the chief said, his demeanor defrosting slightly. “We’ve done this a time
or two before.”
“But the odds?” Batman persisted.
The SEAL smiled coldly. “Who cares if they’re outnumbered?”
“You realize how stupid you were?” Batman glared at the two aviators.
The pilot met his stare defiantly. “We weren’t doing any good where
we were. And at fifteen hundred yards, I’ve got time to get away from a
Stinger.”
“But not at thirty yards. Which is exactly where you were, skimming
over the surface of that island at ninety feet.” Batman pointed at the
copilot. “And you, young man–even if your pilot doesn’t have any sense,
have you forgotten that quickly what they taught you at OCS about obeying
orders?”
The copilot blushed, glanced at his compadre, then faced forward.
“No, Admiral,” he said softly, “I haven’t forgot at all. We spend a lot of
time talking about getting the job done.”
Batman sighed. As much as he’d like to continue chewing them out for
their foolishness, they both had a point. More importantly, they’d been
right. And that made up for a hell of a lot of disobedience. If I try to
discipline them, he thought ruefully, I’m liable to wake up surrounded by
the SEALS. These two are heroes to them. He continued to glare at the two
aviators.
Finally, as the tension built to unbearable levels he sighed. “You’re
going to be pulling every Alert Five your squadron has for the next three
months, you realize that?” He tossed the two aviators’ flight training
folders on his desk. “And hell may freeze over before you ever get
liberty.”
Both men nodded.
“And for your little role in this escapade, I think you’ve just
volunteered for another mission,” Batman continued. “Seems like the
information you brought back was important to a couple of fellows on this
boat. To all of us, but to five others especially. You got any idea who
that might be?”
“The SEALS?” the pilot asked.
Batman nodded. “Exactly. And they seem to think they can get in,
grab their teammate, and get out. They have a little transportation
problem, though. You men might be just the people to solve it for them.”
“Yes, sir,” the copilot said. He glanced at his pilot, suddenly aware
that he’d usurped something that wasn’t his privilege.
The older aviator looked pale. “We’d be honored to fly them in,
Admiral,” he said. “And out. If they’re anything like the man I saw on
the ground, the outcome’s not in question.”
Batman fixed the aviator with a steely look, trying to hide the note
of concern in his voice. “The outcome’s always in doubt, sir,” he said
coldly. “And don’t you ever forget it.”
Senior Chief Huerta looked doubtfully at the two men. “You ever flown
Special Forces before?” he demanded.
“Only once. About half an hour ago, when we found out your man was
still alive,” the pilot retorted. “That good enough for you?”
“It will have to do.” The chief’s face softened slightly. “And don’t
think we’re not damned grateful for that, too, sir.”
“You just make sure we get out in one piece,” the pilot said. He bent
over the plotting table and studied the chart before him. “What’s the
plan?”
“A few details still to be worked out, sir,” the chief responded. He
pointed to a flat spot near the entrance to the ice cavern the pilots had
seen. “We figure we’ll want you to set down here. Our man may be
injured.” He glanced up sharply. “You said there was someone else with
him?”
The pilot nodded. “I couldn’t be certain, but it looked like two of
them were prisoners, from the way the guards were herding them around.”
“Well, we might as well bring two out as one.”
“Chief, that does look a mite risky, setting down right in the middle
of them, don’t you think?” the copilot said doubtfully. He looked up, and
his eyes met the faded blue eyes of the chief.
“It would be, except they’re not gonna be there,” he said. He patted
the copilot on the arm. “Don’t you worry, youngster, we’re a little bit
smarter than that. Maybe in an armored helicopter we might come in closer,