The final decision had been to deploy the team from an American Los Angeles-class attack sub on station in the Indian Ocean, the U.S.S. Santa Fe. Helicopter support would come from a Marine Expeditionary Force now transiting the Red Sea; the U.S.S. Nassau, the MEF's amphibious assault ship, would provide a mobile landing field for the SEAL helos, but it would take a couple of days yet to get them into position off the Horn of Africa. The Indian Ocean was a very large and empty battlefield.

"What about the Greenpeacers, Lieutenant?" Magic wondered. "They see something going' down, they might decide to get close. And get in the way."

During the past few days, the Beluga had closed to within thirty-five miles of the Japanese ship, though so far she'd not dared to come any nearer. That civilian ship could cause endless mischief, however, deliberately or accidentally, especially if they spotted a military operation unfolding and decided that the risk to the freighter's cargo outweighed all other considerations.

"Good point. Captain Friedman, you've got our perimeter security." The helicopter squadron, operating off of Nassau's flight deck, would be available to provide airborne firepower and, of course, to bring in NEST personnel once the two ships had been secured. "Think you could block that Greenpeace ship if she started to get too close?"

Friedman grinned. "You just tell me where the line is, Lieutenant, and we'll dare them to step across. My boys won't have any trouble stopping a damned bed-sheet sailer."

"Question answered, Brown?"

"Affirmative, Sir."

"Good. Now, let's take a look at our deployment once we get aboard."

Lieutenant Murdock, MacKenzie decided, was doing a pretty fair job leading the platoon through the briefing. Every one of them was with him, following along, making decent suggestions or asking intelligent questions, and no one was dragging his heels. Murdock could still stand to loosen up a bit, though. MacKenzie had the impression that the new lieutenant was pushing, pushing, trying to prove something to himself, or possibly to someone else, and while he was running himself into the ground, there was a very real danger that he would do the same to the platoon. MacKenzie did not want to see that happen.

"Okay," Murdock said. "Once we're aboard the freighter, we have two main worries. We have to take down the terrorists, and we have to make certain the plutonium is secure. That means checking the stuff for booby traps and bombs, tampering by idiots, and outright theft. The NEST people will be concerned with stolen plutonium and subtle leakage. But we'll have to check for quick and dirty bombs. Needless to say, we'll want our best people on this. One slip and..."

"Shine on, shine on, Evening Moon," Doc Ellsworth sang, completing the thought. Most of the SEALs laughed at his gallows humor. "Evening Moon" was a literal translation of the poetic term "Yuduki," and if even one of those plutonium canisters in her hold was ruptured, she most certainly would, in a manner of speaking at least, "shine."

"That's right," Kosciuszko added. "We won't need a flare to bring in our follow-up, 'cause we're going to be goddamn glowing in the dark."

2335 hours (Zulu -1)

U.S. Air Force C-130

En route to the Indian Ocean

Lieutenant Murdock leaned back in the C-130 Hercules's red-lit cargo deck, feeling the steady beat of the transport's four great engines, feeling his own excitement building, the pressure rising until he could scarcely contain it. Combat! He was going into combat again. The heady adrenaline rush was like a jolt from some powerful drug, sharpening the senses until every sound, every smell, the slightest detail of the men around him and their equipment stood out in his awareness with crystalline, supernatural clarity.

They were rigged out for an airdrop at sea, wearing wet suits and SCUBA tanks. Their personal combat gear was stowed in tethered, waterproof rucksacks resting on the deck between their feet, while their CRRCs and heavier stuff were in a separate paradrop package lying on a pallet near the C-130's cargo bay door.

Murdock studied each man carefully, without being too obvious in his appraisals. Thirteen men, thirteen different ways of dealing with the stress and the emotions that everyone felt as they approached combat. Bill Higgins, the Professor, had his legs stretched out and his ankles crossed atop his rucksack. He was holding a pencil flash in one hand and a paperback translation of Sun Tse's The Art of War in the other. Doc Ellsworth was also reading; he'd laid a wide strip of masking tape across the masthead of a recent issue of Penthouse, then used a magic marker to print in the title Gray's Anatomy. Bearcat Holt was sound asleep, his head back against the bulkhead and his mouth hanging wide open. Rattler and Boomer were talking quietly together in Spanish. Frazier was working a fist-sized lump of plastic explosives in his hands, kneading it like clay. Roselli and Nicholson both were stripping and cleaning their H&Ks. Magic Brown had a 9mm round in one hand and was turning it end over end between his fingers, almost as though it were a rosary or some kind of talisman. His eyes were fixed on something unseen beyond the Hercules's bulkhead. Jaybird was also staring into space, but with his arms crossed over his chest, an almost belligerent display. DeWitt, Kos, and Mac were all forward, talking together in tones drowned out by the C-130's engine noise.

They were good men, every one of them. He'd been pushing them all damned hard this week, and they'd responded well. If any men in the world could carry out this mission, these men could.

He just hoped that he was sharp enough to lead them. Usually, especially before combat, Murdock felt the supreme, egotistical, almost arrogant confidence of the athlete who knows he is ready to perform. This time, though, he felt... unsure of himself, despite the pre-combat excitement. It was an unfamiliar sensation. Was it his father's visit that had done this? Or was he simply nervous about jumping into action with thirteen men who were still near-strangers? He didn't know, and he didn't know how he could go about finding out... except, possibly, by surviving these next few hours.

"Lieutenant?"

He started. MacKenzie was standing over him, huge in his combat harness and rig. "Yeah, Mac?"

"Can I talk to you for a second?"

Rising, Murdock followed MacKenzie forward, to a place where they could talk without being overheard by the rest of the platoon.

"What's on your mind, Master Chief?"

MacKenzie's teeth gleamed briefly in the cargo hold's red lighting. "I just wanted to say, sir, that I think you've done a pretty fair job of pulling the guys together this last week. You've worked their tails off, and there's some of them that think you're a son of a bitch. But you're their son of a bitch, and they're pretty proud of that."

Murdock nodded. "Thanks, Mac. The hardest thing about this job, you know, is competing with Lieutenant Cotter. If the men don't follow me instead of him, this platoon doesn't have a chance in hell."

"Roger that, sir." He hesitated. "I, uh, just wanted to say one thing more."

"Spit it out, Master Chief. Off the record."

"These guys are not raw recruits, sir. Except for Jaybird, who hasn't pinned on his trident yet, they've paid their dues and they know their shit. Every man except Jaybird has been in combat."

"You're telling me to get off their backs and let them do their jobs."

MacKenzie's eyes widened slightly. "Well... yes, sir."

"Don't worry, Mac. I'd already reached the same conclusion. When we jump tonight, I'm not going out that door leading this platoon."

"No, sir?"

"Nope. I'm going out as part of the platoon. Part of the team."