ground. Sanchez looked at Gunny and Machado and rolled himself onto the round.
Nothing happened.
Gunny Scotton laughed and said, "Sanchez, get up, dumb ass, you look like a monkey trying to fuck a football. It's a fucking dud."
"Fuck!" Sanchez grimaced as he tried to stand up, "I think my ribs are broken."
Scotton came over, probed a bit until Sanchez started swearing in Spanish. "Listen, son, you just have to be tough. We cannot leave anything behind, so suck it up and let's go.”
Grabbing Sanchez by the arm, Gunny said, “One other thing, I speak Spanish as well. If you ever say something about my mother again, I will shove a working RPG up your ass, comprende' Pancho?"
Machado hoisted the communication equipment and started down the trail. Sanchez in the middle, Gunny covering the trail as best he could. They went about three kilometers; Machado motioned for them to stop.
He saw movement ahead.
Sanchez set up a position to cover them. Scotton moved off to the flank, while Machado kept on point to identify the target.
He did not have to wait long.
The group of Taliban moved quickly. Machado guessed they knew their lead team was compromised and decided to intercept the Marines. The Taliban knew these hills and mountains so well they seemed to be able to materialize out of nowhere.
Sanchez spotted the sniper, leaving him no choice. He squeezed off a burst of fire, cutting the man in half, eliminating the threat but alerting the larger group to their presence. Gunny threw five fragmentation grenades into the middle of the group and beat feet back to Sanchez and Machado.
"Sanchez," Gunny pointing to the likely route the Taliban would use to get to them, "keep their fucking heads down so Machado and I can get around them. We'll set up crossing fire positions and take 'em out."
Sanchez smiled and set his weapon on full-auto, readied extra ammo, and waited for them. "Aye, Aye, Sarge, I got it."
As Gunny and Machado made their way to flank the Taliban, a burst of fire told them Sanchez was at work.
Then it all went to shit.
They heard Sanchez screaming. Gunny pointed Machado toward the top of the rise and ordered him to continue while he went back for Sanchez. As he made his way down the reverse slope, a round caught him just above the knee, broke his leg, and sent him rolling down the hill, almost landing on top of Sanchez.
Machado made his way to the top and looked down onto a group of ten Taliban, the taller one, standing in the middle, was clearly the leader. They were all listening as he spoke; gesticulating toward Sanchez's, and now Gunny Scotton's, position.
Machado took him out with one round to the head, and then managed to kill or wound seven more before bailing from the position. Now that they knew he was there, he would move somewhere else.
The Hajis would assume he'd go help the wounded Marines.
He was going to do that, but not directly.
If Gunny Scotton and Sanchez were alive and conscious, they were still dangerous Reconnaissance Marines, not taken easily. If they were dead, Machado could not fix that, but he would take out as many of the bastards as he could.
Machado moved away from his position to the rear of the Taliban. He came upon two wounded fighters and insured they would not recover. Grabbing an AK-47, he moved further off and began firing the Taliban weapon. The AK-47 has a very distinctive sound, readily identifiable by anyone familiar with the weapon.
Machado was going to use the Taliban's lack of field immediate communication to draw the others to the sound of the weapon, which he hoped they would assume was their own.
Moving a hundred meters away from his original firing position, he watched as three more Taliban cautiously made their way to the ravine bottom. He pulled the pin on a frag, threw it at the Taliban, and then moved perpendicular to his position. The grenade went off, killed one of the fighters, wounded the other two, one severely.
The lightly wounded fighter moved
Nothing happened.
Gunny Scotton laughed and said, "Sanchez, get up, dumb ass, you look like a monkey trying to fuck a football. It's a fucking dud."
"Fuck!" Sanchez grimaced as he tried to stand up, "I think my ribs are broken."
Scotton came over, probed a bit until Sanchez started swearing in Spanish. "Listen, son, you just have to be tough. We cannot leave anything behind, so suck it up and let's go.”
Grabbing Sanchez by the arm, Gunny said, “One other thing, I speak Spanish as well. If you ever say something about my mother again, I will shove a working RPG up your ass, comprende' Pancho?"
Machado hoisted the communication equipment and started down the trail. Sanchez in the middle, Gunny covering the trail as best he could. They went about three kilometers; Machado motioned for them to stop.
He saw movement ahead.
Sanchez set up a position to cover them. Scotton moved off to the flank, while Machado kept on point to identify the target.
He did not have to wait long.
The group of Taliban moved quickly. Machado guessed they knew their lead team was compromised and decided to intercept the Marines. The Taliban knew these hills and mountains so well they seemed to be able to materialize out of nowhere.
Sanchez spotted the sniper, leaving him no choice. He squeezed off a burst of fire, cutting the man in half, eliminating the threat but alerting the larger group to their presence. Gunny threw five fragmentation grenades into the middle of the group and beat feet back to Sanchez and Machado.
"Sanchez," Gunny pointing to the likely route the Taliban would use to get to them, "keep their fucking heads down so Machado and I can get around them. We'll set up crossing fire positions and take 'em out."
Sanchez smiled and set his weapon on full-auto, readied extra ammo, and waited for them. "Aye, Aye, Sarge, I got it."
As Gunny and Machado made their way to flank the Taliban, a burst of fire told them Sanchez was at work.
Then it all went to shit.
They heard Sanchez screaming. Gunny pointed Machado toward the top of the rise and ordered him to continue while he went back for Sanchez. As he made his way down the reverse slope, a round caught him just above the knee, broke his leg, and sent him rolling down the hill, almost landing on top of Sanchez.
Machado made his way to the top and looked down onto a group of ten Taliban, the taller one, standing in the middle, was clearly the leader. They were all listening as he spoke; gesticulating toward Sanchez's, and now Gunny Scotton's, position.
Machado took him out with one round to the head, and then managed to kill or wound seven more before bailing from the position. Now that they knew he was there, he would move somewhere else.
The Hajis would assume he'd go help the wounded Marines.
He was going to do that, but not directly.
If Gunny Scotton and Sanchez were alive and conscious, they were still dangerous Reconnaissance Marines, not taken easily. If they were dead, Machado could not fix that, but he would take out as many of the bastards as he could.
Machado moved away from his position to the rear of the Taliban. He came upon two wounded fighters and insured they would not recover. Grabbing an AK-47, he moved further off and began firing the Taliban weapon. The AK-47 has a very distinctive sound, readily identifiable by anyone familiar with the weapon.
Machado was going to use the Taliban's lack of field immediate communication to draw the others to the sound of the weapon, which he hoped they would assume was their own.
Moving a hundred meters away from his original firing position, he watched as three more Taliban cautiously made their way to the ravine bottom. He pulled the pin on a frag, threw it at the Taliban, and then moved perpendicular to his position. The grenade went off, killed one of the fighters, wounded the other two, one severely.
The lightly wounded fighter moved
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