but Cathy was afraid to give it voice. She yearned for a future that included him in it.

“Not a romantic. It’s called hope. The very word you don’t believe in, remember?” Jim saw tears dribble down her cheeks. He wanted to reach out and smooth them away with his thumbs, to hold Cathy, to keep her safe within his arms. Love for her savagely gnawed at him. If only he could tell her that. What would she do? Run? Disbelieve him? Think he was lying to her once again? No, things were too tenuous yet. A lump formed in his throat as he swallowed back the words.

Cathy sobered, realizing she might not see Jim again. Ever.
That
was reality and it washed coldly over her. “I’ll let you keep hoping for both of us. Thanks…for everything.” And she disappeared quietly into the darkness, a shadow reclaimed by the night.

Hanging his head, Boland remained motionless for over a minute. Hot tears jammed into his tightly shut eyes. Reaching up, he wiped them away. How badly he’d hurt Cathy. And how much he loved her. His heart ached with pain. With terror. She could die at any moment. Opening his eyes, Boland glared at the silent, black hill where she’d disappeared. The pain in his chest widened like a thunderstorm within him. The love he felt for her would no longer be ignored or silent. Ever. Now, all he could do was wait to see if Major Lane made a move against Cathy.

LOUISE MADE a decision. Four days had passed since she had let Kay persuade her to allow Hayes back into the CP. The enlisted girl walked around as if she were facing a firing squad: jumpy, white-faced and screwing up even the most simple of clerical duties. Lane no longer trusted Hayes. Her instincts, which had kept Louise one step ahead of her enemies all her life, screamed at her to get rid of everyone connected with the Simmons debacle. She hadn’t reached that conclusion easily. Only one way to stop cancer, she had decided. Kill it.

Lane had spent last night lying quietly on her cot in the CP. There had been no rocket or mortar attacks, for once, and she’d been able to think and plan uninterrupted, a minor miracle in itself. With Kay and Hayes dead, there would be no way to implicate her directly with Simmons’s murder if it was ever disclosed. Even if, for some odd reason, the body was exhumed and autopsied, she could shrug her shoulders and claim innocence. Sure, there would be fingers pointed at her because she was the commanding officer and, therefore, remotely responsible, but that would be all.

At least, she couldn’t be pinned to the murder directly and she would escape slightly wounded instead of mortally shot. And most important, the WLF, an all-woman military branch, would continue to exist. It would not be brought down by one woman officer’s uncontrolled rage.

Decision made, Louise had to consider the fact that her KIA’s were climbing. Two more dead wouldn’t look great—it would mean more negative press—but to get the Simmons murder off her back once and for all, it would be worth it. As dawn stained the horizon, Louise silently congratulated herself. She had splashed lukewarm water over her face and greeted the now-crimson dawn with a pair of bloodshot eyes. By 0830, shortly after roll call and the daily orders being handed down by Kay, Louise left Alpha by Jeep.

No one questioned where she went. It was Monday and that meant a regimental and SEATO staff meeting over at Mackey’s HQ. She would sit with Mackey’s holier-than-thou group of planning officers over at Mike Company to coordinate the week’s coming patrols.

Hours later she stood with other officers as Mackey and the Thai general gave out specific information on where each nation’s troops would be operating for the forthcoming period. There was a convoy going to Ban Pua tomorrow with a fresh supply of ammo. The LA were still heavily prevalent in the area after destroying half the Thai village that sat at the base of the hills where the ROK and British armies had dug in. Contact was almost guaranteed and the convoy would be a dangerous assignment to pull because of increased enemy activity along the only highway to and from Ban Pua.

It was a perfect setup. Louise smiled and told Mackey that she would send her XO and assistant into the surrounding area around Ban Pua. Mackey had stared at her as if she were crazy. What purpose could be gained by allowing her request? Wasn’t she aware of high LA activity around the village? Louise maintained her cardboard smile, which didn’t waver one bit, saying that she was looking for her junior officer to gain firsthand knowledge of the allies and their tactics.

Mackey refused to provide any special escort into the village, saying that he didn’t have people to spare on such an unnecessary request. Louise shrugged eloquently and said fine. Mackey scowled heavily, knowing she was up to something but unable to pursue the matter further in front of the rest of the SEATO officers or the Thai general.

Afterward, Louise pulled an old friend of hers, Colonel Taksin, aside. Like her, he was ambitious for further upward mobility. They had worked together quite successfully two years ago. Mackey had wanted to get her out of his own Recon teams, so he transferred Louise to Colonel Taksin’s outfit of Thai’s for a trial period. Mackey had done her a favor, because Taksin was aggressive, wanted as much notoriety, medals and whatever else he could collect, as much as she did.

They got along well with one another. In one engagement against the LA, Louise had saved Taksin’s entire career. He had made a grievous error in tactical judgment. Lane and the Thai team she was working with at the time took the brunt of the mistake. And she was the only one who ended up alive. Taksin was terrified and apologetic, having almost lost the American woman. It could have meant a full-scale investigation had it not been for Louise reading between the lines and covering his screwup.

Taksin had promised her
anything
to lie on the report being demanded by the Thai generals. Louise wanted two things: a Thai medal for valor to add to her scalp belt and a second request, if it ever was needed, at a future date. Relieved, Taksin agreed. Now, Louise was going to collect on her second request.

“Just take them into Ban Pua and lead them down a hot trail, Colonel,” she said, leaning against her Jeep, arms folded across her chest. She stared at the shorter, compactly built Thai.

“And then?” he asked in his high-pitched perfect British English.

Louise shrugged. “Tell them it’s a safe trail. Tell them it was checked an hour earlier and it’s clear of mines and so forth. Let Captain Ingram lead. I’ll give her orders to map the area around Ban Pua for future patrols. She’s done this for me many times before and won’t think anything of my orders.” Her eyes narrowed on the major. “Make a phony radio call and tell her the escort is needed back in the village.”

Taksin’s eyes rounded. “Withdraw?”

“That’s right.”

“But…that is suicide for your two soldiers.”

Nodding, Louise said, “That’s exactly how it will appear. Later, if there is an investigation, and I’m sure there will be, you insist that Ingram refused to listen to you and retreat back to the safety of the village. You can’t help it if Ingram insisted upon going down that trail. You can tell your general and my colonel you warned Ingram, begged her not to go down a known trail that was hot.”

A quick, cutting smile came to Louise’s mouth. “I’ll back you on this, Colonel Taksin. I’ll tell Mackey that Ingram disobeyed my orders and went on her own initiative, purely an exercise in poor judgment on her part. I’ll further support that she wasn’t authorized to go into Ban Pua, much less, on the trails surrounding the village. In the end, we walk away clean and without indictment.”

Taksin brightened and wiped the sweat from his round face. “And that’s all you want in payment for the debt?”

“Well, there is one small detail,” Lane added. “Added insurance. I want you to call in arty on top of them as soon as your men are clear.”

Taksin merely smiled. “Payment for old debts come high. And how do I explain this artillery error?”

“Use your trusted people, Taksin. Claim that Captain Ingram made a mistake and turned left when your men insisted she go right. Ingram will be caught out in a no-man’s-land and your forward observers will mistake her as an LA. Your FO’s call in arty on top of her.” She smiled blandly. “It can’t be your fault if the captain blunders into a free-fire zone.”

Lane stood and allowed her arms to fall to her sides. “This may appear to be a large price, Colonel, but remember the human price of the original encounter you were responsible for two years ago. Do we have an understanding?”

His teeth were white against his golden-brown skin. “Perfectly, Major. Tomorrow then?”

“Tomorrow,” she agreed. “They’ll be on that convoy at 0600. You pick a good squad of your men and go with them. By 1000, you’ll be at Ban Pua. Get Ingram and Hayes into the village immediately thereafter. Once you make contact, call in Thai arty right on top of their position. If the LA don’t get them, I want the arty to finish the job.”

With a quick nod, the colonel placed his hands in a prayerlike position. “You will receive an apologetic call from me by noon tomorrow informing you your two women, who disobeyed my orders, went into the village of Ban Pua and are regrettably dead.”

“Excellent.”

WHEN CATHY heard through the grapevine that Ingram and Hayes were going to the vicinity of the village of Ban Pua for patrol planning, her heart banged violently in her chest. She was exhausted from having just come off an eight-thousand-meter ambush patrol that had netted nothing insofar as body count. As Ingram read off the patrols for the day, Cathy had no more until tomorrow morning. Hoping against hope, Cathy caught up with Ingram after the troops had been dismissed as Kay and Hayes were heading to the Humvee to meet the convoy at Mike Company.

“Captain Ingram?” she called. Throwing a salute as Ingram turned, Cathy came to attention.

Irritable because of the unexpected duty, Kay jerked around. “What is it, Fremont?”

“Permission to go with you, ma’am?”

At first, Kay was going to say no. And then she brightened. Hayes would be useless in a planning task like this. Fremont, on the other hand, was well prepared and able to do it, therefore taking most of the hard work off her hands.

“If you come, you’re going to work, Fremont,” she warned her.

Cathy felt her hopes rise sharply. It would be her only chance to go to Ban Pua to see for her own eyes whether Krit’s family had been destroyed. Perhaps she might find a surviving member of Krit’s family to see if Sirikit’s baby was really dead or not. “Yes, ma’am. I know that.”

Kay pointed to the Jeep. She noted that Fremont was grungy looking as hell from just coming in from the patrol, still in her helmet and flak jacket and carrying her rifle. “Get in.”

Cathy hopped in the back of the vehicle. Janet gave her a quizzical look and sat in front while Ingram drove but said nothing.

JIM SWALLOWED his surprise when he saw Billy come loping up the line of convoy trucks, a grin spread ear to ear across his freckled face.

“Hey, Cap, I just saw Cathy and two other WLF women on truck twenty-five.”

He frowned. Something didn’t fit, but he was too busy coordinating the last-minute snags that always occurred. Jim brusquely nodded, going back to his planning sheet on who was manning the convoy trucks. An icy feeling cloaked him as Cathy’s conversation came back to him. What was up? Something was, that was for damn sure.

“You’re on truck twenty-four, Billy. Keep an eye on her if things get heavy.”

“You bet, sir.”

The throaty roar of forty convoy trucks firing up shattered the dawn, drowning out the screams of the monkeys and the songs of the tropical birds. Boland climbed into the lead truck. Between watching for land mines and possible LA attack, he wouldn’t have time to mull over the reasons Cathy was unexpectedly on the convoy.
Dammn it!

Cathy dozed in the rear of the truck, uncomfortable on top of wooden crates filled ammunition for the ROK troops at Ban Pua. Out of four hours of being jostled, bumped and bruised, she managed two hours of sleep. The convoy was stopped a number of times because mines were discovered in the road. What would normally take only an hour, took much longer. If Billy hadn’t come up and told her that Jim’s Recon team was on the convoy, she’d never have known. Would there be time to steal a few minutes at Ban Pua to see Jim before they had to start mapping? She hoped so.

Amid the red, swirling dust, Ingram barked orders for Cathy and Hayes to follow her. A Thai officer led them quickly to an awaiting Jeep. Cathy hesitated by the truck, trying to catch sight of Jim. Ingram made a jerking motion for her to come along. Cathy managed to grab Billy and tell him where they were going and that was all. Disappointed that she would not be able to see Jim, Cathy climbed in the vehicle. Ingram pointed to the radio pack, ordering her to put it on and carry it. Cathy opened her mouth to protest but decided against it. Hayes was only a PFC and should be the pack animal for the patrol, not her. It was obvious Ingram was not only going to let her carry all the heavy equipment in the sweltering and climbing temperature, she’d also get to do most of the mapping.

Kay looked around at the burned-out shell that had once been Ban Pua. Half the village had been leveled by savage LA reprisals. A five-man Thai fire team waited, reassuring her that the southern trail out of the village was safe. Kay looked at her watch: 1030. If she hurried, they would be done in two or so hours. She glanced at Hayes, whose face had gone pale as she surveyed the carnage around them. Sliding a glance to Fremont, who was double-checking the radio equipment before she hoisted it over her shoulders, Kay decided to send them back with the returning convoy at 1400.

“Okay, let’s get this show on the road,” she groused at the Thai lieutenant.

“This is the trail, Captain Ingram,” the lieutenant said in flawless English, pointing to a well-trodden path that led into the wall of the jungle. “Completely safe. I had my men go over it earlier this morning. From this trail, you can get a complete idea of the interlocking trail system the LA use in this area.” He motioned to his awaiting men, who looked stoic. “You go ahead.” He smiled broadly. “We’ll be close behind.”

Kay nodded abruptly, swinging her gaze to Cathy. “Fremont, take the lead.”

Cathy finished buckling on the radio and tightened the straps. “You mean point?”

“No, dammit! The trail is safe. All I want you to do is look for offshoot trails.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

Cathy nodded, taking up her rifle. Ingram wasn’t going to give her any time to talk with the other villagers who had survived the vicious LA attack. Where Krit’s house had once stood, nothing remained but craters of fire-blackened earth and the support logs to the structure. It was as if the LA had known where the house had stood. The area surrounding it resembled moonscape. Cathy swallowed back her tears, realizing with awful finality that Sirikit and her beautiful baby son would not have survived.

The sun was rising hot, burning down through the canopy overhead, the straps biting into Cathy’s chaffed shoulders. Out of habit, Cathy allowed her point senses to work for her as they trod silently down the well-beaten path through the overhanging trees and vines. Because the Thais had said it was a safe trail, she had screwed on the long antenna that was able to broadcast farther in case help was needed. A long antenna could trip an explosive wire strung above their heads and trigger a series of mines detonations along the trail that would blow them away. Cathy wasn’t ready to put her life into anyone’s hands, even though the Thais had sworn the area was safe.

No one spoke. Cathy looked back twice in the first half hour to see the Thais close behind. Her shoulders were growing numb from the weight of the radio. Flies dive-bombed her with murderous accuracy. They buzzed around her head and she felt their bite on her unprotected neck. With a silent curse, Cathy swatted at them, her gaze restless as the path took a sharp turn to the left and into deeper, denser foliage. She stopped, squatted down and began to take notes of potential ambush sites with Ingram and Hays spaced a good twenty-five meters apart behind her. Hearing whispers, Cathy raised her head from the map where she was making notations with the grease pencil.

Ingram nodded in the direction of the lieutenant and she saw the entire Thai team turn around and disappear. Frowning, Cathy got up and went back to her captain.

“What’s going on?”

“Nothing. The lieutenant just got a call to get back to the village. Something about his other platoon capturing an LA prisoner. They want him to interrogate the unlucky bastard. Go on, this is a safe trail.”

“But—”

Ingram’s eyes turned black. “Dammit, keep on going! I want this project wrapped up in another hour. We’re carrying a radio. It’s not like we’re out of touch. Take the lead and shut your mouth, Fremont.”

Something was wrong. Cathy could sense it but not put a finger on it. Was this some kind of setup? Was Ingram going to blow Hayes and her away? Impossible, Cathy decided, because she had been the one to ask to come along. Ingram hadn’t ordered her to. Shaking her head, Cathy took the lead. They moved another two hundred meters down the trail before she discovered, alongside the trail, a hill of white ants that were scrambling madly around in anger, the imprint of a fresh footprint the reason. Cathy hunkered down, motioning for Ingram to come up. She saw Hayes’s face tense.

“What is it?” Ingram hissed impatiently, crouching down next to her.

“Look,” Cathy whispered, pointing at the footprint.

Ingram adjusted the heavy helmet. “So what?”

Cathy held her anger in check over Ingram’s stupidity. “It’s a fresh print. No more than an hour old. These ants are still stirred up. “It could mean LA in the immediate area.”

“The lieutenant said this path was used by the village. Probably some Thai kid came by here. Who the hell knows? Who cares? Come on, get with it!” Ingram checked her watch and then her map. “Another hundred meters and this trail ends at a small river. At that point, we’ll turn around and come back.”

Sweat trickled down Cathy’s body, making her itch. A sickening feeling almost suffocated her as she slowly rose to her feet, taking the lead more cautiously this time as she flipped the safety off her M16.

Wiping the sweat away from her mouth, Cathy kept lifting her gaze to the trees to detect any dark shadows that might take the form of a patient LA sniper. Or a wire strung across the path to catch the antenna that could unleash a broadside explosion down one side of the trail, effectively killing all of them.

The wafting odor of fish caught her attention, and the hair on her neck stood up. Cathy’s grip on the rifle increased.
To the left!
The smell was coming from the left! She spun around, making a violent motion for the other two women to hit the deck and then dove for cover herself.

Almost immediately the jungle came alive with enemy fire. Cathy crawled behind a teak log that had fallen long ago, lodging herself tightly against it. The LA hosed a string of tracers down the length of the path. Another burst sliced down upon her from the right, chewing up leaves and branches, making them projectiles. Cathy jerked the radio off her back and quickly placed a call to the Thais at Ban Pua.

“Return fire!” Ingram screamed, firing a burst from her M16.

Hayes hugged the ground at the base of a banana tree, screaming hysterically.

Angrily, Cathy yelled into the handset. They were pinned by a large force. Where the hell was that Thai lieutenant and his team? Safe, hell! Bullets chewed at the teak log, splinters flying in all directions. Sweat stung Cathy’s eyes. She gasped for breath as the Thais finally answered.

“Lima Two, Lima Two, this is Delta One. We’re pinned…need support. Get arty…” she ordered, and gave the coordinates.

The hollow ring of mortar being fired made Cathy wince.

“Incoming!” Ingram screamed. “Withdraw!” and she began to scrawl even farther to the rear, firing in every direction. They were being surrounded!

Frantic, Cathy repeated her coordinates.

The mortars started to walk down the trail toward them. Dirt belched up in a huge geyser along with parts of limbs from a tree, showering the area. Cathy fired a semiautomatic burst and moved up the trail toward the retreating Ingram and Hayes. She had very little ammo on her. They hadn’t come prepared for a firefight. Cathy’s mind raced. Was this a setup? Where were the Thais? Things didn’t make sense.

Cathy heard the first
carrump
of 105s firing from the Thai base above Ban Pua. Arty! Thank God, they’d heard her request!

She fired another burst, jamming her body against the protection of a Teak tree. The first 105 shells came screaming in. Suddenly, they stopped their familiar wail. Cathy jerked her head up, eyes wide with disbelief. Ingram did the same. And then, all three of them rolled into tight balls, arms over their heads, mouths open, trying to find cover.

The first artillery shell was a marker rounder. The white smoke erupted three hundred meters short. It was a full one hundred meters back down the trail from where they had just come. Cathy screamed into the phone.

“Cease fire! Cease fire! You’re danger close! Repeat, you’re hitting Delta One.” She repeated the coordinates three times in a row. Cathy sobbed as she heard four arty rounds being fired.

It was the longest seven seconds of her life. When the first shell stopped screaming, Cathy realized all too clearly that they were on ground zero. She placed her back against a log, protecting the radio, gripping the unit to her chest as the artillery rounds started to land.

Fire erupted skyward, carrying trees, bushes and dirt. The explosion tore at Cathy’s eardrums. Fire scorched them like a blast furnace. She heard Hayes scream once. Ingram was roaring like a wounded bull, ordering her to call base.

Blood dribbled from Cathy’s nose as she shakily pressed down the tab on the phone. This time…this time she would call Alpha. Jim was at Ban Pua. Maybe he could do something. She fumbled with the dials setting it for the secret Recon frequency. To her great relief, it was Chesty’s deep voice that came back. Screaming out the coordinates and for the Thais to cease fire, Cathy suddenly choked back the rest. As the dirt and smoke cleared, she saw Hayes’s twisted and mutilated body.

Ingram’s eyes were wild looking as she screamed at Cathy to call in again.

Fighting against throwing up, Cathy sobbed for breath, repeating their coordinates. The LA were closing in on them. How many rounds did she have left? Not many. Oh, God, she was going to die. Die. And in such a stupid way. Why hadn’t she brought more ammo? Why had Ingram trusted that damn Thai officer?

Cathy twisted around, squeezing off several shots. The hollow ring of mortar stung the livid, smokey air. She crouched.
Jim! Jim, where are you? Oh, God, help us! Help!

“LIFT OFF!” BOLAND roared, leaning between the two Thai helicopter pilots. He glanced back at his fully prepared team who crouched tensely in the Huey, their faces set, their eyes hard. Sweat dribbled down his tightened jaw as he craned his neck toward the area where the firefight had erupted. Cathy was in trouble. Dammit, he knew something was up. Why hadn’t he stayed on top of it? Gripping his M16, Boland rapidly went over what would have to be done. The LA were there and, from the sound of it, at least a platoon-size force. Already, as they flew high above the SEATO forces, the ROKs were scrambling to place a major force to oppose the LA. He jerked the handset off Billy’s radio pack, calling in arty from two U.S. firebases instead of the Thai base. It had taken a direct order and a threat to kill every son of a bitch at the negligent Thai arty base to get them to cease fire.