They moved slower through the woods. Murdock brought up his three Bull Pups. He’d sent two with the Rangers.
Murdock called a halt when his unit was a hundred yards from the face of the slope where the cave was.
“General, let’s talk. Strategy?”
“I’d say we hit the cave entrance with four rounds of twenty, then do two shots from the EAR and move up and recon and see what they have left.”
“If they have a heavy plank door over the cave entrance, it could bounce the EAR beam off at an angle and not hurt them at all,” Murdock said.
“We should find out about that when the twenties wash away all of their camouflage. Worth a try. We don’t have enough men to assault a fort like that.”
“Agreed. You have two twenties. Let’s have each of the five guns put two rounds on the cave entrance and see what happens.”
Before they could shoot, two RPG’s flashed out of the brush near the face of the cliff and raced out a hundred yards, but fell and exploded harmlessly between the two units near the road.
“Fire when ready,” Murdock said, and he heard the report of the heavy rifle rounds leaving the weapons, then the stuttering explosions of the twenties against the face of the cliff. He hoped some went inside.
Murdock found a spot where he could look through the jungle at the cliff. He saw one section where the growth had been blown aside, and he thought he could see the edge of a hole, maybe the entrance to the cave. He used his own Bull Pup again, and put a round on the spot with the laser sighting. The airburst shattered a whole section of cut branches shielding the opening. Now they could see half of the cave opening.
Murdock had charged through the jungle for fifteen yards as soon as he saw results of the shot. He was safely behind two tree trucks when the machine-gun slugs riddled the area he had fired from.
“Casualty report,” Murdock barked into the net.
Both squads checked in with no casualties. “Two more rounds each Bull Pup,” Murdock said. “Fire and then move your ass at least twenty yards. First find a spot where you can see through the trees to the cave entrance. Then fire. Go.”
The weapons fired with spaces between as the men found fields of fire. When the ten rounds ended, Murdock moved again to where he could see the cave. The entrance was void of any cover now. It was a black hole that looked at least ten or twelve feet high. He saw a sandbagged machine gun that had been placed in front of the opening. One rebel had fallen half over the sandbags and wasn’t moving.
“General, how about some EARs into that opening?”
“Agree. Two shots each at ten-second spacing. EARs fire when ready.”
The shooters had to move to a spot where they could get a clear area to fire through at the cave mouth. Then the whooshing sounds came, and Murdock watched the opening for some reaction. He saw no men there, and none appeared after the rounds went inside.
This time there was no return fire.
“We’ve got to go in there,” Murdock said. “Ideas, General?”
“Let’s each send up one squad with the EAR and Bull Pups for a probe. You’re right, we have to go inside.”
“Moving now up this side, we’ll check with you at the cliff face. Alpha and Juan, let’s go. Whoever has the EAR come with us. Now.” Murdock moved to the head of the squad, and they worked silently up the slope toward the cliff face. It was only eighty yards now and they moved slowly, not disturbing any of the lower growth. The canopy overhead was thirty feet above them, but grew lower as they climbed.
“General, we’re about forty yards from the cliff face.”
“Roger that, we’re a little closer. Haven’t seen any action at the cave mouth. The EARs must have done their job.”
“We don’t know how far they penetrated into the cave, so be alert,” Murdock said.
They came to a rocky ledge that was in plain sight of the cave mouth. They had to cross it. Murdock studied the cave opening again. Two rebels were draped over the machine gun and its sandbags. Both looked to have massive, bloody wounds. He could see no one else.
He grouped the squad behind him. “Okay, we go over all at once. If anybody is there, he can’t get all of us. Ready? Let’s go, now.” Alpha Squad and Juan charged across the ten yards of rocky shale, and dove into the jungle cover on the other side. Everyone made it, and there was no fire from the cave mouth.
Murdock told the general about it.
“Good, they must be back well inside if any are alive or awake,” General Domingo said. “We’re near the face and moving toward the opening.”
A minute or two later the SEALs were there and could see the Rangers moving up with each man covering for the next. The SEALs did the same routine, and Lam came up to the gun mount first.
“Two KIA here, Skipper,” he said. “The weapon is out of action as well. I can’t see anything or any bodies in the cave.”
“Hold there at the side,” Murdock said.
Two minutes later the Alpha Squad men and Juan clustered against the wall next to the mouth of the cave. The general’s Rangers were on the other side.
“Scout,” Murdock said. “We’ll send in Lam.”
“Roger that,” the general said.
“Ten or fifteen yards, talking all the time,” Murdock said to Lam. The scout lifted away from the wall, and holding his Bull Pup at port arms, he edged around the side of the opening and darted inside.
“Okay, I’m in. Nothing so far. No lights. No bodies. Yes, now I have two men on the ground. Looks like the EAR got them. Weapons are by their sides. No visible wounds.”
There was a moment of dead air. “Oh, shit, now we get to it. About a dozen rebels, looks like a twenty came in here and then went off. Body parts all over the place. Hold it.” The radio went silent.
“Yes, faint but I can hear it. I’d say it’s a generator and that could mean lights back a ways. I’m using my flash. I’m maybe thirty yards inside now. Suggest some backup. One squad up here, one in reserve.”
“General?” Murdock asked.
“I’ll send in a squad. One of the men has a Motorola.”
Murdock saw the ten Rangers led by a sergeant come to the cave mouth and charge inside.
“Hi, guys, glad you could make it,” Lam said when the Rangers got up to him. “Use your lights if you have them.”
The air was quiet for a while.
Lam peered ahead in the cave. The ceiling was way up there. The cave widened out now to almost forty feet. He could still hear the pounding of the engine. Must be enough air in there so the carbon monoxide wouldn’t be a problem, he decided. Lam stabbed the short light into the darkness ahead, then swung it side to side. It didn’t help that much, and a moment later he stumbled over a body. He checked it. Sleeping. He bound the man’s feet and hands with plastic cinch straps and moved on. The cave made a turn, and ahead he could see lights. At the same time he heard the magnified sound of a sub gun chattering off a dozen rounds. He dove to the stone floor and rolled to the side.
“Contact. We’ve made contact with some live rebels who have a working sub gun. It’s around a bend in the tunnel. What now, oh, wise leaders?”
“Back off to the corner and wait,” Murdock said. “We’re coming in.” Both squads outside pulled out flashlights and ran for the cave entrance.
“Look sharp,” Murdock said. “Some bodies up here, don’t stumble over them.”
“We’re with you,” General Domingo said.
At the bend in the cave, Murdock found Lam, and edged around the wall with him and looked from ground level down the void toward the faint lights. Murdock could hear the engine chugging along now.
“No idea how many of them down there, Cap,” Lam said. “The guy on the MG had his sights set too high.”