by Steven Bird
Chapter Thirty-Six
As the moon replaced the sun in the sky, and as the cool desert breeze flowed through camp, everyone readied their gear and made their final equipment checks. With an M4 carbine and his trusty Colt on his side, Jessie slipped the last of his six thirty-round 5.56 magazines into his load-bearing vest and ensured that everything was snug and secure. With the body armor they had given him underneath, he felt overloaded and cumbersome, but he knew it was better to be over prepared than under prepared.
“Are you all set?” Denny asked, walking up to Jessie.
“As ready as ever,” Jessie replied.
Looking around to the entire camp, Denny shouted, “Okay, folks, listen up. Everyone gather around. Curtis is about to go over the final plan.”
Stepping up onto a portable storage container, Curtis said, “Here’s the plan: Jessie, you’re gonna go with Marissa in the Jeep. To our knowledge, they’ve never seen our Jeep, or Marissa for that matter. You two are going to create the initial diversion. You two will drive up Highway 550 toward the boarding school. We don’t imagine they’ll let your presence go unanswered. As soon as you see activity, and they get a good look at the two of you, get the hell out of there. Head west until you reach the abandoned post office.
“Upon reaching the post office, exit 550 onto the dirt road just behind the post office and follow it back to what used to be the local government building. Jӧrgen will be lying in wait on one of the rooftops, or a similarly advantageous position, and will begin to pick off your pursuers. Engage them there once Jӧrgen begins firing on them and keep them occupied. If you can take them out of the fight and join up with us, great. If not, hold them off there as long as you can to give us time to hit the remaining threats at the compound and attempt to extract the girls.
“Denny, Frank, Tommy, and I will take advantage of the diversion to make our move. Denny, Tommy, and I will be lying in wait in the darkness. Frank will be positioned on one of the roofs at the old stockyard across the road from the boarding school compound. He’ll have the fifty cal—ˮ
“You’ve got a fifty?” interrupted Spence.
“Yeah, we’ve got a fifty,” Curtis replied, seemingly annoyed by the interruption.
“So, like I was saying,” he continued. “Frank will be on top of one of the buildings at the stockyard, putting a world of hurt on any of the jihadis who show themselves at the compound.”
“Will Frank have any sort of night vision?” asked Jessie.
“No, he won’t. The fifty-cal has a damn fine scope on it, though.”
“Will he be able to acquire his targets in the dark with a conventional scope at that distance? How is the lighting at the compound?” asked Jessie.
“It will be fine,” insisted Curtis. “Frank knows what he’s doing. To get back on track here, Frank will provide cover for us to move in on the camp while you’ve got a handful or more of them tied up behind the post office down the road.
“From what we know, the girls are being kept mostly in the main T-shaped building. That’s where they seem to always be led in and out of when we’ve caught a glimpse of them through our optics while out on our observations. We’ll take out anyone we encounter as we go, until we find them.”
Looking at Marissa, Curtis said, “Once you and Jessie take care of the jihadis who follow you to the post office, join up with Jӧrgen and make your way back to the compound to provide cover-fire while we extract the girls.”
Seeing the look of concern on Jessie’s face, Curtis said, “Do you have a problem with something?”
With tension now clearly in the air, Jessie replied, “Look, I’m not trying to be confrontational. I’m just trying to make sure we’ve covered all the bases here. If I poke holes in your boat and it still floats, it’s a good boat. If it sinks, we need another boat, that’s all.”
“So what’s the problem?” Curtis asked again.
“The plan, as you presented it, makes a pretty big assumption that a group will peel away from the compound to follow Marissa and me. What if that doesn’t happen? Without a reduction in force at the compound, as you’ve clearly tried to address with the vehicle diversion, you’ll be three on the ground facing their full strength.”
“They’ll follow,” Curtis insisted.
“He’s got a point, though,” Spence interjected. “What if they don’t?”
“Who saved who?” Curtis replied in a very pointed manner. “If I recall, you got yourself into a bind and we had to bail you out. At the expense of some of our finest people, I might add.”
Stepping forward in an attempt to calm the tensions between Jessie and Curtis, Jӧrgen said, “He has got some valid questions, Curtis. Let us just work through them so that everyone is clear. There is no reason to get upset.”
In a defiant tone, Curtis said, “If you want the new guy to lead this, then I’m out. We risked our lives to save him and his friend over there and now you’re letting them disrupt our way of doing things.”
“You have done a fine job for us, Curtis,” Jӧrgen replied. “We will never forget that, however, past success does not prevent future failures. Just hear him out. He was in law enforcement before all this.”
“He was a shepherd,” Curtis responded sharply.
With his hands pulled back and open, Jessie said, “I think you’re misunderstanding me, here, Curtis. I’m not trying to start anything. I’m thankful and grateful of what you guys did for us, but I’m thinking of those girls. Not me, not you, but them. Sure, we’ve got a lot to lose here if we bungle it up, but unless we are successful, those girls have a much rougher road ahead than any of us. Dying by bullet tonight will be an easy way out compared to the fates that await them. Now, let’s just work this out and get on with it the best we can.”
Stepping up to Jessie with his chest forward and his arms back, Curtis said, “Look, I worked with special forces in the Army. I don’t need any lip from some failure of a cop who ran off to raise goats in the mountains while the rest of us were still knee-deep in it.”
“Sheep,” Jessie snapped.
“What?”
“They were sheep. And besides, if you’ll explain your experience and expertise to me, in regards to you working with the special forces, maybe I’ll better understand. Were you in the special forces, or did you work with them, and who exactly?”
As Curtis began to tense up and pull his right arm back, Denny stepped in and snapped, “Curt! That’s enough.”
Turning to Jessie, Denny explained, “We’re all just a little tense tonight. There’s a lot at stake and that’s enough to stress anyone out. Just trust us that we’ve handled a lot of bad situations in the past and we’ll handle this one just fine as well.”
“As long as no one’s pride is being put before the safety of those girls, I’ll follow your lead,” Jessie replied, looking at Curtis out of the corner of his eye.
Assuming control of the situation, Denny shouted, “Okay, let’s all just go get some rest. As soon as the sun goes down, those of us that are assigned forward positions need to get on the move. Leland, you and Spence have everything you need ready to go for any casualties, and have the stake-sides on the flatbed for evac of the girls. When we call you in, bring the flatbed ASAP. Marissa, unless you hear from us otherwise, roll on up the road toward the compound at zero-three-hundred hours. By that point, we should have each had time to get into position and the compound should be bedded down for the night, ensuring that most of the girls will be in the main building like we discussed.”
~~~~
Later that evening, Denny, Curtis, Tommy, Frank, and Jӧrgen set out in the remaining Humvee to a pre-planned location where they would each hike to their respective positions under the cover of darkness. As Marissa and Jessie readied the Jeep, Marissa looked at Jessie and said, “I’m sorry about Curtis. He can be a hothead at times, but he and Denny have really gotten us through a lot.”
“What did he do on active duty and in the Guard?” Jessie asked.<
br />
“You’re still on that?” she asked.
“This plan is far from solid. Have you guys ever made an assault like this before?”
Pausing for a moment, she replied, “Well, no, we’ve mostly done hit-and-runs or ambushes, but Curtis and Denny did in the Army—at least I assume they have. This is Curt’s first time leading, though. Jeremy—he was one of the men killed in the other Humvee—was usually in charge of this sort of thing.”
Knowing it was too late to push the issue, Jessie simply nodded in reply and went back to the business at hand. Marissa could sense Jessie’s doubt about the plan, but like Jessie, she knew the ball was already rolling and they needed to see it through.
Breaking the silence as they finalized their preparations, Jessie said, “If we keep our M4s between the seats, they’ll be hidden until we need them, yet still be easily accessible. I think we should lose the top and doors, too.”
“Why?”
“The most this fabric top will do for us is to provide us with a small margin of visual cover. However, when and if you’re trying to return fire, it could be a big hindrance. Not to mention the fact that once we get to the ambush site behind the post office—if we make it that far—we’ll need to egress in a hurry and get in a position to fight. You won’t want anything slowing you down.”
“Makes sense,” she replied.
As Jessie and Marissa began removing the top and doors, Leland and Spence approached. Leland said, “Anything we can help you two with? We’ve got the flatbed ready to roll, and all of the first-aid and trauma gear is staged and ready as well.”
“No, I think we’ve got it,” Jessie replied. “But thanks.”
“No problem,” Leland replied. “You’ve got the tough job. I feel like I should be doing more.”
“Don’t look at it that way, Leland. Just think, if you were a soldier in a bind, would there be anyone more important than your extraction team?”
With a chuckle, Leland said, “Yeah, I guess. When you look at it that way, I suppose I feel a little better.”
“If you get called in the middle of a firefight, you two make sure you keep your heads on straight yourselves. No one is safe until they’re back at camp. Don’t forget that.”
“Jess,” Spence said, getting Jessie’s attention.
“Yeah?”
“I just wanted you to know you’ve saved my life several times over, and I appreciate it.”
“What are you talking about, Spence? You patched my busted butt back together after I looted your house,” Jessie replied, rubbing his still achy shoulder wound.
“Something I never told you... Well, you see, when I came back to my home in Dolores, I subconsciously expected it to be for the last time. I think I wanted it to hurry and end. Now, I wasn’t planning anything in particular. I just kind of felt it coming. Having you there, well, it gave me a reason to be me again. Why do you think I was so quick to sign on to your cross-country suicide mission? Meeting you, having a true friend in this world when I had been alone for so long, brought me back out of a dark place that perhaps I didn’t even realize I was in. I’ve been more alive since I met you than for as long as I can remember. Take care of Marissa here and take care of yourself. This world, as screwed up as it may be, still needs men like Sheriff Townsend around.”
“Thanks, buddy,” Jessie said as he reached out to shake Spence’s hand, only to be embraced in a big bear hug by the burly old fellow.
Chapter Thirty-Seven
As the wind buffeted throughout the cab, the now topless Jeep drove through the night toward the boarding school. Jessie turned to Marissa, who was in the passenger seat, and asked, “How are we doing on time?
“It’s two-fifty-five. We’ll be right on time.”
“I just hope everyone else is,” he replied.
Seeing the lights of the compound off in the distance, both Jessie and Marissa felt their tension rise as they were entering the point of no return. With their headlights on bright, they knew they had undoubtedly been spotted by now, even if the camp did not have forward lookouts.
“Here we go,” she said.
“Yep,” Jessie replied.
Sharing a glancing smile, the two looked ahead at the daunting task that awaited.
~~~~
From atop the main building in the stockyard, Frank could see the headlights of the Jeep approaching in the distance. His pulse raced as he knew it was all about to hit the fan directly in front of him. I sure hope everyone else is ready, he thought, knowing he would be an easy target, alone on the roof, if the occupants of the compound were not held at bay by the impending attacks.
Looking through the scope of the big Barrett M107, Frank struggled to find any potential targets at the compound with the low level of available light. Oh, well, I’m sure the place will be lit up well before long.
~~~~
Jogging through the desert brush toward the buildings behind the post office, Jӧrgen looked at his watch and thought, They should have given me more time! I had the furthest to go on foot!
Increasing his pace, Jӧrgen reached the cluster of buildings and frantically looked for a suitable place for the ambush. Seeing a large steel dumpster with a sliding metal door on the front, just to the right of the local government building, he ran up to it and gave it a good whack with his knuckles. That will do, he thought, noting the thickness of the metal.
Sliding the door on the front of the dumpster partially open, Jӧrgen climbed inside on top of the trash and refuse. He then pushed the door half closed. This would give him a shooting port, as well as the benefit of having double the thickness of the metal where the door and the dumpster wall overlapped.
Looking again at his watch, Three o’clock. Here we go, he thought as he double-checked his rifle as well as his H&K USP .40 sidearm. Settling into the trash as best he could in order to reduce his chance of making unintentional noises, Jӧrgen watched carefully out of his shooting port, hoping to see a sign of the Jeep at any moment.
~~~~
Giving Tommy and Denny the hand signal to spread out to their pre-planned positions and wait for the Jeep, Curtis began his long, low crawl toward the compound, from the rear, opposite the road. With the Jeep driving past the road on the other side of the boarding school, the jihadist’s attention should be diverted toward the road, allowing them to make their move on the compound as planned.
Looking at his watch by the glow of the moonlight, Curtis’s heart rate intensified and he could feel beads of cold sweat on his forehead as the moment had arrived. Looking off in the distance to the east, he could see the faint lights of the distant but approaching Jeep. C’mon, C’mon, work... this has got to work, he thought as he watched Jessie and Marissa get closer and closer to the dangers that awaited them.
Seeing movement around the compound, with someone yelling orders in what appeared to him to be Arabic, his heart sank in his chest as he heard the compound’s diesel generator spool down, causing the lights that they had depended on for Frank’s overwatch to extinguish, leaving them in complete darkness. Oh, no... God, no...
~~~~
“Jessie!” Marissa said as she saw all of the compound’s lights go dark.
“Yeah, I know,” he replied. “There are two quotes I’ve always held to be the absolute truth,” he said as he scanned intensely through the bug-splattered windshield for signs of anything up ahead.
“What’s that?” she asked.
“The first one is from Colin Powell. He said, ‘No battle plan survives contact with the enemy.’”
“What’s the other?” she asked.
As he began to answer, they passed the wreckage of Joe’s Cessna 185, still resting on its top. Jessie couldn’t help but wonder if poor Mike was still inside. Looking at Marissa, he said, “If I’m still alive after tonight, I’m coming back to give him a proper burial.”
Approaching the now-darkened compound, she asked again, “So, what’s your second favorite quote?”
Bef
ore he could answer, he said, “What the hell is—ˮ Slamming on the brakes, Jessie swerved as a large-diameter steel cable was being reeled across the road, snapping tight directly in front of them, several feet above the ground. Barely recovering from the swerve without rolling the little Jeep, Jessie pressed the accelerator to the floor as he pointed the Jeep directly off the road.
He shouted, “It’s from Sun Tzu, who wrote ‘In the midst of chaos, there is also opportunity!’ Now hang on!” as the Jeep launched over the earth berm along the side of the road, becoming airborne momentarily before bouncing violently from the impact. Regaining control just in time to avoid a small tree, Jessie steered the Jeep directly for the compound, yelling to Marissa, “Grab the flares!”
Swerving erratically, Jessie slid the Jeep sideways around a small outbuilding on the eastern side of the compound. “Stay down the best you can!” he shouted, as he drove the Jeep at a high rate of speed between the buildings of the compound, with several of the jihadists diving out of the way as Jessie barreled through the compound like a mad man. He knew staying in close while keeping his speed up and driving erratically was his best chance to avoid gunfire from the compound itself, following the same tactic as an attacking helicopter would, staying in close and tight, approaching at rooftop level to avoid being shot at from a distance.
With bullets pinging through the thin sheet-metal side of the little Jeep, several shattering the windshield, he shouted, “There! The tank! Pop the flares and throw them at the tank!” as he drove wildly toward a large LP gas tank that supplied fuel to the compound’s generator and heat.
Marissa got two of the flares ignited and tossed successfully in the vicinity of the tank as Jessie slid the Jeep around it, the tires spinning wildly, kicking up dust and debris that clouded the area, adding to the confusion of his attack. With the flares in place, Jessie pointed toward Highway 550 and the stockyard where Frank was supposed to be positioned.