Page 72 of Cry Havoc (Tom Reece #1)
South Vietnam
“YOU LOOK LIKE SHIT, son,” Colonel Backhaus said.
His Finnish accent seemed even more pronounced to Tom than it had on their last meeting.
“People keep telling me that.”
“Let’s get you over to medical.”
The colonel’s eyes bore into the two MPs who had driven Tom from the front gate, where he was dropped off by the convoy, as if asking them why they had not taken the wounded SEAL directly there.
They were standing in front of his hooch on FOB 1. The Cavendish tobacco from the colonel’s lit pipe smelled sweeter than it had before. Perhaps that was because Tom was alive, and sensations would feel more pronounced from now on. Backhaus’s German Shephard sat obediently by his master’s side.
“He insisted we take him here first, sir,” one of the MPs said.
“I did, Colonel,” Tom said, well aware that he would need medical attention as soon as possible.
The large open wound on his arm was clearly infected, as were some of the smaller cuts from vines and thorns.
His ribs hurt like hell, and the sickly sweat that drenched his body was not from the humidity. He was burning up.
As Tom was still shirtless, Backhaus unbuttoned his green BDU top and insisted the Frogman put it on.
“Go prep the MASH unit,” he said to the MPs. “Tell them Petty Officer Reece will be there shortly. Then come back here to wait on us.”
“Yes, sir,” both MPs said in unison.
Backhaus helped Tom up the steps and into his hooch, ushering him to a chair.
Instead, Tom hobbled to a map on the wall.
“Platz,” Backhaus ordered. The dog went immediately to the side of his desk and lay down.
“Sir, did my helo make it back?”
“It did.”
Tom let out an audible sigh. He swallowed.
“And Sau? Did he survive?”
“He made it, son. Mang and Tuan too. Sau’s out for a spell, but he’ll make a full recovery.”
Tom managed a slight smile.
“We went in the next day,” Backhaus continued. “We found the chopper and recovered the bodies of the pilots and crew chief along with Phe and Hoahn. Tell me what happened.”
“They knew we were there, sir. It wasn’t a random compromise.”
“How can you be sure?”
“It was too large of a force. Now, it’s possible to run into an element that size, but they were set up to flank our primary extract location before they found our wiretap on the Trail.”
“I see.”
“Mang and Tuan must have debriefed you.”
“They did. They have been sitting in the dirt outside the radio hooch waiting for word on you since their return.”
“We were on strings,” Tom continued. “Sau was wounded. I looked for Quinn’s Kingbee and saw that it had gone down, so I cut myself free.”
“You did what?”
“Couldn’t leave them behind, sir.”
Backhaus took another pull on his pipe.
“Must have gotten knocked out, because when I came to, it was dark. When it was light enough to move, I made my way to the crash site. I found the bodies. I also found tracks with two sets of bare feet that I assumed to be Quinn and Hiep, so I made the decision to follow them.”
Backhaus remained silent as Tom relayed the events of the past few days, of the Trail, the camp, of Quinn’s death. Tom pulled out his map and aligned it with the map on the wall, tracing his route.
When he was done, Backhaus said, “I’m proud of you, son. Let’s get you over to medical.”
“Negative, sir. We need to get in there after Hiep and the three other Americans.”
Backhaus took a moment to study the SEAL.
“I’m going to request a Black Shield mission over Laos,” he said.
“What’s that?” Tom asked.
“CIA A-12 OXCARTs out of Okinawa. A spy plane.”
“Like the U-2?”
“Yes, but it flies faster and higher. Out of range of SA-2s,” he said, referring to the Soviet surface-to-air missile that had brought down Gary Powers.
“How long will that take?”
“Depends on weather. Probably a couple days.”
“We might not have a couple days, sir. They could move the prisoners at any time.”
“We can’t go in blind, son. You said it yourself, they have at least one ZPU-1 protecting the compound, probably more. And if they think you survived, they might be fortifying it even more heavily as we speak. Could be preparing an ambush.”
“Which is why we need to go now.”
“Now?”
“Tonight. There is a crescent moon, which can aid in navigation. If we do a good map study with the pilots, I know we can get in there.”
Tom could feel his temperature climbing, the sick sweat of his fever threatening to overwhelm him.
“We owe it to them,” Tom whispered.
“Walk me through it.”
“We can’t preplan or ask for approvals through Saigon. We all know we are compromised, and it’s likely coming from higher headquarters. This has to be a surprise.
“We launch out of Phu Bai. Give me four Kingbees, one Recon Team per helo. Two Green Hornet Huey gunships from the 20th SOS for close air support. They are out of Nha Trang, so we need to get them up here ASAP. Covey will go in first and mark the one known ZPU-1 position with rockets. We put in a separate counterfeit mission for approval to ensure we have an AC-130 Spectre gunship in the air supporting us out of Thailand. You’ll have to call in a Prairie Fire Emergency and bring in any tac air that’s up.
They drop napalm on the mountainside where I identified the ZPU-1.
They’ll also conduct runs on these positions here,” Tom said, pointing to three other areas.
“Those are the most likely locations for AA. We take them out of the equation and the napalm lights up the night for the pilots. The Green Hornet Hueys take out the guard towers with their rocket pods and miniguns. My helo does a Falling Yellow Leaf directly into the center of the compound, followed by helo two, then three and then four. With me that’s twenty-five guns on the ground.
We split into six teams of four. I’ll sketch out the compound and brief each team on their objectives. ”
“You’ll be in medical, Petty Officer Reece.”
“Negative. I’ll be on the ground. There’s someone I need to find.”
Backhaus did not need to ask who.
“You can hardly stand up, son.”
“Give me an IV, wrap these ribs, and I’ll be good to go.”
The two men sized each other up. Backhaus, the legendary, aging operator, born to war—and Tom Reece, young, impetuous, but seasoned in the swamps of the south and mountains of the north.
“Come on, Colonel.”
“You are asking me to invade a sovereign and neutral country.”
“We can work in Laos.”
“Not outside of our operational zones.”
“Isn’t that convenient for the enemy.”
“You are also asking me to do this unilaterally, without approvals.”
“That’s the only way it works. Saigon can’t know.”
“Singlaub will have my ass.”
“I don’t think so, sir. When he gave me my Purple Heart in Saigon, he mentioned that he knew my father in the OSS days, that he owed him his life.”
“And you are willing to bet my career on that?”
“You know we have one shot at this. And if half the stories I’ve heard about you are true, I know we are going in tonight.
Put up a fake mission for approval in the general area so our air requests are not too out of the ordinary.
We can shift them to the actual target area once platforms are in the air. ”
Colonel Backhaus looked at his dog, who went from lying down to a sit. The German Shepherd appeared to be at attention. He barked once.
The colonel couldn’t possibly be asking his dog, could he?
“Follow me, son.”
The colonel crossed the small hooch, his dog immediately by his side at a heel.
“Please, Colonel,” Tom pleaded, his strength waning.
Colonel Backhaus opened the door and walked onto the small deck. Two short steps led down to the red dirt below.
Tom stepped out after him and was about to offer one last plea when he stopped dead in his tracks.
Every Recon Team at Phu Bai had assembled outside. The American Special Forces soldiers stood with their Montagnard teammates. The two MPs who had accompanied Tom from the front gate stood next to their jeep, looking nervous.
“Word travels fast,” Backhaus said to Tom before turning to address his men. “All One-Zeros—in with me for a briefing. One-Ones—prep your teams for an in-extremis POW rescue mission.”
The colonel turned back to Tom. “Get to medical. Have them patch you up. Then go to supply and draw new gear. After that, you come back and see me.” The grizzled CO looked at his watch. “You launch just after midnight.”