Or maybe they had visitors.
A moment later, the windows on either side of the room shattered, and two canisters of CS tear gas exploded in the room.
FIFTY-SIX
Fallbrook, California Wednesday, 6:16 p.m.
The effects of chlorobenzylidenemalononitrile gas are instantaneous. It inflames the soft tissue of the throat, causing it to burn and swell.
Within seconds, victims begin to experience dizziness and acute nausea.
And it causes the eyes to water and sting. Even if an individual could keep his eyes open, the finely dispersed particles hung in the air like a thick, slow-moving fog.
Rodgers and his marines were wearing goggles to protect their eyes.
They did not bother bringing breathing apparatus from the Apache. They had determined that the winds up here would clear the room quickly once the windows were shattered. They would hold their breath and remove the occupants, carry them some distance from the cabin.
Approaching the structure had been easy. With the deputy's help, the men moved along the sides that had no windows. Lieutenant Murdock used a Mi FOP a miniature fiber optic periscope, to look into the room. A suction device the size of a large housefly contained a small camera.
Once that was attached to the window, the user could back away to a secure location. The fiber-optic lens relayed an image to a receiver that was the size of a computer mouse. Each of the marines was able to study the room and the position of the occupants before moving.
While Rodgers and five of the men crept toward the front door, the other two men positioned themselves to hurl the gas. In less than a minute, Kenneth Link and his companion were outside. Two marines secured the kidnapper with double-lock handcuffs while Lieutenant Murdock called for the Apache to come to the ridge. Rodgers used a secure point-to-point radio to inform Jack Breen of the rescue. He told him not to notify anyone else until they were airborne. He did not want reporters converging on this site until after they had left.
When Rodgers was finished, he borrowed a canteen from one of the marines. He indicated for two of the men to stand off to the side as he led the admiral toward a nearby tree stump. Link sat, and the general handed him the canteen. Wheezing, the admiral took a short swallow and then poured water into a cupped hand. He rinsed each eye in turn.
Rodgers was glad that he was not holding a weapon. He had a feeling he was not going to like what Link had to say.
'Thanks for the save, Mike,' Link said.
'Not a problem.'
Link blinked hard to clear his vision. 'How the hell did you locate me?'
'The kidnapper had a partner,' Rodgers informed him. 'He told us where you were.'
'I figured this guy could not have been acting alone,' Link said.
'Where did you find him?'
'In Senator Orr's suite,' Rodgers said.
Link took a longer swallow of water. 'Is the senator okay?'
'He's fine,' Rodgers said.
'Good.'
Rodgers crouched beside the stump. 'He did not have you tied up in there,' the general said.
'No,' Link said. 'He said he had a gun, that he would shoot me if I tried to get away.'
