Butch and Sundance Ride Again – 10
A/N: Glad all of you are enjoying the story. Just to let you know, there will be about a week's delay
between this chapter and next chapter. Trust me, it will be worth the wait. :)
? Local_ ? Zulu
Kurdish Front Lines
At the foot of Mount Sinjar, Kurdistan
Mattie and Gordon watched horrified as the truncated remains of the AH-1Z Cobra which would have spun toward the ground due to lack of 'tail rotor effectiveness' was saved from that by its stubby stabilizers. Still, the helo wasn't out of danger yet as it arced toward the ground trailing smoke.
"They're not going to make it," 'Howie' groaned as they watched the supposedly doomed craft headed for the uninviting rocky ground.
Mattie watched 'Ent' working the controls of the Cobra. "Don't give up on the Cap'n yet, Lieutenant. He's trying to auto-rotate her down!"
"Can he do that?" 'Howie asked, a note of hope in his voice.
"If anyone one can, 'Ent' can do it." Mattie said a silent prayer for the crew of Dragonfly 6.
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Colonel.'Aqid Hazami clapped his hands together at this change in his fortunes. "Excellent!/Y ual! If he survives, reward that mujihid for his bravery," Hazami said of the man who had fired the MANPAD.
"Yes Colonel/Aywa 'Aqid," his radioman replied and then began relaying information to others in the unit about the two downed American helicopter gunships.
Jabir Hazami tapped his driver on the shoulder and pointed toward the smoke marking the two downed Cobra gunships "Head that way! I want to be there myself when these Americans are captured!"
The radioman pointed toward the sky. "Amrikan Tayyar-at!/American planes!"
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Blondie and Lankie figured the ISIS commander could not see or did not care that Lobo 1 and 5 were diving on his troops yet again.
"You take the BMP Blondie, I'll take that T-62!" he snapped.
"Roger, Tally Ho!"
The two F-18Fs pounced on the two unsuspecting enemy vehicles which were laying down support fire for advancing ISIS troops. The BMP-1 shuddered under the impact of the plane's 20mm autocannon fire and broke apart as a 1,000 pound iron bomb punched through its top deck. As the BMP blew itself and its crew apart, 'Blondie' and 'Trigger' zeroed in on the T-62 tank, hammering it with autocannon fire dropping, the last of her 500 pound bombs on the tank's back deck. The pair of iron bombs punched through the mental grating and destroyed the tank's engine as well as knocking its turret loose from its mount. The disabled tank slewed to a halt, its 115mm cannon pointing toward the ground.
As 'Blondie' shot over the downed helo crews and their wrecked Cobras, she saw a GAZ technical that was dangerously close to them.
"Blondie to Lankie, I'm dry, I'm also on bingo fuel, I gotta head back!"
"No problem, Blondie," 'Lankie' Sherwood replied, "I got two more greeting cards for the Jihadis. Head back. Lobo 7 and 8 should be here at any time."
"On my way, Lankie" As she finished her transmission, she began climbing, headed toward Hold Area Minnesota.
Lankie, in the meantime, was diving on the technical. He toggled his pickle switch and watched as one 500 pound bomb headed for the GAZ truck, but a warning light flashed on his Heads-Up display and an angry buzzer chirped at him.
"Dammit, I've got hung ordnance!" Frank Sherwood announced to his WSO.
"Try it again, Lankie. It may jiggle loose," 'Happy' Sherman, his weapons officer, replied.
"Roger." He toggled the switch again. The angry buzzer chirped at him again.
"No good, Happy. She's stuck!" he reported.
'Happy' then told him exactly what he didn't want to hear. "That tears it. Lankie. We need to get outta here before those Jihadis figure out you have hung ordnance and try to plaster us across the sky with it."
"Yeah," he said disgustedly, realizing his 'gal in back' was right. He looked back at the smoking wreck of the technical. "At least we were able to take him out as a parting gift."
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Because of the chaos on the battlefield known as LZ Canada, TF Dawn had been able to regroup and was now headed toward the two downed gunships.
"Romeo Four actual to Cat Bravos! Open up with everything you have, we've got to get close enough to those crews so we can rescue them!" Zack Fullerton was determined that they were going to get there before the Jihadis.
"Every Jihadi that was gunning for us is now headed for those two downed gunships!" Senior Chief Gifford reported as his HMMWV took the lead of the tiny rescue group.
"That's because they are the bigger prize, Senior Chief!" Gunnery Sergeant Fullerton did not like what was unfolding before them one bit. "Downed flyers they can parade before the world media! We're small potatoes compared to them!" he replied grimly.
Chief Vickers knew they needed cover fire, and quick. "Lion Seven! This Cat Bravo Two Actual! Give us cover fire! We're got to try to rescue those helo crews!"
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As shell fire from Khalil's tanks and personnel carriers rained down on the remnants of 'Aqid Hazami's forces, Mattie and Gordon ran over to Dragonfly 6. Amazingly, the truncated helo landed upright, for an almost perfect landing. The force of the impact though, had blown the emergency release bolts on the cockpit canopy windows. Mattie and Gordon climbed up to a still woozy Captain Endberry and his WSO.
"Ent! Are you all right?" Mattie yelled above the shrieking shells falling in the midst of the ISIS forces.
"I hate those 'E' ticket rides, Red…." Ent muttered as Mattie pulled him from the cockpit.
Mattie looked over at WSO wrestling with his own burden. "Howie! How's Hotshot?!"
Gordon helped the miraculously uninjured pilot to the ground. "He says except for the birdies he's hearing, he's just fine!" 'Howie' reported. "I think he's just saying that to win my sympathy!" he added with a grin.
Mattie chuckled despite the seriousness of the situation. She knew it nervous stress release that caused it. She looked back at her CO.
"You good, Sir?!"
Captain Endberry nodded as he unsnapped his shoulder holster and pulled his side arm from it. "We gotta combat loss these wrecks, Red, before the Jihadis get to them!"
Mattie nodded and reached into an olive drab bag she was carrying.
"Up until now I hated the fact you carried those things!" Gordon said as she gave him a thermite grenade. "Now, not so much!"
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Ghost Rider Three and One just became airborne as smoke rose from the downed helos. "Colonel, Dragonfly 5 and 6 are down!"
"Turn back, Captain! That's part of our TRAP team!" Colonel Hawkins ordered.
The pilot of Ghost Rider Three was concentrating on not getting shot down. "Respectfully sir, I can't do that, we are on bingo fuel now!" he said glancing at the TRAP team commander. His co-pilot wisely ignored the conversation.
That wasn't going to fly with Hawkins being told they couldn't stay. "Then turn around and drop us off! We can take care of ourselves! That's an order, Captain!" he snapped.
Captain Mike 'Big John' Evans shook his head. "Sorry sir, the fuel it would take for us to do that would ensure we wouldn't make it back to Holding Area Minnesota! I'm sorry, sir, but as soon as we finish refueling we'll take your men back there!" he promised.
The two Osprey tilt-rotor aircraft roared higher into the sky headed for Holding Area Minnesota.
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Khalil felt like the unwilling eyewitness to an execution. He knew as soon as the ISIS troops reached those downed airmen, they were as good as dead.
"Fire everything we have!" he ordered.
The two 125mm cannons and 120mm cannon roared in response joined by the smaller reports from the BMPs 73mm cannons.
After a few moments of firing during which they scored several hits on the advancing ISIS forces, Khalil As'sam's gunner looked up at him, "Major!/Ra'id! We are down to smoke shells!"
Khalil knew that was probably the case with the other tanks. "Romeo Four, this is Lion 7. We are critically short of ammunition! Can you reach the helicopter crews? Over."
The response was punctuated by shell fire. "Negative Lion 7! Negative! CAS has evaporated and the Daesh are bringing up more heavy stuff from the village! They're between us and the Cobra crews!"
The words that came from his mouth would haunt him in his sleep for years to come. He didn't like doing it, but they had no choice. "We'll fire smoke shells to cover your withdrawal. I'm sorry."
Gunnery Sergeant Fullerton did not sound angry. If anything, he sounded sympathetic to how Khalil felt. "Not your fault, Lion 7, you did your best. Make smoke."
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When Vicki Logan heard Khalil's report and Zack's response, she became livid. "Have you lost your ever lovin' mind Zack?! Those Jihadis will roast them on a spit! We can't just turn tail and run!"
Zack gave the former Force Recon Sergeant a flinty look and dose of cold reality. "There's nothing we can do, Vicki. We're outgunned and outmanned!"
But Vicki wasn't listening. "The hell we are! I'm not going to let a bunch of Marine fliers become sacrificial lambs because of us! Outta my way!" She stood up and unslung her rifle, fighting to stand up in the rocking and shaking Ukrainian built personnel carrier.
"Somebody grab her!" Joe Corbin yelled to the other stunned members of the squad.
"Logan! Vicki! Listen to Zack!" Matt Alton pleaded with her.
Joe was already assisting Mustafa and Corporal Hamm hold down a struggling Vicki. "So we're just supposed to let them die?!" she screamed at the other members of Romeo Four, trying to get them on her side.
Faud, young Yazidi who had joined their group only weeks ago, shook his head. "It's suicide, Vicki!"
"You'd be dead and those helo crews would still get captured!" Mustafa said to her.
She looked around at the stunned and agitated crew. "We can't just sit here and watch!" she pleaded with them.
"We're not going to!" Zack snapped angrily. All eyes, save for driver Sal Williams, turned toward the Gunnery Sergeant. Even Vicki was shocked into silence by this outburst.
Zack knew they wanted revenge. "We're going to trail'em back to the village and when the time's right, we're gonna spring those whirly bird guys!"
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Harm had been remembering his first meeting with Mattie when a radio call jarred him back to the present. "Admiral, Ghost Riders Three and One are coming in from two o'clock low," Wonder Woman announced. Harm exchanged a worried look with Mac.
The two Hornets watched as the two Ospreys, sporting several bullet holes, flew over to the C-130 tanker.
Ghost Rider Three's pilot didn't waste time with nicities."Sunoco 6, how much fuel do you have?" Captain Mike Evans asked.
"Enough to top off you and One and then some, Cap'n," came the tanker pilot's somewhat relaxed reply. He thought he was kidding him.
"Enough to top off Big Bird One?" Evans added.
This time his answer was little more formal. "Yes, sir,"
"Colonel, what's up?" The pilot of the MH-53 helo asked. He had been loitering with the two Hornets and the tankers up to now. Something was up. Something big.
"Congratulations, Big Bird, you've been elected to be an honorary Ghost Rider," Evans said without preamble. He turned his conversation back to the tanker pilot.
"Sunoco, you say you can top off the three of us. How about for another sortie after that?" he queried.
The pilot of the C-130 tanker was silent for a moment. Probably conferring with his crew chief. "Let me do some calculations, Three, wait one…" There was a pregnant pause and then he was back on the frequency. "Yeah, we can do another…two sorties, maybe three if we stretch it."
"Top us off, Sunoco, we're heading back," 'Big John' Evans ordered.
"Captain, you're going to need an escort," Harm said breaking into the transmission. Mac bit her lower lip and prayed this conversation wouldn't degenerate.
"Where are Lobo 7 and 8?" Mac asked, adding her voice to the transmission.
"Haboob over Basra has delayed them, Colonel," the pilot of Sunoco 6 replied.
"Captain, you're going to need an escort, I'm volunteering myself. Lobo 21 will stay with the tankers," Harm said determinedly.
"Admiral, sir, I can't let you do that," Colonel Hawkins said for the first time.
"That's my daughter down there, Colonel." Harm didn't want to pull the 'do you know who I am' card. Mainly because it almost always backfired, but he wasn't going to let Colonel Hawkins know that.
There was silence for a moment. With Lobo 7 and 8 delayed and Lobo 1 and 5 headed for the Gulf there were few options left. "Fine, sir, you can escort us, but stay in the rafters unless we call for you," the Marine Colonel said curtly.
"Understood, Colonel. Lobo 20 out."
Mac caught Harm's eye. "Harm, need I remind you that we're not armed for ground combat?"
That didn't faze the Navy/Marine Corps DJAG. "We've still got 20 mike mike, General, and it's better than nothing. Are you telling me we should stay up here and let Captain Bourchard go in our place?"
That stung. The Marine General knew what he was driving at, besides the obvious. "No…you know I can't do that. We're similarly armed and you have more experience than she does," she said flatly. The SJA General didn't like this idea, that was obvious, but she also didn't see any other option.
"Admiral," Harm had inadvertently left his radio mike open so his wingman heard everything.
The DJAG wondered what she was going to say. "Yes, Wonder Woman?"
"Thought you should know. The plane captain told me before we took off that the Sidewinders we have could be used as guided missiles, if you need to."
Harm shared a look of surprise with SJA One Star. "Why are we carrying these, Captain?" Harm asked in his DJAG voice. This was not regular air to air missile ordnance.
Harm could have sworn he could hear the Captain audibly swallow before answering. "Last of the stock, Admiral, General, luck of the draw," Super Woman said.
Mac could hear the wryness in her voice on that last part.
Harm gave Mac a grin. "Thank for the info, Captain. Stay on station until Lobos 7 and 8 arrive. We'll be back as soon as we can."
"Yes sir, aye, aye, sir!" she replied.
As two Ospreys and MH-53 helo flew northeast, Harm and Mac joined them.
? Local_ ? Zulu
Kurdish Front Lines
At the foot of Mount Sinjar, Kurdistan
Mattie, Captain Endberry, Gordon and Stan 'Hotshot' Presser stood with hands raised as the ISIS manned Toyota pickup truck approached.
"Do you think they'll gun us down?" Stan Presser said as he eyed the black clad soldiers brandishing assault rifles that were running toward them.
Jordan Endberry shook his head slightly. "If they do, it would be a media event even their social media propaganda couldn't justify. No, we're like the jackpot in a lottery. Just keep those hands raised."
"Minus the bonuses," Gordon said referring to the fiercely burning remains of Dragonflys 5 and 6. The thermite grenades had done their work before the ISIS troops could get close.
As the pickup truck stopped in front of them, the crew dismounting from it began screaming at them.
"Iwya!/Watch out!" yelled the driver pointing at the Cobra crew.
The gunner in the bed of the truck aimed his heavy machinegun toward them.
"Yalla Halan!/Come on Immediately!" he said motioning to them. "Now!/Dilwaqti!"
"Easy, easy, no sudden moves," Ent cautioned his pilots. "Walk slowly and carefully toward them."
A man in a black Dishdasha and turban stepped from one of the UAZ jeeps. From his bearing, and the way the others looked at him, Mattie could tell he was in charge.
"Bismillah-r-ramani-r-rahimi /In the name of Allah, the most gracious, the most merciful, I welcome back to Iraqi soil, my American friends. Only now you are in the Islamic State Caliphate and you four, are my prisoners."
-TBC…