“What’s BF Egypt?” Orfali asked.
Asu leaned over and whispered to his boss. Orfali started to laugh.
Asu began to laugh as well. Orfali’s smile disappeared. “Why are you still here?”
Asu looked befuddled, “You told me to…”
“Just send your men,” he said. “I will go with them. You will stay here and guard the woman. I will call for you to bring her 40 minutes before we are ready. 3:00 a.m. Not one minute after. Don’t fail me.”
Asu nodded, “I will not fail.”
Orfali opened his burner cell and dialed. He glanced at Honor as he dialed, “Not one word comes from your lips. Do you understand?”
Honor nodded. Trevor answered the phone.
He turned his attention back to the phone, “Mr. SEAL. Listen carefully. I’ll say this only once. There is a change of plan. We do the exchange tonight at 3:00 a.m. You will put Mr. Carpenter in your car and drive to Beachcrest, Wa. It’s a 30-minute drive from your hotel. When you get to Beachcrest, turn north on Basin Drive Northeast and follow it until the road ends. When you reach the water, turn off your engine and wait for my call. You and Mr. Carpenter are to come alone. Any deviation from the plan and your woman dies. Remember, 3:00 a.m. Mr. SEAL. Sharp.”
Chapter 15
“Get back in the bed,” Caroline yelled. Her raised voice caught the attention of the nurse at the station outside Wolf’s room.
“Are we all okay in there?” the nurse asked.
Caroline smiled, “Yep, all good.”
“I can’t let him do this on his own,” Wolf replied. He stood on his injured foot.
“Ow, dammit!” He winced in pain and hobbled back to the bed.
“You see,” Caroline said, “you can’t put any weight on it. There is nothing you can do. Even the great Wolf Steele needs two working legs.”
“If I had known you were going to nag me to death, I wouldn’t have let you be here,” he said, only half-smiling.
“If you hadn’t called me here, you would have had much more to deal with than nagging, I assure you,” she replied, sans any smile at all.
Wolf again tried to take a step and almost fell, momentarily losing balance before hobbling back to the bed on his good leg.
“It doesn’t feel broken,” Wolf said. “It’s just badly sprained and hurts like hell.”
“Oh, so you’re a doctor now?” Caroline replied.
“He’s right,” said a doctor entering the room. Dr. McLaughlin had examined Wolf within minutes of his arrival at the hospital.
“I just got the MRI results back,” he said. “The good news is, your ankle isn’t broken. The bad news is, I haven’t seen a sprain this bad in the last 15 years. You’re going to need to stay off that ankle, keep it iced and elevated for four days and allow the swelling to go down.”
“Doc, I’m a U.S. Navy Seal,” Wolf replied. “I have a buddy that needs me tonight. Can’t you patch me up temporarily?”
Dr. McLaughlin shook his head, “You aren’t walking anywhere. The only help you will be giving anyone over the next few days is advice. You put pressure on that ankle tonight and you’re going to make it much worse. You start putting too much pressure on it and you may have a permanent limp. No. I’m going to fix you up in a heavy bandage and splint and get you a set of crutches. They are going to be your new best friends for the next week.”
“Damn!” exclaimed Wolf.
“What’s your pain level like?” McLaughlin asked.
“It’s bad, Doc,” Caroline interjected.
“I’ll get you a high-level dose of acetaminophen,” McLaughlin said.
“No offense, Doc,” Wolf objected. “I’m a SEAL. I eat acetaminophen like M&M’s. I have a tolerance to it. This really hurts. I need something stronger.”
McLaughlin looked at Wolf and scratched his head, “Okay, I’ll give you some Oxycodone, but you be careful with that stuff, you hear? Do not exceed the recommended dose?”
“No problem, Doc,” he said. “When can I go home?”
“We’re going to get one of the interns in here to wrap that for you,” he said. “I’ll order the medication and start the discharge papers. You’ll be out of here in an hour or two.”
“Good deal,” Wolf said.
McLaughlin left the room and Caroline flipped on the television set. She turned to the local news station.
“I let him down,” Wolf said.
“Who? Bootstrap?” Caroline replied. “That isn’t true. It’s not even close to true. If you had not gotten into that ring, Trevor would have never found out anything about Orfali’s whereabouts.”
“It’s killing me, Caroline,” he replied. “I can’t help him and I can’t call help for him. He’s out there with a single retired SEAL going up against a dozen or more men. There has to be something I can do.”
Caroline touched his face. Her heart went out to him. She knew how this was making him feel. Still, she needed to be steadfast. He was simply too hurt to walk and if he couldn’t walk, he couldn’t help Trevor in the field.
Wolf fell silent, deep in thought. She touched his shoulder lightly. He reached up and placed his hand on hers. She wrapped her other arm around his massive chest and leaned in, kissing his neck. His head turned and he kissed her. The kiss was long and deep. Caroline felt the passion but also the desperation, the pain he suffered.
A young man of perhaps thirty-five walked into the room pushing a cart. On the cart was a supply of tape, bandages and splints.
“I’m here to tape up your ankle,” he said. “I’m Dr. Robinson. I’m one of the interns here.”
The doctor began to go about his duties. As he began to apply bandages Wolf noticed the tattoo on his upper arm, just below the short sleeve of his scrubs.
“1st Squadron, 108th Cavalry Regiment,” Wolf said. “Army?”
Robinson nodded, “Yep?”
“Afghanistan?” Wolf said.
Robinson nodded again, “Two tours. I was a field medic.”
“A field medic? You see action?”
He nodded, “I was at the battles of Kamdesh and Wanat.”
Wolf raised his eyebrows and whistled. The Battle of Kamdesh was October 3, 2009. Three-hundred Taliban soldiers attacked the American Combat Post Keating. Eight American soldiers died. Nine U.S. soldiers died in heavy fighting at Wanat in 2008.
Wolf leaned back a little as he watched Dr. Robinson begin to work. And then it hit him… an idea.
“Yes,” he said aloud.
“What is it?” Caroline asked.
He smiled at Caroline and looked back down at the young doctor, “Set me up with a field dressing and splint.”
Dr. Robinson looked up, his eyes wide open, “What?”
“Listen carefully. I have a buddy out there whose life is in imminent danger. I want you to pretend you’re back at Wanat and the enemy is descending on us and you need to get me to safety. And safety, Dr. Robinson, is three hundred yards away. How would you fix me up to move?”
“I can’t…” he began.
“Do it, soldier!” he demanded. “Listen, I have friends who will die tonight if I can’t get to them. I hate to put this on you… but it is on you. I need to be mobile. I need you to help me.”
Dr. Robinson paused. He looked at Wolf for a moment and sighed, “This will get me fired,” he said.
“I won’t let it come to that, I promise,” Wolf replied. “Can you do it?”
He sighed, looking back through the door to the ER. He turned back to Wolf and nodded. “It’s gonna hurt like hell when you walk, but yeah, I can get you mobile.”
“Then do it.”
Dr. Robinson nodded, “Damn. Okay then, here we go.”
Wolf reached into his pocket, and turned to Caroline, “Sweetheart, I have another idea. I need my cell phone.”
Chapter 16
“We may have caught a little break,” Trevor said to Snake as he pulled up to their position. He noticed Paco was with him.
�
��What is he doing here?” Trevor asked, glaring.
“Paco, show him,” Snake said.
Paco rolled up his sleeve. High up on his arm was an Army Ranger tattoo, Airborne Division.
He looked at Paco, “Rangers? You?”
Paco nodded, “Two tours in Iraq.”
“You’re here to help?”
“I am,” he said.
Trevor looked at him with a mildly suspicious eye, “Why would you put yourself in danger for people you don’t know?”
“Snake told me what was going on,” he said. “I served my country. I don’t like the idea of terrorists here in The Pines. I’m here to help. You want help or not?”
“What about your boss?” Trevor asked.
“I never liked him all that much, to tell you the truth,” Paco replied.
Trevor nodded, “That, I understand.”
“Tell me what to do,” Paco said.
“You can start by securing Barkley to that fencepost,” Trevor said.
“Roger that,” he said looking at Barkley. “Should I take his phone?”
“No,” Trevor said. “If something happens and we don’t make it back, he needs to be able to call for help. Just secure him well enough that he won’t get away for several hours.”
Paco nodded and then looked at Barkley, “Sorry, boss.”
“What?” Barkley protested. “You ain’t gonna do that…”
“I am,” Paco said. “I saw you sucking up to those terrorists. It ain’t right, man. You’re staying right here. When this is over, I’ll come and get you.”
“Paco!” he screamed. “You aren’t going to…”
That was all Barkley got out of his mouth, before Paco shut him down.
“Shut up,” he said. “I’m not sitting by idly while two U.S. servicemen face off against terrorist kidnappers by themselves. Let’s go--- over here.”
He turned back to Trevor, “Be back in a minute.”
He led Barkley off.
“You’re a traitorous son-of-a-bitch, Paco!” Barkley screamed.
“If you and I have something to settle after, we’ll handle it then.”
“You’re damn skippy we’ll settle up,” Barkley yelled. “This ain’t over for you and me, Paco. Not by a long shot.”
“Whatever, man,” Paco replied.
“You started by saying we may have caught a break,” Snake said to Trevor.
“Yeah. I just got a call from Orfali,” Trevor said. “They want to make the exchange at 3:00 a.m. in a place called Beachcrest.”
Snake looked at his watch. “That’s a half hour drive from here,” he said. “How does that help us?”
“Because, according to Barkley, Honor is being held in a cabin, two miles from that hill, across the lake,” Trevor said. “Something must have spooked them and they felt the need to move the timetable up.”
“They probably realized we weren’t at our hotel,” Snake said. “They know we’re planning something. So that means most of their men will be at Beachcrest now or at least heading there to establish defensive positions so they can pick us off at the exchange.”
“Right,” Trevor agreed. “They still have no idea we know where Honor is. They will probably only leave a small contingent with her and bring her in at the last moment.”
“How do you know that?” Snake said.
“That’s been the M.O. for ISIS over the last two years in hostage situations,” Trevor replied. “They send out a recon team to prepare the exchange site and position their men for kill shots. Once they are in position, they’ll call for the hostage to be brought in.”
Paco rejoined the two SEALS, “So, you’re telling me that most of the kidnappers will be gone and Honor will be held in the Carter cabin by a skeleton crew?”
“That’s right,” Trevor said.
Snake smiled, “Our window of opportunity has arrived.”
Paco had returned.
“Barkley is secure?” Snake asked.
He nodded, “He’s not going anywhere.”
“By the way, you said Carter cabin?” Trevor repeated.
“Yeah, you said she was being held in a cabin two-miles west of here across the lake,” Paco replied. “That’s Clyde Carter’s cabin. He died four months ago. Heart attack. It’s empty now. His son rents it out to hunters and fishermen. It’s the only cabin out here. If they’re in those hills, it’s the only place they could be.”
“You know that cabin?” Snake asked.
Paco nodded, “I do, and I know the area.”
“That’s will help us tactically,” Snake said. “What about weapons?”
“Snake brought the pistols,” Paco said. “And I brought knives from my personal collection.”
Trevor examined the knife he was given. He smiled, “This is an Ontario MK3. It’s a SEAL knife.”
“Best in the business,” Paco said.
“It’ll do,” Trevor said, handing him back the one he was given earlier. “I sure wish we had more equipment.”
“No time to go fetch more,” Snake said.
“I suspect men like you two can do a lot with a gun and a knife,” Paco said.
“We’ll have to,” Snake replied.
“How many men you figure will stay with your woman?” Paco asked.
“I don’t know,” Trevor said. “If we’re lucky, only four. If we’re unlucky… more.”
“It’s 1:35 a.m. right now,” Snake said. “Orfali’s men who will be preparing for the exchange have likely left by now, probably with Orfali himself providing oversight. I figure Honor will probably not be moved until about 2:15. That gives us a short window to make something happen.”
“How quickly can we get there from here?” Trevor asked Paco.
“I know the roads,” Paco said. “We’ll take my truck and drive around the lake. We’ll park about a quarter mile away so they won’t hear our approach. We’re on foot for the rest. I know a path leading to the back of the cabin. I doubt they even know that path is there. We do need to move… now!”
“Let’s go!” Trevor said.
Chapter 17
At 1:55 a.m. Trevor, Snake and Paco were hidden in elevated positions behind Carter’s cabin. Smoke could be smelled from the burning fireplace. An amber glow filtered through the curtains in the windows.
“Is there any way to tell how many men are in there?” Paco whispered.
“Not unless you can see through walls,” Trevor said. “We have to eliminate the guards walking outside the building quietly and improvise from there.”
“I count two guards in the front of the house and one toward the rear,” Snake said. “Like Paco said, they are not expecting an approach from the rear. If we can take one of the guards alive, and do so quietly, we can force him to give us information on who is inside.”
“It might be risky trying to take one alive,” Snake said. “If he yells out and gives away our position, Honor is as good as dead.”
“I have an idea,” Paco said.
“Let’s hear it,” Snake replied.
“It’s almost 2:00 a.m.” Paco said. “We have to assume the recon team is at or headed to Beachcrest. If Honor is still in the cabin, they will be moving her very soon. We can eliminate all three guards quietly and wait for them to emerge with her. We take them down then.”
Trevor shook his head, “That won’t work. Each of the guards is carrying a walkie-talkie to communicate. When they move Honor, they are going to call for an all-clear to the guards outside. If they don’t answer, they will know something is wrong.”
“And then Honor will be dead,” Snake said, nodding in agreement. “There’s no obvious solution. Bootstrap. It’s your lady. It’s your call.”
“There’s only one choice?” he said.
“Shock and awe?” replied Snake.
Trevor nodded, “We synchronize our watches and each take one man. We approach from behind and use knives only. Use your left hand to cover their mouth and right hand to slit their throats. It ha
s to be quick. Ten seconds after all the guards are down, we break in, guns blazin’.”
“It sounds like suicide to me,” Paco said.
“It could very well be. You don’t have to be here,” Trevor said.
Paco looked down to the ground and sighed, “No, I want to be here. I’m in.”
“Can you take your man down?”
“Yes,” he nodded.
“Good,” Trevor said. “I appreciate this, Paco, I really do, but I don’t know you. You’ve handled yourself well, but when we break in you be careful with that gun. I don’t want Honor hit by friendly fire.”
“You don’t have to worry,” he said. “I won’t take a bad shot.”
“Good. Let’s set our watches.”
Six minutes later the three men converged on the guards. Both Snake and Trevor eliminated their guard with only muffled sounds. Paco eliminated his guard as well, though a shot was fired into the air before the last guard fell.
“Shit!” Trevor said as the sound of the bullet echoed in the distance. “We’re exposed. We go in… now!”
Seconds after the shot Trevor heard men inside speaking nervously in Arabic.
Snake stood to the right of the door as Trevor kicked it in. The door swung open. Gunfire could be heard coming from inside the cabin. Trevor ducked away just in time. Bullets continued to whistle through the doorway.
Snake and Trevor heard more screaming in Arabic coming from inside the cabin. Snake picked up a clay planter and tossed through the window to the right of the door. The sounds of broken glass and the clay pot hitting the floor could be heard.
Shots from inside began to divert to the window. With cat-like quickness Trevor dove through the doorway and onto the floor, rolling once. He stood and fired off two shots, pop, pop. Both bullets landed in the center of a Syrian man’s chest. He slumped to the floor.
He then heard Honor’s voice for the first time. She was screaming. He also heard a man screaming in Arabic. The voice came from the bedroom to the right of Trevor’s position. One Syrian man was undoubtedly holding Honor at gunpoint behind the closed bedroom door.
Special Forces: Operation Alpha: Fighting for Honor (Kindle Worlds Novella) Page 10