African Dragon
Page 25
Across town, Cascaes’ earpiece came to life and he jumped to his feet without
even realizing he’d done it. “Mack? Where are you? Sitrep!”
“Chris, I’m maybe one click west of the palace. There’s a small factory over here with a smokestack. It’s the tallest thing out here. I climbed it to make radio contact, but I’ve been spotted. Can you call in any help? I’m out of ammo and jammed up!”
“Do you have any smoke?”
“Negative. I ain’t got shit! Maybe half a mag in my .45 and I’m toast, Chris.”
“Wait one.” Chris grabbed the other radio. “Voodoo Six Actual to Jersey fifty-six, come in over!’
“This is Jersey fifty-six, on station.”
“Need fire support and immediate evac. Approximately one click west of the palace. One team member who does not have smoke or 117 Fox for direct transmission. Look for large factory smoke stack. He is in enemy contact. Over.”
“Good copy, Voodoo Six. Heading there now. Sea Beast Three, this is Jersey fifty-six en route for fire support. Need immediate evac at same location.”
Cascaes listened to the pilots speak to each other, and the rest of the team assembled around the radio to listen. Mackey had been located and had help heading his way. They just had to get there in time.
Wong Fu-jia still had four men with him. One of them had spotted the American and managed to get a couple of shots off, but wasn’t sure if he had hit him. The American had fled to a small factory—perhaps they finally had him cornered.
The five of them spread out and moved across the street to the fence that surrounded the property. They studied the grounds but saw no movement. Fu motioned for them to assault. They ran down to the gate and shot off the lock, then raced into the factory property. The five of them ran around the factory knocking over boxes and barrels, searching for the lone American. The sounds of a helicopter rotor made them freeze where they were and scan the clear blue African sky.
Wong Fu-jia’s lightbulb turned on. The American had wanted to call for help and needed elevation for his radio. He ran to the side of the building and looked up at the roof, and then at the large smokestack. He had to be up there! Wong Fu-jia was screaming in Chinese to the four men who didn’t understand him, but he was pointing and screaming, and they all ran towards the smokestack.
“Jersey fifty-six is inbound on search location. Rescue target does not have smoke or radio. Sea Beast Three, follow my lead and prepare to evac one team member. Over.”
“Copy that Jersey fifty-six. We’re inbound on your tail. Out.”
Mackey let out a long deep sigh of relief when he heard the roar of the Super Cobra. He took a knee to start scanning the sky when the first tracers and ricochets began pinging all over the metal deck he was on.
“Sonofabitch!’ he screamed as he hit the deck. All Mackey had was his .45, which was useless at long range. He screamed into his radio. “Chris! I see the bird coming in! Tell him to strafe this position! I’m on the stack platform with incoming!”
Cascaes and his team all heard the incoming message and Chris radioed back to Jersey fifty-six. Chief Warrant Officer Cantor went full throttle and roared in overhead towards the smokestack. “I’ve got eyes on your guy, Voodoo Six! Coming in hot.”
Mackey pressed his body against the bricks of the stack and tried to get small as the small arms fire bounced all around him. Wong Fu-jia and his men had charged against the open ground in front of the factory and zeroed in on the platform where they saw the American. They were standing there taking the platform apart with their fusillade when the narrow grey helicopter came into view. Wong Fu-jia’s face showed the sudden realization that it was all over.
CWO Cantor pressed his thumb on the trigger and his triple mini-guns opened up on the ground below. What was a flat courtyard turned into a cloud of dust and body parts as hundreds of 20 mm. rounds took apart everything inside the courtyard. Capable of destroying large, hard targets, the shells were a tremendous “overkill” against the five men below. The bird circled around and looked for more targets, but couldn’t find any.
“Sea Beast Three, this is Jersey fifty-six. LZ looks green. Dust off now. I have security, over.”
Cantor continued low, slow rounds over the factory grounds as the much larger Sea Knight moved into the courtyard. It landed in the center of the courtyard, touching down on torn up earth and small pieces of what had been enemy soldiers. Mackey scurried down the side of the smoke stack and ran towards the helicopter with his hands high above his head so no one would mistake him for a hostile. The rear ramp was already opened before the bird had touched down, and two crewmen with machine guns stood at the ramp looking for trouble. All they found was a very happy, very exhausted American soldier who couldn’t have been happier to see them.
“Sea Beast Three to Jersey fifty-six and Voodoo Six and, we have your package. Returning to base. Out.”
The Super Cobra made another sweep around the factory and escorted the Sea Knight back to the presidential palace before peeling off to find more targets at the Congo River. When the Sea Knight touched down on the large lawn in front of the presidential palace, the entire team was waiting to greet their boss.
69.
After the remaining PAC forces had either been killed, captured or escaped into neighboring Congo-Brazzaville, life returned to normal in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The president had ordered a National Week of Mourning, and the United States and other countries pledged money to help rebuild parts of the destroyed capital. China also offered to help rebuild, and denied any involvement with the PAC forces, but President Kuwali politely refused their aid.
The day after the attack, the team, escorted by Lieutenant Hamill’s marines, recovered the bodies of Earl Jones, Joe Smith, and Ernesto Perez. Their flag draped coffins joined Cory Stewart’s onboard a C-141B Starlifter back to McGuire Airbase in New Jersey, then a quick transfer back to Langley.
The team mostly slept on the very long flight home. Jake Koches and Lance Woods were flown out to a hospital ship before being sent to Germany. They’d be following the Team home a couple of weeks down the road. Hodges made the flight with the rest of his team, albeit a little black and blue with multiple cuts all over his face and body.
Chris Mackey was fast asleep. The adrenaline that had helped keep him alive had left his body. He had been right all along of course—he was too old for this shit. He snored loudly, but the engine hum drowned it out.
Julia and Chris sat together, speaking quietly over the sleepy drone of the plane. Julia leaned over and smiled. “It was a hell of a romantic getaway, but I think maybe we started thinking about a different line of work.”
Chris nodded. She could always make him smile, but he was shot. It had been a terribly costly mission, and he had calls to make when he got home. “I think Dex would give us as much time off as we wanted. He even said something like that on the sat-phone. Where do you want to go?”
“I only have two requirements about location. We’re together, and no one is trying to kill us.”
Chris looked around to make sure no one was watching, then he kissed her hand. “Deal.”
Epilogue
One Month Later
Chris and Julia were sitting up in Julia’s bed, sharing a bottle of wine and eating cheese and crackers.
“I could get used to this,” said Chris, leaning in for a kiss.
“Which part, the crumbs in my bed, or being naked with me on nice clean sheets while drinking wine with no one trying to kill us?” asked Julia with a smirk.
“All of the above. The DRC seems like a movie we watched. I’ve never gone so long without training or being around my guys. Six weeks off? Who gets that?”
“You complaining?” she asked. “Prefer the smell of a half a dozen unwashed SEALs to my perfume?”
“Nope.” He kissed her again, and
smelled her hair as he buried his face in her neck. “Not a bit. In fact, just the opposite. I thought it would take a long time to get used to the idea of ‘being out’ or retiring, but the truth is, I’ve never felt more relaxed in my entire life than I do right at this moment.”
Julia smiled. “Won’t get bored if no one is trying to kill you?”
“Based on what happened an hour ago, I think you might be trying to kill me…”
“Oh you poor thing!” she said with a laugh, and leaned in for a long hug.
The television grabbed their attention, and Julia grabbed the remote and turned up the volume.
“…with China vetoing the Security Council’s recommendation to send aid and support to the Democratic Republic of Congo. Chinese Ambassador Li Quingshui said that China opposed the UN resolution because the current corrupt government had accused China of participating in the attempted coup. He went on to say that China’s peaceful attempt to aid the suffering people of the Democratic Republic of Congo had proven that the current US backed regime was a puppet government that was corrupt and committing genocide on its own people. Because of this, China would not allow any aid into the impoverished nation until the government faced new elections…”
Chris took the remote from her hand and clicked the television off.
Chris Mackey sat in Dex Murphy’s office looking stoic.
“I understand Mack,” said Dex. “What about an inside job? Being a desk jockey isn’t as boring as it sounds. You’d still get to run missions, do some good in the world…”
Mack shook his head. His eyes filled with tears. “All three agents, Dex. Smitty. Ernie. Cory. I put three stars on that wall downstairs. No, sir. I’m done. I was too old for this gig a few years ago. It’s time.”
Mack stood up and extended his hand. Dex stood and gripped Mack’s hand tightly with both of his. “You’re one of the best agents we’ve ever had, Mack. I’ll miss you. Stay in touch.”
Mack nodded, knowing full well that once he left that office, there was no staying in touch.
“Take care of yourself, Dex,” he said quietly. He forced a smile and headed for the door to parts unknown.
About the Author
David M. Salkin is the author of eight thrillers in various genres, including military espionage, crime, horror, science fiction, action-adventure and mystery. With a writing style reminiscent of the late, great Michael Crichton, Salkin’s work keeps his readers turning pages into the late hours. His books have received Gold and Bronze medals in the Stars & Flags book awards, and David has appeared as a guest speaker all over the country.
David is an elected official in Freehold Township, NJ where he has served for twenty years in various roles including Mayor, Deputy Mayor, Township Committeeman and Police Commissioner. He co-owns Salkin’s Jewel Case with his brother and is a Master Graduate Gemologist.
When not working or writing, David prefers to be Scuba diving with his family. He is a Master Diver and “fish geek,” as well as a pretty good chef and wine aficionado. Some of his famous recipes were perfected in the parking lot of Giants Stadium.