Chapter 1

I ran for cover as soon as I heard the enemy rounds hit the wall in front of me. The wall offered very little protection for me but it would have to do. I got on my stomach in the prone position and waited for my chance. In my hand was my AWP sniper rifle. Attached to the barrel was my bipod, which I had no chance to use at the moment. I knew the general area of where my enemy was. There was an opening in the wall on my left from where an artillery shell or mortar had blown apart the sand colored brick. I heard my chance, the enemy stopped firing. I rolled to my left and hoped to God that I wouldn't get shot. As my roll came to a halt, I looked down the scope of my gun and searched for my enemy. I felt my heart pumping so hard that I could feel it beating against my ribs. An overwhelming sense of fear swept over me. The enemy could have reloaded by now and I was a sitting duck out in the open. I had to find him before he could find me. Just then, his head popped up. He had his gun pointed directly at me. I knew he was about to shoot. I squeezed the trigger.

Instead of a loud explosion of the .338 AWP round, I heard the telephone. I rolled over in my bed. I was sweating profoundly. As I got to my senses I looked at the clock. It read that it was only 2:21 in the morning. I had just fallen asleep. My head felt as though I had gotten hit with a baseball bat. The phone rang once again. I picked it up wearily and answered, "Hello?"

"Is this Lance Corporal Williams?" The voice was low and quiet. I knew that it was somebody from my base in Fort Knox. I had been in the military for 8 years now. After my two tours in Iraq during the second Desert Storm, I came home and stayed in the army. My unit was one of the most active units in the war. We had all volunteered to go to war to protect the nation's freedom.

"Yes, I'm Lance Corporal Williams. Why are you calling me at two in the morning?" I replied after I realized how long the pause was.

"I'm sorry but I can't discuss that with you until you get here. There is a car waiting for you outside that will take you to Fort Knox immediately. Please hurry, your presence is needed right away." I didn't have time to reply to him. The connection had been broken shortly after he had finished talking. The call had made me suspicious of what was happening. Immediately I was awake and attentive. This surprise call had the effect of a cold shower. I got dressed as fast as I could and headed to the front door of my house. Through the front window I could clearly see a black sedan with dark tinted windows. I knew that the car was intended for me.

As I was walking out my door and down the sidewalk, the car lights turned on. I opened the back door and got in. After my door was closed, the driver slammed on the gas pedal. I was jerked backwards by the acceleration of the car. Apparently whoever called wasn't exaggerating when he said "immediately."

We flew around corners at astonishing speeds. Many times I thought that we would skid off the road and into a ditch. The driver's face showed no emotion. He was intent on getting me to the fort as soon as he could. I learned to trust the driver after a few blocks. He obviously knew what he was doing by the way he threw the car around corners. As I looked at him more closely I could see something in his eyes. Although he looked emotionless, I could see that he was enjoying himself as he drove me to my destination.

As we rounded another corner I could see Fort Knox. As usual, all the base lights were off except for the ones located on the perimeter. I could see that there were guards watching over the fort as everybody slept. This was not unusual for the base to be like this. I knew that we aren't under attack otherwise the entire fort would be alive with people and machines.

The driver pulled the car up to the front gate, which opened after a brief chat with one of the guards. We pulled into the fort and took a left. After a few minutes, the car was parked and the driver escorted me to the entrance of a building. There, another guard escorted me through the door and down the hallway. I had never been in this building before and it made me nervous. I was lead to a door and then left alone. After a few seconds I heard talking behind the door. Then it opened and General O'Brien was standing in the doorway. He was tall but had grown round in the past few years. He stepped to the side and ushered me in.

"Thank you for coming so fast. This is of the utmost importance that you be here." O'Brien said. I looked around the room and saw nothing on the walls except a projection screen. The only things in the room were the projector and a table. Sitting at the table I recognized my fireteam. These were the most elite soldiers I knew. We served together throughout the war and on both tours.

"Now that Lance Corporal Williams is here, I can tell you why you've all been called in at this early hour. I suggest you sit down for this Lance Corporal." I found the empty seat next to Ebez, who was the Sergeant of our fireteam. Ebez was an extremely tough looking guy. His skin was dark from tanning and had dark black hair. Although he looked as though he would be an extremely angry person, he was always calm and collected, which made him a great leader.

As I sat down, Ebez looked me directly in the eye. I sensed that he was nervous about being called into this meeting.

"You have all been assembled here because you are the best of the best. The United States Army has chosen you because of your outstanding records in the second Desert Storm. We only want the best people working for us today."

"Earlier this morning we received a report from the German government. They requested help from the United States. They called for the best soldiers we have to recover goods stolen from their weapons stockpiles. As you probably have figured out, these "goods," as they call them, are extremely important to them. Their government did not inform us of what you will be getting into, nor, what the goods are."

As General O'Brien was talking I could see the fireteam giving each other anxious looks. If Germany was unwilling to tell the United States what was going to happen, it must be bad. This was a huge burden for just five people to carry. As he finished, I thought to myself that we are in for it.

"We have a plane waiting for you to board. I'm sorry, but this is not a voluntary assignment. Your transportation to the airfield leaves at 0400 hours. That gives you an hour to get all your gear and head to your awaiting vehicles. You are dismissed."

General O'Brien left the room leaving us alone to think about what will happen. I could tell everybody in the room was nervous. Even Shawty was fidgety. She is one of the bravest people in our fireteam. She proved that time and time again in the war.

We sat there for a couple minutes until Ebez stood up. Everybody else stood up after him and we all walked out of the room in single file. I got to the armory and got my AWP, vest, and survival gear. I didn't know if I needed all of it, but I decided to be on the safe side and take it all. I got into the back seat of the military hummer waiting for us outside the armory. From there we drove to the airport and boarded the plane. Everybody was speechless. Throughout the entire plane ride, not a single word was said. Although we were prepared and ready to fight, we were still nervous. No matter how much training a soldier has, he will still be nervous before fighting.