by Cliff Deane
Look, I don’t pretend to know if this thing between the two of you has any chance to move forward, but I do know that something special happened at that moment. I’m telling you; Levi Levins is a good man and every man in the Army of this Republic, and the civilians who know him would do anything to see him happy. Whew, that’s more’n I’ve said at once in a long time.”
Major Susan Turner found that she wasn’t offended by the Sgt. Major’s lapse in military courtesy as she said, “Brad, thank you for what you’ve told me; I just want you to know that I’m not anyone’s plaything, and I don’t climb the ladder by sleeping my way to the top. If the General thinks he’s going to get lucky tonight, he is in for a surprise.”
Bradley laughed out loud and said, “Ma’am, I guarantee that my General is thinking the exact same thing at this moment.
Now, if you will excuse me, I’ll go fetch your dinner date,” and standing Bradley Cobb turned to find Levi.
Levi entered the Mess Tent a few minutes later and saw Susan beginning to rise; he motioned with his hand for her to remain seated as he sat down.
“Major Turner, I apologize if I or my Sgt. Major have caused you any discomfort or embarrassment. I hope that you will accept my assurance that my reaction to meeting you was, well, not contrived. In fact, you are the first woman I have had the pleasure to dine with for a very long time.
Am I speaking out of turn here? I’m pretty sure we both know something rare and moving happened to us a couple of hours ago when we met. I guess my question to you is; where do we go from here?”
Susan began to stutter a bit as she said, “Sir, I uh…”
“Whoa, please stop right there, we are not on duty, so please, call me Levi when we are not working in an official capacity.”
“Fine, sir…er, Levi, and please call me Susan.”
“Thank you, Susan. Now, you were saying…”
“Oh, yes; I was about to say that while I agree that something very special happened. Levi, I am also a realist and though I very much would like to, uh, get to know you on a more personal level; I also know that I’m stationed at Lejeune, and you are in DC?”
“Excellent point, Susan and it’s a conundrum that without overstepping my boundaries as your Commander, I guess I’d have to say that until you have finished training your Air Wing, it will be catch as catch can. I hope, no, I’m sure you understand that I cannot show preferential treatment to anyone, no matter the circumstances. So, until you are legitimately assigned to this Command, and at some point, it will be necessary, we will try to find common ground; did I just say find common ground?
Look, Susan, I’ll just say it, and you can decide whether to slap my face or kiss me. I feel something very special happened, something I have not felt for a very long time, and yes, I want to have a relationship with you. Oh, and no, I will not try to get you into bed, tonight.”
Susan stood and leaned across the table and kissed Levi, with a tenderness he thought never to feel again.
“I hope that answers your question, and did Bradley Cobb tell you not to try to get into my pants, tonight?”
Confused, Levi said, “What, no, why would you think he would say that to me?”
The Dining Staff had been peeking, and after Susan had kissed their Commander, the Mess Sergeant led the cook to the table and presented to Susan, and Levi a magnificent Chateaubriand steak in a red wine sauce, complete with shallots and chateau potatoes.
A stunned Levi looked at this magnificent meal and said, “Sergeant Trudeau, you did this? Wow, it looks wonderful.”
Trudeau, originally a French Canadian said, “Merci, mon General, Bon Appetit.” He then apportioned the meal on two plates, made the presentation, then offered the wine, by popping the cork, pouring a small sip in the proper wine glass before handing it to Levi for the sniff test.
Levi had no idea what to do and started to drink the taste. Trudeau interrupted and whispered, “Sir, sniff the wine, then pretend you like it, then taste.”
He looked at Susan, who was laughing and whispered, in his best French accent, yet loud enough for Levi to hear, Zee Sgt. Major can dress heem up, but steel can only take heem to zee same place twice, and zee second time is always to apologize.”
Pretending to leave in a huff; Trudeau and his crew left Susan and Levi to enjoy their meal.
Smiling and thoroughly enjoying herself, Susan asked if he always ate like this.
In a low voice, Levi simply said, “No.”
The evening proved to be a wonderful experience, and later, in her VIP quarters, Susan was a little disappointed that Levi hadn’t come knocking on her door.
In Levi’s tent, as he and Kate were trying to get to sleep, Katie asked, “Dad, are you planning to slip out after I’m asleep? If you are, don’t worry, I’ll probly be up all night just cleanin’ this gun.”
Kate started laughing along with Levi who responded, “No, Katie, I am not going to slip out. I do not want a relationship with her if the beginning consists of sneaking around. It ain’t me babe, no, no, no, it ain’t me babe.”
“Dad, I love you, goodnight.”
“Night sweetie.”
◎
16 May 0200
Various Ambush Sites
DC
Leaders of fifteen patrols flew their new Wasps and discovered, not only the suspected ambush sites; but also a second group at each location whose mission was to make a flanking attack against anyone entering the kill zones of the Caliphate Forces.
At each site, the NCOIC (Sergeant in Charge) identified two points of attack. Each patrol utilized two LAWs 60 mm Rockets creating a body count from both Task Forces of two hundred and forty Caliphate Jihadis; friendly body count; zero. The troopers of the ROA fell immediately in love with their new Wasps.
◎
16 May 0800
Camp TFL
NW of DC
The morning briefing included Major Turner as she wanted to hear the comments about the value of the Wasp.
Each Patrol Leader had the same comment; WOW! The body count of enemy forces was amazing, and the only rounds fired were thirty LAWs from each Task Force.
Following the meeting, Susan remained to say farewell to Levi. She said, “Are we now on duty time or a few seconds of our time right now?”
As an answer, Levi leaned to her and gave her the most endearing kiss she had ever received. The kiss was not full of lustful hunger but was one that said, let’s not screw this up.
The kiss she returned made Levi know that the wait for the next one would be worth it.
The demeanor of both changed the second they exited the meeting room. Now, she was Major Turner the General’s subordinate officer; she saluted and climbed into her waiting Humvee.
That kiss remained on his lips and in his thoughts for a very long time.
◎◎◎
Chapter 13
Sniper Fire
◎
16 May 0900
Ruhullah (Spirit of God) Abdul Majid (Servant of the all Glorious)
1600 Pennsylvania Ave, DC
Abdul Majid sat on his floor and was so furious he was nearly inconsolable. The cool morning air streaming through the open windows helped to maintain a semblance of outward calm. As Ruhullah, he must never appear out of control.
He had come to realize that the Caliphate Force in DC was out gunned, out trained, out manned, and out led. These Infidels were not a bunch of peasants, as first thought, but were, in reality, a disciplined and well trained Military Force.
He was also beginning to wonder if perhaps one of his Officers was feeding information to the enemies of Islam. What other reason could possibly explain how the Infidels could know the exact positioning of each ambush site; knowledge which had caused the martyring of two hundred and forty Soldiers of Islam.
Sitting across from Majid, the General was considering his options of thrusting the blame of these humiliating defeats from his own shoulders. He agreed passionately with the Ruhullah’s
premise that there must be a mole in the Caliphate’s Military.
They agreed that the guilty party must be rooted out and publicly executed perhaps by the General’s own hand to make the point that traitors will not be tolerated. Should the military setbacks continue it could only be inferred that they were dealing with a traitorous cell working for the cursed Zionist Mossad.”
“My General, how many of our soldiers in service to Allah, Allahu Akbar, have been martyred since this invasion began?”
“In the name of Allah, I must tell you that this number is now nearing four hundred, Allahu Akbar.”
“Yes,” said the Ruhullah, “Praise Allah, and how many Infidels have been sent to hell?”
Deciding to push the narrative of Israeli’s murdering the true followers of Islam, the General said, “By the grace of Allah, I can tell you that the number of the hated Zionist dead numbers well over one thousand. I have myself seen these bodies as they were being placed into mass graves, Allahu Akbar; but I am concerned. This Army which has so ruthlessly and cowardly attacked our blessed Holy Warriors in service to Allah hide, like the rats they are, coming out at night to murder our glorious soldiers, Allahu Akbar. They outnumber our meager force at least ten to one, yet they will not come out to fight like men.”
“And the total number of our forces still able to fight this Holy War for the love and glory of Allah is…”
“I am informed this morning that our unit strength sits at just over four hundred souls, Allah be praised. Normally, I would say our forces would be more than sufficient, praise Allah, but we are being attacked by a huge army of over five, possibly even six thousand well armed and well-trained soldiers attacking from all sides. I have, therefore, requested that reinforcements be sent from Cleveland. I anticipate that these reinforcements should arrive within the next thirty to forty days.”
“Forty to fifty days!” shouted the Ruhullah, “How can we hold out against such an army as you describe for so long? Can you not hurry the process?”
“My friend, as we only have communication through a messenger, it will take nearly one week to even get word of our dilemma to the Cleveland forces. To this, add another two to three weeks of preparation for movement, plus a long and difficult road march to here. There are still millions of stranded vehicles on the highways.
In answer to your question about holding out; yes, it may prove to be a narrow thing, but through the grace of Allah, I am convinced that we shall be victorious, Allah be praised.”
“What military actions will you undertake to protect our headquarters for Islam?”
“We shall immediately, Inshallah, (God Willing) undertake a defensive posture forming an impenetrable fortress around your palace.”
“Yes, I agree, praise Allah, to your plan. Now, if there is nothing else, it is time for my meditation. Oh, lest we forget, find that traitor, probably a sub-lieutenant, and execute him quickly.”
◎
16 May 1225
Camp TFL
NW of DC
Levi and his principal staff sat in the Mess Tent having lunch and discussing their progress in this campaign to destroy the Caliphate forces in DC.
Captain Page asked if anyone could estimate, even a ballpark figure, the number of Caliphate military still in DC.
Gus took a sip of his cup of Joe and told Captain Page that an accurate count was currently impossible, but a scientific, wild assed guess would be somewhere four and six hundred combat effectives.
Levi added that after suffering such a huge loss of forces in last night’s attacks, the next couple of days would shed some light on the remaining number of the enemy force.
“Historically, following significant losses, Islamic forces have tended to hunker down, forcing the enemy to come to them. Normally, this would appear to be sound doctrine, but creating hasty fortifications has not traditionally been high on their list of skills.”
The three leader’s plan for the next couple of days became one of wait and see; with one exception, at 1600 a recon patrol would be sent deep into DC all the way to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue in an attempt to gain information on Caliphate dispositions.
It was decided not to take any offensive action that day to allow the troops to rest, clean equipment, and prepare for daylight recon patrols commencing at 0600 hours the following day.
The day had been cool with a light breeze; and now, in the afternoon the breeze remained, and the temperature would climb only into the mid-seventies. Levi thought that it was perhaps a bit cooler than normal for the DC area and he wondered if the weather would become cooler all over the world without the heat from autos, machinery, and the heat given off by seven billion human bodies.
When he entered his tent, he noticed that Kate was already up and gone; probably cleaning gear with Kevin. Levi would have preferred that she had still been resting after a night of tramping through the outskirts of DC.
As Levi made his way to the Tactical Operations Center (TOC), he was met by SSgt. Jones who said, “Sir, you are needed in the TOC right away. Together, they picked up the pace and upon entering the tent Gus was discussing something with Captain Page and the Sgt. Major.
Turning to Levi, Gus told him that a Caliphate Humvee had been spotted slowly weaving through the dead vehicles on I-395. “Sir, I think this could be a messenger headed to either Baltimore or Cleveland for reinforcements. Should we take him out, or put on a tail. We have plenty of time to catch up to him; his pace is that of a tired turtle.
The four men sat down at the small table, and Levi said, “Gentlemen, we may have an opportunity here. If we take him out, we gain three things; first, one more dead enemy soldier; two, capture and question him to possibly gain intel on the Caliphate numbers; three, stop the possibility of reinforcements.
On the other hand, if Captain Page sends out a couple of his Horse Soldiers to tail this guy, we could learn where our enemy’s nearest stronghold is, and by keeping an eye on his destination, we’ll know when, and how many reinforcements are available for DC. Knowing when and how many, will allow us to arrange a great many disasters to befall these animals as they are hung up among the millions of dead vehicles.
The discussion lasted for perhaps another five minutes before Levi made the final decision to tail the Caliphate messenger.
Levi said, “Gentlemen, I believe that gathering better long range Intel will provide us with valuable information as to enemy strength and dispositions, as opposed to having more information on our current situation which we’ll gain anyway. Yes, local information is desirable, but it would be unlikely to change the overall battle plan.
Captain Page was then excused to get two of his Horse Soldiers after the potential messenger. During the discussion phase, everyone agreed that horses could proceed more quickly than vehicles, and could, for the most part, stay off the roads. The Cavalry Scouts were on their way within ninety minutes.
The three remaining members of Levi’s brain trust remained seated and continued to consider the ramifications of the discovery of the messenger vehicle.
◎
16 May 1225
Alabama Ave,
DC
The Patrol Point Man following the direction from the Wasp Drone came upon a group of Caliphate soldiers. He signaled a halt, while he moved forward to get a better visual on the commotion he’d spotted just ahead.
He saw, perhaps twenty Caliphate soldiers loading crates and boxes onto several horse-drawn carts. After watching for several minutes, the scout returned to the patrol and briefed them on what he had seen.
“Sarge, they’re packin’ up and moving somewhere; I couldn’t be sure, but I believe they were loading canned goods.”
The Patrol Leader congratulated the Private for the professional situation report (SITREP) and ordered the patrol to continue on mission. A simple thank you went a long way in the Army of the Republic of America. The troopers worked and trained hard, and recognition of that fact helped to maintain a higher spirit of elan.
The patrol then quietly made their way around the enemy force and continued making their way toward the White House. Over the next three hours, their Wasp located three additional groups loading gear.
To reach their destination, the patrol noted the location, then bypassed each enemy position. Upon arrival at the White House, the patrol fanned out to five high-rise buildings to gain a better perspective on the frantic activity happening below. It soon became apparent that the predominance if not all of the Caliphate Force was repositioning and fortifying the White House grounds.
Just after dark the patrol reformed and began making their way back to the TF Levins encampment.
◎
16 May 2315
Camp TFL
NW of DC
The Duty NCO awakened Levi and informed him that the patrol sent to the White House had just returned.
“Thank you, Sergeant, please ask the Patrol Leader to wait, and tell him I’ll be there shortly. Also awaken Colonel Murtaugh, Sgt. Major Cobb and Captain Page to have them meet me in the TOC ASAP.”
“Yes, sir, on the way.”
The night air was cool, and as Levi looked, he could see the stars, just as the Mayan’s had seen them, as they recorded the movement of the stars and made their famous calendar. The atmosphere had become incredibly clear, and bright enough to make his way to the Tactical Operations Center (TOC) from the starlight alone.
Levi realized that the Earth was healing, and would continue that process for years to come before the ravages of Man were erased. He imagined watching the stars with Susan, holding hands and marveling at the immensity of the Cosmos.
The Sgt. Major was the first to arrive, followed by Levi who wondered if the Sgt. Major slept in his uniform but realized that wasn’t right since his uniform was always pressed and totally unwrinkled.