The hostages were situated in good cover and concealment next to the CP. They were worn out, though revived slightly with MRE meals of spaghetti and meatballs. Now they sprawled in the shade of the camouflage, wrapped in poncho liners lent them by platoon members. The SEALs had been able to learn at least a little bit about their guests.
The chubbier one was named Ibrahim and his skinny buddy Hajji. Both were idealistic about the potentials of a democratic Afghanistan and had been enthusiastic workers for the new government. Unfortunately, at that moment the two were badly traumatized by their latest experience.
The incident of their capture had scared the hell out of them. Their bodyguards had been gunned down without mercy in a roaring metal hailstorm of automatic fire. Ibrahim and Hajji had expected the same, and the experience of awaiting an instant and sure death was something no human can endure calmly, even if he survives the experience. Their captivity had been unpleasant because of more than just bad food. Additionally, they were occasionally paraded through the compound, where the women and children shrieked insults and threw stones at them. With all that, they also had to endure for no apparent reason a good deal of physical punishment by surly guards.
The rescue had been unexpected and welcome, and going over the wall with burly, friendly Americans had given them a realistic hope for survival. But now they were on the top of a rocky mountain ridge, had no idea what was going to happen to them and had begun to seriously wonder if there was a possibility of being recaptured.
Before they fully succumbed to their exhaustion, they forced themselves to take care of one important matter. Using the poncho liners as prayer mats, they prayed to Allah, asking to be taken back to the safety of civilization.
Chapter 9
WARLORD DURTAMI'S COMPOUND
10 AUGUST
1700 HOURS LOCAL
THE Warlord Ayyub Durtami and his chief lieutenant Ahmet Kharani, along with a trio of bodyguards, stood on top of the warlord's residence. They gazed down at the sullen crowd of mujahideen gathered in the open space below. No women were present, as would be expected, but adolescent boys stood at the periphery of the crowd, the expressions on their faces exhibiting confusion and dismay. The youngsters sensed something was terribly wrong.
The dead were buried and the wounded were being taken care of as well as possible by people using basic medicines and bandaging techniques. With the blessings of Allah, perhaps 50 percent of the injured would survive the crude treatment, though some of them could be expected to end up permanently crippled human wrecks. Meanwhile, work on repairing the wall was under way. A trio of vans had driven over to the village of Herandbe, where a dozen unlucky farmers were rousted from their work in the fields to be brought over as a labor crew. Now they struggled to rebuild the corner of the fortification that had been pounded to pieces by mortar shells. Dark spots of blood showed on the smashed mud blocks and the ground where the dead and wounded had fallen.
Durtami nodded to the bodyguards beside him. They raised their AK-47s and fired off short bursts of automatic fire to get the attention of the muttering crowd. When all eyes were on the warlord, he raised his hands as if calling his fighters to prayer. "We have been invaded by infidels!" he proclaimed. "They serve Satan and have been sent by the Evil One to destroy us. For more than a week they have lurked unseen in these mountains and valleys, protected by the black magic of absolute evil. At first we fought them as we would fight mortal men. But we might as well have been naked under this onslaught of Satan's power as he sought to destroy us."
The mujahideen were visibly moved by this revelation. The warlord's words explained a lot about their recent failures in battle, and all now knew this had not come from their failings. Supernatural evil had brought this calamity down on them. Frightened expressions that had dominated their features had now turned to scowls of righteous anger.
"These defeats we suffered were like ancient plagues of locusts," Durtami continued. "Fighting the Evil One is beyond mortal men's capabilities. Therefore, in order to destroy the demons, I now, at this very moment, with the blessings of Allah the Merciful, the Beneficent"--he paused for effect "I declarejihad--holy war!"
Now the mujahideen cheered, jumping and prancing around as they waved their weapons over their heads. In their minds this meant divine protection and guidance to achieve certain victory over this diabolical enemy. Several minutes went by and the bodyguards had to fire into the air to get them to simmer down. They turned their attention back to the warlord.
"What I have said to you is thus written in the Holy Koran!" Durtami shouted. "We shall know the greatest victory in the history of Islam!"
This was a hint for Kharani to step forward with the Holy Book. He opened it at a marked page and read loudly so all could hear. "When great wrong afflicts the True Believers, they should defend themselves! And when the True Believers defend themselves they do no wrong! The wrong is done by those who oppress the True Believers unjustly, and they shall suffer the most painful of punishments." He closed the Koran. "These words of Allah are proof that we shall win. Thus, have no fear, brothers, you will prevail over the Evil One's servants!"
Durtami took over again. "It is written that we are in the right by striking back viciously at the infidel followers of Satan! Allah looks down on us as we go forth on the holy mission! Fear not death, for if you die in this struggle you will immediately go to Paradise where seventy houri virgins will serve you and pleasure you throughout eternity. With this jihad now declared all of our brothers who have already died have received their rewards and now live with Allah and the Prophet. Prepare yourselves for this great battle that will destroy the demons prowling our land. You shall force them and their leader, Satan, back into the depths of hell!"
The mujahideen went back to wild cheering and more prancing around, their eyes wide with excitement. At first their shouting was intermingled and uncoordinated, but after a few moments chants began to emerge from the roaring voices.
"Jihad! Jihad!"
"Allah is great!"
"Death to the infidels!"
Over in the village, the women had gotten the gist of the warlord's speech, and now shrilled their warbling encouragement to the men.
.
WEST RIDGE
19 AUGUST
0545 HOURS LOCAL
THE mujahideen had gone en masse to the base of the ridge, looking toward their objective at the top. They moved quietly and slowly into what cover they could find in the rocks, to await the order to charge. There was no unit integrity among them, although they tended to congregate with special friends on this holy mission. The previous night had been spent fasting and praying as each prepared himself for the glorious struggle ahead.
Bashar Abzai was among the fighters. This man who had been made a sergeant was by himself in the crowd. His best friend, Sayed, had died on the wall, and now Abzai turned his thoughts to this departed comrade. Neither one of the young men had ever had a woman. Once, back when they were teenagers, an itinerate camel driver passing through with a caravan had photographs of naked females for sale. The sight of the rounded feminine bodies, with breasts, wide hips and hairy triangles between their thighs, caused them to tremble with a strange desire they could not fully understand. As they viewed the images, their penises grew hard and extended with a throbbing that was somehow as pleasurable as it was troublesome. This thing with women was confusing. By Islamic law the young men were forbidden casual fornication, yet Allah had made women so alluring.
But Sayed, now in his eternal life, knew all. At that moment he would be among seventy houris, and all would be naked as he enjoyed them to his heart's content under the blessings of Allah. Every day and night in the endless spinning passage of eternity, Sayed's secret passions would no longer be smothered. Instead he would have endless hours of the greatest pleasure known by man.
Abzai turned his thoughts to Paradise. It must be a wonderful place, where it was never too cold or too hot; where succulent meats, f
ruit, breads and cakes were available in unlimited quantities; and where sweet nectars and cold clear water slaked one's thirst. No hard winds drove gritty dust into one's face in Paradise. No hard work exhausted one's muscles until they cramped and burned. And those houris! Those wonderful, beautiful houris!
Abzai's reverie was suddenly, broken by a loud shout from the rear. "Allah akbar! God is Great!" That was the signal to advance upward to kill Satan's demons. The young mujahideen leaped to his feet and began moving toward the summit of the ridge, joining the shouting of the other warriors of Islam.
"Allah akbar! "
.
THE BATTLE
JOE Miskoski was on the morning watch, looking out through the diminishing gloom of the night, when he heard the noises below. He looked downward, then grabbed his binoculars. Dozens of mujahideen moved up the side of the ridge toward him, looking like animated rag dolls.
Over to his right, Kevin Albee and Milly Mills reacted by firing down into the human targets bobbing among the rocks and boulders as they progressed upward. At almost that exact moment Chief Matt Gunnarson appeared among the trio of SEALS. After one quick look, he hurried over to the CP to alert the platoon.
BACK on the top of East Ridge, Warlord Ayyub Durtami and his entourage watched the attack across the valley. Ahmet Kharani held a pair of Soviet binoculars to his eyes. He spoke softly but in good spirits. "The fighters are doing well, Amir. They are filled with the holy spirit as they work their way upward toward the infidels."
Durtami was satisfied just looking at the distant figures of the mujahideen moving among the concealment of boulders and brush as they made a rapid advance to close with the enemy. 'Today is our day, Brother Kharani," he said with uncharacteristic friendliness. "I hope we will find many weapons and ammunition bandoleers among the corpses of the infidels. Our stocks have shrunk over the past weeks."
LIEUTENANT Wild Bill Brannigan was at the firing line, moving from position to position as the SEALs fired single, aimed shots at the enemy advancing up the ridge in an uncoordinated, ragged assault. It was obvious the mujahideen planned on overwhelming them by sheer numbers. Automatic fire, even three-round bursts, would have been a waste of ammunition at that range. The platoon, with each man working within his individual field of fire, picked out targets of opportunity that bounded among the boulders. Now and then, after firing a well-aimed round, they were rewarded with the sight of an attacker suddenly staggering back and falling to the sloped ground as the strike of a bullet ended his life. Some rolled a few meters down, until their corpses collided with the rocks and brush scattered over the terrain.
Bruno Puglisi had no opportunity to set up the French mortars because Connie Concord, the other fire support man, was covering the opposite side of the ridge with Bravo Team. But Puglisi was able to use his M-203 to advantage when groups of mujahideen inadvertently congregated. Occasionally, the 40-millimeter grenades did a lot of damage, throwing shrapnel and shards of rock into the groups. But most times the targeted individuals had dispersed by the time Puglisi could get off a shot.
The attack pressed relentlessly upward, and the platoon began to have the disturbing sensation of shoveling sand against the tide. The ragged figures advancing toward them were rapidly closing the gap between the two battling groups of desperate men. Brannigan shouted encouragement to his men, urging quick, but carefully aimed firing.
Bravo Fire Team suddenly showed up from the other side of the base camp. Senior Chief Buford Dawkins threw himself down beside Brannigan.
"Sir:' he reported, "they ain't nobody coming at us from the other side. They must be concentrating their whole effort on this part of the ridge."
"All right," Brannigan said. "Get your guys out on the perimeter here. The pressure is building."
"Bravos!" the senior chief shouted. "Follow me."
Within moments, four more weapons began firing into the attackers.
BASHAR Abzai hit the ground and rolled, ending up behind a large bullet-streaked boulder. He waited a moment, then stood up and fired two long fire bursts upward toward the infidel positions. His third salvo was cut short when the final bullet in the weapon was fired.
He pulled out the empty magazine and inserted a fresh one stocked with thirty rounds. The used one went into his bandoleer for reloading later. He glanced downward and could see mujahideen sprawled among the rocks. A couple were stirring slightly, while another sat up tending to a leg wound. Abzai turned back to the business at hand. He picked out some brush ten meters away to use as concealment. After a deep breath, he leaped to his feet and ran toward it.
Something hit him hard in the chest, and his legs gave out. He fell face first, rolling over on his back to gaze up at the morning sky. He knew at that moment that he was dying. He thought it strange that he should recognize the fact so quickly after being hit. It was also extraordinary that he was completely at peace about leaving the world of the living. Abzai thought about his friend Sayed. It would be good to see him again. Sayed would be interested in hearing about this day's battle, and would rejoice in the victory as much as if he had fought in it.
The dying mujahideen also thought about the houris even now anticipating his arrival in Paradise. As he lay on the mountainside with his life's blood leaking out into the hard-packed rocky terrain, he decided he would pick out one houri to be his favorite. She would be the most beautiful one, of course, and she would be delighted to be the number one. Abzai decided he would give her a name. Khesta Bibi. Au--yes! A perfect name: Beautiful Lady.
An exchange of gunfire sent bullets zipping over his body, but by then Bashar Abzai was unaware of what went on around his mortal remains.
CHAD Murchison and Milly Mills were sent back to the ammo dump next to the CP to pick up loads of ammunition to pass out on the perimeter. As they gathered the munitions, they could see the two hostages Ibrahim and Hajji huddled together back in the Skipper's camouflaged area.
Chad nodded to them. "How're you chaps doing?" Ibrahim forced a grin. "Oh, we are doing fine. Thank you for asking."
"You are winning the battle, are you not?" Hajji inquired in a worried tone.
"Piece of cake," Milly said.
"No, thank you," Ibrahim said, misunderstanding what the American meant. "We are not being hungry at this moment."
Chad laughed and winked at the other SEAL. "C'mon, Milly, we must hurry."
They ran awkwardly under the weight of rucksacks stuffed with bandoleers of 5.56-millimeter ammunition and the extra HE grenades for Connie Concord and Bruno Puglisi. They skirted the perimeter, then split up going to their respective squads to drop off ammo for each man. When Chad reached Connie, he handed over the M-203 ammo. Connie happily took the explosives, asking, "What about the mortars? Has the Skipper said anything about 'em?"
Chad shook his head. "Nope. He only said to fetch some more grenades for the M-203s."
"Well," Connie said. "Me and Bruno wouldn't have time to zero 'em in anyhow."
Chad hurried over to the rock stand shared by the Odd Couple Mike Assad and David Leibowitz. Each took three bandoleers, placing them beside his firing position. "There's gonna be a long line at the gates to Muslim heaven today," Mike commented.
"Yeah," Dave said, "but them guys are gonna be disappointed. I got it on good authority that instead of seventy virgins, they'll get one virgin seventy years old."
Chad laughed, then hurried away when fresh volleys of fire came from down below. The Skipper was set up slightly behind the rifle positions, and he had called for Jim Cruiser and both chief petty officers to join him. He looked at Cruiser. "Give me a quick SITREP for Second Squad."
Cruiser, still panting a bit from running over from his position, replied, "The assault is slowing down noticeably. They're taking on a hell of a lot more casualties now that they've drawn closer. I think we've broken the back of the attack?'
Senior Chief Buford Dawkins nodded. "Same with us, sir. Their firing is growing sporadic. It builds up real quick-like th
en peters out. There's also some periods when we get no incoming a'tall. But I don't think them dumb bastards has figured out they're starting to beat they heads against a brick wall."
"Okay," Brannigan said. "Get back to your guys and tell 'em to turn it up a notch. Maybe we can wrap this thing up within the next half hour."
THE mujahideen were out of steam. With high casualties and their ammunition running low, all the religious ardor they brought to the battle was fading with their energy and confidence. Most of them were no longer firing as they huddled behind bits of cover provided by the rocks and brush.
Fire from above began to build up until bullets slapped the air and kicked up dirt around them in what seemed a constant fusillade. The temporary encouragement brought on by the proclamation of a jihad continued to rapidly wane as the reality of the situation began to sink in.
One man suddenly leaped up and began running down the hillside. He kept going, gaining speed until he was out of range of the infidels. Another followed him. Then another, then a dozen, then more, until all the survivors ran for their lives, stumbling and staggering as they tried to make it down the hill. They leaped over their dead and wounded, only wanting to get out of the kill zone.
Warlord Ayyub Durtami watched impassively at the deterioration of his fighting force. He knew deep in his heart that he, his fighters and fiefdom were things of the past. None of this existed anymore. Ahmet Kharani, ever loyal, walked over and took his warlord by the sleeve. "Amin we must go. The men will soon be climbing this ridge to get to the other side. We must get back to the fortress to make our plans."
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