'It's Tanner!' cried Diaz, pushing free from the section of hull she'd been clinging to and swimming out to meet the Zodiac.
Mitchell had, over the years, voiced his criticism of SEALs, Force Recon Marines, and air force combat controllers. Army Special Forces were, in his not-so-humble opinion, the most accomplished warriors in the world.
But as he watched the Zodiac drift forward, he choked up with a newfound respect for Tanner and all his SEAL brothers. Tanner's escape from the sand spit was an act of sheer will, determination, and courage in the face of utter defeat, and Mitchell knew all too well what it took to find that courage when all seemed lost.
He spat again, smacked his lips, and rattled off his orders: 'All right, Nolan, get in there, see how he is. Beasley, tie up the bodies to the sides, then we help the wounded into the boat. Everyone else hangs off the side. Smith, you take the outboard!'
'Roger that!' he cried. 'But you're wounded, too, Captain. Up in the boat.'
Within two minutes they were sputtering across the harbor, unable to gain any real speed because of their added weight and friction. The Zodiac had been designed for six, not nine Ghosts, two SEALs, and two CIA agents.
Being dragged through the water was beginning to take its toll on all of them. Mitchell, who was jammed up near the heavy rubber bow, continually checked his HUD and finally got a good signal to the network and picked up a message from General Keating: 'Mitchell, if you can hear me, we'll have you out of there in a few minutes, son.'
'I hear you, sir!' he shouted over the outboard. 'But where's
The image glowing on his tactical map confused him; it appeared that the submarine, outlined in yellow with green ID diamond, was on their position as they finally cleared the gap between Gulangyu Island and Haicang.
'Son, she's closer than you think: forty-five meters straight down.'
Mitchell almost laughed with relief. 'How long's she been there?'
'Too long. Captain Gummerson's taking one hell of a risk, Mitchell. When the drink tab comes, I suggest you buy.'
'Roger that, sir. Can't wait to get home.'
The transfer from the Zodiac to the submarine was handled with speed and practiced efficiency, a testament to Gummerson's first-rate crew. The bodies of Buddha, Boy Scout, and SEAL Chief Phillips were taken away by corpsmen for processing, while the wounded were escorted to sick bay and given additional treatment, including Mitchell himself.
Tanner and Ramirez were both stabilized, their blood replaced by volunteer crew members with matching or universal blood types.
As they headed out toward that rendezvous point, the captain came to sick bay to see Mitchell and shake hands with every Ghost, save for Ramirez, who was sedated. 'Congratulations, Captain.'
'Thank you, sir. I'm sorry about SEAL Chief Phillips.'
'We all are.'
'Chief Tanner saved us all. I hope I get a chance to thank him before I leave.'
Gummerson nodded. 'Glad I got my chance to thank you. Outstanding job, Captain.' He frowned over a thought. 'And what was that stunt you pulled with the Predator?'
'My marksman came up with that one, although she said one of the pilots inspired her.'
'Ah, that would be Lieutenant Moch, whom I would not describe as inspirational, but I'll accept that.' Gummerson offered his hand. 'It was an honor, Captain.'
'Thank you, sir. Good luck with your promotion.'
Gummerson glanced fondly at the bulkheads and overhead, then pursed his lips and headed out.
Two weeks after the operation in China, Mitchell was invited over to the general's house for a Sunday dinner hosted by Mrs. Keating (who didn't actually do the preparations; her housekeeper from Venezuela was an excellent cook, according to the general).
They sat on Keating's second-story back porch, overlooking the kidney-shaped swimming pool with adjoining spa and rock waterfall. The mosquitoes were kept at bay by a colossal screen room behind which stood a towering wall of palm trees sashaying in the breeze.
Keating leaned back in his ornate patio chair, puffing on his Cuban cigar. Mitchell, who didn't smoke, sat beside him, clutching the drink the general had thrust into his hand after pouring two.
'You know, sometimes this job lets me slip home to a quiet dinner, then I sneak out here for a drink: Glenfiddich single malt Scotch whisky, to be exact.'
'I've never had it.'
'Then you haven't lived.'
Mitchell breathed in the Scotch, took a gulp, then savored the intense burn until he embarrassed himself and coughed.
Keating chuckled under his breath.
'It's good, sir,' Mitchell said, holding back tears.
The general removed his cigar and grinned. 'So Congress failed to ratify that sub deal with Taiwan.'
'Money talks. We can't afford war right now.'
'Me, I would've made it happen. Force the issue in the Pacific, play it out. But then again I'm army. The navy sees things differently.'
'Yes, sir. And, sir, I've been wanting to thank you. I understand you caught hell for our noisy exit out of China.'
'Damned right I did. But I told the president that regardless of the noise or body count, if who done it remains a mystery, then the mission is a success. The Chinese have already done an excellent job trying to cover it up; there're no answers forthcoming when you're in the right pew but the wrong church.'
'Yeah, I saw the story about the patrol boat accident. Haven't heard a word about the castle.'
'And you won't. They've already gone in, cleaned out the whole place. Witnesses there are saying the secret police did it, not Americans.'
'Good.'
'Yeah, but it's not all good. That intel you brought back from the Tigers suggests they had a lot more going on than just taking Taiwan. There's a North Korean connection and a number of links to cybernetic and neuro- science research facilities all over the world.'
'Taiwan was just the beginning for them…'
'And Defense Intelligence isn't telling us the whole story either, but we do know that DIA mole was killed in an apparent robbery. Gorbatova said he was a good kid.'
'He was good to us.'
After an uncomfortable moment, Mitchell hazarded another sip of Scotch, then added, 'Well, thanks again for the invite. It's not every day us lowly captains get to hang out with generals.'
'You can't play that card forever, Mitchell. You need to take that promotion. And by the time you're my age, you'll be dining with lowly captains.'
'With all due respect, I prefer to wait.'
'Don't wait too long. There's talk of restructuring, and people like you can advance faster than anyone else
