Forged in Honor (1995)

by Leonard B Scott

  The young sergeant nodded and stuck his thumb up. Josh stood and gently rolled Crow over onto the litter he'd made out of a poncho and bamboo poles. He tied his friend onto the liner, picked up the poles at one end, and began dragging the litter forward. He came alongside Vee and whispered, "You move out a good twenty meters in front but stay where I can see you. If you see or hear anything, signal. It's all downhill. Once we get to the valley floor there's plenty of places for the chopper to land."

  Vee glanced down at Crow. "They said they'd be here in about an hour, Hawk. Will it be too late?"

  Josh shook his head and motioned to the bandit's M-16 in the sergeant's hands. "Remember what I told you. The Wa hunt in groups of two. There are probably more around who heard the shooting. Keep your eyes and ears open. Go."

  Crow opened his eyes and saw blue sky. He shut them again, feeling very weak, and knew he must be delirious.

  He'd dreamed he'd been shot and ... His eyes snapped open and he tried to move, but a wave of pain hit him and nearly made him faint. Vee appeared over him.

  "Sergeant Major? Can you hear me?"

  Crow shut his eyes and let another agonizing tremor pass.

  "Y ... Yeah, what happened?"

  "Don't move, Sergeant Major, or you'll start bleeding again. Lie still. The chopper will be here in a little while."

  Crow's eyes shifted right, then left, searching, but he didn't see his leader. "Where is he?" he asked in desperation.

  Vee glanced around, holding the rifle ready, and whispered, "Just lie still. He's making sure we'll be able to get you outta here. He'll be back."

  Josh silently switched off the safety of his small pistol with his left hand and held his breath. The four approaching Wa he had spotted from the ridge had taken the valley path in an attempt to cut them off. He'd left Crow with Vee and run ahead to do what they least expected-attack. They were jogging in single file by the tree he was hiding behind, holding their rifles to their front. As soon as the last one passed, Josh stepped out from behind the tree, aimed at his target only three feet away, and fired. He kept moving forward, shot the second in the back of the neck and watched the next man as he turned, wide-eyed. Josh shot him in the face. The fourth ducked down and spun but could not bring his rifle barrel around in time. For an instant he looked into Josh's eyes as if pleading. Josh fired.

  Buck McCoy glanced at the chief of station after Sergeant Vee finished his report. Both men turned to the team leader, who sat sipping coffee. The chief looked into Josh's eyes and said, "Tell me again about the bandits that attacked your two men."

  Josh lowered his coffee cup and spoke tiredly. "They were Wa, not bandits. They're like vultures; they feed on anything dying or dead. The tribe used to be headhunters, but they got civilized in the 1940s. Then they began reverting to their old ways in the sixties when some of them moved back to the mountains to reclaim their homelands from the Shan. Hondo and I ran into a group of them in '83."

  The chief nodded silently and nodded to McCoy to continue the questioning.

  The commander looked at the notes he'd made during the debrief. "And you're sure the men you saw attack the facility were DDSI Strike soldiers?"

  "Yes sir. They wore their uniquely patterned brown and green fatigues. It was a company-size force from their Strike Commando Battalion that I know works for the DDSI on special operations. I saw them training a couple of times when I was assigned to the embassy. They're selected from the army for their loyalty and wear a brown beret with a silver coiled-cobra badge on the side like we wear a flash and rank on our SF berets. The bastards shot the workers as if they were dogs and wiped out the village."

  McCoy turned to the chief. "Sir, do you have any more questions for these two? We need to get them cleaned up and let 'em get some rest."

  The chief stood. "Just one more, for you, Colonel. The Company could use your experience. You're the most knowledgeable American on northern Burma that I've ever met.

  This isn't the end of our problems by a long shot. Would you be interested in-"

  Josh lifted his hand to interrupt. "No sir, I've already got a job. Now I have a few questions. First, where'd they take Hondo?"

  The chief glanced at McCoy before giving Josh an apologetic look. "I'm sorry, I thought you knew. They flew him to New Delhi in one of our helicopters. We sent a doctor with him and he said before he left that the sergeant major would be fine."

  Josh sighed inwardly in relief and stood, eyeing both men.

  "Is our government going to get involved and get the fuckers or not?"

  The chief turned and looked out the window toward the dirt runway. "I don't know. We hope so."

  Josh began to walk toward the door but stopped and spoke over his shoulder. "If I were you, sir, I'd try to find out if Sawbaw Xu Kang is still alive and still has his army. Once the Shan hear about the massacres, they'll flock to him for protection. He'll need your help."

  The chief looked surprised. "How do you know about Kang?"

  Josh patted Vee's back and pulled him to his feet. "Go get cleaned up and I'll join you in a few minutes." He shrugged and told the chief, "I know him from a long time ago. If he's alive, and that's a big if, he's your last chance to keep a pocket of resistance alive in Burma until our government makes up its mind."

  The chief nodded once. "We're working on it, Colonel, believe me. Think about what I said. We need you."

  "So does my daughter," Josh said as he walked out the door.

  As soon as the two men left the room, the chiefs searching gaze settled on McCoy. "What's the story on Hawkins?

  He sat here and told us he killed seven men without so much as blinking an eye."

  McCoy looked out the window toward the two men as they walked to their tent. "He was in 'Nam, where he picked up two Silver Stars. The citations in his file read like something out of a war comic book. I didn't believe them and had him checked. They were true. In one instance the NVA overran a firebase he was on. He had been wounded lightly and was in a hospital ward. When the Dinks hit the base in the middle of the night, he got out of bed, picked up a .45 from a dead MP, and hid by the entrance of the hospital ward. In the space of five minutes, he greased four sappers who were trying to throw charges through the doorway." McCoy turned and looked at the older man. "I've seen his type a couple of times before. He's a shooter. He looks like a normal guy, but once in action he becomes ice. No feelings. His type are rare, and lethal. It's something that can't be taught; you just have it or you don't. The weapon becomes an extension of his mind. Men like him are deadly in a firefight because everybody else is scared and trying to stay alive. Hawkins's type don't think about dying. Their minds are locked onto one single conscious thought: Kill them first."

  The chief shook his head as if disappointed. "He's a psycho, then."

  McCoy looked back out the window reflectively. "No, he's just different from the rest of us. Shooters have a gift, and a curse. They know they have it, and their problem is living with it. In reading Hawkins's file, I'd say he's been trying real hard to forget he has it."

  .

  6 PM., Northern Burma.

  Colonel Banta saw the old man sitting in his campaign chair by the campfire with his Horsemen and approached cautiously. He could see from his leader's haggard face that he was not taking the news well. All afternoon scouts had been reporting the casualties from the Strike Battalion's attacks on the facilities and the villages that had supported them. The old Sawbaw had accepted the deaths of those who worked in the lai houses, but hearing of the murders of the villagers had wounded him as if he'd been shot with a rifle.

  Banta slowed his steps, for the news he had just received would devastate his Sawbaw.

  Xu Kang looked up from the coals of the fire; seeing his operations officer, he quickly rose to his feet. "Did they get them out in time?" he asked almost pleadingly.

  Banta stepped closer and looked into the old man's eyes.

  "Our people got your grandson, but ..."

>   Kang lowered his head. He sat down and gazed at the burning embers with a sad, faraway stare. "What happened?"

  "We were able to get your grandson while he was playing in a park, but the DDSI beat us to your son's house. The house mother had been beaten badly but said they took Mya.

  Stephen is in the United States. The house mother said he was picked up by a DDSI staff car over a week ago."

  Xu Kang's drawn face twitched. Gathering strength, he raised his eyes and asked, "How many of the others did we get out?"

  "'Twenty plus your grandson. The junta is declaring a great victory in the evening papers. They are claiming they have eradicated the last of the drug lords and put an end to poppy production. The information minister even went an far as to say the Sawbaws supported the communists who bombed the American embassy. They are blaming the Shan for everything to cover their own wrongdoing."

  Xu Kang closed his eyes. "My son is dead or will be killed. So will Mya. We'll be next. We are their last threat."

  Banta began to speak, but Horseman Lante stepped up and put his hand on the colonel's shoulder and whispered for him to be quiet. Lante and the seven other Horsemen gathered around their leader to offer him their strength. Lante motioned to the mountains and said, "Chindit, the people will flee their villages and head for the mountains to save themselves. They will come to us as they have before. We are their last hope."

  Xu Kang shook his head wearily. "We can't stay in this camp any longer. The army will be coming to finish us. Tell the others to load the equipment and weapons in every available truck. We must leave tomorrow at first light and seek refuge in Thailand."

  "But the people?" Lante asked in an anguished whisper.

  Xu Kang rose as if he had a heavy weight on his shoulders. "The people made their decision years ago and must live and die with it, like my son. We'll go to the old Thai border camp to rebuild. We Shan are just the beginning-the DDSI will also go after the other minorities. They will try to destroy us all, as always."

  Xu Kang took a step toward his but but stopped. He rolled his shoulders back and turned to face Colonel Banta, his smoldering eyes filled with hatred. "Have our people and informers in Rangoon begin preparing for an attack on the Defense Ministry. Use them all and find out everything possible about the army bases, their communications, and the routes they would use. We will not die without fighting. We no longer wait for the enemy to come to us in the mountains.

  We will take the fight to their lair and show them what fear is."

  Banta inwardly smiled at his old leader's rekindled spirit and replied, "We will have help from the students and other minorities who have been protesting against the government.

  I will ensure they know where to find us if they want to join the fight."

  Xu Kang's chiseled face seemed to glow in the firelight.

  "Many Burman will come to us, for they now must see nobody is safe with the bastards in power. Have our people bring my grandson to me at the border camp. He will need me, and I need him. Take care of telling the others about the move." The old soldier didn't wait for a response before he strode into the darkness. Only when he reached his but did he let tears of sorrow flow for Stephen, Mya, and his people.

  He lay down in the hammock and cried for them all. There was not enough time or enough of the enemy to kill to fill the void in his old heart.

  India Staging Base Josh sat up as McCoy pulled a chair up to his cot. "I thought you'd be sleeping," McCoy said.

  "I was listening to the choppers come in."

  "Yeah, the other teams are all back safely. We just got a secure radio message from our Burma embassy. The Burmese TV news reported the DDSI Strike Battalion wiped out five drug labs and is saying the Shan were involved in supporting the terrorists that hit the embassy. They even showed a Shan leader admitting he provided the explosives."

  Josh slapped the side of the cot. "We're not buying that shit, are we?"

  The commander lowered his eyes. "That's why I'm telling you, Hawk, to warn you. It's going to be hard to dispute a witness who says to the world that he and his people did it.

  On Langley's orders, we're flying out tomorrow at first light for Guam to rest a few days and repaint the birds. The director is going to talk to us once we get back to Washington, and he wants to talk to you personally. The station chief told him you knew Xu Kang. He's going to want you in."

  "He's wasting his time," Josh said angrily. "I want no part of it. We've made promises to Xu Kang before and never followed through."

  The commander stood. "Sleep on it, Hawk. You've got three days before you see Director Jennings." He turned and walked out of the tent.

  Vee sat up on his cot, having heard the conversation.

  "Hawk, it sounds like they really need you."

  Josh lay back down and closed his eyes. "Now, they want to use me to get to the Chindit. They'll make promises and then leave him out to dry if it turns sour. Believe me, the old man has a better chance if we stay out of it."

  "But Hawk, you told the chief that, if Xu Kang was alive, they should help him."

  "Yeah, with weapons and equipment, nothing else. If the Company just gives him the stuff he needs, that's fine. But if they want me it means there's more. I don't want any part of them and their harebrained plans. I've seen what they can do.

  How are you doin', anyway?"

  Vee rubbed his temples as if in pain. "I can't sleep. Every time I shut my eyes I see those poor people and hear their screams."

  "Think about your wife and family and take a couple of these," Josh said, handing over a bottle of sleeping pills.

  "You're gonna need 'em for the next few days. Once you're home the dreams will go away, at least most of the time."

  Vee took the pills and washed them down with canteen water. He lay back down and looked up into darkness.

  "Thank you, Hawk, for saving me. I-"

  "Just think about getting home and talking your wife into having a son. Forget this op. It was all for nothing."

  Vee reached out and patted Josh's shoulder. "I met you, Hawk, and that's something to remember."

  Chapter 15.

  21 June, Seattle, Washington.

  The Customs team arrived at 8 A. M. and finished the inspection just after eleven. They walked down the gangway and motioned to the stevedore crew chief to proceed with the off-loading. Once reaching the wharf, the youngest officer threw his thumb over his shoulder. "That plywood sure would make some beautiful cabinets. How much would a sheet of that cost me at a lumberyard?"

  The head Customs officer cocked an eyebrow. "I'd say at least fifty bucks. Teak is gettin' hard to find nowadays."

  A hundred yards away, Captain Sing lifted the car phone-- having already dialed the number--and spoke in a monotone.

  "The last shipment has just been cleared."

  Colonel Po sighed in relief. "Thank Buddha. Report to me at the plant. You will soon have some work to do that I know will please you."

  Five miles away, Stephen paid the cashier at a toy store and picked up a large bag holding a yellow skateboard and a Tonka truck. Walking out of the mall, he said to Sergeant Shin, "Thank you for bringing me here. My son will be very happy when he sees these." Just then, the beeper on Shin's belt began buzzing.

  The sergeant pulled the beeper free and watched the one sentence message run across the small screen.

  "The shipment has arrived--time to work."

  He repeated the message to Stephen and said, "Only three days and you will be home to give your boy those presents."

  Central Intelligence Headquarters, Langley, Virginia Despite the air-conditioning working overtime, the room seemed hot and stuffy to Josh. He was seated in a conference room with McCoy and the other team leaders, all of them jetlagged. They had landed at Andrews only an hour before and had been choppered to the Langley landing pad. The full subcommittee was there and congratulated them on a job well done, then began reviewing the photos the teams had taken.

  Josh'
s pictures began flashing up on the screen, and he noticed the committee members were squirming and cringing in their seats as they watched the shots he'd taken of the executions.

  Thorton, the deputy national security adviser, had had enough and stood up. "I see no need to show any more gruesome pictures and ruin our dinners. This meeting is now irrelevant. The junta has eliminated the heroin problem and has captured the people responsible for the bombing of our embassy. We owe our thanks to the brave men who went into Burma. Gentlemen, I can assure you your efforts were not wasted. The photos prove the junta did what it said it did eliminate the heroin labs. Although we don't approve of their brutal methods, it is not for the United States to question the way Burma runs its operations. The photos and videos will not be released to the public nor will any of us communicate any of what we saw or heard here today. Now, I think we can adjourn this meeting and-"