Eagle Station Part 23

Bunth is supposed to protect the climbing approach side to Eagle Station out to a radius of twelve kilometers. At best, he has to find and stop attacks. At the very least he must provide a warning system. I don't see how he can perform any of those missions if his people can't even find someone prowling about their village in broad daylight."

"Do you expect an attack?"

"Sure, although I'm not certain the Agency men in Vientiane think so."

"You mean the station chief?"

No. Some minor functionary with a big head named Jerome Powers doesn't think that last attack here amounts to much. He said it was done by an errant local PL commander who hadn't gotten the word to stay away from the site. He thinks the PL leave the entire site-Eagle Station included-alone because they probably get paid off from the poppy farmers, and because they think the site is well defended and can get full troop and air support in a matter of Hours. Funny, he didn't mention Bunth as one of those who might be running dope and paying bribes."

"I'll tell you what I think," Perrit said. "I think Bunth is paying off the Pathet Lao so he can move opium. Powers didn't mention it because at the time he didn't know. He's not really in my loop. Now that I'm out here, I find enough evidence to believe Bunth is doing that, but until now I haven't reported this suspicion. I am just now ready to send the message to Vientiane, telling of my suspicions of Touby and his control over Bunth and the paying off of the Pathet Lao. But I don't think that has anything to do with whether Site 85 will be climbed and Eagle Station attacked or not. It's the North Vietnamese who want the site taken out. They can't stop the PL collecting dope-smuggling fees-maybe they even encourage it-but they can probably attack anyplace they wish at any time they wish. I wonder if Bunth would let the NVA go through his sector without reporting them."

"No," Wolf said, "because that would mean he would get on the wrong side of General Vang Pao and the United States government, from which he gets funds and supplies. I think he would put up a token battle to make it look as if he were seriously fighting. But in the final a.n.a.lysis that's all that Eagle Station really needs, the warning. Hak's men can defend the climbing approach and air strikes can do the rest."

"What do you think of Touby?" Perrit asked. "I've told you what I thought."

"I agree with you. He's more in control of Bunth than meets the eye.

Very savvy and shifty-looking to be a Curer. They usually appear more mystical and serene than he does. He has great control over Bunth, more than a Curer should have. Political control, certainly, maybe military as well. Mister Sam thinks Touby kills or causes to have killed any promising number-two man to replace Bunth."

"Why does he exercise such control? Is it just his nature or is there some other reason?" Perrit asked.

"I hope to find out," Wolf said and looked out over the village. The male villagers were sitting in an elongated oval around the big fire pit. Many had weapons and other fighting gear next to them. All were tearing into chunks of meat and drinking palm beer. A few old men played flutes and softly tapped the tocsins.

"Stay here for a while," he said. "I'll go see if the seeds I planted are bearing any fruit." He stood up and, rifle in one hand, walked to the edge of the firelight. Loo saw him and came over.

"They thank you," he said, "and want to know why you do such a good thing."

"Tell them it is because they are brave and fierce warriors."

Wolf added a few more compliments as Loo translated. The men made collective "ah" sounds and nodded their heads.

"They say you are animal-man to walk always with your weapon in your hand." "Animal-man?"

"One who has weapon a part of his body, like teeth of tiger or poison of snake. Your weapon is a part of you." He looked up at Wolf. "They like you. Come with me, they have something for you."

Wolf walked with him to the center of the oval by the fire pit. Several of the men started tying strings around his left wrist in the eternal gesture of Hmoung friendship. Each string meant good luck and happiness. They chanted as they tied the small strings in the bacci ceremony.

When it was over, and Wolf expressed his grat.i.tude, he drew Loo aside.

"Have you any information for me?"

Loo nodded. "They say for the last many days and weeks, strange men appear like magic. The men talk and give much kip."

"What kind of men?"

"White-skinned men."

"American?"

"I do not know, but they do not talk as you talk."

"French?"

"Not French."

"They give kip. What for, yafin? For opium?"

Loo scratched his head. "It is difficult to know. One cannot say why they give kip. It is not for yafin. They do not take any with them when they go."

"Who do they give the kip to?" "The Curer."

A.

Wolf looked up, as a smiling Bunth stepped from the longhouse to survey the festivities in the village. He was clearly outlined in the firelight and seemed pleased with the boon. After a few moments a scowling Touby walked out and spoke into his ear. Bunth stopped smiling. He spoke to Touby, who responded in harsh tones. After a moment Bunth turned toward the fire and raised his hands.

"It is over, " he said. "Go to your houses.

With barely perceptible hesitation the villagers melted into the darkness outside the firelight and returned to their houses.

In minutes the square was deserted. Lee and Loo arranged themselves on the ground next to the fire pit. The light from the fire pit waned, as a woman swept dirt over the coals. Wolf sat for a while with Lee and Loo, then walked back to the DEA man's hut. When it's over, he thought, like a curtain pulled down.

The village was dark, sleep sounds came from the open thatch huts. Wolf entered Perrit's hut and saw his form on the sleeping bag, arm tucked under his head as if asleep. Wolf turned up the lamp and noticed that Perrit lay on his side in a strangely loose way. He knelt down, turned him over, and felt for a pulse at his neck. Perrit's mouth was slack, his eyes half opened. There was nothing, just the cooling skin of a recently dead man. He made a cursory examination and found no blood or signs of wounds. He sat back on his heels and thought about what he had found. Maybe a heart attack. There is nothing I can do now. It's too late, he's already cold. I'll call Mister Sam and have him get an evacuation helicopter here in the morning.

Wolf had seen death many times before and had learned not to react in any but a perfunctory manner.

He straightened out Perrit's body, opened the dead man's sleeping bag, rolled him into it, and zipped it closed. He carried the heavy sagging bag to the side and laid it next to the wall.

Then he squatted by his PRC-25 radio, turned it on, picked up the handset, and called Maple several times. He knew he maintained a listening watch. There was no answer. He tried a few more times, then twisted one of the k.n.o.bs to listen for the hiss of a frequency change.

There was no sound, so he changed the battery. Still no sound.

He reached over for Perrit's PRC-25. When he had the same negative results, he looked at the back of each set, then pulled the batteries off. He grunted in surprise. Both radios had one of the battery contacts pinched off. With the battery in place, it would be unnoticeable. He put the radio down and s.n.a.t.c.hed up Perrit's Swedish-K.

The magazine was gone and no round jumped out when he pulled back the bolt. The cylinders of the revolvers and .45 were empty. Wolf pulled over his harness and rucksack, The magazine pouches were empty and his grenades were missing.

Okay, Wolf said to himself. We have a bit of a problem here. Someone wants me unarmed and cut off. He checked the twenty-round magazine of his AK-47 and then the Mauser 7.63 strapped to his ankle. He slapped the stiletto on the other ankle to ensure it was in place. Then he glanced over at the bulky sleeping bag. He went over and quickly unzipped the bag, stripped Perrit and examined his bare body. He found it when he lifted Perrit's left arm: a small drop of dried blood under Perrit's arm between two ribs near the top of his rib cage.

Wolf rubbed the dot away to reveal a tiny puncture mark. He drew his breath in. Someone had punctured Perrit's heart with a hard, thin wire.

It had gone through to his chest cavity and entered the heart. Wolf sat back on his heels, thinking about the old trick that fooled dull-witted coroners into believing the person had died of a heart attack or a stroke.

Let's see, Wolf thought. They've broken the radios, taken the ammunition, and killed Perrit. I'd better gel out of herebut not immediately-could stumble into all sorts of traps in the dark. For some reason they made all three incidents not easily recognizable. Perrit looked asleep and I shouldn't have noticed otherwise until morning. They could have smashed or stolen the radios, stolen the guns, killed Perrit outright and ambushed me-but they didn't.

Wolf sat on the floor and leaned against his rucksack. The light from the lantern shadow-painted Comanche warrior designs on his face. He pondered who "they" might be. Not Bunth or Touby--too, sophisticated for them. And I don't see why the NVA would go to this much trouble-or the Chinese. They're in Laos, but as road builders and guerrilla advisers- They don't get into clever tricky stuff like this. It's got to be Spetsnaz. I'll bet it was a Sov team in the area, on training missions either to train themselves or to train the NVA or PL. Or for all three reasons. Everything done here could be performed by any average Spetsnaz team.

But why? he asked himself. For what reason? Whatever the reason, I found out they murdered Perrit earlier than they expected. They didn't think I would be on to his death as a murder until morning-or maybe never. He frowned in thought.

It was as if all they needed was to buy a few Hours to do something.

He leaned back and shut his eyes. He thought about using the village radios but doubted that they would let him. Bunth or Touby might not have done this, he thought, but I think they're in on it-it rea sn't ma muc sense-an ma that's the key. He opened his eyes and sat forward, flipped the cloth covering back, and looked at his watch. One o'clock.

It would be daylight in about five and a half Hours. He decided to talk to Lee and Loo.

He squatted outside the opening for several minutes to accustom his eyes to the darkness and to listen and catalog the sounds of the village.

There was no moon. Sleep murmurs from one side, a thumping of wooden boards as someone turned over on their pallet, a cough, frog sounds from the jungle. He heard the pa.s.sage of jet fighters, some very close to the top of the karst.

Soon, as his eyes made out distinct forms in the starlit village, he distinguished the individual sounds of relaxed breathing. He smelled the old smoke from the fire pit and the vinegary odor of palm beer. He looked around, then slowly rose to his feet and walked very carefully to the two forms sleeping by the fire pit. He quietly woke them and asked if they had heard anything from anybody about the strange men being close tonight.

Yes, they said, they'd seen a little motion in the dark they hadn't thought was normal, around the longhouse of Bunth.

When Wolf asked if it could also have been near the hut of the mei-mei, the American, they said yes it was possible, but they could not say if the strange men were involved. Wolf brought them to the door of the hut and told them to be on guard and to keep one man awake at all times. He sat nearby against a tree.

He heard the faint clatter at three o'clock in the morning and recognized the whopping sound for what it was ... a helicopter getting airborne. Twenty minutes later he saw a shape that could have been Touby enter the longhouse.

He drifted off and woke while it was still dark, packed up his gear, and took Perrit's identification. After a healthy intake of water and some crackers, he left as the village was first stirring under a cool and vague dawn. Lee and Loo fell in with him. He noticed the absence of guards and security outposts along the way. They refilled their canteens at a small stream and added purifier tablets. At first the going was easy, the trail clear and wide, as the daylight turned from dawn gray to morning blue.

He walked with an easy, distance-consuming stride. He didn't feel good about leaving Perrit back there but figured he'd send a helicopter for his body.

He was surprised he could depart the village so easily, and thought about the helicopter he had heard take off. He guessed it was a pickup for the people who had killed Perrit. Maybe, he thought, they heard Perrit transmitting, weren't sure if it was about them or not, so they made a quick decision to take him out and cripple the radios and hope I wouldn't discover what had happened. Probably had to meet that helicopter or be left behind. That trick with the wire is right out of the Spetsnaz and KGB wetwork manual. I think they were running out of time and didn't want to get delayed. It was probably more important to get on that helicopter and get out of here than it was to kill me. He stopped for a rest in the shade of a large limestone outcropping. Lee and Loo took up guard positions.

Wolf removed his floppy-brimmed hat and wiped his brow with an olive drab bandana.

If it is the Sovs, Wolf continued thinking, then it would be the first time they've been active enough in Laos to be spotted None have ever been seen or even suspected in this part of Asia. So if they're here, it'sfor a special reason, a very special reason, to risk so much time in and around one small village.

He rested a few more minutes, then resumed the climb.

They pa.s.sed several fighting positions filled with alert and well-armed men from Major Hak's village. He saw they had radios and were probably keeping Hak and Mister Sam advised of the American's approach up the steep path. It was shortly after the noon hour when he reached Mister Sam's hut and reported to Vientiane on the Collins HF radio, using the scrambler device. A helicopter was promised in three Hours to extract him and go down to get Perrit's body. When he was finished, Court came down -from Pearson sraar site.

Wolf told him about Perrit and his belief that Spetsnaz was in the area.

"Spetsnaz? Don't know much about them. Why not China?

They supply a lot of aid to North Vietnam."

"China is not all that easy to work with. Besides, while the North Viets want Chinese war materials," Wolf said, "they don't want Chinese soldiers running around pulling off operations in Vietnam or Vietnamese-controlled territory. The people and the language the men describe to me mean Russian. And Russian means Spetsnaz."

"Say again who or what they are."

"Spetsialnoye Nazranie. That means 'forces at designation."' "Strange way to put it."

"What it means," Wolf said, "is that they go in before a raid or an attack or even before a war starts so that they're there when the main force arrives. their job is sabotage, killing important people, and generally wiping out command and control centers, all the while trying to create panic and disruption of the populace. They are trained in the customs, language, and may even wear the uniforms of the country they work in. Many members of the Soviet sporting teams that travel and compete around the world are Spetsnaz members."

:'What are they doing in Laos?" Court asked.

"Training, I'd say," Wolf replied. "No better place to run around and teach and practice tactics than a moderately safe combat zone. Some Spetsnaz commander bucking for promotion probably decided taking out Eagle Station would be good for his career." Wolf stretched and yawned.

"What is your impression of Pearson and the Station layout?"

"These Air Force men are not soldiers. Sure, they've qualified in M-16s and .38s on the range, but they've never been shot at, never have gone through basic infantry training. They're radar technicians and that's all. They can't be considered part of a defending force. If the place is going to fall, they must be evacuated well ahead of time. Mister Sam brought up Hak and some of his men. I taught them the Flaming Arrow trick but made the point it was last-ditch stuff. They showed me the best places and we built two. My guys checked in with F-4s and we spent most of yesterday and last night getting them familiar with the area. We lit the arrows last night and arranged the construction until they said they were just right.

They're ready to go."

Wolf nodded. He told them what he had seen below in Muong Yat, how he didn't trust Bunth or Touby, and about the helicopter he had heard.

"Glad you heard that helio," Court said. "For a couple weeks my guys have been saying they had seen funny, flitting shadows down low around this area and Mu Gia Pa.s.s. When one suggested helicopters to a visiting Intell debriefer from 7th Air Force, he was patted on the head and said to keep looking for guns, that no enemy helicopters had ever come into Laos since 1962."

Wolf nodded. "What I want to do now," he said to Mister Sam, "is go to Hak's village and see how his defenses are lined up."

"They are about as good as you'll find. C'mon, I'll take you there."

They returned from the inspection just before the Air America helicopter clattered into the helipad to pick them up. Wolf told Mister Sam that outside of a shortage of mortar tubes, he was satisfied Hak's plans were good, and Hak himself seemed like a true warrior, not just talk and subterfuge like B with and Touby.

Court shook hands with Pearson. Mister Sam said he would radio VTT when they were off the ground and inbound for Vientiane.

He raised a hand in farewell as the Huey helicopter lifted off.

The helicopter crew was well briefed. The pilot buzzed the Muong Yat village, while Court and the crew chief pitched out a few double-bagged sacks of rice to prepare the villagers for their unexpected arrival, then they landed in a clearing. The pilot kept the blades turning.

The crew chief, a ropy-looking Hmoung, pulled out a body bag. Wolf took a packet from his survival kit, then led the way to the hut. The villagers didn't seem as friendly as before, and most looked away as if the three men didn't exist.

"They have been told bad things about us," Wolf said.

"Maybe they don't believe what they hear, but they must act as if they do," Court said.

When they reached the hut and walked in, it was empty.

"What is it you would do now?" the Hmoung crew chief asked.

"We buy him back," Wolf said with disgust. From past experience with Lao bandits and a few undisciplined Hmoungs, he knew what to do. The bandit's way of life revolved around larceny, and deals that could be betrayed if it meant an additional profit.

He led them out and to the opening to the longhouse. In the dim interior they could just make out Bunth and Touby sitting cross-legged on mats. Bunth was smoking a pipe, from which the thick, ropy smell of opium rose in overpowering waves.

"Help me talk, translate for me," Wolf said to the Hmoung crew chief.

Court nodded in greeting as Wolf made the appropriate salutations, then used the crew chief to ask where the body of their friend was.

"He is one with the spirits," Bunth said in a dreamlike state.

"You have buried him?" Wolf asked.

"He is one with the spirits."

"There are those who would want to have him back, to prepare him for his journey to the other side."

Bunth smoked and remained silent. Touby studied some items of magic he had in a small animal-skin bag.

"There are those who would reward you for your very excellent care of him."