Say Hello to the Broken-Hearted

by Dervan Brown

  “I’m hit!! I’m hit!!” A bullet grazed his side and the blood brought a sudden despair to the frightening reality.

  “Shit! How bad is it?” Major asked.

  “My side…bleeding badly.” Roach replied.

  “Damn it! You think you can make it?”

  “I don’t know, I am starting to feel nauseated!”

  “Hang in there soldier! We will get you home, I promise.”

  “Banger, get Roach and move to the pickup zone, the rest of us maintain pressure until we get confirmation that the bird is here!” The major declared over the sound of bullets hammering from M16 and Russian made assault rifles.

  “Copy Major!”

  Fourteen more from the enemy line dead. The harder they came the harder they fell. The blood stains color the tree barks dirty red. Silhouettes of death made horrific portraits against the forest floor. Men in black fell like rotten fruits. Watch how they flatter, watch the seeds as they scatter. This is how a solider fights and dies for love.

  “Major Black Eagle on site. Ready for extraction--over.”

  “Roger that.”

  “Boys our bird is here. Stinger cover John. Make sure he gets in safely. Quaker, deploy the bombs we need a diversion to buy us some time. Hurry! We will cover you!”

  The Major pulled the pins of two grenades and threw them at a forty-five degrees angle. As the bombs dropped and debris scattered at random from the turbulent explosion, he reloaded with an extended cartridge. Six more dead, but the enemy was adamant in their retaliation.

  The Major glanced to the left and in the fraction of the second he saw blood slush from the back of Scorpion’s head…

  The Major ran to his aid. Held his corpse and felt for pulse. There was none. The bullet had torn to pieces his medulla oblongata, he suffered an instant death. The Major threw the heavy corpse against his right shoulder, braced the rifle on his left chest plate and scattered bullets to the enemy front.

  “Quaker finish deploying the bombs, I got Scorpion.”

  “Roger that!”

  Over twenty-seven now dead. Hot bullets and blood, hand grenades and guns. You gasp for air and there was none. Your body thrust backwards from the penetrating force. What’s your last thought before your body hit’s the ground and the poison seeps in? “There is no complete serenity other than dying for love.”

  “Deployment in order Major. Waiting for the word.”

  “Good, release when we are five hundred meters away, cover me. I’m making a run for it!”

  “Copy…”

  Thirty one dead. The bomb was on target.

  “Good job soldiers, let’s go home--we live to fight for love another day.” The major gave out as the black eagle hovered back to base.

  “What happened?” General Gibson demanded answers, enraged that the battered boy scouts of what he paraded as soldiers didn’t return with a single head to savage their dignity.

  “They escaped sir!” The corporal responded.

  “You imbeciles! You know how much danger we are in now!”

  “What do you require to be done sir?” The soldier asked.

  “This location is compromised, we have to leave immediately.”

  “Where to General?”

  “There is a base on the hill above the Strawberry field, across the amazon and six hundred miles west of here. Gather all the weapons from the arsenal. We are going to need them.”

  “Copy General. You heard the man, gather the weapons and move out the platoon!”

  1000 hours. Location: God’s Squad army base.

  “Drop your cocks and grab your socks!” Major Parker shouted as he entered the soldiers’ barrack. As protocol, they jumped to their feet and stood still.

  “We have just gathered new intelligence on our enemy. Gear up and assemble in the briefing room. We launch out at 2600 hours. Do you understand me?”

  “Sir yes sir!” They orchestrated.

  The silence in the room stiffened as the Major walked in alongside the second in command lieutenant Dickson.

  “In the folder on your desk is a copy of the objectives, attached strategies and location of our target.” Lieutenant Dickson briefed, “Our objectives are still the same, kill General Gibson and retrieve the hostage. This time, however, we will not be using sniper tactics. That failed miserably the last time and even caused one of our soldiers to be killed.

  “Then how will we attack? It’s difficult to get within fifty yards of them. General Gibson is heavily guarded sir.” Stinger interjected.

  “As difficult as it may be, we have to get up close and personal. We have been informed that they have relocated to a base on a four hundred feet hill, above a strawberry field. The field harbors a few scattered trees. You will use them for cover, but be careful the enemy will be on the lookout from the very same vicinity. There is hardly any possibility of camouflage, but if you intercept the guards you will be able to make it to the base where you will find General Gibson, a few house guards and your hostage….Any questions?”

  “What type of weapons should we expect?” Quaker asked.

  “The same as last time, except this time, look out for landmines throughout the strawberry fields.”

  “What is the base made of sir?” John asked.

  “Our intelligence informs us that the inside walls are lined with steel and the windows are bullet proof. That’s one reason we have to get up close and personal…any other questions?”

  No one budged. The objectives were cut clear. They knew what had to be done, and failure this time was not an option.

  “Good…Chopper leaves in 2600 hours…John!”

  “Yes sir!” John answered and stood at attention.

  “The love that you have is the meaning of life and we will suffer, bleed and die defending that love. This is war!” The Major affirmed and walked out leaving the men at standing salute.

  The choppers landed at fifty yards south of the Strawberry field and the God Squad made their way to the target site by foot. The war is now and it is the last battle for unconditional love.

  “Now listen up. The perimeter is surrounded with guards as expected. We cannot kill them all. So we will make a breach just ahead, where those four guards are standing. Then make a straight path to the cabin. Do not make an alarm. If you do the entire platoon will be on our asses. Do you understand me men?”

  “Yes sir-- Roger that!” They replied.

  “We attack in sync. John take the one on the right.”

  The squad screeched up on the guards, John, Major, Quaker, Cookie and Stinger nabbed the guards, covered their mouths and stabbed them in the neck. As Cookie covered his mouth, the guard instantly reacted, maneuvered his hands over his shoulders and grabbed Cookie’s head, slammed him hard to the ground and cranked the AK-47 to his face. In a small fraction of the moment two bullets from Quaker’s rifle shattered the guard’s marrow. But it was too late. Another soldier was dead, and now the alarm had sounded. The enemy line approached.

  “Shit! He is dead!” Quaker gave out over-looking cookie’s corpse.

  “No time to waste, the enemy is coming, stride forward--Move! Move!!”

  They took path through the Strawberry field, maneuvering in between trees and maintaining pressure to the combative enemy line. Gashing lights and the sounds of heavy gunshots suspended in the atmosphere. Landmines exploded in the distance, the sky colored red and the ground was tainted with fresh blood. In John’s elated eyes, time had stopped. The moment synchronized down to a thousandth of a millisecond and all he could process was the vision of squashed strawberries, the hammering sound of the five point five six millimeter caliber rifle and the smell of gun powder and tri-nitro-toluene in the air. Then the synapses in his cerebrum kicked.

  “Come on John, this is war! Squeeze the trigger--fly the hammer, let it burn! Its love! That is what we are fighting for.

  John shifted behind a pine tree, reloaded and cranked up the rifle, then turned to face his target. A sudden fright a
nd disbelief tantrum through his body. The gun was pointed at the enemy, his aim was center accurate, but he couldn’t do it. To kill your own brother for the sole sake of love.

  “Drop your rifle, don’t let me do this John!” Kevin Steelburg demanded, with his finger gently caressing the trigger of the AK-47 Machine gun.

  He never thought of killing his own flesh and blood, but love is a stronger connection and without the slightest remorse he pulled the trigger and watched with widen eyes the blood spurred from his chest.

  “That’s the way it is brother. Love is not unsure.” John stepped over his corpse and proceeded.

  “Alright men, we have reached the bottom of the hill. No turning back. Intelligence from the base said the satellites have located five guards outside the cabin. I’ll take the two at the front, John you take the one at the back, and Quaker and Stinger take the ones at each side.”

  “Roger that!” They replied.

  “As soon as we reach the top of the hill, air-forces will set the strawberry field on fire. We have fifteen minutes to kill the General and retrieve the hostage until black eagle gets here for extraction. Now let’s move!”

  The fire of love burns so gloriously inside. It needs not to be quenched. It needs not to be restricted. What it needs is compassion and mutual fulfillment in order to garner unstoppable momentum. Just allow it to spread throughout the world and heal the broken hearted people.

  As John turned to the back side of the cabin, he saw the guard marching towards the other end of the cabin. He screeched up behind the uniformed soldier, pointed his gun to the back of his head and demanded,

  “Don’t move! Drop the weapon or you will be dead before you could say if!”

  “John, what are you doing?” Jennifer Williams asked and turned to face her son. John overwhelmed with shocking dilemma, took a few steps back.

  “Mother is that really you?” John asked.

  “Yes it is me!” She replied and quickly pointed the semi-automatic glock forty to his face. “Put your rifle down or I’m afraid I’ll have to kill you.”

  “What? Wait, are you serious? You would kill your own son?”

  “You heard me” His mother assured.

  Standing in front of a gun. The woman behind the trigger is your mother. Drop your weapon or shoot for love?

  “Love is not unsure,” He thought, “If it’s not unconditional, then it’s not worth it at all.”

  A man’s heart is not made of iron. He recognized pain, even if he only shed a single tear as the bullet shattered the chest of his mother. The enemy must not stand in the pursuit of happiness.

  John breached the door and thrust in sideways. He hadn’t enough time to raise his rifle to target. He would be dead if he tried.

  “Drop it!” General Gibson ordered and he subdued.

  “You are…” John began to say.

  “Yes it’s me, the same one and you have fought a losing battle.”

  “This is wrong. The woman does not love you!”

  “You know nothing! Her love for me is real and in my life she will remain, now say your last words.” Joseph raged.

  “You will never keep us apart!” John said.

  The general cocked the chrome Smith and Wesson revolver and smiled. “It’s over!”

  As he squeezed the trigger, John thrust to the ground, on his way down he pulled the Heckler and Koch nine millimeter from his hip and fired two shots, one to his head and the other to the left atrium of his heart.

  John stood over him and watched the blood drained from his body. “Love is powerful, it honors and it destroys, you found yourself on the wrong side of the bullet.”

  He heard a mumbling from behind the closed door. Without further a due he opened it and at the center of the room, Karla Steelburg was tied to a chair with her mouth gagged.

  He released her bondages. The two lovers reunited in arms and passionate kisses, rekindling the fire of unconditional love they had found.

  John lifted her chin in order for her eyes to meet his “I missed you so badly Karla.”

  “I thought I would never see you again John--I thought you were…” Karla stressed, “Oh My God look--You are bleeding John! Are you ok?”

  “Yeah I am fine,” John placed pressure to the wound on his left side, “The General couldn’t shoot for shit…and baby, nothing, I mean nothing can ever keep me away from you, Ever!”

  “I love you John.”

  “I love you too… now let’s get out of here.”

  Chapter 16

  The day was rather still. The zephyr humbled the trees and the wicked sun evaporated all the energy out of life, leaving the evening to mourn over the stiff corpse of boredom.

  Maybe it was the torturous heat, but it took John twenty-five minutes, rather than the usually fifteen minutes to arrive at Karla Steelburg’s house.

  “Nice hat!” She uttered on seeing him approach the patio with his face three quarterly covered with a straw hat.

  “It’s no use!” He admitted.

  “Nevertheless it makes you look like a chivalrous country man from the nineteen seventies.”

  John smiled at her witty compliment, and held the hat to his chest.

  “Well thank you Mam, you are extremely gorgeous if I may say so, and your usually well-kept attire is ravishingly exquisite. Make a cowboy’s heart races if I might add.” John remarked in a musty deep southern country accent.

  “Stop, please stop. That’s the worst country accent I have ever heard.” She laughed, “Sit down silly and give me that hat.”

  She tooted the hat and sunk it to a tilt fit on her head.

  “Now how do I look Master Steelburg?” She asked in a much refined country accent than what John could ever afford.

  “You look stunning Madam. Perhaps this evening I will trod my way to your mother’s house,” He stood and stretched his hand for hers, “And with utmost pride and not a single shred of prejudice, ask your mother’s permission for your hand in marriage.” His forced accent was a bit more smooth but still not eloquent enough.

  Her phone rang. Louise Watson came up on the caller ID.

  “Speaking of the devil. What a coincidence! She hardly ever calls.”

  “Well answer it. See what it is about.”

  “Hello! Yes mother.” She edged through her teeth, whatever it was she had a slight notion that it wasn’t welcoming.

  “Hey Karla, How is my daughter doing?” Miss Watson asked.

  “I am fine.” She abruptly replied. It’s obvious she had no interest in her wellbeing.

  “What have I ever done to you?” She asked, “Why don’t you ever call?”

  “Well I figured you are doing fine and frankly, I just don’t have much to talk about.”

  “Well if that’s how you feel, I guess I have no business calling you then.” The ambivalence in her tone was rather pitiful.

  “What is it mother?” I know you didn’t call to just chit-chat.”

  “Well to be honest…I heard some rumors…”

  “What rumors?” Karla asked in a voice that carried a feisty connotation.

  “Well let me finish. I know it’s practically none of my business and you are a woman now. Nevertheless, I think it would be, as my mother would say, a travesty and a down right scandal if it’s true that you are dating your cousin.”

  “Now hold it right there mother!” Karla interjected strongly.

  “What’s wrong?” John’s curiosity pleaded.

  “Nothing, nothing really.” She deflected.

  “Karla listen to me.” Her mother pleaded for her attention.

  “No mother! This is not the time. Look, I plan to come by the house for some of my stuff later. We will discuss this when I get there, ok?”

  “Ok, if you insist…later then.”

  “Ok bye.” Karla flatly ended the conversation.”

  “Wow! That seems provocative…” John implicitly begged for enlightenment.

  “It’s my mother. She only calls whe
n it’s about money or rumors, more often money than rumors.”

  “Oh…ok, and what was that about?” John asked.

  “She knows about us…Thought it was necessary to give a grown woman relationship advice.” She shrugged and rolled her eyes, “This woman that calls herself my mother had not contacted me in five months,” She stressed, “Five months! And now she wants to meddle in my affair, oh please…”

  “Well, I guess asking her permission for your hand in marriage is out the window huh?” His dry humor didn’t cut the tension.

  “Don’t worry about her…She is not important.” Karla afforded.

  “You know it’s funny, I had a weird dream last night.”

  “Yeah, what was it about?”

  “I dreamed that I was a soldier apart of a special task force. My mission was to rescue you from the enemy line that held you hostage for months.”

  “So did you rescue me?” She subtly asked.

  “I killed everyone that tried to stop me. In the dream, when I found you, it was the happiest day of my life.”

  “Aww…that’s cute, but when you found me did we do anything?”

  “What do you mean?” John asked, “Do what?”

  “Do you want your hat back?” She teased.

  “Of course. As a matter of fact that hat belongs to my grandfather.”

  “Well if you want it, come and get it.” She replied and ran to her room.

  John walked to the room door and realized it was locked. There was no way to get in.

  “Can I have my hat back please?”

  “Come and get it if you really want it!” She uttered.

  He walked to the rare side of the room opposite the garden and saw her standing at the window in the straw hat and nothing more than an unbutton white silk shirt.

  She held the hat to the back of her head and with her right hand she twirled her nipples, walked her fingers to her clit then licked the pussy juice from her pointer finger, then turned and walked out of sight.