other little things a marksman of his caliber and experience does to prepare to fire.
Then, close, there was a burst of automatic rifle fire and a siren began to growl.
Goddamn it, one of those mercenaries was wider awake than I thought he would be! Or maybe that mercenary sergeant wasn’t as dumb as he looks, suspected something was coming off, and told the others to really keep their eyes open.
He swept the field through the scope, wondering if, once they had been fired on, and heard the squealing siren, if they would just retreat back into the bushes.
And all this fucking work will be for nothing!
But the attacking force was attacking, not retreating. And on their feet, rushing across the field toward the power station.
And there were half a dozen people waving their arms at the others, encouraging them to move forward.
Like that stupid fucking statue at the Infantry School. “Follow me, men! This way to where you get your ass blown away.”
“Jette, shoot anybody wearing boots!” he called.
He found the man with the binoculars again, took in a breath, let half of it out, put the intersection of the crosshairs on the man’s chest, six inches below his chin, and squeezed one off.
A half second later, he heard Jette’s ’03A4 firing.
Goddamn loud! Oh, shit, after all the speeches I made to Jette, I forgot to put my goddamned earplugs in my ears!
Here lies Master Sergeant William Thomas, who was run over by a Mack truck he didn’t hear coming because he was as deaf as a fucking post because he was too fucking dumb to use his earplugs!
By the time he had worked the action and found another target, he could hear the sound of the machine guns, and as he tightened his finger on the trigger again—but before he could squeeze one off—his target dropped his rifle, slid to his knees, and then fell forward on his face.
It took him almost five seconds to find another target, and he had to take that one down by laying the crosshairs on his back, twelve inches from the base of his skull.
XXV
[ ONE ]
The Oval Office
The White House
Washington, D.C.
0930 1 July 1965
“Mr. President,” the Secret Service agent announced, “the Secretary of State is here.”
“Send him in,” the President said impatiently. “You know I sent for him.”
“And Colonel Felter, sir.”
“Him, too, for Christ’s sake!” the President said.
The Secretary of State entered the Oval Office, followed by Colonel Sanford T. Felter. He looked around and saw the Director of the Central Agency was also in the room.
“Good morning, Mr. President,” the Secretary said.
The President grunted,
“Good morning, sir,” Colonel Felter said.
The President grunted again, and waved both men onto the couch across from the coffee table. He was sitting by the table in one of two identical armchairs. The Director was in the other.
The President slid a sheet of radio-teletype paper across the glass-topped coffee table to the Secretary.
“Now let those lying bastards try to tell us they aren’t helping the bastards in the Congo, and ‘have no knowledge’ of any Cubans in either the Congo or Tanganyika,” the President said.
The Secretary picked up the message and read it.
TOP SECRET
2015 GREENWICH 30 JUNE 1965
00066
FROM STATION CHIEF, LÉOPOLDVILLE
TO DIRECTOR, CIA, LANGLEY
COPIES TO SOUTH AMERICAN DESK
MR SANFORD T FELTER, COUNSELOR TO
THE PRESIDENT
THE EXECTUVIE OFFICE BUILDING
WASHINGTON
1. REFERENCE MY 00031 8 JUNE 1965
2. DURING THE PERIOD 25-28 JUNE HUNTER AERIAL RECONNAISSANCE SURVEILLED WHAT WAS BELIEVED TO BE AN INSURRECTIONIST FORCE NUMBERING APPROXIMATELY THREE HUNDRED (300) MOVING COVERTLY FROM LULUABOURG TOWARD BENDERA IN KATANGA PROVINCE INTENDING TO ATTACK BOTH THE CITY OF BENDERA AND THE HYDROELECTRIC PLANT FOUR (4) KILOMETERS FROM BENDERA. AT 1600 GREENWICH 28 JUNE 1965 THE FORCE WAS LOCATED TWO (2) KILOMETERS FROM THE HYDROELECTRIC STATION.
3. HAVING BEEN ADVISED BY MAJOR G.W. LUNSFORD THAT SUCH AN ATTACK WAS HIGHLY LIKELY COLONEL JEAN-BAPTISTE SUPO SECRETLY REINFORCED THE MERCENARY AND CONGOLESE GARRISON WITH APPROXIMATELY FIFTY CONGOLESE PARATROOPERS ADVISED BY MSGT WILLIAM THOMAS, SFC OMAR KELLY AND SSGT LEANDER KNOWLES OF SEPCIAL FORCES DETACHMENT 17.
4. MAJOR LUNSFORD AND COLONEL SUPO WERE IN AGREEMENT THAT THE ATTACK WOULD PROBABLY BE IN TWO PHASES, AN ASSAULT ON THE HYDROELECTRIC PLANT OUTSIDE BENDERA, TO BE FOLLOWED, ONCE THE PLANT WAS IN INSURGENT HANDS, BY AN ATTACK ON THE CITY, AND SUPO ORDERED THAT THE AMERICAN-ADVISED FORCE OF CONGOLESE PARATROOPS BE DEPLOYED AT THE POWER-GENERATING STATION.
5. THE INSURGENT ATTACK BEGAN AT APPROXIMATELY 0600 GREENWICH 29 JUNE, WHEN APPROXIMATELY FIFTY (50) INSURGENTS ATTACKED THE HYDROELECTRIC PLANT. BY 0615 THE ATTACK HAD BEEN REPELLED,