Taylor approached Rob as they finished assisting in the loading the warheads. “We can’t use any of the fuel. All the fuel here and the trucks are diesel.”
“Can we use any of the trucks?”
“I don’t think so. At least not in the shape they’re in. I suppose if we took the time, we could piece together a couple of trucks...”
“But we really don’t have the time. Right, Captain?”
“Right. We don’t know how long it’ll be before reinforcements arrive. They could be here any time.”
“Agreed. We leave ASAP with the vehicles we have. We’ll have to find supplies later.”
From a hill, a little over a mile away, Marie and Logan watched. An hour and a half had passed since they left. Marie tried desperately to hide her nervousness lest Logan think she had doubts. She knew he was no fool and her efforts to hide her feelings would be in vain. But he didn’t even seem to notice her. She had a hard time accepting that this kind, quiet man could be capable of treachery he had just displayed. How could she have so badly misjudged him? But deep down, she wondered if he wasn’t right. Maybe she just wasn’t looking at the big picture. Maybe his attempt to warn his country was the right thing to do. Maybe if she were him, she would have done the same thing. Maybe. But she doubted it.
Logan watched intently for the convoy and tried to calculate how much time he should give them. If Rob’s attack failed, then reinforcements would be on the way, and the warheads would be moved before they could send their message. Any way he looked at it, it only made sense to stay put and watch. Deep down, he questioned his methods, and Marie’s words stuck in his mind. Perhaps she was right. Perhaps the value of human lives could not be measured by a pair of balances. Maybe the right to choose who should live and die was not his. Perhaps the rules were not meant to be law but guidelines. That idea opened up many possibilities, and men like him needed rules in black and white.
He looked at Marie out of the corner of his eye. She must think he’s a monster. He tried to console himself with the knowledge that he was just trying to do what he believed was right. But, being Jewish, he knew that was a foolish thought, because even Hitler believed in what he was doing when he tried to exterminate all Jews.
What was it about Rob and Marie that got to him so? His indoctrination and training should make him immune to their arguments. Maybe it was because their arguments made more sense then his doctrine.
He finally decided to approach her. “Marie, I want you to know that, whatever happens, I’m sorry.”
She pretended not to hear him.
“I would never hurt your children.”
She continued to watch her children play at the base of the hill, acting as if he didn’t exist.
He realized that this woman had been hurt very deeply. Regaining her trust would not be easy. Suddenly, he noticed movement to his left. It was the convoy. He jumped to his feet and watched. There was no pursuit! They had done it!! “Marie! Look!”
But she would not turn around to look. “It’s them, isn’t it.”
“Yes!”
“And they’re not being pursued, are they?”
“No!”
She quietly stood up and wiped a tear from her eye as she made her way down the hill. “I told you so.”
The anti-tank truck and hummer stopped at the top of a hill almost a half mile from the doors to the underground bunker, while the rest of the convoy proceeded on to a safer distance. The Marines positioned one of the large missiles in the door to the bunker pointing inward. The last step of their plan was to explode the missile with an recoilless rifle round which, in turn, would explode all the other missiles within the bunker.
Rob and Wright stood beside the hummer while Taylor and two other Marines adjusted the recoiless rifle. Eventually, Taylor motioned a thumbs up, and Rob nodded to proceed. The recoiless rifle recoiled as it fired, and the shell exploded about a foot short of the missile. Though they did not intend it, the explosion ignited the missile’s solid propellant and launched it horizontally through the door down the tunnel into the inner chamber where the other missiles were located.
Smoke poured from the door of the tunnel as the missile disappeared inside. An explosion echoed from the interior followed by a greater explosion, and then the top of the hill seemed to expand and explode. A huge mushroom cloud rose into the air and debris scattered around them.
“Let’s beat it!” Wright shouted as he and Rob leaped into the hummer. Taylor and the other Marines followed, leaving the anti-tank truck to fend for itself. It would be fifteen minutes before the smoke and dust would clear enough for them the go back for the truck. Eventually, with the nuclear weapons safely aboard, the convoy headed away.
Fifteen miles east of the Tigris River
Diyala Territory, Iraq
Later that evening, Rob stood alone in the dim moonlight studying a map and leaning against the side of the hummer. Marie walked up to him and hugged him.
Rob didn’t look at her. “Do you want to tell me about it?”
“About what?”
“Look, honey, you don’t have to be a rocket scientist to know something’s bothering you or that you’re mad at Logan. What really happened out there today?”
“I love you, Rob.”
“And I love you, too, Kitten, but something is wrong.”
Rob looked deep into Marie’s eyes. Something unspoken was there. “What is it, Marie? Did Logan hurt you?”
“No, it’s just you. I hurt for you.”
“Why? What is it about me?”
She gently placed her hand on his chest. “It’s here.” Then she patted his chest over his heart tenderly. “It’s because of this right in here, Rob. Your heart. You have such a good heart.”
“My heart is no different from anyone else’s, Marie.”
“No, that’s not true. You’re very different, and that’s why I love you so.” She laid her head on his chest and closed her eyes, listening to his heartbeat. “I’m not afraid of hell or high water as long as I’m here near your heart.”
He closed his arms around her gently. Something stirred inside him, something he’d never felt before. He couldn’t quite put his finger on it, but he felt suddenly... strong. Each morning, especially, he felt this new -- was it strength? -- tug at him more urgently. He looked down at his wife and stroked her soft golden hair. Her gentle breaths warmed his chest. She seemed to know what was happening inside him. Somehow, she knew.
He looked to the east, thinking of the dawn.
Day Twelve
Third Infantry Division
Five miles east of Hafar al-Batin
Al Hajarah Territory, Saudi Arabia
The Third Infantry was completely surrounded. There were three Iraqi divisions to the south, two to the west, one to the east, and four to the north. They couldn’t believe the Iraqis could move their forces so quickly.
General O’Brian sat in a foxhole looking at his long time friend and critic. Colonel Cannon had been wounded and lay with his back against one side of the hole holding his broken arm wrapped up to his chest. Around them lay wounded and dying men. The smell of burnt flesh and the groans of dying men filled the air.
“What’s our situation?” O’Brian asked.
“Not good, I’m afraid, General.” Cannon kept his eyes shut. It had been thirty-six hours since he had known sleep, and now his wounds drained what little strength he had left. “We’ve had it. It’s over!”
“I’ll be the judge of that, Colonel. Let’s not forget who has rank here.”
Cannon opened his eyes briefly to study the general. O’Brian showed no fear or lack of confidence kneeling with an M-16 in his hands. He was prepared to continue the fight.
“We are positioned in an area about five miles in diameter. I’m afraid the only hope we have now is if fire rains down from the sky and swallows up our enemies.” Cannon squeezed his eyes shut and leaned back against the foxhole.
O’Brian stood to his feet and
looked around. There was no command or control, just a desperate fight for survival now. He had to try somehow to organize his men into something that resembled a military unit.
Five miles east of the dry lake bed at Buhayrat ath-Tharthar
Salah Ad-Din
Once again, the little convoy got an early start, and by nine, they had covered over twenty miles. Their forward progress was stopped by a report from the roaming patrol that some kind of convoy was directly ahead. The convoy was comprised of dozens of vehicles transporting long-range artillery rockets. Some rode on wheels and some on tracks. Rob, Wright, and Taylor found themselves lying atop a nearby hill studying the situation and devising a plan.
Taylor looked out over the hill, reticent. “Shouldn’t we just let them pass? After all, the nuclear weapons we’re carrying are more important than this convoy.”
“That depends on your point of view.” Wright glared at Taylor. “If you were the one these long-range rockets were being used against, I think you might see things differently.”
Rob turned to Wright, ignoring the conflict. “Tell me about these rockets.”
Wright rolled over onto his back to face Rob. “Like the SCUDs, they have a range of hundreds of miles. Their warheads are usually a cluster of anti-tank anti-personnel munitions. Each single rocket could saturate an area of about a half dozen football fields, and as you can see, there are dozens of rockets. We’re talking about a lot of damage. A rocket battalion of this size might be able to wipe out an entire division. Or several of them if they were close enough together.”
Rob scratched his head and thought for a moment.
“I didn’t see any guards, just drivers. Could they really be virtually defenseless?”
“It appears so. We’re so far behind their lines that they don’t seem to see it as a problem. Or maybe they’re overcommitted at their front lines.”
Taylor suddenly realized where this was heading. “Colonel, an attack on this convoy would give away our position, heading, and speed. We would be ill-advised to try a raid against them.” Taylor looked directly at Wright. “Have you ever seen these vehicles before? I haven’t! And those rockets down there are a new design also! We don’t know anything about them!”
Wright dropped his head and raised it again, a scowl covering his face. “Yes, they’re a new design, but they’re still just transports! They’re not designed for front-line combat! In fact, they’re probably kept in the rear until they’re needed, then brought out to launch their loads from a safe distance. We could come in close, shoot up their rockets, and be gone within minutes!”
Wright leaned back and thought out loud. “This is obviously something they’ve bought or developed in secret. Why bring it out now?”
“I can think of two reasons,” Rob volunteered. “Either these rockets were meant as an ace-in-the-hole -- just in case things thing turned for the worse, or they were meant to be a knock-out blow...”
Wright and Taylor’s eyes met. Knowing how thing were going before they were captured, it was unlikely that the U.S. military had the upper hand. It was more likely that the U.S. army was about to be finished off.
Rob got up and headed back down the hill. “I want that convoy captured. I don’t want a single rocket lost. If the drivers resist, shoot ‘em, but don’t fire on any of the rockets. Understood?”
Taylor and Wright remained speechless.
“Unload the civilians here and take the tribesmen if you need them, but capture all of those vehicles. I’ll explain to you later what I have in mind.”
Wright and Taylor left with the rest of the Marines and tribesmen to capture the unsuspecting convoy with little resistance. The drivers of the convoy simply stopped their vehicles and got out.
Rob entered the lead vehicle and studied the consoles before emerging deep in thought.
“What do you propose now, Colonel?” Wright asked.
“I need someone who can type in both Russian or Arabic.”
Wright straightened. “I can do that, but what is the plan?”
“We’re looking for a target.”
“Target? What target?”
“I’m hoping you can tell me. Those vehicles carry sophisticated communications equipment that should be connected to the Iraqi security network, and we want to find the tactical position of some Iraqi target.”
Rob motioned him to follow as he entered the vehicle again. “Sit at this console.”
Wright sat down. “Just tell me what you want to type.”
“Type MENU in Russian or Arabic.”
Wright tried Russian first, and nothing happened. Then he tried Arabic. The screen cleared, and a number of selections appeared, all in Arabic. “Do you want to know what it says?”
“No, Captain. I think you’re much more qualified to make the decisions based on your training. I’m looking for something that will give the tactical positions of their military units.”
Wright clicked away at the keyboard. The screen cleared and displayed a new list of selections. He grinned. “I think I’ve found it.” A few more clicks, and the screen cleared again. A tactical map appeared with little symbols overlaid on it.
“Wow! Look at this!” Wright pointed to a little area on the screen. “There must be... I don’t know... ten Iraqi divisions here! I know this area! Before I left on this mission, the Iraqis were contained well above this point!”
Taylor entered and studied the map. “They’ve broken through, then, haven’t they?”
“Well, they’re south of the position where Times Square was. I can’t say for sure that they’ve broken through, but this certainly can’t be good.” He grabbed Rob’s arm and leaned toward him and Taylor. “We’ve gotta talk!”
After walking a short distance away, Wright stopped and faced the other two. “It appears that the Iraqis have broken through. At least, let’s just assume that for now. I saw the positions of our forces several days ago, and all I can tell you is that the Iraqis are much deeper south into Saudi Arabia than they were before. Also, the Third Infantry was preparing to engage them north of that location. If that map is correct, the Third Infantry has failed, and the Iraqis are more than likely pouring into Saudi Arabia as we speak.”
Rob bit his lower lip as he stood with his hands on his hips, staring at the ground. “If the Third Infantry failed, where would they be?”
Wright looked at Taylor for help. “Probably... Probably right at the center of those divisions.”
“Could we fire those rockets accurately enough to lay down an artillery barrage around the Third Infantry and still hit the Iraqis?”
“I don’t see why not. Each of these tracked vehicles contains a state-of-the-art ballistic computer. We should be able to land these rockets on a gnat.” Wright looked at Taylor. “You were part of an Armor division, weren’t you?”
“Yeah.”
“Then you should be very familiar with ballistic computers.”
“Well, American ones, sure.”
“Then you should be able to operate the ones that fire these rockets. You see, they’re Russian-made, and almost all of Russia’s computer technology is either copied or stolen from us. You’ll probably find it to be a duplicate of the ones you’re use to using.”
Rob’s hand sliced the air. “Well, Captain, forget about the gnats. Let’s just see if we can hit their divisions.”
It took almost another hour for them to get the rocket launchers programmed. Rob knew that Wright was correct. The programming and setting up seemed much too familiar to the Marines. He joined Marie on the nearby hill to watched the Marines line up the rocket launching vehicles and prepare them for launch.
Marie averted her eyes. “You must be doing something very important.”
“It is.”
“Will you be saving lives... or just taking them?”
He turned to her in surprise, then looked back at the rocket launchers. “I honestly don’t know.”
Moments later, smoke began to spray from the
rear of the vehicles, and the roar of rocket engines echoed across the valley. Rocket after rocket shot skyward on their one-way course with destiny.
After the initial rocket was launched, the Marines loaded another rocket and fired it as well. When the last missile had fired, Rob put his arm around his wife. “Let’s go and hope that what we just did saves lives, okay?”
Ron Schwartz - The Griffins Heart.txt Page 22