Free Deadly Force by Keith Douglass Page B

minutes later the boat eased up to a sturdy dock at the edge of the stream. It was only ten feet long, butbuilt well, and would last for years even though it was made of poles and wooden decking.
    Ten men dressed in jungle-print cammies ran to the boat, unloaded the food and supplies the villagers had provided, and hurried with the baskets up a trail into the jungle.
    Mojombo set up the SATCOM on the sturdy dock and turned the satellite dish until he picked up the orbiter and the set beeped.
    â€œMr. Vice President Adams, I believe the radio is ready for you to set the frequency for the White House and to start your broadcast. To be sure they are receiving you, it would be good to call them and ask for a response.”
    Marshall Adams took the microphone that Mojombo handed him, moved the dial to the correct numbers, and pushed the send button.
    â€œCalling the White House. This is Vice President Adams calling the White House.”

6
Washington, D.C.
    Wally’s frantic message from Air Force Two to the White House set off a near panic. President Randolph Edwards called his top advisors together at once, and they sat in the Oval Office staring at each other.
    â€œIt’s a kidnapping pure and simple,” Johnson from State said.
    â€œBut from what Wally said, the man was literate, spoke perfect English, and his gunmen did not harm any of the Vice President’s party or the newspeople with them.” The comment came from the CIA representative, Donaldson. “Doesn’t sound like a terrorist to me. Terrorists would have killed everyone in the motorcade after they captured the Vice President.”
    â€œWally said there were no ransom demands,” the President said, reading from some papers. “That the man who spoke English was the leader of a group called the Bijimi Loyalist Party. Have we ever heard of them?” He turned to the man from the State Department.
    â€œNo, we’ve hardly heard of Sierra Bijimi,” Johnson said.
    â€œWhat’s our course of action?” General Lawford, the president’s National Defense Advisor, asked.
    â€œHell, what can we do? Damn near nothing,” FBI Director Worthington said. “Somebody snatched the Vice President. We’ve never heard of the grabber. He’s not with the government of that nation, so we have no clout and no target there. Damn little we can do now until we hear from the people who hold the Vice President.”
    Donaldson tapped his pen on his pad of paper. The CIAman nodded grimly. “Got to admit it was a delicate and finely planned operation. Tree down across the road. The rigs all stopped. Snipers take out the twelve soldiers before they can fire a shot. Well-placed rounds that didn’t even come close to the two cars in the middle. That takes disciplined, well-trained troops. Then their leader gets the drop on the Secret Service men and it’s all over.”
    â€œYou know that Wally is reliable as the Vice President’s top aide,” the President said. “They checked the limo after they found it at the end of the road at the river landing. Evidently the kidnappers took the Vice President upstream to their strong point. Wally says the group has vanished up there before after making a raid in the city or against the Army. He also said the SATCOM radio is missing from its spot in the limo. Maybe we’ll be hearing directly from the kidnapper on the SATCOM. Make sure we keep an open channel for that set at all times.”
    â€œTaken care of that, Mr. President,” Sage Billings said. He was the President’s Chief of Staff.
    â€œGoddamnit, Mr. President,” General Lawford said. “We should send in a dozen of our river patrol boats and blast everything in sight until they give up the Vice President. We’ve got to show a strong hand or they’ll try to bleed us dry.”
    â€œEasy, General. Easy. So far we don’t know what is happening. We need to find