SEAL Team Six Hunt the Falcon(24)
“Because Colonel Petsut wants us to do this as quietly as possible.”
Akil posed the million-dollar question: “How do we accomplish that?”
“How about we have someone posing as a neighbor or local official knock on the door?” Davis asked. “That way we can catch them off guard.”
“Good idea,” Crocker said. “But who do we know who can pull that off?”
“You mean pass as a local?”
“Exactly.”
He was waiting for Daw to volunteer. Cal spoke first.
“I can, boss.”
Cal did look Asian, and could probably pass for Thai.
“You can?” Crocker asked.
“I speak some Thai,” Cal added.
“Since when?”
“Since I lived with this Thai chick when I was stationed in Coronado with SEAL Team One.”
This was news to Crocker and all the guys in Black Cell. Nobody had ever heard Cal refer to a girlfriend before—Thai or otherwise.
“You lived with a chick?” Ritchie asked. “No shit.”
“Sarai Wattana.”
“Pretty?”
“Beautiful.”
Crocker was determined to shift everyone’s attention back to the mission. Directing his question to Cal, who was leaning against the wall, he asked, “You sure you have no problem claiming to be a local official?”
“Not at all.”
“And you speak enough Thai to pull it off?”
“I do. Yes.”
Daw drew a detailed map of the farm based on surveillance photos. Then Crocker spelled out a modified version of the patrol leader’s order, or PLO. First he covered points of engagement and firing positions. “Before Cal approaches the door, I want Akil and Davis positioned behind trees or bushes on the right side of the house. Akil, you’ll try to establish line of sight through the right window.”
“Got it.”
“Ritchie and Mancini will be stationed out front. We’ll try to get at least some of them to surrender. If that doesn’t work, I’ll give the order and we’ll fire from the right-front quadrant, then shift to cut down or capture anyone fleeing the rear of the house.”
Several of the men, who were seated on the desk and chairs, and leaning against the walls, nodded.
“Any targets we capture, we tie-tie or tape them, cover their mouths, and move on. Speed will be our friend.” Turning to Anderson, Crocker said, “Cal is going to need a mike on him. I want to be able to communicate with each team front and back via radio.”
“Handheld okay?” Anderson asked.
“Handheld is fine. We’ll use the standard hand signals.”
The men nodded.
“What about curious neighbors or other people arriving at the house while we’re there?” Mancini asked.
“Neighbors we try to scare away. Point a weapon at them and use hand signals to tell them to keep their mouths shut. Same with dogs. Throw a rock at them, anything. Incessant, angry barking will have to be handled with a silenced round.”
Several of the men were dog lovers, but they didn’t protest.
Crocker looked at Davis and said, “The element of surprise is paramount. Anyone arriving at the house while we’re at the farm will have to be subdued, or if they’re armed or you suspect they’re armed, taken out. Anything else?”
“Booby traps,” Davis offered.
“Booby traps are a real danger. Clear all windows and doors before entering. Don’t touch anything in the house or garage that you don’t have to. Deal with the occupants first. We will be looking for at least four foreign nationals, Middle Eastern–looking men. After we’ve neutralized them, we’ll do a quick sweep of the house and garage. Then we’re out of there. Understood?”
“Yeah.”
They decided that Cal would knock on the front door posing as a businessman from Bangkok who was lost and looking for a nearby property that was for sale. They dressed him in black pants and a long-sleeved blue oxford cloth shirt, and Anderson provided him with fake business cards and an actual real estate listing near the farm with an address and photo.
According to Plan A, Cal would lure the terrorists out to the front porch. On a signal from Crocker, the element in front would engage the enemy and try to arrest them. The element on the right side of the house would detain anyone escaping through the back. If for some reason Cal was asked or forced to enter the house, Plan B would go into effect on Crocker’s order, which meant the men in front would rush through the forward door, while the ones on the side of the house covered the windows and back.
Gear and weapons secured, both plans talked through and rehearsed, the members of Black Cell set out from Bangkok at 0545 the next morning dressed in civilian clothes with their Dragon Skin body armor underneath. Crocker noted that the sky was low loom, which meant a dark, moonless night.