by Robert Lance
“That’s her story. Alamo isn’t around to tell his,” Gates said.
Perry said, “Alamo was a bad assed SEAL, maybe too bad assed. He’s a mean prick if you cross him. Now I know why he made her live off campus up at the Blue Moon with him. No one could stop him from abusing Mata Hari.”
Gates said, “That’s her story. This Alamo bashing is getting us nowhere. Okay, there was bad blood between Mata Hari and Alamo. That was personal shit between them. I don’t for a minute believe Alamo was a sadistic rapist. Why are you bringing this up now, Ted?”
“Because there is not one of you who doesn’t believe LT didn’t have something to do with Alamo’s death. How is this mission going to move forward if the truth of Alamo’s death is ever found out? Alamo wasn’t a victim, but Heather was, and she didn’t kill Alamo. There was a second victim, and I’ll let her tell you what happened.”
Ted waved to Carole, and she stepped from the patio and entered the Snake Pit. Her pace was determined. Ted made room for her to sit among the SEALs. “Are you up to this Carole?”
“Damn right I am. Alamo’s beef with Heather went beyond their personal issues. His beef with me was to intimidate me. His beef with both of us was to take total control of what came in and what went out of the Pentagon. I read every uplink and downlink. So did Heather. He threatened to drown me in the grotto every single day.
“I became suspicious when I saw his message traffic with Admiral Salinas. I told Heather about it, but she thought it wasn’t significant. Alamo set up the ambush of the fuel truck with Salinas to cover his tracks. He messaged the SECDEF for permission to rile up the Chinese by sinking one of their patrol boats. He received a vague order allowing him to harass China’s military vessels to create an incident. The SECDEF was supposed to be the final approving authority of any planned actions. Alamo sent a message that operations were stalled due to a lack of fuel, which was a lie. That gave him carte blanche to do whatever he wanted to do.
“Who would have ever guessed he’d fire a missile at a Vietnamese oil platform? He made sure Heather was on the mission because she was doing the scenario work up and thus complicit in what happened. When they returned, she and Alamo had a row in the planning room. It turned violent, and I tried to break it up. Heather ran off.
“Fortunately, or unfortunately, we received urgent messages from the SECDEF asking for an explanation of what happened at Fiery Cross. Alamo interpreted that message as Heather following through on her threat to report the event. He became unhinged. I got in front of him to stop him from going after Heather. He hissed, over and over, ‘I’m going to kill that bitch.’ I told him if he touched her I’d shoot him. He said, ‘Then you’d better bring a gun.’ He knocked me to the floor and went after her.”
Her voice was shaking, and Ted allowed her a pause by saying. “I can confirm everything Carole just said. Admiral Salinas figured out that he’d been duped as Alamo’s alibi, and I met with him in the grotto. He came here to expel us from Palawan. He was under the impression Alamo was assassinated because of the attack on the Vietnamese. Heather and I let him make that assumption. We also let him assume that I was Alamo’s replacement. We convinced him we’re the last hope for the Philippines to avoid complete domination of his homeland. Salinas knows Heather from conferences and joint intelligence exercises in the past. If Salinas had not known Heather’s strong advocacy for a strong deterrent force in the WESTPAC Region, I don’t believe we’d be sitting here today.”
The Snake Pit was cold silent. Ted said. “I don’t think it’s necessary to make Carole relate what happened at the Blue Moon.”
Carole raised her head and snarled. “Fuck you, Perrotte. Your club members need to know what that bastard did to her, what she put up with, and how she covered for his sorry ass. You’re all so sad for Alamo. Poor Alamo.”
“He left the door wide open, knowing I was coming for him. He wasn’t a bit surprised when I walked in on him; he kept on strangling her and raping her. He let me watch, laughing at me, daring me. I swear to God it was almost like he planned it.” She shook her head. “He was killing her, and I fired a shot. That got his attention because he knew the next one was not going to miss.
“How was a chubby little woman like me going to defend against a brawny maniac? He taunted me, said he was going to rape me and kill me next. He went off on a rant how Heather and I had sabotaged the mission, ruined him. He called us treasonous whores who deserved to die. He made lunges at me and backed me into a corner. When he sprang at me, I pulled the trigger. Master Chief Gregory said it was an accident, but I’m here to tell you I hit what I was aiming at.”
She folded her arms under her breasts and gulped for air. Her eyes carried a challenging glare. The men couldn’t meet the challenge. They looked anywhere but at her. She said, “Heather didn’t compromise the mission. She covered for him, took his fucking abuse and kept her mouth shut, protecting me. You bastards gave him a weepy hero’s sendoff, and she let it stand. She’s one hundred percent behind you and this mission. It ain’t going to happen unless you get behind her. It’s up to you.”
CHAPTER FORTY-THREE
The following morning Heather was up early, munching one of Ramon’s pastries, sipping coffee. She had her head down, not paying attention to what was going on around her. She saw a shadow slide up from behind her and turned to look up. Perry stood beside her with a contrite look on his face. “Got a sec, ma’am?”
“What’s up Jack? You look like a gardener.”
He palmed a SEAL trident in his dirty hand, and said, “I know what happened to you, and I feel awful about it. Just awful. I can’t let something like that stand. I dug up Alamo and took back my trident. His disgrace is dishonorable to our creed.” He frowned and looked down.
“Jack, let it go. It never happened.”
“Yes ma’am. It never happened…all the same.” He laid the trident on the table. “This belongs to you, and I’ve got your back from now on.” Perry shuffled away like a scolded dog.
Heather was overcome with emotion. She had never heard of a SEAL giving up a trident to outsiders. She caught a choke rising in her throat. Another shadow slipped up on her. Fitzgerald nodded. He laid his trident on the table and walked away without a word.
Ted was the last to present his trident. His big smile caused her to laugh through tears. “You understand this never happened right?” he said.
She cocked her head quizzically. “What’s going on?”
“Please stand to be pinned.”
She stood and caught site of the other teammates standing at attention under a palm tree. She straightened with pride in her spine. Ted pinned his trident on the tee shirt under her blouse. He stepped back, saluted, and gave her the famous K-bar knife of the Navy SEALs.
“I don’t know what to say. I…I’m overwhelmed…”
“I heard you say you were waiting for a SEAL to love you back. You have four. Take your pick.”
“I did that a long time ago. He’s standing right in front of me. That means more than you know. I love you.”
“Let’s not get carried away. We have eyes on us.” He stepped forward, hugged her, and planted a kiss on her forehead. He stepped back and said, “Don’t get caught wearing that around in public.” Ted proudly marched off to join his mates.
An hour later, new SEALs were filtering in by ones and twos. They were quickly settled in, briefed, and assigned to teams. Their heads were swimming. What were women doing at a forward Special Operations Base? They were beside themselves to be in paradise, residing in a four-star resort. When they were allowed into the grotto and got a look at the Ghost, they were awe struck. The future had arrived.
There was no leisure time as Domino and Carole had training exercises for them to adapt to special tasks. The informality was confusing to them as all military rank and uniforms were replaced by civilian attire. By day’s end the newbies were all swooning.
Ramon was only too happy to be pushing weird rice dishes on
the new arrivals. His white hat was seen everywhere, and he had two of his nieces wearing white hats bringing food, cleaning tables, and flirting with the SEALs.
There is a tendency in the military to take advantage of every perk available, and at times camaraderie can get out of hand. Master Chief Gregory rapped on a glass, pool side. He growled in a pissed off voice. “Listen up you fuckin’ new guys. This is not a fraternity party. You’re under observation twenty-four seven…not only by me, but Chinese satellites. Your legend is tourists, not a bunch of teenagers on spring break. Mingle, but don’t get frisky with my ladies.” He went on to explain his chalk line. “Step out of line once, and you’ll lose all Snake Pit rights. We have a few dumb asses on restriction as I speak. They’re eating military rat meat in their rooms. Ask around…don’t fuck with Master Chief Gregory.”
The new guys hung together at the Snake Pit, and they all were in a quandary. Alfredo Pena said, “I feel like an extra in a 007 movie.”
“I am 007, nut sack. Pussy Galore is our fucking commanding officer. She’s smoking hot—“
“Sand turns to glass when she walks on the beach—
“What’s her story? When did we ever take orders from a broad? This is way UNSAT—
“I’m just sayin’, when she shook my hand my dick blew up. I’m used to a hairy hand and a fart smell—
“That woman is a dream fuck. Won’t need the hairy hand handbook out here.—
“I’m with Walter’s. Bimbo’s leading a SEAL team? Definitely fucked up.
Fitzgerald heard enough and waltzed over to the new guy table. The other SEALs joined him. “You baby snakes are disparaging our little sister.—
Alfredo said, “Permission to date your little sister?”
Perrotte said, “Another crack like that, and you’ll never see a set of flippers. We didn’t like it either, but she’s streamlined this operation and cut out chaff getting in our way. Having intel hanging on our web belt is a big improvement and our mission is depending on it. Knock off the trash mouth if you want to stay on any of our teams.”
Alfredo said, “We didn’t mean anything by it Master Chief.”
“Don’t talk about her. Talk to her.”
“How would we go about doing that? She so stuttering gorgeous, I’d step on my tongue. Not to say she’s a Lieutenant Commander who doesn’t swim with mud hogs like us.”
Perry said, “Yes she does, and she’s as good as any of you tadpoles.”
Perrotte said, “Talk to her like you’d talk to me or any other SEAL.” He saw Heather enter the Snake Pit and waved her over. “The new guys have some questions.”
She smiled, and six SEALs stumble all over themselves getting to their feet. She said, “Make a place for me. I could really use a beer. You being treated properly?”
CHAPTER FORTY-FOUR
The hand-picked SEAL compliment was a collection of specialized divers with experience in salvage operations and underwater demolition. They had a lot of homework ahead of them, and Heather was the task master driving them. Not only would they have to find a means of boarding four self-propelled barges, they would have to drive the damned things. Failing that, they’d either disable the barges or blow them out of the water. If that weren’t enough, the SEALs would have to attack and then defend the barges.
The possible scenarios had many flow chart channels, and Carole had run simulations on all of them. She was an expert strategist with an uncanny ability to uncomplicate incomprehensible snags. Heather had said, “If your fishing line gets snarled, hand the fishing pole to Carole.”
Domino, on the other hand, was six chess moves ahead of an opponent, better comprehending what was in the mind of the opponent than the opponent. It was like she could see around corners three blocks away. Together, the two were the best tactician team in the Navy.
The first problem to tackle was to determine how the Chinese would deploy their missiles. What was the most efficient way to deliver eight launchers on four barges to a firing pad somewhere off the island? From a smattering of details, they were able to assemble a set of scenarios. They built off details collected from several sources.
Carole noticed a difference between the commercial barges built in Taizhou, China and the four anchored in the Mischief lagoon. The Mischief lagoon barges had fabricated vehicle ramps. Carole said, “That cuts the loading time down considerably.”
Domino replied. “Look at this. Why don’t the launchers have anchor lift points? That means their destination is somewhere that the launchers can be driven off the barges.”
“You’re right, but all of our geological data says no.”
“Hang on to that thought. I need to check something out.” Domino’s fingers flashed on her key board as she began assembling data. “Carole…pull up the draft of those barges.”
The two began comparing notes, did the math, and dug some more. When they finished, they both looked at each other with slack-jawed faces. “You thinking what I’m thinking?” Carole asked.
“Yep. We’ve been spinning our wheels looking for launch pad sites. There aren’t any.”
“We better get LT and Ted in here.”
“Shit just hit the fan, Honey.”
Ted and Heather had been in the grotto prepping for the arrival of the second Ghost, or so they said. They arrived at the Pentagon together, looking chipper. Carole rolled her eyes, and Domino smirked. “Did you get the biz done?” Domino asked.
Ted said, “Get your head out of the gutter. What’s so urgent?”
“We’ve discovered how the Chinese are going to deploy their missiles, and you ain’t going to like this one damned bit. Alamo was right about one thing. They are dispersed, but there are no hard launch sites.”
“How can that be?” Heather asked.
“Because we’ve been looking at them the whole time.” Domino said.
Carole said, “The work barges aren’t shallow draft barges. These are one hundred and forty meter work hogs with a four meter empty weight draft.” She slid two photos in front of them. She tapped one, and said, “Look at this one. Notice anything different?” She didn’t wait for an answer. “It’s pulling a draft of 5.2 meters which means it’s carrying 12,000 tons of cargo, but the deck is empty. Why? Because the weight is all ballast.”
“So?” said Ted and Heather in unison.
Domino said, “That’s your launch pad. The clever bastards sink it into a geological cradle, and you have a stable platform on the sea floor. We have supporting data. The work deck is large enough to carry a launcher, the missile, and the locker where the missiles are stored. When the barge leaves, it ain’t comin’ back. It doesn’t have to stop to pick up missiles from a ship or a locker. The missile is already parked where they intend to sink the barge.”
“There goes my plan to steal the missiles,” Ted said.
Carole said, “Maybe not, but it gets worse. There are four barges. When the missile launches, it will wipe the deck clean. By deduction, the remaining launcher would be destroyed. So… there are four more missiles hidden somewhere close by. We need to find them.”
Ted asked, “Why would they have only four barges for eight launchers?”
Heather answered. “The Chinese aren’t stupid enough to put all their eggs in one basket. They’ll stagger the deployment or leave the missiles dormant for a second strike capability. Their exposure risk is too high to deploy them all. Four Dong Feng nuclear missiles is overkill against our combined forces in the area. Two is enough.”
“What does that do to our time frame?” Ted asked.
“We allowed we had a six to eight hour window from the time the launchers left the barns to when they’re armed and ready. That’s been cut to two hours and forty minutes.”
Ted sighed heavily and cursed under his breath.
Domino sputtered a chuckle. “The clever little shits just made it easier for us.” She was met with three double takes. “What?” Domino asked. “They can’t submerge the platform. If they pump the w
ater in, they have a way to pump it out. Big assed fluid loader pump—” She stabbed her finger at a technical drawing. “Right there, mid-deck…I was curious about that.”
Heather’s eyes lit up. She was in sync with the hypothesis. “How do you make a cradle for a structure that size? You sink the barge and compress the seabed to make a hard bond. Then you raise the barge.”
Carole asked. “Wouldn’t that damage the propulsion system? Bend the shaft or distort the propeller?”
Ted said, “Not if you trench it for clearance.”
Domino theatrically opened her arms as if she was a magician. “And where do you store the nuclear lockers? In the fucking trench.”
Heather made a point of hugging both women. Ted felt obligated to follow suit. When he hugged Domino, she swamped him and wouldn’t let go. She said, “Sorry LT, but I gotta a need for man arms around me…bad.”
Heather’s laugh was halfhearted. She said, “You deserve any SEAL here except this one. You two did brilliant work. You’ll get the credit for it, don’t you think, Ted?”
“Navy Cross for sure.”
Carole said, “Geeks don’t get the Navy Crosses.”
Heather responded. “I write the citations. Before we get ahead of ourselves, I need you to do reverse simulations. Bring Hartman in to help you. It’s going to take a lot of time under the candle, but we don’t need to chase foxes that might not be there.”
Domino said, “Perrotte, can we borrow Perry from you? We need someone that can okay the ‘can-do’ shit.”
“Why Perry? I can do that.”
She said, “You’ve got enough on your mind. Send Perry over. I’d love to do some under the candle time with that boy.”
Ted led Heather by the hand to their private place. They sat on the bench by the stream. She snuggled against him. She squeezed his hand and said. “We’re going to take casualties if this works out like I think it will. Why do we have to steal the nukes? Why can’t we just GPS mark their location? Let fleet deal with it.”