by R. L. Davis
“In five raids, we had one killed and five wounded. One seriously. The raids, conducted under cover of darkness, gave us the advantage of total surprise. We completely wiped out their camps down to the last man.”
“Colonel, may I ask how much I can expect to earn as a mercenary with your organization?” asked Rudd.
“The pay is by the day, per excursion.”
“How long is the average excursion?”
“About two weeks, give or take a day or two. Are you interested?”
“What are you offering?”
The colonel laughed. “Very good, Mr. Carter. What do you want?”
“Three times what I make per day at the bank, which is about five thousand pounds a year. It ought to be easy to pro-rate that by the day.”
“Done. We train on Saturdays at half-pay. Are you all right with that?”
“You can count me in, sir,” Rudd said without hesitation. “Please keep me informed as to where and when the training will be.”
“Sui Yen will keep you informed about everything,” replied the colonel.
Rudd glanced at Sui Yen and asked in Mandarin Chinese, “Shall we go?”
Sui Yen nodded. They stood, shook hands with the Colonel and his companions, and started for the exit. Just then, four drunken Russian sailors apparently decided to have some fun by blocking their exit.
“Pardon me,” Rudd said to the Russian standing in front of him. “You’re in my way.”
The Russian laughed and pushed at him as if to drive him back from the door, but when the sailor’s hand came at Rudd’s chest, he sidestepped, seized the Russian’s wrist, and snapped it back so hard that the sailor’s head hit the doorjamb with a loud bang, knocking him out. Rudd kicked the swinging door open, pushed the unconscious man out into the street, and turned his attention to the next sailor barring his way. In the meantime, Sui Yen caught the man standing in his way with a well-placed kick to the solar plexus that dropped him instantly. Too drunk to have sense enough to run, the two remaining sailors stood their ground and flailed out with their fists, only to get kicked through the doors out into the street. The crowd in the bar was so impressed with the exhibition that they broke into spontaneous applause. Colonel Jeffers and his two Chinese friends were on their feet applauding and cheering. Rudd and Sui Yen bowed to the room and walked out to disappear into the night.
All in all, it was a successful interview.
Rudd began his training with Colonel Jeffers’ group. Being aware that the colonel was always close by watching, he made it a point to be sure that the colonel would be impressed with his physical agility and ability to learn quickly. At ease with all manner of firearms, he was fascinated with the new machine guns and their tactical use. Semi-automatic weapons were just beginning to make an appearance and would have a lasting effect on how he would deploy an infantry platoon in future combat.
Coming in from the training field one day, the colonel addressed Rudd. “Mr. Carter, I’ve been watching you for the last few weeks, and I want you to know that I’m very impressed with what you have shown us. So impressed, that I want to invite you to join us on our next raid. I think you will be a great asset.”
“Colonel Jeffers, coming from you, I’m greatly honored.” Excited by the colonel’s remarks, he said, “I’ve been waiting for this day. Thank you, sir.”
“I think you have what it takes to be a leader,” the colonel replied. “Some of the men and I have been talking and agree that after you get a few raids under your belt, we should promote you to squad leader.”
“Is there a raid coming up soon, sir?”
“Yes, there is, within a couple of weeks. We’re going to have a meeting about it this afternoon. I’ll relay all the information to you after the meeting.”
Rudd was excited. At last, he would see action. Eight weeks of training, and now he would have the chance to show his comrades what he could do. He knew he would be all right in a firefight. But how will it feel to slit someone’s throat and not feel guilt or regret later on? They taught me how to do it, but not how to feel about it. That facet of his training bothered him right up to the moment he stepped onto the gangplank of the departing ship two weeks later.
After dark on Saturday, Rudd and 50 other men boarded a small steamship that carried them to some tiny islands off the South China coast, reported to be a base for several hundred pirates. Rudd did not tell Ming Li about the nature of the trip, explaining he would be away for two weeks on a business trip. If she needed anything, all she had to do was contact Sui Yen, and he would take care of it.
It took three days to sail to their destination. Anchoring off shore, Colonel Jeffers called for an orientation meeting before the first shore boats were dropped in the water.
“The pirates of this region have had their way with the small merchant vessels they have been waylaying, encountering little or no resistance. These pirates are merciless. Boarding small vessels, they kill the men and boys, rape the women and girls, killing them afterwards and throwing the small children and babies overboard. There are four camps that we have come here to destroy. Show no mercy. Take no prisoners unless it’s for interrogation.” The colonel spoke slowly and confidently, measuring his words. “We have the element of surprise with us, so this should not be a difficult mission. Now, go in there and show them what we’re made of.”
The men rowed onto the beach and waited while a scouting party reconnoitered the situation ahead. After the scouts returned, they planned their attack. Divided into five ten-man squads, the 50 men moved to their first target. They infiltrated the target at night under cover of darkness with knives, crossbows, and piano wire. Firearms were to be used only as a last resort.
The attack on the first camp started at midnight. Rudd’s squad went in early to take out the standing guards. This would be his baptism by fire. He found a sentry with a rifle slung over his shoulder, lazily standing by the corner of a building. Sneaking up behind him, he reached around, grabbed the sentry’s mouth with his left hand, and simultaneously drove his knife up under the ribcage, piercing his heart. Holding the man until he was sure he was dead, he released his grip and let him fall to the ground. Creeping up on another sentry, the unlucky pirate unexpectedly turned towards him to receive Rudd’s knife through the throat.
The 70 or 80 pirates in the camp were unaware they were under attack until it was too late. Taking great pains to keep their victims from calling out or screaming, the raiders moved quickly and stealthily through the shacks where the pirates slept, leaving no one alive. When it was over, Rudd was surprised at how smoothly the assault had gone. From start to finish, only a few minutes had elapsed. Feeling no guilt for the two lives he had just taken, he looked forward to the next raid.
Marching back to the ship and sleeping until almost daybreak, they got under way early in order to seek out a safe place to land their boats for the next night’s raid. Excited and thrilled by the action of the night before, Rudd thought of how easy it had been to slit two pirate’s throats without conscience, because he knew of their cruelty and unmerciful ruthlessness to their victims. No shots were fired, and none of his group had been injured. He looked forward to the next night’s raid. Not only did he seem to have an aptitude for this work, he found it to his liking.
Steaming to the island of their next raid, a man dropped into the seat next to him and asked with a German accent, “So, how do you like being a soldier of fortune?”
Turning, he saw a young man, roughly his own age, about the same build and coloring, smiling at him. “So far I think this is what I’m cut out to do.” He held out his hand. “I’m Rudd Carter.”
“I know who you are,” the man responded. “We all know who you are. We’ve been watching you since the first day you came to camp. Everybody is very impressed with how quickly you’ve advanced with your training and the way you handled yourself last night. First rate. You were born to it.” Shaking Rudd’s hand, he said, “I’m Günter Schmidt. I’m looking
forward to working alongside you again tonight.”
“Where do you hail from, Günter?”
“Berlin. Can’t you tell?” he said, laughing. “Where are you from?”
“From Hong Kong, but I was born in England.”
“An Englisher… I like that. We were all betting you were an Aussie.”
“Good, I’ve worked hard at dropping that stuffy English accent.”
“You’ve succeeded,” Günter said, as he got up to leave. “I’ll see you later.”
The ship dropped anchor and lowered the shore boats into the water in preparation for landing. The First Sergeant came to where Rudd sat and gave him a pat on the back. “Nice work last night, son. Would you be up for going with the scouting party today? Günter is the lead man and told me he’d like to have you along. What do you say?”
“I’d like that, Sergeant,” he answered without hesitation. “Thank you for considering me.” Rudd stood up and approached Günter. “I appreciate you asking for me. I’ll try not to get in the way.”
“Englisher, after what you showed us last night, I’m positive that you can only be an asset. You’re quicker and smarter than anyone here, except me, of course.” He snickered. “I want you on all of my scouting parties from now on. I think you’ll like it… besides it pays more.” The German flashed a big grin. “We’re going to board our shore boats in fifteen minutes. Bring a carbine, your favorite knife, and a pistol. Some of the men will also have crossbows, just in case we run into some unexpected problems. Who knows,” he said, suddenly lifting his lips into a sneer, “we might have some fun out there today.”
Thirty minutes later, they stood on the shore, ready to start toward the next target.
“Englisher,” Günter called out, “stay next to me all day, and I promise you’ll learn something.”
He then selected one of the men to be the point man, to walk fifty yards out in front of the main scouting party and give advance warning so that the rest of them wouldn’t walk into an unwelcome surprise. As they proceeded, the foliage got denser, and in response, Günter sent a man out on each flank. He didn’t expect any trouble but wanted to err on the side of caution. Rudd noted that Günter, being very experienced and sure of himself, had the respect of his men who obeyed his orders without question.
They respect him because he is a professional. He has proven himself time and again under fire with the men. They work as a team with him, not under him.
After moving through thick underbrush for an hour, they came to a large clearing. At the far end of the clearing, they could see eight huts with a few men moving about. They counted 20 men in and around the complex; no sentinels could be seen anywhere.
Turning to Rudd, Günter shrugged. “I guess they’re not expecting anyone. Why should they? No one has ever come after them before.” Chuckling, he said, “And when we’re finished with all four camps, there isn’t going to be anyone left here to come after again.” He gave Rudd another of his sly-but-dark smiles.
“What’s to prevent other pirates from moving into these camps and starting up all over again?” Rudd asked.
“Pay attention the next two or three days and you’ll see.”
Without warning, two Asian men stepped out of the trees into the clearing about 50 yards from where Rudd and the others lay in the brush. The Asians were quickly brought down by arrows. Rudd and Günter watched as one of the raiders stealthily crawled to the two downed men, slit their throats, and tied lines around their feet. Then he crawled back into the trees and slowly dragged their bodies out of the clearing. Horizontal on the ground in silence for ten minutes, they watched for any indication from the camp that they had been spotted. Günter whispered to Rudd, “It’s always about surprise. Learning everything about your enemy and not letting them know anything about you.”
For the next hour, they reconnoitered the area around the encampment in preparation for the attack they would launch that night. These pirates had given little regard to security, much the same as the camp the night before.
“I’m going to recommend a smaller raiding party for tonight since there seems to be fewer men at this camp,” Günter said. “I think twenty-five men will be sufficient to get the job done.”
On the way back to the ship, Günter carried on a conversation with Rudd about various topics. “One of the things I don’t like about these excursions is that there are no women available,” he said smiling as if he were telling a dirty joke. “Not even girls.”
The off-handed comment caught Rudd’s attention. He thought about it for a moment and then forgot about it. Well, it does get lonely out here, and one can be driven to some pretty perverse thoughts. Even fifteen or sixteen-year-old girls are not considered off-limits in Asia. After all, Elizabeth was sixteen when I got her pregnant—not a woman, but a beautiful girl. There are many beautiful teenage Asian girls, and no one gives it a second thought. Nevertheless, he was bothered by the sinister look on Günter’s face when he talked about girls.
That night, the raid went off as planned. Catching the camp asleep, they put everyone to death. There had been only 30 pirates in the camp, proving Günter’s call for a smaller raiding party a good one.
The raid on the third camp the following night was also successful. Once again, it was a smaller group of men than anticipated. Günter commented to Rudd that these last two camps had seemed more like outposts than bases.
“You know, Englisher, I’m beginning to think that this fourth camp might be the main base for these bastards. Our reports told us there were at least four hundred men in these four camps. So far we have only come across a hundred and twenty-five or thirty in the three camps we’ve hit.”
“So, what it sounds like you’re about to say, Günter, is that we’re going to have a real fight if we have to go up against two hundred and fifty with our smaller force.”
Günter laughed. “Remember, Englisher, we have superbly trained men, superior fire power, with six Maxim machine guns, bolt action carbines, and the element of surprise. Do you really think these pirates could be any match for us?”
“No, I don’t.” Rudd grimaced, shaking his head. “It’s the element of surprise that bothers me. We’ve been in the area for four days and left bodies all over the place. If there’s a main base, don’t you think by this time there’s a possibility of someone going to one of the outposts and finding the bodies that we’ve left strewn about? I’m not saying we can’t beat them. I’m saying we should be ready, just in case they’re dug in and ready for us, so we’re not the ones surprised.”
The German thoughtfully nodded his head. “Englisher, you make your point well. When we scout tomorrow, we’ll be sure to take all this into consideration.” He slapped Rudd on the back. “Good! You learn fast. Soon you’ll be leading your own scouting parties.”
Back on the ship at the orientation for the next day’s scouting party, Günter warned, “Be on the lookout for any kind of preparation for combat at this fourth camp. Watch for alerting devices or traps we could walk into. I want you to think of this last raid as a head-on, full military assault, instead of a covert action. Our decisions on how to approach this last camp are going to be based on how many people we see in there today. If there are more than a hundred and fifty men, we’re going in with everything we have.”
As anticipated on the reconnoiter the next day, they found the main base for the pirates to be three times as large as the other camps and housing at least two hundred and fifty men. Built on the water with a large boat dock, it had the capacity to handle 15 to 20 small or medium size sampans or junks.
“If we blow up the boats, the only escape left to the pirates will be to jump off the dock and swim or run right into our machine guns, carbines, and mortars,” Günter pointed out.
“That’s right, and if we set two machine guns up to rake the dock area on each side, we can catch a lot of them before they get in the water,” Rudd said, pointing to each side of the dock.
“So our rea
l job today, Englisher, is to make positively sure that they have no advance knowledge of our presence in the area.”
“How can we be certain of that?” asked Rudd.
“We can’t, but one way to find out what they do know is to take a prisoner and interrogate him.” Günter smirked. “I have an assignment for you that should be right up your alley. In the next half hour, I want you to bring back a prisoner to interrogate. I’ll find out what they know about us, if anything.”
Rudd located a thicket adjoining a well-worn path and waited. After a few minutes, a young pirate with a machete and a six-shooter in his belt came along. Waiting for him to get close, Rudd reached out and pulled him into the thicket, simultaneously strangling him into unconsciousness. Binding his hands and feet and gagging him, he carried him through the brush back to where Günter waited. What came next, Rudd did not expect.
Günter pulled the prisoner’s pants off, exposing his genitals. He held his combat knife in front of the prisoner’s face and then placed the knife against the prisoner’s testicles and pressed hard enough so that he could feel the sharpness of the blade. In Mandarin, Günter asked the prisoner, “Do you know who we are?”
The prisoner, gagged and bound, shook his head. Günter placed the knife between his testicles and sliced deeply enough to draw blood and a muffled scream. “Are you preparing for any kind of attack?” he asked. The prisoner shook his head. He sliced deeper, drawing another stifled scream. Blood began to flow from the captive’s scrotum. “Have you heard about the attacks on the other camps?” The prisoner shook his head violently. His eyes bulged as Günter smiled cruelly and said, “I believe you.”
Rudd watched in disbelief as Günter slit the man’s throat. He knew you had to be tough and relentless during interrogation, but to torture a man by cutting into his testicles and then slitting his throat without batting an eye… he was not prepared for this. As the captive lay writhing in agony with blood spurting from his throat wound, Rudd hissed at Günter, “How can you be so cold blooded? How can you kill so dispassionately, like you enjoy it?”