Family reunion

Chapter 4

The following weeks Jenny demonstrated to keep up with her reputation. On their first mission, a simple covert operation, she was efficient and followed Hannibal's orders better than anyone; the Colonel and the guys were a little nervous about it, having a new member on an tested team could have been a big problem if the chemistry with the new officer wasn't perfect. But she had appeared calm, relaxed and self-confident so as soon as they reached their destination everything went as planned without anyone being hurt. On their way back to the base, Face was the first to congratulate with her, shortly followed by Murdock. BA still felt a little shy with her because of her blood-relation with the Colonel but, however, held out a fist which she bumped. Hannibal felt relieved and immensely proud of his daughter but would had never admitted in front of his team; he let a sheepish smile crept on his face, though, which anyone noticed.

When they were not on a mission, Face helped Jenny to familiarize with new weapons and taught her their strategies. Murdock explained her everything he knew about helicopters and in general about everything that had wings on it. As a team, they attended to a few square-bashing with other teams and of course they won. Jenny had felt a little wiped out after those very physical activities, also because she was the only woman in the group. That surely gave her some advantages, being shorter and lighter than most of the men allowed her to run faster and to climb the wall in half of the time of the others, but when it came to direct engagement she was slightly disadvantaged. She was used to it, though, so using her brain more than her muscles she easily knocked down her attackers. Hannibal was shocked to see all the bruises and the black and blue marks on her daughter's slim body at the end of those days, but she never complained, even if he was sure some of them were really painful.

At the end of the third week, both Hannibal and Jenny were waiting anxiously to be called in the General's tent to discuss her assignment again. The Colonel was quite sure the man was impressed by her daughter's potential, plus he had heard officers talk about her in the base and he knew the General took in great consideration the opinions of his colleagues. Anyway, he could not avoid to feel nervous about the subject.

So when he was debriefed by his superior, he didn't expect to see Major Green sat in front of the General's desk.

"Colonel Smith! Please, have a seat."

Hannibal did and waited for the man to go on. The General took some minutes to examine the papers and the photos on his desk before looking at the two officers in front of him.

"We have been told that an informer, who had worked for us for two years now, is going to meet his boss tomorrow in a village about 50 km from Baghdad. We suspect him to be a double agent, recently his information had led our team into troubles, but the C.I. cannot prove it and we don't want him to know we are watching him closely. If we can prove he has sold us to the Iraqis, we'll probably be able to find out who he is working for and defeat the whole local organization. The village" and he gestured for the two men to come closer and look at the satellite photos "as you can see, is just a small center, but he has some peculiarities that makes it particularly difficult to control. There is a gate at the East side and one at the West. There is also a not very high wall that encircles the whole area. The inside is a labyrinth of narrow streets that converge in a round square right in the middle of it. Most of the building are low but around the square we have two or three elevated ones. Our informer should be here" and he indicated the location on the map "at 11.00. Our task is to keep watch over him, if he shows up we wait for him to meet with the other man, collect evidences then took him. If he doesn't, we come back to the gates without troubles. The humvees will wait for you about 2 km far from the village, we don't want to make our presence clear to them. Because of the importance of the mission, I'll send your two units. Colonel Smith, your team will be only a support to Major Green's unit. I know you don't have much time to prepare for it. You have to be ready for 06.00. Major Green will give you any other information you need."

The two men left the General's tent , discussed about the plan for the mission and, about two hours later, the whole group of nine people were reunited in the Major Green's tent. He explained what the General had already told the two of them, then described his strategy in details.

The following morning, Hannibal, Jenny and two young soldiers, named Wilson and Miller, headed with humvee number one to the West Gate. Face, BA, Major green and Sergeant Buckowsky took humvee number two directed to the East Gate. Murdock was ready to give them air support in case it was needed. Their aim was to control their respective part of the village before reaching the square, where they should reunited and wait for the informer. Hannibal's team had just completed the first part of the plan when they were hit by a sudden and absolutely unexpected rain of fire, coming from one of the highest building in the square. Unluckily, they could not determined exactly where the bullets came from, what part of the building and they were completely exposed. Hannibal urged the boys and his daughter to come back in the narrow street they had just walked, where they were at least partially safe. Trying to cover their retreat, he was shot in the tight and almost collapsed to the ground but Jenny someway managed to hold him upright and dragged him in their hiding space. Major Green and his team were still a few blocks from the square when they heard the gunfire and hurried to see what was happening; Face and BA were ready to assault the building were probably the shooting men were but the Major stopped them.

"Major Green, we cannot leave them alone!" Face almost shouted at the older man.

"If we try to reach them now we'll probably end up dead too. We don't know how many they are and we don't know where they are!"

"What do you suggest now?" BA hissed, his tone alarmingly menacing.

"I suggest you follow my orders, Sergeant! We retreat and come back with a back up unit." Albeit unwillingly, Face and BA followed the other two men out of the village, where they called for Murdock.

Meanwhile, the square had fallen completely silent. Knowing they were in extreme danger and running on autopilot, Jenny took control of the situation; she ordered the two soldiers to scan the nearest house, which had no windows and only a small door that looked at the square, because it was easier to defend, conscious that it could become a deathly trap but they were too exposed, plus Hannibal was bleeding and they couldn't risk to come back all the way through the West part of the village. Once Wilson signaled it was clear, Jenny helped the Colonel to walk the few steps and get inside, trying to be as silent as the circumstances allowed. The house was dark and it took her a few seconds to adjust her vision; but then she noticed there still was some furniture, a bed and a few chairs. Grateful for their luck, Jenny made Hannibal sat on the bed, ordered Wilson to stay at the door and Miller to help her. The wound was bleeding.

"How are you doing, Colonel?" she asked, hoping her voice was steady enough not to display her fear.

"It's just a graze!" the older man replied, the pain he was feeling making him short of breath.

"Yeah, sure! Let me have a look!" Blocking out her emotions, she ripped the fabric of the combat trousers and tried not to scream at the sight of the big red hole in her father's leg.

"Miller, I need the medical kid. Give me all the sterile compresses you can find." then to the Colonel "Sir, I need to try and clean the wound. The bullet has passed through your thigh but you're bleeding bad, I need to stop it. I'm sorry, this is going to hurt!" she explained calmly looking at him, then took his hand in hers and squeezed it softly.

Hannibal took a deep breath and tried to smile back at her. "Do what you have to do, Captain!"

As quickly as possible, Jenny cleaned the wound and applied the compresses, pushing on it. Then dressed the area with a thick bandage. Hannibal didn't talk during the procedure but now she could feel him trembling slightly. Taking his hand again, she tried to reassure him. "You're going to be alright!"

"You did a very good job, Captain!" he whispered her in return and closed his eyes.

Panic threatened to envelop her but she recovered immediately and removed her jacket to cover him, then gently woke him.

"Colonel, I need you to stay awake. Can you do it? Can you stay awake for me?"

Hannibal blinked a couple of times and finally focused his attention on the woman in front of her. "I'd do everything for you!" he breathed softly for her only to hear.

Jenny smiled back at him fondly. "Good. Don't. You. Ever. Let. Go! Was I clear, dad?" she whispered him so softly that she was sure the two soldiers hadn't heard her.

"Deal!" Hannibal replied, this time a little more confident. That earned him another smile from her daughter, before she stood up and instructed the two young soldiers, who seemed terrified. Hannibal watched as she clearly informed them about the current situation and their possibilities to survive.

"Miller, Wilson! It seems we are trapped in this hole… at least until the back up unit find us. Now, we have to be very silent. If we are lucky, they won't risk to leave their position and search for us. Probably they don't know how many we are. Unfortunately, we are in the same situation. But if we make a noise or we try to go outside, they'll shot at us again. So, we are going to stay on guard at the door, we'll make shifts of two hours. Wilson, you're the first. I want you to keep your eyes on the square and the buildings, if you see anything call me. Miller, you stay with the Colonel, talk to him, don't let him fall asleep, did you understand?" when the two young boys nodded and whispered a "Captain, Yes Sir!" Jenny relaxed just a fraction. "Good. I'll try to contact Major Green!"

Wilson resumed his place at the door and Miller went to sit beside Hannibal, who looked tired and in pain but conscious, at least. Using a safe channel, so not to inform the Iraqis of their position, Jenny informed the major of their situation and asked for help. "We are trapped, we cannot risk to leave our place without an air cover. We need you to come back and help us."

"Captain, we're already working on it. Unfortunately, there's a sandstorm heading in your direction and the bird can't fly. You'll have to wait for at least six hours until it's passed. How is the Colonel doing?"

"He is conscious. For now. He's got a big hole in the thigh were the bullet passed through. The bleeding is slowing down now but he needs medical attention!"

Jenny heard the Major sigh in the radio and, just for a second, felt the sting of tears in her eyes but she refused to cry. Not now. His father needed her, the two boys needed her. Gathering all her strength, she waited for further instructions from her superior.

"Wait for the back up. Don't try to do anything on your own. Just make sure you're all safe and in one piece. We will find you!"

The major ended the conversation. Jenny made a quick inventory of their equipments and then, apparently satisfied, went to sit beside Hannibal. She made him drink some water and waited, listening to the young boy's quiet chattering with the Colonel, until the ferocious howling of the wind startled them all.

"There's a sand storm outside. Nothing to worry about. The walls of the village will protect us." She explained. Milled and Wilson nodded. Hannibal took her daughter's hand and the gesture calmed them both.

Hours passed slowly, the storm now screaming and making the buildings squeak under the pressure of the wind. The night fell on them and they tried to heat up as they could; Jenny made sure Hannibal was comfortable, giving him his own heat cover too, not bothering to herself. Around 4 a.m., she felt Hannibal relax beside her.

"Colonel!" the Captain gently but firmly coaxed him awake again. "I know you're tired and you want to sleep but I need you to stay awake."

The Colonel opened tired blue eyes to look at her.

"Talk to me, baby!" he mumbled hoarsely.

Miller was at the door and Wilson was resting; Jenny felt comfortable enough to try some more personal conversation, hoping it would helped her father to remain lucid.

"Dad, do you remember the first time we met? I was 15. And you came to take me home after high school? I was so nervous about it, the night before that day I couldn't sleep. Mum never let me have a photo of you and I didn't know how to recognize you. You said 'Don't worry, I'll find you!'. I didn't tell mum we were going to meet but I've confessed it to my best friend. When she saw you, she fell in love with you, she said you were a beautiful man and many other stupid things. But the truth was I fell in love with you too. I had waited for you for so long and finally you were there, you were real and I felt like a Princess and you were my Prince Charming. Since then, I've searched you in every man I have met." She paused and was relieved to see Hannibal smiling at her. "Did you know I almost got married once? He was a caring and loving boy and I loved him but I couldn't imagine to live all my life in the same town, waiting for my husband to come home from work, with nothing to do except growing up children and cooking and taking care of the house. Danny - his name was Danny – didn't really understand why I decided not to marry him at the end. Of course mum didn't approve my choice, but I think I had already clear in my mind what my life would had been. A month later, more or less, one night I came home and I said to her I had decided to join the Army. She screamed at me, she begged me not to leave her alone but I had took my decision and it was useful. I wanted to be like you, with you!" The captain paused, unable to continue.

"You know what I see when I look at you?" Hannibal asked then.

Jenny shook her head.

"I see myself! You and I are very much alike in many ways." the Colonel answered quietly.

"I'm not stubborn as you!" she retorted.

"Oh, you are, much more than me! And I love it. Remember, Jen, do not let anyone tell you what to do with your life. Be yourself."

A lone tear slid down the woman's cheek and Hannibal wiped it away with his big thumb.

Jenny continued her small talk with the injured man and made sure he had the rest of her water. Two hours later the sky changed from deep blue to pink, until it was daylight again. 10 hours had passed and still no signs of the cavalry. Miller and Wilson were tired and scared. She did her best to uplift them and reassure them the back up unit was on its way, but she really didn't feel so convinced herself.

Then, all of a sudden, hell broke loose. Miller saw an Iraqi man coming towards them and fired at him. Hannibal lost the fight to stay awake and slipped into unconsciousness. Jenny went to the door to help the two soldiers and started firing herself but they were just too many for them. Then, when she had almost lost every hope, they heard a chopper flying upon their head and land in the square; the Iraqis scattered away; they saw Major Smith, Sergeant Buckowsky, Face and BA run towards them. Jenny didn't know exactly what happened later. She saw BA and the Major gently lifting the Colonel and transporting him to the waiting chopper, Face approaching her cautiously, then she felt herself being enveloped in the man's own jacket. Miller and Wilson were already on the bird and she started to run, with Face's help, towards them when a bullet caught her in her middle, nearly missing the stomach, and she fell to the ground. Miller and Wilson fired at the lonely man who dared to shot at her, covering Face who took her in his arms and carried her on the helicopter. The flight to the base was even more blurry: Jenny remembered Face holding her hand, talking to her softly and she let his voice guide her towards a safe place.

TBC