Men in Green Faces Read Online Free Page A

officers. All three buildings are on stilts, about three feet off the ground. Brian will be on the west side and I’ll be on the east side, which will put me between the structure housing the ninety and the NVA doctors’ hootch. There are five doctors. The number of personnel sleeping inside the security hootch is unknown. I will be looking inside the officers’ quarters to see about the feasibility of bringing one of them out prisoner.
    “While I’m looking in, if at any time the op is compromised, Brian and I will hit the deck, Gene and the other security will take all buildings under fire, firing into them at a three-foot level and up, which will enable Brian and me to crawl back out and head into your location.
    “Gene, if the shit hits the fan, I want you to take the officers’ quarters under fire. Primarily I want you to take the main structure under fire.”
    The scenario ran like a movie through Gene’s mind.
    “Alex, if the shit does hit the fan, I want you to drop 40 Mike-Mike into the security building. It’s the closest building to our security element’s location. And then everyone will be raking the buildings at the three-foot level.
Everybody.
”
    Jim cleared his throat again, smoothed his headband on both sides, then continued. “If everything goes to plan, and we can take out a prisoner of war, I will bring him out, placing him on the ground. Then Brian and I will pull the fuses on the C-4 charges. I’ll pick up the POW and move into your location.
    “Once the hostage is captured, Cruz will be responsible for carrying the POW to the extraction point. If we should take casualties, Doc will render emergency treatment on location and, if need be, Doc will use the fireman’s carry to get the wounded man out. If we take more than one casualty, the nearest man will be responsible for carrying him out to a safe location where Doc can render first aid.
    “Again, when Brian and I, with the hostage, get back, we will all come on line, and at the time the C-4 is detonated, Brian, Cruz, Doc, and myself will fire the LAAWS rockets. Two into the center of the main structure housing the ninety officers, one into the doctors’ hootch, and one into the security hootch. Along with, if need be, 40 Mike-Mike, should any building remain standing.
    “At that time, we’ll get back into patrol formation and head due south for approximately five hundred yards.”
    With the whole world coming after us, thought Gene.
    “We will swim across the Dam Doi River to the far bank, setting up security for the crossing, and patrol down the east bank to our extraction point.”
    Gene grinned. Doc’s sour expression left no question about what he thought of getting into the river water.
    “
Time of departure:
1700 hours. We intend to return to Seafloat at approximately 0600 to 0700 hours.
    “
Alternate route
, if need be, will be straight down the Dam Doi River.”
    God help us if we have to go alternate. Gene swallowed. They’d be eleven long miles in, and all of it enemy territory.
    “
Organization of movement:
As stated in the Warning Order.
    “
Chain of command…
” If they were, one by one, killed or wounded, Gene thought. Would God, the element the other men called luck, keep them safe? “Myself,” Jim said, “patrol leader. Gene, assistant patrol leader. Brian will be third in the chain of command. Cruz, fourth. Alex, fifth. Roland, sixth. Doc is seventh in the chain of command.”
    If it came down to Doc, they were all dead. Doc would die too because he’d never leave them, even if the last man was seconds from dying, and they all knew it. That’s why he was seventh. Gene stroked the 60. The enemy would never take and torture Doc, then kill him. Not if he still breathed. Doc knew too much. He’d pop the pill and suicide before sure capture, just like they would. They all had a pill.
    “
Action in danger areas.”
Jim illustrated with hand signals as he spoke. “A hand across the throat indicates danger