Change of Heart by Jack Allen

by Unknown

  Any longer than that and they would not have enough fuel for the return flight, since their engines would not be shut off. While they were on the ground they would be unprotected. If a patrol came across them, which was unlikely given their remote location, yet still possible, they would be destroyed on the ground or shot down if they were able to get off, leaving Josh and his team stranded in the middle of the Syrian desert, surrounded on all sides by hostile forces. It was not a pleasant picture.

  Walt and Cohen had discussed vague provisions in case they were faced with such a contingency, but essentially it was decided they would cross that bridge when they came to it, which wasn’t much of a decision. If they were captured, they would be tried 254

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  as spies, and executed. The mission had to succeed.

  The choppers slowed. They had reached the drop point. Josh tensed. His nervousness and anxiousness made him nauseous, as it did every time just before he went into action. He fought it down.

  Like a pair of great condors, the choppers circled the landing site. Josh stuck his head out the door and looked down. They were about a hundred feet up. The landing site was obscured by the shadow of the wall of sand. As the choppers descended, Josh wondered if the rails would sink in the sand.

  The peak of the sand dune wall, illuminated by the faint moonlight, rose past the open side door. It was a tall dune. They were in a kind of valley between dunes.

  Josh slipped the night vision headstrap over his head. He looked at Caroline and Jerry. They followed his lead and did the same. The small light enhancing scope was on a swivel that could be flipped up out of the way and flipped down in front of his left eye when needed. Josh left it up. The moon gave him enough light to make the hike. He wouldn’t need the scope until he needed to find a target.

  Vic’s team had already left their chopper and was circling the base of the sand dune. Josh was glad Vic remembered not to go straight over the top. He and Jerry and Caroline released their belts. Josh let them off first. As he jumped out, his foot became entangled in his restraining belt and he tumbled head first out of the chopper. He put out his hands to break his fall, which was only about three feet down. The sand was softer than landing on concrete, but most of his weight came down on his right arm.

  Josh rolled on his back, looking up at the black sky, but all he could see were bright flashes in his eyes like Fourth of July fireworks. The pain felt like his shoulder was being pulled out of its socket. He rolled to his left side to use his good arm to get back up, hoping no one had seen that graceful move. He got to his knees, hugging his right arm to his side, squeezing his eyes shut to keep the tears from coming out. The arm was practically useless.

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  Caroline was in front of him, looking down at him. She held out her hand and pulled him to his feet.

  “You are all right?” she shouted over the noise of the choppers in accented English.

  “I’ll live,” Josh shouted back in German.

  He was glad it was too dark for her to see his face. He didn’t want her to see the pain on his face, or to see how embarrassed he was. She squeezed his right shoulder. Josh winced.

  “With a shoulder like that you may not live long,” Caroline said in German. “Stay close to me.” They started after the others, who went ahead without looking back. Once they rounded the dune the noise of the rotor blades died to a soft whoosh. Josh could make out Jerry’s form about twenty yards ahead. The other half of the group was lost in the darkness, but was probably within Jerry’s sight. Josh checked the luminescent compass on his left wrist. They were headed due east. The camp was less than a mile ahead.

  They caught up with Vic’s team on the slope of a low dune, lying on their bellies beside each other, peeking over the crest of the dune. Josh got down on his belly without using his right arm and flipped the night scope down. Caroline lay beside him on his right.

  The magnified light from half a moon was enough to make looking at the camp through the scope like looking at it in broad daylight, albeit everything was in shades of green. To the north was a shooting range. To the south was a sort of parking area for vehicles. Straight ahead were about a dozen tents of different sizes.

  The plan was simple. They had to go into each tent and kill each occupant as swiftly and as silently as possible. Taking them out one by one was infinitely preferable to facing them all head on. If the alarm was raised they would be fighting them as an army, and it was estimated that Josh’s team was outnumbered six to one. If it came to a shootout, they would not last long.

  Josh noticed movement in the compound. A single figure paced in the center of the camp. He would have to be eliminated 256

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  before they could do anything else.

  “I’m gonna take out the sentry,” Josh said to the others in a low voice.

  “I’ll do it,” Jerry said, and moved off around the dune, staying in a low crouch.

  Josh started to say something, but let him go. He was a part of this team now. If Josh didn’t have the confidence in Jerry to get the job done, then he didn’t belong on the team. But he was Walt’s selection. Would he have selected Jerry himself? There was only one way to find out if he could get the job done, and that was to let him do it.

  He followed Jerry’s glowing green image as he darted behind the tents from hiding spot to hiding spot. Jerry disappeared for a few seconds when he moved between tents.

  Josh watched the sentry, then tried to catch a glimpse of Jerry emerging from between the tents. The sentry was standing in the open in the center of the small compound created by the surrounding tents, facing the spot where Jerry was hidden. There were maybe twenty or thirty yards between Jerry and the sentry, a great deal of distance to cover without being spotted. The sentry turned away and Jerry emerged from between the tents. In his right hand was a long, straight object: a knife.

  It was as if Josh and his team had front row seats for the con-test, yet had to remain silent. Josh saw the sentry stop and begin to turn, as though he had heard something and was alerted. Josh wanted to shout a warning, but couldn’t.

  Jerry leapt the last few remaining yards and tackled the sentry, landing on top of him. There was no sound. Josh wanted to run down to help, but forced himself to remain where he was. The two men struggled for a few seconds, then they were still. One figure rose, and his arm came up, waving in their direction. Josh saw the knife in Jerry’s hand.

  “Let’s go,” Josh said in a hushed voice.

  The team followed in a line. At the edge of the camp, he divided the team into three groups of two, sending them to different parts of the camp. He sent Vic with Moshe. Jerry returned Change of Heart

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  and went with Aaron. Caroline had already teamed herself with Josh, so she went with him.

  Josh and Caroline picked a tent and went in. This was not easy work. This was cold blooded killing and Josh was not happy about it.

  The inside of the tent was dark, but with the flap open and the nightscope, Josh could make out two cots on either side of the tent with a person sleeping in each. He drew his knife and took one. Caroline took the other. As he clasped a hand over the man’s mouth and thrust the knife into his abdomen, up under his ribcage, Josh was struck by what a horrible way this was to die. The man struggled. Josh thrust the knife deeper. The man’s strength faded and he became still. Through the scope, Josh was unable to make out the features of his face, and he was glad. He did not want to see them.

  Caroline tapped him on the left arm, and they went out. Josh didn’t look down at his hand. He knew there was blood on it.

  He knew he was going to get more blood on it. He pointed to the next tent and Caroline nodded.

  A voice behind them startled him. Josh turned around.

  Someone came out of one of the tents and spotted them. Josh could not see his face, but he could see the glint of moonlight off the steel blade of a knife in the man’s left
hand and the shape of a pistol in his right. It was his right hand that he raised.

  Josh dropped the knife in his left hand and grabbed the AK-47, which hung from the straps across his chest. He swung it around and squeezed off a burst of shots. The rifle made a muffled, rapid tapping sound. The man gave out a brief cry and dropped the pistol, but did not stop. He fell on top of Josh with the knife raised over his head. Josh tried to raise his right arm to fend it off, but his shoulder screamed in pain and he wasn’t able to raise it high enough. The point of the knife sliced into his forearm, from his wrist to his elbow. Josh jerked his arm back and fell backward, waiting for the man to fall on top of him and finish him off. Josh looked up at the man, whose arm was raised to strike again. This was the moment of death he had waited for.

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  His mind raced with orders he still needed to give. The mission still had to be a success without him. He had to make sure they survived even if he didn’t.

  He saw a flash out of the corner of his eye. Caroline tackled the man from behind, like a linebacker taking down a smaller football player. She landed on top of him with a thud. With one hand hooked under his jaw, she jerked his head back, and with the knife in her other hand sliced his throat open.

  She hopped to her feet and helped Josh up.

  “That was close,” she said in German.

  “Thank you,” Josh said.

  His right hand was trembling. He could feel blood soaking the sleeve of his sweater. In the back of his mind he knew he’d have to get the arm bandaged soon, but he was still dazed from facing death. His bleeding arm didn’t seem that important.

  He was about to tell Caroline to follow him into the tent the man had just come out of when they heard a short burst of muffled gunfire, a shout, then more muffled gunfire. The next shots weren’t muffled.

  “Damn it,” Josh cursed.

  The flap of the tent in front of them flew aside and another man emerged, carrying a machine gun. He shouted something in Farsi. Josh and Caroline opened fire at the same time and he flew backward into the tent.

  A light came on somewhere. There was more shouting and gunfire from the other side of the compound.

  “Stay with me,” Josh ordered.

  He was angry now that the shock of death was gone. They circled behind and moved between a pair of tents, stepping over the support strings. Three men emerged from each tent, all carrying guns. One was shouting orders when Josh and Caroline popped out between the two groups. Josh could see the shock on the faces of the men as he opened fire and cut them down.

  Behind him, he heard Caroline do the same with her Uzi. When he turned around, there was a pile of three bodies in front of the second tent.

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  Josh saw somebody running beyond the tents on the other side of the compound. In the darkness he was unable to tell if they were his men or terrorists.

  “There,” Josh said, pointing.

  More people were running. He heard the sounds of shooting and saw glimpses of men through the gaps between the tents. He knew he had to be there to help out his people. Josh and Caroline started toward them when the camp was rocked by an explosion.

  A huge fireball lit up the sky and Josh and Caroline dove for the ground.

  As the noise of the explosion died away, Josh heard a man screaming in terrible pain. God, don’t let that be one of his men.

  He and Caroline ran across the compound and dashed between the tents. It was like stepping through a door into another world. Here was the firefight Josh had feared walking into. A row of burning vehicles to the right illuminated the battlefield.

  One man was rolling on the ground, still burning. Josh wasn’t able to recognize him with a quick glimpse. The two shooting sides were his immediate concern. He and Caroline emerged just ahead of an advancing line of armed terrorists. It was easy to recognize his own team. There were only two of them and they were retreating.

  Josh lowered his AK-47 and opened fire. His sudden appearance at their flanks surprised the terrorists. There were ten or more of them, advancing on foot, and three of them were cut down before they knew what happened. Caroline stepped up beside him and cut down two more.

  The light of the fire died, plunging the desert into darkness once again. Josh flipped down his nightscope. The terrorists scattered. He saw five green blobs running away. Two split off and went to the right. Josh sent Caroline after them and went after the other three himself.

  Josh’s head hurt. His arm was throbbing and he felt weak.

  He noticed it when he started running after the terrorists. He was losing a lot of blood. His right hand was locked around the 260

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  barrel grip of the AK-47. The pain in his arm was searing. He hadn’t figured he would bleed to death in the middle of this desert.

  He assumed he’d be shot long before that happened, or that he would tie his arm with a tourniquet, but he didn’t think his death would be caused by loss of blood.

  One of the terrorists stumbled in the sand and fell. When he got up, Josh killed him with a single shot. The last two stopped running blindly in the darkness and dropped to the sand to obscure themselves. Josh lost sight of them.

  He stopped and lay on his belly. Now he became a sniper, and that made him nervous. He didn’t have time for this. The choppers were burning up their gasoline and he was losing blood.

  This fight had become much closer than he wanted. How many of his team had he lost? How much time had gone by? Would the choppers even be waiting for them? If Caroline wasn’t able to take out the terrorists he sent her after, they might be in trouble.

  If he wasn’t able to take out these last two terrorists himself, they would be even worse off.

  One of the terrorists stood up and Josh picked him off with a quick burst of bullets. Were these even the last of them? Damn it, they hadn’t even found the explosives, yet. Sitting there waiting for the last man to show himself was wasting time. Josh got up. He had to make something happen.

  Josh could not see the last terrorist. He was even more nervous. He scanned the area as he advanced. How could he have disappeared? Was he behind him?

  Josh took another step and couldn’t feel the ground under his foot. He lost his balance and tumbled headlong into a pit.

  The terrorist screamed. Josh’s headset came off and he lost the nightscope. He landed on his butt and found himself face to face with an older man. It was brighter in the hole and Josh could see fear in the man’s eyes.

  Josh pointed the AK-47 at him. He was panting and his heart was pounding with fear. He expected to get knifed or shot. His finger squeezed on the trigger, but he hesitated. Something wasn’t right.

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  This man wasn’t threatening Josh. He was scared. His hands were clasped in front of him and he was pleading in Farsi. There was no weapon in his hands. Josh looked closer. His right leg was twisted under him. Josh winced.

  Kill him. Kill him. His finger tightened on the trigger.

  “Damn you!” he shouted.

  He thrust the barrel of the AK-47 up to the old man’s neck and felt for weapons, shouting a stream of curses as loud as he could.

  Jerry was so excited he couldn’t stop shaking. For him, it was like a war, a tiny, lightning fast war. His skin had tingled with fear when the terrorists were coming down on top of him and Moshe. They fell back as fast as they could, certain they were about to die, when Josh and Caroline appeared out of nowhere and chased the terrorists off.

  Victor took two bullets to his arm during the fight and was sitting on a crate, holding a bandage over the wounds. Moshe put his arm in a temporary sling. The thing that bothered Jerry was Aaron, who had not known he was crouched behind a fuel tank when it was struck and exploded. Aaron finally stopped screaming, but he looked like hell. Most of his upper body was badly burned. The smell was nauseating, but Jerry couldn’t tear his eyes off the ma
n.

  Moshe was kneeling next to Aaron, mumbling a prayer in Hebrew. Caroline had returned and together she and Jerry found the crates of explosives while Moshe tended to Aaron and Victor.

  Josh still hadn’t returned, and everyone seemed worried. They would finish the mission without him if they had to, but nobody wanted that. Besides, if Josh was dead that meant there was at least one remaining terrorist who could return to kill them or could get help.

  Another thing that bothered Jerry were the crates of explosives. Walt and Cohen told them to expect six tons of explosives in two hundred fifty pound crates, which would make forty eight crates. Eight crates were missing.

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  Caroline walked past Jerry with a grim look on her face and went to Moshe. She crouched beside him and they spoke in low voices. Caroline seemed to agree to something and got up.

  That was when they saw Josh.

  He materialized out of the darkness into the glow of the light with one of the terrorists. The Iraqi man had an arm around Josh’s neck and Josh had an arm around the man’s waist, helping him walk.

  Jerry and Caroline stared at him. Jerry wondered for a moment why Josh was holding the man up, then realized he had a broken leg. Jerry started to go over to help, but Caroline started shouting at Josh in a language Jerry didn’t immediately recognize.

  It took him a second to realize it was German. She sounded angry, emphasizing her points with an extended finger.

  Josh was calm when he replied in German. He set the terrorist on the ground apart from the others. He was an older man with a graying beard and his frightened eyes searched the faces of the people who had raided his camp. Jerry watched him. He didn’t know why Josh brought him back, but he wasn’t going to give the man a chance to kill someone while their backs were turned.

  Caroline was arguing with Josh. Suddenly Josh exploded, shouting back at her in German. Jerry was shocked. He had not known Josh for long and didn’t know he was capable of such anger.

  Caroline was quiet. They were all quiet. Josh and Caroline glared at each other. Then Moshe spoke in English.

  “What’s wrong with your arm?” he said.