Mischief Island

by Robert Lance

  “They’re pumping sea water. I count fourteen guards. They’re grouping and trying to find cover. Shit, a couple are setting up a PF. I’ve got to take them out or we’re dead.

  A stream of machine gun fire raked the far end of the cargo deck, making sparks on steel. The two men manning the PF began jerking in spasms. “They’re coming your way Perrotte.”

  Ted blew the glass out of the porthole in the steel door and began targeting Chinese Marines. He could hear Bart’s MP-5 shoot in bursts. He could also hear the chatter of an AK-47 coming from the deck above him.

  “The fuckers are everywhere.”

  “Are we taking prisoners?”

  “Not yet.” Ted said.

  ‘I’ve got nine on the steps with their hands up. I can roll a grenade and solve the problem. Your call, Perrotte.”

  ‘I’ve got a better Idea. Herd them down here.”

  Nine frightened men descended the stair case with three SEALs gesturing threateningly and yelling at them. Ted opened the door and forced the hostages to face the bullets of their comrades.

  “Bart, you’ve got over watch,” The SEALs marched the hostages forward, collecting crewmen, launch techs, and Marines. He put them in line and marched them the length of the cargo deck. With six SEALs using them as human shields, they covered 548 feet of the deck and secured barge one.

  Ted could hear gun fire in the distance. What was happening on barge one was happening on three other barges. Ted said, “Alamo Two, Barge one secured. I have a launch-ready Dong Feng 21-D sitting on the launcher.

  “Team Perrotte, move the barge to the rally point. ASAP.”

  “Can’t do that, Alamo Two, I’ve got a Domino in the water, and we’re sinking…fast.”

  Ted looked at the vast amount of water spilling into the barge hull. He yelled at Smiley who was already running toward the big loader pump. “Hurry it up. Get that damned thing reversed.”

  Ted was running as fast as his legs could carry him toward the fan tail. He rigged a climber hoist to the rail and tossed the end into the sea. Domino was tucked under the fantail and out of sight. Ted hailed her and put a light beam on the rope so she could see it in the dark. She quickly swam to it, snapped the end to her harness, and gave a thumbs up and a yell. Ted reeled her out of the water. Her feet cleared the anchor well. Ted grabbed her around the upper torso and hauled her aboard. “Bart, start her up, and get us the hell out of here.”

  “Bart…Bart, talk to me? Torrentino, check on Bart.”

  Ted and Domino ran up the staircase, but midway up they felt a minor quake followed by a heavy thunk. Ted and Domino were driven to their knees. The barge had grounded on the sea bed. Ted stood and helped Domino up. He was about to resume his climb to the control booth when he heard Heather’s pitched voice. “Perrotte, fast boat, 800 meters at your ten o’clock. Tracking directly for you…Ghost One, can you engage target?”

  “Not in time,” said Willer. “We’re tracking the tugs and we’re three miles out—

  “Torpedo in the Water! Oh my God, Ted!”

  CHAPTER FORTY-EIGHT

  The torpedo launched from the fast boat was an unsophisticated version of the Chen Hong torpedo. It didn’t have a guidance system and required a water depth of fifteen feet. The barge was stationary and from such a short distance, the torpedo could hardly miss.

  Ted stepped into the control deck. He heard and felt an explosion that rocked the barge. A plume of water erupted from the sea, washing the cargo deck. The torpedo struck a coral outcropping, not thirty feet from the barge.

  A second torpedo met the same fate. The fast boat was closing in, and Ted had no doubt that they intended to board the barge. He instinctively knew he was in the most vulnerable part of the barge. He grabbed Domino and pitched her down the stair case. He followed. The exploding rocket punched a foot wide hole through steel, blasting the interior of the control deck.

  Ted and Domino had escaped death by a fraction of a second. Ted helped Domino limp further down the staircase. He was certain a second rocket was on the way. He heard a faint explosion coming from the bow of the barge. A darting bright flash sped from the bow. His SEALs had turned the PF-98 on the fast boat. The missile hit the boat broadside. The craft shuddered and rumbled. Seconds later, it exploded in a fire ball.

  The vicious attack on the barge had a positive side. The torpedo explosions had broken the bond between the hull and the sea bed. The barge was adrift and floating from its cradle.

  Ted leaped back up the staircase. Domino slowly followed. The interior of the control deck was in shatters. Bart’s body was slumped over the steering pedestal. Ted surmised he was hit during the brief firefight. His death caused Ted considerable pain, but there was no time for lamenting. Domino helped him put Bart’s body aside. She said, “I can start the engines quicker than you can. Let me do this.”

  She began flipping switches and talked herself through the steps. Master switch; fuel pumps; throttles to start detent; ignition.” The engines rumbled and sputtered. Domino put the throttles forward to the idle position. She found the transmission control and engaged one propeller at a time. The barge began moving, and she whooped. “I’ve done it! Anyone having trouble? I can walk you through it.” She chattered back and forth with the other SEALs. Soon after, all four barges were moving.

  Ted said, “We need to turn off the Cargo lights.”

  Domino searched the switch panel and broadcasted the location of the light switch panel. The sea around them turned black.

  Heather was harried and mentally moving from one crisis threat to another, like a fast tennis match. The two tugs were no longer critical targets, but five fast boats were. She employed both Ghosts to attack the fast boats. Willer had brought Ghost One to sprint speed and opened his weapons bay. His attack on one fast boat was up close, fifty yards. He raked the boat with twenty millimeter cannon fire, crippling it in seconds. He fired two rockets into the hull. The boat had only minutes before it sank to the sea floor. Willer turned the Ghost and headed for another attack boat.

  Heather saw the mistake. She could see the radar signature of the Ghost and so did the Chinese. She shouted, “Wayne, close your weapons bay. You’re painting on radar.” The warning was too late. A few seconds passed and the radar blip disappeared. Ghost Oe took a direct missile hit and vaporized. A vision of Wayne; Slinky; and Beetle passed before her and, she slammed her fists repeatedly on the console. Four fast attack boats were quickly approaching the barges. She said, “Ghost One is out of action, Ghost Two, engage, but for God’s sake, make it quick and close your weapons bay.

  The situation on the screen was getting grim. The Chinese were all in. They had a frigate and twelve more fast boats leaving the perimeter patrol. The LSD had pulled anchor and were on the move. Ghost Two couldn’t possible handle all the dangerous targets in pursuit of the barges. Disaster was a foregone conclusion.

  Among all the chatter, Heather heard Admiral Sinclair over the net. “Alamo Two we have four Reapers overhead with hellfire missiles. Let’s clean this mess up.”

  “Spinner, you have a floating antiaircraft platform. Sink the damned thing first.” She ran her cursor to where the container ship was parked and highlighted it. Seconds later the container ship was breaking up into pieces.

  Domino was on the cargo deck interrogating the launch crew. She was chattering in Chinese. Seemingly, she was getting nowhere. She abruptly turned about and went to the launcher launch console, sat down, and started typing. One of the prisoners began yelling at her and the tone of his voice was filled with alarm. Domino said to the SEAL guarding the prisoners, “Bring that man over here and put him on his knees. I don’t want him to see what I’m doing”

  The man shouted at her, and she ignored him, typing as if she knew what she was doing. She suddenly got up from the console. She smiled at the man and went through his shirt pocket. She removed a pack of cigarettes and a lighter. She shook one loose, lit it, and handed it to the man. Ted watched her with curio
us amusement. She had talked the man down from his hysterical state. Suddenly the man’s face changed, and he was even more hysterical than before. Domino marched to the console and began typing again. The man had to be restrained, but he was chattering wildly.

  Domino stood up from the console and waved the man to take a seat at the console. His fingers flew and he muttered angrily. She casually looked over his shoulder. Her eyes darted, and she gave Ted a short nod. She let the launch officer continue. When he was done, he stood and bowed several times. Domino was polite and allowed him to join the other prisoners.

  When she joined Ted, he asked. “What just happened?”

  “That missile is now dormant and cannot be remotely fired. Ever met a woman who owns a nuclear weapon? I have real woman power.”

  “That’s excellent, Domino. How did you get his cooperation?”

  “I shot the shit with him. We talked about his wife and kids, where he lived and shit like that. I mentioned that I’m a launch officer and wasn’t it a pity we’re not getting along. Then I told him I’d eventually find the launch sequence and the first target would be his hometown.”

  “You didn’t?”

  “Yeah, I did.” She smiled and winked at Ted. “I also got the coordinates of the programmed missile target, the Chinese red line. I need to up link the data to fleet.”

  The news was received in the situation room and the men sitting on pins and needles began a victory dance, including the president, who wasn’t noted for dancing. He was fist bumping and firing off air fists as though he had knocked out Mohammed Ali. When the jubilation settled down, the president asked Heather, “How soon will the other missiles be deactivated?”

  “We captured them before they could be programmed. All missiles are dormant. We have the Chinese red line information, and the fleet is approaching it. It’s eleven hundred miles south of Mischief Island. Admiral Sinclair has launched the first wave of fighters.”

  The president said, “Good. Good. I think it’s about time for the Chinese to find out what my red line is. I’m sending Admiral Sinclair and the fleet to Mischief Island.”

  “I’ll keep the detachment on alert until the missiles are in Admiral Sinclair’s hands.”

  “Stick around. I might have to level that island and a bunch of others.”

  “Yes sir.”

  “Great job out there Heather. Absolutely great. This is cause for celebration and thanks to you, we’ve clipped China’s ambitious plan.”

  “I’m hardly in the mood for celebration. We took casualties.”

  “Of course. Of course. You had us all worried a couple of times. You and I are going to have a long talk when you get back.”

  The president pointed to Heather on the screen. “That’s some woman, I can tell you that. Some woman.” He shook his head. “Just when I thought we’d lose, she pulled through. Did she ever.”

  He leaned back, rubbed his chin and nodded thoughtfully. “It’s my turn to wake a president up in the middle of the night, but I guarantee you, the man is having a nightmare.”

  The Chief of Staff entered the room and said, “Sir, the president of China refuses to take your call.”

  You call that son of bitch back and tell him I’ve got his nuclear missiles, and I know very well he targeted our Third Fleet, 1,100 miles from Mischief Island. You tell him that. If he refuses to take my call, tell him to turn on Fox News.”

  Ten minutes later, the Chief of Staff relayed he had the President Zuhuan of China on the phone. The president said, “Mr. Zuhuan, I called to inform you that I stole your nukes in the South China Sea. I have a deal that you can’t refuse. Want to hear it?”

  The Chinaman’s voice sounded surprised. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

  “Sure, you do. I’ve got the serial numbers and the target data of a Dong Feng 21-D. Do you want me to read them to you, or will you take my word for it?”

  Mister President, I assure you this is the first I’ve heard about it. Truly it is.”

  “That’s a good starting point. You can pretend they weren’t there, and I can pretend we don’t have them. By the way, you’re not getting them back. Let’s also pretend you granted our Third Fleet permission to have a pig roast on Mischief Island.”

  “I will not allow it.”

  “Yes, you will, or I’ll parade your missiles down Park Avenue. Then I’m going to level Mischief Island and a few others.” The president chuckled. “I’ll be damned, you really don’t know about it. Your military chiefs are afraid to tell you what happened. Are you starting to get the picture? You can save face, but you’re going to have to shoot some generals. How does that sound?”

  “I will have to get back to you Mr. President.”

  “That’s good. Very good. Don’t be long. Ten o’clock is our prime time news hour.”

  In the days that followed, the Chinese put twelve of their high ranking generals against a wall and publicly executed them. China sent Vietnam an apology and paid reparations to the victims and survivors on the oil platform. They did the same with the Philippines and entered into negotiations to co-develop the Spratly Islands in peaceful ventures.

  The Russian fleet arrived, and they couldn’t find any nuclear weapons. At the UN, the Chinese ambassador signed on to Resolution 605, with an agreement to remove its military occupation of the Spratly Islands.

  Not a word was mentioned about the battle of the Spratly Islands. Instead, the president was the man of the hour. He was the peace-maker president on every headline. Eddie Matlock had bet his career on taking the president down. The stock and trust of CNN plummeted, and Eddie Matlock was so maligned that he’d be lucky to get his next job on a trash truck in Harlem.

  Out in the Pacific, Heather’s intel detachment and Master Chief Gregory’s staff slipped off Palawan Island. They would convene later in Washington D.C. Alamo Jones’ remains were removed and shipped home to Texas. His parents were told that he died valiantly defending an Afghan village.

  Heather flew from Guam to the Carl Vincent aircraft carrier at anchor in Subic bay. Admiral Sinclair was personally there to greet her as she climbed out of the backseat of an F-18 super hornet. Standing directly behind the Admiral were twenty-three SEALs with unopened champagne bottles. On Ted’s command, corks flew, and Heather got a Champagne shower. Ted took a swig. and handed the bottle to Heather. Perry and Fitzgerald were missing from the formation. So were three other familiar faces. The joy of the reunion went out of Heather.

  Ted saw it on her face. He respectfully said, “We lost Gates and two other SEALs, Perry and two others are in sick bay recovering from wounds. Honey, it could have been much worse. All of us are grateful.”

  She grimly accepted Ted’s attempt to improve her mood.

  He said, “We’ll debrief the mission tomorrow. How would you feel about taking some time off in Manila?”

  “Where’s Domino?”

  Ted laughed. “Domino and Carole are getting a demo ride in a Super Hornet. Those women just can’t get enough excitement in their lives. They said to say hello, and we’ll see them in the officer’s mess tonight.

  She said, “I want very much to hug you right now.”

  “In case you haven’t noticed, there’s a line formed up to hug you.”

  CHAPTER FORTY-NINE

  Six weeks following the Mischief Island incident, the White Houses threw a private ball. The press was not invited, and no cameras were allowed. The participants were having a lavish dinner with the president and his wife. All wore dress uniforms, except Heather, who had left the Navy.

  Admiral Salinas, now President Salinas, had flown in to attend. With him were Roberto and Ramon. He was there to confer the highest medal of the Philippine government on all the members of the task force.

  The event kicked off with a cocktail reception and warm fraternal reunions. Heather was lusciously decked out. In heels, her stature was magnified. Many glances landed on her as she informally spoke with her SEALs. Ted, who was arm in
arm with her, said, “It looks like you won the beauty contest and the Miss Congeniality award.”

  “I’m so moved to be here. I’m beginning to regret my resignation.”

  “Not me.”

  “You’re going off to Officer Candidate School in Rhode Island, and I have nothing to keep me busy.”

  “It’s a demotion.”

  “No, it isn’t. The president has jumped your rank to 0-4. Do you have any Idea how long that takes?”

  “I don’t feel comfortable with it. It’s never been done before.”

  “Live with it. Just get your ass through basic.”

  Heather and Ted were a couple, which came as no surprise to anyone. The dinner hour approached, and the president made his entrance. The entire room came to attention. Heather and Ted were seated next to the president. The president rose to speak. He said, “Before another thought enters my head, I would like a moment of silence to pray for our fallen.” The president seemed moved, close to tears. After a pause, he tapped his heart and made eye contact with everyone in the room.

  He spread his arms and began his speech. “How do you feel? You prevented a World War. It was close my friends, very close. So close, I can’t tell you how close. It’s sad that no one will ever know your valor. Don’t get me wrong. I’m promoting you all as far as I dare. All of you are to receive the Navy Cross…and if I had it my way, you’d get the Medal of Honor.”

  Carole and Domino looked at each other with wide open disbelief. The president pointed to the two women and said, “Who would have ever guessed, right? I know. I know. Let ‘em grumble. They’ll get over it. This nation owes you a big fat retirement, but we can’t do that, can we Secretary Fremd?” Derek nodded. “See what I mean, bureaucrats, gotta follow the rules. Always follow the rules.”

  His audience laughed. “The government can’t give you a big fat retirement but I can. It’s going to be big, very big. You’ll be able to retire…and buy a big, big, house…except mine. Our great people own this one.” More laughs. “He raised his hands and shook his head. “Can you believe this? I can’t believe it. I can’t give you the reward you so richly deserve until you leave the service or retire. Not permitted. What did I say about bureaucrats?”