Kate knew that Patterson had made a valid point. There really wasn't much she could do to help Dave, other than relay the information to Powers. "Is there anything else, Drew?"
"No. Do you want me to keep digging? I'm really not sure there's anything more I can find out without raising a red flag."
Kate considered the offer. "If you can't get anything on the program itself, maybe you can dig up some more information on those two people. Anything that could possibly indicate what's going on. How about checking their clearance investigations?"
"All right. Be careful."
"I'll do that. Out here." She pressed the OFF button briefly, then turned the phone back on and called Powers.
The DIA van finally pulled up and Lewis got in the back, gesturing for Ward and Riley to join him. The inside was packed with electronic equipment and smelled of wet clothes. There were no windows and the driver's compartment was separated from the rear by a thick black curtain. Lewis commandeered a swivel seat facing a communication system. Riley sat down on the floor and leaned his back against the door. Two other DIA men sat in their own chairs looking at the colonel expectantly. Ward slumped into another seat, managing somehow to look more miserable than everyone else.
"What did the sheriffs have to say about the dogs?"
Riley ran a hand across his forehead, trying to stop the water from dripping into his eyes. "The dogs are done for until this storm stops."
"You have any suggestions?"
Riley was slightly surprised to be asked that by Lewis. He realized that the colonel must be at the end of his rope. He considered his reply. The Synbats, or at least two of them, were somewhere not too far ahead. Although the dogs were no longer useful, and visibility was down to about fifty feet, they couldn't just drop this and go back to the lab. He checked his watch.
"My men should be back here with the humvees in a little while — I'd say anywhere from fifteen minutes to a half hour. Without them, we'd just be blundering around. I suggest we wait for them to get here and, while we're waiting, work out a search pattern so we can get started the minute they arrive."
Lewis got up from his chair and stepped over to an acetated map stapled on a board. "Let's do it."
In fifteen minutes they had worked out the rudiments of a plan that would allow them to quarter as much of the area as conditions and trails would permit. Riley wasn't optimistic about their chances of finding the Synbats in this weather without the dogs, especially if the creatures kept moving, but he knew that they had to give it their best shot.
Someone pounded on the door and Riley slid it open to the whipping rain. Knutz stood there wearing a Goretex rain suit.
"Got the vehicles, chief."
"All right." Riley took his waterproof case containing the map of the area and tied it with a length of cord to the buttonhole on his right cargo pocket, then zipped up his rain jacket. Ignoring the weather, Riley gathered his team around the hood of the humvee on the right. The other three vehicles were parked next to it, their squared chassis held high above the mud by the beefed-up suspension.
Humvee is the nickname for H.M.M.W.V.: high-mobility, multipurpose, wheeled vehicle. The humvee started coming into service in the mid-eighties, replacing not only the venerable jeep, but also the gamma goat cargo carrier and the mechanical mule used by airborne units. The vehicle had become particularly popular during the Persian Gulf War. The basic design was a four by four, powered by a 6.2-liter V-8 diesel engine. Its rated top speed was sixty-five miles an hour, but members of 5th Group had broken that barrier several times. It was capable of climbing a sixty-degree embankment, fording five feet of water, and could run for thirty miles with all four wheels flat.
The 5th Special Forces Group had taken the basic-issue humvee and modified it for operations in Southwest Asia, the group's area of operations. Each vehicle mounted either a .50-caliber machine gun or 40mm automatic grenade launcher in an open hatch in the center of the roof: sort of an armed sunroof. The gunner stood with his chest out of the vehicle, and the pedestal-mounted gun was capable of firing 360 degrees. The humvees also had FM radio capability. Each team in the group had four vehicles assigned.
After outlining the various areas of responsibility to the vehicle commanders, Riley added some final words. "We'll go with team SOP for breakdown on crews. I want the guns manned and all quarters scanned. I know that the weather conditions aren't the greatest, but we're dealing with something that has killed and will do so again until we stop it.
"Don't underestimate these things. Just because you have weapons, don't think you hold the advantage." He looked around at the wet faces and felt a slight unease. He was leading men into a potentially life-threatening situation, and he felt a strong sense of responsibility for each of them.
"We'll search until dark. Stay in contact on your FM radios according to schedule. The van back at the campsite will be called Search Base. Colonel Lewis's call sign is Search Six in that van there. You know our call signs. Everyone make sure you check the headspace and timing on your fifties before moving out. Any questions?"
Doc Seay raised a hand. "What if we come into contact with any civilians? What authority do we have over them?"
Riley turned to Colonel Lewis. "Sir, can you give us something on that?"
Lewis had come out of the van to watch the briefing and now he pushed his way in next to Riley. "Technically we don't have any authority over civilians. I can't even get permission to seal off the area yet. But let me tell you all something. These things have already killed. I don't want any more deaths. You come across anybody, you tell them to get the hell out of the area. If they ask you why, tell them it is a federal security exercise. They might not believe you, but at least you've given it your best shot."
Riley was surprised for the second time that day by the DIA man. Obviously, he did care somewhat about what he was doing, and about people as well. Riley sensed that in a way Lewis was as upset as he was about what had happened so far. One of the greatest drawbacks of military service was that sometimes you didn't want to be involved in a particular situation but you had to do your best anyway.
Everything that needed to be said had been said. Riley put his map away. "Let's move out."
The ten men of ODA 682 broke down into four groups and hopped into their respective vehicles. Ranger One was Riley's humvee and call sign. He had the team's only commo man, John Carter, as his driver. Riley would man the gun and radio.
Ranger Two was commanded by Knutz with T-bone as driver. Ranger Three was Doc Seay's with Bartlett as driver and Caruso along for the ride. Bob Philips was in charge of Ranger Four; Trustin was the driver and Trovinsky was also part of that crew.
The four humvees rolled out, vehicle commanders standing in the top hatch manning the .50-caliber machine guns. The drivers were scrunched up in their seats, noses pressed against the flat pane of glass that served as a windshield, as the wipers struggled against the pounding rain. Both drivers and commanders wore headsets with boom mikes that allowed them to work both the radios and intercom. It looked as though it was going to be a long, wet day driving around in the mud.
Colonel Hossey drummed his fingers on the desktop. The door across the room opened and Powers stepped in. The NCO stopped at the appropriate two steps in front of the desk and snapped off a brisk salute.