Murdock nodded. “Fine idea. If the configuration of the cave is right, we’ll do that. Now, let’s mount up and move out toward that funny-sounding town and then to the caves.”
As they rode, Kat looked over at Murdock. “This is a lot easier than the last time we dropped in to work. Iran, as I remember.” She spoke softly so those in the front seat wouldn’t hear.
“Iran it was. You did good work there.”
“I was baptized under fire.”
“You did some firing of your own, as I will forever be thankful for.”
“You never did properly thank me for that.” She grinned.
He looked at her in the dim light of the car. “Well, now, that’s a statement open to a lot of interpretation. And if I’m thinking about the right one at this moment, the chances of that kind of thanks are not too good.”
“Never hurts to ask.”
He flashed her a smile. “And what a beautiful option to have in my hip pocket… that is, in our hip pockets.” He smiled and touched her arm. “Thank you for saving my life. Now, back to work. When we hit a firefight, I want you to keep your head down. That weapon you have is for defensive purposes only.”
“Yeah, yeah, yeah, and a big SEAL hooorah to you, Commander. When I can help, I’ll help. End of topic. We going to use the Bull Pup? Looks like it came through all the customs without a hitch.”
“It did. The ammo was tougher, but we got it in, mostly in pockets. Nobody did a body search.”
They were quiet a moment. Franklin had decided they should take three cars so they wouldn’t be crowded. Kat and Murdock held down the back seat of a vintage Ziv.
They found little traffic, and with full darkness even less. It took then just two and a half hours to get to the town of Khowst. They did not stop at the safe house, instead pressed on toward the target. Fifteen miles down the gravel road, they could see lights ahead.
“Roadblock coming up,” Murdock said into his Motorola mike. “Windows down and sub gun up. We’ll take out whoever is there, but don’t kill the trucks or sedans. We might need them later. I’d say we get into action in about five minutes.”
The three cars set up a dust cloud that the second and third cars fought through. It wouldn’t last long. They came within fifty yards of the roadblock, and could see two small trucks barricading the road, with a sedan to the side. Three soldiers stood in the glare of the headlights, and held up both hands in a stop gesture. Murdock had a submachine gun out his side window.
Fifty feet from the block the first car stopped, and the other two rolled up on each side of it. As soon as the three SEAL cars were abreast across the roadway, the men in them opened fire.
23
The moment the SEALs opened fire from the three cars on the roadway, the three guards at the roadblock went down like dominoes. Two men ran from a truck, and were killed at once by SEAL gunfire. Two more soldiers jumped out of the sedan where they evidently had been sleeping. One fired two rounds before both men were cut down by hot 9mm parabellums.
“Cease,” Murdock said into his Motorola. The firing broke off like a cleaver chop.
“Lam, you and I’ll make sure,” Murdock said. He left the car, and saw Lam jump out of another one, and they ran to the roadblock. One Afghan tried to lift his rifle, but Lam sent him to Allah with a three-round burst. Another man behind the truck moaned. Murdock put a round through the side of his head. There were no guards at the roadblock left alive.
The two SEALs raced back to their cars. The little convoy moved faster now, with the SEALs hoping there had been no warning given about an attack from the guards by phone or radio before they died.
“How far?” Murdock asked on the radio.
“Should be about three or four miles,” Franklin said. “Some day guards along here, but they won’t bother vehicles, I’d guess.”
Murdock had squelched the idea of using the twenties at long distance. “We have just one and I’d rather surprise them close-up,” he said. There was no solid plan now. They would have to play it as it fell.
“We’ll drive right up to the caves if we can,” Murdock said now on the radio. “Everyone ready. If we take fire before we start shooting, we leave the cars and spread out as usual. Kat, hang on my shirttail. We want the caves. We don’t know where they house the fifty troops, but my guess would be one of the caves. Probably they put up the troops in one cave, the warhead in the other.”
“Dead ahead,” Holt, who drove the first car, said.
“How far?” Murdock asked.
“Some lights on maybe two hundred yards. Must be from a generator.”
“Head for the lights. Stop fifty yards out. Cars come up in a line same as at the block. Do it now.”
The cars drove up on both sides of Murdock’s on the wide roadway to form a line of skirmishers. Now they all could see the lights.
“Another fifty yards and we stop,” Holt said.
“Lock and load and safeties off,” Murdock ordered.
The three cars stopped a few seconds later, doors opened, and then the eleven guns opened fire on the lights and the two dark openings, which they all figured must be the caves.
The pair of floodlights bathing the opening of one cave shattered with the first volley of rounds. The SEALs had seen a few shapes of soldiers pawing around the light base, but no return shots came. The SEALs concentrated on the caves.
Murdock had the Bull Pup. He fired ten rounds into the two caves, watching the rounds explode on contact. It was like having a dozen grenades going off inside.
Men began to race out of the farthest cave. In the soft moonlight they made easy targets. Some had weapons, and fired as they ran. Many took slugs in legs and torsos and went down screaming.
No more firing came from the caves. Murdock pushed Kat behind the first car. “You stay here,” he said. She nodded.
“Time to move up,” Murdock said on the net. “We’ll go running on assault fire. Single shots and keep them low and into that first cave. Let’s go.”
The SEALs lifted up and ran forward in a ragged line of ten, aiming at the first cave. When they were twenty yards away, Murdock called for them to hit the dirt.
“Anybody see anything?” Murdock asked on the Motorola.
“Saw one guy run away to the left,” Bradford said. “He didn’t have a weapon.”
“Saw one shadow that must have been a man making a dash for the first cave,” Senior Chief Dobler said. “He made it inside.”
“Closest four men. Each of you put a grenade into that cave mouth. I’ll do some more twenties.”
Murdock fired five more rounds into the mouth of the cave, and heard the rounds explode inside during and after the grenades went off. Three of the hand bombs went inside the cave mouth, and one missed, rolling away to the other side.
“Move up,” Murdock said. The men stood now and walked forward, using assault fire with single shots. A moment later a heavy machine gun opened up from the cave mouth. Two rounds jolted Ron Holt back a step and pitched him to the ground. The SEALs dug their noses into the ground as most of the rounds now went over their heads.
“Grenades,” Murdock said. He fired three rounds at the front side of the entrance, hoping to get some shrapnel on the shooter. The man must be well protected from the front. The twenties exploded and rained down deadly shards of steel. Two grenades blasted just inside the entrance, and there was no more sound from the machine gun.
“Lam, take a look at whoever went down. I saw one of our men hit.”
“It’s Holt, Commander. He’s hit bad, but I don’t know where. He’s out of action.”
“Watch him. Jaybird, on me. Get extra grenades. Hands and knees and we work up front. Go now.”