and went back to the truck. Joan and Ruth were awake, eating cold rations.
“We’ve found them.”
Race turned off the radio. “Okay, you heard them. The helicopters will meet us at the State Park north of here. They’ll come in from the north, circling wide so there’s no chance of being heard by the Chinese. Then we’ll move south on foot to the ambush point and wait.”
They got in the truck without slamming the doors, and Race took advantage of the teaching moment. “They may be four or five miles away, girls, but sound travels like the dickens after dark in this country. We can use the headlights once we’re pointed away from them.” They reached the rendezvous point a half hour later. Race turned on the encrypted radio and they settled in to wait, taking turns at guard while the other two slept.
At four a.m. the radio squawked softly. Race picked it up and responded with the code reply. Ten minutes later she heard the choppers coming in; they were the stealth type and barely made any sound. Race signaled them in with a flashlight and the three helicopters settled into the open field, shutting down their rotors as they did so. After only a few minutes, a soldier appeared out of the darkness. He introduced himself as Frank, offered no rank. After they had talked for a moment Race unfolded her map. Using her flashlight she showed Frank where she suspected the recon patrol to be camped.
She then showed him where she thought the best ambush place to be. “See this field? It used to be plowed but it’s gone to weeds. They’re waist high and crowd right up to the road. There’s no place a man can run without being seen. About all you can do is crawl through this stuff, and even that’s going to move enough weeds to give you away. There’s a dry river bed right here, a bridge on the paved road. That open field is going to funnel them up against the road where they can walk faster since they’ll be exposed anyway. Any car coming will be heard miles away giving them plenty of time to take cover in the brush. When they get to the bridge they’ll pause and listen real hard, then probably run across the bridge and then back to the edge of the road again.”
She pointed to another spot on the map. “Right here, at the other end of the bridge, there’s a clump of old trees, mostly dead now, but still decent cover. If you put half of your men in those trees, they can block the bridge behind the patrol after they cross. Put men in the brush on this side of the bridge and when they get half-way across you’ll have them in the wide open with nowhere to run or hide. We’ll have them exposed with nowhere to go, no cover, and we probably won’t have to fire a shot.”
Frank nodded, “Okay Race, you’ve seen the terrain, we’ll do it your way. Follow me, we’ll brief the men and get moving; not much dark left.”
Chapter 13
A s the sun began to crease the horizon, the soldiers and the three Rangers had settled into their respective positions at each end of the bridge, Race and Frank where they could see the bridge and far down the road. If Race had calculated correctly, the Chinese recon patrol would be along in an hour, two at the most. She was tired, but excited. As the sun came up the temperature came up with it. Soon she was sweating. She took a sip from her canteen, her eyes never leaving the roadside where she expected them to appear. “Not to count chickens here, but what are the plans for these guys when we’ve got them?” Race asked Frank.
“Cuff them, call in the choppers, load them up, and take them back to Corpus Christi. There’s a team of interrogators waiting.”
“I can’t go right back, I promised to return the pickup to the rancher I borrowed it from. Hell, he made me sign a receipt for it.” Race chuckled again at the thought.
“Well now, if you signed a receipt then you definitely have to take it back. Hope you didn’t tear it up too much, it’s a classic. Wish I had one
“We’ve found them.”
Race turned off the radio. “Okay, you heard them. The helicopters will meet us at the State Park north of here. They’ll come in from the north, circling wide so there’s no chance of being heard by the Chinese. Then we’ll move south on foot to the ambush point and wait.”
They got in the truck without slamming the doors, and Race took advantage of the teaching moment. “They may be four or five miles away, girls, but sound travels like the dickens after dark in this country. We can use the headlights once we’re pointed away from them.” They reached the rendezvous point a half hour later. Race turned on the encrypted radio and they settled in to wait, taking turns at guard while the other two slept.
At four a.m. the radio squawked softly. Race picked it up and responded with the code reply. Ten minutes later she heard the choppers coming in; they were the stealth type and barely made any sound. Race signaled them in with a flashlight and the three helicopters settled into the open field, shutting down their rotors as they did so. After only a few minutes, a soldier appeared out of the darkness. He introduced himself as Frank, offered no rank. After they had talked for a moment Race unfolded her map. Using her flashlight she showed Frank where she suspected the recon patrol to be camped.
She then showed him where she thought the best ambush place to be. “See this field? It used to be plowed but it’s gone to weeds. They’re waist high and crowd right up to the road. There’s no place a man can run without being seen. About all you can do is crawl through this stuff, and even that’s going to move enough weeds to give you away. There’s a dry river bed right here, a bridge on the paved road. That open field is going to funnel them up against the road where they can walk faster since they’ll be exposed anyway. Any car coming will be heard miles away giving them plenty of time to take cover in the brush. When they get to the bridge they’ll pause and listen real hard, then probably run across the bridge and then back to the edge of the road again.”
She pointed to another spot on the map. “Right here, at the other end of the bridge, there’s a clump of old trees, mostly dead now, but still decent cover. If you put half of your men in those trees, they can block the bridge behind the patrol after they cross. Put men in the brush on this side of the bridge and when they get half-way across you’ll have them in the wide open with nowhere to run or hide. We’ll have them exposed with nowhere to go, no cover, and we probably won’t have to fire a shot.”
Frank nodded, “Okay Race, you’ve seen the terrain, we’ll do it your way. Follow me, we’ll brief the men and get moving; not much dark left.”
Chapter 13
A s the sun began to crease the horizon, the soldiers and the three Rangers had settled into their respective positions at each end of the bridge, Race and Frank where they could see the bridge and far down the road. If Race had calculated correctly, the Chinese recon patrol would be along in an hour, two at the most. She was tired, but excited. As the sun came up the temperature came up with it. Soon she was sweating. She took a sip from her canteen, her eyes never leaving the roadside where she expected them to appear. “Not to count chickens here, but what are the plans for these guys when we’ve got them?” Race asked Frank.
“Cuff them, call in the choppers, load them up, and take them back to Corpus Christi. There’s a team of interrogators waiting.”
“I can’t go right back, I promised to return the pickup to the rancher I borrowed it from. Hell, he made me sign a receipt for it.” Race chuckled again at the thought.
“Well now, if you signed a receipt then you definitely have to take it back. Hope you didn’t tear it up too much, it’s a classic. Wish I had one
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