Chapter 33
Breaking Bagram
0500 hours local time, 7 October 2001, ½ mile south of Bagram Airbase, Afghanistan.
"Stupid Politicians" Tony muttered as he raised the binoculars to his face. Due to some bull shit back in Washington, the attack on Bagram Airbase had been delayed and put off until the morning of 7 October. But now the time had arrived. It was time to hit back, take vengeance for September 11th. "Ok, huddle up" Tony yelled. Everyone from both Alpha and Bravo Teams gathered around. "Alright, The ANA (Afghan National Army) are in position outside the main gate. Bravo Team will back up the ANA at the main gate. Alpha will breech the perimeter from the East" Tony said. "Phantom and Ironman will carry the laser designators for their respective teams. Hitman and Howitzer are the sharpshooters" Tony added. "Just so you all know, we have Warthogs, Eagles and a Spectre all on station and available for tasking. I hate writing letters home, so please, do not hesitate to call in CAS" Tony instructed. "Good Hunting" Tony said.
Deeks started up the lead pickup, Tony got in the passenger seat, while Tali jumped into the bed, ready to operate the PKM Machine gun at a moment's notice. Three, Tali and Chester loaded into the 2nd truck.
10 minutes later
"Break" Tony ordered as Deeks mashed the throttle. The 2 lead pickups sped off farther down the road.
"Copy" Cole replied as he and Weston peeled off as the ANA soldiers braved on coming enemy fire.
"Form a battle line" Lt. Galtier ordered as he flicked off the safety on his M4. Bravo Team quickly took cover behind a burnt out Soviet tank that probably had been left there since the 80's.
"Phantom!" yelled Master Sergeant Gardocki to Cole. Staff Sergeant Cole came rushing over. "Those Heavy MGs in the towers are gonna rip us to shreds. Get out your radio and get CAS on those fuckers" Gardocki ordered.
"On it" said Cole as he switch his radio to the Air Force's freq. "Echo-niner, this is Phantom, over" he said into his radio.
"Phantom, this is Echo-niner, over" the pilot replied.
"Echo-niner, we have 2 Heavy MG positions ripping our guys to shreds, need immediate CAS, over" Cole said.
"That's inside Danger Close Phantom, I'm gonna need you to light up the target" the pilot said.
"Copy" Cole said as he quickly said up the laser designator. "Echo-niner, target is painted" Cole said.
"Copy that, bombs away" the pilot said as he dropped 2 GBU-31 laser-guided bombs from his F-15 Eagle. The bombs were right on target.
"Good hits, Echo niner, good hits" Cole repeated.
Meanwhile, on the far side of the airfield, Three and Deeks began snipping their way through the fence. "Bravo has made their way through the front gate, but their pinned down by sniper fire from the south tower" Tali said as Three and Deeks pulled away the cut away section of fence.
"Ok, let's move. Hitman, Setup here for counter-sniper fire. Ironman, you're the spotter" Tony ordered. "The rest of you, with me" Tony said. Tony unslung his M4 and made a beeline for the nearest building. "We need to make it to the South Tower" Tony said. "Freedom, stay here and lay down cover fire" Tony ordered. "Sky Train, Dragnet, with me" Tony said as they 3 men busted into the building. Luckily, the building was empty. Tony, Three and Deeks made their way over to the far window. "Ok, I have multiple shooters on the top deck of the main building" Tony said. "Hitman, you guys in position?" Tony asked over the radio.
"Ready to rock n' roll Top" Billy replied.
"Ironman, you all set on the LD?" Tony asked.
"I'm set" Chester replied.
"Then let's rock" Tony said.
"Movie Buff, this is Phantom, over!" yelled a frantic Staff Sergeant Cole.
"Go Phantom" Tony replied.
"Movie Buff, Bravo Team is taking in-direct mortar fire, suggest you find and eliminate" Cole said.
"Copy that, Phantom" Tony replied. "Freedom, get in here" Tony yelled.
"What's up Top?" Tali said as she came running in.
"You ready to dodge the lights?" Tony asked. Tali smiled as she remembered the last time he had said that.
"Hey Tals" Tony whispered over to Tali.
"Yeah T" she whispered back.
"You up for a little running?" Tony asked.
"Running?" Tali asked.
"Yeah, dodging the lights in all, it's pretty important" Tony joked, trying to see if Tali would pick up on the movie reference.
"Von Ryan's Express, MGM, 1965" Tali said.
"Good Girl" Tony said as he held out his fist for a fist bump, to which Tali happily complied. "Now, you ready for a little running?" he asked again.
"What do ya got in mind Top?" she asked.
"I lay down a little cover fire, and you make a mad dash for the fence" Tony said.
"Then what?" she asked.
"Get 'Ziva' out of the trunk of the Mustang" Tony ordered as he tossed Tali the keys to his Mustang.
"Got it" Tali said as she holstered her M9 and got ready to run.
"GO!" Tony yelled as he spun around and opened fire. Tali took off into a full out sprint. Tony emptied the clip and ducked down to reload. He watched as Tali turned to corner. Well, at least she's safe Tony thought as he popped in a new clip. Now all Tony had to do was wait. Wait and pray that Billy didn't kill him before Tali got back.
Tali hoped over the fence and sprinted up to the Mustang. She quickly fished the keys out of her pocket and used them to unlock the trunk. She reached down and used a different key to unlock and slide back the secure panel that hid the weapons that Tony hid in his trunk. She grabbed "Ziva", Tony's modified BAR (Browning Automatic Rifle). Then she grabbed the ammo belt that held the modified clips and slung it across her shoulder. She grabbed "Ziva", slammed the trunk shut and took off running back towards Tony.
"I'm ready" she said.
"Ok, Dragnet, you stay here with Sky Train" Tony ordered. "Tals, with me" Tony said as they made their way out of the far side of the building. In the distance, both Tony and Tali could hear the distinctive "thumb" of mortars firing. "They're over there all right" Tony said. "81mm by the sound of em" he concluded.
"Options?" Tali asked.
"Mark em with RP and hope the Hogs don't hit us" Tony said.
"Or we take out ourselves" Tali suggested.
"Let's get eyes on first" Tony said. "We'll make our decision then" Tony said.
"Right" Tali replied. Tony and Tali quickly darted out of the back of the building, trying to keep a low profile as sprinted through the burnt out shells that used to be buildings. "Over there" Tali said when they reached a fence. "In the graveyard" she said, referring to the "graveyard" of old soviet commercial and cargo jets that now lay in ruin and disarray.
"There's no time to go back for the designator, and RP will be hard to spot in all that" Tony said.
"Then we only have one choice then" Tali said.
"You ready?" Tony asked as held up his M4.
"I'm a Colleton, I was born ready" Tali said confidently. Tony nodded as he pulled away the rusted fence. He and Tali snaked through, keeping as low to the ground as possible. They crawled up behind a burnt out Tank and prepped their grenades.
"Now" Tony yelled as they each pulled their pins and tossed the grenades towards the 2 closest holes. The grenades exploded, killing the mortar crews and punctured holes in the mortar tubes, rendering them useless. Tony snapped his rifle to his shoulder and slowly made his way to check the 1st hole. "Confirmed, 4 K.I.A" Tony said.
"Same here" Tali said after she checked the 2nd hole. They repeated the process as they cleared out the remaining 6 Mortar pits. Once the graveyard had been cleared out, and Tony and Tali had made their way to the far side, it brought them up against the back of a hangar. Through one of the numerous rust holes in the wall, Tony could see that overall, the hangar appeared to be in good shape.
"Ok, let's try and leave this one standing" Tony said.
"Why?" Tali asked.
"The QRFs are gonna need this as a T.O.C" Tony said. "And if I destroy this another 'perfectly good building' Bridget is gonna kill me" he joked.
"Yeah, the future Mrs. DiNozzo can be a little testy at times" Tali joked with a smirk.
"Shut it Tals" Tony said. "Be and Kate are back together" Tony said firmly. "For good" he added. No matter how many times Tony said that, Tali had some serious doubts about her best friend's marriage. Only days earlier, Tony and Kate's 19th Anniversary came and went. And like most years, Tony and Kate did not celebrate it. Also like most of the recent years, The DiNozzo family was scattered across the globe. Tony and Three were in Afghanistan, Liat in Israel, Kate in Washington, and EJ in New York. And Tony's extended family, mainly his parent and siblings, were even farther spread out.
"Ok, let's clear this fucker out" Tony said as he brought his rifle to his shoulder again. "Let's Move" he said as they silently approached a back door. Tony slowly pushed it open with his foot, but the door was so old and rusted, that it fell right off it's hinges and went crashing to the ground, sending a loud "bang" reverberating throughout the building.
"Smooth" Tali commented.
"Eh" Tony replied as he tilted his hand. "Just go" Tony said. He and Tali silently crept their way into the hangar, finding it deserted.
"Well that was easy" Tali said as she lowered her weapon.
"Too easy" Tony said he took a careful look around. "Down!" Tony yelled as he knocked Tali to the ground, just mere seconds before an RPG round struck the side of the building. That's when they both heard it. The creaking of the metal. "Oh shit" Tony said as the building came crashing down around them. "Son of a bitch!" Tony yelled as he used his own body to cover Tali's as the building came crashing down around them.
"DAD!" Three yelled as he watched the hangar collapse in on itself. "NO!" he yelled as he stood up to run. Deeks quickly tackled him to the ground.
"Are you out of your mind? Do you wanna get yourself killed?" Deeks asked him.
"My Dad is in there" Three yelled as he tried, and failed, to push Deeks off of him. "Get off me!" he yelled as Deeks continued to keep him pinned to the ground.
"Would you just listen to me" Deeks yelled as he placed his knee on Three's chest. "If we don't neutralize that tower 1st, we'll get picked off trying to help em" Deeks said. "We take the tower, then we help out people" Deeks instructed. "Readily will I display the intestinal fortitude required to fight on to the Ranger objective and complete the mission though I be the lone survivor" Deeks said as he recited the final stanza of the Ranger Creed. "Hooah?" Deeks asked as he released his knee from Three's chest.
"Hooah" Three replied, giving Deeks a nod.
"Alright" Deeks said as he touched his ear piece. "Red Cap, this is Dragnet, be advised, I have a structure collapse, Movie Buff and Freedom believed to be inside" Deeks said into radio.
"Copy that Dragnet, status of remaining Alpha?" Bridget asked, both fear and worry in her voice.
"Hitman and Ironman have an established Overwatch position, too far away and too many shooters to risk an RV" Deeks said.
"Copy. Can you and Sky Train handle the situation?" she asked.
"That we can" Deeks replied.
"Understood Dragnet, take charge of the situation. Neutralize the tower, and get our people out of there" she ordered.
"Copy that, Dragnet out" Deeks said as he signed off. "You ready?" Deeks asked Three.
"Ready" Three replied.
"Popping smoke" Deeks yelled as he and Three tossed 2 smoke grenades each out of the building. Once the ground between their position and the tower was filled with white smoke, Deeks and Three made their move. "Let's go" Deeks said as she and Three quickly made an all-out sprint across the open space. They quickly took positions on opposite sides of the 1st door they could find. Deeks gave Three a nod. Deeks pulled the pin on a grenade as Three threw in the door. "Frag out" Deeks yelled as the grenade exploded inside. "Go!" he yelled as he and Three burst through the door, guns blazing. Quickly clearing out the 1st room, they made their way down the hallway, clearing out each room as they went. When they came to a corner, Deeks grabbed another grenade, pulled the pin, and tossed it around the corner. Once the grenade had gone off, Deeks and Three quickly rounded the corner, opening fire on the 2 Taliban fighters who remained alive. Once they had cleared out the ground floor, they moved to the 2nd, where they eliminated the remaining snipers that were firing on Bravo Team at the main gate.
Once the 2nd floor was secure, they moved to the base of the stairs to the control tower. "You ready?" Deeks asked. Three gave him an affirming nod. The quickly made their way up the large spiral staircase to the control room, when they reached it, they found only one man, with a Russian Tokarev TT-33 pistol in his hand. "Drop it, drop it now!" Deeks yelled in his accented Dari. Deeks shouldered his M4 and quickly drew his S&W 5944 sidearm and took careful aim. "Drop it now!" he repeated. Deeks fired one round, striking the man in the hand. The man dropped the gun, and Deeks quickly kicked it away. Deeks handed the man's weapon to Three who quickly tossed it out a nearby blown-out window, just as Captain Hazard came running up the stairs.
"Good job boys" The Captain said. Without another word, Deeks fired another round from his Smith & Wesson. This round struck the Taliban fighter, who was crawling towards the wall, right in between the eyes. "What the hell is wrong with you?" Captain Hazard yelled. "He was unarmed!" Billy yelled.
"No he wasn't" Deeks said as he holstered his weapon and moved towards where the man had been crawling. Deeks picked up his foot and stomped down, breaking the floor board. Deeks tore it away, revealing a suicide vest
"Jesus" Billy said. "How did you know that was there?" Billy asked. Deeks walked over and picked up the piece of the floorboard he ripped off. He then handed it to Billy.
"How many Oak trees do you think grow in Afghanistan?" Deeks said, referring to the type of wood. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I have people to rescue" Deeks said. "Sky Train, on me" Deeks yelled.
The rest of the airbase was safely in US by 0630 hours. By 0700, both Tony and Tali had been pulled from the wreckage. "Well that was fun" Tony said sarcastically as he cracked his neck.
"Yeah, so much for taking the building intact" Tali joked.
"Oh shut up Tali" Tony said as he pulled a cigar case from his breast pocket, after which he removed one cigar and proceeded to cut it. "Do me a favor, get off my back" Tony said as he lit up.
2200 hours, 6 October 2001, Oval Office, West Wing, White House, Washington D.C.
"Mr. President" said General Morrell as he entered the room.
"What's up Irv?" The President said from behind his desk. His sport jacket was off and the sleeves of his white Brooks Brothers dress shirt were rolled up.
"Bagram is ours" Morrell said with a smile.
"Good, very good" The President said. "Ya know something, I've haven't even been in this job a month and I'm already sick of it" The President said.
"Just think of how I feel" said Sonny as he walked into the room. "I think I'm the 1st Chief of Staff who's tried digging an escape tunnel from his office" Sonny joked.
"No, you're just the 1st to get caught" Irv said with a smile.
"Funny, like a crutch" Sonny retorted.
"Would both of you just shut it" The President said. "My headache is bad enough as it is" he said.
"You want me to have em taken out and shot?" said General Wesley Clark as he entered the room.
"Don't tempt me" The President joked. "Get some sleep guys, because you won't be getting any in the next few days" he informed them.
"So it's on?" Morrell asked.
"0600 hours on the 9th" Sonny said.
1800 hours local time, 7 October 2001, Bagram Air Force Base, Bagram, Afghanistan.
The sun was just beginning to set as Tony laid against the metal outer wall of the top of the control tower. He was just dosing off when he heard footsteps approaching. He reach for the gun in his holster, but he relaxed when he saw it was only Tali. "I was just about out" Tony complained.
"Get over it" Tali said as she took a seat next to her best friend. "Thanks for saving my life" Tali said as she leaned over and gave him a kiss on the cheek.
"You're Welcome, did you dispatch Bravo?" he asked her.
"Yes, Howitzer and his team while be on the beaches tomorrow night" she replied. "The landings are set for 0600 on the 9th" she told him.
"Good, now leave me alone, and let me sleep" Tony joked.
"Oh come on" Tali said as she gave Tony's shoulder a playful shove. "Did Billy tell you about what happened?" she asked.
"Yes, I'm gonna ask your father to put him in for the Silver Star" Tony said as he tried to close his eyes.
"I guess it was his turn to play hero today" Tali said with a sweet smile.
"Ya know, I'm suddenly reminded of a quote" Tony began. "the best love story is when you fall in love with the most unexpected person at the most unexpected time" he quoted.
"Who said that?" Tali asked.
"Hell if I can remember" Tony said.
"You should think of that, the next time you speak to Bridget" Tali said with a smile.
"So should you" Tony told her.
"What do you mean?" she asked.
"Malachi left over a year ago" Tony said. "It's time you moved on" he told her.
"I still don't know what you mean?" Tali said.
"Come on Tals, he's clearly into you, and I'll bet the" he paused and pulled out his wallet. "$314 dollars I have in my wallet that you're into him too" Tony said with a smile. "Go" he instructed.
To say that Tali was nervous would be a huge understatement. Ever since Malachi had left, she had continually buried herself in her work in order to avoid having to face the probing questions of her friends about why she never went on dates. When she exited the tower building, she looked around for him. With the ANA taking up defensive positions around the perimeter, that left only Alpha Team inside. She found him on the far side of the runway, leaning up against the rusted out shell of what used to be a Soviet MIG fighter jet. His shaggy blonde was blowing in the slight desert breeze as she approached. "Hey" she said drawing his attention. Much like herself, his face was caked with desert clay and dust.
"Hey yourself" he replied as he shifted to face her.
"I just wanted to say" she paused as she searched her brain for the words. "Thank you, for everything you did" she said.
"You're welcome?" he replied. Tali's palms were sweating, and it had nothing to do with the heat. She hadn't been this nervous in her entire life. So she decided to do what she did best, she decided to take charge. She stepped forward and gently pressed him up against the rusted out plane. She slid her hands upwards along his arms finally resting them begin his neck. Before he had the chance to say anything, Tali slowly pulled herself towards him, placing a sweet, gentle kiss on his lips. She closed her eyes just let it happen. Getting over the initial shock, he gladly reciprocated and returned the kiss. After a minute, or two, they were finally broke off the kiss.
"Thank you" she whispered as she walked away, a huge smile on her face.
0500 hours, 7 October 2001, Tactical Operations Center, Unit Compound, Fort Bragg, North Carolina.
It was 0500 hours. Only 1 hour more and she would be off duty. She hated having the night watch in the T.O.C. she was sitting at her desk when Izzy walked in. "What's up Izz?" she asked.
"Bridget, I think we have a problem" Izzy said grimly.
"Why? What's wrong?" Bridget asked.
"Hollis Mann is here" she said.
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Next time on "28 Seconds: Strength & Honor"- Ahead of the CDS Coalition Forces, The Unit enters Kabul. Meanwhile, Hollis Mann is back, this time, with her sights set on a new target