Part 3 (1/2)
”Yes, we shoot a lot. We also rescue people. What is it, three or four emba.s.sies we've gone in and pulled over a hundred people out of the fire. Remember that senator in China where he shouldn't have been and we went up the river in a rubber duck and brought him and his wife and daughter out to safety? Remember all those times, sailor?”
”Yes sir. Some high points. But how many Chinese men did we kill on that mission? Two at the front door, one at the back door, and two inside as I remember. Were that senator and his family worth the lives of five human beings?”
”What about the EAR, Fernandez? You've used it several times to put down the enemy without a casualty. We almost never harm civilians. If somebody's army is shooting at us, we have a right to shoot back. If we shoot better than they do, we win.”
”Right. In a fair firefight, I have no big problem. If we have better weapons and take them out, that I can live with. But to go up to a wounded enemy and kill him...that's what's bugging me the most. I know, I know. These are situations where we simply can't leave a wounded enemy behind or it would compromise the whole mission and could mean that half or more of our platoon would wind up in graves registration. I know that. And still it bugs me that we have to make certain on the wounded.”
”I can solve that one in the future.”
”Not always. There could come a time when I'm the logical one to do it.”
”So I take the second most logical person to make sure and we keep moving. Okay, you're off the list for making sure. That should help. You're one of the best men I have, Fernandez. You'll be taking care of the new man in your squad the way you always do. Teaching him what he didn't learn in the six-month training cycle. Who is your new man?”
”He's Second Cla.s.s Electrician's Mate Dexter M. Tate. Looks to be about twenty-two or -three, an inch under six feet and maybe a hundred and eighty-five pounds. He's a nut about free diving on old s.h.i.+ps in the ocean and he rides a motorcycle to work. Oh, yeah, he's a computer nut and loves his Bull Pup.”
”That's it?”
”Well, we've only talked a few times. Seems like a nice guy. Oh, he isn't married.”
”Fernandez, see what I mean? Is there another man in Bravo who knows as much about Tate as you do? Not a chance. You're his sponsor; you'll be there if he needs you. You do one h.e.l.l of a lot more in Bravo than just pull a trigger.”
”Oh.” He frowned. ”Well, maybe so. I never thought much about the other things. Kind of routine.”
”Routine, like saving somebody's life. Where was that when you dragged one of your squad out of the line of fire? You took a bullet, but your buddy didn't get killed, and you lived to fight another day, as we say.”
”Well, yeah. Somebody had to do it.”
”Somebody? There were three others closer to that man than you were. None of them jumped out there to save his a.s.s. You did. Fernandez saw a job that needed doing and he risked his hide to do the job and took an enemy bullet in the process. That's one h.e.l.l of a lot more than just routine.” He paused. ”You talked with your wife yet about how you're feeling?”
”Not much. I just barely touched on it last night.”
”That is a job you have to do.”
”I know. She's never said a word about my quitting, but I know she curls up and almost dies every time we go on a mission. It's tough on her. She'd be ecstatic if I quit the SEALs.”
”But would you?”
”I don't know. That's what I'm trying to figure out.”
”Your wife and your priest, in any order-that's your a.s.signment. You want to take tomorrow off and do it?”
”We're going to the desert tomorrow for some live firing.”
”Right.”
”I should be there to take a hand with Tate if he needs it. He hasn't done much live firing lately. You know, give him some pointers, some shortcuts.”
”You playing papa bear, right?”
Fernandez grinned. ”h.e.l.l, I guess so. Just kind of built in. Like the old fire horses would get all revved up when they heard the fire bell.”
”Okay. I guarantee you won't have to make sure on anybody tomorrow. It's a one-day trip. Get back late tomorrow night. Be sure to tell Maria that.”
”Maybe the wives could have a night out. I'll see what Maria can set up. There's three of them-Ardith, Maria, and Wanda Gardner. I'll talk to Maria about it. A movie, maybe.”
”Fernandez, this will clear up, this will pa.s.s. When it does, then you'll have decided if you want to remain a SEAL or go back to the black shoe.”
”I'd die of boredom back there. Which might be a good thing for a family man. d.a.m.n few of us married guys in the SEALs. We'll see. Right now I don't know what in h.e.l.l I'm going to do.”
”We need to get this cleared up before we have another mission. You know that could come at any time.”
”Tell me about it. Usually it's on Maria's birthday or one of the big holidays.” He snorted. ”d.a.m.nedest thing. I still love it. The rush of getting a mission n.o.body else knows about but the president and two or three other big shots, and then we go jetting halfway around the world to do something that n.o.body else on this old earth can do. Now, that is one h.e.l.l of a rush.”
”Stay hard, SEAL. Now get out of here and talk it out with Maria. Let her have her say.”
Fernandez came to attention, snapped a salute, did an about face perfectly, and marched out the door. ”Hey, maybe I'm getting in some practice in for the black shoe navy.”
Murdock waved and looked back at his desk. The d.a.m.n paperwork. It was nearly 1700. He'd look at it in two days. Up early for tomorrow.
Ten minutes later he headed for the new condo in the edge of La Jolla. The traffic wasn't all that bad. He came off the San Diego Bay Bridge on Interstate 5 and headed north. Then through San Diego and out the same interstate to the Grand Street off-ramp, and soon he was in the south end, the lower income part, of La Jolla, just blocks from Pacific Beach. He parked on the street, leaving the a.s.signed underground parking slot for Ardith's car. She usually pulled in about twenty minutes of six.
Upstairs in their condo he checked the phone answering machine. Two messages: ”Honey, I'm sorry.” It was Ardith's voice. ”I'll be a little late getting home tonight. Small emergency I have to fix. I'd think I'll be in about seven. Love you.”
The second one was a mortgage company looking for business. He deleted both and checked in the freezer. The Hungry Man super dinner looked about right. He could thaw with the best cooks around. He set it for the seven minutes in the microwave and settled in with the newspaper. He scanned the front page to see if he could see any hint of where they might be heading next. More action in Afghanistan, where they'd routed some more holdouts in caves. A combined Special Forces team found four Stinger anti-aircraft shoulder-fired missiles, over a hundred thousand rounds of rifle ammunition, and hundreds of mortar rounds. The whole ammo dump made a tremendous explosion and sealed the cave. Not much chance of Third Platoon going there.
Iran was heating up again. An American diplomat had been gunned down in usually stable Yemen. Two men on a motorcycle raced up beside the diplomat's car. One man used a submachine gun and riddled the rear seat window and the man inside the car. The attackers sped away, were soon lost in the heavy traffic, and escaped. No one had taken responsibility for the crime at the last report. No, they wouldn't go to Yemen.
He gave up, fished the roast beef dinner out of the microwave, and ate it right out of the plastic tray. Surprisingly, it tasted good and there was plenty of it. He went back to the paper.
Ardith charged in at seven-thirty. She was tall, slender, with a ma.s.s of long blond hair that cascaded over her shoulders. She was the daughter of the senior senator from Oregon and had worked for him in Was.h.i.+ngton for six years as an a.s.sistant counsel. She came west when she had a job offer she couldn't refuse. Today there were worry lines around her eyes and she slumped against the wall.
”Tough day at the office?” Murdock asked.
Ardith laughed, ran to him, and hugged him soundly, then kissed him and kicked off her shoes. ”Yes, Master. A furious day at the office. The client changed his mind, then when we did what he wanted he changed it back to the way we had it in the first place. My boss is taking him out to dinner, but I begged off. So what's new at your zoo?”
”Mostly routine. Oh, Marie Fernandez might be calling you. We'll be in the desert tomorrow and home about midnight. Miguel thought maybe you three could take in a movie or something.”
”Sounds good.”
”Miguel is having some worries about being a SEAL. He's re-evaluating his job, his career, the whole thing. I think he'll come out of it okay, but you never can tell. I've lost three good men who decided to go back to the black shoe navy. One of them went to officer candidate school, so he doesn't count.”
”Miguel, he's been with you a long time.”
”Six years. Now what can I thaw out for you for dinner?”
”Anything in there that will get hot. I could eat a horse. Let me get out of these work clothes and dress down a little. Desert tomorrow? You get a new senior chief today?” Murdock nodded. ”How do you like him?”