璇玑之心刃·冷血悍将-第160章

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‘Yes；　sir。‘　Kelly　didn‘t　know　what　else　he　was　supposed　to　say；　and　looked　down　for　a　moment。　‘I　never　thanked　you　for　the　card　。。。　when　Tish　died。　That　was　good　of　you；　sir。　How‘s　your　son　doing？‘
‘Flying　a　727　for　Delta。　I‘m　going　to　be　a　grandfather　any　day　now；‘　the　Admiral　said　with　satisfaction；　then　he　realized　how　cruel　the　addition　might　have　seemed　to　this　young；　lonely　man。
‘Great！‘　Kelly　managed　a　smile；　grateful　to　hear　something　good；　that　something　he‘d　done　had　e　to　a　successful　conclusion。　‘So　what　brings　you　out　here；　sir？‘
‘I　want　to　go　over　something　with　you。‘　Maxwell　opened　his　portfolio　and　unfolded　the　first　of　several　maps　on　Kelly‘s　coffee　table。
The　younger　man　grunted。　‘Oh；　yeah；　I　remember　this　place。‘　His　eyes　lingered　on　some　symbols　that　were　hand…sketched　in。　‘Classified　information　here；　sir。‘
‘Chief；　what　we‘re　going　to　talk　about　is　very　sensitive。‘
Kelly　turned　to　look　around。　Admirals　always　traveled　around　with　aides；　usually　a　shiny　young　lieutenant　who　would　carry　the　official　briefcase；　show　his　boss　where　the　head　was；　fuss　over　where　the　car　was　parked；　and　generally　do　the　things　beneath　the　dignity　of　a　hard…working　chief　petty　officer。　Suddenly　he　realized　that　although　the　helicopter　had　its　flight　crew；　now　wandering　around　outside；　Vice　Admiral　Maxwell　was　otherwise　alone；　and　that　was　most　unusual。
‘Why　me；　sir？‘
‘You‘re　the　only　person　in　the　country　who‘s　seen　this　area　from　ground　level。‘
‘And　if　we‘re　smart；　we‘ll　keep　it　that　way。‘　Kelly‘s　memories　of　the　place　were　anything　but　pleasant。　Looking　at　the　two…dimensional　map　instantly　brought　bad　three…dimensional　recollections。
‘How　far　did　you　go　up　the　river；　John？‘
‘About　to　here。‘　Kelly‘s　hand　wandered　across　the　map。　‘I　missed　your　son　on　the　first　sweep　so　I　doubled　back　and　found　him　right　about　here。‘
And　that　wasn‘t　bad；　Maxwell　thought；　tantalizingly　close　to　the　objective。　‘This　highway　bridge　is　gone。　Only　took　us　sixteen　missions；　but　it‘s　in　the　river　now。‘
‘You　know　what　that　means；　don‘t　you？　They　build　a　ford；　probably；　or　a　couple　underwater　bridges。　You　want　advice　on　taking　those　out？‘
‘Waste　of　time。　The　objective　is　here。‘　Maxwell‘s　finger　tapped　a　spot　marked　with　red　pen。
‘That‘s　a　long　way　to　swim；　sir。　What　is　it？‘
‘Chief；　when　you　retired　you　checked　the　box　for　being　in　the　Fleet　Reserve；‘　Maxwell　said　benignly。
‘Hold　on；　sir！‘
‘Relax；　son；　I‘m　not　recalling　you。‘　Yet；　Maxwell　thought。　‘You　had　a　top…secret　clearance。‘
‘Yeah；　we　all　did；　because　of　…‘
‘This　stuff　is　higher　than　TS；　John。‘　And　Maxwell　explained　why；　pulling　additional　items　from　his　portfolio。
‘Those　motherfuckers　。。。‘　Kelly　looked　up　from　the　recon　photo。　‘You　want　to　go　in　and　get　them　out；　like　Song　Tay？‘
‘What　do　you　know　about　that？‘
‘Just　what　was　in　the　open；‘　Kelly　explained。　‘We　talked　it　around　the　group。　It　sounded　like　a　pretty　slick　job。　Those　Special　Forces　guys　can　be　real　clever　when　they　work　at　it。　But　…‘
‘Yeah；　but　there　was　nobody　home。　This　guy‘…　Maxwell　tapped　the　photo　…　‘is　positively　ID‘d　as　an　Air　force　colonel。　Kelly；　you　can　never　repeat　this。‘
‘I　understand　that；　sir。　How　do　you　plan　to　do　it？‘
‘We‘re　not　sure　yet。　You　know　something　about　the　area；　and　we　want　your　information　to　help　look　at　alternatives。‘
Kelly　thought　back。　He‘d　spent　fifty　sleepless　hours　in　the　area。　‘It　would　be　real　hairy　for　a　helo　insertion。　There‘s　a　lot　of　triple…A　there。　The　nice　thing　about　Song　Tay；　it　wasn‘t　close　to　anything；　but　this　place　is　close　enough　to　Haiphong；　and　you　have　these　roads　and　stuff。　This　is　a　tough　one；　sir。‘
‘Nobody　ever　said　it　was　going　to　be　easy。‘
‘If　you　loop　around　here；　you　can　use　this　ridge…line　to　mask　your　approach；　but　you　have　to　hop　the　river　somewhere　。。。　here；　and　you　run　into　that　flak　trap　。。。　and　that　one‘s　even　worse；　‘cording　to　these　notations。‘
‘Did　SEALs　plan　air　missions　over　there；　Chief？‘　Maxwell　asked；　somewhat　amused；　only　to　be　surprised　at　the　reply。
‘Sir；　3rd　SOG　was　always　short　of　officers。　They　kept　getting　shot　up。　I　was　the　group　operations　officer　for　two　months；　and　we　all　knew　how　to　plan　insertions。　We　had　to；　that　was　the　most　dangerous　part　of　most　missions。　Don‘t　take　this　wrong；　sir；　but　even　enlisted　men　know　how　to　think。‘
Maxwell　bristled　a　little。　‘I　never　said　they　didn‘t。‘
Kelly　managed　a　grin。　‘Not　all　officers　are　as　enlightened　as　you　are；　sir。‘　He　looked　back　down　at　the　map。　‘You　plan　this　sort　of　thing　backwards。　You　start　with　what　do　you　need　on　the　objective；　then　you　backtrack　to　find　out　how　you　get　it　all　there。‘
‘Save　that　for　later。　Tell　me　about　the　river　valley；‘　Maxwell　ordered。
Fifty　hours；　Kelly　remembered；　picked　up　from　Danang　by　helo；　deposited　aboard　the　submarine　USS　Skate；　which　then　had　moved　Kelly　right　into　the　surprisingly　deep　estuary　of　that　damned　stinking　river；　fighting　his　way　up　against　the　current　behind　an　electrically　powered　sea…scooter；　which　was　still　there；　probably；　unless　some　fisherman　had　snagged　a　line　on　it；　staying　underwater　until　his　air　tanks　gave　out；　and　he　remembered　how　frightening　it　was　not　to　be　able　to　hide　under　the　rippled　surface。　When　he　couldn‘t　do　that；　when　it　had　been　too　dangerous　to　move；　hiding　under　weeds　on　the　bank；　watching　traffic　move　on　the　river　road；　hearing　the　ripping　thunder　of　the　flak　batteries　on　the　hilltops；　wondering　what　some　37mm　fire　could　do　to　him　if　some　North　Vietnamese　boy　scout　stumbled　across　him　and　let　his　father　know。　And　now　this　flag　officer　was　asking　him　how　to　risk　the　lives　of　other　men　in　the　same　place；　trusting　him；　much　as　Pam　had；　to　know　what　to　do。　That　sudden　thought　chilled　the　retired　chief　bosun‘s　mate。
‘It‘s　not　a　really　nice　place；　sir。　I　mean；　your　son　saw　a　lot　of　it；　too。‘
‘Not　from　your　perspective；‘　Maxwell　pointed　out。
And　that　was　true；　Kelly　remembered。　Little　Dutch　had　bellied　up　in　a　nice　thick　place；　using　his　radio　only　on　alternate　hours；　waiting　for　Snake　to　e　and　fetch　him　while　he　nursed　a　broken　leg　in　silent　agony；　and　listened　to　the　same　triple…A　batteries　that　had　splashed　his　A…6　hammer　the　sky　at　other　men　trying　to　take　out　the　same　bridge　that　his　own　bombs　had　missed。　Fifty　hours；　Kelly　remembered；　no　rest；　no　sleep；　just　fear　and　the　mission。
‘How　much　time；　sir？‘
‘We‘re　not　sure。　Honestly；　I‘m　not　sure　if　we　can　get　the　mission　green…lighted。　When　we　have　a　plan；　then　we　can　present　it。　When　it‘s　approved；　we　can　assemble　assets；　and　train；　and　execute。‘
‘Weather　considerations？‘　Kelly　asked。
‘The　mission　has　to　go　in　the　fall；　this　fall；　or　maybe　it‘ll　never　go。‘
‘You　say　these　guys　will　never　e　back　unless　we　get　them？‘
‘No　other　reason　for　them　to　set　this　place　up　in　the　way　they　did；‘　Maxwell　replied。
‘Admiral；　I‘m　pretty　good；　but　I‘m　just　an　enlisted　guy；　remember？‘
‘You‘re　the　only　person　who‘s　been　close　to　the　place。‘　The　Admiral　collected　the　photographs　and　the　maps。　He　handed　Kelly　a　fresh　set　of　the　latter。　‘You　turned　down　OCS　three　times。　I‘d　like　to　know　why；　John。‘
‘You　want　the　truth？　It　would　have　meant　going　back。　I　pushed　my　luck　enough。‘
Maxwell　accepted　that　at　face　value；　silently　wishing　that　his　best　source　of　local　information　had　accumulated　the　rank　to　match　his　expertise；　but　Maxwell　also　remembered　flying　bat　missions　off　the　old　Enterprise　with　enlisted　pilots；　at　least　one　of　whom　had　displayed　enough　savvy　to　be　an　air…group　mander；　and　he　knew　that　the　best　helicopter　pilots　around　were　probably　the　instant　Warrant　Officers　the　Army　ran　through　Fort　Rucker。　This　wasn‘t　the　time　for　a　wardroom　mentality。
‘One　mistake　from　Song　Tay；‘　Kelly　said　after　a　moment。
‘What‘s　that？‘
‘They　probably　overtrained。　After　a　certain　period　of　time；　you‘re　just　dulling　the　edge。　Pick　the　right　people；　and　a　couple　of　weeks；　max；　will　handle　it。　Go　further　than　that　and　you‘re　just　doing　embroidery。‘
‘You‘re　not　the　first　person　to　say　that；‘　Maxwell　assured　him。
‘Will　this　be　a　SEAL　job？‘
‘We‘re　not　sure　yet。　Kelly；　I　can　give　you　two　weeks　while　we　work　on　other　aspects　o