Under Siege (10 page)

They moved almost a mile up the trail before Lam stopped them again. “Trip wires all over the place, Cap,” Lam said over the Motorola. “I can see one Claymore aimed right down the trail at me. I’m getting behind a tree and setting it off. None of the two hundred steel balls inside the mine should get back to you. There may be more. This mine might set off some of the others by breaking the wires. Here goes.”

Murdock heard the Claymore go off with its distinctive roar. Then all was silent. “Lam, you okay up there?” Murdock asked on the Motorola.

“Yeah, I’m fine. Two more Claymore’s went off. They set them up in a crossfire. Would have taken down the whole patrol. Let’s spend a half-hour and go around this spot. There could be some more bombs here I haven’t found.”

“That’s a roger, Lam. We’re on our way. Hold there for us.”

A half-hour later, after a cautious advance, Lam reported that he could see buildings ahead.

“Yeah, big spread. Large house, two wings, out buildings, two cars in a paved parking lot below the house. I don’t see any people.”

“Any smoke, destruction, broken out windows?” Ed De-Witt asked on the radio.

“Negative. Nothing. Looks dead or vacant.”

“Take a closer look, but be careful,” Murdock said. “You want a backup scout?”

“Negative. Give me ten.”

Murdock sat the patrol down in place ten yards apart and waited for Lam to make his recon. He reported back in seven.

“Okay. I made contact. There are people there. They told me the raiders have moved on, taking the lady with them.”

“Roger that,” Murdock said. “We’re moving in. See if you can find whoever owns the place.”

“Wilco,” Lam said. “Bet it’s been a while since you heard that term. It was used by the Air Force mostly in WW II. Means simply Will Comply. That’s what I’m doing.”

Murdock brought his men up cautiously, even though Lam said the place was clear. He found a man in his sixties waiting outside for him. Lam had radioed Murdock that the man’s name was Alexi Edwards. Murdock checked him out as he walked up. He was five-six, ramrod straight, white hair, a slender body slightly sunken in the chest, with a tanned face and wide, white eyebrows. He stood stiffly at attention and saluted when Murdock stood before him.

“Colonel Edwards at your service, sir!” he shouted in the best English tradition.

“Captain Murdock, sir.” Murdock replied returning the salute. “I’m told the invaders have left with the First Lady.”

“That is correct, Captain Murdock. They took my two Land Rovers and went up the north trail early this morning. They also murdered five of my men. The leader is a true monster, a civil, educated, amoral, sadistic murderer.”

“How is the First Lady?”

“She is a wonder. Calm, collected, arguing with this Ahmed Badri at every turn. She’s educated and charming, but with a steel-solid core of grit and determination.”

“She hasn’t been harmed?”

“No, he threatened to cut off an ear and send it to the president, but he didn’t. He has a radio he can talk directly with Washington, DC, on. They left heading north toward the diamond mine. It seems the man is also a common thief.”

“How many?”

“The leader has eight men left. Two others were apparently killed at the airport.”

“How far to the diamond mine?”

“About twenty kilometers over an old trail. I have only
one other vehicle that can make the trip, a flatbed track with stake sides. How many men do you have, twenty or so?”

“Twenty-two. How long to drive to the mine?”

“Three hours. It’s up and down hills and a terribly rutted and gullied-out trail.”

“How long to darkness?”

“Another hour and a half. Not time to get to the mines. You may stay here tonight if you wish. I have a dormitory with twenty cots. This used to be a working plantation. The rest of you can sleep in the bedrooms.”

Murdock talked with Captain Engle and DeWitt then came back to Edwards.

“Yes, too late to do any good today. We’ll stay here tonight and leave at first light.”

“Good. The cooks will be delighted. Give them an hour and they will provide you with a feast.”

“That’s not necessary.”

“Correct, but it will be my pleasure. Gulba will show you to the dormitory. Dinner will be served at six
P.M.
”

A young black man came from behind Edwards and waved at the men. “This way,” he said, leading them up the steps to the main level and past the mansion to a long, low building with stone exterior and six chimneys.

Inside, the building had two large rooms, with ten metal cots in each one. The rolled mattresses made it look like a military barracks, Murdock decided. Moments later three men arrived with armloads of blankets and sheets. The SEALs and Delta men made up the beds in quick fashion. Then the locals brought in two more cots. Murdock, De-Witt, and Captain Engle talked.

“Sorry about Jamison,” Murdock said. “It could just as well have been Lam or me.”

“Luck of the draw,” Engle said sadly. “He was a good man, and he’ll be missed. He’s the first casualty we’ve had in three years. Which means we haven’t been on many
shooting missions. We hear now and then about some of the covert ops you go on. Fascinating stuff.”

“It can get downright dirty, as well. I’ve lost fourteen men in the past six years.”

The Delta captain shook his head. “I don’t know if I could take that many losses. How do you handle it?”

“Poorly sometimes. I’ve been known to rant and yell and go on a five-mile run. Then when I come back I sit down and write the letter to the man’s parents or wife. Maybe those fourteen are why they kicked me up to the CNO’s office. But I’m fighting that, too.”

Ed DeWitt grinned. “Hell, Murdock, you might be up there, but you’re here with us. Never get rid of you in the teams, that’s my judgment.”

“Let’s hope so,” Murdock said, punching DeWitt on the shoulder.

They went up to the main house and talked to Edwards about the road to the mine. They asked what state the mine was in and if the terrorists could do any damage up there.

“The mine is just starting its operation,” Edwards said. “I don’t think they’ve made many big finds. This kind of open-pit diamond mining is more like an earth-moving project. They have a crew, but not much security. Badri and his men would overwhelm them.”

“Let’s say they get in and out of there with what they came for. Where can he go from there if he decides to run?” Engle asked.

“There’s a good road to the mine from the coast up the other side of the mountain. He could get petrol at the mine pumps and drive out that way. If you had long-range radios you could put a blocking force along the road somewhere.”

Murdock looked at Engle. “Mr. Edwards. You must have radio contact with the capitol. Can you advise them what’s happening and ask the army to put out a blocking force along that road before it branches off into the countryside?”

Edwards frowned. “I’m not on splendid terms with the
government, or the army.” He took a deep breath. “There is a friend in the army I can call. He has enough rank that he might be able to convince his superiors. It’s just a chance.”

“We live or die on chances, Mr. Edwards,” Murdock said. “The quicker you can get that move started the better. Badri must be at the mine by now, scouring it for raw diamonds. Which means he’ll probably be there during the night. He’ll have a twenty kilometer start on us if he moves out at daylight.”

“And he has the good road,” DeWitt tossed in.

“True.”

Edwards pushed himself up from the big soft chair and nodded slowly. “All right, I’ll take a chance and call my friend. It’s just a try.”

Dinner proved to be a huge stew with big chunks of beef and pork and more kinds of vegetables than the men could ever remember seeing. They identified the potatoes, carrots, and onions, but there were at least a dozen kinds they couldn’t figure out.

Murdock sent the men to their bunks early and promised them a breakfast an hour before daylight. Edwards had assured Murdock that he would have a typical American breakfast for the men.

The next morning they pushed off in the two-year-old stake-bed truck just before 0600. Murdock checked the engine and found it in good shape. He even looked at the oil and water levels, and then they moved. Luke Howard was the platoon’s top driver, so he took the wheel. The first two miles were fairly flat along the side of the valley, then the trail turned upward toward a pass they could see in the mountains ahead.

The grade increased as fast as the ruts in the road, and soon they were crawling up the side of a hill at barely five miles an hour. When they got to the top of the ridge, there was another ridge ahead of them.

Howard looked at the odometer. “We’ve come almost ten kilometers,” he said. “Halfway there and it isn’t even noon yet.”

“It’s just past 0800, which means were only moving at five kilos an hour,” Murdock said. “Maybe we can make time going down the other side.”

An hour later they realized there wasn’t another side. The ridge they were on blended into another ridge that rose toward the long-viewed pass.

Just before 1000 they spotted smoke ahead. Then they came around a bend in the trail and spotted a huge gash in the side of the mountain—the mining area. Below the raw earth were a dozen wood-frame buildings, most unpainted and newly constructed. The truck was a half-mile away from the buildings when they heard rifle shots and even-one ducked.

“He’s in that building at the edge of the place,” Lam said. “Over eight hundred yards.”

“Rear guard?” Engle asked.

Murdock agreed. “DeWitt, put a twenty just in front of that building. We don’t want to ruin anything up here if we don’t have to.”

Ed grinned. “You testing my marksmanship, Cap?”

“No, I already know you’re the best shot in the platoon. Go.”

Ed sighted his Bull Pup over the cab of the stopped truck. He checked the wind and sighted in again and fired. The round hit ten yards from the wooden building, exploded with a roar, and sprayed the structure with shrapnel. There were no more rifle shots from the area.

“Let’s motor,” Murdock said. The truck ground forward down a slight incline toward the mine structures.

At two hundred yards they heard rifle fire, and a round slanted off the left front fender.

“Bail out!” Murdock bellowed. “Alpha to the right.
Bravo to the left. Delta, take your pick. Take cover and watch for movement.”

The men jumped off the truck and raced to cover on both sides of the road behind rocks and trees. Just before they were all set, a machine gun chattered from the mine. Half a dozen rounds splattered into the truck. Murdock scowled as the radiator gushed steam.

“Okay guys, we’ve got a situation here,” Murdock bellowed. “We need to get down to that mine layout as fast as we can without getting our heads blown off. Anyone have any suggestions?”

Three or four voices talked at once on the Motorola, then Jaybird’s message came through.

“Cap, we’ve got a gully over here twenty yards to the right and some cover between us and it. Say we lay down some covering fire and move over to the gully. Take us right down to the edge of that first building.”

“Yeah, I see it. Ed, you have anything on that side?”

“About the same setup. We’re on this flat little ridge that gullies out on our side, as well. We’ve got the Delta folks over here.”

“Captain Engle, what do you think?”

“Good cover, let’s do it.”

“Single-shot long guns on that first building we took fire from,” Murdock said. “Two rounds each as we bug out for that gully. Now!”

The weapons sounded and the men moved. Murdock dove into the gully and rolled and came to his feet. He had complete cover from the buildings.

“Lam out front by fifteen, let’s choggie.”

The men moved down the gully at a trot, weapons at port arms ready for any surprises. At the edge of the building they spread out. Murdock frowned. No machinery running. No activity. Where was everyone? A shot sounded from a second-story window in the second building, but missed the SEALs. In reply the room took a dozen answering shots.

Rear guard? Holding action? Murdock was undecided. House-to-damn-house fighting. Not exactly his favorite activity. He motioned to Bradford and Ching.

“Get over to that second building and check it out. We’ll give you some cover. Go on my firing.” Murdock pulled up his Bull Pup and hit the same window with three rounds. The others in the squad fired for fifteen seconds until the two men had scurried across the thirty yards to the back door of the building.

“We’ve taken some fire over here,” Captain Engle said. “We think it’s from a third building. I’ve sent two men over there. Let’s not shoot each other.”

“Copy that, Ching?”

“That’s a roger. Nobody on the first floor. Some kind of a sorting room. Listening for movement upstairs.” Ching looked at Bradford and motioned toward the stairs showing at the end of the room. Both began a silent approach. They were halfway there when a hand grenade bounced down the wooden steps.

“Cover!” Ching brayed, and both men dove to the floor and rolled toward opposite walls. The hand bomb went off with a roar inside the big room. Ching felt a jolt to his left arm. He looked down and saw a three-inch gash on the upper sleeve of his cammies and felt warm blood flowing down his arm.

He rolled and fired a six-round burst up the steps, then ran toward them, pulling a grenade out as he moved. He jerked out the pin and held down the arming lever until he was at the side of the steps. He tossed the grenade underhanded up the opening, lofting it just over the rail at the top so it would fall into the room.

The small bomb hit the top of the rail, slowed, then rolled over and dropped inside. It went off before it hit the floor. The men heard a scream from the second floor and both charged up the stairs.

“I’m right.” Bradford said.

“I’ve got left.”

They paused when they were eye level with the second floor. They saw cots and foot lockers—maybe a barrack. Just beyond the second bunk a man lay on the floor moaning, his hands holding his chest. A rifle lay near his legs. Bradford rushed up, kicked away the weapon, and checked the man. Blood pooled on his chest, seeping between his fingers, running down his side to stain the wooden floor dark red. The shooter looked at Bradford, said something in a foreign language, then gave a small cry as his head rolled to the side. Bradford touched his carotid artery at his throat. There was no heartbeat.