"Hold," Murdock said in the mike. Each of the SEALs had a personal Motorola communications radio for short distances. Each SEAL had an earpiece and a lip mike. The small transceiver unit fastened to their webbing and gave them instant communications with all seventeen men on the team.
"Keep up the pressure, west guys," Murdock said. He now heard return fire at the muzzle flashes from outside the fence.
Murdock watched the building ahead of them. Lampedusa said it was the right one. Two soldiers came out the door and at once ran to the west. Murdock grinned.
The SEALs knew their jobs. Murdock touched his mike. "We three, let's move." Only three of them would go inside and reduce any opposition, then herd all the civilians together. Murdock, Jaybird, and Les Quinley, with his new HK G11 sub-gun that fired caseless bullets, charged across the twenty yards to the building and swung open the unlocked door. The three stormed in. Murdock took the right-hand section. He saw two soldiers, and riddled them with half a dozen silent rounds.
Jaybird had the center section of the big building but found no opposition. When Quinley jolted in the door and checked the left-hand side, he saw three soldiers bringing up their guns. He held the trigger back on the G11 and splattered the three Iranians with twenty rounds. They went down without firing a shot.
Already Murdock had run into the room, and herded six of the civilians ahead of him away from the assembly tables. Jaybird did the same and then Quinley pushed six more toward the far corner. They made the civilians lie on the floor.
Murdock hit his mike again. "Franklin, inside."
Franklin rushed in the door a moment later. "Keep these civvies down on their bellies and quiet. Tell them."
Franklin ran up to the eighteen men and ordered them to lie down and be quiet. He said none of them would be hurt.
"Bring in Kat," Murdock said. The door burst open again, and two SEALs ran inside, then Kat came, and then two more SEALS. They had her tool kits. She hurried to the first assembly table, and nodded.
"Two small charges on this one," she said. Joe Douglas pasted the TNAZ block where she told him. He didn't put in timer/detonators. She ran to the next table. This one was more complete. She took her tool kit and began some disassembly.
"This one is going to take more time," she said into her radio.
"We have a defensive perimeter in front outside," Ed DeWitt said on his mike. "Nobody knows we're down here yet. Lots of action up north. Our men still firing, but it's tapering off."
"Longer we're a secret here, the better," Murdock said. He went back to the outside door and checked. He took two of the inside men and put them in front. There were still five SEALs inside. He saw the other outside door and tried it. Locked. He turned a lever and it came open.
Cautiously he looked outside. Six Iranian soldiers stared at the opening door. Murdock brought up his MP-5 submachine gun on 3-round setting, and cut down three of the men with two bursts. One ran. The other two fumbled for their shouldered weapons. He killed them in a second double burst, then sent six rounds after the runner. He stumbled, but kept on going. Murdock called to the five men inside and put them outside along the building as a back door guard. They would have company soon.
Murdock ran to where Kat worked on the third bomb.
"This one is more complete. I need to do some delicate surgery before it gets blown up. You seen anything that looks like it could hold plutonium?"
"Some big lead box?"
"About the size of it."
"Get a rush on here, Kat. We've just been made out the back door. We'll be having company before long."
"If we can find the plutonium, we'll need transportation to move it. Can we steal a truck or at least a jeep somewhere?"
"I'll put my best car thief on it." He touched his mike. "Douglas, we need a truck or a jeep. Take a man with you and try to bring one back. If it's impossible, tell me. Don't get yourself overmatched and killed out there."
"Will do, L-T. I've got Ching with me. We're gone."
"Magic, how is it going?"
"Down to five rounds. Machine gun ammo almost gone. Out of the forties. Should we pull back?"
"You're taking fire, anybody trying to charge you?"
"So far they're just firing from the sides of buildings, and cars. They like lots of protection. We've got a few rocks."
"Move toward the place where the lights went out along the fence when you need to. Longer you can keep them up there, the better it is for us."
"That's a Roger, L-T."
Murdock ran back to Kat. She was sweating. She finished the fourth bomb partial, and looked at the fifth.
"This one is almost ready for the plutonium to be put in. Glad we got here today. Give me ten minutes."
"We might not have ten. Look at number six."
She checked it. "Good plan, this one is a snap." She showed Al Adams where to put the TNAZ charges on this one, and ran back to number six.
"Found that plutonium yet?" she asked.
Murdock ran to Franklin, and told him to ask the men in Farsi where the plutonium was being kept. He did, but nobody said a word.
He asked the question again. Still silence. He jerked one of the civilians to his feet and put a Colt carbine's muzzle against the man's head. Again he asked them. One man wavered. Franklin moved the carbine, and fired one round through the thigh of the man he held up. The shot civilian screamed, and Franklin dropped him to the floor. He jerked up the man who had seemed about to talk.
"Where?" he asked again. The man shook so hard he couldn't talk. He pointed. Franklin pushed him in that direction. He went to the far end of the building, and showed them a panel on the floor. He caught a ring and pulled. The six-foot-wide panel lifted up on a counterbalance and a steel box, two feet square, rose on some kind of an elevator.
Kat ran up and looked at it.
"Heavy as hell," she said. "Steel box that's lead-lined to hold the plutonium. At least they're protecting it right. Now we need a truck. Look around for a forklift of some kind."
She ran back to the fifth bomb, which she had to work more on.
Murdock heard the firing from the rear. A voice came over the radio.
"L-T, we got a whole shitpot full of Iranians back here just pissed off to hell. Could use some help."
Murdock ran toward the back door, shoving in a new magazine. He went through the door low, and felt bullets whine over his head. He was belly-down behind an old car of some make. Past it he saw flashes from at least a dozen weapons.
"Hold fire," he directed in the mike. "Make the bastards come closer, and get in the light so we don't fire blind. Conserve your ammo. We don't fire blind. Conserve your ammo. We don't have all that much."
The firing continued from the back for a moment, then slackened. Were they going to move forward slowly, or come firing at a run?
"Hey, cowboys, we've got some action out front," Ed DeWitt said. "The jerk in the jeep patrol is driving right up to us. We'll take him out, and try to grab the jeep for Kat. You said you needed transport, right?"
Murdock whispered into his mike. "Yeah, nail the jeep. We also could use three more men back here. The bastards are about to make a charge at us. Get them over here fast. Through the building. Do it now."
24
Three more SEALs charged outside through the rear door, and went prone behind a car and a trailer. Murdock spread them out a little more. Then he saw shadows move into the light. His first 3-round burst from his submachine gun led the way as the SEALs all opened fire.