Up From the Depths Read Free Page B

assumption that when the lead plane air-dropped the Polaris snowmobiles and fuel bladders that right behind them would be the assault element with the rest of the equipment. That part of the mission had already been blown. The lead planes had taken off hours earlier and not just minutes ahead of the personnel that would be directly involved in the operation.
    Now, they would have to pull the sleds all the way to the target unless they found their vehicles. That the lead planes had actually dropped their cargo at Drop Zone Fox was wishful thinking given the weather conditions. The SEALs were almost finished loading the last of their gear when O’Toole walked over.
    “How’d your team manage the landing?” O’Toole asked Willis.
    “Bumped and bruised but we’re good to go,” Willis replied. O’Toole nodded, remaining silent.
    “How about your team?” Willis asked.
    “We’re good. A couple of the Rangers got banged up, some broken bones. Loadmaster took the worst of it,” O’Toole said.
    “Wrong place at the wrong time,” Willis commented. “We’ve all been there.” The SEAL officer looked at his Army Special Forces counterpart. They had spent enough time together at Elmendorf for him to notice that something was bothering O’Toole.
    “What’s up with Ranger Rick?” Willis asked, jerking his head in the direction of the huddle of soldiers where Harris was gesticulating while holding a map.
    “Harris wants to head to an Inuit village, hunker down, wait out the storm then call for extraction,” O’Toole said.
    “That’s not going to work,” Willis said. “He sat in on the briefing, he knows the score. It’s all or nothing.”
    O’Toole nodded agreement.
    “I’ll square him away if my team sergeant doesn’t,” O’Toole said, nodded and walked back to where Sands and Harris were locked in conversation now joined by the flight crew.
    “Captain, we need to get our shit together, get out of this valley and move to the objective,” Sands was saying as O’Toole approached.
    “I don’t see it that way, Sergeant ,” Harris said, stressing Sands’ rank as he shook his head. “We have wounded men that need to be taken care of, we need to get them out of the path of this blizzard and call for medical evac.”
    “I agree with the captain here,” the Air Force major stated nodding his head.
    “Then it’s settled, we’ll break up the men into details and head for the village,” Harris stated.
    “Hold on there,” O’Toole said stepping into the small circle of soldiers and airmen. “We have a mission to complete and we need all available personnel to get it done.”
    “Captain, you do realize we crashed?” the Air Force senior officer asked sarcastically. “We are in no condition to complete anything.” he said. O’Toole turned to face the officer.
    “Hey, air scout, I’m grateful you got us down more or less in one piece. We’re on the ground and you’re in my house now,” he said. “Once we landed, this became my operation and you now fall under my command,” O’Toole said.
    “We’re not combat soldiers,” the pilot said.
    “You have my sympathies,” O’Toole said. “Until we get these sleds loaded with mission critical gear, you’ve been drafted into the Army. You will follow orders and help us load equipment then you can fuck off to that Inuit village with the wounded.”
    The Air Force officer didn’t know how to reply to O’Toole’s statement. He outranked the Army officer but this was a special operations mission and they were on the ground. The senior Army officer was in command at this point. If events had worked out the way they were supposed to, his plane would have still been in the air and he would already be heading back to Elmendorf.
    “Do we understand each other?” O’Toole asked. Not waiting for an answer, he turned to Harris.
    “Captain Harris, when you’re finished usurping command authority, you will assign these men to a detail that will take