Chapter 3

The Barnyard

The boonies couldn't have been a better choice of words used to describe this part of Yuktobania. Endless, open fields, with the occasional forests, stretched as far as the eye could see. But everything was mostly quite bland and uninteresting, everything except for a rotting, brick red barn.

The barn, as most of the paratroopers guessed, was their objective. But since the barn was the only manmade structure in sight, it made sense for the Echo boys to think so.

This red barn sat alone, atop a slight hill. A rusty pick-up truck sat near it, surrounded by a lonely canopy of towering pines. Tall grass surrounded the lonely structure, showing signs of yearly neglect. The barn was obviously a landmark that Yuktobania had forgotten about long ago. Its heyday was obviously over.

"Reminds me of home." Jenkins noted tossing seventy-five pounds of equipment over his back.

"Guess that explains the accent." Addison smiled as he loaded a magazine into his M-4.

"And you just gotta be the one to point that out do ya?" Jenkins frowned.

"Wow. You couldn't be more correct could you? Damn, there really are smart farm boys out there." Addison said sarcastically.

"Addison how many a$$ whippin's will it take to make you shut up."

"I don't know how many licks does it take your mom to..."

Jenkins began to march towards Addison, "That's it. I've had enough of your…"

Wilkes and James quickly moved to restrain a fuming Jenkins. Jenkins gave Addison a cold stare and pointed at him. Addison simply rolled his eyes and lifted his rifle above his shoulder. The two of them would settle their dispute later.

"FIRST SQUAD! TOPSIDE!" A voice called out.

"Boss hog's callin' fellas." Andersen reminded his comrades.

"Oink, oink." Addison added, forcing a laugh from the others.

1st Squad gathered around their leader, anxious to begin their day.

"Good to see all of you so graciously dropped in. Uh, Blake, you alright?"

Blake was bent over puking his guts out. But he managed to give Athos a thumbs-up.

"Okay. Blake, take as much time as you need." Athos said getting a light laugh.

"Anyway gentlemen we've been grouped up. We've been lucky enough to receive the designation of Bull Squad for this one, so thank the nickname gods. As you can see, we landed right on top of our objective. Our objective is that nice looking place upon the that hill."

"No vacancy. That's some sh!t." Addison smirked.

"Yeah, hope I don't step in any." Andersen added.

"Hey, you two got something better to do?" Athos asked.

"Uh. No sir. We were commenting on the beautiful scenery. Sir." Addison grinned.

"Well, since you two enjoy Yuktobania so much, the both of you get point first."

"Son of a b!tch." Andersen groaned under his breath.

"What was that?"

"The sun needs a light switch." Andersen repeated, as the other First Squadders fought to hold back laughter.

"That's what I thought I heard. Now, back to the meeting. We're going to move up this hill, scope out this farm and set up shop. Other squads are beginning to fan out and recon the area. Doesn't look like anyone's here, but that may only last but so long. I am more than certain the Yukes saw our planes hauling it outta here, so we may have some company soon. For now, it is our mission to secure this farm. Follow my lead and don't shoot your own men. Hoo oh?"

"Hoo oh!" Everyone confidently replied.

"Alright then. Let's move out."

First Squad finally got their heads together. They switched off the safeties, tucked the rifle butts into their shoulders, and started following Athos. Immediately, their minds locked on the mission. Talking could wait.

Others squads around them quietly and slowly moved up the hill. Carefully, everyone observed their surroundings, communicating with hand signals. It wasn't in the best interest for these paratroopers to say hello to a Yuke soldier waiting to shoot.

Athos' men moved like they did in training. He didn't need to look back because he trusted them. They made sure every angle was covered as they scanned back and forth with their rifles. Each paratrooper made quiet footsteps hearing only the crunching of dried grass under their feet. Every bush, every blade of grass was watched with careful scrutiny. If anything as small as a bird moved, these men would see it. Fortunately for Athos, training had taken over his squad, not fear. Hopefully, it would stay that way.

Reaching the foot of the hill Athos and seven other squad leaders knelt down on one knee and held up a fist. Acknowledging the order all other soldiers stopped and knelt in their place.

Slowly scanning the horizon, Athos looked for any signs of the enemy. Suddenly, something moved near the barn door. Swiftly, Athos swung his rifle in the general direction of the disturbance. Closing one eye, he bore his sights down the grove of his rifle, ready to shoot. Patiently, he waited for the noisemaker to show itself. He rested his index finger on the trigger, lest a surprise was waiting. But then Athos exhaled and brought down his rifle. Looking at his fireteam leaders he smiled holding up two fingers and moving them up and down. The other fireteam leaders managed slight smiles.

"Good job buddy." Athos whispered.

"Almost shot a damn rabbit."

Satisfied with what they saw, Athos and the other fireteam leaders extended their right arms forward, the signal to move out.

Athos looked back at his squad and pointed to two of his men then the barn

"You four. Secure that barn door." He said quietly.

"Hoo oh." Wilkes, Jenkins, Myers and James whispered.

"Blake, Andersen, and Addison follow me."
"Move it!" Athos hissed.

Two groups of soldiers scattered in different directions. One led by James, the other led by Athos. James led his team to the barn door, stopping short of the opening. Athos led his team to the corner of the barn. Other squads were surrounding the barn as well. But they all were careful not to shoot each other.

James gave a quick peek into the barn, not seeing anything. He then looked at Myers, on the other side of the barn door opening. Both men nodded, before storming into the dark barn. The four-man team rapidly scanned the area with their rifles. Noticing that they weren't shot, James' team let their rifles hang across their chest. The only sign of life in this barn were two mother hawks carefully guarding their nest, staring at the Osean soldiers.

"Clear here sir." James spoke into his throat microphone.

"Understood. Same here." Athos' replied.

Regrouping outside the soldiers relaxed once again.

"So we shack up here for the night, huh?" Myers asked.

"Guess so. Nice digs." Wilkes said sarcastically.

"What now sir?" Jenkins asked.

"We hold here along with the other squads, and fend off anyone trying to over run us. Once the other's return from their patrols, we rotate, and they guard the joint." Athos said.

"So you want us to post up sir?" James asked.

"Go ahead. I want four, two-man teams. Take a walk around the area, report anything out of the ordinary, then take an observation point overlooking the area. But I don't think we'll miss anything here. We got this hill top just about covered."

"But too bad we don't have much cover sir, except for these skinny pines. Anyone that can shoot can take pot shots at us from up here." Andersen said.

"Just keep your heads down and observe things while prone. Besides this tall grass can hide just about anything. You have your orders gentlemen. LET'S MOVE 'EM OUT!" Athos replied.

"HOO OH!" The soldiers moved out to their respective positions around the hilltop.

Athos and James moved towards a good vantage point observing the way towards Ardovka. Pulling up a pair binoculars Athos could see some rooftops peeking above some other hills dotting the pasture like landscape. The only people moving were a couple of herders gathering cows early in the morning. Yuktobanians weren't all that different from Oseans, Athos could tell. But he really didn't care at the moment. He had enemies to look out for.

"Feeling alright?" Athos asked, his eyes still behind the pair of binoculars.

"I do sir." James replied.

"Said that a bit slowly. You sure?"

"Guess so sir. Just want to hurry up and get this over with. I don't plan on not making it to college if you know what I mean."

Athos put down the binoculars and looked at James.

"Don't expect me to baby ya here, but I will say this. Everyone has each other's backs out here and you know that. As long as you follow my orders, I won't let you down. You just return the favor." Athos explained.

"Hoo oh?"

"Yes sir!" James replied confidently.

"Good. Now use these binoculars and look out for anything strange. Don't plan on another rabbit scaring the hell outta me." Athos replied scanning the horizon with his rifle.