War Cry sts-9

by Keith Douglass

  Near Taedong

  North Korea

  Jack Mahanani wiped the blood away and checked the wound. A bullet had gone in the front of DeWitt's leg, probably clipped the leg bone, and slanted upward. There was no exit wound. That meant the bullet was still there up in the calf muscles somewhere.

  "So, JG, you picked up one. Not too bad, lots more blood than there should have been. Probably hurts like hell, though. I'll get it fixed up and we'll see how you walk."

  The medic put on antiseptic and bandaged the wound tightly, gave him a morphine shot in the arm, then pulled down the pants leg.

  "I'm getting to be a fucking magnet for every stray chunk of lead out there. Why the hell me?"

  "Hey, JG, lots of that lead missed you. Come on now, let's see how you walk."

  With the medic's help. DeWitt got to his feet. He bleated in pain when he took the first step. He set his jaw and took another step and made no sound, but his face worked. Then he let go of the medic and walked back to the road.

  "Let's get the hell out of here," he said. Bravo Squad cheered.

  The platoon moved up the road again. Mahanani came up to Murdock and shook his head.

  "Skipper, we've got to find some transport. The JG won't be good for more than a hundred yards walking. That slug is in his leg somewhere tearing up things every time he takes a step."

  "Stay with him. We'll find transport."

  Murdock called up Ching and Lam, and sent them along both sides of the road looking for a cart, a truck, a wagon, anything they could use to haul the JG in.

  They were now in country that had more farms and more buildings. The men scurried along each side of the road searching and checking in small buildings, hoping to find an old truck they could steal.

  Two hundred yards after they started, Ed DeWitt gave a little cry of fury and slumped to the ground. The men helped him limp to the side of the road.

  Jaybird stood beside Murdock. "How much farther is it into that town?" he asked.

  "From here, maybe fifteen, eighteen miles. Right now too damn far."

  They waited. Five minutes later, Ching came running down the roadway pushing a well-used motorcycle.

  "Here it is. but I can't get it to run," Ching said.

  Joe Douglas was on it in a second. He checked the spark, then the fuel to the cylinder, and laughed. He took off the small fuel-line filter, blew it out, and without the need for tools, put it back in place. He pumped the starter lever twice, then turned on a switch, and the cycle fired up on the first try.

  Murdock nodded. "Douglas, can you ride that thing?"

  "In my sleep, Skipper."

  "Good. DeWitt will be on the seat behind you. Go up the road two miles and get in some concealment. Wait for us. We'll be double-timing up the road. Best bet we have right now."

  The SEALs and the two South Koreans began to jog up the road. A moment later the motorcycle growled past them on low power to hold down the noise. They made two trips of two miles each; then Murdock checked his watch. It was nearing 0430.

  "An hour and a half to sunup," he told Jay bird. "We need a place to settle down for the day and hide. Keep your eyes open."

  After the third two-mile hike, they watched the east begin to lighten. Ahead a dirt road led off to the left toward a small building and a half acre of trees and brush. It could be a woodlot.

  "Let's check it out," Murdock said, and swung the line of march off the roadway. Murdock stopped the troops well back from the shack, and sent Charley up to investigate.

  Charley found an old Korean man fully dressed and rocking gently in a rocking chair in front of the small house. The man gave the traditional greeting. Charley said he was lost and wondered how far it was to Taedong.

  The old man shook his head. He said in Korean that he didn't know. He never went to the big city anymore. Twice a week his grandson came and helped him cook his rice and kimchee. Mostly he sat in the chair, rocked, and watched the birds.

  Charley asked the old man if he could sleep in the woods until midday, and the old man simply nodded. Charley walked back to where the SEALs had waited, and told them about the old man. Murdock quietly ordered his men to dig out their hide holes and get camouflage ready in case they needed it. He sat looking to the east. Then he called up Ron Holt with the SATCOM. He had the radioman turn it on, find the right settings, and aim the antenna in the right direction.

  Then he typed in his message on the pad.

  "Completed task #1. Now moving toward task #2. Any changes in our orders? Murdock."

  He waited while Holt pushed the switches that automatically encrypted the message and flashed it out in a transmission burst that lasted less than a tenth of a second. Murdock wasn't sure how the message made the trip, but somehow it got to the satellite and back to the ship.

  They sat waiting. Murdock got up and scooped out a hide hole he could stretch out in in case they had to go invisible. Before he was done the box chattered with a voice communication.

  "Murdock. Your number-two assignment canceled. Subject has moved. Continue with number-three assignment. Your fishing buddy, Stroh." The voice sounded a little strange going through three broadcasts and relay systems and being encrypted and then de-encrypted. Still, it was Stroh.

  Jaybird came up when he heard the radio. He missed most of it. He scowled at Murdock.

  "Continue to assignment number three? What about Taedong?"

  "Evidently the general has moved on to some other spa or point of pleasure. We're off Taedong and back to Nampo."

  "Great. Just how the hell you figure we're going to get there?"

  "By transport. We need transport. See if you can whip up a six-by-six for me, will you?"

  Jaybird dropped to the ground. "We must be twelve miles or so from Chungsan. Then it's another twenty-five down to Nampo. Sure as hell hope we don't have to walk the whole way."

  "That's what we've got to work on. Right now, it's time to get some sleep. Then what we need is a truck and a map and a whole lot of good luck. How can you help me?"

  "A truck. A nice farm truck filled with rice straw would be nice to hide the men in."

  "Or a closed one. I've got an idea what to do as soon as we get to the coast. But we're a long way from there yet. A truck. Wish there was more traffic on this road."

  Jaybird sat up straight. "So we hijack a truck on the road down there. We don't care which way it's going. We grab a truck and move the troops out to the wet."

  "At least anyone looking for us won't think that we've doubled back on our route. They'll be out ahead someplace."

  "Let's go truck hunting," Jaybird said. "If we find the right kind, we can use it during the day. If it's not the right kind, we'll hide it here in the woods and use it as soon as it gets dark." "Jaybird, Lead Petty Officer, you've got yourself a deal."

  They found a place where they could watch the roadway in both directions yet not be seen, and settled in. Traffic was almost nonexistent. One small truck came by, but it wouldn't hold all the men. It wheezed, sputtered, and nearly died. Jaybird shook his head.

  The next truck was a better size, but just in time they saw the military designation painted on the bumper. They burrowed deeper in the weeds and grass and let it pass. It was headed for Taedong, which pleased them. By then it was fully light. The sun came up.

  After nearly two hours of waiting, a promising rig came in sight headed for Chungsan. It was big enough, had a six foot high stake body, and was half filled with some kind of produce.

  Murdock left his weapon with Jaybird and walked along the highway, then heard the rig coming and turned, stepped into the road, and waved both arms.

  Murdock still wore his baseball cap and civilian Korean clothes. His size was against him, but from the cab of a truck it wouldn't matter so much. The rig slowed, then stopped.

  Murdock ran up on the driver's side, pulled open the door, and stared at a black pistol aimed at his head. The driver scowled and shouted something in Korean. Murdock shook his head
. He was too far away to get a swipe at the weapon. Then the Korean hurtled forward, dropped the gun, and fell half out of the truck.

  Right behind the man was Jaybird, who had given him a powerful shove. Murdock picked up the revolver, pushed it in his pants belt, and dragged the driver out. Jaybird grinned and slid behind the wheel. He waited for Murdock to push the driver into the rear of the truck and jump in beside him. Murdock found some twine in the truck and tied the farmer hand and foot.

  Jaybird stopped at the lane, got out, and ran up to where the SEALs had stretched out. He got them up, had Douglas take DeWitt, and in five minutes had the SEALs all on board the truck and Douglas behind the wheel.

  They threw out half of the produce, some kind of long white radishes and some other green vegetables. There was soon room for all of the SEALs and their weapons. From the outside the rig looked like any other on the way to market farm produce. The men were a bit crowded, but all agreed it beat walking, especially Ed DeWitt. They kept their weapons handy and locked and loaded.

  This truck was newer than the one they had before, and rolled along at fifty to fifty-five miles an hour. They passed two slower trucks, and began meeting more traffic the nearer they came to the city. They came to a fork in the road, and Charley in the front seat read the signs. He pointed to the right.

  "We go around town and find coast. What you want, right?"

  Murdock nodded. He and Douglas pulled down their bill caps to help hide their faces. Murdock changed places to put Charley on the door side so he could ask for directions if they needed them.

  They rolled along another five miles, and found the north-south road they had used to come from the resort. They passed it quickly and came to another meeting of two more roads. Charley read the signs, and angled the truck into the one heading south and west toward the coast.

  "So far, so good," Douglas said.

  The moment Douglas said it, Murdock wished he hadn't. Ahead he saw a pileup of traffic. There were two lanes heading in their direction, and he could see half-a-dozen cars and trucks in each lane. At the intersection he saw two military police waving people forward. The soldier for the right-hand lane was on the right-hand side of the street. He pointed at them and shouted at Charley.

  Charley yelled back, and the military policeman laughed and waved them on through.

  "What was all that?" Murdock asked.

  "He asked me if I had any kimchee. I told him I was taking half a truckful to his mother's house right now."

  "It worked. Thanks. How much farther to the coast?"

  "Not sure. Maybe five-six miles."

  The town began to thin out. Soon there was only one lane going each way. Ahead, Murdock could smell salt air. He grinned. They might just make it yet.

  "Charley, we need to find a boat big enough for all of us. A fishing boat? Are there any harbors around here?"

  "Last sign say Chungsan Bay. We find."

  They drove another half hour, working back and forth before they found the small street that led to a quarter-mile long bay with two small piers. Boats had tied up at both of them.

  "We gonna hijack a boat?" Douglas asked.

  "Not if we can help it. We'll rent one, if Charley has enough won."

  Charley pulled out the stack of bills. "Nineteen thousand won," he said. "Plenty to rent good boat."

  "We steal a boat, the coast patrol boats would be all over us before we got ten miles," Murdock said.

  They stopped at the end of the pier. Charley and Murdock walked out on the pier, and Charley talked to the boat people. Murdock didn't have to say a word. Charley said something and bumped into Murdock, and they walked back the way they came.

  "No boats to rent there, but on other pier," Charley said. They walked to the next pier and went out on it. The boats were not in as good condition. Fishing had been poor, Charley said.

  The boat that was for rent turned out to be a thirty-foot fishing boat with a diesel engine and a bad paint job. Charley haggled with the owner for half an hour, and at last made a deal. The owner would go along to run the ship and bring it back.

  Murdock went out and brought the crew to the dock. Murdock tried to figure how to get Ed DeWitt out to the destroyer. The chopper on board, the Cobra, had no passenger space. It would take a call to the Eighth Army to send up a bird and overfly all that enemy territory. Too risky yet. Maybe later.

  The SEALs and Koreans went on board. Two men carried Ed DeWitt, who protested all the way.

  Murdock talked to Mahanani.

  "Can Ed take it for another day?" "Slug has got to come out within three days. If I do it I might do a lot of damage. No bullet hole to go into. Have to cut and look around. Damn dangerous."

  "Watch him closely, your only job."

  "Aye, sir."

  The boat smelled of fish. The men could all sit on the deck and around the fish hold. If they came up on a patrol boat, they would have to drop into the hold and damn the smell. Once on board, Charley counted out the bills. Two thousand won. Over nine hundred dollars for the thirty-mile trip. The captain said he would sail them right up to the Nampo main port and get them ashore safely. He didn't care who they were, but he told Charley he knew they were not Koreans. Charley gave him another five hundred won, and the captain grinned.

  It was slightly after noon when they sailed. The sun was out and there was no wind or waves.

  They angled away from the small bay and south along the coast, offshore just enough to miss two small points of land. Murdock figured they were making ten knots. About a three-and-a-half-hour trip.

  All went well until they were just rounding the point and heading in toward Nampo, which sat on the far end of a five-mile-long bay. An NK patrol boat came up behind them and Murdock barked at the SEALs, who slipped and slid into the hold until only Charley and the captain remained on the small deck.

  The patrol boat went past, and the sailors on it laughed at the way their bow wake rocked the empty fishing boat so hard that it came within two feet of capsizing. The captain waved at the sailors. He told Charley it was a little game they played. The larger craft never went fast enough to capsize his fishing boat. The heavier the load of fish it had, the less it reacted to the strong bow wave.

  The patrol boat continued on toward Nampo, and the SEALs moved out of the hold onto the small deck area, glad to be back in the sunshine.

  "We're gonna smell like fish for days," Jaybird bellowed.

  "You smelled like rotten fish years ago," somebody yelled, but Jaybird couldn't be sure who said it. Everyone laughed. Murdock sat on the deck beside his second in command. He looked at Mahanani, who was grim-faced.

  "Getting hard to bend my ankle," Ed DeWitt said. "I hate this. I don't want to slow down the platoon."

  "You won't slow us down. Forget that. What we have to do now is find that general. You rest up. We'll be moving again in a half hour."

  Mahanani motioned Murdock to the front of the ship.

  "He's getting worse. That damn slug has to come out. Another day and he might not make it."

  "Any other way?"

  "That chopper on board the destroyer. It's a two-place shooter. But it does have a spot for a second man. If the bird could come in without the gunner…"

  "Yeah, an idea, but then the bird would be defenseless. Don't think the Navy would let it fly that way."

  "Afraid of that. So I'll have to cut. Soon as we get ashore and find some kind of a safe spot, I'll cut. The only way."

  "Can you find the slug?"

  "An X ray would be handy, but the bullet evidently traveled near the skin for a while. It left a purple mark. I'd say I have a good chance of going in within an inch of the slug."

  "We better find a spot where we can be out of the way for a while. We get the JG fixed up, then we'll worry about the general."

  Murdock took Charley to talk to the captain. He told Charley exactly what they needed, a place where they could land without attracting any attention and a secluded area where they could
hide out for the rest of the day.

  Murdock watched as the two Koreans talked. The captain looked at Murdock and frowned, jabbered more at Charley, and at last Charley moved over to Murdock.

  "He says could get shot for making trip. He want more money. Should I give more?"

  "Yes, another thousand won. If he turns us in, we're all dead. Keep him happy. We don't want to go too close to the town."

  Charley talked with the captain again, gave him more money, and the captain smiled. They moved toward the back of the ship.

  "Captain says another few minutes he has private dock he can put in at. No questions. Two hundred won for dock man. We get off easy and no fuckup."

  "Sounds good." Murdock turned to his men. "Docking in a couple of minutes. Mahanani, you carry the JG off the boat. We'll find some transport somewhere. Charley, you and your buddy need to find out where the general is. Do it as fast as you can. Understand?"

  "Yes, find general fast. Charley understand."

  The docking and unloading went quickly. Only one old man was on the slender dock. He took the money and grinned. The area had only one road leading to it, and was surrounded by coastal brush and a few trees. Murdock and his men went down the road until the old man couldn't see them. Then they cut into the brush and found a spot secluded enough to hide them all.

  Mahanani and Harry Ronson had taken turns carrying DeWitt. It was late afternoon by the time they settled down. Charley and Pete, the two Korean interpreter/scouts, took off to try to find General Kim. All they knew was that he was an avid golfer, so there had to be one golf course in the area.

  Murdock went over to where Mahanani had put down JG DeWitt. He looked pale and listless.

  The medic took Murdock aside.

  "Skipper, this is it. Time we took that slug out. He can't be in any worse shape after I cut. Hey. I'm no fucking surgeon, but I should be able to get that slug out. I'll need some help. This is going to be twelfth-century surgery. Nothing to knock him out with. I'll need two big men to help hold him down. With any luck he'll pass out from the pain after a few seconds. Then I'll work fast. We need to do it now before it gets dark."

  Murdock called up Ronson, Bradford, and Fernandez. He told them what was going to happen. "His screams shouldn't last too long. Fernandez, keep your hand loosely over his mouth so we don't wake up the whole southern half of North Korea."