AL-HOOL, SYRIA

"Since we are the only tandem, we're gonna go first." Taylor stood behind Dr. Lucian, who was dressed in the Seal camo uniform, and skydiving helmet. He was shaking and terrified. My guess is he hadn't done this before.

"When this ramp opens up," he pushed Dr. Lucian forward, taking tiny steps. "We're gonna shuffle forward like this, okay, almost to the edge," they stopped before the ramp began. "Then, I will tap your shoulder twice." He tapped Dr. Lucian's trembling shoulders firmly, probably a bit harder than he would of a trained strap. "Tap, Tap. Alright, lean forward and gravity gon' take you from there."

Dr. Lucian nodded.

"Doc, stay with me." Taylor grabbed an oxygen mask and pulled out the head strap.

"What's that?" The Doctor asked.

"Oxygen."

Dr. Lucian looked down at the mask he was holding. "I thought this was the oxygen?"

"Noooo, this is for pre-breathing. It's gonna give you a base before you jump. Okay, look, we are jumping almost two miles higher than the top of Mount Everest, right? You don't pre-breathe, you run the risk of passing out, which means you lose body position, and you start to spin, and that chute there is gon' wrap around you tighter than a cigarette roll."

Dr. Lucian looked away, almost panicked.

An entertained smile swept across my face, knowing Taylor was deliberately making him nervous.

"Hey, hey, look at me." Taylor said firmly. "Relax. Silver lining. If that were to happen to us, both you and I are gonna be unconscious when we burn in. Okay? That's a good thing." He gave the Doctor a reassuring slap on the arm and went to prepare his chute.

"I hope we can pull this off," I mumbled to Kowalski, who sat beside me calmly. When you've done as many missions we have, you had done this hundreds of times in training, and only several times in the real. By now, it came naturally, and the fear was stripped from us.

"Don't worry, we got it all planned out. Just don't let those guys do anything stupid like get contaminated."

"Let's do this," Dr Lucian shouted bravely, putting this mask back on.

I giggled to myself. Hell was going to break lose, I was excited for it. My first real mission leading a unit. Mine. Not Flag's, mine. I was the only one these men could turn to for orders. I had led convoys before, and small unit under order of a higher officer, but never had I been the sole commanding officer.

Twenty hours in, most of us had been awake only a few hours, pre-breathing with masks on.

The pilot came wandering in the cabin from the pit, and made a circle motion with his hand. Time to move.

I turned off the oxygen and removed my mask, standing up to address the men. I made the same signal with my hand, index finger pointed to the roof. "Let's go, line up."

We all began to strap on our holsters and put the chute harnesses on, the other men woke to attention and got started as well.

Dressed in desert camo fatigues, with Kevlar vests and helmets, and about fifty pounds of equipment and ammo strapped our load-bearing harnesses. We all had night vision goggles and leather gloves. None of it made us look the slightest bit bulky, but extremely intimidating.

Our team was the picture of American machismo with combat boots and 9mm pistol strapped to a shoulder holster and that 'living by the sword' attitude. That made us the least known, important officers in America. Our experience combined with the level of danger involved meant this mission demanded a low threshold for bullshit.

The lights around us turned red, and the alarm sounded, making the Doctor look around desperately, trying to figure out what was happening.

We strapped on our helmets, turned on our NV goggles, and high-fived each other, ready for anything. This close-knit team was going to have fun on the way down, in the dark. Not many of us could say we'd done it all.

We all held up our hands, signalling to wait for the ramp as it creaked and jarred open.

Taylor and the Doctor were strapped together, Taylor was going to lead us out. "You okay, Doc?"

"Yeah, everything's great," he placed his hand on Taylor's shoulder.

"You're gonna be fine." Taylor knew what he was doing. He leaned forward slightly, and gravity sucked them out of the plane.

We each stepped out, one at a time, until finally, they were all speeding towards the ground. I took last place, spreading out like a starfish. I jumped with an eager leap, my neck camera flapping against my chin as the air rushed toward me.

For what seemed like a long time, the humming of the plane engines was replaced with an eerie gush past my ears, forcing a strange silence. You could shout all the earth's profanities at your neighbour, and he wouldn't hear a thing.

My vision was green through the NV (Night Vision), and I looked up as the pulled the chute. It flapped in the wind as the air grew thicker around us.

We were closing in on the target at an alarming speed- but it was the only way to get in- a helicopter or plane alike would have been too low and gotten detected by the Russians. Another stealth mission to be proud of.

I began to sail down gently, rather than speed toward the ground. The sail made me spiral around in a circle like a long slide, smooth and quick.

Finally, we made it outside Al-Hool hospital, Syria.

With chutes unharnessed, all eight men were accounted for.

I lifted my NV's up over my helmet at look at the Doctor, who was a little shaken up. But he was taking out an M50 gas mask. "Hey, I take it these things are breathable, or it would defeat its purpose. You okay?"

He had no NV's on, but I think he took relief knowing I was there. "So I'm a little nervous about walking into a building full of spilt nerve agent, I guess I'm in the wrong line of work, right?" He laughed nervously.

"You're gonna be okay." I reassured him. The last thing we needed was a panicked scientist.

"Tac, this is Alpha One, we're at the target, we're about to engage, you copy?" I talked into the mic attached to my helmet. I aimed my rifle in front of me, and panned the area through the scope, finding two black shadows, moving slowly. "Got two guys outside the hospital."

"Good copy Alpha One." Nicole replied through my earpiece.

"Any sign of our Syrian friends?" I asked. The Tacticians had every available technology at their fingertips, including the active surveillance. They were our eyes.

"Negative, Alpha One, they're still engaged with the NSA (National Security Agency) about twenty klicks (kilometers) out."

"Copy that." The radio hashed, and I put the NV's back on, turning to Kowalski, nodding.

We ducked behind a stone wall, and aimed our rifles at the shadows, moving quietly behind the wreck of a truck. "Left." I said quietly, aiming for a headshot. I followed the white dot to the head of the soldier, manning a turret gun. Kowalski followed suit with the other man.

"Three, two, one." We pulled the trigger in unison, taking out the two soldiers with a quick snap like cracking a stick of dry hickory.

We crawled along the wall, and took the door way out into the open, the other six men in tow.

Our training taught us to walk quickly and silently, so much so I could hear my on pulse thumping, and my breath in my ears. Kowalski led, and I followed close behind.

The Doctor kept his hand on Taylor's shoulder the whole time, not being able to see in the darkness without night vision goggles like the rest of us. Even if he had a set, he wouldn't know how to use them. It was best that he couldn't see we were killing people.

The team crept through a maze of crumbled walls, and around a flipped over truck, and took cover behind the truck, surveying the hospital entranceway. We stood there, waiting for the others to catch up. We moved on, coming up to a large metal door.

Taylor held a device to the door, scanning it. The device beeped slowly, then gave a final high pitched beep. Taylor's thumb went up.

Kowalski took out a pair of bolt cutters from his pack, and cut the chain looped around the door handles. He stood back as I opened one of the doors.

Taylor went in first, followed by the others, then finally, Kowalski and me.

We were led down a series of hallways and trough empty lobbies, the place was a maze. We kept our cross hairs tight, and we took down three men standing in a large waiting room.

Spenser took down another down a hall, and then another.

We crept down a narrow set of stairs and found the lab door. Taylor scanned this door too, the device beeping quickly this time. It gave a final beep, and Taylor gave us the thumbs down. To be expected, the chemical had leaked and we all put on our gas masks.

I kicked the door open, and Kowalski and I instinctively crossed our line of sights as we entered. I pushed through first. "I got this, Mike."

He held up his rifle, and waited for me to pass before following me in.

Down another set of gloomy stairs, was the lab. Trashed. Large barrels had been tipped over, glass beakers shattered across the tables. With the gas masks on, I wasn't able to see through the NV's, but a found a switch and turned on two single lights, illuminating the bunker.

We scanned the room, walking slowly, and cautiously.

"This place took a hit," Taylor said.

"Clear." I replied. "Alright, Doc, you're up."

The doctor came through the room, and began to look around. "Looks like the shelling tore up the stock pile. I gotta swab the apparatus now for samples."

"What's that do to the timeline?" I asked.

"Nothing good," He shook his head. His eyes looked serious from behind the mask.

"Let's go, Doc you gotta move." Taylor urged. "Let's go."

The doctor nodded and began his swab.

Kowalski and I headed back up the step and closed the metal door, enabling us to take off our masks.

"You mind telling me what the hell that was about?"

I ignored him and activated the comms. "Tac, this is Alpha One, we secured the lab. Doc's gonna start collecting samples."

"Roger, Alpha One we'll get those vehicles in place for your extraction. Be advised, the last satellite pass showed a change in the status of the engagement to your east. The Russian forces were trying it, and the Syrian army are not pursuing. Guys, if they turn and move in on you, you'll have maybe twenty minutes to get out of there before you're boxed in."

"Copy that, Tac, we'll be in and long gone by then."

"This is Alpha Four, Boss, we need you up on second deck." It was Hayes, who stayed in the lobby to recon.

"Copy." I replied. We made our way to him, finding a long hall littered with the bodies of Syrian soldiers. We entered a room with coughing patients, dotted around the room on gurneys and seats.

One young boy saw me and talked to me in his language which I couldn't understand. He reached out for me.

I crouched down to him and brushed the hair from his eyes. "You're okay," I whispered. "You'll be okay." I looked up, and scanned the rest of the sick people, as they looked at us desperately.

Hayes was checking the status of the boy, as I walked over to Kowalski, who was helping a weakened woman onto a gurney.

"Alright as far as I can tell, they're saying that the regime cut the village from the IS (Armed forced of the counrty). They rounded them up, took the men to join the fight, including this boys Dad."

"Yeah, this woman's husband, too." Perry replied.

I looked at Hayes. "How's he doing?"

Hayes shook his head. "His whole system is compromised. His throat muscles… he's gonna drown in his own spit."

"How much Atropine you give him?"

"Two viles."

I took out one from my vest and handed it to him. "Okay, make it three."

Hayes frowned. "You sure? You might wanna hang onto that in case you're exposed."

I poked Hayes' shoulder with the vile. "I said, make it three. Got a head count?"

"Twenty three total, seven kids."

Kowalski sighed impatiently.

"Have they all been exposed?" I asked, looking back at the patients.

"Gotta assume so."

"Can we save 'em?"

Hayes looked doubtful. "Maybe. But I mean we gotta get them fully deconned into a trauma site, even then,"

"Do have idea what agent they've been exposed to?" Kowalski asked.

I shrugged. "I gotta assume what Doc gets from the lab, it's VX."

"How long is it gonna take to decon?" Hayes asked. He hadn't finished his medic training, in fact, it should have been me doing his job.

"About ten minutes each, a little less for the kids, because they got a lower surface area."

Hayes sighed, not happy with the situation.

I frowned. "Look, get at it, okay Hayes, the sun rises in five hours and when that happens, I wanna be somewhere else."

"Roger that." Hayes confirmed.

I put my mask back on as I headed back to the lab, Kowalski in tow.

"You know we intervened the VX right?" Kowalski said confidently.

"What?" I replied.

Kowalski raised his eyebrows. "Yeah. Well actually, it'll be fair the Brits did it first. But they did it by mistake and as soon as they realised how toxic it was, they stopped makin' it. A few years later the US Army starts mass production. We're the good guys, right?"

"You know what, we are the good guys, because we're not actually using this stuff."

Kowalski fell silent. "We got two local cars, Trig, how we gonna get all these people outta here?"

I put my hand on his shoulder. "That's my next call."

Taylor got out of the seat by the window, and let me take the next watch. He leaned against the wall. "We're here until the sun comes up?"

I nodded. "Yeah." I put my NV's back on. And gazed out the window, looking for any movement. "The Syrians are about twenty klicks away and we have four hours until the sun comes up. Before then, I need you frosty. Take a nap."

"So we're waiting on a ride for the people downstairs, huh?" He added.

I wasn't going to respond. He wasn't the one to make the call. Taylor was the first one to pass the job up.

"I'd put the shooters we have here with us against any other shooters in the world, Trig, but that doesn't mean we could hold off an army."

I sighed and put my NV's up. "Look, you do know what happens. We leave those people downstairs, right?" I shifted in my chair to look at him.

"I know whatever happens, it's been decided a long time ago."

"Not their fault, they didn't ask to be born."

Taylor scoffed. "It's not ours, either." He strolled closer. "You know you gotta be real careful, deciding what's best for somebody else's life. Do say we pull them out. Hand them off to civil affairs, and then what?" Taylor wasn't the most compassionate person I'd worked with. He had little interest in the civvies tangled up in our missions. "Ain't no one patriating in a war zone, with any luck they'll end up in Europe, might assume that the borders aren't shut down then. And if not, they will spend the rest of their lives in a refugee camp."

I sneered. "You say that to those kids faces downstairs."

"I ain't gonna look at their faces."

I looked back out the window.

"You know we got a lot of wolves in this world. And the sheepdog's got his hands full tryin' to keep his own flock safe. Got no vigilance left for anyone else. Flag wouldn't save those people."

I looked back at him, angry. "I gotta whole lot on honour in that. And Flag would have saved those people, as arrogant as he is may be. This is my mission, you do as ordered, no questions asked."

"It is what it is," He said as the final word, as he took his pack and left the room. I shook my head in disgust and put the NV's back down as I continued watch.

"Just finishing up," Kowalski broke the silence as he marched up to the adjacent window. "Once we load up the civvies, the EOD is gonna start setting up charges. You ready to tell me what happened down stairs?"

Here we go. Kowalski was next in line to roast me. I wanted a clean mission, but it was never going to happen was it?

"When?" I asked, playing dumb.

"Team leader is never first through the door, Trig." He glared at me expecting a palpable answer.

I didn't have one.

"I'm trying to make sure we get back home in once piece." Kowalski threw an accusing look at me, as though he thought we weren't making it out.

"Alpha One, this is Tac,"

"Something like that," I grunted. "Go for Alpha One," I said lazily into the comm while Kowalski stared down at me angrily.

"Listen we made our case, and I told the Captain to authorise you to move the civilians out but I was overruled. Alpha One, your mission objective remain unchanged. Collect the samples, destroy and stockpiles and infrastructure and extract any allied personnel. Is that clear?" It was Blackburn's voice on the other end, instead of Ellis.

I blinked hard and sighed. "So we're just gonna leave these people here to die?"

"They're not gonna be any worse off if we hadn't shown up." Blackburn replied. "I know it sucks, but I've been on the net for hours and nobody is going to authorise for American military to cross that border."

"Look, you're trying to tell me that the Green Berets get a tick call that the D.O.D's not going to let them respond?"

"You just answered that for certain. We'd have to have troops in contact with them. Do we have troops in contact?" Blackburn replied.

I grinned at Kowalski. "Not yet,"

All seven men were standing in front of me, waiting for orders.

"So, we completed the mission. As your ground commander, the only lawful order I give right now is to make exfil. But I'm not going to give that order. I'm also not going to give the order the stay."

Taylor looked confused as he glared at me. As did the other six men.

"So if anybody wants to leave, you get in those cars downstairs and make a direct straight for the border. I'm sure it'll be a nice Sunday drive by then. The rest of us are going to stronghold this position against a very large enemy coming our way. I expect, once we're engaged, the Green Berets at Sinjar will respond to our tick. Otherwise if they don't, pretty sure we'll be overrun." I looked at their calm faces, hoping they would trust me enough to follow my lead. No way was I going to leave those people downstairs to suffer. Even if we had to die to protect them. It was a fifty-fifty chance of not making it out, and my men knew that. I looked at their faces, one-by-one, and searched for anyone who was going to ankle.

But even Taylor didn't say anything.

"You don't think we became Frogmen (Navy Seals) because we didn't secretly all want to be Batman? Come on now." Kowalski sniggered.

We all chuckled uncomfortably, for we knew we were all in for rough day. We all turned to the doctor, who stood in the door way with a hand over his mouth.

"Well you guys wouldn't miss me in the fight, let's be honest. Or else, you wouldn't send me alone. So instead of having eight here to hold off the descending hordes of bad guys you're down to what? Six, maybe five? So either of you all don't know, for having to go through the rest of my life haunted by your faces, not to mention those poor souls behind us is literally a fate worse than death. I also don't want to find out so I'm staying." He said bravely, knowing we were the best of the best, and we wanted part of that, too.

They all stared at him, in shock, unbelieving of what speech Dr Lucian had just made.

"Okay, so let's do this. Two shooters on the roof." I broke the awkward silence with my next order. "Three down below. Let's get everybody away from the windows inside, alright?" I stood in front of Spenser. "Hey, how long is it going to take you and EOD to wire up that lab?"

"Twenty minutes maybe."

"Okay, let's get on it, move." My firm voice was reassuring to the Seals who would normally take commands from a higher ground officer, but I was it. I think they took comfort in my strict leadership. Everything was going to go to hell, and I was looking forward to it. An easy mission wasn't going to satisfy me.

"You didn't really expect anybody to take you up on that offer did ya?" Kowalski smiled.

I grinned back. "No, I was fifty-fifty on the Doc, to quite honest with you." We laughed.

"Alpha One, this is Tac. We have a sighting on eastside. You got a mass enemy on the move towards your position. Estimate they could be less than thirty minutes out." Nicole's voice was rushed, telling me she was beginning to worry.

"How many mass enemy are we talking about?" I asked into the comm.

"Too many." She replied.