October 15th,
I don't think I have ever been happier to see my tiny little room down in the residence level of the PITT! I don't think my bed has ever felt more comfortable.
What a week. What a disaster!
I knew something wasn't right about the whole deal! Leave it to a spook to throw you to the lions without so much as batting an eye.
We broke camp early in the morning, just as the sun began to appear over the horizon. I gave the men five minutes to gather their things and police up the litter, fluffing the grass back up where they were laying so very little evidence of our presence was left behind. I doubt the enemy was even aware of our existence at that point, but you cannot leave anything to chance.
We reached the designated site with very little trouble and I deployed everyone to their ambush positions as soon as the road came into view.
Although Anderson spelled out most of the orders for me, once on the ground I took charge of tactics...the plan of action entirely in my hands. Not to brag or anything...ok I am bragging...but I am a whiz at military strategy and tactical planning. It is most probably a result of my intellectual gifts, the ones that served me so well throughout my short lived academic career.
Most of the Joe missions are now drawn out by yours truly after Hawk discovered my little talent, and I am included in all the briefings and ops meetings. It's a huge responsibility, not something to be taken lightly. The lives of the soldiers carrying out your plan hang in the balance...not to mention in some cases the fate of the free world! It is imperative that you study the situation from every angle, analyze ever nuance, and prepare for every possible eventuality.
Nothing should be left to chance.
I think one of the reasons I am so good at it is that unlike most military strategists, I am out in the field as well. I understand things about which your average pencil pusher can only theorize. The effects of weather and terrain, the physical and mental limitations of the soldiers, the cold heartedness of the enemy, the chaos of an attack or confrontation, the many variables that cannot possibly be considered by someone who has spent his days behind a desk at the Pentagon.
Its one thing to give orders in a vacuum, its quite another to get your hands dirty and carry it out yourself. Either way, you have to live with your choices. You have to look at yourself in the mirror everyday and know that you did your very best despite any loss of life...that whatever disaster that occurred could not possibly have been foreseen, much less prevented.
Despite the burden, I find there is nothing more satisfying than seeing a mission you drew up implemented successfully from start to finish.
To quote a popular TV show..."I love it when a plan come together..."
In any case, back to the mission.
I placed Tunnel Rat on a hill with the automatic weapon for grazing fire down the road, while the two fire teams...alpha (Wetsuit and myself) and beta (Lowlight and Beachhead)...were positioned in the bush close to the actual ambush site...dropping mines on the opposite side of the road for good measure. Leatherneck and Footloose were placed further back to cover our route to the extraction site.
After checking each soldiers field of fire closely to ensure we didn't have any accidents, I buckled down to wait.
I might not be the most patient of people, but when on the job I can force myself to sit for hours, quiet and unmoving, while I wait for the signal to attack. I don't find it easy, I don't think anyone does. Lowlight and Beachhead are probably better at it than most...the former being a sniper and trained rigorously for this type of work while the latter is just deadly patient by nature...but as the hours ticked by, the sun beating down on us while bugs crawled in and out of our clothing and buzzed around our heads...even they became a bit antsy.
At least we had some entertainment, a local kid playing at being the 'warrior prince'...his 'golden chariot' a tired looking, flea bitten water buffalo. Footloose was amused by his antics, as were the others I'm sure. I merely smiled and nodded, but kept my gun aimed right at him.
As brutal and heartless as it may seem, you can never let your guard down...not even for what seems to be a defenseless child. I would have mowed him down if the situation warranted it...it wouldn't be the first time I found myself in that type of circumstance. I slit a kids throat once...he couldn't have been much older than thirteen. He was armed and guarding one of our targets.
Duke sent me to take him out quietly.
I knew it had to be done; I knew it was crucial to the success of the mission. God knows I have seen what these little guys can do when they point a gun and begin to shoot, when a soldier's heart got in the way of common sense.
Doesn't stop it from haunting you for the rest of your days. They're just kids after all...they are supposed to be out riding their bikes and eating ice cream...not hauling around an AK47 and some grenades!
But I digress...I needn't have worried about this little boy...he was the least of our worries.
You know...as much planning as you do...as many considerations as you try to take into account...your mission is only as good as the intel upon which it is based.
In this case, ours fell far short.
As our target came into view...the 'small' convoy turned out to be a well-armed, well-equipped full armored column with enough firepower to chew us up and spit us out. The soldiers with them were alert and professional.
There was no way I was going to open fire on them...it would have been suicide!
Unfortunately...Anderson had other plans for us.
The minute we got on the radio to key in the squelch signal and tell him we made contact, the machine began to screech like an air raid siren. I killed it with my rifle, but of course it was too late.
Our enemy knew we were there.
I reacted quickly, ordering every weapon to open fire...bringing everything to bear in order to gain immediate fire superiority. I didn't even want to wait for a clear visual target...firing at smoke, muzzle flashes and sound...using grenades and claymores as well.
I knew, however, that we wouldn't last long. As I said...these guys were good...so I ordered us to disengage and head for the LZ...leaving Leatherneck and Footloose to cover our retreat.
We managed to lose them in the jungle and reach the clearing unscathed but exhausted. We were also missing a man. Lowlight had stayed behind to ensure that our target...Mr. Portland...did not make it out of this jungle alive. The others wanted to wait up but I knew we couldn't afford to turn back and get him. Ordering the men to stay sharp I called in an extraction on the remaining radio and popped a red smoker for visual.
The chopper came into view almost immediately and I waited until all my men were on board before jumping on myself. We had to be fast, the enemy was hot on our tail. Lift Ticket had kept the power up in the bird so that we could make a hasty exit. Thank goodness Lowlight made it back, running his ass off with a platoon of Soviets close behind.
He jumped on with very little time to spare.
I hate leaving a man behind. I know that sometimes it cannot be helped...but I still hate it. I was half ready to jump off the chopper myself to go and get him.
As for Anderson...well...the minute I spotted his smug little face on the Tomahawk I went in for the kill, slamming him up against the side of the chopper in my anger.
"You have some explaining to do, you bastard."
"Easy Flint..." Wild Bill came up and put a calming hand on my shoulder. "We already worked him over. I figured something was up once we realized what he was transmitting to your radios after the squelch signal...he set up this ambush to fail from the get go."
"Really..." I growled, tightening my grip on the CIA agent, who was beginning to sweat under his shirt.
"Portland had been set up by the CIA." Wild Bill continued, "It seems he was MEANT to defect. They were counting on him to take the chip with him. It contained an undetectable computer virus that would disable every computer it was installed in. The ambush was to give him credibility..."
"...As the KGB might suspect he was a double agent if no effort was made to stop him." I finished for him, my voice low and deadly, "...a brilliant scheme, I admit...certainly worthy of you underhanded pricks at central intel. Too bad you chose the WRONG soldier to piss off..."
"Let him go, Flint..." Beachhead's voice broke through my anger, "...he ain't worth the trouble."
I paused for a moment, collecting myself, and slammed him against the wall once more for good measure before letting him go.
I will have to take some small satisfaction in knowing that his little plan is a complete wash...Lowlight managed not only to stop Portland without killing him, but recapture the 'stolen' chips as well.
Meanwhile, I am just glad to be 'home'.
I was still wound up when our plane finally touched down in Utah, so much so that immediately upon finding Jaye I dragged her up to a secluded spot outside the PITT for a little Tai Chi. She introduced me to the martial art technique not long ago, and I find it works quite well...helps me clear my mind and quell whatever tension that remains after a hard mission.
Allie didn't ask questions, knowing full well that I am unable to answer due to the security classification tacked onto this mission, but nonetheless I know she understands.
Somehow she always does.
She's on duty at the moment, having left my room a couple of hours ago to report in. I think she has forgiven me for the scene in San Francisco. She even offered to pay me back for the plane tickets...an offer I flat out refused. I might not have a lot of money to throw around, but when I buy something for someone...no matter how expensive...it's a gift from the heart...I don't expect anything in return.
In any case, we spent the rest of the afternoon making love. It had been such a long time since we had last been with each other that it was hard to keep our hands to ourselves! I caught her watching me a couple of times as I went through the movements of our Tai Chi routine...saw the fire in her eyes. I had to smile in amusement when I looked over to find her staring, her eyes widening in embarrassed surprise as she looked quickly away...like a kid caught with her hand in the cookie jar.
Hey...I'm a good-looking guy, what can I say?
She had a nice time in Scotland from what she told me, although I could tell something was bothering her. She seemed distant, distracted...but when I asked she told me it was nothing.
Yeah right...like you can lie to me, Allie...
"Are you sure nothing is bothering you?"
"Hmmm...yeah, I'm fine...its probably jetlag. And that patrol with Spirit took a lot out of me." She paused as she collected her things, looking off into space.
"It was nice seeing the family again...everyone seems so well." She continued, "Duncan is getting married in a few months and is knee deep in wedding preparations...and Connor...you remember Connor, don't you? Well, he is going to be a father. Can you believe it? His wife is already showing...I bet you when I see her next she will be waddling around a..."
The rest of what she was saying was lost to me...in one ear and out the other as I lay there on the bed, frozen...
"Dash...are you ok? Hello...earth to Dashiell..."
I must have looked a sight right then, my face a mixture of shock and fear. I knew right away, as if some ingrained male instinct alerted me to the danger. I think every guy has it...every guy recognizes the look on his girlfriends face...the faraway tone in her voice. And I am sure every guy has the same thing running through his head when the alarm starts to go off.
"Run away...run away!"
Yup...it had finally happened.
Alison's biological clock was finally kicking in!
The funny thing is she doesn't even know it! She dismissed my odd behavior as some residual effect of the mission...quietly telling me to get some sleep and that she will see me in the morning.
Thank god...what I don't need right now is to piss her off again!
You know, as much as the thought puts me in immediate 'fight or flight' mode, I can't help but smile. I think the two of us would make great parents...I wonder if our first will be a boy...a little me.
Ha...God help us if that is the case!
Holy SHIT...where is this coming from!!!!! Damn that woman and her bloody hormones...they're starting to screw with my head now!
I really do need some sleep...
I don't think I have ever been happier to see my tiny little room down in the residence level of the PITT! I don't think my bed has ever felt more comfortable.
What a week. What a disaster!
I knew something wasn't right about the whole deal! Leave it to a spook to throw you to the lions without so much as batting an eye.
We broke camp early in the morning, just as the sun began to appear over the horizon. I gave the men five minutes to gather their things and police up the litter, fluffing the grass back up where they were laying so very little evidence of our presence was left behind. I doubt the enemy was even aware of our existence at that point, but you cannot leave anything to chance.
We reached the designated site with very little trouble and I deployed everyone to their ambush positions as soon as the road came into view.
Although Anderson spelled out most of the orders for me, once on the ground I took charge of tactics...the plan of action entirely in my hands. Not to brag or anything...ok I am bragging...but I am a whiz at military strategy and tactical planning. It is most probably a result of my intellectual gifts, the ones that served me so well throughout my short lived academic career.
Most of the Joe missions are now drawn out by yours truly after Hawk discovered my little talent, and I am included in all the briefings and ops meetings. It's a huge responsibility, not something to be taken lightly. The lives of the soldiers carrying out your plan hang in the balance...not to mention in some cases the fate of the free world! It is imperative that you study the situation from every angle, analyze ever nuance, and prepare for every possible eventuality.
Nothing should be left to chance.
I think one of the reasons I am so good at it is that unlike most military strategists, I am out in the field as well. I understand things about which your average pencil pusher can only theorize. The effects of weather and terrain, the physical and mental limitations of the soldiers, the cold heartedness of the enemy, the chaos of an attack or confrontation, the many variables that cannot possibly be considered by someone who has spent his days behind a desk at the Pentagon.
Its one thing to give orders in a vacuum, its quite another to get your hands dirty and carry it out yourself. Either way, you have to live with your choices. You have to look at yourself in the mirror everyday and know that you did your very best despite any loss of life...that whatever disaster that occurred could not possibly have been foreseen, much less prevented.
Despite the burden, I find there is nothing more satisfying than seeing a mission you drew up implemented successfully from start to finish.
To quote a popular TV show..."I love it when a plan come together..."
In any case, back to the mission.
I placed Tunnel Rat on a hill with the automatic weapon for grazing fire down the road, while the two fire teams...alpha (Wetsuit and myself) and beta (Lowlight and Beachhead)...were positioned in the bush close to the actual ambush site...dropping mines on the opposite side of the road for good measure. Leatherneck and Footloose were placed further back to cover our route to the extraction site.
After checking each soldiers field of fire closely to ensure we didn't have any accidents, I buckled down to wait.
I might not be the most patient of people, but when on the job I can force myself to sit for hours, quiet and unmoving, while I wait for the signal to attack. I don't find it easy, I don't think anyone does. Lowlight and Beachhead are probably better at it than most...the former being a sniper and trained rigorously for this type of work while the latter is just deadly patient by nature...but as the hours ticked by, the sun beating down on us while bugs crawled in and out of our clothing and buzzed around our heads...even they became a bit antsy.
At least we had some entertainment, a local kid playing at being the 'warrior prince'...his 'golden chariot' a tired looking, flea bitten water buffalo. Footloose was amused by his antics, as were the others I'm sure. I merely smiled and nodded, but kept my gun aimed right at him.
As brutal and heartless as it may seem, you can never let your guard down...not even for what seems to be a defenseless child. I would have mowed him down if the situation warranted it...it wouldn't be the first time I found myself in that type of circumstance. I slit a kids throat once...he couldn't have been much older than thirteen. He was armed and guarding one of our targets.
Duke sent me to take him out quietly.
I knew it had to be done; I knew it was crucial to the success of the mission. God knows I have seen what these little guys can do when they point a gun and begin to shoot, when a soldier's heart got in the way of common sense.
Doesn't stop it from haunting you for the rest of your days. They're just kids after all...they are supposed to be out riding their bikes and eating ice cream...not hauling around an AK47 and some grenades!
But I digress...I needn't have worried about this little boy...he was the least of our worries.
You know...as much planning as you do...as many considerations as you try to take into account...your mission is only as good as the intel upon which it is based.
In this case, ours fell far short.
As our target came into view...the 'small' convoy turned out to be a well-armed, well-equipped full armored column with enough firepower to chew us up and spit us out. The soldiers with them were alert and professional.
There was no way I was going to open fire on them...it would have been suicide!
Unfortunately...Anderson had other plans for us.
The minute we got on the radio to key in the squelch signal and tell him we made contact, the machine began to screech like an air raid siren. I killed it with my rifle, but of course it was too late.
Our enemy knew we were there.
I reacted quickly, ordering every weapon to open fire...bringing everything to bear in order to gain immediate fire superiority. I didn't even want to wait for a clear visual target...firing at smoke, muzzle flashes and sound...using grenades and claymores as well.
I knew, however, that we wouldn't last long. As I said...these guys were good...so I ordered us to disengage and head for the LZ...leaving Leatherneck and Footloose to cover our retreat.
We managed to lose them in the jungle and reach the clearing unscathed but exhausted. We were also missing a man. Lowlight had stayed behind to ensure that our target...Mr. Portland...did not make it out of this jungle alive. The others wanted to wait up but I knew we couldn't afford to turn back and get him. Ordering the men to stay sharp I called in an extraction on the remaining radio and popped a red smoker for visual.
The chopper came into view almost immediately and I waited until all my men were on board before jumping on myself. We had to be fast, the enemy was hot on our tail. Lift Ticket had kept the power up in the bird so that we could make a hasty exit. Thank goodness Lowlight made it back, running his ass off with a platoon of Soviets close behind.
He jumped on with very little time to spare.
I hate leaving a man behind. I know that sometimes it cannot be helped...but I still hate it. I was half ready to jump off the chopper myself to go and get him.
As for Anderson...well...the minute I spotted his smug little face on the Tomahawk I went in for the kill, slamming him up against the side of the chopper in my anger.
"You have some explaining to do, you bastard."
"Easy Flint..." Wild Bill came up and put a calming hand on my shoulder. "We already worked him over. I figured something was up once we realized what he was transmitting to your radios after the squelch signal...he set up this ambush to fail from the get go."
"Really..." I growled, tightening my grip on the CIA agent, who was beginning to sweat under his shirt.
"Portland had been set up by the CIA." Wild Bill continued, "It seems he was MEANT to defect. They were counting on him to take the chip with him. It contained an undetectable computer virus that would disable every computer it was installed in. The ambush was to give him credibility..."
"...As the KGB might suspect he was a double agent if no effort was made to stop him." I finished for him, my voice low and deadly, "...a brilliant scheme, I admit...certainly worthy of you underhanded pricks at central intel. Too bad you chose the WRONG soldier to piss off..."
"Let him go, Flint..." Beachhead's voice broke through my anger, "...he ain't worth the trouble."
I paused for a moment, collecting myself, and slammed him against the wall once more for good measure before letting him go.
I will have to take some small satisfaction in knowing that his little plan is a complete wash...Lowlight managed not only to stop Portland without killing him, but recapture the 'stolen' chips as well.
Meanwhile, I am just glad to be 'home'.
I was still wound up when our plane finally touched down in Utah, so much so that immediately upon finding Jaye I dragged her up to a secluded spot outside the PITT for a little Tai Chi. She introduced me to the martial art technique not long ago, and I find it works quite well...helps me clear my mind and quell whatever tension that remains after a hard mission.
Allie didn't ask questions, knowing full well that I am unable to answer due to the security classification tacked onto this mission, but nonetheless I know she understands.
Somehow she always does.
She's on duty at the moment, having left my room a couple of hours ago to report in. I think she has forgiven me for the scene in San Francisco. She even offered to pay me back for the plane tickets...an offer I flat out refused. I might not have a lot of money to throw around, but when I buy something for someone...no matter how expensive...it's a gift from the heart...I don't expect anything in return.
In any case, we spent the rest of the afternoon making love. It had been such a long time since we had last been with each other that it was hard to keep our hands to ourselves! I caught her watching me a couple of times as I went through the movements of our Tai Chi routine...saw the fire in her eyes. I had to smile in amusement when I looked over to find her staring, her eyes widening in embarrassed surprise as she looked quickly away...like a kid caught with her hand in the cookie jar.
Hey...I'm a good-looking guy, what can I say?
She had a nice time in Scotland from what she told me, although I could tell something was bothering her. She seemed distant, distracted...but when I asked she told me it was nothing.
Yeah right...like you can lie to me, Allie...
"Are you sure nothing is bothering you?"
"Hmmm...yeah, I'm fine...its probably jetlag. And that patrol with Spirit took a lot out of me." She paused as she collected her things, looking off into space.
"It was nice seeing the family again...everyone seems so well." She continued, "Duncan is getting married in a few months and is knee deep in wedding preparations...and Connor...you remember Connor, don't you? Well, he is going to be a father. Can you believe it? His wife is already showing...I bet you when I see her next she will be waddling around a..."
The rest of what she was saying was lost to me...in one ear and out the other as I lay there on the bed, frozen...
"Dash...are you ok? Hello...earth to Dashiell..."
I must have looked a sight right then, my face a mixture of shock and fear. I knew right away, as if some ingrained male instinct alerted me to the danger. I think every guy has it...every guy recognizes the look on his girlfriends face...the faraway tone in her voice. And I am sure every guy has the same thing running through his head when the alarm starts to go off.
"Run away...run away!"
Yup...it had finally happened.
Alison's biological clock was finally kicking in!
The funny thing is she doesn't even know it! She dismissed my odd behavior as some residual effect of the mission...quietly telling me to get some sleep and that she will see me in the morning.
Thank god...what I don't need right now is to piss her off again!
You know, as much as the thought puts me in immediate 'fight or flight' mode, I can't help but smile. I think the two of us would make great parents...I wonder if our first will be a boy...a little me.
Ha...God help us if that is the case!
Holy SHIT...where is this coming from!!!!! Damn that woman and her bloody hormones...they're starting to screw with my head now!
I really do need some sleep...