Уильям Дитц - Seek and Destroy

When the discussion was over, the crane operators climbed up into their cabs and went to work. The IRON LADYwas the first to be plucked off the ground, swung out over Barge 1, and deposited on the rusty deck. And that was when Mac realized something important. The Stryker was positioned facing forward . That wouldn’t do.

Mac hurried to board the barge. A sergeant and a team of three privates were there to secure each vic as it touched down. Mac asked the sergeant for his radio and held it up to her mouth. “Hey! Up in the cab… We need to reposition that Stryker. I want to place them back-to-back, facing out.”

“No can do,” came the reply. “Our deck plan was approved by Colonel Russell. And a colonel outranks whatever you are. Right?”

“That’s correct,” Mac said tightly. “Please stop loading while I speak with Colonel Russell.”

That was when Mac heard Foley’s voice on the radio. “Belay that bullshit… We have our orders. Continue loading.”

Mac keyed the radio again. “Captain Quick?”

“Ma’am?”

“Don’t bring any additional vehicles into the pickup zones until you hear from me.”

“Roger that.”

“That’s a violation of our contract!” Foley shouted. “I’ll have your ass for that!”

Mac sighed. The whole thing was out of control, but she couldn’t back down, not without sacrificing authority that she might need later. So she left the barge, marched past Foley’s pusher boat, and stormed over the Mississippi ’s gangplank. One of the sailors objected, but she kept on going.

Once Mac arrived on deck three, a distraught private sought to intercept her but without success. And when Mac entered Russell’s office she saw the source of the private’s distress. Captain Foley was standing with hands on hips. “And that ain’t all!” he proclaimed loudly. “The bitch refused to load her vehicles!”

Russell looked at Mac. “What’s the problem?”

“The problem,” Mac replied, “is that I asked the crane operator on Barge 1 to load my Strykers back-to-back, facing out.”

“And that,” Foley said, “violates the load order that you signed! It specifies that the vehicles will be loaded facing forward.”

Russell’s eyes looked like twin gun barrels as they swiveled back to Mac. “Captain Foley is correct, Major… I did specify that the Strykers be loaded facing the front. Is this how it’s going to be? Are you going to waste my time by questioning each order I give?”

Mac regretted the whole thing by then. But there was no going back. “Sir, no, sir. But with all due respect, it doesn’t make sense to load the Strykers facing forward.”

Russell’s voice was cold. “Really? Why not?”

“Because if vessels were to attack us from the side, or if we take fire from the riverbanks, the Strykers won’t be able to return fire as effectively. I have twenty vics, sir… Some are armed with .50s, some with 40mm grenade launchers, and some with 105mm tank guns. That’s a lot of firepower, sir. But my vehicles will be more effective if they’re facing the enemy, and there will be less chance of a friendly-fire incident.”

Foley opened his mouth to speak, and Russell told him, “Shut up.”

Then, with his eyes on Mac, he spoke again. “You told Captain Foley what you told me?”

“No, sir. I never got the chance.”

Russell turned back to the civilian. “The major is correct, Captain Foley. The notion of using the Strykers to protect the flotilla while it’s under way never occurred to me. You will comply with the major’s request, and with any other suggestions that she makes. Is that clear?”

“The change order is going to cost you five hundred bucks,” Foley said triumphantly. “I win!”

“Get out.”

Mac was about to follow Foley through the door when Russell spoke. “Major Macintyre…”

“Sir?”

“Try to resolve such conflicts on your own in the future.”

“I will, sir.”

Russell nodded. Then, for the first time since she’d met him, he smiled. “Good thinking, Major. Dismissed.”

The loading process went well after that, but using cranes to swing the vics aboard took a lot of time, and Mac began to worry. What would happen when the flotilla ran into trouble? Would the enemy wait while the crane operators put the Strykers ashore? Hell no, they wouldn’t. What she needed was a faster way to get the job done.

And that wasn’t all. As Mac stood on the deck and looked up at the crane on Barge 1, she was struck by how exposed the crane operator was. He was sitting in a small box protected by little more than Plexiglas and some sheet metal. The moment the rebs got in close, they would realize that and target him. And once he was dead, her Strykers would be stranded.

In an effort to solve the loading problem, Mac sent Captain Amy Wu and a team of scroungers into town with instructions to find ramps or the means to make them. Then she turned her attention back to the cranes. An old barge was sitting on the riverbank. So Mac sent some wrench turners over to cut it up and ordered the crane operators to swing the steel on board.

Foley claimed that welding the sheets of steel to his cranes would damage them and promised to file a lawsuit. Mac chose to ignore him and went a step further. The wheelhouse perched on top of Foley’s pusher boat was extremely vulnerable. And if the helmsman was killed, the barges and the boat would run aground. So Mac ordered her soldiers to bulletproof that, too.

The whole project involved a lot of work, and the barely visible sun was setting by the time Wu and her crew returned. The supply officer was riding in an army six-by-six with a big rig following along behind. It was towing a flatbed trailer loaded with what looked like a pile of aluminum scrap.

There was a smile on Wu’s face as she came over to report. “We got lucky, Major… An aluminum plant is located south of town… And they fabricate stuff, including barge ramps! They only had one that could handle a Stryker, but it’s extendable and takes five minutes to deploy. That’s the good news.”

Mac’s eyebrows rose. “And the bad news?”

“The bad news is that you’ll have to unload two Strykers so we can install it.”

“That sucks,” Mac said. “But the effort will be worth it. How complicated is the installation process going to be?”

“The extension-system bridge uses hydraulics,” Wu replied. “So installation will take about eight hours. I brought two of the company’s techs back with me.”

“They were willing?”

“Semiwilling.”

“Watch them. And, Amy…”

“Yeah?”

“You rock.”

If Mac needed to put all of her Strykers ashore, she would still have to use the crane on Barge 2. But with any luck at all, the first ten would be able to fight the rebs off while Bravo Company deployed. The knowledge made her feel better. A lot better.

Crews worked throughout the night to remove the two vics and install the self-extending bridge on Barge 1. Once the work was complete, the Strykers were driven onto the barge. The first truck went up front end first, while the second had to back up the bridge, so its weapons would be pointed at the right bank.

As the sun rose in the east, Mac gave final orders to the lieutenant who was in charge of the Stryker crews. Then she hurried ashore and jogged back to the point where the Mississippi ’s crew was preparing to pull the gangplank. No sooner was she aboard than the ship’s horn produced a blast of sound, and the engine noise increased.

Mac made her way up to the bow. From there, she could see the so-called Spud barge, which the Mississippi was pushing out into the main current, and Foley’s pusher boat beyond. Water churned at the smaller boat’s stern as it guided Barges 1 and 2 downriver. Flotilla 4 was on the move.