to make sure this wasn’t related."
"We haven’t heard anything from Command in a couple of weeks."
I was starting to feel uneasy. It was a weird situation. We were basically having a stand-off with these guys. And for what? They didn’t even know about the distress call.
Gordon motioned with his head at the hut the Green Berets seemed to be guarding. "Who you got inside."
"You know what our objective is. We’re here to work with these people."
"That’s not what I asked," Gordon said calmly. "Who’s inside?"
The team leader paused, like he was weighing up his options. He then told one of his men to open the door. The man seemed to hesitate for a second before opening it. As he did, two other guys stood behind him, weapons at the ready.
"We’re not entirely sure who they are," the team leader answered. "But if I had to take a guess I’d say they were Al Qaeda. They came in yesterday, guns blazing."
We had a look inside the mud hut. I counted ten men. They were lying on their backs. Their arms were tied down by their side and their legs were tied together.
"Look, we’ve been delivering intel to Command for months now," the team leader said. "We’ve been all over this area raiding hide outs and supply routes. Trust us, these guys in there. They’re bad news."
I snuck another look passed the Special Forces soldiers. The prisoners were lying down, eyes closed. One of them seemed to be moaning in pain. They looked ill. They did not look like hardened guerrillas.
"Why do they look so sick?" Franco asked. "Have you been mistreating them?"
"Hell no. They came here on a suicide mission. They had planted IED’s around the outskirts of the village. Probably a couple of nights ago."
"IED’s?" Drake said, surprised.
"Improvised Explosive Devices."
"We know what they are," Gordon replied. "But why here? All they way up in the mountains. Doesn’t make sense."
"As far as we can tell, their plan was to come in here and cause as much damage as possible," he said as he pointed at the men in the hut. "I mean, look at them. They’re sick. They’ve probably got pneumonia. It’s been a hard winter. These guys are malnourished. They’re dying. They wanted to go out as martyrs. Tomorrow we’re gonna set out with one of the local guides. I’m guessing we’ll find their hideout. We were lucky to nip this in the bud."
What he said made sense. But I still felt uneasy. The Green Berets were famous for supplying misinformation.
Eventually we all calmed down. About twenty minutes later some reinforcements moved in on the village to make sure it was truly secure. Well maybe they weren’t reinforcements. They looked more like a forensic investigation unit or something.
We decided it wasn't worth the time and energy to hang around. Besides the Special Forces team had seniority and they were here in this area for the long haul. No point in arguing. Command had obviously screwed up with the lines of communication.
I had one last look at their prisoners before we left. They were older men. Sick and desperate. They were helpless.
Again, I couldn’t help but think about how they looked nothing like battle-hardened warriors.
Jan 15th – PAYBACK
Command called us in the next day. I assumed it was for another debrief.
I was wrong.
They were organizing a bombing mission and they wanted eyes on the ground for a battle damage assessment.
It was probably at the request of the Green Berets. I’m guessing they had searched the surrounding area with one of the local guides, like they said they would.
I’m guessing they had found something.
Gordon volunteered to lead the mission as usual. But Command said they only wanted a two man team. Basically, all they needed was a sniper and a scout.
Franco and I were chosen.
I had only been in the team for a short time but I had proven myself as the best marksmen. I was honored to be singled out for a mission like this.
Apparently, the Green Berets had discovered a hideout of
"We haven’t heard anything from Command in a couple of weeks."
I was starting to feel uneasy. It was a weird situation. We were basically having a stand-off with these guys. And for what? They didn’t even know about the distress call.
Gordon motioned with his head at the hut the Green Berets seemed to be guarding. "Who you got inside."
"You know what our objective is. We’re here to work with these people."
"That’s not what I asked," Gordon said calmly. "Who’s inside?"
The team leader paused, like he was weighing up his options. He then told one of his men to open the door. The man seemed to hesitate for a second before opening it. As he did, two other guys stood behind him, weapons at the ready.
"We’re not entirely sure who they are," the team leader answered. "But if I had to take a guess I’d say they were Al Qaeda. They came in yesterday, guns blazing."
We had a look inside the mud hut. I counted ten men. They were lying on their backs. Their arms were tied down by their side and their legs were tied together.
"Look, we’ve been delivering intel to Command for months now," the team leader said. "We’ve been all over this area raiding hide outs and supply routes. Trust us, these guys in there. They’re bad news."
I snuck another look passed the Special Forces soldiers. The prisoners were lying down, eyes closed. One of them seemed to be moaning in pain. They looked ill. They did not look like hardened guerrillas.
"Why do they look so sick?" Franco asked. "Have you been mistreating them?"
"Hell no. They came here on a suicide mission. They had planted IED’s around the outskirts of the village. Probably a couple of nights ago."
"IED’s?" Drake said, surprised.
"Improvised Explosive Devices."
"We know what they are," Gordon replied. "But why here? All they way up in the mountains. Doesn’t make sense."
"As far as we can tell, their plan was to come in here and cause as much damage as possible," he said as he pointed at the men in the hut. "I mean, look at them. They’re sick. They’ve probably got pneumonia. It’s been a hard winter. These guys are malnourished. They’re dying. They wanted to go out as martyrs. Tomorrow we’re gonna set out with one of the local guides. I’m guessing we’ll find their hideout. We were lucky to nip this in the bud."
What he said made sense. But I still felt uneasy. The Green Berets were famous for supplying misinformation.
Eventually we all calmed down. About twenty minutes later some reinforcements moved in on the village to make sure it was truly secure. Well maybe they weren’t reinforcements. They looked more like a forensic investigation unit or something.
We decided it wasn't worth the time and energy to hang around. Besides the Special Forces team had seniority and they were here in this area for the long haul. No point in arguing. Command had obviously screwed up with the lines of communication.
I had one last look at their prisoners before we left. They were older men. Sick and desperate. They were helpless.
Again, I couldn’t help but think about how they looked nothing like battle-hardened warriors.
Jan 15th – PAYBACK
Command called us in the next day. I assumed it was for another debrief.
I was wrong.
They were organizing a bombing mission and they wanted eyes on the ground for a battle damage assessment.
It was probably at the request of the Green Berets. I’m guessing they had searched the surrounding area with one of the local guides, like they said they would.
I’m guessing they had found something.
Gordon volunteered to lead the mission as usual. But Command said they only wanted a two man team. Basically, all they needed was a sniper and a scout.
Franco and I were chosen.
I had only been in the team for a short time but I had proven myself as the best marksmen. I was honored to be singled out for a mission like this.
Apparently, the Green Berets had discovered a hideout of
Similar Books
Epitaph Road
David Patneaude
A Banbury Tale
Maggie MacKeever
Bind, Torture, Kill
Roy Wenzl
The Perennial Killer: A Gardening Mystery
Ann Ripley
Tro (Elsker Saga Book 3)
S.T. Bende
Marrying the Enemy
Nicola Marsh
Nothing Personal
Rosalind James
The Ride of Her Life
Lorna Seilstad