Mykal's Return to Towbar's World

by Dave Hazel

  Each individual carried a supply of food that could be stretched to five days. The men armed with an M-16 rifle carried 240 rounds of ammunition in eight 30 round magazines. Eighteen men had an M-203 grenade launcher attached to his rifle. The grenadiers’ hauled one metal can loaded with 18 rounds of 40mm high explosive rounds. Electing for speed over fire power they brought only four M-60 machine guns. The machine gunners and their assistants had to carry four metal cans containing 500 rounds of ammunition each. There were plenty of men to assist with the ammo cans. Each person also carried two or three hand grenades, some were smoke grenades.

  “...So if everything goes according to plan,” Mykal explained to his friends. “Not one shot will be fired and we have way more than enough weapons and ammo. But, if something does go wrong we don’t have near enough weapons and ammo to survive out here for a day.”

  Groups One and Two, set up on the west side of the Soso camp, were armed with many more M-60 machineguns. They also had far more ammo for their machine guns. Groups One and Two were positioned to be the diversion and the bait should something go amiss during the rescue. Both groups One and Two also had two flamethrower teams and two 81mm mortar teams with 12 rounds of high explosives each and four rounds of flares to light up the night sky.

  “It’s not going to be much longer now, gentlemen,” Captain Diaz spoke to his men who were gathered around him. “Hey Myk, I don’t know if you were aware of this or not, but we brought a couple of boxes of slap flares. If we run into trouble and need light we can use them to light up the sky for a short time. I spoke with the chopper pilots and they said we can use the slap flares if we need them to rush to our aid in the dark.”

  “Good. How many do we have?” Mykal asked.

  “Forty-eight. I have them spread out among the men.”

  “Great.” He gave an approving nod. “Are the men all ready?”

  “We’d like to go now, Sir,” a Marine called out.

  “It’ll be dark shortly,” Mykal said. It made him proud to be with these men with him. No one showed the least bit of fear.

  Mykal wished he didn’t have any fear, ‘but these guys don’t really know what they’re getting themselves into.’ He started to worry again knowing the responsibility for these men rests on his shoulders. ‘These are other people’s sons, fathers, husbands and brothers. I don’t wanna worry about that responsibility,’ he thought. He lost friends the last time he was here and had to tell their loved ones they were gone. He knew better than most of them of the snake pit they’re planning to sneak into. He understood the danger they’ll face, but his men are confident in their ability.

  4.

  “Well is everyone ready?” Mykal’s smile belied the unease he felt in his stomach. The group just completed the final briefing, and the final talk-through of the plan of attack. They verbally ran through the plan from start to finish, each team member’s responsibility while in the camp, care and treatment of prisoners once freed and possible obstacles to encounter. Everyone felt confident they knew what to do and as a team they were fired up and excited to take Americans from the clutches of ‘evil terrorists’. “Any last questions?” Complete silence. “Alright then, let’s go rescue our people from those rotten murderin’ savages.”

  A joyful ramble of war cries responded.

  The sun had set, dusk turned to dark and they slowly advanced on the Soso camp. The walk remained long and silent. Everyone listened for sounds that would announce the presence of Sosos. The Koreans and the Green Berets were in the lead with Towbar. They all carried their military issue combat knives. Towbar brandished his sword but his keen sense of smell and eye sight would be helpful to detect unforeseen trouble. Should they encounter Sosos or Goblins they needed to terminate them quickly and silently.

  Mykal’s confidence in the group of men that surrounded him was very strong. He had learned all the Koreans and Green Berets selected had been through extensive training in close combat, hand-to-hand combat and special knife wielding techniques. The majority of them never tasted combat, but had invested in hundreds of hours of training during their military careers. His friends, who lacked the training, were the hardened veterans. The only two people who concerned Mykal were William and Danny Weller.

  Almost three hours passed before they reached the outskirts of the Soso camp. They saw some small camp fires but all seemed quiet and still. They were still about twenty minutes from the nearest sleeping Soso.

  “Captain Diaz,” Mykal whispered into his ear as he grabbed his shoulder. “Could you have your radio man see if groups One and Two are in position? Let them know we’ll be entering the Soso camp twenty to thirty minutes from now.”

  Mykal joined Jake, Larry and Boris lying on the ground. They watched the Soso camp until they heard from groups One and Two. Mykal realized they could be walking into a death trap. He had to make himself remain calm. He had to push Ski’s concern from his mind. Fearful of what Ski told him, his mind played tricks on him to make him worry. At times his mind was his own worst enemy. ‘But what if something bad does happen? Ski told me ahead of time to make--’

  “Our timing on this mission is pretty lucky,” Jake whispered to Mykal when he lay down beside him.

  “Why do you say that?”

  “Look at that full moon,” he pointed. “Not a cloud in the sky. It’ll give us a lot of light.”

  “Yeah, I guess we need to thank God for that.” He smiled and thought of Ski’s promise to pray for them.

  “But it could also make it easier for the Sosos to see us,” Boris whispered back denying their happiness again.

  “Hey Myk,” William spoke in a hushed manner while he dropped beside him. “What happens if we can’t retrieve the hostages?”

  “We will get the hostages! We have to,” he replied without looking at William. Something inside, his gut, told him he should’ve never allowed William to come along. “We’re gonna give it our all and we will get them out of there,” he repeated

  “Myk,” Diaz spoke softly as he dropped to one knee behind them. “Groups One and Two are not, I repeat, are not in position yet. They will be shortly. They will call. And the pilots are standing by the radio for your word to start their engines.”

  Lieutenant Finley the Green Beret Platoon Leader from Delta Company 1st Platoon stood with Captain Diaz. Finley looked like an athletic college student who was big enough to don the pads and play pro football. Finley reminded Mykal of Phil Simms, quarterback from the New York Giants, but Finley had dark hair. Finley would be responsible to lead the Green Berets and Koreans as the Silent Killers by taking point into the Soso camp.

  “If you don’t mind my opinion Myk,” Finley said while dropping down to one knee. “I think we could start. We should go. By the time we’re in the camp One and Two should be in position,” he offered quietly. Finley exuded excitement and confidence in his ability. “I have the utmost trust in my men to get in and get this job done, the first time.”

  “I truly appreciate your enthusiasm, but I wanna wait until they’re in position,” Mykal replied. “If the Sosos detect us and groups One and Two aren’t in position we’re gonna be screwed. I don’t wanna take that chance.” Having the responsibility of all these lives on his shoulders scared Mykal with the idea of having no support, even if for just a short time.

  5.

  Within fifteen minutes group Two called to inform they were in position. Group One would be ready in ten to fifteen minutes. “Listen,” Mykal whispered to the radioman. “Tell them we’re heading in and tell them to be waiting with their finger on the trigger. At the first sign of trouble, or if they hear gunshots from us then they are to open up with everything they got to draw the Sosos away.”

  “Yes Sir,” the Marine corporal replied quietly.

  “You don’t have to call me Sir. I’m not an officer.”

  “Yes Sir.” He winked and turned back to his radio.

  Mykal looked at William who just started applying his camouflage face
paint. Everyone else had already been covered in the green, brown, beige and black camo makeup. Any exposed flesh was to be masked and hidden in camouflage military issue face paint. Towbar allowed the experts to paint his flesh of his exposed body once he understood the purpose was to help not be seen.

  “Let’s go,” Mykal said while waving his arm over his head to draw everyone’s attention to him. “We’re going. Lieutenant Finley, I’m going to be close to you and Weller. Weller, I want you near me to help point out anything we may have missed from the air. And let’s be perfectly clear,” he looked to the Green Berets and the Koreans who would be his Silent Killer Team. “Any Sosos you see, must be killed and kill them quietly.”

  “Dats wha’ wee doo,” Sergeant Lee-Lon of the Korean Special Forces whispered and pulled a big blade from his web belt.

  “Even the ones that are sleeping?” William asked.

  “Especially the ones who are sleeping,” Mykal hissed. “They could wake up and if they’re behind us we’re screwed.”

  “Do you mean we’re going to leave a trail of dead bodies every step we take?” William asked. He looked shocked. His sour expression made him come across as being squeamish.

  “Yes. As a matter of fact, since you put it that way, it’ll give us a trail to follow after we have freed the prisoners. You guys don’t have a problem killing Sosos who are sleeping, do you?” Mykal asked Finley and Lee-Lon.

  Finley looked at William then to Mykal and rolled his eyes.

  “If you key-ill dem whi’ dey seep, dey na fi’ bat’,” Lee-Lon replied. His smile and school-boy looks masked the ruthless killer about to be unleashed. “Bess for us to key-ill dem in seep.”

  They moved out and all were pumped up and excited. For the adrenaline junkies, this was a strange fix. The four machine gunners with their assistants stopped about two hundred yards from the edge of the Soso camp and set up their machine guns. Additional men armed with the M-203s stayed behind with them to provide covering fire if a hasty withdrawal should be forced on them. They spread out to minimize overlapping fields of fire.

  In pairs they glided along in single file. The pairs worked together. The Green Beret or Korean held the knife ready and a Marine stood by his side with rifle at the ready. The Marine partner also carried the rifle of the Silent Killer. The highly trained soldiers had helped Mykal and his friends to tape down their rifle slings and anything else that would make noise while moving. It amazed Mykal how much the soldiers taught them about eliminating noise. Mykal couldn’t believe how loud his heart seemed to thump. He felt apprehensive that the drum like sound from his chest would give away their position.

  Mykal positioned himself several men deep in the line but he watched the point man, one of the Koreans, kneel down. His Marine partner gave thumbs up to let everyone know the first of the Sosos had been neutralized by the Silent Killers.

  It surprised Mykal how quickly they killed the sleeping Sosos. There were hardly any sounds but he knew as they walked past, the Sosos were dead. Their throats had been slashed so deeply that their heads were nearly severed. If the sleeping Soso had been lying on his side or on his stomach the deadly blade was thrust into the base of the skull and twisted violently, scrambling the brain. Mykal eyed their handy work when he stepped by them and was impressed with how quickly and efficiently they carried out their duty. The Koreans and the Green Berets were incredible at what they were doing.

  The line halted when the point men came upon a staggering Soso who stood, drinking down a skin of intoxicating liquid. Mykal noticed there were plenty of empty skins and jugs littering the ground. Mykal hoped the Sosos had a party and were all intoxicated.

  Mykal watched the wobbly Soso and everything seemed to happen in slow motion. When the skin of liquid moved away from his mouth, with lightning speed a hand reached from behind grabbing his mouth. Just as the hand gripped tightly to the Soso mouth the long blade of the Green Beret plunged into the base of his skull. He never knew what struck him. The Green Beret gently lowered him to the ground to prevent a noisy fall.

  Mykal observed as one of the Koreans knelt beside a Soso sleeping on his back. The Soso stirred slightly and Mykal feared the Soso would wake and sound the alarm. The Korean seemed to be floating in his actions which made it a dance of precise and exotic movements. The smaller Korean man seemed to fall on top of the restless Soso. One hand quickly covered the enemy’s mouth while the other hand drove the razor sharp blade into the Soso’s neck behind the neck bone and with one quick slashing movement ripped the blade forward breaking bone and slicing the front of his throat outward. A couple of the men standing nearby felt wetness of the warm blood hit the back of their hands. When the Korean let go of his victim, the Soso never stirred restlessly again.

  Within several minutes there were many dead Sosos. The Koreans and the Green Berets were killing with such expertise and such efficiency Mykal believed a quiet competition took place among the Silent Killers. They were making great time and leaving a path full of blood and bodies so it would be easy to return the way they entered the camp.

  Some of the men wanted to laugh out loud at the way the Sosos struggled in their deaths. The momentary jerking and twitching and the occasional kick seemed comical. They all knew what ruthless barbarians these savages were but the Sosos never knew what hit them. Silence was of utmost importance so as much as they wanted to laugh and make fun of the helpless Sosos who got what they deserved they had to remain quiet. The best part of their actions was that not one of the sleeping victims would ever hurt one of Towbar’s people.

  The train of armed men snaked through the camp. All were vigilant and kept a watchful eye. They watched for any signs of movements. If any Sosos stumbled on them they would have to neutralize the threat before any sound could be made. Mykal felt extremely nervous but it seemed to him that all the men with him had ice water in their veins.

  Mykal saw some of the bodies bleeding profusely from the chest where the razor sharp blade was driven into the chest cavity with surgical precision to shred the heart and end their lives almost as quickly as those who had the stainless steel blades thrust into the base of their skulls. He was highly impressed by their actions. Besides being sneaky and ripping the lives from the unfortunate Sosos they carried out their duties as if it was a normal day at the office. Both the Green Berets and the Koreans had countless hours of training but this was the first time they employed their killing skills to real life use. They did their job expertly, not one sound had escaped. Each Silent Killer evaluated his own performance, noting minor improvements to be made. Adjustments to be made were performed on the next victim.

  They made their way to a large tent that Weller thought would hold the most prisoners. Mykal smiled at the thought of rescuing the prisoners without being detected. He would love to see the expressions on the Soso faces when they wake up and see not only that the prisoners were gone, but that so many of their fellow savages had been killed in the dark of night. The Soso superstitious fear would rattle them as a group that their comrades’ souls would be lost in limbo.

  The Green Beret who crept around the tent suddenly stopped. He raised his hand signaling everyone to cease all movement. The Green Beret pointed to his eyes and held up two fingers to indicate he spotted two Sosos. Thankfully they approached the rear of the tent or the two guards posted in front of the tent may have detected their entry into camp and blown their mission.

  The Green Beret used his hand and arm signals to show one of the Soso guards to be sleeping on the ground and the other was nodding off sitting on a wooden stool. Mykal watched from his kneeling position. The first Green Beret whispered into the ear of one of his squad members. The squad member moved quickly but silently to the other side of the tent. In an instant both men disappeared to the front side of the tent. The momentary pause seemed to last a long time. There were no sounds except for a slight thud of an axe falling off the lap of the seated Soso. Moments later the first Green Beret came back into view holding up
two fingers and quickly turned his thumb down indicating the two guards were disposed of.

  ‘Damn, I love these guys,’ Mykal thought and couldn’t keep from smiling. He didn’t think he would be able to pull off such a masterful performance as these Koreans and Green Berets were doing. Mykal moved to the front of the line. Desperately he wanted to find Mister X in the first tent. ‘So far so good.’ Deep inside he had that nagging feeling that something would go wrong. Ski’s words to him gnawed at him. Everything seemed to be going along too smoothly. His pessimistic side feared it couldn’t last.

  When Mykal rounded the corner of the tent he saw the remains of the two Green Berets’ handiwork. One Soso lay face down on the ground. A pool of blood formed around the front of his face, his beard submerged in the dark puddle. The second lay face up beside the stool. The gaping gash in his throat was so massive it looked like an attempted beheading. His dead eyes were open. He must have opened his eyes just before he died. Mykal was glad the Silent Killers were on his side.

  Mykal looked at Towbar who gave a broad approving grin that displayed his amazement with their deadly mastery. Towbar gave a clumsy thumbs up while nodding. His thumb seemed to point at Mykal more than an actual display of approval. Mykal taught Towbar to give thumbs up though the giant didn’t understand how using one’s thumb could be a sign of approval or agreement and could also be used to ask for a ride when walking down a long road.

  Towbar’s people have never used such tactics, but the giant clearly saw the benefits of night time attacks. Though Towbar had been a great warrior among his people for a long time, he had been won over and amazed by how much he learned from his new friends. He planned to employ new tactics using stealth and cover of darkness taught by his modern friends.