by Mike McNeff
“Two Nora Six-Five to Two Nora Six-Six,” Rick called Mark.
“Go, Rick.”
“We're going to move to your position to get ready for extract.”
“Ten-Four. We'll be watching for you.”
“Let's go, Doug.” Rick and Doug headed for Mark's team near the northeast corner of the ranch house. The gunfire picked up again. Doug moved in front of Rick. Rick heard the sickening slap of a bullet hitting flesh, and Doug went down in front of him. Doug uttered a curse, his voice filled with pain.
“Mark! Doug's hit!” Suddenly, Mark emerged from the dust and helped Rick pick up Doug and his rifle. Doug tried to walk, but he couldn't move fast enough. The other two men dragged him. They reached the other team's position and laid Doug down. Rick saw Doug had been shot in the buttocks. Rick turned his head and gasped as he saw Jamie lying on the grass with a wound to his head.
“He's still alive,” Mark said. They helped Doug get into a position to help with the fight. More men were coming at them, and the gunfight heated back up. These men were not yelling Spanish, but a different language.
“Arabs,” Mark yelled. “There are a helluva lot of them!”
Rick pulled out a grenade, pulled the pin, and tossed it at men trying to rush his position. It bounced to the left and went off. All the men went down, but a few seconds later half of them were shooting and starting to move again. Mark threw a grenade at another group. His grenade seemed to have more of an impact on them. Only one rose. Still it seemed an unending stream of men were coming out of both barracks.
“Come on, Rob. Call the extraction,” Rick muttered through the din. “This fight's going south.” Several seconds later, he heard Robin's voice call for extraction.
“I'm all right, Rob.”
Robin could see differently. Burke had an ugly wound on the right side of his face. His missing left sleeve revealed a bloody bandage on the shoulder, and the front of his camo fatigues looked dark with blood.
“Trinidad was a tough motherfucker,” he said, as if stating a simple fact. “I'm all right, Rob,” Burke said again, in response to Robin's concerned look.
Robin pointed to the door. “Rodriquez.” Burke nodded and seemed to rejuvenate somewhat. The gunfire continued outside. Rounds zinged through the house intermittently. Shouts of men in combat came from all directions. Explosions punctuated the gunfire. Robin tried the door handle. It turned.
“I'm going in, low and right. You cover me high from here,” Robin whispered. He held up a stun grenade. “On three.” Burke nodded. Robin pulled the pin on the grenade. He opened the door, and two rounds flew at them. Robin tossed the grenade, counted two, and went in. Burke fired a burst. The grenade went off. Robin made it to the corner of the entry to the master bedroom and dropped prone. Rodriquez fired five more rounds. A woman screamed words in Spanish…three more shots. The woman stopped screaming. So far, Robin counted eleven rounds fired by Rodriquez. There could be at least eight more.
Robin could hear muttering in Spanish, then in English. It kept alternating and getting louder. He pinpointed where Rodriquez was hiding in the large room. Robin hunkered behind an oversized oak rolltop desk in the corner of the room to the left and in front of Robin. He knew his Galil would punch through the wood of the desk, but for some perverse reason, Robin prepared another grenade. He pulled the pin and tossed it. It hit the floor and bounced to the exact spot where Rodriquez was hiding.
Rodriquez yelled. The grenade exploded with a bright flash and dense smoke. Robin moved to the corner of the bed and went to one knee. He saw a nude woman dead on the floor next to the bed. Rodriquez screamed as he staggered towards Robin, aimlessly firing his pistol in different directions. Robin rose like a ghost in the thick smoke and drove his rifle butt into Rodriquez's face, knocking him down. Burke came up next to Robin as Robin stepped over to Rodriquez and kicked the pistol away from him. Rodriquez was lying face up, blood pouring from his nose and mouth. His eyes met Robin's.
“I'm Robin Marlette.”
Rodriquez's eyes widened. His breath came faster. “You are a policeman. You…you cannot hurt me. It is the rule!”
Unrelenting ice gripped Robin's soul, creating a conflict so deep in his nature, he shuddered—but only for a moment. “When you try to kill me, the rules apply. But you tried to kill my family. You kidnapped my daughter. When you do such things, there are no rules.” Robin raised his Galil and pointed it at Rodriquez. He said, “GOTU.” Rodriquez screamed and crawled backwards, his bloody, contorted face a stark display of raw fear and hatred. Robin fired two rounds into Rodriquez's face, obliterating any recognizable feature.
Burke put his hand on Robin's shoulder. “There is a time to kill.”
“Let's get out of here.”
The two men hurried out of the room and into the hall. They went down the stairs. Through the front door, they could see dawn glowing behind the hills. Gunfire reverberated outside. A satchel charge went off to the left. Dust and debris flew everywhere.
“Extraction vehicles are here! Rocky! Marv! Robin! Burke! C'mon, let's go! We've got wounded! We gotta get out of here!” Mike screamed into the radio.
A voice came over the radio along with loud gunfire. “Get out of here, Mike. We can't make it. Marv's too badly hit…and I'm hit,” Rocky said.
Once at the door, Robin saw the two extraction vehicles were taking heavy fire as the perimeter teams got in them. “Burke, get to the vehicles.”
“I'm staying with you.” Robin looked into Burke's resolute eyes.
“Goddamn stubborn Indian.” Mike frantically motioned for Robin and Burke to come to the vehicles.
Robin keyed his radio. “Mike, go! We'll catch up. That is an order!” Robin looked to his left and saw Rocky and Marv crouched behind a small concrete building against the perimeter wall. They were shooting down the side of the ranch house. He and Burke moved to the corner of the house and saw the source of fire: five to six men with Uzis and AK-47s stationed near the car Robin had seen earlier.
“Let's light 'em up, Burke.” They opened fire, and immediately two of the men dropped. A third stood up, and Rocky shot him. The other men turned and ran to the back of the ranch house, shooting as they ran. Robin shot another one and he crashed into the ground.
“Burke! Go to Rocky!” Robin sprinted toward the vehicle. Bullets kicked up turf and dust as they ricocheted all around him. His left foot flew out from underneath him, and he went sprawling onto the grass. He jumped back up and ran another ten yards. Then a blow to his hip spun him around and onto the paved driveway. Robin crawled the rest of the way to the car, which immediately began taking fire. He opened the driver's door, and was relieved to find the keys in the ignition. He painfully climbed into the driver's seat and started the car, a BMW, and accelerated to Burke, Rocky, and Marv. Bullets thumped into the car, causing glass and metal to slice into and all over Robin. He hunched down and protected his eyes, screaming, “FUCK! FUCK! FUCK!” at no one in particular. He skidded up to the concrete building and all three men tumbled into the back seat, Marv cursing in pain.
“GO, ROB, GO!” Burke yelled. Robin floored the accelerator, and the car fishtailed forward. He straightened it out and made it through the gate. He felt relief for a half a minute until he saw headlights come out of the gate behind them, then more headlights.
“I guess it ain't over until the fat lady farts!” Robin muttered. He turned the headlights on to see better in the dawn's gloom. He looked down at the instrument panel. “Shit!” he said.
“What's up, Rob?” Burke asked.
“We're overheating. They probably nailed the engine.”
“Keep going!”
“No shit!” They careened through Santa Cruz, almost hitting an old pickup and a mule pulling a cart. They went another two miles.
“They're gaining on us, Rob!” Burke yelled. They could smell the hot engine. Smoke started to filter into the passenger compartment.
“We're losing power. We gotta stop an
d set up a defensive position soon. Start looking for a good spot.”
Burke leaned forward to Robin's ear and recoiled, shocked to see the right side of Robin's head and neck bleeding heavily. Burke swallowed hard. “Rob, Marv's in a bad way. We got to get him to a hospital.”
“I figured that, Burke, but I'm not a magician. This beamer's done.”
“That looks good up there, Sarge! To the left!” Rocky yelled.
Robin angled the car over and skidded to a halt. They all climbed out of the car. Robin saw Rocky dragging his left leg, his pants covered in blood. Robin's hip throbbed with pain, but he could still move. He pushed Rocky aside and lifted Marv out of the car, putting him over his shoulder in a fireman's carry. Marv screamed in pain.
“Rob, you're hit!” Rocky yelled. “There's blood everywhere.”
“We're all hit. Get moving.” Rocky hesitated. “Let's go, Rocky! Up the hill!”
Over his headset, Jack could hear the calls of men, his friends, wounded friends. He couldn't take it anymore. Without permission from Grassley, he jerked the stick right with hard right pedal and flew across the border, headed for Santa Cruz, slightly amazed Russ and Oscar made no objection. Jack looked over at Oscar, who scanned the area with his night vision. Jack's headset crackled.
“Super Four-Nine, Lima Two-One.”
“Go, Four-Nine.” Jack wondered who could be calling him.
“We are coming up on your left.” Jack looked over and saw a black HH-53 helicopter with no markings coming up into his view.
“Identify.”
“Heavy backup. You have two Angels behind you and coming up on your right.” Oscar strained to look to his rear right.
“I've got two U.S.A.F. Air Rescue 'Hawks.”
“Happy to have the company,” Jack said with relief. “Stand by while I get a Situation Report. Two Nora Six, where are the hostages?”
“Victor Thirty-Two, Lima Two-One, we are approximately six miles north of Santa Cruz.” Ernie's voice sounded tense. With his night vision goggles, Oscar saw a vehicle speeding towards the border. He hit the spotlight switch and aimed the light at the vehicle. It stopped.
“That you, Ernie?'
“Yep.”
“Stand by, we're going to pick you up.”
Lima Two-One, Romeo Zero-Three we will be landing with you. Have your striper transfer to this helicopter tell him it is an order.”
“Roger, Zero-Three.”
Mike Collins came up on the radio. “Lima Two-One, Nora Six-Three, we are just now passing through Santa Cruz with many wounded, at least one critical.”
“Romeo Zero-Two, Nora Six-Three, are you dark?”
“Ten-Four…err, roger, sir.”
“Turn your lights on…okay, Nora Six-Three, we have you. Stop and stand by for pickup, we have what you need.”
“Roger.”
While the pickups were being made, the HH-53, with FBI HRT and a Delta team aboard, used onboard sensors to see into the night. The operator saw a vehicle careen out of the compound, followed by several others. He could see occasional muzzle flashes from the following vehicles.
“Super Four-Nine, Lima Two-One, are all of our people accounted for?”
“Negative, Four-Nine. We think we are missing four, including the team leader. We've been trying to make contact, but we're not getting an answer.”
“Romeo Zero-Two, our new passengers confirm four team members still in the compound, last seen under heavy fire.”
Jack flew over the compound, looking for Robin and the others. He followed Ernie's suggestion to use the rockets on the buildings storing all of the dope.
“Lima Two-One, Two Nora Six, are you in the compound?”
“Negative, Two-One. We are in deep shit a couple of miles north of Santa Cruz. We need help!”
“Stand by.”
“Super Four-Nine, we have their position and we are moving in. Romeo Zero-Three, follow us in.”
“Zero-Three, roger.”
“Nora Six, we have you in sight and are moving in.”
Robin and the others struggled up the hill. They found a small depression in the ground and jumped into it. Robin laid Marv down. Marv looked at Rob with a weak smile. “I always wanted a sergeant to be my valet.”
“I assume since you can still be a smartass, you can still fight.”
“Yes, sir.” Robin handed Marv back his MP5.
“You got north.”
“I'll take care of it, Rob.” Marv's words were slurred.
“I got east,” Burke volunteered.
“Rock, take west. I got south.”
“Roger, Sarge.”
Robin saw the other vehicles had stopped, but he could not see any men.
Loud whooshing sounds echoed across the desert, and the early dawn sky lit up in the direction of the compound. Robin heard the roar of a Minigun. A shadow moved in front of him and then dropped. It rose again, and Robin fired. The shadow yelped, and it sounded like a man rolled down the hill. Radio traffic constantly streamed between Jack and several others. Burke and Rocky continued firing. Gunfire erupted from Robin's side, and bullets kicked up rocks and dust around him. He ducked, and then rose back up. He fired at another figure moving to his right.
What felt like a mule kicked Robin in the back. At the same time, he heard a burst from a submachine gun. He heard Burke yell, then a scream and a shot. Robin couldn't breathe. He tried to suck in air, but pain gripped his chest and back. He braced himself on all fours, gasping. Can't breathe!
“Lie down on your side, Sarge,” Rocky yelled. Seconds later, Rocky's voice screamed, “Three Twenty-Four, Nora Six is down hard! We are all wounded!”
Robin turned and saw a man lying at the bottom of the depression with Burke's knife in his chest. Burke was lying on the north side, holding his bleeding left side. Robin shook off Rocky. He struggled to his position. Having dropped his Galil, he drew his .45. He kept gasping for air. His vision blurred. A man appeared in front of him, screaming “Allah Akbar!” Robin fired two quick rounds into the man's chest by sheer muscle memory. He tried to stand up, to keep fighting, but his legs were rubber and he fell to the ground again. He just could not breathe. The air around him roared and dust swirled.
Gunfire increased, and men shouted in English. Strong hands grabbed him. He struggled. A gruff, gentle voice said, “It's all right. We're going home.” Karen's face appeared in a swirling mist. Her face rose into the air and he reached for her. I have always loved you! The swirl carried him up as he strained to touch her, and then her face melted way in a blinding light.
The words “Nora Six is down hard; we are all wounded,” put a hard lump in Jack's throat. Enraged, he made repeated runs on the compound, spewing fiery death and destruction all over. The gunners fired until they were out of ammunition and their barrels glowed red hot. The Blackhawk departed, leaving the compound in flames with nothing left standing.
Robin struggled for consciousness. He gulped refreshing cool air. As he started to rise, a gentle, firm hand held him down.
“Try not to move, sir. You have multiple wounds—I think you have some broken ribs. You've lost a lot of blood.” Robin opened his eyes and saw an Air Force Pararescue Jumper. “I gave you some morphine to help with the pain. You have an oxygen mask on your face. We will be at Davis-Monthan shortly.”
Robin worked at focusing his eyes, realizing he was lying on a stretcher in a Blackhawk helicopter. Burke lay on a stretcher across from him. Robin hoped Burke was only sleeping. On a lower stretcher, two people worked on Marv. Robin moved his head and saw Rocky in a seat, his leg being splinted and bandaged. Their eyes met, and Rocky raised his hand to his forehead in a solemn salute. For some reason, Robin knew the salute meant they were all going to make it. He slipped off into sleep as Karen's lovely vision beckoned him.
TWENTY EIGHT
Robin only had brief moments of consciousness, at times aware of being moved. He saw Bill Grassley's fleeting face and heard Grassley gasp, “My God!”
He could feel medical personnel working on him from time to time and heard them talking with concerned voices. There were vehicles, then an aircraft. He tried to wake up, but a soothing female voice said, “Night, night.” Echoing voices seemed to go on and on.
Robin felt like he could wake up. His eyes opened, but they would not focus. He felt dull pain all over his body and with each breath. His throat ached with thirst. He heard Karen's voice calling for a nurse, and then her warm hand on his.
“Rob, it's me, Karen.” Robin squeezed her hand. “It's okay, now. You're safe.” Her voice cracked. “Oh, Rob, I love you. I love you so very much.” He squeezed her hand again.
“I love you, Karen,” Robin said in a croaking whisper. Then he felt less gentle hands on him. The hands probed and moved his body. He grunted with pain.
“Sorry, Sergeant. I have to inspect your wounds. Your body has taken a real beating and you will be hurting for while.”
Robin started to get focus. He saw Karen and smiled at her. She leaned over and kissed his cheek. He realized he was lying braced up on his right side. A woman in a military nurse's uniform appeared in front of him. She had the bars of an Army Captain on her collar.
“We want you to be awake now. You have to start working with us to heal your wounds. You are on your right side because you have three cracked ribs in your back. That's why it hurts to breathe. You also have damage to your back muscles. You were hit by three bullets there, but your ballistic vest stopped them from penetrating too far—although the last one did get close to your lung. We have you in a new type of torso cast to minimize movement of those ribs.” The nurse looked for understanding from him.
Robin nodded his head.
“You also have a wound to your left hip. The tissue damage is significant, but no bones were hit. It's a good thing, because it looks like an AK round hit you. You had a slight wound to your left heel. The paperwork that came with you said your left boot had a bullet hole in it.”