Jack and Jill: Army

by Ansley Gilmore

  ***

  Jill looked at Jack in unbelief. What do you mean take the kill shots? I am not the person that is the best shot in the Army. I am not the person that has fired thousands of rounds through Betsy. I am not the person that has memorized all of the compensation factors for Betsy. There are only a handful of snipers that can kill a person at a distance of 1,500 yards, and I’m not one of them. What is Jack thinking? I can’t take the shot? Jill paused, swallowed, and spoke two words. “Okay, Jack.”

  Jack looked into her eyes one last time, and then rolled away from her and the 50-caliber rifle. Jill couldn’t argue with Jack’s decision. He was doing the right thing. She rolled over, putting herself into position behind the 50-caliber rifle. She placed her eye behind the scope, and put her finger gently, very gently, on the trigger. I don’t know how much force it takes to fire this rifle. I wish Jack were going to take the kill shot, but I know he is right. I just hope I can do this correctly.

  Jack began crawling quietly on his stomach toward the sound of the voices and dogs barking. Jill wanted to watch what Jack was doing, but she knew that she couldn’t. Her new task was to take the kill shots, and she needed every ounce of focus to kill Ramiro and the pilot at the distance of 1,500 yards. She tried not to think about how difficult the shot would be. Jill heard Jack crawling through the brush, and as the voices and barking got louder, his crawling sounds became quieter.

  Juan-Carlos and Ramiro were halfway to the helicopter. Jill began lining up the sights on the scope. She used the crosshairs marks in the scope to compensate for the vertical drop of the bullet. They already calculated the bullet was going to drop fifty-nine feet. Now she needed to quickly calculate that vertical distance as measured by the crosshairs on the riflescope. She was running out of time. Fifty-nine feet at 1,500 yards? Think, Jill, what is that compensation going to be? Focus, FOCUS, Jill! Fifteen hundred yards divided by one thousand is one and a half. One and a half times three feet per yard is four and a half feet. Fifty-nine divided by four and a half feet is . . . oh rats—I don’t have time for my calculator. I need to do this mentally. What is fifty-nine divided by four and a half? Let’s see, thirteen? Yeah, thirteen plus a little bit. Thirteen will work. Good, vertical compensation will be thirteen marks below the center of the crosshairs, and since there is no wind there will be no horizontal compensation needed.

  Jill relaxed ever so slightly now that she had the compensation calculated. She followed the center of Ramiro’s chest with the riflescope as he walked to the helicopter.

  Click-clack . . . click-clack. Jill heard the faint sound of her 22-caliber pistol cycling twice. Jack fired two shots into a sentry’s chest. Will he need a third shot to the sentries’ head to stop him? How many more sentries are there are? Jack has eight shots left.

  Juan-Carlos was opening the door on his side of the helicopter. Ramiro was walking around to the other side of the helicopter. Okay, I can’t miss this shot. You have to kill Ramiro, and then the pilot.

  Click-clack. Jill heard a single shot from her 22-caliber pistol. Jack must have needed a head shot to finish killing the first sentry. I wonder how many more he has to kill. Jack has seven shots left.

  Jill kept Ramiro in her sights. She was determined not to lose her concentration as the sounds of her 22-caliber pistol periodically punctuated the morning air. Ramiro was almost at the door of the helicopter. Jill held the scope sights on the center of Ramiro’s chest as he grabbed the door handle of the helicopter. Jill knew that she would only have about two seconds when he sat down, before the pilot took off in the helicopter. During those two seconds Ramiro would not be moving. It would be the perfect time to shoot him. Her timing had to be perfect.

  Click-clack . . . click-clack.

  Jack fired two more shots to the chest of a second sentry. Will Jack need a head shot to finish killing the second sentry? How many more sentries are there? Jack has five shots left.

  The door of the helicopter opened. Ramiro lifted one leg into the helicopter, then slid in and closed the door. This is it, now or never!

  Jill gently, but quickly, squeezed the trigger of the 50-caliber sniper rifle.

  Kabooooom!

  The jolt rocked through the rifle stock and slammed into Jill’s petit shoulder. The impact stunned her for a moment. I should have used Jack’s trick and pulled the rifle butt tightly into my shoulder. I am going to have a nasty bruise after this. She only had one and a half seconds before the bullet reached its target. Jill regained her composure and immediately refocused her attention on the target through the riflescope. Jill could see the supersonic sound trail streaming from the bullet as it traveled the 1,500 yards. It looked like concentric smoke rings expanding outwards from the bullet. The one and half seconds that it took for the bullet to travel to Ramiro seemed like minutes because of the adrenaline that was flowing in Jill’s blood stream. Finally, the Plexiglas in Ramiro’s door smashed into little pieces, and Ramiro slouched as blood exploded out the broken window and landed in puddles on the dirt next to the helicopter. On the ground Jill saw blood, pieces of flesh, and bone. One down, one to go.

  Click-clack.

  A single shot. Jack did have to use a head shot to stop the second sentry. I wonder if there are any more. Jill, you have to focus on the next shot—don’t worry about Jack. He will do his job; you must do yours and kill the pilot. Jack has four shots left.

  When the 50-caliber sniper rifle fired the first time, killing Ramiro, it automatically cycled and loaded the next round into the barrel of the gun. Jill placed her finger gently on the trigger and began setting up for the second shot. I should count my blessings. Since the pilot is right next to Ramiro, I don’t have to recalculate the compensation factors. This time, I’ll pull the rifle tightly into my shoulder so it doesn’t slam into me again.

  Jill carefully focused the rifle on the pilot’s chest. He had turned around in his seat to see what caused all of the noise when Ramiro’s chest exploded. The pilot froze when he saw the hollowed and bloody chest cavity that had a few seconds previously had contained Ramiro’s lungs and heart. The pilot’s eyes opened wide and his jaw dropped.

  Jill did not hesitate. Kabooom. She squeezed the trigger while the pilot was still in a frozen state of shock. Once again, it took an eternity for the bullet to travel to the target. And as before, the target’s chest exploded. Vital organs burst from the pilot’s chest and splattered the instrument panel in a thick layer of bloody goo.

  Jill peered through the riflescope with mixed feelings. It saddened her to think that she had to kill the pilot. I wonder if he had any family—wife—sons—or daughters. Were his parents alive? But then Jill reassured herself that he had to die so that she and Jack could make their escape. If the pilot were alive, he could chase Jill and Jack with the deadly 50-caliber machine gun. That would be impossible to escape. The pilot had to die. Now Jack and I can escape without any problems.

  Click-clack . . . click-clack . . . click-clack.

  Jack shot a third sentry, two in the chest and one in the head. He has one shot left.

  Jill continued to peer through her scope. She was proud—in a weird sort of way—for killing Ramiro and the pilot. The task was done. Someone had to do it. It would have been easier for me if Jack had done it, but he couldn’t. I should not feel guilty. I had to do it. I had no choice.

  Jill peered through the riflescope. She saw Juan-Carlos pulling the limp body of his brother into his arms. He clutched him tightly. She watched as his whole body convulsed and shuddered with emotion. He rocked back and forth as he held his brother tightly. Jill imagined the sounds of weeping that were coming from Juan-Carlos’s mouth. For a moment, she thought about her brothers, and how they meant so much to her. Then Jill saw the sentries running toward the helicopter. She knew that it was only a matter of time before the sentries began searching the woods for Ramiro’s killer. Jill and Jack had thirty or forty minutes to begin their egress. They planned to only take four or five minutes.

&nb
sp; “Jill, it’s me Jack.”

  “Jack, are you okay?”

  “Yeah, no problem. Those three troublemakers will never make trouble again.” Jack was out of breath. “I heard the two shots. How did it go?”

  “Fine. Two more dead bad-boys,” Jill responded. “Let’s pack up.”

  “Yeah, our job is done; let’s get to landing zone Alpha. By the way, here’s your toy—I mean gun. It did come in handy after all,” Jack said.

  Jill began picking up the items from the pile of things that they were going to take. Water bottle, first aid kit, and spare ammo—do I need anything else?

  Jack began packing Betsy into the carrying case. Then he helped Jill put on the backpack with the items she was going to carry. They looked at each other, and then they took one last glance at the makeshift camp that had been their home for the last three days.

  “It is weird, but I am going to miss this camp. I don’t know why, but I feel like a part of me wants to stay.” Jill looked into Jack’s face as she spoke.

  “Jill, I know that we have to run, but I want to say that I have gotten to know you much better as a result of this mission. I think that you deserve a lot more credit than I have been giving you. I am sorry for the way I acted in the past.”

  “Jack, you are so cute when you apologize.”

  “I think we need to change the subject. Do you hear that sound?”

  “Hmm, sounds like motors, lots of motors.”

  “Look over by the Zaragoza barn.”

  “Rats. There are a bunch of sentries coming out of the barn on four-wheelers.”

  “Yeah, I see them. I knew Ramiro had one, but now I see four. Each one has two sentries, and each sentry has a machine gun.”

  “Yeah, we’ve got problems, big problems. We have a lot less time to get to Alpha.”

  Jill hurried as she finished packing up her gear.

  “Will we have to double-time to Alpha?” Jill asked.

  “I think we should triple-time it.” There was a sober sound to his answer.

  Jill began running. “I’ll lead the way. If you have trouble keeping up, give me a shout.” Jill smiled as she joked. She started at a moderate pace. Her body was still sore from the bird strike, and more recently, the recoil from the first round she fired from Jack’s 50-caliber rifle. She needed to follow the trail that they used to get to the camp. Then they would take a slight detour to get to the landing zone Alpha.

  “What kind of machine guns are the sentries carrying?” Jill asked while jogging down the trail.

  “They look like P90s. They are only 30-caliber, but the bullets have a lot of powder in them. Our bulletproof vests are not going to stop them. Sorry for the bad news, Jill.”

  “Sorry I asked . . .”

  The sound of the four-wheeler was getting louder.

  “Did our intel reports say anything about the sentries having access to four-wheelers?” Jack raised his voice just enough that Jill could hear him over the sound of the jungle foliage that was brushing against their camouflage suits.

  “Not a word. It’s news to both of us.” Jill turned her head over her shoulder as she ran so Jack could hear her response. “Do you think we can make it to Alpha before the sentries catch up to us?”

  “It is gonna be close. The four-wheelers give them a lot more speed than we were planning on. We may have to call and have the Black Hawk helicopter take them out before picking us up.”

  “I hope the Black Hawk doesn’t hit us in the process.” Jill knew the gunners were experts, and would do their best to only hit the sentries, so she tried not to worry.

  “Jill, do you have the radio?”

  “Yeah. You want to stop and make a call now?”

  “Let’s stop long enough to hand me the radio and punch in the scramble code. Then we can start running again.”

  Jill and Jack came to a stop. Jill was huffing and puffing. The fast speed that they were running was taking a toll on her.

  “Here is the radio, Jack.”

  “Thanks.” Jack flipped the power switch to the “on” position, and checked the signal strength. Then he punched in the scramble code. “Okay, the code is in. Let’s start running.” Jack carried the radio in one hand, and in the other hand he held the antenna. Jill wondered how he would keep the antenna pointed at the satellite while running full speed.

  “Delta Bravo, this is Flap Jack Two. Do you read me?” Jack’s voice huffed and puffed each word as he ran behind Jill.

  “Flap Jack Two, this is Delta Bravo. Your signal strength is bouncing up and down. You sound like you are out of breath. Is everything okay?”

  “Okay? No! Everything is not okay! We have eight sentries chasing us on four-wheelers. It looks like they are going to catch up to us about the time we get to Alpha.”

  “Oh no, sorry to hear that. What can we do?”

  “Call the Black Hawk and let them know that we are being pursued. They will need to keep an eye out for the bad guys and take them out if they see them.”

  “Affirmative, Flap Jack Two. Stand by . . .”

  Jill was heaving breaths as she struggled to get the air in their lungs that she needed to continue at the fast pace they were running.

  “Flap Jack Two, we just confirmed the problem with the Black Hawk and they will be ready to take action. How is Flap Jack One?”

  “She is bruised, but otherwise fine.”

  “Good. Is there anything else we can do for you?”

  “Just stand by. I am going to leave my radio on to keep the comms channel open in case anything else unexpected happens.”

  “Affirmative. Delta Bravo out.”

  “Flap Jack Two out.”

  “Thank goodness the signal strength was good,” Jill yelled back to Jack.

  Pow─pow─pow─pow─pow.

  “What was that?” Jill yelled.

  “The first two sentries are close enough to fire at us. Luckily, he is not close enough to get a good shot. But if he gets lucky . . . well, let’s just pick up the pace a little more.”

  “A little more? Sure Jack, not a problem. Just a walk in the park!”

  At the top of the next hill Jack yelled, “Jill, are you sure that you shot the pilot?”

  “Absolutely. Why?”

  “Because there is a tiny speck in the sky behind the four-wheelers and it is too big for an eagle.”

  “I saw his chest explode, Jack. Guts and blood went all over the instrument panel. I know he is dead!”

  Jack pondered the situation, “Did the intel reports say anything about a second pilot?”

  “Not a word. Helicopter pilots are extremely rare here in the jungle. If Juan-Carlos hired a second pilot, we would have known about it.”

  “For some reason, that just isn’t reassuring right now,” Jack yelled between huffs and puffs.

  Pow─pow─pow─pow─pow.

  “Look out, Jill!”

  “They are getting closer. What do we do, Jack?”

  “Keep running. If I have to, I will stop and return fire.”

  “Do you have enough ammo for all of them?”

  “How many rounds did you use to kill Ramiro and the pilot?”

  “Two.”

  “Two? Only two? That is pretty good for a girl—er, I mean a novice.”

  “Jack, stop complaining about how good I am. Just tell me how much ammo you got left.”

  “I started with eight rounds in my clip. Eight minus your two shots leaves six. If I use one round to stop each four-wheeler, then I will have two extra rounds. After that I have to reload.”

  “I’ve got one round in my .22, then I have to reload.”

  Womp─womp─womp─womp─womp.

  “Jack, please tell me that is not the helicopter.”

  Jack looked over his shoulder. “I see two spinning rotor blades, a smashed rear window, and a big hole in the windshield. I think we have a problem. Where did Juan-Carlos get a pilot?”

  “We can clear that up with intel when we get bac
k to HQ—if we get back to HQ.”

  Boom—boom—boom—boom—boom.

  “That sounds like a really big gun. Evidently, that was a 50-caliber machine gun you saw under the helicopters belly,” Jill screamed.

  “I am sorry to say ‘I told you so,’” Jack yelled back. “Keep running, faster!”

  The helicopter came around for a second pass.

  Boom—boom—boom—boom—boom. The 50-cal machine gun sprayed bullets along the path that Jill and Jack were running along.

  “Jill, I got bad news.”

  “Yeah, like we don’t have bad news already? What’s going on?”

  “The pilot is Juan-Carlos.”

  Jill stopped dead in the middle of the trail, turned and looked at Jack. “Juan-Carlos? The intel reports didn’t say anything about Juan-Carlos being a pilot.” Jill gritted her teeth. “Wait until I get back and get my hands on those guys at intel. They are going to pay for this!”

  Boom—boom—boom—boom—boom. The helicopter made another pass and sprayed more 50-caliber bullets close to Jill and Jack.

  “Jack, call HQ and tell them not to kill the helicopter pilot.”

  “Gotcha.” Jack pressed the transmit button on the comms radio and tried to hold the antenna steady while he ran. “Delta Bravo, this is Flap Jack Two.”

  “Flap Jack Two, Delta Bravo, go ahead.”

  “This is an emergency. Tell the Black Hawk there is another helicopter in the air, and the pilot is Juan-Carlos.”

  “Flap Jack Two, could you say that again?”

  “I said Juan-Carlos is flying another helicopter. He has a 50-caliber machine gun on it. The Black Hawk needs to know this immediately!”

  “Uh, okay. Juan-Carlos is piloting another helicopter with a 50-cal machine gun. Anything else they need to know?”

  “Yes, they can’t kill Juan-Carlos. They can kill all the sentries they want to, but not the helicopter pilot!”

  “Affirmative, Flap Jack Two . . . stand by.”

  Thirty seconds passed while Jill and Jack continued to run down the dusty trail toward landing zone Alpha.

  “Flap Jack Two.”

  “Go ahead, Delta bravo.”

  “The Black Hawk has the latest info about the helicopter pilot, and is on his way to Alpha.”

  “Good. Stand by in case anything else develops. Flap Jack Two out.”

  Pow─pow─pow─pow─pow. A sentry’s machine gun sprayed bullets at Jill and Jack. This time they struck dangerously close.

  “Jack, that was too close. The Black Hawk needs to stop the sentries.”

  “They know our situation. If they can see the four-wheelers they will stop them!”

  Jill and Jack were approaching the spot in the trail where they had to turn right to get to landing zone Alpha.

  “Follow me!” yelled Jill.

  The trail became much narrower. The vegetation was so close to the trail that it brushed against them and slowed them as they ran.

  “It will be harder for the sentries to see us with this heavy vegetation,” yelled Jack.

  “Thank goodness for little things,” Jill shouted.

  Boom—boom—boom—boom—boom. The helicopter made another low pass and sprayed bullets close to Jill and Jack.

  “I thought the heavy vegetation was supposed to help,” Jill yelled.

  “How far is it to Alpha?”

  Jill turned her head over her shoulder to yell back to Jack. “It’s only a short distance. It will be a big clearing on the left.”

  Jill was slowing down because she was out of breath. Her lungs were burning as she gulped breaths of air. She could feel her heart pounding in their chest.

  “Jill, if those four-wheelers get any closer I am going to have to stop and fight. I will be out numbered eight to one, but I should be able to hold them off long enough for you to get to Alpha and be rescued safely.”

  “I’m not leaving without you. If we have to, we will both stop and fight.”

  Pow─pow─pow─pow─pow. One of the four-wheelers was close enough now that they could accurately shoot their bullets. The bullets were landing on the trail around Jack’s feet.

  “Jack, here is the landing zone on our left. Let’s find a place to hide while we wait for the Black Hawk.”

  “There is no hiding now, the sentries clearly see us. We either fight, or keep running.”

  Jill looked back at the four-wheelers racing toward them. Eight men, each with a P90 machine gun. Those are not good odds. I don’t want to have to fight them.

  “Let’s keep running. Maybe the Black Hawk will be here soon and they can kill the sentries. Meantime call them and tell them—”

  “There is the Black Hawk, coming over the treetops,” Jack yelled.

  Boom—boom—boom—boom—boom. The 50-caliber machine gun on the Black Hawk fired on the four-wheeler that was closest to Jill and Jack. Jack glanced back and saw the four-wheeler explode in flames.

  “He hit the fuel tank,” Jack said. “That buys us a little time.”

  “Okay, we will have to keep running. Call HQ and tell them landing zone Alpha is hot. We need the Black Hawk to change the pick-up point. Tell them to meet us at landing zone Bravo.” Jill was struggling to find the energy to yell between breaths.

  “Delta Bravo, Flap Jack Two. Alpha is hot. I repeat, Alpha is hot. We need the evacuation changed to landing zone Bravo. Repeat, evac at Bravo,” Jack yelled between breaths of air.

  The Black Hawk was circling the landing zone Alpha and looking for more four-wheelers. Normally, this would not be a difficult problem. But now, the jungle foliage was blocking most of their view. That made it nearly impossible to see the four-wheelers so they could kill them. Worse, it made it impossible to see Jill and Jack. The Black Hawk had strict orders to not let any stray bullets hit Jill or Jack. The Army wanted them to get safely out from enemy territory.

  Approximately thirty seconds later the Black Hawk helicopter stopped circling Alpha and headed toward landing zone Bravo.

  “HQ must have gotten the message to the Black Hawk,” Jack yelled.

  The Black Hawk disappeared over the treetops on its way to Bravo.

  “Jill, look at who is landing at Alpha.”

  The Hughes Little Bird helicopter with Juan-Carlos at the controls made a landing in the middle of the clearing that the Army had designated Alpha. The three remaining four-wheelers pulled up to the helicopter. The six sentries dismounted and ran to talk to Juan-Carlos.

  “I wonder what they are talking about,” Jill yelled as she continued running.

  “I have a feeling we are going to find out soon.”

  Two of the sentries finished talking to Juan-Carlos and got back on their four-wheeler. They headed toward Jill and Jack. The other four removed the doors from the quick-release hinges of the helicopter and threw them on the ground. They climbed into the helicopter and fastened their seat belts. Immediately Juan-Carlos took off and headed toward Jill and Jack.

  “Hey, Jack.” Jill was huffing and puffing, and clearly struggling to keep up the rapid pace. “If my math is correct, that helicopter now has five machine guns instead of the original one.”

  “I’m afraid your math is correct.” Jack was also huffing and puffing loudly.

  To get to landing zone Bravo, Jill and Jack had to cross a long narrow clearing. It was sixty feet across, and it was too narrow for a landing zone. It was also wide, about a half mile. That meant they could not go around it. So, their only course of action was to cross it.

  “Jack, I have an idea. Call HQ and have the Black Hawk hover on the far side of the next clearing. Tell them the last four-wheeler will be following us across.”

  “Gotcha. Delta Bravo, Flap Jack Two.”

  “Flap Jack Two, Delta Bravo, go ahead.”

  “Tell the Black Hawk that we will need air support at the next clearing. Bad boys will be following us on a four-wheeler. They have permission to engage.”

  “Understood. Stand by.”

 
; “Jill, how much farther to the clearing?”

  “About half a mile.”

  “Flap Jack Two, this is Delta Bravo.”

  “Go ahead, Delta Bravo.”

  “The Black Hawk wanted me to tell you that they are looking forward to target practice.”

  “Thank you, Delta Bravo. Flap Jack Two out.”

  Jill and Jack were slowing down. They needed a break, but it was just not possible to stop; their speed was slowing at a time when it should be increasing.

  Pow─pow─pow─pow─pow. The four-wheeler was getting closer, and the machine gun bullets were striking the vegetation next to Jill and Jack.

  “There is the clearing,” Jill hollered. “We will need to zigzag when we are crossing it so they can’t set their sights on us.”

  “I will be right behind you!” Jack was barely able to get the words out since he was huffing and puffing so hard.

  They didn’t pause when they got to the clearing. They both glanced over their shoulder to see how close the four-wheeler was to them. Jill was thinking they needed enough room between them and the four-wheeler so the Black Hawk helicopter could get a clean shot and not have stray bullets hitting Jill or Jack.

  “Jill, the zigzagging is going to slow us down too much. They’ll catch up to us, and then the Black Hawk will have trouble hitting them and not us.”

  “What do you suggest?”

  “We have no other option. We must run as fast as we can and hope the Black Hawk gets them before they get us.”

  “Not much of a choice, but I agree.”

  Jill and Jack suddenly broke into the clearing. If it weren’t for the fear of death, aching muscles, and burning lungs, Jill thought this would have been a nice place to take a rest and hydrate. The grass was knee high. The sun was warm, and a gentle breeze was blowing in her face. Then suddenly, the four-wheeler broke into the clearing right behind her.

  Pow─pow─pow─pow─pow. The sentry on the back of the four-wheeler fired a burst of gunfire at them.

  “Jack, are you okay?”

  “I’m fine. Keep running!”

  Boom—boom—boom—boom—boom. The Army helicopter made a low pass and sprayed 50-caliber bullets behind Jill and Jack. The four-wheeler exploded into flames just like the first one did. Jack raised his hand and gave a thumbs-up to the Black Hawk gunner.

  “It sure is nice to have friends in high places when you need them,” Jill shouted.

  Jill and Jack slowed to a jog as they finished crossing the clearing. When they got on the other side they continued to jog into the woods far enough that they thought the vegetation would hide them from the Little Bird helicopter.

  “So now all we have to worry about is the Little Bird helicopter,” Jack said.

  “I wish you would not remind me of that,” Jill said. “If only that clearing had been a little bigger, the Black Hawk could have landed there and picked us up.”

  “How much farther to landing zone Bravo?”

  “Another mile,” Jill said.

  “Let’s take another minute or two to catch our breath, and then double-time it to Bravo.”

  “Good plan, Jack.”

  Boom—boom—boom—boom—boom. The Little Bird helicopter fired its 50-caliber machine gun. The bullets were landing on the ground in front of Jill and Jack.

  “Do you think Zaragoza can see us in this thick vegetation?” Jill asked.

  “I don’t think so. I think that was a lucky shot, but I don’t want to hang around and find out!”

  They simultaneously jumped to their feet and ran as fast as they could down the narrow trail. The vegetation brushed against their sides.

  “The Black Hawk is not going to fire on the Little Bird, right?” Jack said. “But the Little Bird is probably going to fire on us and the Black Hawk when we get to landing zone Bravo.”

  “What are you thinking Jack?”

  “If Juan-Carlos is shooting at us and we don’t shoot at him, we are not going to get out of here alive.”

  “You’ve got a good point.” Jill pondered as she ran down the trail. “Have you got any good ideas?”

  “Somehow we have to stop him, and not kill him.”

  “Yes, but isn’t that easier said than done?”

  “Give me a minute, maybe I can think of something.”

  A minute passed and Jack said nothing as he and Jill ran down the trail and dogged 50-caliber bullets.

  “Jack, I think your minute is up. Have you got a plan yet?”

  “Why don’t I shoot his tail rotor when we get to Bravo?”

  “What will that do?”

  “The helicopter will begin to spin out of control. Juan-Carlos will have to land the helicopter in the treetops immediately or else the spinning will get so bad it will crash.”

  “Sounds like a good idea, but will he survive?”

  “Probably. More importantly, it is the only way I can think we can get out of here alive.”

  “It doesn’t leave us much choice.” Jill pondered the pros and cons as she jogged down the trail toward landing zone Bravo. “How difficult will it be to hit the tail rotor?”

  “For the average sniper or for me?” Jack said.

  “Ha, I should have known what you would say, Jack. All right, go ahead and take the shot.”

  Jill continued huffing and puffing as they ran down the trail. She was wondering if deer like the one that visited their campsite ever used this trail. I am going to miss that deer. I feel like I made friends with it.

  Jill’s mind snapped back to the present. Jack will have to handhold a thirty-one-pound gun that is normally used with a tripod in the prone position on the ground. It will be VERY difficult to keep it steady while shooting from the standing position. He’ll have to guess the compensation factors for the shot. Wind, elevation, temperature are all going to have to be estimated accurately and quickly. Thank goodness he has memorized the key factors.

  Womp─womp─womp─womp─womp. The Little Bird helicopter was making a low pass.

  “Do you think that Juan-Carlos can see us running through this thick vegetation?” Jill yelled.

  “I don’t think so, but keep running just to be on the safe side.”

  Boom—boom—boom—boom—boom. The Little Bird helicopter fired its 50-caliber machine gun. The bullets struck the ground only a few feet to the side of Jill and Jack.

  “He is either able to see us, or he is getting lucky,” Jack yelled. “When we get to Bravo, you wait just inside the vegetation. I’m going to have to step into the edge of the landing zone to shoot his tail rotor.”

  “Okay, Jack. Good hunting!”

  Jill glanced back and saw Jack slide the rifle case from his shoulder that protected the 50-caliber sniper rifle. Then, while he was still running, he unzipped the edge of the case and grabbed the rifle. He tossed the case into the jungle vegetation and kept running. He then slapped his free hand against his chest where he stored his spare ammo.

  Jill saw Jack slap his spare ammo magazines in his vest pockets. Jack’s double-checking to be sure he has enough ammo. I hope he doesn’t have to use that ammo. If he doesn’t hit the tail rotor on the first or second shot, Juan-Carlos will have time to put his sights on Jack and kill him. Juan-Carlos is lucky the Black Hawk has been instructed not to shoot him. They’d kill him in an instant if they had permission. She realized that there was nothing she could do to help Jack take the difficult shot. She knew the M82 sniper rifle weighed thirty-one pounds without the scope and laser rangefinder, and Jack had both on the rifle. This will be a virtually impossible shot. How could Jack even think about hitting a small object like the tail rotor while the helicopter was moving? If Jack can pull this off, he deserves a medal.

  As they approached the edge of the clearing that was landing zone Bravo, Jill looked for a place in the thick vegetation where she could duck out of the way, and let Jack run past her to the edge of the clearing. Finding that spot, she kept her eye on it. Then at the right moment, she planted her r
ight foot firmly in the dirt and propelled herself to the left into the vegetation, and out of Jack’s way. She landed on her back and watched Jack sprint past her. A moment later, he was at the edge of the clearing.

  Womp─womp─womp─womp─womp. The Little Bird helicopter made a low pass, coming straight at Jack.

  Boom—boom—boom—boom—boom. Juan-Carlos fired the Little Bird’s 50-caliber machine gun. The bullets struck the ground all around Jack.

  The helicopter swept over his head as it finished its pass. Now, a second volley of machine gun bullets rained down on him from the sentries’ handheld machine guns. Pow─pow─pow─pow─pow.

  Jill looked to see if Jack was injured. Two good legs, both arms still attached, and his head is still working. Okay, now he has about twenty seconds to get set up for this shot before the helicopter makes a second pass.

  Jack flipped up the protective covers on the front and rear of his riflescope. Then he flipped the safety to the “off” position. He scanned the skies as he looked for the return of the Little Bird helicopter. His finger rested on the trigger. As Jack scanned the sky, Jill saw the Black Hawk helicopter hovering a hundred yards to the south. The machine gunners at the side door were peering at the Little Bird as it made a U-turn and headed back to fire another volley of machine gunfire at Jack.

  Jack held his 50-caliber rifle at his side. He almost looked relaxed. Jill wondered if he were purposely calming his mind and body. Making this shot would be near impossible. He will have to raise the thirty-one-pound gun to his shoulder and hold it steady, very steady. It was not designed to be shoulder fired. It was much too heavy for that. It was meant to be fired from the prone position where its weight could rest on the ground.

  Womp─womp─womp─womp─womp. The Little Bird helicopter came straight at Jack. It was still behind the trees. In a few seconds it would be in the exact spot Jack picked, and he would be able to fire his rifle at the tail rotor.

  Boom—boom—boom—boom—boom. Juan-Carlos began firing the machine gun before he cleared the treetops. Jack grunted as he lifted the heavy rifle to his shoulder. He pulled the butt of his rifle tightly into his shoulder. He took aim, and a second later squeezed the trigger. Kabooom. Because the helicopter was so close, it was almost instantaneous. The blades of the helicopter tail rotor exploded into hundreds of tiny pieces. A moment later the tail of the Little Bird began to rotate slowly to the left. With the tail rotor destroyed, Juan-Carlos was not able to keep the helicopter from spinning. The spinning motion was slow at first, but quickly increased. Jill could see the look of fear on Juan-Carlos’s face as the Little Bird helicopter passed overhead. The Little Bird was now spinning faster. Juan-Carlos had no choice. He had to land immediately. He crash-landed the Little Bird Helicopter into the treetop about two hundred yards to the south of the clearing that Jack was standing in.

  “Jill, come on out!” They needed to make their egress before Juan-Carlos or his sentries could regain their senses, climb down from the crashed helicopter, and make their way back to the clearing.

  Jill ran out from hiding. “That was a fantastic shot, Jack!”

  “Right now we’ve gotta get out of here!” Jack waved in the Black Hawk helicopter. It gently landed in the clearing in front of them.

  Jill and Jack ran to the side door where the machine gunners kept lookout. They dove headfirst into the helicopter. A couple of soldiers grabbed Jill and Jack and steadied them as they flopped on their stomachs in the back of the helicopter.

  A soldier held Jill pinned to the floor of the helicopter and yelled into her ear. “Ma’am, we need the password. We cannot lift off until we get it.”

  “The password is ‘arm wrestle,’” Jill yelled back.

  The soldier, upon hearing the correct password, gave the pilot a thumbs-up, and the Black Hawk began to rise into the bright sunny sky.

  The soldier then helped Jill to an upright position, and she took a seat at the rear of the helicopter next to Jack. Looking out the open door of the Black Hawk helicopter, she gazed down at the landing zone where she saw a familiar sight. The deer with the ear torn by cougar teeth walked into the clearing. The deer looked up at Jill and tilted its head as if it were saying, “Will you be coming back?” Jill’s mind immediately flashed back to the night that the deer licked chocolate pudding from her hand. Oh, I am going to miss you soooo much. Good-bye . . .

  Jill watched the deer from the door of the helicopter until it was a small dot in the clearing. Then Jill looked at Jack. “Is it over?”

  “It is over,” Jack said.

  She glanced back to the clearing for one last look at the deer, but they were too far away for her to see the friendly doe.

  “Ma’am . . . ma’am.”

  Jill was not used to hearing Jack use the word “ma’am”; she’d grown accustomed to their first-name basis.

  “Oh, Jack . . . er, Savage. What’s up?” Jill was still thinking about the deer twenty minutes later.

  Jack pointed at the aircraft carrier that was sitting in the middle of the wide-open sea.

  “I never thought I would be so happy to see a flat-top,” Jill said.

  “I am looking to that shower and hot meal,” Jack said.

  “Yeah, me, too.”

  The Black Hawk helicopter gently settled on the deck of the aircraft carrier. Jill thanked the crew for the ride, and then they departed the aircraft.

  There was a young sailor waiting for them on deck. “Welcome aboard, ma’am, and sir. I am Chief Petty Officer O’Brien. The captain has quarters ready for you below. I’ll show you the way.”

  Jill and Jack followed the sailor down a maze of stairs to two adjoining rooms. “The captain insisted that you two get the VIP treatment. He kicked two naval officers out of these rooms this morning when he heard you were coming aboard. Evidently you had a profitable mission. We don’t do this often.”

  Jill looked at Jack, and he smiled at her. She knew O’Brien was fishing for details, but he wasn’t going to get any.

  “Thank you, O’Brien,” Jill replied with her deep smile that showed her dimples. “I want to make a phone call, and then we need to get hot showers, followed by some hot food.”

  “No problem, ma’am. Your rooms are on the left. There is a SAT phone in each room, and each room has a shower, too. There are fresh fatigues in the lockers. After that, you can walk down this hall about two hundred feet to the mess hall. You are free to roam the ship at your leisure. If you need anything, just tell anyone you see that you want to talk to O’Brien. Everyone knows me. I will check in on you guys—er, people later.”

  Jill and Jack exchanged a glance and smiled. Jill was getting used to the gender issues that kept surfacing.

  As O’Brien left them and walked down the hall, Jill said, “This seems so weird.”

  “Yeah, it’s weird being around people who don’t want to kill us.” Jack laughed.

  “That’s not what I meant.” Jill also laughed. “Hey, I am going to get a shower. Why don’t you get a shower and then I will treat you to dinner in the mess hall?”

  “It’s a date,” Jack replied.

  “See you in thirty minutes,” Jill said. Jack’s last words lingered in her mind. I wonder if we ever will go on a real date.

  Jill entered her room and again considered how extraordinary it was to have electricity, hot water, a bunk, and most importantly a SAT phone that she could use for personal calls. Jill closed the door behind her and dialed her mother’s home phone number.

  Ring-ring, ring-ring.

  “Hello?”

  “Hi, Mom.”

  “Oh Jill, I am so glad to hear your voice. Are you okay? Where are you? Did you have any problems? Will you be home soon? You aren’t in the hospital are you?”

  “Mom, everything is fine. I am on a flat top in the middle of the ocean. My ‘training mission’ went fine, and I am fine.”

  “Oh, I am so glad you are all right. I worried about you the whole time you were gone. I never stoppe
d praying for you and Jack. Is Jack all right?”

  “Yes, mom, he’s fine. Listen, I can’t really talk now. I can call you later; I need to take care of some other things right now.”

  “Jill, you have told me everything I need to know . . . you are safe, and Jack is safe. Could you tell Jack something for me?”

  “Sure, Mom. What?”

  “Please tell him I said ‘Thank you.’”

  “Thank you? For what?”

  “Jack will know.”

  “Oh—okay. Love you. Bye, Mom.”

  “Love you, Jill. Bye.”

  I wonder what the secret “thank you” for Jack is all about.

  Jill ran the shower in her room and started to rummage through the mini bottles of soap and found one labeled ‘Fresh Mountain Strawberry Moisturizing Shampoo.’ Thank you O’Brien. This is going to smell so wonderful.

  Jill hurried because she didn’t want to keep Jack waiting. After her shower she quickly towel dried her hair and pulled it back into a ponytail. She put on a fresh set of fatigues, exited her room, and knocked on Jack’s door.

  Jack opened his door, smiled, and said, “Did you make reservations at Café Flat Top?”

  “Yes, let’s go. I’m starving.”

  Walking down the narrow hallway, Jill thought how wonderful it felt to be clean and wearing clean clothes.

  The mess hall was empty. Jill checked her watch. They had just missed the lunch crowd. Their biological clocks had lost track of the time. Now, the smell of hot food was overwhelming Jill. She led the way to the entrance of the chow line.

  “Do you have any steaks?” Jill asked the cook.

  “No, ma’am, but I have some delicious Angus burgers that are hot off the grill.”

  Jill looked at Jack for his approval. He nodded.

  “We will take two of the thickest and juiciest Angus burgers that you have.”

  The cook smiled and dished up the burgers. He added a large pile of fries to each plate. Sitting down, they simultaneously said, “This is so weird.”

  They were silent as they ate their burgers and fries.

  “MREs just don’t taste this good, even when I’m hungry,” Jill said.

  “Mmmm.” Jack agreed.

  “I talked to Mom on the SAT phone,” Jill said.

  “How is she?”

  “She said to say ‘Thank you.’”

  “Mmm.”

  “What is she thanking you for?”

  “It’s—well—sort of a long story.”

  Jill frowned. What’s going on? Why do Mom and Jack have secrets that I don’t know about? “Well, anyhow, she said to tell you she is glad you are back safe and sound from our ‘training mission.’”

  “Mmm hmm,” Jack responded.

  After they finished eating, Jill and Jack leaned back in their chairs and looked at each other. Each was getting sleepy from the food digesting, and the past three days of physical and emotional stress.

  “Ladies and gentlemen,” the cook said as he walked toward Jill and Jack with two tall glasses filled with strawberry milkshakes.

  “Jack, did you tell the cook how much I was looking forward to a strawberry milkshake?”

  “I couldn’t resist.” Jack smiled.

  “Thank you sooo much for remembering,” Jill cooed.

  “It’s the least I can do for the second best shot in the Army,” Jack said.

  “You sure know how to show a girl a good time.”

  Jill and Jack drank their milk shakes in silence. When she was finished, Jill said, “I’m ready for some shuteye.”

  “Me, too,” Jack replied.

  “Jack. We need to talk. About me being the second best shot in the Army,” Jill said.

  “What are you talking about?”

  “I know that you were looking forward to taking the kill shot. I am sorry that I had to take the shot. If there was any way you could have taken the shot I would have been glad for you to do it. It wasn’t in my plan to take the shot. I wish I had not taken the shot. I know that it meant a lot to you to kill Ramiro. If I could have—”

  “Jill, it is okay. In fact, I had not even thought about it until you just brought it up. I know black ops missions don’t always go as planned. We do our best planning, and then sometimes things go sour. The most important thing is that we both survived. Besides that, we accomplished the mission, and I still got to kill three bad guys with your toy gun. That means we will probably be given lots of future missions that we can work on together. I am looking forward to that. Maybe next time I can take the kill shot.”

  “Savage, you are not only the best shot in the Army, but you also have the best attitude in the Army.” Hmm, did I hear Jack say that he is looking forward to future missions with me? What a change in attitude. Wow. “So you’d consider working with me in the future?”

  “I’ll be glad to. In fact I hope I can. You’ve proven yourself time after time in tough situations. I was skeptical at first, but I now see that you’re very special. I like your gutsy attitude, and you’re fearlessness under fire. It seems we are the perfect match. I am glad that the Army picked us for this sniper team. I hope we continue working together.”

  “I am glad to hear that, Jack. I like working with you, too. I feel the same way about us being the perfect match.” I wonder if Jack is thinking about us being “the perfect match” in other ways.

  Jill and Jack got up from the table, thanked the cook, and walked the two hundred feet to their rooms. Purposely, Jill took the lead as they entered the long narrow hallway.

  Jill stopped at her door and turned sideways. She knew that Jack would have to squeeze past her in the narrow hallway to get to his door. As he did he was almost nose to nose with her. Jill looked up at him. He paused and inhaled. I wonder if he can smell the strawberry scent from the shampoo. They were so close they almost touched. The slightest wave rocking the ship would nudge her into his muscular arms.

  “I . . . I . . . am going to miss you.” Jack struggled with his words.

  “I am going to miss you too, Jack. The past three days went by so fast. I was never lonely. I expect we will see a lot of each other on future missions, but the past three days were very special.”

  “I think we make a good team,” Jack said.

  “I think so, too.”

  Jill and Jack continued gazing into each other’s eyes.

  “I suppose we should get some rest now,” Jack said.

  “I suppose so . . . Good night, Jack.”

  Jack finished sliding past Jill in the narrow hallway, entered his room, and closed the door.

  Jill entered her room and closed her door. She quickly changed and climbed into her bunk to get some much needed sleep. Curling up in the bunk bed, Jill thought of the pine needle bed Jack made for her. Jack is sooo sweet. I wonder if he likes me.