The news came as an enormous relief. But they weren’t in the clear yet.

  “Keep the president in the container,” Baxter ordered. “Tell him to lie on the floor, and defend the entrance.”

  “Pirate-Six, this is Puma-Two,” Dupont said. “Three motorboats loaded with armed men are headed your way. We’re moving to intercept. Over.”

  “Roger that,” Baxter replied. “You know what to do. Over.”

  ***

  Dupont did know what to do. And had two jet skis to work with. After losing his comrades, Avery had managed to sink an enemy airboat and re-board his jet ski.

  Now, after transferring Davin to Avery’s machine, Dupont had four men and two watercraft. “We’ll run circles around them,” Dupont predicted. “Prep the M-79s … And remember to lead your targets. Over.”

  The jet skis attacked from two directions and were met by a ragged volley of fire from aging AK-47s. That suggested that the men who constituted the Boko Haram relief party were parttime fighters, and should be out fishing.

  But skilled or not, the Bokos could get lucky. So, it made sense to zigzag in. And that’s what they were doing when a fisherman hoisted an RPG onto his right shoulder, took aim, and fired. There was no need to lead the target because the jet ski was coming straight at him. The grenade struck Dupont and exploded.

  The officer was vaporized, and his passengers were tossed into the air, before splashing into the water, along with pieces of fiery debris. Davin was swearing nonstop as he returned fire with his M-79 launcher. The first grenade missed.

  The second bomblet landed in the middle of a boat and produced a bright flash. Buckshot tore the passengers apart and holed the boat.

  The pirogue was filling with water as Davin switched his attention to boat two. He was in the zone by then, and scored a direct hit on the outboard motor. Both it, and the man sitting next to it, vanished.

  A pink blood mist hung over the pirogue for a moment, then the bow rose, and the stern slid under. Survivors swam for their lives as the third boat turned and ran.

  “Oh, no you don’t!” Davin exclaimed. “C’est pour le lieutenant!” (This is for the lieutenant!) The 40x46mm grenade was dead on. The explosion broke the wooden boat in half.

  Avery waited for the wave of exhilaration to wash over him. It never arrived.

  ***

  The call was from Riley who, along with his team, were still battling Adebayo and his bodyguards. “Aircraft inbound from the south! Over.”

  What the hell? Baxter jumped onto a wooden box to get a better view. And, sure enough, a small helicopter was buzzing his way. His first thought was that the Nigerian authorities wanted to stop the rescue or take credit for it.

  Then, as the two-seat chopper started to descend, Baxter realized the truth. Adebayo was going to climb aboard, haul ass, and live to fight another day! And that would result in more horror for the Nigerian people.

  Rotors clattered loudly as the helo swept in over the raft, and prepared to land. “Shoot the helicopter down!” Baxter ordered. “Don’t let Adebayo escape!”

  Someone fired an M-79. One grenade was enough. The explosion destroyed two rotors. The aircraft fell sideways onto the raft and burst into flames.

  Fire blossomed around the wreckage, found bone-dry wood, and quickly spread. Black smoke poured into the sky, a loud boom was heard as the Boko Haram’s armory exploded, and the raft began to break up into islands of fire.

  “Put the president on a jet ski!” Baxter ordered. “And get him the hell out of here!”

  Sailors hustled the politician to a Kawasaki, put him in the center seat, and took off. Baxter and a sailor named Torrez remained behind.

  “Let’s saddle up,” Baxter said. “And haul ass.”

  They pushed the jet ski down the ramp and into the water. Once Torrez was seated Baxter started the engine, opened the throttle, and pulled away.

  That was when someone started to shoot at them. Baxter looked back to see a single figure standing on the ramp, firing an assault rifle. Adebayo? Maybe.

  For one brief moment Baxter considered going back and killing the bastard. But that would be stupid and he knew it. So, Baxter opened the throttle all the way and left the lone fighter behind.

  Then, as Baxter turned to take one last look over his shoulder, he saw a wall of flames roll over the stick figure.

  The jet ski bounced occasionally as it cut diagonally through the rolling waves. “We have company!” Torrez yelled, and pointed to starboard.

  Baxter looked. And there, much to his surprise, was a speeding drone! It was paralleling their course and appeared to be harmless. Baxter didn’t like it though, and wondered who was watching.

  The answer, as it turned out, was Sifou Kabir and her TV crew. All of whom were on the beach when the ski arrived.

  Sifou waded into the water to hug Baxter and kiss his cheek. “A thousand thank-yous to you and your team! We watched the whole thing via the drone. The entire nation will witness what you did. Please come ashore. My father wants to meet you.”

  That was just the beginning. Baxter and the surviving team members were interviewed, then re-interviewed, by both the media and military intelligence.

  And, since good news was always welcome, video of the raid played day and night on all of the major networks in the United States.

  As did footage of the flag-embossed containers that arrived at Andrews and Charles de Gaulle airport in Paris. Sadly, due to the fire that ravaged the raft, two of the coffins were empty.

  For his part Baxter wanted to duck and take cover. And the best way to do that was to rejoin the Deuce, go on patrol, and do his job.

  That strategy worked for two days. Then he returned to Port Harcourt to find a summons waiting. “Please join Admiral Dixon and myself for dinner at the Asia Town restaurant at 1800 tonight. Henri.”

  Baxter winced. Nothing good could come of the invitation, but he had no way to get out of it. So he took a nap prior to donning his summer white uniform.

  The duty driver nodded after hearing the destination. “A lot of people say it’s the best restaurant in Port Harcourt. It’s also the most expensive. I hope you like Chinese food.”

  Baxter did like Chinese food. And hadn’t had any in a long time. So, he could look forward to that at least.

  After being dropped outside Baxter entered the restaurant to find that it had a modern décor with Asian inspired art on the walls. Martel and Dixon were easy to spot, thanks to their uniforms, and Baxter made his way over. Both officers rose to shake hands.

  The ensuring conversation centered on the war effort in Europe and Asia, military politics, and which Chinese dishes they liked the best.

  Finally, after the food arrived, Dixon got down to business. “So, Commander, let’s discuss your next assignment.”

  “I like the one I have,” Baxter replied. “And I’m not due for rotation.”

  Dixon smiled. “Henri and I are both aware of your preferences. But the war is bigger than all of us. And the people at the Pentagon want you to come home.”

  Baxter frowned. “And do what?”

  Dixon sighed. “Captain Fenton warned me about your contentious attitude. Okay, here’s the package: You return to the states, you teach Riverine strategy at the Naval War College, and you put on 06. And, if the press wants to use you as a talking head, you comply.”

  Baxter took a sip of his wine. They were offering him the rank of captain in spite of the letter in his personnel folder. And a chance to lecture big navy bigots about the value of the small navy. It was tempting.

  “Or,” Martel said. “You can run away and join the French Foreign Legion. I can promise you a commission as a sous-lieutenant (second lieutenant).”

  Baxter laughed. “You’re very kind, Colonel. But I’m a sailor. We like to ride.”

  There was a long silence as Dixon stared at him. “Well?”

  “I’m in,” Baxter replied. “Thank you.”

  Once dinner was over Martel and Dixon departed together leaving Baxter to summon the squadron’s duty driver. The wait gave Baxter an opportunity to enjoy the cool evening air and consider his new assignment. Teach classes? Did a curriculum exist? There was a lot of work to do.

  But then what? What did he want to do for fun? And who did he want to see?

  Kirby came to mind. The NCIS officer was back in the states. Maybe he should look her up. The woman was intense, idealistic, and a bit crazy. Baxter smiled. We could be a good match.

  AUTHOR’S NOTE

  As of this writing Iran has a fleet of mini-subs similar to the so-called “Midget Submarines” used by the Japanese in WWII. The HA.19 was part of the attack on Pearl Harbor, and was captured on December 7,1941.

  Baxter’s Mark VI patrol boats exist, and are continually cancelled and reactivated according to current politics and budgets. I think they should become an ongoing part of the navy’s inventory for the reasons made clear in the book. Like the A-10 Warthogs, the Mark VIs have unique capabilities that the United States might need some day. I’m looking at you China.

  Masirah Island is a real place, but because it belongs to Oman, it isn’t clear whether the Allies would be allowed to use it in a WWIII scenario.

  It’s impossible to say how a battle for the Strait of Hormuz would actually play out. But since the Iranians already use mines in the area, there’s little doubt that they would lay even more, and the process of clearing them would be difficult.

  The Chinese presence in Gwadar, Pakistan is all too real. And their “One Belt, One Road/Maritime Silk Road projects” are intended to dominate, if not take control of countries in South East Asia, the Middle East and Africa.

  Very little public facing information is available about the activities of the Chinese Ministry of State Security (MSS), and even less is known regarding the Intelligence Bureau of the Joint Staff Department of the Central Military Commission. So, I felt free to fill in the blanks.

  The town of Darra Adam Khel is still home to gun makers, but has come under increasing pressure from the Pakistani government in recent years, causing some of the arms dealers to close and pursue other occupations.

  The Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) is a thing. It is based in Afghanistan, and dedicated to liberating the Baloch people, most of whom reside in Balochistan--the largest province of Pakistan.

  Reaper drones can carry AIM-9X Sidewinder air-to-air missiles these days. And that, it seems to me, is a good thing.

  The Karun River doesn’t get the kind of press that the Mississippi, the Rhine, and the Nile do. But it’s the only navigable river in Iran, its five-hundred and ninety miles long, and it empties into the Persian Gulf. So, it could be strategically important.

  The Admiral Yong Chao character appears in the Winds of War novel, RED TIDE.

  To the best of my knowledge there are no SEAL teams like 18-ME. But I think such teams could come in handy in a WWIII scenario, where all sorts of missions would pop up in the Middle East.

  As described in the book, Yemen is a complicated place, which would become even more so during a global conflict. That, rather than actual conditions on the ground, is what I try to depict in the book. And, given its strategic location and the size of its harbor, Aden would be a natural place to supply and repair Allied naval vessels.

  The east coast of Africa has been, and still is a place where drug smugglers, arms merchants, pirates and yes, human traffickers, ply their various trades.

  And, in my opinion, those activities would increase if WWIII was underway. HUMINT, signals intelligence, satellite surveillance and small craft would be used to combat criminal activity.

  Al Luhayyah is a real place, and while there isn’t much information available online, you can view it via Google Earth. If you decide to take a peek, you’ll see the outer bay, the inner bay, a complex network of channels and the desert to the east.

  The “Flying Ginsu” used to assassinate Doctor Yar is a real weapons system, and a number of articles are available online. Not a pleasant way to go.

  Could LCACs (Landing Craft Air Cushion) be used for interdiction missions? I don’t know. But it seemed like a cool idea, so I put it in. My apologies to any craftmasters I may have offended.

  Cyclones do occur in the area where Baxter is operating, and every sea story should have a storm!

  As regards NCIS agent Kirby, just so you know that I know, most NCIS agents are civilians. And would never do the kind of things that Kirby does. But some agents are active-duty military. In any case, I served myself a large portion of literary license, and ate the whole thing.

  Strykers make a brief appearance in the book. And if you’re like me, and you think they’re cool, you might enjoy my America Rising trilogy. It’s available on amazon.

  The island of Socotra is real, as is Aomak Beach, but the bay doesn’t exist.

  However, when you examine it via Google Earth, you’ll see what could become a bay were someone to do some dredging. The beach is, by all accounts, both isolated and breathtakingly beautiful.

  As I write this Russia has invaded Ukraine, and Javelin missiles are critical to the Ukrainian war effort. I wrote the Javelin sequence prior to invasion, and while not designed for naval warfare, I think they could be useful in short range situations.

  When I came across the Switchblade drone/missile during my research, I thought, “Wow, these weapons are amazing! Why haven’t I heard of them before?”

  Well, it turns out that they’ve been around for quite a while, and I missed them somehow. And, as with Javelins, Switchblades were made famous in Ukraine.

  As for Nigeria, it is according to my research, a very dangerous place to visit. So, cancel those plane tickets! The Black Axe is real, as is Boko Haram, as are the pirates who live in the delta.

  But in spite of its flaws, Nigeria is a fascinating country, and I enjoyed writing about it. Here’s hoping that things improve there.

  Thank you for reading RED RIVER.

  ABOUT THE WINDS OF

  WAR SERIES

  In RED DOG, the eighth volume of the Winds of War series, WIII continues to rage, as Chinook Helicopter pilot Marie Soto fly’s dangerous missions over war-torn Syria, army Master Sergeant Felix Bone fights enemies both domestic and foreign, and agents for Russia, Turkey and ISIS vie to find Russian President Toplin’s ex-mistress Hala Omar.

  Omar knows a great deal about the dictator, information Toplin is determined to protect, and others hope to profit from.

  Then, when a captured map reveals the existence of hidden gold, the search is on to find the stash—even as the Allies, the Axis, and various militias battle to control Syria.

  RED DOG will be released on amazon.com in both electronic and print versions in early 2023. Visit williamcdietz.com for updates.

  ABOUT WILLIAM C. DIETZ

  For more about William C. Dietz and his fiction, please visit williamcdietz.com.

  You can find Bill on Facebook at: www.facebook.com/williamcdietz.

 

 

  William C. Dietz, Red River

 

 

  Thank you for reading books on GrayCity.Net
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