“Yes, sir. I have that information.”
“Now, I want you to send here to Lebak two more CH- 46’s with ten Rangers on each one combat ready with triple regular ammunition. Get them into the air within a half hour. Got that?”
“Yes, sir. We have relayed the radio messages. The diverting chopper says he’ll be at Lebak in approximately thirty minutes. The other two birds won’t be there quite that fast.”
“Thanks, Colonel. Oh, if you need me, you can call here at this number.” He gave the number of the police station and hung up.
“Well, Sergeant. Looks like you need to get your jail cleaned up. Two bodies in the office over there. I could use some first aid and a doctor for my shoulder, and you have jail cells for these rebels. Get them moving. Rosa goes in a cell too.”
“Eagle’s Nest?” Canzoneri asked.
“Yeah, but first we have to find it, then figure out how to take it when they have fifty guns up there,” Franklin said.
“Only fifty?” Canzoneri asked. “Hell, piece of cake.”
21
Murdock had done everything he could think of. Juan had continued to question the prisoner until he died, but had learned nothing more.
“Happens,” Juan said.
Murdock ignored it. He checked with the hostages again, and all were excited about being rescued and at last getting on with their travels. Now it would be straight home for most of them. They had loved the tuna sandwiches and fruit, and Jaybird had another meal for them made from some canned meat he’d found in a storage closet. He soon found flour and potatoes, and relaxed and got ready to fix another meal for the hostages.
They had complete security. If any of the rebels had survived and run into the jungle, they were heading somewhere else and not trying to attack the compound. Murdock found a radio in one of the upstairs bedrooms and caught up on the news. The government was still pressing the rebels trying to get the hostages released, informed sources in Manila reported.
Murdock laughed. They had no more casualties. The pilot of the chopper was feeling better. Khai’s broken arm wasn’t so good, and Mahanani said it might have to be rebroken if it had started to heal crooked.
It was after 1300, and Murdock was starting to wonder if the general and his team had had any trouble getting to Lebak. If they had, he and the platoon might have a few days to sit here waiting for a chopper.
He was in the backyard of the place, trying to figure out if a forty-six could land in the area, when he heard the familiar whirling and churning sound of a helicopter.
Half the SEALs appeared as if by magic when the bird came closer. Then it was right overhead. Murdock grabbed a red flare off his shoulder and lit it and tossed it in the middle of the open space behind the hostage structure.
The pilot circled the area again, then came in upwind and gently settled the giant windmill to the ground. A cheer went up from a dozen hostages who had crowded out the door when they heard the helicopter coming in.
The pilot let the bird run, and came out to talk with Murdock.
“Commander, I’m Captain Jonas Virac. I have some messages for you. First the general and your two men are fine and safe. They are in Lebak. One of our birds was rerouted to Lebak. The general says that they think they know where the rest of the hostages are. In the Eagle’s Nest, which is about twenty miles south of you and ten miles north of Lebak.
“We are supposed to take the thirty-one hostages and transport them ASAP to Davao. You will remain here for transport by the bird that is now in Lebak. Any questions?”
“Your chopper pilot Captain Samar is a little shaken up, but in good shape. We were shot down by a sniper on the ground. He’ll go back with you on this run.”
“Good, we’ve been worried about him. Commander, we can leave as soon as you get the people loaded on board. We have doors on the sides so we can close them and not lose anybody.”
Murdock went into the hostage area and began sending the people two at a time out to the helicopter.
“Take anything with you that you have. I don’t know about luggage, but I haven’t seen any.”
“The damn rebels stole everything we owned,” one woman yelled.
“There will be thirty-two of you and it will be close quarters, but even if you have to stand up, the flight is only for a little over forty minutes. Please help us all you can, and we’ll get you all out of here and home safely.”
The loading took almost twenty minutes. One little lady had to be carried, and they put in a small chair for her to sit in during the trip. The thirty-two fit in snugly, but some of them found places to sit down.
“Commander, we’re buttoned up. I may be back, not sure. All hell broke lose back at the base when we found out that other bird was overdue and unreported and that the general was on board. Then the S & R guys found the burned-out hulk and we didn’t know what to think.”
“All’s well.”
“Oh, the bird that went to Lebak will probably be up to get you shortly and transport you down there. That will be the staging area for a shot at the Eagle’s Nest. Good luck, Commander.”
The CH-46’s rotors spun faster, and it lifted off smoothly, gained altitude, and turned gently so it wouldn’t upset any of the very important cargo it carried.
Murdock waved, then looked to the south. How long would it be before the forty-six from Lebak came to haul them out south so they could look for the next eighteen hostages?
Murdock was heading back to the main house when he heard the shots. Rifle shots from a distance. He sprinted for the corner of the rock and wood house.
“Anyone hit by those shots?” he asked on the net.
Jaybird shouted a warning into the mike. “More incoming,” he said, and then Murdock heard the new shots. A submachine gun chattered off a dozen rounds.
“Where are those shots coming from?” Murdock asked.
“From the south side of the compound, in back of the guards’ quarters,” Jaybird said. “May be two shooters. We’ve got one man down. I think it’s Train. I’m into the woods to circle those bastards.”
“Take another man with you,” Murdock said.
“Nobody here. I’m gone.”
Murdock ran toward the guards’ barracks. He was shielded from the shooters. He paused at the side of the place and peered around the corner. He saw Tran “Train” Khai sprawled near a chair that had tipped over. The chair was in a patch of shade. He watched closely. Train wasn’t moving.
“Anybody else see where those shots came from?” Murdock asked. For the first time he realized he didn’t have his weapon. He’d been too quick to decide this was a secure area.
“Yeah, to the south somewhere,” Van Dyke said. “Heard them, but didn’t see any flashes. They must be deep inside the bush out there.”
“Two of them?” Murdock asked.
“My guess. Or one guy and two weapons.”
“Everybody go to ground and stay out of sight. Can anybody see Train?”
“Yeah, I have him,” Howard said. “He’s down and I don’t see him moving.”
“Who has weapons?” Murdock asked. Four men sounded off. “I want you to give me some cover. Fire into the brush to the south. Jaybird, get behind a big tree for a minute.”
“Roger that,” Jaybird said.
“Cover me, now,” Murdock said. He waited for the first shots, then charged around the corner of the guard building and raced the forty feet to where Train lay. He scooped him up like a sack of wheat and pounded back the way he had come and around the corner.