Ron Schwartz - The Griffins Heart.txt

by The Griffin's Heart(Lit)

  Salah Ad-Din Territory

  Iraq

  Rob had been searching for almost thirty minutes, steadily bringing the attack helicopter up higher in an effort to search a greater area. I’m too far north, he thought, and started to turn back when a brilliant flash to his left caught his attention. He looked into the distance to see smoke and flames. Then another flash. It was due west of his current position. A sudden chill went down his spine, and sweat broke out on his hands and face. Could that be from the convoy? Were they under attack?

  He pushed the throttle all the way open and turned the aircraft in the direction of the smoke. He noticed the long shadows on the ground below him, cast from a distant mountain range behind him. He checked the thumb weapons selector to see what weapons he had at his disposal. Missiles, cannon rounds, and rockets. Now if he just knew what was going on. He looked around and found the radio. Now if he could just set it to the emergency band. If they were calling for help, they would be using that frequency.

  He could make out the situation now. The convoy was gathered in a small rocky crest, protected on three sides. At the exposed west side was an Armor unit of more than a dozen tanks and armored fighting vehicles. Most of the convoy’s vehicles were exploded and burning, so even though he was still quite distant, he fired a missile at the lead tank.

  Salah Ad-Din Territory

  Iraq

  Marie had gathered the children together and knelt down, holding them tightly. Then someone else knelt down beside her, placing himself between her and the explosions. He put his arms around her and her children in an apparent effort to shield her from harm. She didn’t look back. She knew it had to be Logan.

  Tears welled up in her eyes as she knew that she was about to die without Rob. Even though so many people were near, she felt completely alone in the world. She looked up again toward the east and whispered, “I love you, Rob.”

  But something was different about the sun. It looked as if it had grown arms. Long white trails of smoke were streaming toward her from it. Was God reaching out for her? Or angels? She wondered if anyone else saw it. She whispered to Logan, “What is it?”

  Logan looked to see what Marie was talking about and noticed it, too. But to his trained eye, it was obviously not God or angels. It was a guided missile bearing down on them!

  Wright looked for Rock in hopes that he had found help, but Rock was trying to pull the radio out of a burning truck. Then his eyes caught Taylor’s in the middle of the chaos. They said nothing, but their looks told each other there was nothing more they could do. Their luck had finally run out. It was all over now.

  Then something above Wright caught his attention. High above them, bearing down on their position, was the unmistakable vapor trail of a guided missile. They were under attack from the air, also!

  “Blow them up!” Wright shouted at Taylor, pointing skyward at the approaching missile. The missile flew directly overhead and slammed into the lead tank in a tremendous explosion. For a brief moment, there was silence. The tanks stopped their firing as both sides looked east. There, coming over the horizon, was an attack helicopter approaching at high speed.

  “They’ve gotten our call and sent help!” Taylor shouted.

  “Look again!” Wright shouted back. “That’s not one of ours! It’s Iraqi!”

  “Why are they firing on their own men?”

  “My guess is that they don’t want any witnesses to the existence of the warheads. They’ve come to kill everyone.”

  Marie was now standing on her feet, staring at the approaching aircraft. She turned to Logan, excited. “It’s Rob!”

  “Marie, it’s an Iraqi attack helicopter!”

  “I don’t care! It’s just like he said, don’t you see? He promised he come back to me in the morning sun! That’s Rob, I tell you! He’s come back to me!”

  Logan was less than convinced as he stood with his mouth partly open, looking at the aircraft. Maybe it was Rob, but could he fly something as complex as an attack helicopter? The possibility seemed so remote, but considering some of the other things he had seen Rob do, he knew it wasn’t impossible.

  Logan heard Wright shouting to Taylor behind him that the Iraqi helicopter must have been sent here to kill everyone, leaving no witnesses to the warheads. That made the most sense since the leader of the attacking tanks seemed to know nothing about the warheads or the underground base at Samarra. Wright must be correct, he thought, but it just didn’t seem like it.

  Taylor thought of Rob, also, and shouted back to Wright, “How do you know it isn’t help? How do you know it isn’t the colonel?”

  Wright was disgusted by Taylor’s apparent lack of courage. But the attack helicopter’s appearance did cause a momentary pause in the battle. He could see Rock, now with the radio, beginning to broadcast an SOS again. He looked back at Taylor. “If it makes any hostile motion toward us at all, blast it.”

  Taylor nodded in agreement. A second and third missile streaked overhead and slammed into two more tanks, destroying them with blinding flashes and an earsplitting blast. A fourth and fifth missile impacted as the Armor unit backed off and tried to flee.

  Rob fired his final missile and watched it, at this close range, impact its target within two seconds. He was very close to the convoy and could make out the people around the burning truck. He was almost shaking in anticipation as he scanned the area for any sign of Marie and their children. Then a voice broke across the radio, a voice he recognized as Rock’s.

  “This is an SOS. We are a group of U.S. Marines and civilians under attack in central Iraq. We have captured nuclear warheads and are compromising them. We need immediate assistance, over.”

  Rob keyed his microphone. “Hi, Rock! I’m here to help. Tell everyone to keep their heads down while I clean up this mess.”

  “Colonel! Thank God! We were just about to detonate the warheads!”

  Another chill went down Rob’s back as he scanned the camp. Off in the back corner, he saw Taylor with the warheads. But as he looked at the warheads and momentarily hovered overhead, the big cannon under the helicopter rotated, following Rob’s line of sight, to point directly at the warheads.

  “It’s a trap!” Wright shouted to Taylor as he watched the cannon train onto him. “Blow them now!”

  Taylor looked up to see the helicopter hovering over the camp and the big cannon under the helicopter pointing directly at him. He shook and wet his pants as he reached for the switch to detonate the warheads.

  “Do it now!” Wright screamed as loud as he could. “We can’t let them have the warheads!”

  Taylor was only barely aware of the screams and shouts as the noise from the helicopter grew louder and louder. Dust was churning up, and Taylor imagined cannon rounds exploding in the dirt all around. His hands shook so badly that he could barely pick up the controls.

  Rob watched as Taylor picked up something that looked like a switch. He shouted to Rock, “What’s going on down there?”

  “Colonel, I think I heard Wright shout to detonate the warheads. I think they think you’re Iraqi.”

  Rob understood at once. By staring at the warheads, he caused his sighting mechanism to target them, giving a false impression as to his intentions. “No!” he shouted to Rock. “We have to stop him!” He considered shooting Taylor but couldn’t bring himself to fire on another American.

  Logan watched Marie jumping and waving. She truly believed it was Rob. He wondered why the helicopter was hovering and followed the direction its cannon was pointing. He took in the situation at once. Marie was right. The helicopter was friendly, and the reason it seemed to be aiming at the warheads was because the pilot was looking in that direction.

  Wright wanted Taylor to explode the warhead. He had to try to stop them. He sprinted toward Taylor who had his back to everyone as he handled the controls. He made it about halfway there when he was tackled by another Marine. “Let me go! We have to stop Taylor!” But the Marine guard refused to listen and hel
d him down. He laid helplessly on the ground, reaching in Taylor’s direction. “No, Taylor! Don’t do it! It’s not what you think!”

  Taylor closed his eyes and took a deep breath, remembering what Wright had said. “You won’t feel a thing. It will all be over in a millionth of a second.” He was aware of the shouts behind him and the sound of the helicopter’s turbines roaring. He took the switch in his hand and began to move it. Then he felt another hand grip the switch. He opened his eyes to see a hand... a large hand taking the switch from him. It was Rock!

  “I can’t let you do this, sir.”

  Taylor was shocked. He saw Wright behind Rock running toward them shouting to detonate the warheads. Momentary confusion caused Taylor to freeze as Rock shielded the switch in his large arms.

  Wright ran up to Rock. “What do you think you’re doing?”

  “I’m sorry, sir, but I have orders.”

  “From whom?”

  Rock smiled and pointed to the helicopter that was now pulling away in pursuit of the fleeing armored vehicles. “From him! From Colonel Anderson!”

  Everyone in the camp watched as the roar of the attack helicopter’s engines screamed, and the aircraft charged forward with its cannon roaring. The explosions and pounding of metal could be heard in the distance as the armored vehicles were chewed apart. The helicopter circled its prey, firing cannon and rocket rounds. But try as they may, they could not escape their fate.

  Before long, it was over, and the helicopter slipped slowly back, landing gently in front of them. The huge prop slowed, and the whine of the turbine subsided. Then the side door opened, and a lone figure emerged. Marie couldn’t wait and ran forward with her children close behind. Rob dropped his helmet in the sand and caught Marie in his arms. Together, they embraced and spun around as Marie cried for joy.

  “They all said you were dead,” she wept, “but I knew you weren’t. I told them you were alive and you’d find a way to come back to me.”

  Rob kissed her passionately and held her tightly. “That’s right, kitten,” he whispered to her. “If I have to leave you, I will always return.”

  Marie opened her tearstained eyes to the brilliant sunlight shining on her face. “I know you will, Rob. I’ll always see you in the morning sun.”

  Main Operations Center, USS Roosevelt

  Persian Gulf

  The aircraft carrier was buzzing with activity, as Brodie and Miller stood in Ops listening to the last communications.

  “Rock, what is Taylor doing with the warheads?”

  “I think they’re going to blow them, Colonel.”

  “Why? I can handle these guys out there.”

  “It’s.. I think it’s your cannon. I think they think you’re Iraqi!”

  “Stop them, Rock! Go now...”

  “Have you lost them?” Brodie asked the communications officer.

  “No, sir, they just stopped transmitting.”

  Brodie looked stone faced as he turned to Miller. “I know that man.”

  “Who?”

  “Rock. He’s a sergeant with the Marine tactical forces.”

  “Do you know the other man? The one he was talking to?”

  “The colonel? No.”

  “Well, I do, and he’s the one I came out here to find. Only he’s not a colonel. He’s not even in the military. I don’t understand what’s going on.”

  “Well, it doesn’t sound good. Rock said they captured nuclear warheads and were going to explode them if they couldn’t get help.”

  “Do you think an explosion ended the transmission?”

  “We’ll know soon enough. If there was a tactical nuclear explosion in Iraq, it’ll be all over the wires in no time. You can’t keep something like that a secret.”

  Miller thought for a moment. “Can you determine the origin of the transmission?”

  “Yes, we’ll have that in about fifteen to twenty minutes. What do you have in mind?”

  “Do you have any Marines or Seals we can send?”

  “Do you have any idea how many men have been lost trying to rescue these people? I’m talking Marines as well as Special Forces!”

  “They have captured nuclear weapons, Captain. Not only does this colonel represent a compromise of our national security, but there are nuclear weapons that could be used on our forces or even this ship.”

  “You’ve got a point. I’ll contact Gulf Central Command and see what can be done.”

  Al-Fullajuh Air Force Base

  Near Al-Fullajuh, Iraq

  Rob spent the next two hours transporting the people in the convoy back to the airbase. He hadn’t told anyone about the rabbi because he wanted to see the surprise on everyone’s face. For the first time, an air of confidence came over them. Everyone was feeling it. They were going to make it!

  Since escaping from the compound, he had come to know this land as quiet and peaceful. Now it was now bristling with activity. Air battles were being fought high overhead, forcing him to fly close to the ground to keep from being stopped. Obviously, everyone had heard their SOS. Both American and Iraqi forces were locked in a desperate battle to get control of the warheads. But with luck, they would all be aboard the Concorde and in flight before troops arrived at the convoy’s location.

  He sat in the Concorde’s pilot seat and watched out the window as Rock exploded the attack helicopter. They would leave nothing for the Iraqis to use. Then another explosion lit up the sky in front of him. That must be the weapons bunker, he thought. Even though the Concorde was a mile away, the aircraft still shook from the blast.

  He watched as Rock boarded the aircraft, then slowly and methodically, he throttled up the engines. The warheads had been loaded into the cargo bay and strapped down. Logan came in and sat in the co-pilot’s seat. Wright followed and sat in the navigator’s seat behind him, and directly behind Rob sat the rabbi.

  Logan looked at the cratered runway in front of them. “You’re not really going to try to go down that, are you?”

  “Nope.” Rob grinned and released the brakes. The huge aircraft lumbered off the runway and across the field toward the chain link fence.

  “Is there another runway over here?” Wright asked.

  “I don’t think so.” The aircraft bounced and jolted as it picked up speed.

  “What’s gives?” Wright pressed. “Where are we headed?”

  Rob gritted his teeth as he struggled to control the aircraft. According to the air indicator, they were traveling at a hundred miles per hour, causing every bump to be translated into a series of back-jarring bounces. The chain link fence was rushing up on them as he pressed the throttle all the way forward. Flames shot from the back of the Concorde’s four huge turbine engines as the afterburners kicked in. He felt himself sink back into his seat as he checked his airspeed again.

  The rabbi seemed completely at ease in the midst of the chaos. His faint crooning in Hebrew was somehow reassuring, as if he had some insight the rest of them didn’t.

  “One sixty,” Rob said to no one in particular and gently pulled the steering wheel back. The nose of the Concorde rose, and the bouncing ended. They slid swiftly into the air and turned toward the east.

  “I’m going for the gulf. Hopefully we can find some air support. Once I’m up to speed, we’ll broadcast an SOS on the emergency band and hope for some help.”

  He picked up the microphone for the intercom. “This is your captain speaking.” He smiled and winked at Logan. “I’d like to welcome you all aboard Flight 1430 from Iraq to God-only-knows-where. We’ll be flying at an altitude of sixty thousand feet and cruising at a thousand miles per hour. Once we are up to altitude, I will turn off the seatbelt sign, and you may all be about your business. I would like to remind you that this is a non-smoking flight. Thank you for your patience, and once again, thank you for flying the Concorde.”

  Even with the cabin door shut, he could hear the shouts and cheers coming from the passenger cabin behind him.

  “I think you’r
e a hit,” Logan laughed.

  “Yeah, but we’re not out of the woods yet,” Wright added.

  “That’s right,” Rob agreed. “We’re not home yet. Switch over to the emergency band and see if we can locate help.”

  Logan adjusted the radio frequency. “That should do it.”

  Rob reached to key the microphone when a nervous voice came across the speakers.

  “I repeat, this is an SOS. Does anyone receive this?”

  Rob looked back at Wright and was about to say something when another voice crossed the speaker.

  “Yes, soldier, I hear you.”

  Wright gasped. “That’s Captain Brodie. I know him.”