Title: Back To Barak, Chapter Six

Disclaimer: "Over There" and all its characters belong to FX Networks and other entities that may have been involved with its production. No infringement of copyright is intended. This story was written for personal enjoyment and to share with other "Over There" fans.

Summary: When Lieutenant Hunter volunteers the squad to infiltrate and capture Iraqi insurgents, all hell breaks loose. Warning: Be warned that this story does include depictions of war; these depictions may describe consequential injuries and death, and while not over graphic, they may cause some readers discomfort. Please read at your own risk.


A/N reminder that this story takes place between Episode 12 "Suicide Rain" and Episode 13 "Follow the money"


"Sergeant, I am not going to hold up an entire mission to look for one man!" Hunter began, holding up one finger as if to emphasize his point. "This mission is too important!"

"Mission? What mission, sir? We have no vehicles. We have no artillery, a limited supply of ammunition, and no back up! The insurgents hold this entire area. This mission is clearly over, Sir!" Silas yelled back.

"That's ridiculous Sergeant, we're here, and we'll do the job we came to do first, before running around looking for your Private Dimwit!" Hunter replied. Thinking that the rest of his men would appreciate his attempt at wit, he looked past Silas expecting to see smiles from the rest of the squad and instead, saw looks of displeasure so intense, it was physically painful.

"That's private DUMPHY, sir!" Silas snapped.

"Dimwit? That's a rather derisive nickname, isn't it?" Tariq asked sotto voce.

"We have a responsibility to our fellow soldiers." Silas stated.

Hunter folded him arms on his chest. "No one is going to get away with kidnapping an American soldier, and these goat-herders know it!"

"Maybe someone should go tell Private Dana that." Angel said softly but loud enough for everyone to hear, and for a moment, no one spoke.

"You and...you there!" He said pointing first at Angel and then Smoke "I want you two to come with me; we'll find our point of entry into Barak, near the bridge-"

"The insurgents have the bridge, sir." Silas interjected." That's how they've been getting out and back in."

"Intel says-"

"Well Intel is wrong then!"

"Sergeant if I didn't know better I'd say your entire team was shirking their responsibility."

"Ignorant-" Doublewide began.

"-son of a bitch." Mrs. B whispered in reply.

Silas got up from where he was crouched on the ground and stepped close to Hunter, whispering angrily, "Excuse me Lieutenant? I'm not sure if I heard you correctly, but in case I didn't, let me tell you that there isn't a man or woman here who could be accused of shirking their responsibilities today. Including the ten men who lying dead on the other side of the road! You want to this squad to do your bidding; I'd seriously suggest you stop insulting them. Sir!"

Hunter ignored Silas's comment and quickly gestured to Angel and Smoke, "You heard me! Move!"


Though it was only about two hundred feet away from his last hiding place, to Dim, it seemed to take forever for him to reach the little shed. He'd ducked inside and curled back up into a corner, pulling two small bales of straw in front of him then covering himself with the loose straw. The three men had come past the shed; one had even stuck his head inside briefly, looked this way and that but decided nothing was amiss and kept on going. Dim had bitten his lower lip and held his hand over his mouth the entire time, praying that the man couldn't hear the sound of his rasping

breath or the way his heart was pounding in his chest. They must have eventually decided there was nothing to be concerned about after all, because they returned back to the truck and remained there.

There was a dull throb in his left shoulder. He'd finally had a chance to explore the wounded area bit more and there was definitely a foreign body in there. He'd pulled the cloth scarf he usually wrapped around his face and neck out of his pack and tried to rip the cloth with his teeth. He finally succeeded and tore off a good sized piece, then removing his BDU jacket, he placed the folded cloth against the wound to keep it clean, and put his jacket back on to keep it in place.

His legs still felt like rubber, ached terribly and he was so very tired. He didn't think he'd lost all that much blood but he also hadn't eaten very much that day. He took a small sip of water from his personal hydration system; the camelback held about 4 liters and he did the math quickly in his head, figuring how much he probably had left. Dim smiled to himself, remembering a conversation he'd had with Tariq about the suggestion that soldiers exerting moderate force in eighty degree heat should be drinking approximately one liter of water per hour. This made no sense in his mind, since it was a known fact that the human body absorbed fluid much more efficiently when they were taken in smaller frequent doses; say a few sips every ten minutes. He couldn't remember what Tariq's reply had been, but he did remember Sergeant Scream telling him to take a drink and shut the fuck up.

He wondered how the rest of them had fared; Scream, Angel, Smoke, Doublewide, Tariq, and Mrs. B. He hoped they were safe. He hoped they'd come after him. He hoped he'd see them again.

He knew he needed to stay awake, but he was so tired. Maybe he'd just close his eyes for a few minutes and rest. Yeah. Five minutes; that's all he needed.


Captain Baron had always regarded himself as a fair and reasonable man and a responsible leader; he always praised good performance, giving credit when and where it was due, no matter what rank the person held. Even when someone screwed up, he'd always allow them the opportunity to give their side of the story, officer, and NCO alike. He never asked to be liked by his men; whether he was liked or not by his men was inconsequential. All he asked was that they followed his orders to the letter, that they did the job expected of them; that they gave one hundred percent, and treated him with the respect that was his due, as a Captain in the United States Army. Though, secretly he'd been strangely elated when Sergeant Silas had related to him that he was in fact, well liked by his men, and that they believed he needed a grander title; referring to him as 'the Duke' was their way of saying that they respected and admired him.

But what Baron had no patience for, was arrogance and ineptitude, and lies. All three generally caused one big headache and he had a bitch of one right now; not to mention the rather large pain in the ass! He was quite positive that in his twenty plus years in the U.S Army, he'd never seen a cluster fuck like this one! This entire situation in Barak was becoming one huge fucking nightmare and they hadn't even come to the scary part yet!

He'd spent the last two hours on the phone with battalion trying to locate General Downer or Colonel Ryan. It took three quarters of an hour to find one of them, apprise them of the situation, only to find out that the support, both ground and air, they'd been assured would be ready and waiting to be deployed at a moments notice, was a bunch of bullshit! He been lied to and he'd passed that lie along. And that pissed him off, because he'd assured Silas that while they'd be in harms way, they wouldn't be alone.

Silas was a good man, an honest man with integrity. He was a good soldier and a responsible leader, and he certainly didn't deserve to be lied to. He knew that Silas's request that Lieutenant Hunter be transferred wasn't about getting back at Hunter for his past transgressions. No, he'd come in this morning concerned about his men, concerned only with their welfare, with no malice aforethought and he'd done as he was told to do. He hadn't lied to Silas when he'd said Lieutenant Hunter was out of his hands; he really was. He made a promise there and then to find out exactly whose hands that maniac was in.


"Captain, I need to know how much longer it will be until we have backup. Break. The Lieutenant seems to think that we can still perform this mission. " He replied into the radio. It was just about pitch black out and the squad had unpacked their NVG's. Hunter still hadn't returned with Smoke and Angel.

"The mission is scrubbed for now, Sergeant. I have orders from Colonel Ryan to get you out of there. The problem is getting sufficient fire power together to send. Over." Baron stated.

"Captain, I was told that back-up was waiting for us-"

"Apparently not. I know back-up was promised you, but…look; I don't know what to tell you, I wish I did. If I'd been in on this little soiree, I'd have had everything ready for you. I'm sorry about this sergeant. Over." Baron replied.

"Understood, Sir. Break. Sir, I've got one man missing. I want to ascertain that he's in the village and get him out of there. Over."

After several moments of silence, Baron came back. "Agreed. You'll have plenty of back-up to go in for extraction, Sergeant, I'm still-"

"What the HELL is going on here? " Hunter began to yell. "Who gave you permission to contact anyone Sergeant? Do you think that you can go over my head?-"

"Captain, I say again, please repeat-"Silas said, holding a hand over his ear.

"-that what you think, Sergeant? I'll write you up for insubordination myself-"

"Shut up!" Tariq snapped. "You wanna let the whole fucking country know where we're hiding?"

Baron's voice came booming over the radio. "Sergeant what the Hell is going on there? Are you under attack?"

"Yeah!" Smoke laughed, dropping to his knees on the ground and nudging Doublewide. "Attack of the white assholes!"

"That's Lieutenant Hunter, sir! He seems upset THAT YOU'VE CONTACTED US, SIR!" Silas spoke loudly between clenched teeth, turning around to face Hunter, who'd finally shut up and was now standing with a demented look on his face. Behind him several members of the squad smirked and one snorted.

"Get him on the radio. NOW!"

Silas stood and handed the radio to Hunter, who walked several paces away to before speaking; despite that, Baron's angry voice could still be heard. Mrs. B giggled and Silas gave them all a stern look, but it was apparent that he heartily agreed with what they were thinking.

Several minutes later Hunter returned with a tight angry look on his face. "We're to wait for back-up which should be here shortly. We'll proceed into the village to find Private Dumphy and head back to base. This mission has been scrubbed!" He half tossed-half threw the radio at Tariq and settled down behind cover but far away from everyone else.

"Tell us something we didn't know." Silas said under his breath.

"You know?" Mrs. B drawled quietly in her rich West Virginia accent as she leaned back and looked at Hunter. "I do believe the man's gonna cry."