Sara looked around the packed Command Room. Now Mark and J.D. were in the back trying to figure something out on their laptops. Most of the analysts in the room were shifting their eyes between the screen in front and Anderson, as if they were watching tennis. The screen ahead showed the view through Tom’s helmet camera. Anderson was standing in the middle of the room with his arms crossed. Sara turned around. Mr. Park was sitting in the last row of desks. She studied his face. For some reason it looked calm but serious as he stared into the screen ahead. He had been quiet the whole time.
The screen showed that Tom was moving further inland. They all had seen why. When he looked back, there was a flashlight in the distance, moving around. A KPA fireteam was behind him.
Anderson looked like he was holding a heavy weight.
“John, what do you think?” Sara asked.
He looked back, “Tom has a point. Going back a kilometer through heavy patrols is probably as dangerous as going forward. From this satellite imagery though, it looks like there is a large group of KPA guarding the entrance to that base. I don’t know how he’s going to get in. But then again, they don’t know for sure that he is trying to get to that base. The message only said he was being inserted into this area.”
Sara felt stronger now. “That area has pretty good cover. With his SERE training he should be able to keep avoiding them. Maybe once he gets closer we’ll be able to think of a way for him to get in.”
Sara remembered how much fun it was to hear Tom’s SERE stories. SERE stood for “Survive Evade Resist Escape”. It was a military course all Navy SEALs were required to take. It taught techniques for staying hidden when escaping from an enemy’s prison. It could be used to escape from a search party. Sara found it fascinating because after learning about some of the techniques from Tom, she could spot mistakes in every film that showed people trying to stay hidden. Looking at the screen she could even see what Tom was trying to do. She noticed earlier that he was kneeling next to a bush. One of the lessons from SERE was to avoid disturbing vegetation that was above knee-height. Typically when people tried to stay hidden, at least in films, they dove right into a bush. That provided a good hiding spot, but when one left, that bush would look visibly different from the vegetation surrounding it. A search party could use that as a clue.
While watching the screen, she saw Tom use another SERE technique. He was moving straight ahead, directly away from the KPA fireteam behind him. But he suddenly cut right and started moving towards what was his 2 o’clock. One of the other SERE lessons Tom had told her was that one is supposed to run in a zig zag pattern. If a search party was looking for someone and found a clue, they were likely to continue walking forward in a straight line looking for the next clue he left. If one zig zags, the search party will be thrown off.
Suddenly the door to the Command Room opened. One of the analysts walked in and walked up to Anderson.
“John, the Director just called. He said The President has rejected a military exfiltration. He does not want to start a war. The George Washington had its Marine platoons and helos stand down.”
Anderson at first did not say anything. He was nodding. Finally he spoke.
“Tom is on his own.”
For some reason, Sara felt less tense now that the screen was showing what Tom was looking at. Hearing his voice over the speakers was calming too. It felt like being there with him, she thought.
We can help him do this.
“He thinks he can get there. He knows how to deal with situations like this,” she said.
Anderson looked into space for some time. He looked back at Mr. Park, who nodded to him confidently.
Anderson then spoke slowly, looking at the entire room. “I will give him the green light to keep going. He’s made it this far. Might as well see what’s in that underground base.”
He pushed a button on the computer in front of him, activating his headset.
“Yankee Actual. Green light on Devil’s Fork. You may proceed. Over.”
After a pause, Tom’s voice came in on the Command Room speakers, slightly above a whisper.
“Wilco. Continuing to Waypoint 1. Over.”
Sara sometimes had to stop and think what the radiospeak meant. She scrolled through the terms in her head. “Wilco” meant “will comply”. She looked on her desk map for Waypoint 1. The NIS analysts had briefed Tom on the best route to take. Waypoint 1 was the side of a dirt path or road that went towards a ridge. Tom was not going to walk on it. But he was going to get to it and follow it from the side.
“OK” she thought, “we had the operation turn on us, but we will still try to get it done.” Something about that felt good.
“John,” she said, “tell Tom that Waypoint 1 is about one klick ahead and from what I can tell if he keeps moving due west he should be able to see the lights from the vehicles patrolling the road within ten or fifteen minutes.”
Anderson nodded and relayed the message. Sara took a deep breath. She felt the tension escape as she began to do her job.