Murdock walked over and waved at the crowd to quiet. When the people settled down, he asked them if anyone had been there for a while. One man nodded.
“Yeah, we were having a picnic down a ways when we saw this helicopter come in low from the land side and hover over the water. Had a sling on it with a small truck hanging under it. It dropped the damn thing in the water. That what you’re hunting?”
“Yes,” Murdock said. “About where did he drop it?”
“Close to where you guys jumped out of that chopper right over there. Maybe fifty yards off the point.”
“Oh, hell, no,” another voice piped up. A tall man with a red beard shook his head. “I been here all morning fishing. Not a damn bite. But I seen that chopper come in too. Must have been a Chinese kind, ’cause it didn’t say U.S. Navy on it. It dropped the damn beer truck, sling and all, it was carrying, all right, but it had to be two hundred yards off the point and maybe half that far back toward the beach.”
“No way,” the first man said.
Murdock thanked them and started to leave.
“Are you frogmen?” a small boy shouted.
“Close enough,” Murdock said. “Actually we’re Navy SEALs. Thanks for your help.”
Murdock went back to the chopper and had the pilot call in CINCPAC. The lieutenant seemed to love making the radio call. He gave Murdock the mike.
“CINCPAC, we’re ninety-percent certain the Chinese chopper dropped the beer truck and the bomb in the water here at Kaneohe Bay. How about a minesweeper with high-intensity metal detectors. They should be able to pinpoint the location of the device.”
“The admiral is already working on that, Commander. Trouble is our top minesweeper detector-wise is in dry dock for a new drive shaft. The admiral has ordered the next-best ship to sail today at 1700.”
“How far is the trip and how fast is the ship?”
“She’s the Chief, MCM 14, a mine countermeasure vessel that can make thirteen knots.”
Murdock frowned. “How far is the run around here? Fifty miles?”
“More like forty. Which means she’ll be on station there in about three hours.”
“Can she work after dark?”
The man on the other end of the radio laughed. “She doesn’t care, night or day, just so she has a search grid.”
“Be glad to give her that,” Murdock said. “I’ll be on the point. Have her send a boat to pick me up when she arrives.”
“We’ll do that, Commander. Good hunting.”
Murdock stared at the mike for a minute, then handed it back to the lieutenant.
“Oh, there’s one more pickup. There are four hula dancers and four naked Chinese officers on that same ridge where you picked me up. I promised the girls I’d get them off the place before dark. Talk with your station and have one of your birds go out and get them. They’re at an open place with a good LZ. Let me know when the girls are safely back off the mountain and the four Chinese officers are in custody.”
“You joking, Commander?”
“Not a chance. Just send the order and attach that red signature to it. I don’t care much about the Chinese, but I want those girls down from there safe and happy before dark.”
“Yes, sir,” the lieutenant said, and picked up the mike. Murdock moved out to talk with his men. They had some decisions to make.
16
Senior Chief Dobler, with a bandage on his forehead, asked the question first.
“Sir, we going to camp out here for the night?”
“Looks like it, Senior Chief. I bet you forgot your night-night teddy bear.”
“Roger that, sir. And my sleeping bag. Can we put in an order for some more box lunches?”
“Sounds good, and some hot coffee. Get it from the Marines and tell them to send it over by launch. Cost Uncle less that way.”
“I’m talking to the chopper pilot and using his radio,” Dobler said.
Murdock sat on the grass and stared out at the bay. There was a bomb out there that could vaporize half of Oahu. Why had they put it in the water? It had twice the destructive force up on that pinnacle. Here the mountains would protect most of Honolulu. He shrugged. Maybe it was a hoax box after all. They could have put some hot material in the box so it would leak out just enough radioactive signals to make the thing seem real. Sure, but why? He still had the feeling that the bomb was real, a threat, and one they had to deactivate.
Lead blankets. He hadn’t thought about them. He’d call NEST later on and have them bring out a pair. Or he could send the chopper up the mountain with two drivers to see if the Humvees were still functioning and drive them back. They each had a lead blanket. Or did the Chinese leave the lead on the bomb? No, they wouldn’t. Maybe the Chinkos had left the lead blankets where they picked up the bomb.
He went to the chopper pilot and gave him instructions. It was still plenty light enough to find the two rigs.
“Ching and Fernandez, front and center on me,” Murdock said into his lip mike. The two SEALs came up quickly.
“Yes, sir, Skipper?” Ching asked.
Murdock told them the assignment.
“Yeah, should be there unless the Chinese borrowed them,” Fernandez said. “See you when we get back.”
Murdock called the rest of the men around after the chopper took off, explaining where the two men went. Then he told them about the minesweeper coming around the coast from Pearl.
“It can work in the dark, right?” Lam asked.
“Better because the bay will be rid of any chop it might have had from the wind. You can sack out or play pocket pool or whatever. Senior chief has ordered some box lunches and coffee. We might have work to do early on after the sweeper gets here.” The crowd of civilians had tired of watching nothing, and most of them had moved on. The cop came up and looked at Murdock.
“Commander, anything going to be happening here tonight that you’ll need any police involvement for?”
“Not a thing, Officer. Be dark and we’ll be on the bay. How do you like your 9mm pistol?”
“Okay. The Glock. Yeah. Gives us more firepower. I have two thirty-three-round magazines if things get hot. Hell of a lot better than the old five-shot revolvers.”
“Ever jammed on you?”
“Never, and I’ve put all thirty-three through it in less than a minute. Gets warm, but never has jammed.”
“Good. Officer, we’ll be here most of the night, maybe all night. Let your relief know about us so he won’t be surprised. Thanks for your help.”
“Yeah, Okay. Good luck with your hunt.” The cop turned and walked away, looking like he wanted to talk some more.
Murdock checked his watch. Lots of time before dark, and almost two and a half hours before the minesweeper would arrive. Murdock kicked the turf. He hated this inaction. They had to do one more look, get deeper, they might find something. They would go out farther this time.
“Come on, you dildos with ears, let’s get wet.” The SEALs pulled on their rebreathers, fitted feet into fins, and walked backward into the warm Hawaiian water. There was only small wave action here.
“Let’s take another look,” Murdock said. “Search pattern, about five yards apart. We have enough light for a good look. Let’s get down to at least sixty feet and level off. We’re only looking for something on the bottom. That truck we saw sure as hell isn’t going to motor away anywhere. Not much of a current or tide here, so it must have dropped straight down. Let’s do it.”
The SEALs went into the water, worked down to sixty feet, and began their sweep search straight out to the spot where the witnesses said the box got wet. Their Draegrs had been modified with a special gas mix so they could go down to sixty feet.