Chapter 18
The Breaking Point
2100 hours, 16 February 2001, 2 miles past the outskirts of Montreal, Republic of Quebec.
With only the light of the moon the guide him; Lieutenant Colonel Tony DiNozzo Jr, slowly and quietly made his way out of the city. The white snow crunched under his boots as he hunched lower to the ground. M4 rifle in hand, Tony stopped, when prone to the ground and looked around. Nothing, just a bunch of trees and snow. Fortunately for the Colonel, he was dressed in white camo, and blended in with the ground quite well. He lay there for about 30 minutes before he heard the faint sound of footsteps approaching in front of him. Slowly, he looked up, he finger on the trigger of his M4. Not sure of whom was approaching, he brought the rifle to his shoulder and took careful aim. He was about to take the shot, when he caught a glimpse of blonde hair, flying out from underneath a white wool cap. Tony lowered the rifle and took his finger off the trigger, but as an extra precaution, he still remained prone to the ground. The women, as he could now clearly identify her, walked up and stopped only inches from Tony's head. Slowly and utterly silently, Tony slowly rose up, leaving his rifle on the ground. Quickly and swiftly, he placed his gloved hand over the girl's mouth and pulled her back behind the tree. The Girl was quick to react, but Tony was prepared. "Liat, calm down, it's me, Abba" he said. Hearing the voice of her father, Liat quickly relaxed and Tony removed his hand from her mouth. "Sorry about that" Tony said as he grabbed his rifle and slung it over his shoulder.
"I am glad to see that you survived that river crossing in one piece" Liat said as she leaned up against a tree. "And how fares my little brother?" she asked. She loved branding Three her "little" brother, despite only being older than him by a few months.
"He's fine, came through without a scratch" Tony replied. "What happened to your friends?" Tony asked, referring to Mossad Officers Michael Rivkin and Teo Gold.
"After the 'malfunction' with the detonator" she said using air quotes, "Director David recalled them to Tel-Aviv" she informed him.
"Shame, and I was looking forward to see my ole' pal Mikey again" said Tony sarcastically. "So, what stands between Blade Force and Quebec City?" Tony asked. Liat reached into her back pocket and pulled out a folded up Map. From her jacket she pulled out a small flash light as Tony unfolded the map. Liat turned one the small flash light and quickly scanned the Map.
"Most of The Canadian forces have pulled back to Quebec City. For some reason, they have left the rest of their border with the United States undefended. I do not know why" she said.
"I do" Tony replied.
"Why?" she asked.
"Politics. There is a reason that Blade Force is headed for Quebec City and not Ottawa and Toronto. The same reason we didn't get a shot at Baghdad in 91'. Desert Storm was a war to liberate Kuwait, not conquer Iraq. Same with this one. Operation "Frozen Fury" has one purpose, the Liberation of The Republic of Quebec, not the conquest of Canada" Tony informed her.
"You sound displeased with that" Liat observed.
"I don't like half measures" Tony replied. "So, according to this, there is nothing between us and Quebec City?" Tony asked.
"Just one thing" Liat said as she scanned the map once again. She pointed to a very small town, which lay about midway between the 2 big cities.
"Montcalm" Tony read from the map. "What's there?" he asked his daughter.
"It's a crossroads town. You'll need to secure it if you want to have any hope of moving heavy armor towards Quebec City" she said.
"What do the Canucks have defending it?" he asked.
"A regiment, supported by an Armor company. AAA and AT, both dug in. the roads leading to the town are heavily mined. In my opinion, the only way we'll be able to take this town is on foot" she said gravely.
"A suicide mission, my favorite" Tony remarked sarcastically. "That's for the report Princess" said Tony as he pulled her into a warm and loving hug as he gave her a kiss on the forehead. "How you getting out of here?" he asked her.
"Rivkin ordered me to stay behind and recon your positions" she said with a grin. "Since I won't be doing that, I figured I slip down to Marshlands for a few days R&R" she said.
"Good Girl" Tony said as he gave her another kiss on the forehead. "I better be getting back before anyone knows I'm missing, and you best be getting on your way too" Tony suggested.
"Be careful Abba" said Liat sweetly as she turned to leave.
"You too Hija" Tony replied.
0700 hours, 17 February 2001, Champlain Tavern, Montreal, Republic of Quebec
"Happy Independence Day" said Tony as he sat down at the table where the rest of his team was enjoying a breakfast of oatmeal and coffee. With a cup of coffee in one hand and a map of Quebec in the other, he sat down.
"What?" asked Three with a mouthful of oatmeal. Tony quickly head slapped him. "What was that for?" Three asked, his mouth still full.
"Don't talk with your mouth full" said Tony. Tony set down his coffee mug and unrolled the map. Three finally swallowed the oatmeal and repeated his question.
"The Provisional Government of The Republic of Quebec has declared today Quebecois Independence Day" said Tony as he rolled out the map. He placed his finger on a small crossroads town. "Montcalm, our next stop" he informed them.
"What's there?" Master Sergeant Chester Martin asked.
"It's a key crossroads town. Intel says the area is heavily mined, so we're gonna lead the Rangers in a ground assault and take the town" Tony informed them.
"Not anymore" said a voice from behind them. Tony turned and saw Brigadier General Irving Morrell standing there, a few pieces of paper in his hand.
"You're shitting me Irv": Tony said.
"'Fraid not" Morrell replied as he unfolded the 1st piece of paper and read it aloud. "Effective immediately, Lieutenant Colonel Anthony Dominick DiNozzo Jr and Master Sergeant Chester Curtis Martin are hereby ordered to report to Loring AFB. Once there, the aforementioned persons will board the next flight to Andrews Air Force Base, Maryland. Signed, Major General Thomas Franks, Commanding General, US Special Operations Command" he finished.
"Well what are we gonna be doing in Naples?" Tony asked. "We got a war to fight" Tony said.
"I was not privied to that, Lieutenant Colonel" Morrell replied. "Both you and Master Sergeant Martin have your orders" Morrell said sternly.
"If both me and Ironman are off on this little sideshow, then who's gonna run Alpha, and for that matter, who's gonna lead us in Montcalm?" Tony asked, standing up.
"I was just getting to that" he replied, opening the 2nd piece of paper and handing it to Tony. "Also effective immediately, I am promoting one, Anthony Dominick DiNozzo III to Staff Sergeant, and placing him in command of 'Alpha Team' until I deem otherwise. Clear?" he yelled, raising his voice.
"Yes Sir" they all replied in unison.
"Good. You 2 have 10 minutes to grab your gear" Morrell added. "Oh, and Staff Sergeant DiNozzo" said The General as he reached into his breast pocket. He tossed a small plastic bag to Three. "I expect those sewn on within the hour" said Morrell as he walked out. Three opened the bag and pulled out 2 Staff Sergeant's Chevrons.
1400 hours, 17 February 2001, Main Conference Room, JAG Headquarters, Falls Church, Virginia.
Despite all the damage done by the bomb blast only weeks prior, JAG was, for the most part, up and running smoothly. There was still a lot of work to be done, but Operations were back up and running.
At one end of the conference table sat Petty Officer 3rd Class Jennifer Coates, along with her legal council, Commander Harmon Rabb Jr. Jennifer twitched nervously in her seat, as they waited for the prosecutor, Marine Lieutenant Colonel Sarah Mackenzie, to arrive. "Stay calm, Petty Officer" Commander Rabb reassured her.
"Yes Sir" she replied as she adjusted the hem of her skirt for the umpteenth time. She did it a few more times before Lieutenant Colonel Mackenzie walked in. Neither Harm nor Petty Officer Coates rose when she did.
"Don't you stand when a superior officer enters the room Petty Officer?" she asked in her shrill accusatory tone.
"Not when that officer is trying to put me in prison for something I didn't do" the Petty Officer replied.
"Well that's what happens when try to steal $500,000 dollars from the US Government" Mackenzie countered.
"I didn't steal anything" Jen insisted. Harm and Mac dickered back and forth for a few more minutes before there was a knock on the conference room door.
"Colonel Mackenzie, The Admiral needs to have a word with you ASAP" said Petty Officer 2nd Class Jason Tiner, who was Admiral Chegwidden's yeoman. With a grunt of disappointment, Mac stood up from the table and followed the Petty Officer.
"I wonder what was so important?" Harm asked to know one in particular.
"Oh nothing. I just told Tiner that if he didn't get Colonel Mackenzie out of the room, I'd have him shipped out on one of our 'secret' prison ships for the next 20 years" said a voice coming from the door way. Harm looked up and saw C.I.A Agent Clayton Webb leaning against the door frame.
"Oh Shit" muttered Harm as he ran his fingers through his hair. Standing behind Webb was a red-headed women, dressed in a power suit. "Petty Officer, I would like to introduce Clayton Webb, and you are?" he asked, turning to the women, extending his hand.
"Jennifer Shepard, Deputy Director, NCIS" said Jenny as she sat down. Harm slowly retracted his hand. "Petty Officer Jennifer Coates, stationed on The U.S.S Gainesville, accused of stealing $500,000 dollars from the dispersing office on said ship" Jenny read from the file in front of her.
"Like I told the Colonel before, I didn't do it" Jenn stated once again.
"Well I don't believe you" Jenny replied smugly.
"If it helps, I do" said Webb with a nervous smile, drawling a death glare from Deputy Director Shepard. "Sorry" Webb added.
"As I was saying, this isn't your 1st offense, is it, Petty Officer. Back in Hagerstown, Maryland, you were arrested multiple times for petty theft. Made the transition from petty thief to Petty Officer did we?" Jenny asked with a sadistic grin.
"The Judge back in Hagerstown had it in for me after I broke the windshield of his Mercedes with a baseball when I was 11. he had the local Sheriff run me in every chance he got. He gave me 2 options: join the Navy, or do hard time" Jen explained.
"How would you like that all to go away Petty Officer?" Jenny asked.
"Yes Mam" Coates replied.
"Then I have an offer for you" Jenny said with an evil grin. "It involves going deep undercover. But if you pull it off, you'll receive an honorable discharge and a clean slate in civilian life" Jenny said. "This will be an NCIS Operation, so you will be TAD to NCIS for the time being. Do you accept?" Jenny asked.
"Yes Mam" Coates replied, perhaps not fully understanding the consequences of her actions.
0700 hours, 18 February 2001, Woods outside of the Village of Montcalm, Republic of Quebec.
"What's are your mind Marty?" asked recently promoted Staff Sergeant Anthony "Three" Dominick DiNozzo III to Staff Sergeant Martin Deeks, as both of them observed the Village through their binoculars.
"Got a bad feeling about this one… Top" said Deeks with a smile, using the nickname for a Unit Team Leader. Both men lowered their respective Binoculars from their faces and Three gave Deeks a look.
"Drop it Dragnet, I'm not my father. I don't have the Medal or any other decorations for Valor like my father does" Three said humbly
"Not yet" said Deeks with a smile. Their banter was interrupted by the shouting of General Morrell at what appeared to be an American Civilian. Three walked over to see what has going on. he walked up next to one of The Rangers, a 1st Sergeant.
"What's going on 1st Sergeant?" Three asked. The 1st Sergeant looked over at Three.
"DiNozzo" The 1st Sergeant read of Three's breast pocket. "You wouldn't happen to be related to the Colonel would you?" he asked.
"He's my father. Why? You know him?" Three asked.
"Reggie Bartlett" said The 1st Sergeant as he extended his hand. Three smiled and took it.
"Three" he replied, giving his name. "Yeah, I've heard of you. You and my old man fought together in Somalia right?" Three asked.
"Crash Sight #1" said Reggie.
"So who's the civvie?" Three asked.
"Name's Barnes, he's a senior policy analyst for the White House. His son is a 2nd Lieutenant with the signal corp. Daddy pulled some strings and got him transferred here, hopping to cash in on an easy victory" Reggie said.
"Ain't gonna be nothing easy about this" Three commented. "Yeah, I remember Barnes, Chester Martin kicked the shit out of him without leaving his hospital bed" said Three with a smile. "He's held a grudge against Delta ever since"
"How is Chester?" Reggie asked.
"Good, he and his wife just had their 1st child about a month ago. You know the Master Sergeant too?" Three asked.
"Back in the day, me and Chester served under then Major Colleton, before both of them got moved up to the Unit" said Reggie. Once again, Three's conversation was interrupted by General Morrell's argument with Barnes.
"Asshole" Morrell commented as he stormed off. Three quickly followed.
"What's up General?" Three asked.
"Politics" Morrell said, spitting out the word. "Not only has that asshole Barnes gotten his pissass son transferred here, but now, he's convinced the President to order me to let that greenshit lead the assault" Morrell spat out.
"So now me and Deeks gotta take orders from the guy that nearly got my old man killed 7 years ago?" Three asked in shock.
"Well that's where you luck out kid" Morrell said grimly. "Barnes has fixed it so that Delta is off the mission"
"WHAT?" Three demanded. "He can't do that!" he protested.
"Oh yes I can" Barnes announced smugly as he and his soon sauntered over. Three quickly balled his fist and delivered a haymaker that Mike Tyson himself would be proud to claim.
"Fuck You" Three exclaimed as he stomped off to deliver the news to Deeks.
30 minutes later, with Barnes back on his feet, Morrell was briefing 2nd Lieutenant Norman Barnes on what has expected of him. "We've setup 4 Heavy Machine Guns here in the woods; they should provide you with adequate cover fire. Rush the Village quickly, and for God's sake, whatever you do, don't stop. If you stop before reaching the building you'll sitting ducks. Now, you'll have support, in the form of Quebecois Resistance Fighters, who have taken up positions behind the Village, now you shouldn't need em, but they're there none the less. Got that?" Morrell asked.
"I got it" the younger Barnes answered sleazily.
A few minutes later, the shooting started, leaving no choice for Staff Sergeants DiNozzo and Deeks but to watch it all unfold. The Canadian Anti-Tank guns and Armored Units opened fire on the on rushing Rangers almost immediately. Sniper and Machine Gun fire also added to the Ranger casualties. After a minute or so of advancing, Lieutenant Barnes ordered the men to stop. "What the fuck is he doing?" Deeks yelled.
"Fuck if I know" Three replied. "Jesus" Three exclaimed as he watched the Rangers get picked off.
Not far away, Brigadier General Irving Morrell, who was a Ranger himself, watched in horror. "Fuck this" Morrell yelled. "DiNozzo! Get your Six over here" he shouted, Three came sprinting over.
"Yes General" Three said.
"DiNozzo, get out there, relieve Barnes, and take that attack on in!" Morrell ordered.
"Yes Sir" Three replied as he sprinted off into battle.
"You can't do that!" the elder Barnes complained.
"Actually, he just did" said a smirking Staff Sergeant Deeks, who had just walked over. Deeks quickly un-slung his M4 and crashed the butt of the rifle across the back of Barnes' head. "Pussy" Deeks remarked.
Three sprinted out onto the snow covered field; a Canadian tank shell exploded right in front of him, but Three just kept running. He sprinted and slid on his knees to Norman Barnes' position behind a large hay bale. Three grabbed the shaking Barnes by the collar and informed him. "You're relieved" Three quickly shot up and ran over to 1st Sergeant Bartlett's position. "1st Sergeant Bartlett!" Three yelled as he slid in next to Reggie. "Gimme a sitrep" Three demanded.
"Most of the Company is pinned down. Chalk 1 tried a run around but now they're pinned down by a sniper. We think he's in the building with the caved in roof" Reggie informed him. Three quickly shot up his head and spotted the building.
"He's there" Three confirmed. "Ok listen up, I want M203 and SAW fire on the building till that shithead is gone. When it's gone, I want the whole Company to move up together, forget the end run, we'll just go straight in" Three decided.
Meanwhile, a dazed and confused 2nd Lieutenant Norman Barnes walked up towards General Morrell, with his sidearm in hand. When he raised it and pointed it at Morrell, 2 shots rang out, both hitting Barnes dead center in the chest. Morrell watched as Barnes' lifeless carcass hit the ground and then turned to see who had fired the shots. When he did, he saw Staff Sergeant Deeks standing there, as he lowered his M4 to his side. Morrell gave him a thank you head nod, which Deeks reciprocated.
With the Sniper dead, Three, 1st Sergeant Bartlett and the rest of the Rangers made their way to the outermost buildings of the town. 1st Bartlett, then Three slid down behind a brick wall. "What do you see?" Three yelled to Reggie who was peeking over the wall.
"Armor and infantry" Reggie yelled back in his Richmond Virginia accent.
"Any sign of The Quebecois?" Three asked.
"Negative" Reggie replied quickly.
"Anything on the radio?" Three yelled over to a Ranger Corporal who was carrying a radio.
"Negative Staff Sergeant" The Ranger yelled back.
"Three, if we don't connect with the Rebels, they're gonna pull back" Reggie warned.
"That's right, stay here" Three said as he hopped over the brick wall, rifle in hand, and charged ahead. Bartlett and his fellow Rangers watched in Shock and Awe as Three charged forward. At 1st the Canucks didn't shot, in fact, they didn't do anything.
Back at the tree line, both Brigadier General Irving Morrell and Staff Sergeant Martin Deeks watched on. At 1st, they did nothing, probably because they were so shocked at what was happening. Eventually the Canadians did open fire on him, but, by some miracle, by some grace of god, Three dodged em all. I watched as Three just over a wall on the far side of the village and disappeared. What has even crazier, was after Three linked up with The Galtier Brothers, he came back, charging back through the village Deeks observed.
0915 hours, 18 February 2001, Village of Montcalm, Republic of Quebec.
The Battle was over and The Rangers and Quebecois Resistance Fighters had carried the day. Barnes was gone, taking home his son's body. there had been over 3 dozen witnesses to Norman Barnes pointing his pistol at General Morrell, so Deeks would be in the clear for killing him. Which left only Three. Three had no doubt in his mind that General Morrell would have some choice words about his actions. But for now, Three was exhausted. He hadn't gotten much sleep the night before, and now he was leaning up against the wooden oak door of Montcalm's Catholic Church, just resting his eyes for a few minutes. He was just starting to drift off to sleep when someone kicked his boot. Three groaned, opened his eyes and looked up. "Go away" Three moaned as he saw the Galtier Brothers, Chris and Garrett, standing in front of him.
"Don't count on it" said Chris as he sat down to one side of Three, Garrett on the other. Both brothers were dressed in the Navy blue Uniforms of the AROQ (Army of The Republic of Quebec) Forces. Chris had the insignia of "Junior Lieutenant" and Garrett had the insignia of "Sergeant". Not in the mood to listen to the Brothers babble on, Three stood up, slinging his M4 over his shoulder. Three decided to walk around for a bit, just to clear his head. After a few minutes of walking around the now bombed out village, Three's stroll was interrupted by a HUMVEE driving up next to him. as the HUMVEE came to a stop, Brigadier General Irving Morrell hoped out.
"General Morrell" said Three, nodding to the General. "I apologize for not saluting Sir, but there may still be Canuck Snipers in the area" Three said.
"I'm well aware Staff Sergeant" said Morrell with a smile as he reached into his breast pocket and pulled out a piece of paper. "You're probably wondering why I'm here" said Morrell.
"No really Sir, are those my Section-8 discharge papers in your hand?" Three semi-joked.
"Funny man" said Morrell sarcastically. "No, actually they're not, but keep it up funny man and they will be" Morrell jokingly threatened.
"Alright then, then what the hell are they?" Three asked.
"Looks like you and your father have one more thing in common, besides being the biggest pains in the ass this side of The Mississippi" Morrell joked.
"What do you mean Sir?" asked Three.
"I'm putting you in for The Medal" Morrell told him.
"As in The"
"Yes, The Congressional Medal of Honor" Morrell said, cutting him off. Morrell snapped to attention, and saluted. "Congratulations Staff Sergeant"