by TD Webb
JC went to the bathroom to change, then, as she was heading up front, Linley was heading her way, with her uniform to change into.
•••
Reggie was woken up abruptly, with water being thrown in her face.
A man standing over her, spat on the ground, then gritted his teeth. “Who do you work for, Master Corporal? Your training is too good to be regular military.”
“Go fuck yourself,” she spitted out. “You’re not getting anything out of me.” She spat at him.
He punched her in the face again, causing her to spit out blood. “Well, Master Corporal, since you are not going to talk, we are going to see how much pain you can really take before you pass out.” With that, he struck Reggie in the stomach with a rifle butt. She passed out after six shots in her midsection.
“She doesn’t know anything. There’s no way she would have taken those shots without spilling her guts. If she had any information we would have it by now. She is only a woman.”
A man appeared in the doorway, it was DEA Agent Whyte. “I’d like you gentlemen to meet Chief Warrant Officer Regina Stone, Head of a Special Operations Unit One, from the Canadian Armed Forces. I worked with her just a while ago in Rio de Janeiro,” he told them.
“They will pay a lot of money to get her back, I know that for sure,” the man who tortured Reggie said.
What Whyte didn’t know, was that Reggie was awake and if she could get her hands on him, she would kill him.
“Look I’m heading back to the base to see what’s going on and what’s being planned. Make sure you are back here, or at least report in again in six hours.”
Sixteen hours later, the leer jet landed on the base. Major Mackenzie had his own security set in motion before they arrived and had a secured a place for the team to meet. No one was allowed in the area but the Canadian team.
After going over all the information, everyone agreed to wait for the briefing once they were on the ground, to see if any new information was to come in. The team unloaded their gear and headed to their private tent. The security was provided by a private security firm that was paid really well by Douglas Mackenzie.
“JC, I need to talk to you,” Chris said.
“Sure, what’s up?”
“Well, JC, Reggie asked me to tell you a story. She called before she left, now don’t interrupt me until I’m done, okay.”
“Yeah, Chris, I understand, go ahead.”
“Well, about three years ago we were on a mission in Syria. We had a Master Corporal Deborah Manchester, she and Reggie had been lover’s for two years. She was killed on that mission and it almost killed Reggie. She blamed herself for what happened and you are the first person I’ve ever seen Reggie get close to since then. She told me she was in love with you and for me not to let you do anything stupid to rescue her. So, JC, you have to listen to orders, okay. We need you badly if we are going to get her back and I don’t want to see anything happen to you or her, you got that?”
“Yes, Chris, I understand. No going off half-cocked and getting myself killed and, Chris, I would never disobey a direct order.”
“I know, JC. I just wanted you to understand.”
“Chris, is that why Reggie almost lost it in Brazil?”
“Yes. She had a flashback to when Debbie was killed.”
“I will do whatever you and Linley ask of me, that’s a promise I can keep.”
“That’s all I can ask of you, JC. Do your best.”
Twenty minutes later, one of the guards caught Agent Whyte sneaking around outside the tent. He was brought in and demanded to know why the DEA wasn’t involved in the recovery and rescue mission of Chief Warrant Officer Stone.
The Colonel walked in behind him. “Well, Agent Whyte, the only members needing rescuing, are all Canadians and that is for our people to get them, not the Americans. Warrant Officer Stone will be leading the mission.”
Whyte’s jaw dropped open. He had assumed he was looking at Chief Warrant Officer Stone when Linley entered the tent. Maybe she got demoted, since her Master Corporal got shot on the last mission, if she’s here, then who is that we have out there. “I had better leave then, since I’m not needed here, it was nice seeing you again, Chief Stone. Hope I have the pleasure of working with you again real soon, goodbye for now.”
Linley turned away from him. She knew he was the one who had betrayed Reggie. JC had pointed him out to her when she saw him on their arrival. JC told her that she didn’t trust him as far as she could through him. He was the only one on the ground in Iraq who knew who Chief Warrant Officer Stone was. The commanding officer didn’t even know who she was. Plus he just worked with her and the team in Rio de Janeiro. After he left, Linley sent two of the security personnel to follow him.
Three hours later, they had followed him to where they had taken Reggie and the other four military members. Once Linley got this information, she called a briefing. Reggie was being held just outside Kabul. Once Linley had satellite maps of the area, Reggie was in. She spread them on the table and the team surrounded it.
“JC, I want you up here in this tower. Anything that moves that’s not in a Canadian uniform, shoot them, and shoot to kill.”
“I have no problem that, Warrant.”
“Tom, I want you in the other tower. The same orders apply to you too. The two of you will cover each other’s back.”
“Okay, Warrant, no problem here either.”
“Chris, you’re with me. The rest of you guys know where you have to be. We’ll be moving out in fifteen minutes. It’ll take us a few hours to get there, so switch up driving and rest when you are able, and bring plenty of water. Chris, you’ll have the first aid kit and the Satellite phone. We’ll be calling in a helicopter to bring the hostages out.”
When Agent Whyte arrived back at the hideout, he went straight to the guy he was working for. “I just saw Chief Warrant Officer Stone four hours ago, so this can’t be her, and we need to know who this is and what information she has on what we’ve been doing.”
“She won’t wake up. She’s been out cold since you left yesterday.”
“Why the hell do you think she won’t wake up? She’s probably got internal injuries from the beating you put on her.”
They didn’t know that Reggie was awake. She knew that Linley was leading her team to rescue them. And the worst part, was that she would be unable to help. All she could do, was to make sure she stayed alive, until help arrived.
JC was worried about Reggie. She wanted Whyte as much as any member of the team. The good thing about this, was the fact she could kill him at any range, and if he got into her sites, he’s a goner. She had never killed out of rage before but she knew she was capable of doing it. She had to get herself under control before they left.
Chapter Eleven
Before the team loaded into the jeeps, they were given their call signs. JC and Tom were Alpha 1 and 2, while Linley and Chris were Team Bravo 1 and 2. Mike and Steve were Charlie 1 and 2, Jason and Jim were team Delta 1 and 2 and that left Alex and Rick, they were Echo 1 and 2.
The whole team were warned about what shape the hostages might be in. They knew Reggie was the best and they knew she was as tough as nails and wouldn’t give up without a fight. The team were ready to head out. They loaded into three vehicles, Tom, JC, Chris and Linley in the first. The second held Mike, Rick and Steve, pulling up the rear were Jim, Jason and Alex.
Forty-five minutes later, they were just in sight of Bagdad. They turned left and drove another two and half hours, to just outside Kabul. The team left their vehicles hidden and in teams of two, they went to their final destinations. Half-way to their position, JC and Tom stopped and put their silencers on their weapons and started for their final destination. Each team member knew what they had to do and when to be there. They had a set time when the rescue would take place. Tom and JC had no one to cover them this time, except each other. And they both had a lot of area to cover. JC was there because she knew she cou
ld do the job and she knew she could shoot further than anyone, even though her record was 1475 yards. She and her father both knew she had hit a target at 1700 yards more than once. This trip JC was glad that the Colonel had brought her private weapon. It was set up and registered with the military, so it would hold all her scopes and recorders and camera, plus it fired military ammo 50 cal. She also brought her 7.62 C2 rifle and extra magazines for it.
JC reached her position. Removing one of her P226, she fixed her silencer and entered the building. She needed to be in her position, to cover the others, since it would take them longer to get where they were going. She reached the roof of her building and after doing a quick check of the other roofs, she opened her black case and assembled her rifle. After putting on her scope, range finder, wind gauge and camera, she opened the scope and started focusing in on the other team members. She connected her radio to her throat and ear and turned it on. “Alpha 1 in position.” She started checking out other positions of her team.
Next over the radio was Alpha 2. “Alpha 2 in position.”
JC swung to her left and found Tom in her sites. Sneaking up behind him was an insurgent, “Alpha 2, lay flat and don’t move a hair.” She took aim at the man above Tom and fired. The man fell at Tom’s feet. “Alpha 2, you are clear to move him.”
Tom almost shit himself when he saw how close the guy was “Thanks, Alpha 1. Nice shot.” The shot ranged 1375 yards on JC weapon.
“Bravo 1 is now in position. JC again, checked out Bravo 1’s position. “Bravo 1, this is Alpha 1, you have four insurgents to your left, about 400 yards from you, keep an eye on your six.”
“Thanks, Alpha 1, Bravo 1 out.”
“Charlie 1 is now in position.”
Tom checked out their position, “Charlie 1, this is Alpha 2, you have ten insurgents 600 yards to your right, keep an eye on your twelve.”
“Thanks, Alpha 2, Charlie 1 out.”
“Delta 1 is now in position.”
Tom checked out their position. “Delta 1, you have fifteen insurgents to your left, 700 yards, I’ll cover your six.”
“Thanks, Alpha 2, Bravo 1 out.”
Twenty minutes Later, Echo 1 came on the air. “Echo 1 is now in position.”
JC checked out Linley and Chris’s position, “Echo 1, this is Alpha 1, you have about twenty-five insurgents on both left and right, watch your six and twelve.”
“Alpha 1, are you ready,” Echo 1 asked.
“Roger, Echo 1, Alpha 1 is ready.”
“Alpha 2, are you ready,” Echo1 asked.
“Roger, Echo 1, Alpha 2 ready.”
“Charlie 1 is ready, Echo1.”
“Delta 1 is ready, Echo1.”
“Charlie 2 is ready, Echo.”
“Delta 2 is ready, Echo1.”
“Bravo 1 ready, Echo1.”
“Bravo 2 ready, Echo1.”
“This is Echo 1, all teams wait for Alpha 1 to give the all clear before proceeding.”
“Alpha 2, this is, Alpha 1, open fire on your targets.”
“Roger, Alpha 1, Alpha 2 opening fire.”
JC sited Bravo 1’s position, taking out the four insurgents in under a minute.
“Bravo 1, this is Alpha 1, you are clear to move forward.”
At the same time, JC sited on Charlie 1, so did Tom. They both opened fire. After a minute JC had taken out six insurgents, while Tom took four.
“Charlie 1, this is Alpha 1, you are now clear to move forward”.
Both sited on Delta 1’s position both opened fire. JC had taken out seven, before Alpha 2 even got his rifle sited. She swung around to Tom’s position, to see what the problem was. She sited and took out two insurgents from the roof. “Alpha 2, retreat. You’re being surround. Get off the roof now, Alpha 2.” She kept firing, until Tom could get off the roof.
“Alpha 1 has to reload. Reloading.” Reloaded, JC went back to Delta 1’s position and within a few minutes she came across the radio. “Delta one, this is Alpha 1, you are clear to move.”
As Bravo, Charlie and Delta teams moved forward, they all helped JC take out the rest of the insurgents. After about fifteen minutes, the shooting stopped.
“Echo 1, this is Alpha 1. You are now clear to move.”
“Roger, Alpha 1, thanks. Keep up cover fire, Echo 1 out.”
JC kept a steady look over the area. First she found Tom, he had made his way to another roof about 400 yards to her left. “Alpha 2, you are in good position. Watch the area to the right of the hideout and I’ll take the left.”
“Roger, Alpha 1. I’m taking the right side area, Alpha 2 out.”
JC and Tom kept checking the area and shot anyone who entered their area. Meanwhile, Linley and the rest of the team were together, giving hand signals to one another on where each team was going to enter the building.
“Bravo, Charlie, Delta and Echo teams, ready to precede. Alpha 1, you now have the full coverage of the building. Alpha 2, you have the remainder of the area, keep your eyes open,” Echo 1 said.
JC and Tom radioed in that they understood their orders.
“Move out,” Echo 1 ordered.
The four teams entered the building from all sides. JC scoped every floor of the four-story building. All she could see, was into hallways and stairwells. Each team was assigned a floor. Bravo had the first floor and so on.
“Charlie 1 and 2, second floor clear.”
“Delta 1, wait. You are not clear. I repeat, stay down, you are not clear.” After four shots, JC radioed.” Delta 1, all clear, Echo 1, all clear 4th floor.” She kept going floor to floor, shooting anything that wasn’t in a Canadian uniform. She lost count on how many she had killed. “Delta 1, this is Alpha 1, I have movement in right hand corner, far back. I can’t get them in my sites, watch your six.”
“Roger, Alpha 1, over and out.”
A minute later, JC fired two shots and killed two insurgents. “Delta 1, you are now clear in far right corner.” She spotted someone running out of the back door. “Echo 1, this is Alpha 1, I’ve got one trying to escape out of the back, heading away from your position.”
“I see him, JC, it’s that snivelling asshole Whyte. What’s your range?”
“1700 yards, and he’s moving Linley.”
“JC, you can’t hit him at that range.”
“Echo 1, I’m taking the shot.” All Linley could hear, was zing, zing, as JC fired two shots. Both shots hit the target in the back of his head.
“Alpha 1, to Echo 1, the target’s down and it’s a confirmed kill. That bastard isn’t getting up anytime soon.”
“Nice shooting, Alpha 1. Now let’s fined Reggie and the rest of the hostages, Echo 1, over and out.”
“Echo 1, this is Delta 1, we have the package in hand ready to move out. We’re going to need cover. Linley, get on the roof and pop smoke, she’s in pretty bad shape.”
“Roger, Delta 1, Echo 2 is now on the roof popping smoke. Bring her up the east stair case. Alpha 1, cover the chopper when it gets here.”
“Sunray this is Echo1 we have the package and we need the helicopter over.”
“Echo1 this is Sunray helicopter is five minutes out, over and out”
“Roger, Echo 2, covering chopper.”
“Alpha 1, the chopper will land in five minutes. Alpha 1, Alpha 2, Bravo 1 and 2 and Charlie 1 and 2, proceed to extraction point after Alpha gives the all clear.”
The four teams radioed in roger, over and out.
“JC, we’re going to take the chopper out with Reggie. She’s asking for you, do you want to talk to her?”
“No, Linley. I can’t right now, just tell her I love her and I’ll see her back at camp.”
“JC, she said she loves you too and she understands. She will see you back in camp.”
“Roger, Echo 1, Alpha 1, over and out.” JC had tears in her eyes, as she took out four more insurgents.
“Alpha 1, this is Bravo 1. I’ve found the other four hostages and I’m going to need help getting t
hem out.”
Roger, Bravo 1. Charlie 1 and 2, proceed to Bravo 1 and 2’s location and help him get the hostages out. You’re both clear. Alpha 2, head out but wait for me to return. If I’m not there in an hour, proceed without me. Bravo and Charlie and Delta teams, head out as soon as you get to the extraction point, over.”
“Roger, Alpha 1, over and out,” the teams all radioed.
JC watched everyone leave, before she packed up her rifle, swung it onto her shoulder, picked up her C2, and went downstairs to exit the building. She made sure she was loaded, as she pulled out her first sig Sauer P226. Forty minutes later, Delta and Charlie teams were at the extraction point with Alpha 2.
“Alpha 1, this is Alpha 2. Bravo and Charlie and Delta teams are pulling out. They said they would see you back at the base. I’ll be waiting here for you with the jeep.”
“Alpha 1, over and out. I should be there in about thirty minutes, Alpha 2.”
“Roger, Alpha 1, Alpha 2 out.”
Alpha 2 heard gun fire. Crouching behind his vehicle, he looked in the direction of the gun fire and saw that JC was pinned down.
“Alpha 1, this is Alpha 2, over.”
“Alpha 2, get out of here, take cover. I’ve got about twenty or so insurgents around me and they don’t know where you are, so move the jeep and get out of here.”
“I can’t do that, Alpha 1. I’m not leaving you behind.” Tom pulled out his sniper rifle to get a better look at her. “Fuck behind you, Alpha 1, three o’clock.”
JC rolled over on her back and took down three insurgents. “Thanks Alpha 2.”
Tom picked off insurgents from one side, as JC took them out from the other side. After about twenty minutes, Tom could see JC running full out in the sand towards him. He threw his sniper rifle in the back seat and started the jeep. “JC, hit the dirt now.”
JC looked up. Tom was driving towards her with his C2 out of the window and his finger on the trigger. He pulled up where JC was laying in the sand. “Need a lift sailor,” he said. They were both laughing, as JC loaded her rifles into the back and jumped into the passenger seat .As they were speeding across the desert, they were being fired at. Soon after, Tom and JC were ambushed. Someone sure didn’t want them to make it back to the base.