Title: Back To Barak, Chapter Eleven
Date: March 12, 2006
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 overly graphic, they may cause some readers discomfort. Please read at your own risk.
Ma'assalama Goodbye
Masha'allah It is G-ds Will
Feyn, um Om? Ab? Where is your Mother and Father?
Feyn manzil Where is your home?
Crouching as far back into the dark corner as he could, Dim raised his rifle towards the door just as a glove-covered hand reached into the opening and began to push the board across the door inward where it fell with a loud clatter. He clamped his teeth tightly together, and tried to stay completely still, despite the nausea and pain that coursed thru his body as he tried not to fall on his ass. Though not a praying man, he began to pray in earnest as the muzzle of an AK47 rifle became visible in the doorway, and was followed a moment later, by a man dressed in a long dark shirt, cotton pants, and a ski mask over his face. He turned to his right and jumped back in surprise when he saw Dim crouched in the corner with his rifle trained on him.
For all of a minute the two men stared at each other, and then the Iraqi laughed heartily. "Ma'assalama A-merik-can Infidel! he said bringing his rifle up, preparing to shoot. "Masha'allah"!
The shot reverberated loudly in the small wooden shed; Dim was conscious of a loud high pitched ringing in his ears. Everything seemed to move in slow motion as his legs buckled beneath him and he fell backward onto the ground, hand pressed against his chest and his eyes wide open in pain and shock. He stared for several minutes, then gasped as the Iraqi fell forward and lay unmoving on the floor. His entire body began to shake and a wave of nausea so powerful swept over him it caused him to vomit again.
He heard the sound of footsteps on the ground out side and tried to get back up, raising his rifle for a second time. He was just about to shoot when a small voice called out "Fran-ck?" and the little boy burst into the shed and immediately jumped back in fear as he saw the weapon in Dim's hands.
"No! no…..Its okay!" Dim panted, lowering his weapon, and collapsing back ion the floor. He face was soaked with sweat and his entire body continued to shake.
Outside the shed the sound of machine gun fire and automatic rifle fire had gotten louder and mingled with the sound of exploding grenades and mortar in the distance. The rescue team must be making there way into the village, he thought, and soon it would be impossible to escape. He turned his attention back to the boy, who was now staring at the dead man lying on the floor, his eyes closed, reciting a brief silent prayer.
"Dawud," Dim whispered. "I'm sorry. I didn't want to kill him, but…" Hell, he thought. What do you say to a kid? How do you justify killing to a child? What would he tell Eddie? He sighed. "Dawud, if I hadn't shot him, he would have killed me. I wish I didn't have to do that."
Dawud nodded solemnly.
"I have to get out of here…get back to my squad, "he began as he tried to stand up and stumbled, landing on one of the bales of hay. When he tried to stand a second time, the boy came over and took his arm, steering him towards the doorway. He raised his good arm and leaned it against the wall just inside the doorway to steady him; he could see women and children screaming and crying as they scurried from their small homes taking only what they could carry in their hands or in small carts that they pushed ahead of them.
He looked down at the boy. "Where is your family? You should go to them, they'll worry about you." He racked his brain to find the words in Arabic. "Uh…Feyn, um Om? Ab?" The boy shook his head. "No? Mother or father? What about your home? Where is your home? "Feyn manzil.? He asked, using his hands to draw the shape of a roof and a house.
No." the boy said shaking his head slowly.
"I can't just leave you here, "he began, when he was interrupted by a sudden loud explosion in the village that made the boy gasp in fear. Grabbing the child by the hand, he pulled him out of the shed; they'd only taken a few steps Dim's body finally gave out and he fell to the ground with a loud thump. The boy quickly hooked his arms beneath Dim's armpits, dragging and tugging him behind the shed, as best he could.
Back on the road to Barak Smoke, Hunter, Doublewide, and Mrs. B had rendezvoused with Lieutenant Lapus's unit. The tanks had taken out several Iraqi vehicles and were proceeding towards the bridge, sweeping the area of any hostile forces, while the soldiers kept the Iraqi rebels on the road, pinned down.
Meanwhile, Silas, Angel, and Tariq had made it under the bridge without being spotted, and in all the confusion had been able to surface on the other side of the bridge and take cover behind some low lying shrubs.
"Shit!" Silas growled. "Not much cover here!" He shook his head. "Tariq? Angel? Where the hell would you go?"
Tariq got a thoughtful look on his face and titled his head. "I'd stay away from where people would congregate, so I wouldn't be following that dirt path. "
"Definitely "Angel said. " I'd look for some place to lay low for awhile, away from every body else, especially if I've been hurt, and he's gotta be hurting' Sarge."
Silas nodded. "Same here. He reached up and lowered his NVG, signaling for his men to do the same and follow him.
When they reached another small low lying patch of brush, all three men flopped down onto their stomachs behind it, trying to survey the area and figure out where their squad member would go. Around them the sound of automatic fire and small arms fire, could be heard in addition to the sound of the tanks slowly making there way toward the bridge. They weren't going to have much time that was for sure. Silas looked down at the withered plant in front of his face and peered closely at what looked suspiciously like a small torn piece of plastic wrapping from an MRE pouch. He picked up the wrapper and stared at it, then handed it to Angel. "What does that look like to you?"
"That's from an MRE," Angel replied, after a closer inspection.
"I think I found….raisins? And, uh…coconut." Tariq offered, picking up the small morsels from the ground and examining it. He got up on his knees and turned around facing the opposite way, looking at the ground behind them and saw a few more pieces of food. "Sergeant? I think it's a trail."
"A trail of what!" Silas asked?
"A trail of…I know it sounds dumb but I think its trail mix." Tariq replied.
"Dim hates the stuff." Angel replied. Then he began laughing!
"You think…? " Tariq asked.
Silas shook his head. "Only Dim…."
The three men turned around and began crawling on their hands and knees thru the
scrub brush, finally spotting the dilapidated shed a few hundred feet away.
"You think he's in there-" Angel began, only to be shushed by Silas.
"Somebody's heading this way!" Silas whispered, from behind another withered bush. "Stay down, and don't-"
"It's a kid, Sergeant! He's got something in his hand!" Tariq hissed loudly, grabbing his rifle and taking aim. Beside him, Angel had the boy in his sight and was prepared to fire.
"Tariq-!"
"Don pleez …don me Shhhhooott …," came a small soft voice, speaking in broken English.
"Tell him to put it down, Tariq! What ever he's got in his hand, tell him to put it down and step back, now!"
Tariq did so.
Dawud hesitated slightly and then placed the item he was carrying at his feet, then raising his hands to show they were empty, he stepped back a few paces.
"Angel! Keep him covered! Can you see what it is, Tariq?" Silas asked.
"No, not exactly Sargeant." He lifted his head and asked the boy, "What is that?
Is it a bomb? Answer, now!"
"Baahm? 'Eyh da Baahm?
"Bomb...boom! boom, psssssshhhhhhhhhhhhhhh,Boom!" Tariq replied, pantomiming a bomb exploding.
The boy looked puzzled for a moment, as he tried to find the word his soldier friend had given it, then smiled and replied "La bahm ! Iz Moo-zik! Op-pa –rah! La la la la.. Fran-ck. Moozik!"
"Did he just say Frank's Music?" Scream shouted.
"I think so, sergeant." Tariq turned back to the boy. "Frank? Feyn Frank?"
Dawud pointed back towards the shed and began to speak excitedly in Arabic.
"Sergeant! He says Dim is sick, and fell down behind that little building over there."
"Do you believe him?"
"Shit, Sergeant….I think so."
"Should we believe him Tariq? Are you sure?" Silas yelled over the sound of approaching vehicles, probably the tanks. "I'm not getting my ass blown up because you think the kid may not be lying!"
Tariq turned to look at the two men lying in the dirt beside him. Their lives were in his hands, his decision to believe the child could mean all of their of their lives. Suddenly, he had his answer. "Yes! Yes, I believe him. He knows Dim's real name that means Dim had to have told him." Tariq jumped up and went toward the boy, stopping to reach down and pick up the ipod from where the boy had placed it on the ground. "It's Dim's ipod! Show me!" He said, "Show me Frank! Then he turned back and yelled "It's Dim's" holding up the ipod.
The little boy quickly turned and ran towards the rickety building, Tariq on his heels, leaving a rather surprised Silas and Angel where they were on the ground.
Behind them the sound of exploding bombs and mortar lit up the night sky and became increasingly louder.
"Tariq! What the fuck are doing?" Silas shouted and both men quickly jumped up and followed him. A moment later they reached the shed and found Tariq and the boy kneeling next to Dim on the ground, shouting at him to wake up.
Angel handed his rifle to Silas and dropping down on one knee felt for a pulse at the side of Dim's throat. "He's got a pulse." He then pulled open Dim's jacket and making a fist, pressed his knuckles against the upper part of Dim's sternum, causing the man to groan and shy away from the pain.
Angel carefully moved aside Dim's jacket and tore the cotton T-shirt beneath.
He sucked in his breath loudly. "I knew he was hurt!" His squad mates looked over in his direction and then down at Dim's injured shoulder; the entire shoulder down to his collar bone was seriously inflamed, the wound was infected and suppurated.
Before either of the men could respond there was a loud 'Booming' sound, and the large building in the center of the village, exploded. The tanks had just crossed over the bridge. Dawud cried out in fear.
The reinforcements had arrived.
Meanwhile, back over the other side and several thousand feet before the bridge into Barak, Colonel Casper Ryan dismounted his vehicle and made his way over to where Lieutenant Lapus's squad had rounded up the Iraqi insurgents they'd caught trying to escape just before the tanks were getting ready to move in; twenty of them were now sitting in a huddle on the side of the road, hands flex-tied behind their backs and guarded by several members of the recon group. They were waiting for one of the trucks to come pick them up and then they would be delivered to the nearest military holding area until they could be transferred to an Iraqi prison.
One hundred yards behind them, Smoke, Mrs. B, and Doublewide were enjoying the hospitality of Lieutenant Lapus's squad. They sat on the back of the truck, feet dangling as they drank cool, fresh bottled water and ate M.RE.'s, and thanked them profusely for the small towels they'd used to wash the sand and grit from their face and hands. Lieutenant Hunter was no where in site and they couldn't have cared less.
'So!" Boomed Colonel Ryan, steeping up to them "How you folks making out here?"
All three immediately sat up and Smoke, whose hand was free, saluted.
Ryan waved a hand at them. "As you were, people. We're going to get you back to the base as soon as we can. You'll all need to be checked out by the medics, and then you can all get some real shut-eye."
"Colonel, sir? Any word on the Sergeant and the rest of our team?" Doublewide asked.
"No word yet, private, but our troops are watching out for them, and if they can make it back towards the bridge we've got people standing by to help. I have a medivac on the way in case Private Dumphy or any one of them needs medical attention." Ryan said, finishing with a grin.
"Thank you, sir." Doublewide replied as Mrs. B and Smoke also voiced their appreciation.
"No thanks necessary. Your squad did a great job; you did what was expected of you and held tight in a shitty situation. I wish it had gone better for you, but sometimes we can't predict what's gonna be. I intend to make sure you all get put in for a commendation."
He turned around at the sound of a commotion behind him, which turned out to be Lieutenant Hunter, dressing down a poor hapless private, one of Lapus's squad; Lapus had just joined in the fray, and was admonishing Hunter ."As you were soldiers," Ryan said with a nod and proceeded over to Lieutenant Hunter. "A word with you Lieutenant?" Ryan boomed.
Hunter's face turned a whiter shade of pale as he saluted his superior officer. "Yes sir, Colonel," he replied and allowed himself to be pulled off to the opposite side of the road. Moments later Ryan could be seen invading Hunter's personal space as he proceeded to dress down the Lieutenant for his behavior.
Suddenly there was a loud 'boom' and the sky inside the village lit up as a large building was destroyed by grenade fire.
They all put down there M.R.E.'s. They'd lost their appetites.
