Chapter 57
Indonesia, Near Sebauk Town, Bintan Island
November 14, 2006, 11:00 local time
Jackson looked back at the police car. Both of the policemen were still investigating the van. It was perhaps two hundred meters back to the road, and when they reached it, they would be three hundred meters from the policemen. He liked his odds better with armed country cops than with giant flesh eating lizards.
Jackson said, “I say we go back to the road and use it to get to the other side of the creek.”
Joe shrugged and said, “You're in charge, Sarge.”
“Let's make this fast. When we get to the road, we cross to the other side of the creek, then run back along the creek and resume our previous route. Let's go.”
Jackson led the way back to the road, his boots splashing in water along the way. He took care to avoid what looked to be deeper water. As they approached the road, he saw they had attracted the attention of the policemen, one of whom was pointing in their direction.
They were still thirty meters from the road, when the policemen got back into their car and started driving around the van. The police car would be at their crossing point on roadway at the same time Jackson and Joe reached it.
Jackson stopped and looked at the placid green water, wondering what lurked under it. He said, “We are going to have to swim. You first. I'll follow close behind you.”
Joe began running back along the creek, as he looked for a place to cross.
Jackson saw the police car stop on the roadway at the point they had intended to cross the creek. Neither of the policemen got out of the vehicle.
Jackson knew he should update the pickup on their situation, but decided getting to their pickup location as fast possible was a higher priority. He turned and ran after Joe.
Joe stopped and said, “This looks a good place to cross. The creek is flowing a little faster here and that means it's probably shallower.”
Jackson responded, “Make it fast, we are already late for the pick up.”
Joe stepped into the creek and was immediately chest deep in the water.
“The bottom is soft mud. I'm going to swim.”
Joe started swimming with a breaststroke action. Jackson followed him into the water, shutting out thoughts of snakes and flesh eating lizards, just concentrating on getting across to the other side.
Jackson was less than halfway across the creek, when Joe climbed the opposite bank. Jackson swam as fast as he could to reach the opposite side, then struggled to climb the steep muddy bank. Joe ignored him and watched the roadway.
“Give me a hand.”
Joe responded, “We have more company, Sarge. Looks like the military.”
Joe helped him up onto the bank. When he was up, Jackson could see the camouflage-green truck speeding down the road in their direction.
Jackson's heard a voice on his radio say, “We are coming in now.”
He looked in the direction of their pick up location and saw a civilian helicopter approaching.
The military looking truck halted behind the police car. Armed soldiers jumped off the back and fanned out along the roadside.
Jackson said into the radio, “We are still a kilometer to a kilometer and a half from the pick up, and we won't make it in time. You need to come to us. We are almost due east of the pick up in open country and one hundred meters from the roadway. Repeat, we need you to come to us.”
“Anyone else around?”
“There are a dozen armed soldiers on the roadway, approximately a hundred and fifty meters from our position.”
“I'll come take a look, but it sounds like I can't pick you up there, too risky. We could handle a couple of cops, but not a squad of soldiers. I'll see if there is a backup extraction plan.”
Joe pointed toward the road and said, “Sarge, we need to get out of here.”
Jackson saw that several of the soldiers had taken up kneeling positions with their rifles up. A halfway decent marksman would have no difficulty hitting them with a rifle at this distance.
Jackson shouted, “Run.”
The two of them ran up the side of the creek, away from the soldiers. Jackson expected rounds to whip past them at any moment. Fifteen seconds later, they had doubled their distance from the soldiers and Jackson slowed down to give his pounding heart some respite. Joe was ten meters ahead of him.
During their run, Jackson had heard his radio, but had ignored it. He looked back. The soldiers had left the roadway and were advancing line abreast toward them. The soldiers obviously intended to try to capture them.
Kidnapping was doubtless an extremely serious offense here and the police had caught them red-handed. Jackson knew they needed to outrun the soldiers until a backup plan to retrieve them was in place, or face the prospect of a long time in an Indonesian jail.
Joe stopped ahead of him.
Jackson heard his radio again. “I can see you and the soldiers pursuing you. Sorry, but I can't pick you up. We only have two armed men on board. A backup extraction is being arranged.”
“Acknowledged.”
Joe said, “What now, Sarge?”
Jackson fought to get enough air to speak. “We keep running until there is another extraction attempt, and hope those soldiers don't get tired of chasing us and start shooting instead.”
The two of them continued at a jog along the side of the creek. The Indonesian soldiers followed them at walk, several hundred meters behind.
Jackson said into the radio, “We will keep ahead of our pursuers until the new extraction.”
“I know I can see you. We are overhead and keeping high enough to stay out of range. Backup extraction is on its way. ETA twenty minutes. Keep moving guys.”
“Can you tell us what's ahead?”
“The creek you are following enters a largish river about fifteen hundred meters ahead. Suggest that you angle away to your left to avoid getting trapped.”
Jackson replied, “Will do.”
For the next five minutes, Jackson and Joe stayed comfortably ahead of their pursuers.
Jackson heard on his radio, “There is an Indonesian military helicopter approaching from the southwest. They are asking who we are. We need to get out of here. ETA of backup is now fifteen minutes. Code name is Blue Falcon. Good luck guys and keep moving.”
Jackson looked back and saw the pursuing troops were well behind them. What happened next depended on what the approaching Indonesian military helicopter did.
He watched the helicopter come toward them. It looked like a European model and was armed.
Joe jogged ahead of him, and from the angle of his head, also watched the helicopter's approach.
Jackson increased his speed to catch up with Joe.
When he drew level with Joe, he said, “Make for the trees to our left.”
While trees marked areas of deep water, they would prevent a helicopter from landing on top of their position.
Jackson added, “ETA of backup is now less than fifteen minutes.”
Joe asked, “Any idea what's coming?”
“They didn't tell me, but I assume it's Navy.”
The two men reached the trees and waded thigh-deep into the green water. The trees were tall with straight trunks and almost no branches on their lower halves. They had the same high roots as the trees on the islands that radiated out from around the base of the trunk. Some roots were waist-high.
“Joe, be careful of the tree roots underwater. They are a lot higher than on the trees we are used to and go a long way from the trunk.”
“I know, I just walked into one and nearly fell over it into the water.”
Jackson continued watching the soldiers and the helicopter. The soldiers had stopped pursuing them and the helicopter was heading toward them. It landed a short distance from the Indonesian soldiers. One of them approached the helicopter, and shortly afterwards six of the soldiers climbed aboard the helicopter.
With the soldiers on board, the helicopter rose into the air and swung in their direction. It passed low over the trees and settled to the ground two hundred meters further on. All six of the soldiers disembarked and began to fan out, forming a line. The soldiers clearly intended to come at them from two directions and trap them.
Joe said, “How long before the backup extraction arrives?”
Jackson looked at his watch. “Less than ten minutes.”
“Sarge, any ideas as to how we can hold them off till then?”
Jackson didn't respond. Their situation was bad. They were unarmed and couldn't hold off the Indonesian soldiers until the extraction team arrived. They might be able to make a run for it between the two groups of soldiers, but it would take them to within meters of the encircling soldiers and make them an easy target if the soldiers decided to shoot.
Jackson saw that Joe had taken out his knife and was flipping it between the handle and blade, in the same way he did when he practiced throwing it.
Jackson said, “Put that away, Corporal. You'll just get us shot.”
Joe put his knife back in its sheath.
Jackson spoke into his radio. “Sergeant Jackson here. Blue Falcon, can you hear me?”
After a brief delay he heard, “We hear you, Sergeant.”
“Our situation is critical. We are about to be captured. Repeat, we are about to be captured.”
“What is your exact location?”
“We are in a stand of trees approximately one kilometer east of the original pick up point.”
“Anything distinctive about the trees? There are a lot around.”
“There is a helicopter on the ground two hundred meters northwest of the trees and two groups of Indonesian army soldiers nearby. One group is near the helicopter, and the other is about three hundred meters away on the other side of the trees. We are in those trees. There are thirty or forty large trees growing in what you might call a pond.”
“That sounds enough to recognize it from the air. Standby, Sergeant.”
Both groups of soldiers continued to advance toward them. The six deposited by the helicopter were now only a hundred meters away from the edge of the trees.
Joe asked, “What do you think the Navy is going to do?”
Jackson was about to tell Joe, when the ear splitting, teeth rattling roar of an F-18 on full afterburners, hit them like a solid wall.
The fighter jet went straight over the six Indonesian soldiers closest to them, at less than thirty meters. All six fell to the ground. Jackson looked behind him and saw the soldiers on the other side of them were still standing but stopped.
He looked up into the sky and through the treetops could see the jet climbing towards its partner circling in the sky high above.
Joe said, “Shit man, I wasn't expecting that.”
Jackson had, but didn't say anything. Fighter jets that kept watch from high up normally accompanied naval helicopters on a mission like this. He hadn't seen the jets, but he was sure they were there.
He'd seen the low-level full afterburners trick pulled in Afghanistan, and it was a fair bet that most of the Indonesian soldiers now on the ground needed a change of underwear.
Jackson searched the horizon for the rescue helicopters.
Less than five minutes later, he saw a pair of what looked like Blackhawks in the distance. He checked on the Indonesian soldiers and they continued to retreat away from their position. A hot landing zone looked unlikely.
Jackson said into the radio. “Blue Falcon, I can see your helicopters approaching from the west. We are on the southwest side of that stand of trees five kilometers directly ahead of you. No hostile forces in the immediate vicinity.”
“We hear you. Coming in.”
Jackson said to Joe, “Our ride is almost here, Corporal.”
Joe responded, “I see them. We need to get away from these trees, so they can pick us up. I'll be glad to get out of here. I've had enough excitement for one day.”
As they waded back out of the pond, Jackson saw, in the distance, the police car leaving at high speed in the direction of town. It was a fair bet they were taking the man Jackson and Joe had apprehended with them.
The helicopters arrived before Jackson and Joe were clear of the trees. Up close, Jackson recognized them as Seahawks, the naval version of the Blackhawks he was familiar with. Jackson knew they used a civilian helicopter for the drop off and initial pick up, because it wouldn't attract the same attention as a military aircraft and would be unlikely to cause a military response by the Indonesians. However, as a soldier, he was glad the US Navy was now here in force.
One helicopter flew a figure of eight pattern several hundred meters in the air, while the other touched down a short distance from the trees. Jackson saw its wheels sink into the boggy ground. The pair ran toward it and climbed aboard. The helicopter lifted off and turned back in the direction it had come from.
There were nine men on board the helicopter, an officer, two pilots, two gunners and a four-man protection detail armed with assault rifles.
The Naval Officer said, “Welcome aboard, Sergeant, Corporal. I'm Lieutenant Morales. Now let's get the hell out of here.”
Jackson responded, “Lieutenant, there is one more thing we need to do.”
“What's that, Sergeant?”
“Retrieve our prisoner.”
“That's not part of my orders. What's involved retrieving this prisoner, Sergeant?”
“A police car has just left, heading back toward the town of Sebauk. They have our prisoner. If we move quickly, we should be able to chase it down, before it gets close to town, and take our prisoner back.”
“Let me confirm that, Sergeant.”
The Naval Lieutenant talked on his radio, then said, “Seems someone wants that prisoner real bad. I have full authorization to do whatever it takes to get him back. Let me give instructions to the pilots, then you can tell me who he is and why he's so important.”
Jackson waited for the Lieutenant's attention, then said, “I don't know who he is. All I know is that he was involved in the ship hijackings yesterday and he's believed to be one of the organizers.”
The helicopter followed the police car at high speed, a little to one side of the road. Jackson could see the car's flashing lights a kilometer ahead, through the helicopter's front windshield. The second helicopter was on the other side of the road matching their speed. Both helicopters rapidly gained on the police car.
Lieutenant Morales said, “You will have to get out and ID the prisoner. Make it fast, Sergeant. Flying around foreign countries on covert missions makes me nervous, even when I have F-18s overhead. If we are not out of here before the Indonesian Air Force turns up, this could trigger a shooting war.”
Jackson watched the other Seahawk helicopter pull ahead of them, then position itself in front of the police car, which immediately braked to a halt, slewing across the road and onto the gravel shoulder. Both policemen dived out of the car and ran in opposite directions away from the roadway.
Their Seahawk settled onto the roadway just behind the abandoned police car, while the other Seahawk hovered directly over the road ahead of the police car.
Jackson couldn't see anyone in the car. He inwardly cursed his bad luck. Their prisoner wasn't in the police car after all. He must be still unconscious in the van.
The four-man protection detail jumped out of the helicopter and took up a perimeter.
The Lieutenant said to Jackson, “Sergeant, go and see if your prisoner is in the car.”
He then drew his pistol from its holster and said, “Here, take this.”
Jackson jumped out of the helicopter and ran through its downwash toward the police car. He approached the car and looked into the side window. Their prisoner was lying unconscious along the back seat. Jackson thought that two hits of the knockout spray must keep you out for a long time. It flashed through his mind that the man might be dead.
Jackson opened the car door and prepared to pull the unconscious man out of the back seat. He would need help to carry the man and turned to signal one of the protection detail to come over.
As he looked in the direction of the nearest sailor, he felt the pistol wrenched from his hands. Jackson dived away from the car. He couldn't believe how careless he'd been. His desire to recapture the prisoner had got in the way of his training and the need to stay in control of the situation at all times.
He shouted to the protection detail, “He's got my weapon. Don't shoot. We need him alive.”
Two of the sailors immediately came to either side of the police car, their rifles trained on the man in the back seat.
Jackson heard Lieutenant Morales on his radio headset. “Sergeant, I've just been informed Indonesian military aircraft are on their way. ETA less than eight minutes. We can't wait while you negotiate. Finish it now.”
Jackson knew he had to act quickly or their prized intelligence catch would be just a corpse on the roadside.
“Give me a couple of minutes.”
“That's the absolute most you will get.”
Jackson stood up, raised his hands and approached the police car.
He called out, “Do you speak English?”
The man in the police car responded, “What do you want?”
“There are only two ways out of this for you. Either you surrender to me, or the men with rifles shoot you dead.”
“What happens if I surrender?”
Jackson told the man the truth. “You will be held in a detention facility and well treated there. If you are charged and found guilty, you may spend a very long time in prison, but I don't think anything you have done will result in you being prosecuted in an American court. If you cooperate and tell us everything you know you may be set free after a period of time.”
The man looked at the man pointing rifle at him and said, “I will surrender to you with one condition. I have money that I need to send to my family. Will you promise to send it to them?”
Lieutenant Morales came on the radio. “Sergeant, you have thirty seconds left.”
Jackson knew he had to decide and said, “I will do my best to ensure the money is sent.”
The man offered him two thick packages. “It needs to go Madam Walandari at the Pradha Guest House in Jakarta. It's on Jalan Kateng. Here is your gun.”
Jackson took the packages and the Lieutenant's weapon. He pointed the pistol at the prisoner and said, “Put you hands on your head as you exit the car.”
The man complied and passively proceeded Jackson toward the helicopter. One of the gunners pulled him on board. The gunner had drawn his pistol and used it to indicate to the prisoner where he should sit. He then handcuffed both his wrists to the seat, before fastening his seatbelt. Jackson followed the prisoner into the helicopter and returned to his previous seat beside the Lieutenant.
“Sergeant, what was in that package the prisoner gave you?”
“Evidence to be used against my prisoner, sir.” Jackson emphasized the word 'my'.
“It may be evidence, but it will go in my report.”
Jackson ignored the naval Lieutenant's emphasis on 'will' and the implication he might be corrupt. He would keep his word and do his best to ensure the money was sent to the address the prisoner had told him, but he knew it wouldn't. The Army had very clear rules on captured terrorist funds. It would be used as evidence against him, then allocated for public works in an area Special Forces were operating.
Chapter 58
November 14, 2006, 11:00 local time
Jackson looked back at the police car. Both of the policemen were still investigating the van. It was perhaps two hundred meters back to the road, and when they reached it, they would be three hundred meters from the policemen. He liked his odds better with armed country cops than with giant flesh eating lizards.
Jackson said, “I say we go back to the road and use it to get to the other side of the creek.”
Joe shrugged and said, “You're in charge, Sarge.”
“Let's make this fast. When we get to the road, we cross to the other side of the creek, then run back along the creek and resume our previous route. Let's go.”
Jackson led the way back to the road, his boots splashing in water along the way. He took care to avoid what looked to be deeper water. As they approached the road, he saw they had attracted the attention of the policemen, one of whom was pointing in their direction.
They were still thirty meters from the road, when the policemen got back into their car and started driving around the van. The police car would be at their crossing point on roadway at the same time Jackson and Joe reached it.
Jackson stopped and looked at the placid green water, wondering what lurked under it. He said, “We are going to have to swim. You first. I'll follow close behind you.”
Joe began running back along the creek, as he looked for a place to cross.
Jackson saw the police car stop on the roadway at the point they had intended to cross the creek. Neither of the policemen got out of the vehicle.
Jackson knew he should update the pickup on their situation, but decided getting to their pickup location as fast possible was a higher priority. He turned and ran after Joe.
Joe stopped and said, “This looks a good place to cross. The creek is flowing a little faster here and that means it's probably shallower.”
Jackson responded, “Make it fast, we are already late for the pick up.”
Joe stepped into the creek and was immediately chest deep in the water.
“The bottom is soft mud. I'm going to swim.”
Joe started swimming with a breaststroke action. Jackson followed him into the water, shutting out thoughts of snakes and flesh eating lizards, just concentrating on getting across to the other side.
Jackson was less than halfway across the creek, when Joe climbed the opposite bank. Jackson swam as fast as he could to reach the opposite side, then struggled to climb the steep muddy bank. Joe ignored him and watched the roadway.
“Give me a hand.”
Joe responded, “We have more company, Sarge. Looks like the military.”
Joe helped him up onto the bank. When he was up, Jackson could see the camouflage-green truck speeding down the road in their direction.
Jackson's heard a voice on his radio say, “We are coming in now.”
He looked in the direction of their pick up location and saw a civilian helicopter approaching.
The military looking truck halted behind the police car. Armed soldiers jumped off the back and fanned out along the roadside.
Jackson said into the radio, “We are still a kilometer to a kilometer and a half from the pick up, and we won't make it in time. You need to come to us. We are almost due east of the pick up in open country and one hundred meters from the roadway. Repeat, we need you to come to us.”
“Anyone else around?”
“There are a dozen armed soldiers on the roadway, approximately a hundred and fifty meters from our position.”
“I'll come take a look, but it sounds like I can't pick you up there, too risky. We could handle a couple of cops, but not a squad of soldiers. I'll see if there is a backup extraction plan.”
Joe pointed toward the road and said, “Sarge, we need to get out of here.”
Jackson saw that several of the soldiers had taken up kneeling positions with their rifles up. A halfway decent marksman would have no difficulty hitting them with a rifle at this distance.
Jackson shouted, “Run.”
The two of them ran up the side of the creek, away from the soldiers. Jackson expected rounds to whip past them at any moment. Fifteen seconds later, they had doubled their distance from the soldiers and Jackson slowed down to give his pounding heart some respite. Joe was ten meters ahead of him.
During their run, Jackson had heard his radio, but had ignored it. He looked back. The soldiers had left the roadway and were advancing line abreast toward them. The soldiers obviously intended to try to capture them.
Kidnapping was doubtless an extremely serious offense here and the police had caught them red-handed. Jackson knew they needed to outrun the soldiers until a backup plan to retrieve them was in place, or face the prospect of a long time in an Indonesian jail.
Joe stopped ahead of him.
Jackson heard his radio again. “I can see you and the soldiers pursuing you. Sorry, but I can't pick you up. We only have two armed men on board. A backup extraction is being arranged.”
“Acknowledged.”
Joe said, “What now, Sarge?”
Jackson fought to get enough air to speak. “We keep running until there is another extraction attempt, and hope those soldiers don't get tired of chasing us and start shooting instead.”
The two of them continued at a jog along the side of the creek. The Indonesian soldiers followed them at walk, several hundred meters behind.
Jackson said into the radio, “We will keep ahead of our pursuers until the new extraction.”
“I know I can see you. We are overhead and keeping high enough to stay out of range. Backup extraction is on its way. ETA twenty minutes. Keep moving guys.”
“Can you tell us what's ahead?”
“The creek you are following enters a largish river about fifteen hundred meters ahead. Suggest that you angle away to your left to avoid getting trapped.”
Jackson replied, “Will do.”
For the next five minutes, Jackson and Joe stayed comfortably ahead of their pursuers.
Jackson heard on his radio, “There is an Indonesian military helicopter approaching from the southwest. They are asking who we are. We need to get out of here. ETA of backup is now fifteen minutes. Code name is Blue Falcon. Good luck guys and keep moving.”
Jackson looked back and saw the pursuing troops were well behind them. What happened next depended on what the approaching Indonesian military helicopter did.
He watched the helicopter come toward them. It looked like a European model and was armed.
Joe jogged ahead of him, and from the angle of his head, also watched the helicopter's approach.
Jackson increased his speed to catch up with Joe.
When he drew level with Joe, he said, “Make for the trees to our left.”
While trees marked areas of deep water, they would prevent a helicopter from landing on top of their position.
Jackson added, “ETA of backup is now less than fifteen minutes.”
Joe asked, “Any idea what's coming?”
“They didn't tell me, but I assume it's Navy.”
The two men reached the trees and waded thigh-deep into the green water. The trees were tall with straight trunks and almost no branches on their lower halves. They had the same high roots as the trees on the islands that radiated out from around the base of the trunk. Some roots were waist-high.
“Joe, be careful of the tree roots underwater. They are a lot higher than on the trees we are used to and go a long way from the trunk.”
“I know, I just walked into one and nearly fell over it into the water.”
Jackson continued watching the soldiers and the helicopter. The soldiers had stopped pursuing them and the helicopter was heading toward them. It landed a short distance from the Indonesian soldiers. One of them approached the helicopter, and shortly afterwards six of the soldiers climbed aboard the helicopter.
With the soldiers on board, the helicopter rose into the air and swung in their direction. It passed low over the trees and settled to the ground two hundred meters further on. All six of the soldiers disembarked and began to fan out, forming a line. The soldiers clearly intended to come at them from two directions and trap them.
Joe said, “How long before the backup extraction arrives?”
Jackson looked at his watch. “Less than ten minutes.”
“Sarge, any ideas as to how we can hold them off till then?”
Jackson didn't respond. Their situation was bad. They were unarmed and couldn't hold off the Indonesian soldiers until the extraction team arrived. They might be able to make a run for it between the two groups of soldiers, but it would take them to within meters of the encircling soldiers and make them an easy target if the soldiers decided to shoot.
Jackson saw that Joe had taken out his knife and was flipping it between the handle and blade, in the same way he did when he practiced throwing it.
Jackson said, “Put that away, Corporal. You'll just get us shot.”
Joe put his knife back in its sheath.
Jackson spoke into his radio. “Sergeant Jackson here. Blue Falcon, can you hear me?”
After a brief delay he heard, “We hear you, Sergeant.”
“Our situation is critical. We are about to be captured. Repeat, we are about to be captured.”
“What is your exact location?”
“We are in a stand of trees approximately one kilometer east of the original pick up point.”
“Anything distinctive about the trees? There are a lot around.”
“There is a helicopter on the ground two hundred meters northwest of the trees and two groups of Indonesian army soldiers nearby. One group is near the helicopter, and the other is about three hundred meters away on the other side of the trees. We are in those trees. There are thirty or forty large trees growing in what you might call a pond.”
“That sounds enough to recognize it from the air. Standby, Sergeant.”
Both groups of soldiers continued to advance toward them. The six deposited by the helicopter were now only a hundred meters away from the edge of the trees.
Joe asked, “What do you think the Navy is going to do?”
Jackson was about to tell Joe, when the ear splitting, teeth rattling roar of an F-18 on full afterburners, hit them like a solid wall.
The fighter jet went straight over the six Indonesian soldiers closest to them, at less than thirty meters. All six fell to the ground. Jackson looked behind him and saw the soldiers on the other side of them were still standing but stopped.
He looked up into the sky and through the treetops could see the jet climbing towards its partner circling in the sky high above.
Joe said, “Shit man, I wasn't expecting that.”
Jackson had, but didn't say anything. Fighter jets that kept watch from high up normally accompanied naval helicopters on a mission like this. He hadn't seen the jets, but he was sure they were there.
He'd seen the low-level full afterburners trick pulled in Afghanistan, and it was a fair bet that most of the Indonesian soldiers now on the ground needed a change of underwear.
Jackson searched the horizon for the rescue helicopters.
Less than five minutes later, he saw a pair of what looked like Blackhawks in the distance. He checked on the Indonesian soldiers and they continued to retreat away from their position. A hot landing zone looked unlikely.
Jackson said into the radio. “Blue Falcon, I can see your helicopters approaching from the west. We are on the southwest side of that stand of trees five kilometers directly ahead of you. No hostile forces in the immediate vicinity.”
“We hear you. Coming in.”
Jackson said to Joe, “Our ride is almost here, Corporal.”
Joe responded, “I see them. We need to get away from these trees, so they can pick us up. I'll be glad to get out of here. I've had enough excitement for one day.”
As they waded back out of the pond, Jackson saw, in the distance, the police car leaving at high speed in the direction of town. It was a fair bet they were taking the man Jackson and Joe had apprehended with them.
The helicopters arrived before Jackson and Joe were clear of the trees. Up close, Jackson recognized them as Seahawks, the naval version of the Blackhawks he was familiar with. Jackson knew they used a civilian helicopter for the drop off and initial pick up, because it wouldn't attract the same attention as a military aircraft and would be unlikely to cause a military response by the Indonesians. However, as a soldier, he was glad the US Navy was now here in force.
One helicopter flew a figure of eight pattern several hundred meters in the air, while the other touched down a short distance from the trees. Jackson saw its wheels sink into the boggy ground. The pair ran toward it and climbed aboard. The helicopter lifted off and turned back in the direction it had come from.
There were nine men on board the helicopter, an officer, two pilots, two gunners and a four-man protection detail armed with assault rifles.
The Naval Officer said, “Welcome aboard, Sergeant, Corporal. I'm Lieutenant Morales. Now let's get the hell out of here.”
Jackson responded, “Lieutenant, there is one more thing we need to do.”
“What's that, Sergeant?”
“Retrieve our prisoner.”
“That's not part of my orders. What's involved retrieving this prisoner, Sergeant?”
“A police car has just left, heading back toward the town of Sebauk. They have our prisoner. If we move quickly, we should be able to chase it down, before it gets close to town, and take our prisoner back.”
“Let me confirm that, Sergeant.”
The Naval Lieutenant talked on his radio, then said, “Seems someone wants that prisoner real bad. I have full authorization to do whatever it takes to get him back. Let me give instructions to the pilots, then you can tell me who he is and why he's so important.”
Jackson waited for the Lieutenant's attention, then said, “I don't know who he is. All I know is that he was involved in the ship hijackings yesterday and he's believed to be one of the organizers.”
The helicopter followed the police car at high speed, a little to one side of the road. Jackson could see the car's flashing lights a kilometer ahead, through the helicopter's front windshield. The second helicopter was on the other side of the road matching their speed. Both helicopters rapidly gained on the police car.
Lieutenant Morales said, “You will have to get out and ID the prisoner. Make it fast, Sergeant. Flying around foreign countries on covert missions makes me nervous, even when I have F-18s overhead. If we are not out of here before the Indonesian Air Force turns up, this could trigger a shooting war.”
Jackson watched the other Seahawk helicopter pull ahead of them, then position itself in front of the police car, which immediately braked to a halt, slewing across the road and onto the gravel shoulder. Both policemen dived out of the car and ran in opposite directions away from the roadway.
Their Seahawk settled onto the roadway just behind the abandoned police car, while the other Seahawk hovered directly over the road ahead of the police car.
Jackson couldn't see anyone in the car. He inwardly cursed his bad luck. Their prisoner wasn't in the police car after all. He must be still unconscious in the van.
The four-man protection detail jumped out of the helicopter and took up a perimeter.
The Lieutenant said to Jackson, “Sergeant, go and see if your prisoner is in the car.”
He then drew his pistol from its holster and said, “Here, take this.”
Jackson jumped out of the helicopter and ran through its downwash toward the police car. He approached the car and looked into the side window. Their prisoner was lying unconscious along the back seat. Jackson thought that two hits of the knockout spray must keep you out for a long time. It flashed through his mind that the man might be dead.
Jackson opened the car door and prepared to pull the unconscious man out of the back seat. He would need help to carry the man and turned to signal one of the protection detail to come over.
As he looked in the direction of the nearest sailor, he felt the pistol wrenched from his hands. Jackson dived away from the car. He couldn't believe how careless he'd been. His desire to recapture the prisoner had got in the way of his training and the need to stay in control of the situation at all times.
He shouted to the protection detail, “He's got my weapon. Don't shoot. We need him alive.”
Two of the sailors immediately came to either side of the police car, their rifles trained on the man in the back seat.
Jackson heard Lieutenant Morales on his radio headset. “Sergeant, I've just been informed Indonesian military aircraft are on their way. ETA less than eight minutes. We can't wait while you negotiate. Finish it now.”
Jackson knew he had to act quickly or their prized intelligence catch would be just a corpse on the roadside.
“Give me a couple of minutes.”
“That's the absolute most you will get.”
Jackson stood up, raised his hands and approached the police car.
He called out, “Do you speak English?”
The man in the police car responded, “What do you want?”
“There are only two ways out of this for you. Either you surrender to me, or the men with rifles shoot you dead.”
“What happens if I surrender?”
Jackson told the man the truth. “You will be held in a detention facility and well treated there. If you are charged and found guilty, you may spend a very long time in prison, but I don't think anything you have done will result in you being prosecuted in an American court. If you cooperate and tell us everything you know you may be set free after a period of time.”
The man looked at the man pointing rifle at him and said, “I will surrender to you with one condition. I have money that I need to send to my family. Will you promise to send it to them?”
Lieutenant Morales came on the radio. “Sergeant, you have thirty seconds left.”
Jackson knew he had to decide and said, “I will do my best to ensure the money is sent.”
The man offered him two thick packages. “It needs to go Madam Walandari at the Pradha Guest House in Jakarta. It's on Jalan Kateng. Here is your gun.”
Jackson took the packages and the Lieutenant's weapon. He pointed the pistol at the prisoner and said, “Put you hands on your head as you exit the car.”
The man complied and passively proceeded Jackson toward the helicopter. One of the gunners pulled him on board. The gunner had drawn his pistol and used it to indicate to the prisoner where he should sit. He then handcuffed both his wrists to the seat, before fastening his seatbelt. Jackson followed the prisoner into the helicopter and returned to his previous seat beside the Lieutenant.
“Sergeant, what was in that package the prisoner gave you?”
“Evidence to be used against my prisoner, sir.” Jackson emphasized the word 'my'.
“It may be evidence, but it will go in my report.”
Jackson ignored the naval Lieutenant's emphasis on 'will' and the implication he might be corrupt. He would keep his word and do his best to ensure the money was sent to the address the prisoner had told him, but he knew it wouldn't. The Army had very clear rules on captured terrorist funds. It would be used as evidence against him, then allocated for public works in an area Special Forces were operating.
Chapter 58
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home