Murdock came in front of the formation, and looked over the men.
“Ching, fall out and stand guard over our goods here and our favorite bus. We’re going on a hike, and the doctors don’t want you working that leg as much as we’re going to. You get to do any series of upper-body exercises you want to. We have some free weights in the bus, and there are always push-ups and chin-ups. Give yourself a good hour’s workout.
Then take it easy, and heal up. We want you back going flat out in a week.”
Ching fell out, and Murdock saw a flicker of emotion on the man’s face. He figured it was relief at not having to go on the march.
Murdock led them out on a ten-mile march with full operational loads, including combat vests with standard-issue ammo for the various weapons. Every man also carried two filled canteens, his weapon, a smoke grenade, four hand grenades, a first-aid kit, a plasma kit, twenty-five feet of quarter-inch nylon rope, a weapon field-cleaning kit, a K-bar fighting knife, a large plastic garbage bag, sunscreen, camouflage makeup, sunglasses, water purification tablets, waterproof matches, and four chemical twist-to-start light sticks.
The men wore their desert cammies, with an assortment of headgear ranging from balaclavas to floppy field hats to bandannas.
They headed out for Hill 431, and Murdock led the pace. Halfway there they moved into their combat field diamond formations, with Second Squad leading and Scout Lampedusa a hundred yards out in front.
At the top of the small peak, Murdock spoke into his Motorola, and the men moved into a long line of skirmishers five yards apart along the rim of the hill.
“See that old snag down there that we’ve shot at before?” Murdock said into his lip mike. “That’s the target for today. Machine gunners, give it six bursts of five rounds. Bradford, be ready. You’re next with three rounds. Let’s blow that snag away this time. Douglas and Ronson, you may fire when ready.”
When Bradford had fired, Murdock came back on the net. “What’s the range to the snag?” He got several ideas.
“The right answer is two hundred yards. Let’s see who can lay a forty-mike-mike right on the target. Each of you give it four tries.”
The five SEALs equipped with the Colt M-4A1 with the M-203 grenade launcher under the barrel started firing.
After a dozen rounds went out, Murdock came back on the radio.
“Remember, this is like horseshoes and fraggers. Close counts. Nudge them in there.”
When the firing stopped, the desert was so quiet they could hear a hawk call a half mile off.
Murdock lifted his subgun and chattered off six rounds.
“That’s enemy fire from our rear. What’s your first reaction?”
“Get our asses over the ridge and protection on the downslope,” Jaybird called.
“Do it,” Murdock bellowed. The fifteen men jolted over the ridgeline, and six feet down the reverse slope. They crawled back up until they could just see over the ridge, and readied their weapons.
“How about some return fire on those attackers below?” Murdock whispered into his lip mike.
Fifteen weapons sprayed hot lead down the slope ahead of them until Murdock gave them a cease-fire. Murdock pulled the men around him.
“Anybody remember where the hog’s back is?”
“To hell and gone north,” Quinley said.
“Another dog-fucking ten miles,” Ron Holt added.
“True, I have to keep you puppies in shape. You could be coming into some light duty, who knows?”
Jaybird laughed. “Bet you do, Commander. Don Stroh didn’t come out here just to go fishing and have a fish fry.”
“You know anything more, you tell us, Jaybird,” Murdock said.
“Just guessing,” the Platoon Chief said.
“We’ve got company at three o’clock,” Lampedusa said.
Murdock looked out from their ridgeline, and saw a trail of dust spiraling up in the quiet desert air.
“He’s moving too fast for the terrain,” Lam said.
“Got to be a Humvee,” Joe Douglas threw in.
The Humvee is the U.S. military light-utility truck that replaced the time-honored Jeep. It’s a multipurpose 4x4 wheeled vehicle with automatic transmission, power steering, and a Detroit Diesel 150-hp diesel V-8, air-cooled engine. Top speed is 65 mph with a range of 300 miles.
“What the hell is a Humvee doing out here?” Ed Dewitt asked.
As they watched the dust trail come closer to them, they saw a green flare pop in the sky over the dust trail. The rig was still two miles away, and the flare faded quickly. “Trying to get our attention,” Murdock said. “Jaybird, fire a green flare and let’s get moving down this asshole of a mountain. Maybe we’ve got an assignment.”
“Could have talked to us on the SATCOM,” Holt said. “Oh, yeah, we haven’t had it turned on this morning.”
“Do it,” Murdock said.
They stopped, and Holt broke out the SATCOM and aimed the fold-out dish antenna. As soon as he had it aligned, and the set turned on, it gushed with voice transmission.
“Commander Murdock, respond ASAP. This is Commander Masciarelli.
This message will repeat every five minutes.”
Holt switched the set to transmit in the clear, and Murdock took the mike.
“Commander Masciarelli, this is Murdock. Message received, standing by.”
Less than a minute later, the speaker came on.
“Murdock, you’ll be having company there today. Special Agent Olivia Poindexter. She works with the Company, and has a group of special items to show you. You may want to extend your stay in the field for testing. In case you decide to, I’ve sent rations for your platoon for four more days. Advise the master chief of your schedule.
Questions?”
“No, sir. The Humvee is in sight now, and we’re moving toward it.
Murdock out.” Murdock looked at his platoon.
“You heard the man. We’ve got a date below with the people in that Humvee. Let’s not keep them waiting too long at the boulder field down there.” Ed Dewitt walked beside Murdock.
“One of Don Stroh’s guys is bringing us some new weapons to test?”
“That’s what it sounds like. The Agency has some great little items, but usually they don’t share much. I’m interested in what they’re going to show us.”
Twenty minutes later, they hiked over the last of the boulder field that had stopped the Humvee. A civilian sat in the front seat. The driver was a seaman.
Murdock put his men at ease fifty yards from the Humvee, and walked up with Ed Dewitt to the vehicle. They were thirty yards away when the civilian stepped out. She was slender, a brunette, and wore khaki pants and shirt. Sunglasses protected her eyes, and her hair had been cut short and stylish. She turned toward them, and waited.
“Be damned,” Ed Dewitt said.
“Probably,” Murdock said, and grinned. They stopped a respectable six feet from the woman, and both men came to attention and saluted.
“Good morning. I’m Lieutenant Commander Murdock. This is Lieutenant (j. g.) Dewitt. I understand you want to see us?”
Up close, he could see that she was tan, more sturdy than he had first thought, and smiling as she took off her sunglasses. The two SEALS took off their shades as well. Her smile was delightful.
“Gentlemen, I’m Olivia Poindexter. I often work with Don Stroh, who you know. He asked me to show you some of our newest, and best, defensive and offensive weapons and gadgets. I hope this isn’t too much of a problem for you?”
“Not at all, Miss. Poindexter. We’re always glad to see anything that Don thinks might help us in our missions.”
“I’m aware of what you’ve done in the past, Commander. I respect your work, and your skills. I’ll try not to show you anything that might not be appropriate.”