BAT-21 by William C Anderson

Author:William C Anderson [Anderson, William C]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Science Fiction, Fiction, Media Tie-In, General
ISBN: 9780553255881
Publisher: Random House Publishing Group
Published: 1983-07-31T12:00:00+00:00

The Eighth Day

It was shortly after midnight. In the command post briefing room Colonel Walker was addressing his staff.

"Gentlemen, that's the situation. Colonel Hambleton confirms that more mobile guns have been brought into the area since we plastered it yesterday. Charley's already back to work, and it's business as usual. That's why higher headquarters ruled out another Jolly Green rescue attempt. That area's too hot. We've got to get Hambleton out some other way.

"Make yourselves comfortable, gentlemen. Sandwiches and coffee will be brought in. We're not leaving this command post until we've come up with a plan to get him out of there without using choppers. So let's get on it." He turned to the intelligence officer. "Sam, kick it off."

Piccard crossed over to the wall map showing Hambleton's position, and tapped it with the stem of his pipe. "The Song Cam Lo River here is about two miles south of Hambleton's position. If we could get him to that river, he'd be away from the main roads the enemy is using. If he could float down it a dozen clicks, it turns east out of the firefight zone. There we'd have a much better chance of effecting a rescue. Choppers should be able to get in there with no sweat."

Walker studied the map. "Makes sense. Only one problem— between Hambleton and the river there are land mines, unfriendly villages, and entrenched guns. Not to mention a lot of Vietnamese soldiers. Just how do you propose to get him to the river? And without tipping off Charley?"

"That's the problem."

Walker turned to the assembled officers. "All right, gentlemen, that's our assignment. We have to come up with a plan to get Hambleton to the river. And we've got to do it fast. Let's get with it."

Hambleton sat in his hole listening to the drone of equipment moving down the highway cloaked by the protection of the forming fog.

His mind turned over the events of the past twenty-four hours. It had been a long day. For the most part it had been fairly quiet after the blistering attack brought in by Birddog.

He had been sure the attack was going to be followed by the Jolly Greens coming in to get him. But as the morning wore on with no word from Birddog and no sign of the rescue choppers, he knew they would not be coming. His optimism had slowly turned to depression. Even with the villagers gone so the planes could attack and all but level the villages, the echoes of the last bomb dropped by the F-4's had hardly died in the hills before the gomers again started hauling in mobile guns to replace those that had been knocked out. It was obvious there would be no cooling off. This would be a hot spot as long as he was in it; no way was this area ever going to become sanitized enough to bring in rescue choppers. No way.

He had probably signed his own death warrant; he had reported to Birddog on the new mobile guns being dug in immediately following the attack.

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