Page 128 of Cry Havoc

He pushed forward. The odor was even stronger now. He was close.

Think of it as just smoke, not the bodies of your teammates.

Quinn.

No.

Tom pushed the thought from his mind.

If they had all died, there is a good chance the enemy is set up on the crash site.

He paused again, a stronger gust of wind overwhelming him with the scent of death. He bent over and retched. Dry heaves followed, and he placed his hand against a tree to steady himself.

Well, if the NVA is here, they fucking heard that. Dammit.

Without any water, Tom cleared his mouth the best he could.

You are close. Angle out of this downwind approach.

What the fuck are you doing, Tom? Wait for extract. Birds are probably spinning up now. Are you going to take on an NVA company with a claymore, one round of .22, and a Swiss Army Knife?

If I have to.

He inched forward. If the enemy had set up, he would know it soon.

Then he caught sight of the corner of the fuselage.

Keep it slow. Even if the NVA are not waiting in ambush, they may have left behind booby traps.

A larger portion of the fuselage came into view.

Steady.

The SEAL crept forward and angled farther to the right, cautiously placing each step before shifting his weight onto his front foot.

The body of the large Kingbee was remarkably intact for having sustained an explosion and the ensuing fires that consumed it. It was on its side; the crew chief’s torso was visible, burnt to a crisp, his lower body crushed under the mammoth beast.

Tom continued to angle toward the front of the aircraft. The plexiglas windscreen was shattered, and he could clearly see the two pilots inside, still strapped in their seats. Their charred skeletons were smoldering.

Tom fought the urge to vomit again.

Keep it together.

Where are the strings?he wondered, as he scanned the scene for the ropes that had pulled Quinn, Hiep, Phe, and Hoahn out on extract.

Did they burn?

Did the crew chief manage to cut them away?

Were they still alive in the jungle?

Had they been captured?

Then he saw a body.

It had been sliced in half by the rotor.

It was Phe.