'I see,' said Rick. But he did not look as if he saw. Not even one little glimpse. He sipped his coffee, and rubbed his chin, before saying quietly, 'And what would happen, Admiral, if the men should have to fight their way out, and found themselves on the run, pursued, as it were, by very irritated Argentinians. How then would they fare?'
The Admiral looked uncomfortable. 'Ricky,' he said, 'I know this is difficult. But this is just an exploratory talk. Let's go over and have a look at the chart and see what you think after that…I'm not asking the chaps to blow the fucking airfield up, merely to take out a dozen aircraft — delayed bombs of course — then vanish…our great specialty, correct?'
'Well, yes, sir. It is. But this is a big air base and it's pretty tricky to walk into the lions' den when there are too many lions on the loose.'
'I was rather hoping most of the lions would be asleep when the guys arrived.'
'Yes. But if they woke up, and the guys were caught, they'd be tortured.'
'We know that. That's why we're giving it a lot of thought.'
They finished their breakfast thoughtfully, and then walked to the chart table and stared at the great triangular island, dissected by the wide desolate waters of the Magellan Strait right at the foot of South America. Almost through the center on the eastern side of the terrain ran the dead straight north-south line of the Chile- Argentina border. 'Hostile to the right, friendly to the left, correct?' said Commander Hunter.
'Correct,' replied the Admiral. 'Now, up here…right on the coast, is the port of Rio Grande…situated at the mouth of the river, forty-two miles southeast of the Bay of San Sebastian. That's this big inlet, twenty miles across.'
Then he pointed to a cross he had made eight miles inland from the airfield, and thirty-five miles from the Chilean border. That's the drop-off point, and from there it'd be a pretty straight, easy walk in at night.'
'And what do you want the guys to do? Once they're in?'
'We essentially want them to take out these twelve Super-Etendard strike fighters, and then get out.'
'How?'
'Initially it's a walk, through very lonely country. But the guys will carry a satellite communication system. As soon as we receive the signal, right here in Punta Arenas, a Chilean helicopter will fly in and pick them up.'
'And what if the guys come under attack — or they are pursued in a serious way by Argentinian forces?'
'I must admit, we have not quite considered that.'
The Admiral smiled briefly, and then his face clouded, as the SEAL leader asked: 'What's your timing on this?'
The hesitation was obvious. John Bergstrom stood up, turned away, and said quietly, 'Tonight.'
'I am, Rick,' replied the Admiral. 'Because right here on this base, right now, I have some of the best covert Special Forces in the world, experienced veterans, experts in the black arts of SPECWARCOM, men who have done it before. And I'm not liable to have this much expertise, not this close to our objective, ever again.'
Well,' said Commander Hunter, 'I guess we may as well give it some thought…by the way, any idea who might lead the mission, as if I didn't know?'
'I was rather hoping you would.'
Rick gulped, not for the first time in this war. And then he said, without emotion, 'Yessir. Do I get to pick my own team?'
'Of course.'
'Well, I'd like to take Dallas MacPherson as my number two, and I would select Chief Petty Officers Mike Hook and Bob Bland, because one's an expert with a machine gun and a radio, and one's an expert at breaking and entering. I guess I'm looking for volunteers for the final four spots. And I'd be happy with the two Petty Officers First Class who came with me to Pebble Island, that's Don Smith and Brian Harrison.
'The final two would need to be explosives guys, trained men who know how to set a timed charge and place a tailored charge right into the guts of an aircraft engine. I'd like Stafford's 2I/C if possible.'
At which point there was a minor interruption. 'Admiral, I should like to volunteer my services, if I may?' said Captain Douglas Jarvis. 'I owe my life to you both — and if, God forbid, anything happened to Rick, I don't think I could face going home without him. I want to come on this mission.'
The words he spoke were a true and faithful summary of his feelings. It surely would have been shocking to turn up at Blue Grass Field, to be met by Diana, whose husband had been lost trying to save him. But there was another drive inside the soldier's soul of Douglas Jarvis. Like his brother-in-law, he could hear the sound of distant bugles, and, as in the long-ago Sandhurst Cadets Boxing Championships, he was ready to come out fighting.
'Thanks, kid,' said Rick Hunter. 'I appreciate that, but you're not even a trained SEAL.'
'Well, I'm a trained British sea lion. And they're pretty good in a tight spot.'
'But you're not in the United States Navy. And I'm damn sure you have to be for this kind of work.'
'Well, maybe Admiral Bergstrom could second me, just for a couple of weeks?'
'Well, I could most certainly make out a case for a decorated British SAS Commander to become a United States Navy SEAL on a short-term commission. But, Douglas, you'd have to take a very searching examination…'
'I would?'
'Sure, you would. We don't just take anyone.'
'Neither do we, sir.'
Admiral Bergstrom, a man with probably the most flexible command in all of the Navy, grinned. 'I know you've trained with our personnel before, at Hereford. But I must ask you, how are you at those rare skills just outlined by Commander Hunter? You heard him, setting timers on specially tailored TNT charges?'
'Expert, sir.'
'Excellent, Captain. You're in. Rank of Lt. Commander, like Dallas. Two-week commission.'
'Thank you, sir. I'm honored.'
'And does he pass your selection board, Commander Hunter?' asked the Admiral.
'He does, sir. Though I'm not completely certain what his sister, my wife, would say if she heard that.'
'Well, I'm afraid the lovely Diana is not going to hear that. As from this moment, gentlemen, you are a part of one of the most highly classified covert Special Forces missions the U.S. Navy has ever mounted. No one leaves here today, not until the helicopter is ready for the flight in tonight. Cell phones are banned. There will be no further communication with the outside world.'
Admiral Bergstrom stood up and walked to the sideboard to collect the coffeepot. And before he turned back to face them, he added, 'By the way, gentlemen, failure is unthinkable.'
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
There was no diplomatic communique from Buenos Aires the previous evening. And nothing arrived this morning either. Paul Bedford stared hard at his friend, Arnold Morgan, the kingmaker who had effectively made him President of the United States.
'Do we wait longer?' he asked.
'Absolutely not,' replied Admiral Morgan. 'When someone's going to give up a fight, they give it up quick, before something else happens. These guys are rolling the dice, one more time, hoping we're bluffing.'
'And, of course, we're not.'
'No, sir. We're not.' And he picked up the interior telephone and instructed the President's secretary. 'Okay, send that e-mail right away, direct to the Chilean naval base at Punta Arenas, address I gave you. Attention Admiral Bergstrom.'
