The New Breed

by W. E. B Griffin

  A Simba officer, a captain, came down the exposed aggregate concrete sidewalk on the Immoquateur and entered the lobby. An 7mm rifle hung from his shoulder, and one hand firmly grasped Łhe grip of a dress sword, the other was grasping even more tightly the neck of a bottle of Johnnie Walker Red Label Scotch, from which he had obviously been taking much sustenance. The guards told him that by 'order of Lieutenant' General Olenga himself, the Immoquateur was off limits to everyone except those on official business. The Simba Captain said that he had official business. The guards said that if he had business, then he must have a pass and could they see it. The Captain produced an official-looking document Which the guards studied carefully and in turn, blissfully unaware that they were holding it upside down. Then the senior of them moved and pushed the elevator button, causing the door to slide open.

  The Captain got in the elevator and pushed the buttons for floors two, four, six, and eight. The elevator stopped obediently at each floor. He rode to the eighth floor, got out, went to, the fire escape, and climbed to the top floor, the tenth.

  There was no doorknob on the stair side of the doors. Once these had closed, there was no way to open them from the stair way. The building had been designed so that someone entering the fire stairs on one floor could not exit on another; it was necessary to go all the way to the ground floor.

  The Captain took a thin, oddly shaped flat piece of brass (it had been a 7mm cartridge case) from the pocket of his white dress shirt and, slipped it between the tenth floor door and the door frame. He felt the spring-loaded part, of the door lock slide out of the way. Then he drew his dress saber (according to engraving on the blade, it had once belonged to a student at the Ecole Poly technique in Paris) and slipped it into the opening between the door and

  the door frame, intending to use it as a lever to pry the door open.

  The tip of the saber snapped off.

  He tried slipping the sharpened edge of the blade into the opening. It fitted, but whenever he tried to twist it, it slipped out.

  He considered his predicament a moment and then picked up the saber with both hands and struck the door as hard as he could.

  The first blow dented the door; the second blow dented it more; the third blow snapped the saber blade off six inches from the handle. And the noise sounded like he was inside a drum.

  He took the FN 7mm assault rifle from his shoulder, snapped off the safety, and made sure the lever was on single shot. Then he held the rifle close to the door and fired. The noise was deafening, and there was a spray of parts of the bullet, some of which ricocheted off the steel stairs and concrete walls and struck his legs and arms.

  But there was now an inch and a half cut in the steel of the door. The Captain picked up the flattened cartridge case and put it back in the door lockwork. After that he put what was left of the saber blade into the hole in the door. When he pulled on it, the door opened enough for him to get his fingers on the edge and then pull it all the way open.

  He went into the tenth-floor corridor and stationed himself around a corner where he could if necessary quickly train the FN on anybody getting out of the elevator. The elevator floor-indicator was working. The elevator went to the second floor and stayed there for several minutes, then went to the third floor and stayed there. There was time, he decided. What they were doing was investigating the sound of the gunshot floor by floor, very cautiously and very carefully.

  He went down the corridor and knocked on the door of an apartment. There was no answer so he knocked again. When there was no answer after the third knock, he slipped the piece of flattened brass into the lock and pulled the door open.

  He went inside, closed the door, and turned around.

  Bile rose in his throat.

  A huge black woman, a large butcher knife in one hand, a bone-handled carving knife in the other, was advancing at him, stalking him, obviously about to attack.

  "Je suis ami," he said. "Jesus H. Christ, lady-wait a minute!"

  "Mary Magdalene!" a female voice called. "Attends!"

  The black woman didn't lower the knives, but she Stopped her careful advance.

  "Madame Portet?" the Captain asked.

  "Who are you?" "My name is Lunsford, ma'am," he said, and then Ursula stepped into a doorway with her baby in her arms. A blonde girl stood behind her, looking at him with-wide, frightened, eyes.

  "Mrs. Craig, do you remember me? I'm Captain Lunsford. I'm a buddy of Geoff's. We were together in 'Nam." Ursula couldn't speak. Tears ran down her face. But she nodded.

  She looked awful, Lunsford thought. Her hair was Parted down the middle, then drawn tightly over her head and pulled together with a rubber band. Her face was white and her eyes looked sunken. He wondered if she had been raped. There bad been a lot of rape. It was forbidden by Olenga and the punishment was death. The result was that a lot of Simbas had been shot, either on the spot or ceremoniously before the Lumumba Monument.

  But it hadn't stopped the raping.

  "You want to tell her to put those knives down?" Father Lunsford said.

  Hanni gestured to Mary Magdalene and told her in Swahili that he was a friend, an American officer, who had come to help.

  Mary Magdalene looked at him suspiciously. Lunsford smiled a her. She did not return it.

  "Are you all, all right?" Lunsford said.

  "We're managing," Hanni said.

  "Have you got food for the baby?"

  "Condensed milk," Ursula said. "And Mary Magdalene has been able to get bananas and fruit. He's all right."

  "What about you?" Lunsford said.

  "There was some food in the freezer here," Hanni said, "but when the electricity was off for three days, it spoiled. Mary Magdalene goes out every day and buys what she can. Fish and chicken. We have some canned vegetables left. We're managing."

  "Ma'am," Lunsford said very gently, "that really wasn't what I Was asking. I've got some penicillin and some other antibiotics. And if you need anything else, I probably can arrange to have Geoff air-drop it."

  " "We haven't been. . . molested," Hanni said. "if that's what you're asking." "How's Geoff?" Ursula, asked. "Where is he?"

  "At Kamina," Lunsford said. "He or Pappy Hodges fly over -or near here-every day. He's all right."

  "What are you doing here?" Hanni Portet asked.

  "There's a Red Cross plane at the airport," Lunsford said.

  "There's a chance we can get you out of here. There's risk involved. I'll tell you-what I can do and leave it up to you." He told them he would commandeer a truck in the morning he'd found three he thought he could get, and a couple of Simbas-and come to the Immoquateur and pick them up and take them to the airport. The Red Cross was negotiating with Soumialot. He didn't know what would happen, but there just might be a chance, as a goodwill gesture, that Soumialot would let the Red Cross fill the plane with women and children.

  "What about Mary Magdalene?" Hanni Portet asked.

  "Who?" Hanni inclined her head toward Mary Magdalene.

  "No," he said. "No way. That sonofabitch won't let any Congolese go."

  "Then you will take Ursula and the baby and my daughter," Hanni said. "I will stay here."

  "I've got no advice to give," Father Lunsford said.

  "I am Belgian," Hanni said. "I have, anyway, a Belgian passport. They know who my husband is. Some man who said he was the Minister of Aviation has already called here and said he hopes to have a long and profitable relationship with Air Simba. I'll be all right."

  "I don't want to go without you," Jeanine Portet said.

  "You help Ursula with Jiffy," Hanni said. "Mary Magdalene and I can take care of ourselves."

  "Mama!"

  "You settle between you who's going and who's staying," Father Lunsford said. "I have to get out of here. When the time is right-and I don't know when that will be-I'll be outside in back with a truck. I'll blow the horn: 'Shave and a haircut, two bits.' Whoever is coming, come quickly down the fire stairs. I'll meet you on the
ground floor."

  "All right," Hanni said. "We'll be ready."

  "Have you got any whiskey? Gin? Anything?" Father Lunsford asked.

  "There's the bar," Hanni said, giving him a strange look.

  Father took two bottles and headed for the door.

  "You speak English?" he asked Mary Magdalene.

  "I speak English."

  "I'm glad you're on our side, honey," Lunsford said; and then he went through the door.

  He went to the elevator and pushed the call button.

  After a long minute he heard the elevator rising. When the door opened, the Simba guards had their FNs pointing at him. They were obviously afraid.

  Lunsford smiled broadly. He extended one of the bottles of Scotch.

  "Who did you shoot?" one of the guards asked.

  "I didn't shoot anybody," Lunsford said. "I thought that was you."

  The guard took the bottle of Johnny Walker, removed the top and took a pull.

  Then Lunsford got on the elevator and rode down to the lobby.

  He shook hands ceremoniously with each of the guards and staggered out of the building.

  Whatever discussion there was between Hanni and Ursula and Jeanine about whether or not to try to make it to toe airport;" and about who was to go and who was to stay, was a waste of breath. At first light the Red Cross plane took off from Stanleyville," crossed over the Immoquateur Apartments, and headed for Bumbura, Burundi. It carried no one out that it had not flown in.

  President Christophe Gbenye had decided ,that it was not in the best interests of his government to permit any Europeans whites whatsoever to leave Stanleyville. In the interest of peace, he told the international Red Cross, it was clearly necessary for his government to hold hostages.

  (two)

  Washington, D.C. 6 September 1964

  " BULLETIN AP WASH 926-14 WASHINGTON, DC-SEP 26-THEWHITE HOUSE HAS ANNOUNCED THAT PRESIDENT LYNDON B. JOHNSON. WILL NOT RECEIVE THE DELEGATION FROM THE CONGO RECONCILIATION COMMISSION WHICH IS SCHEDULED TO LAND IN NEW YORK SOMETIME THIS AFTERNOON. THE OFFICIAL REASON GIVEN IS THAT THE PRESIIJENT CANNOT MAKE ROOM FOR THEM IN HIS SCHEDULE.

  IT HAS BEEN REPORTED THAT THE DELEGATION, MADE UP OF REPRESENTATIVES OF FIVE AFRICAN NATIONS, INTENDED TO PRESENT TO THE PRESIDENT THE DEMANDS OF THE RECENTLY CONCLUDED COMMISSION MEETING IN NAIROBI, KENYA, AND THAT THOSE DEMANDS INCLUDED A DEMAND THAT JOHNSON ORDER THE COMPLETE WITHDRAWAL OF ALL US MILITARY PERSONNEL IN THE CONGO, AS WELL AS THE WITHDRAWAL OF ALL MILITARY EQUIPMENT, IN PARTICULAR AIRCRAFT, WHICH THE UNITED STATES HAS LOANED TO THE GOVERNMENT OF MOISE TSHOMBE IN LEOPOLDVILLE.

  (Three)

  The White House Washington, D.C. 4 October 1964

  "My eyes hurt, Felter," the President of the United States said.

  "Read it to me."

  "There has been an intercept of a message from Stanleyville to Olenga, Mr. President," Felter said. "The message is from the People's Army Commander in Stanleyville to the Commander-in Chief, which almost certainly means Olenga, who is in Paulis, about two hundred fifty miles from Stanleyville."

  "What does it say?" the President asked impatiently.

  "He requests, I now quote, 'permission to kill all Americans who are held in the liberated zone,' unquote."

  "That's new," the President said. "That just come in?"

  "No, sir. It came in 2 October at 1755 Zulu-about one o'clock Washington time." "Why haven't I seen it before now?"

  "For the same reasons I feel it reliable, the Congo Working Group felt the intercept unreliable," Felter said. "Presumably they didn't want to waste your time with it." The Congo Working Group was an interagency working group with members representing the State Department, the CIA, the USIA, and the Joint Chiefs of Staff. It was charged with responsibility for the "Congo Situation." "Goddamn it, Felter," the President sighed. "I'm tired and in no mood for word games. Why didn't they think it was reliable?"

  "The intercept was made by a teen-aged boy, an amateur radio operator, in Leopoldville."

  "Hardly the most reliable source, wouldn't you agree?"

  "Ordinarily," Felter said. "But this is a very bright kid.

  His father is one of the assistant military attaches."

  "And you believe it reliable?"

  "Yes, Sir." "There's been no answer from Olenga that we know about?"

  "No, Sir."

  "Then it's possible even if the intercept was for real that the kid heard what he said he heard-in other words that whoever sent it was off base and Olenga is ignoring him?"

  "That's possible, Mr. President."

  "Thank you for coming to see me, Colonel."

  ( Four)

  5 October 1964

  URGENT FROM US EMBASSY LEOPOLDVILLE DEMREPCONGO TO SECSTATE WASHDC SPECIAL STANLEYVILLE SITUATION UPDATE 1300 ZULU.

  5 OCTOBER 1964 FOLLOWING IS EXTRACT OF TRANSLATION OF FRENCH LANGUAGE BROADCAST BY GASTON SOUMIALOT, REPORTED TO BE MINISTER OF DEFENSE IN REBEL GOVERNMENT OVER RADIO ST ANLEYVILLE 1200 ZULU TODAY QUOTE I INFORM THE AMERICAN GOVERNMENT THAT I CAN SAFEGUARD PEACE AND ALSO THE PROPERTY OF CONGOLESE AND FOREIGNERS. I AM VERY SURPRISED THAT THE AMERICANS ARE CONTINUING TO KILL WOMEN AND CHILDREN AND ALSO PATIENTS IN HOSPITALS. IF THE AMERICANS DO NOT STOP DROPPING BOMBS ON TOWNS ALREADY LIBERATED THEN THEIR BROTHERS WHO ARE KILLING PEOPLE WILL BE KILLED WHEN FOUND IN THESE TOWNS.

  QUOTE CONTINUES I HAVE NEVER KILLED AMERICANS AND I DO NOT LIKE TO KILL, BUT IF THIS BOMBING GOES ON WE WILL BE COMPELLED TO TAKE ACTION AGAINST THESE AMERICANS IN THE CONGO.

  QUOTE Continues IF THEY CONTINUE KILLING MEN, WOMEN, AND CHILDREN THEN I INFORM THEM THAT IF ONE CONGOLESE IS KILLED, HE WILL BE BURIED IN HIS GRAVE TOGETHER WITH TWELVE AMERICANS ENDQUOTE TRANSLATION VERIFIED BY TWO QUALIFIED LINGUISTS.

  USAMBASSADOR BELIEVES SPEAKER WAS IN FACT SOUMIALOT.

  TAPE RECORDING OF BROADCAST IN TODAYS DIPLOMATIC POUCH. COURIER ABOARD UTA FLIGHT 404 CONNECTING BRUSSELS SABENA 600 TO NEWYORKETA 16506 OCTOBER.

  DANNELLY DEPUTY CHIEF OF MISSION.

  (Five)

  The White House Washington, D.C. 8 October 1964

  "I sort of thought you would be in to see me, Felter." the President of the United States said.

  "Sir?"

  "Earl was just in here to summarize the feeling of the Congo Working Group for me. They seem to feel that the situation in the Congo is becoming manageable. Did you see this?"

  He handed Felter a yellow radioteletype printout.

  URGENT FROM US EMBASSY LEOPOLDVILLE DEMREPCONGO TO SECSTATE WASHDC STANLEYVILLE SITUATION UPDATE AS OF 2400 ZULU 7 OCTOBER 1964 INTELSOURCE RATING ONE PAREN 1 PAREN REPORTS CONGOLESE MILITARY FORCE {NCLUDING 40 KATANGESE SPECIAL GENDARMERIE UNDER CAPTAIN K. W AGNER LIBERATED UVIR. A NORTHERN TIP OF LAKE TANGANYIKA AS OF 1430 ZUKU 7 OCTOBER. REBEL FORCES SUFFERED SEVERE REPEAT SEVERE PERSONNEL, TRANSPORT, AND MATERIEL LOSSES.

  SAMESOURCE QUOTES WAGNER AS SAYING REBEL FORCES IN UVIRA IN PROCESS PREPARING RECEIPT LARGE QUANTITIES OF ARMS AND MATERIEL FRQM BURUNDI. WAGNER DOES NOT BELIEVE LIBERATION OF UVIRA IN AND OF ITSELF WILL HALT SUPPLY OF REBEL FORCES FROM CHICOM AND OTHERS IN BURUNDI.

  USEMBASSY BELIEVES WAGNER TO BE SOUTHAMERICAN NATIONAL FORMERLY OFFICER IN EAST GERMAN ARMY. HE IS KNOWN TO HAVE BEEN INVOLVED IN SUCCESSFUL DEFENSE OF BUKA VU.

  DANNELLY DEPUTY CHIEF OF MISSION.

  "Yes, Sir, I've seen it."

  "I thought McCone was going to shit a brick when he read that the Ambassador was using an East German mercenary as a source for his intelligence. I was tempted to tell him who he really is."

  "Did you, Sir?"

  "No. I felt a little dishonest. But if I had told him, the State Department would have found out, and sure as Christ made little apples, one of those bastards would convince himself it should be leaked. Jesus, what the newspapers would do with that if they latched on to it!"

  "Yes, Sir, I agree."

  "But what if something goes wrong and they capture Wagner? And show him off to the press?"

  "The Simbas are not taking pri
soners, Mr. President."

  "But if they did? If I were Wagner, and they caught me, I'd damn sure tell them anything they wanted to hear. What makes you think this guy's so reliable?"