Jessie

by JJ Aughe

  Melissa, on the other hand, acted with an agenda all her own.

  Early on, as they had been escaping the safe house, Melissa had vowed that if given the opportunity she would repay these terrorists for the terror she had felt on Friday night, the destruction of her cherished car and then the attack on the safe house. She felt she had handled herself fairly well in the firefight on the ridge below her grandfather’s cabin. She thought she might have even taken out one of the attacking terrorists. She wasn’t satisfied though. Now there seemed to be another chance for some well-deserved revenge. Because Dennis and Bailey had told her it was imperative that Almed and all his men be all the way into the clearing, she hesitated to act. But when she heard Kerry’s painful whimper she wasn’t going to hide and let the sniper get away with killing her dog too and acted.

  She scanned the camp’s perimeter from her prone position. There seemed to be only one area where shots were coming from, which, she reasoned, had to mean there was only one assailant and not the force they had expected. Snatching the automatic pistol Carol had liberated from the terrorist in Bellevue from her waistband, she slipped her wrist through the loop in the leather strap, secured it by pulling the loop tight around her forearm and sighted down the barrel. Satisfied with her aim she sent a short burst into the saplings where she figured the terrorist firing at them was located. She let a grim smile lift the corners of her lips as her effort was rewarded by a terrorist stumbling into the open, falling headfirst into a large boulder and lay still. Just to make sure he wasn’t playing opossum she quickly and ruthlessly sent a few shots into his body. Satisfied he wasn’t going to be a problem, she again scanned the perimeter for signs of any other terrorists.

  But nothing moved. The campsite was silent. As silent as death!

  Via real-time satellite feed to his laptop, Dennis helplessly watched the lone assailant’s attack on the campground. The main objective of the operation being to capture Almed, he had deployed his forces strategically at a distance too far from the campsite to give immediate support. Previously, in case of an unavoidable firefight, he had supplied Bailey and the others with enough ammunition to last until his men could get into position to take action. Since communication was of utmost importance, he had also given each of them an individually dedicated set of state-of-the-art satellite two-way ear-buds with built-in microphones.

  Until seconds after Melissa had taken out the terrorist, greatly surprising him as well as instilling in him a sense of respect for her courage, there had been a technical problem with the ear-bud software and Dennis hadn’t been able to advise the campers of the lone terrorist’s impending attack. Instead, he was forced to helplessly watch what was happening.

  Though he admired Melissa’s moxie, he silently very roundly cursed her. Being informed ear-bud communications had been restored, he activated hers. He forced his voice to be calm as he spoke to her. “Ms. C. H. As I speak, Almed has landed at the airstrip and will be there in moments. The terrorist you shot was a lone advance scout. There are over twenty terrorists now converging on your position from three directions. Find your agreed cover and stay there. Do you understand?”

  Dennis’ calm, but firm voice broke Melissa’s driving desire for exacting revenge. She quickly glanced around. The slight movement of their chests told her that Sean and Eddie were not hurt. Well, still alive at least. Letting her gaze quickly travel across the campsite she saw that Carol was still lying where she had dropped and Bailey lay sprawled near a log. She almost cried out when she spotted Kerry lying at the end of his tether on the near side of Bailey. Almost in tears, she had to fight for control as she searched the area where Jessie should be. She didn’t know if Jessie had made it to her safe area or not, but not seeing her lying in the open anywhere she hoped her friend had made it. Her own safe area was behind their tents where a double set of cedar logs would protect her.

  She knew she needed to get there before she was seen by the terrorists. Speaking as she rolled toward her cover she acknowledged Dennis and contritely apologized for not following the set plan of action.

  Dennis had to grin when she ruined her apology by fiercely adding, “But it felt so good to kill at least one of these terrorists!”

  Dennis had to caution her though. “Yeah, C.H., I bet it did! But, in future try to restrain your urge for revenge. It will get you killed and then I would have to face Sean! Yeah. I saw the sparks between you two when I picked you up. I figured it was about time Sean settled down with a good woman. But if you get yourself killed he will give me hell. So, please, if only for my own peace of mind, get to safety. Okay?”

  “Gotcha!” she breathlessly replied as she scrambled and made a final dive for the relative safety behind the logs. Once behind the crumbling cedar logs she discovered that to keep her body from sliding down the steep incline behind it she had to let go of the pistol to make a grab for the short nub of, what she hoped and prayed, was the well secured stub of a broken branch.

  “Blast!” she muttered to herself, as her body’s momentum stretched her arm until she thought it would dislocate at her shoulder. “I should have checked this side of this blasted log better before I settled on this place.” She finally got a toehold on a large boulder and worked her way back up behind the logs. Panting from the exertion, she put her back against the rotten log to catch her breath.

  As her breathing returned to normal, she glanced down, saw her pistol and groaned. Though the weapon was attached to her arm by the safety strap the muzzle was buried in the reddish dirt beside and beneath her! She hastily yanked the muzzle free of the dirt and began tapping the barrel with her other hand to dislodge the dirt. She heard an angry male voice shouting as she worked to clear the barrel. She recognized the language as a dialect of an Afghani tongue she had briefly taken in her night classes in foreign language the year before. She knew the speaker was Almed and he was not happy.

  What she heard him scream next horrified her.

  Khaki-clad men with white turbans at each side, Almed, dressed in khakis also and wearing his signature green turban, stormed into the campsite. Angrily shoving men out of his way Almed shouted in his native tongue for Siamahd, his advance scout.

  One of Almed’s men pointed to another of the men who was bending over a bloody body lying just inside the perimeter of the campsite. Almed quickly strode to the body, knelt beside the other man to ask if the downed man were dead or alive.

  The mortally wounded man opened his eyes, saw his leader and started to speak. Almed cut him off. “No excuses Siamahd! You have jeopardized the whole mission!” When Siamahd tried to reply Almed drew a knife from a scabbard at the man’s own waist and viciously whipped the blade across the man’s throat, instantly killing him.

  Turning, he directed his next words to the men crowded around. Pointing to the dead man he shouted, “A knife to the throat or a machete taking your head is the punishment for stupidity! Remember it!”

  “Now,” he snarled. “Gather the dead bodies and pile them in the center of this camp! If any of these infidels live, especially the two women and Gilmore, immediately bring them to me!”

  Almed’s men started to do as they were told when one of them stopped, pointed into the trees northwest of the campsite and yelled, “Almed! Look!”

  Almed spun on his heels and peered into the forest. Seeing the advance of what looked to be an army of soldiers he ordered his men to take cover and open fire. Before they could find cover though Dennis’ men opened fire and half of Almed’s men fell.

  Sudden panic gripped Almed as he realized that even as cautious as he had been he had walked into a trap. As he had at the cabin in the mountains, he quickly scanned the area, searching for a means of escape. Everywhere he looked there seemed to be armed men coming at him! Then, not a hundred feet behind him and behind the infidel’s tents, he spied a couple of rotten logs that would at least give him cover while he decided his next move.

  He quickly glanced around the campsite, saw what was left o
f his men had started to surrender. Shaking his head in disgust at their spinelessness, he made a break for the logs. Intending to vault over both logs he leaped high and let out an involuntary cry as he sailed into the void beyond.

  Bullets flying over and around her, Jessie landed on her back in the nest Bailey had made for her. She gasped as she was showered by large chunks from the top edge of the log. Remembering that Bailey had instructed her to retrieve the cell phone as soon as she was safely behind the log, she glanced around until she located it. She turned slightly onto her left side and felt stinging pain in her left arm as she reached for the phone. Her first thought was that the fall over the log had bruised her shoulder and arm so she automatically messaged the area with her other hand. Her hand came away covered in blood!

  Blood? Hmm, she calmly thought. I’ve been shot and didn’t even know it! A quick glance at her upper arm confirmed her thought. Though there was a lot of blood, the wound was only a small flesh wound. Jessie shook her head. Don’t panic, she told herself. It’s only a small wound. You’ll survive. She ignored the stinging pain from the wound as she rolled onto her stomach, concentrating on getting as safe as possible.

  Her body pressed to the duff between the logs, her face just inches from the crumbling surface of the log on her right, she felt certain she was as safe as she could possibly be. Hearing more gunfire and wishing she could see what was going on, Jessie started to raise her head. Hearing bullets thudding into the rotten log shielding her she dropped back into the woodsy smelling duff. She felt her ear bud dislodge as she hit the duff and reached up by her head to retrieve it. She forgot all about the ear bud though as her heart nearly stopped when chunks of the log at her right peppered her back as a bullet came all the way through that log and thudded into the second log in front of her. Afraid another bullet would come through the log and hit her she decided she needed to get closer to the steep bank where the log on her right was thicker. She gripped the Glock pistol Bailey had given her, stayed as low as possible while she scooted backwards until she felt her feet go over the edge of the drop off. She settled down to wait and realized the shooting had stopped. Seconds of total silence later she heard a man’s gruff voice speaking in a foreign language and knew that Almed had entered the campsite. Suddenly someone yelled an alert, followed immediately by the sound of more gunfire telling her that Dennis’ men were engaging the terrorists.

  Just as the shooting stopped, Jessie heard a man’s shocked yell then heard Melissa scream, “Oh no you don’t you sucker! You’re not getting away!” Skewing her body around Jessie was in time to see Melissa tumble down the embankment behind what she assumed was one of Almed’s men disappearing into the dense brush below.

  Her only thought being that Melissa was alone and would need back up, Jessie again ignored the irritating pain in her arm, scooted over the edge of the embankment until she reached a faint game trail ten feet below. She gained her feet as she saw Melissa disappear into the brush and trees where the fugitive had gone and sprinted after her.

  Jessie was sure Bailey or someone would miss her and Melissa and come looking for them so she paused long enough to loop the wrist strap of the cell phone on one of the lower branches of a near dead sapling as an indication as to which way they had gone. As she trotted after Melissa. She again paused while still in plain sight of the cell phone to bend a branch of a sapling until it broke, left it to dangle so it could be easily seen from where the cell phone hung, making sure anyone following would know where she entered the brush.

  On the far side of the camp: Bailey felt as if he had been hit by a semi-truck and was tempted to get to his feet. He knew he had forced his body to stay perfectly still. Though he couldn’t see Almed, he could hear him and was familiar enough with different Afghani dialects to understand that Almed had just killed one of his own men, probably the sniper, and was sending his men to check the bodies for any sign of life.

  Bailey feared what would happen as soon as any of Almed’s men checked one of his friends. He was ready to jump up, get himself captured and probably killed as a diversion to protect his friends until Dennis’ forces could arrive. He bunched his muscles, ready to make a leap at one of the other attackers as one of Almed’s men bent over Carol. He hesitated though when, in a dialect he understood, one of the attackers excitedly yelled a warning to Almed of the approach of Dennis’ forces. The ensuing battle was brief and within seconds Bailey could hear commands from Dennis’ forces for Almed’s men to throw down their weapons and surrender. Knowing from his experience at post discharge training that if he so much as moved he could, and probably would, be shot, he forced his body to relax.

  Once Almed’s men were disarmed Dennis, by way of the ear buds, ordered Bailey and his crew to gather at the campfire in the center of the campsite. Instead of doing as ordered, Bailey retrieved his rifle and headed for the logs where Jessie had taken shelter. The logs were screened by some of Dennis’s men who were disarming or guarding prisoners so Bailey couldn’t clearly see that area. He was sure that he would be turned back if he tried to walk through the men and skirted around them. He called Jessie’s name as he neared the logs and quickened his steps when she did not answer. Fearing the worst, he peered over the first log. Jessie was gone! His mind racing over the different possibilities of where she could be, he felt his body go cold with dread and his heart lurch in his chest as he spotted a large spot of blood staining the duff between the two logs. Next to the blood lay an ear bud!

  His eyes making a quick sweep of the campsite, he tried, unsuccessfully, to keep calm. He didn’t see Jessie anywhere and tried to think where she could have gone. Hoping against hope that he just hadn’t seen her and she was over by the tents where two medics were checking Sean’s wounds, he hurried across the campground.

  Chapter 21: Captured!

  Carol, standing near the dead sniper with Dennis and Eddie listening to the various reports from troops around the campsite, saw Bailey hurrying toward the tents with a concerned look darkening his face. She brushed past Dennis and Eddie, hurried to intercept Bailey as he approached the tents. “Bailey! Almed is not among the prisoners and Melissa and Jessie haven’t checked in with Dennis! Have you seen them?”

  Bailey tried to deny the possibility that Almed had somehow captured Jessie and Melissa but his mind wouldn't let him. The possibility was there and he had to either find Jessie and Melissa somewhere here in camp or set out searching for them in a hurry. Almed wouldn’t waste any time getting away from the campsite. If he had captured the women and they gave him any trouble at all, he wouldn’t hesitate to kill them.

  It was the last upsetting thought that calmed Bailey’s voice as he answered, “No. I haven’t seen either of them. But I think Jessie is wounded. I found fresh blood and her ear bud where she took shelter. I hoped she was over here with the medics.”

  He was about to say something more about the ear bud but, from his makeshift bed, Sean interrupted him. “Bailey! I’ve tried to tell these idiots to let me up ‘cuz I need to tell Dennis that Almed went over the logs where Melissa had taken cover and I heard her yell at him. Knowing her rage at these terrorists and from yell that he wasn’t going to get away as he cleared the logs and also what she did a few minutes ago to that sniper, she went after him!”

  Anything Bailey would have said was interrupted by the loud, but oddly resounding report of a discharged firearm somewhere in the dense brush below the campsite. He immediately ran for the embankment as he yelled for Carol to get reinforcements and follow him.

  Turning toward the inner area of the campsite Carol realized all of Dennis’ men were otherwise occupied. She was the only one available to watch Bailey’s back. Making a command decision, she ordered the two medics out of the tent and spoke quickly to Sean.

  “Bailey needs backup, Sean. I’m going to help him. I can’t seem to get through to Dennis on my ear bud so you will have to have the medics help you get to him. Tell him what is happening in the brush below and that we
need immediate backup!” The last, figuring that Sean would not hesitate, were spoken as she followed Bailey over the edge of the bank.

  Almed cursed himself for a fool as his momentum took his body past the second log. The adrenaline of finding himself sailing into nothingness had him utilizing long unused skills as he flailed his arms for balance, readying his legs for the shock of impact when he hit the lower part of the steep slope. He managed to keep his feet under him by pure will as he landed and crashed through a stand of sapling fir trees at a dead run. His momentum carrying him through the saplings and over another log before the terrain leveled out enough he could slow himself to a fast walk. He finally stopped at the edge of a fast running, small rivulet. Though his throat was dry, his need to escape was greater and had him jumping the narrow stream and sprinting into the dense brush beyond.

  He stumbled upon a long unused footpath and followed it until he found himself in a small clear space a hundred yards or so into the dense brush and foliage of the river bottom. He paused to get his bearings and could hear the turbulent rush of water over rocks and boulders a short distance to his right. He smiled, an escape plan forming in his mind. If I can make it to the river, he silently breathed, I’ll camouflage myself with brush to make it look like I’m just flotsam debris and float down the river to safety.