CARRIER 10: ARSENAL By: Keith Douglass

aircraft, wings-folded Tomcats nose to-nose with similarly configured

Hornets, the bulkier E2C Hawkeyes taking up the space just aft of the

island.

Helicopters with their rotors folded like broken mimosa leaves edged

the deck, with the exception of two ready helos positioned slightly

behind the rest of the pack.

Even with the hangar bay below crowded with aircraft, it was an

impressive display of weaponry and force. Almost a football field

away, a small group of men clad in tattered khaki shorts and faded

brown T-shirts stood in a line facing aft. Even from here, he could

make out the outlines of the different types of weapons they

carried45s, M16s, and AK-47s. Had they not been U.S. SEALs his men he

would have been worried.

Sikes trotted down the tarmac. The safety observer spotted him

immediately, and with a sharp motion terminated the exercise. He could

hear the men grumbling good-naturedly, a sound that faded away

immediately as they saw his face.

“What’s up. Skipper?” Senior Chief Petty Officer Manuel Huerta

asked.

He motioned toward the broad wake behind the ship with his free hand,

carefully keeping the AK-47 in his other hand pointed aft. “A no-fly

day figured we’d get in some weapons practice. Never can have too

much.”

Sikes drew to a halt. “You may have a chance sooner than you think.

Quick, huddle time. I need some fast thoughts.”

He motioned for the men to close around him.

Within the elite SEAL community, rank made little difference when it

came to planning an operation. Even the most junior man might have

some valuable insight to contribute. He looked around the circle of

faces like a quarterback, noting the keen interest on each one of

them.

A good team hell, maybe the best team. His team.

“Here’s what’s going down.” He briefly outlined the strategic

scenario, then settled into the business of discussing tactics. “As I

see it, there are two main objectives. First, we find our man. Get

him out if we can. Second, we disable the weapons systems.” He saw a

few frowns across faces. “I know it may not be reasonable,

particularly if they’ve got nuclear weapons on there. Still, I want to

plan for it. Failing that, we can at least bring back the admiral some

hard info on them. We’ve got the gear?”

“Sure, we’ve got everything we need. Radiac equipment, the new

version fits in the palm of your hand, it does.”

The man who’d spoken smiled. “I’ve been wanting an opportunity to

field-test them.”

“You’ve got it. Any thoughts on how to get the pilot back?”

“It will depend on where he’s being held,” said Felipe Garcia, a petty

officer second class and SEAL for three years.

“Garcia, you may be the whole key to this.” Sikes studied the man

carefully. He was shorter than most, a fact Sikes noted simply for its

reference value. In the SEALs, size made no difference. He’d had his

own ass kicked by men far smaller than Garcia. “You grew up in Havana,

didn’t you?”

Garcia nodded. “And I’ve been back there since then.

Five times in the last two years. To different parts of the island.”

Sikes nodded sharply. Given the diverse and dangerous nature of the

SEALs’ normal missions, he had a good idea of what Garcia might have

been doing in Cuba. Not that he’d ask he wouldn’t have to. Only

Garcia knew how highly classified his mission had been, and what

details he could release to his fellow SEALs. Even if Garcia couldn’t

give them a blow-by-blow account of his mission, he’d factor every

available detail into the planning of this one.

“Good. I expect you to vet every step of this.” Sikes looked around

the circle again. “How do we get in?

Helicopter and HALO would be my preference,” he said, referring to a

high-altitude low-opening parachute drop.

“But that’s not going to be practical, not with those radars ringing

the island.”

“Small boats might be better, but still not entirely safe,” Garcia said

thoughtfully. “The whole littoral area is patrolled regularly by Cuban

gunboats. We might be able to outrun them, but there’s a good chance

we would be detected.”

Pages: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 100 101 102 103 104 105 106 107 108 109 110 111 112 113 114 115 116 117 118 119 120 121 122 123 124 125 126 127 128 129 130 131 132 133 134 135

Leave a Reply 0

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *