aircraft from England, code-named WILEY COYOTE, and its fighter escorts from Norway, would begin their rendezvous orbit near the southern tip of the island of Gotland, ninety-six miles west of Liepaja, ready to pick up RAGANU and take him to safety. The Valley Mistress itself would dispatch several small, innocent-looking power boats-armed to the teeth by COBRA VENOM Marines-into the Baltic to act as a safety recovery team in case the CV-22 was damaged during its egress.

Lobato and his crew were dropped only eight miles offshore, but it took them nearly an hour to reach the sandy shore north of Liepaja-they would stop the heavily muffled outboard engine every few minutes, and Lobato and his men would carefully scan the horizon, using PVS-5 night-vision goggles, checking for any sign of pursuit.

The assault team relied on their training and experience to filter out the noise of waves and water-and suppress their own fear and discomfort- and be ready to take action against any possible threat. Despite carefully donning their insulated "Mustang suits," leaks were common, and the wet patches against their fire-resistant flight suits soon felt raw and numb from the wind-enhanced cold. Thick wool face masks and caps did little to protect against the wind-driven spray-they would hunker down as far as possible under the CRRC's gunwales, exposing as little of their bodies as possible to the elements while constantly scanning all around them for signs of danger. The radio operator, using a small 5.5-pound Motorola MX-300 tactical radio, had to struggle to listen to the radio as well as scan his area of responsibility. Every sweep of a nearby lighthouse's high-intensity white beam made the Marines tense up as they neared the shore, and Lobato was careful to keep that lighthouse as far away as possible.

Finally they heard the crashing of waves on the beach, and the assault team was ready to land. Every eye was trained on the beach, searching for anything that might be a threat-patrols were common, but civilians out for a late-night stroll were encountered even more frequently, and posed just as great a risk. Lobato made the decision to move the beaching spot an extra mile south because of an object that resembled a truck or large car parked near the coast highway, but otherwise their beachhead was clear.

With a soft hiss of sand, the CRRC slid onto Soviet soil. Immediately the Marines were out of the boat, ignoring the shock of cold water in their boots as they dragged the rubber raft out of the surf, across the fifty-yard-wide beach, and up onto a sandy ridge a few dozen yards from the coast highway. The CRRC was quickly buried in the sand and covered with brush, the area was policed and tracks erased, and the assault team spread out to search for threats along the highway.

Their task was only beginning-they had five miles to trek before reaching the extraction point.

USS VALLEY MISTRESS

29 NOVEMBER, 0100 (28 NOVEMBER, 1900 ET)