TWENTY TWO.
Coleman watched in
disbelief as five Caucasians, two adults and three children, passed
before him like a dream in the mist, their blond and red hair a
stark contrast to the black hair of the armed men who walked with
them. They were tied to each other, a sagging link of rope in
between each frail, malnourished individual.
The mom in front, two
kids in the middle and the dad slowly bringing up the rear carrying
the youngest of the brood. They looked ragged and underfed, but
alive. The column moved across the bridge and down the trail. A
rear guard loitered for a few seconds, then wandered off lazily
after the group. And just like that, they were gone.
Coleman, who had just
moments before cursed their bad luck, was now rejoicing in their
fortune. In the midst of a jungle, in the middle of the
Philippines, they had just stumbled across a family of Americans
for whom thousands of men and women had been searching. Getting
into position to support Rapp's mission was his priority, but this
was an opportunity that he might not be able to resist.
Wicker leaned over
and whispered in his ear.
"I counted twenty-one
plus the family."
Coleman nodded and
then pointed for Wicker to move forward and check things out. With
his hand cupped over his lip mike he said, "Kevin and Dan, get up
here."
A minute later they
were gathered near the bridge. The sky was getting lighter by the
minute. While Coleman briefed Hackett and Stroble on what they'd
seen' Wicker checked out the path to make sure no one was lagging
behind or doubling back. When the point man returned Coleman
quickly laid out their options. All four men looked to the top of
the mountain where they were supposed to be by the time the sun was
up, and then looked down the narrow muddy path where the family of
kidnapped Americans and their captors had gone.
More than probably
any other military outfit, SEALs were taught to think independently
in the field, but none of them were prepared for this. They had a
mission to fulfill and Coleman wasn't about to leave Rapp to carry
on alone, but he sure as hell didn't like the idea of losing the
Andersons. His loyalty and respect for Rapp and the SEALs who had
been abandoned on the beach was unquestionable, but so was the
innocence of the American family held against their will for months
on end. Strict protocol dictated that he get his team to the top of
the hill as quickly as possible and radio in the sighting of the
Andersons.
Common sense told him
that this accidental sighting of the missing family was too good an
opportunity to pass up.
Satellites and
reconnaissance flights were incapable of penetrating the dense
cover of the jungle, making any hope of searching for the Andersons
by air hopeless. If Coleman radioed in their position it would take
a day or more to insert a team. By that time the trail was sure to
go cold.
Looking again to the
top of the hill and then down the trail, Coleman continued to
struggle with what to do. The answer suddenly came to him in the
form of a question. What would Rapp do? The answer was obvious. The
solution was less than perfect, but under the current situation,
the best choice. The former SEAL Team commander gestured for his
men to take a knee and then very specifically he laid out a course
of action.