"Mr. President, I will talk with my cabinet and my military leaders. I will convey your viewpoint and your suggestion. I must have agreement here before I can do anything. I will let you know what my people decide within eight hours."
"Thank you, Mr. President. We have done all we could to help continue the existence of Taiwan. We hope that now you can repay that assistance with some aid of your own so we can rescue these thirteen heroes now trapped in Mainland China."
"Yes, Mr. President. I understand. Thank you and goodbye."
The U.S. President put down the handset and frowned. He had no idea which way President Lee Teng-hui would go. He was a politician, a skilled one, and he would act in accord with what was best for his career and then best for Taiwan. It was a toss-up. The President rubbed his hand over his face.
One of his aides came in reminding him about a reception he was due to attend. He sighed and stood. He wondered if those thirteen SEALS in China would be dying while he smiled and made polite conversation at some damned reception. He wished that he knew one way or the other.
31
Murdock had sat at the mouth of the mine tunnel and watched day come to China. It was the first time he'd seen it — and, he hoped, the last. He stared out through the concealment of the brush in front of the opening. He could see what he figured was five miles to the east. There was no sign of the Taiwan Strait. How far were they from the water?
He wished he could push aside the ground mist and some haze as the day brightened. Some of it would burn off or blow away. Maybe then he could see the strait shimmering to the east.
Now he concentrated on the mission at hand. He had his men safe for the time being. He had spotted no military traffic below. Jaybird up in the lookout had seen nothing to alarm them. Only one truck had been spotted, and it had appeared to be a farm vehicle of some kind. It had driven into the valley about three miles out and stopped at a pair of low buildings.
Murdock wished he had a 20-power scope. Usually a SEAL had little use for one, but right now in this ground war phase of the mission, a long-range scope would be handy. As he watched, he saw a three-truck convoy roll from the left side of his view into the middle of the valley and stop. He could see figures leaving the trucks. They seemed to be talking about something. Then they all got back in the rigs and drove away past the rest of the valley and out of sight to the north.
The SEALS' luck was holding so far. All they needed was another ten hours of good fortune and they could head for the beach.
Two hours later, Murdock called Jaybird.
"Nothing doing, Skipper. All quiet out in front."
"Good. I'm sending Red up to replace you. Time for some shut-eye for you. He'll be up directly. Nothing new on the big radio so we don't know about any help coming."
Red woke up when Murdock shook his shoulder. He came awake at once ready for action. No warmup required.
"Yeah?"
"Take the lookout from Jaybird. I'll show you where it is. Keep your Motorola on and your eyes open. If we get any visitors who look like they will overrun this spot, get your ass back down here without being seen."
Red nodded and headed up the hill to where Murdock pointed.
Jaybird came back, waved at Murdock, and sacked out. Murdock called Dewitt over.
"You had any sleep?"
"Some."
"Good. My turn. If I'm out more than three hours, wake me. If any troops head this way, give me a yell. I'm due for a nap." Dewitt said he'd handle it, and went to the front to look out at the valley.
It was almost 1400 when Dewitt awoke Murdock.
"We got some company. Not sure how far they'll come this direction. Near as I can tell, there's about a hundred of them. A Chinese infantry company maybe."
Murdock came to his feet at once and went to the front of the tunnel.
At least a hundred, he decided as he watched the line of green-clad figures working slowly up the valley. They were spread thin over the mile-wide opening, but it was narrowing as they came forward. He saw four big trucks a mile behind the figures. They must be rushing men to every possible spot where the enemy could be and letting them sweep forward. Bad news.
The troops looked to be doing a good search job, poking into piles of brush and growth, checking out trees and the one building in the area below. They were still two miles away, but there was no indication they might stop their search.
"What do you think, Skipper?" Dewitt asked.
"Same as you. We wait and see how far they come. If they get here we hope to hell they don't find the opening to this tunnel. If they do we're fish in a barrel."
"But the odds are better staying in here than trying to run for it," Dewitt said.
"Agreed. We've used our skill and talents up to this point. Now we have to sit back and see how our luck is running. We win or lose on one throw of the fucking Chinese dice."
Murdock touched his throat mike. "Red, you still there?"
"That's a Roger."
"Better get your butt down here. Try not to leave any tracks, especially around the entrance. Want to have all of our chicks in one basket here."
"I'm moving. Over a hundred of them soldiers out there. Hope we don't need to tangle with them."
Both the officers watched the Chinese move ahead slowly. They were in a long line of skirmishers. The SEALS could see now that the men had their rifles slung over their shoulders with the muzzles down. They were out on a hike.
They came closer.
Twenty minutes later they were within a half mile of the tunnel. The opening had narrowed as they came up the valley. Murdock counted again and saw no more than fifty troops. Half of them must have split off and taken the valley next to this one. Good. Fifty was a hell of a lot better than a hundred.
Red joined Murdock and Dewitt inside the tunnel.
"Red, wake everyone up and get them ready to travel," Murdock said. "All gear stowed, everything set for a firefight. Check all weapons and have them locked and loaded."
"We busting out of here, L-T?"
"If we have to. Odds aren't so bad now, maybe four to one. I want the MP-5 guys first, then the CARS, and the heavy stuff behind." Jaybird came up rubbing his eyes. "I sleep that long?"
"No, you're still dreaming. Take a look out front." Jaybird did, then leaned back in. "Less than a quarter of a mile. They gonna make us in here?"
"Hope not. If they do, we crash out of here with the MP-5s chattering and head to the side, across the slant of the hill. See those trees over there maybe eighty yards? We'll make a stand there until we can bug out."
"Bug out?" Dewitt said. "I haven't heard that term for twenty years."
"It still works." Murdock went back to the front of the tunnel and stared through the branches of their handmade blind. The Chinese were closer now. They didn't seem dedicated to their search. He could hear some bantering and laughter. Now and then a sharp command came from someone, but soon the talking started again.
Directly ahead of the tunnel, he saw six Chinese soldiers working their search. They probed into heavy brush, trampled some down, checked a small stream that splashed by. They worked closer.
Someone yelled at them and they stopped and looked left and right. They were ahead of the line. They waited.
Murdock motioned Jaybird up with his MP-5. With hand signals he told Jaybird to take the left three and he had the right three. The soldiers were still a hundred feet away.
The platoon leader knew that he and Jaybird could waste these six and the rest of the Chinese wouldn't know it for a while. Then they could find the gap and close in and it would be a tough fight. If they hit the six, they would have to be in the process of moving out fast. They could hear the six men talking now. Murdock signaled Ching to come up. He listened, but shook his head. "A word here and there. They're too far away."