Into the Jungle

by David M. Salkin

“This is Jaguar,” she said in her lightly accented voice. “FedEx is coming, but not in a standard truck. Do not be alarmed at the delivery truck. It was the only one I had that is the proper size. I repeat, do not be alarmed. Time to your location, two hours from now. It will bring you to a wet location for a silent return. Understand?”

  Mackey was trying to catch up, but Cascaes had been listening as soon as he ran over. “Silent pickup—a sub, Mac,” he whispered.

  Mac nodded. “Okay Jaguar. Inbound Fedex in two hours, to a wet drop and silent trip back. Roger that. Over.”

  “See you in a couple of days, Jimmy Two. Safe trip. Over and out.”

  Cascaes smiled and patted Mackey on the shoulder. “Okay people, listen up. We have two hours to enjoy the scenery and then an inbound chopper is taking us out of here. I have no idea what to expect, but I take it from what was said that the helicopter isn’t a standard ride. We need a large helo, so she grabbed what she could. She said not to be alarmed, so stay cool. We are being taken to the Atlantic for a submarine pickup and return to Langley. Police up this area and make sure we leave nothing behind. Any questions?”

  Hodges mumbled something about “not signing up for any submarine ride”, but no else said anything. They all settled back down and enjoyed the sunshine.

  Mackey walked over to Ripper. “Ripper, you take watch on Qasim. We’re getting close to take-off time and he may get spooked. You’re bigger than Earl, so you take watch on him now. He moves, you sit on him. We’ve come too far to lose him now. I want the boys in Langley to pump this piece of shit for information for the next ten years.”

  Cascaes walked back over to the ledge and sat next to Julia. “So what’s your real name?” he asked.

  “What’s yours?” she countered.

  “Chris, just like it says on my enlistment papers.”

  She laughed. “Until I am told otherwise, it’s Julia. Besides, it adds to the mystery.”

  “Great. I’ll probably never be able to find you when we get back.”

  “Oh, don’t worry,’ she said. “I’m a spy. I’ll find you!”

  They sat and enjoyed the view for a while longer, their pinkies touching, which was as close as they could get to holding hands with the team behind them. After a while, Chris stood up and pulled her up with him, and they rejoined the rest of the team. Ryan O’Connor, the SEAL’s closest thing to a medic, leaned over to Cascaes. He was a religious guy, and asked his skipper if they could say a prayer for Raul before they left the jungle. Cascaes felt a hammer in his heart when Ryan asked him, and he just nodded his head, yes.

  O’Conner called everyone together, except Ripper, who stood up behind the seated prisoner, and they got into a large circle. Julia wasn’t really sure what they were doing, but she was happy to have an excuse to hold Chris’s hand.

  “Before we leave this place, I want to take a minute to say goodbye to our friend Raul Santos. He was a great marine, a great American, and a great friend, and we’ll miss him very much. Our Father, who art in Heaven…”

  The rest of them prayed with Ryan, then took a moment of silence. Jones and Hodges, who had known Raul the longest, gave each other a big hug and a few smacks on the back. Hodges, imitating Santos, said, “Suck it up—ooraa,” quietly to Jones, who smacked his arm and returned the “ooraa.”

  An hour later, the sound of rotor blades thumping over the jungle brought the men to their feet. Hodges pulled out his powerful binoculars and handed them to Mackey, who looked for a long time before he handed them to Cascaes and said, “You gotta’ be shittin’ me.”

  “What is it?” asked Cascaes as he took the binoculars.

  “I think it’s Marine One,” said Mackey incredulously.

  Cascaes looked in the distance at the inbound helicopter. It did look a lot like the President of the United State’s personal helicopter. The colors looked right and there was some kind of big seal on the door.

  “No way,” was all Cascaes could muster. He kept watching through the binoculars as the chopper got closer. After a few minutes passed and he could see better, he smiled. “No, Mac. It’s way too big. Looks like a Chinook, which makes sense. Not too many choppers can hold this many people.”

  “It looks like Marine One,” said Mackey.

  “I think it’s the Brazilian version. It does look a lot like one of ours. Some type of official seal on the door, but it’s not American.” He started laughing. “She wasn’t kidding when she said we’d be surprised.” He turned to the team. “Okay people, looks like our ride is on the way in. If we move back towards the cave, there should be enough room for it to set down right here.”

  The men moved back towards the cave and Ripper held tight to their prisoner. They all watched in silence as the large blue and white twin rotor aircraft made a bee-line for them. Cascaes waved a yellow shirt at them and finally moved back with the others. The closer it got, the more they could appreciate the size of the helicopter. It was a very formal looking aircraft, with some type of presidential-looking seal on the doors, and a Brazilian flag on the front.

  Julia walked over to Chris. “Jesus Christ—do you know whose helicopter that is?”

  “Not a clue, ma’am. But if you’d like to tell us, we’d sure appreciate it,” said Cascaes.

  “That’s the Vice-President of Brazil’s personal helicopter. I have met that man on more than one occasion. We all better pray that he isn’t on board, or I may be in serious trouble.”

  “Oh great,” said Cascaes as he watched it get closer. “Theresa! Quick! Get me some bandages! A bunch!”

  Theresa didn’t ask questions, she just ripped open her field pack and pulled out some pressure bandages and gauze and ran to Cascaes. “What’s up, Senior Chief?” She asked.

  “Cover up this pretty face ASAP,” he said pointing to Julia. “We don’t want her recognized. Just Bandage her up and we’ll say she was injured. You don’t let anyone take it off of her until we get out of here. Just make sure she can see. Julia, if you see anyone you recognize, ask for pain medicine and we’ll make it look like you are sleeping so nobody bothers you. Hustle up, Theresa.”

  By the time the chopper circled the small landing area, Julia was bandaged pretty well around her head and face, and no one would recognize her. The chopper slowly descended, blowing dirt and leaves everywhere, and the massive four wheels touched down at the very edge of the plateau. The pilot was signaling to hurry, as he was barely touching the ground, and a flight crewman opened the side door and let the ramp fall out. Mackey ran ahead first, trying to size up who was rescuing them.

  “Request permission to come aboard, sir!” he said, sounding very formal.

  A Brazilian crewman was pulled out of the way by a man in a business suit who stuck his face close to Mackey. “This helicopter belongs to Vice President Jose Manuel Jerez, and we are under orders to bring you to an off-shore location. Get your people on board and have them sit in the rear of this aircraft. You were never here and I never met you, now move it.”

  The man was obviously not very happy to be here, but they did have a helicopter, and Mackey wasn’t concerned about the service or on-board movie or meal. He turned around and yelled for everyone to move, and the team hustled into the helicopter. Cascaes pretended to help Julia aboard and took her to the rear of the aircraft as far away from any strangers as possible. As soon as they were on board, the pilot had them off the ground and headed due east, flying over the jungle at a hundred and fifty miles per hour. The man in the suit walked back only once to the main cabin, which was first class all the way, and stood there with his hands on hips looking disgusted. He shook his head, cursed in Portuguese, and walked back to the cockpit area, closing the door behind him.

  Julia whispered to Cascaes, “That’s Vice President Jerez’ chief of staff. I have no idea what kind of favors got called in for this, but you can be sure somebody’s ass was in the hot
-seat for this.”

  “Does he know you?” asked Cascaes.

  “No, I just recognize his face. I better stay under wraps until we get out of here though, I don’t know who else is up there.”

  “Okay,” said Cascaes, then he leaned over and whispered, “But I miss seeing your face.” He couldn’t see her smiling under the bandages.

  Cascaes and Mackey typed out a message on his little computer and hit send, telling Langley that they were aboard the VP’s helicopter headed east. The two of them sat back and relaxed slightly for the first time in quite a while, enjoying the comfort of the padded leather seats. The inside of the helicopter was leather and mahogany, and was nicer than any aircraft any of them had ever been on. The men sat in silence, each lost in his own thoughts as they headed towards the waiting submarine.

  Chapter 40

  Exit

  The passengers, exhausted and hungry, had settled into a semi-sleep. Ripper and Moose sat on each side of the prisoner, who had in fact fallen asleep. After a few hours, the same angry man in the suit reappeared, no cheerier than the last time.

  He announced to everyone and no one that they would be arriving as requested in the middle of nowhere. Since there was no place to land, he assumed that they would be going for a swim. And with that, he disappeared again.

  Cascaes leaned over to Julia. “You can swim, right?”

  She pulled down the bandage to see his face better. “You’re kidding, right?”

  “Well?”

  “Yes, I can swim, but I’ve never jumped out of a helicopter before!”

  “Yeah, well hopefully, today won’t be the day to start. The sub should be out here waiting. If this pilot is any good, he’ll get us right over it and you’ll simply hop down to the deck. The crew down there will get you inside. I suggest you take off the bandages now in case you end up in the water.” He stood up and moved forward.

  “Okay people, we should be on station in a few minutes. Right before we go, Ripper, you free his hands. We’ll hop down, get in, and get the hell out of here. Everyone buddy up in case anyone goes in the drink. They’ll have rescue swimmers waiting for us, but I want everyone having a buddy anyway. Your buddy goes in the drink, you go after him. Moose, you’ve got Theresa. Julia, you’re with me.”

  The men made a few quiet comments about the skipper getting the babe, but they geared up and assembled by the exit door. Five minutes later, Mr. Pissed-Off Suit Man reappeared. “Apparently, a very large submarine decided to appear here in the middle of nowhere. We will get you down as close as possible. Let me repeat that you were never on this aircraft and we never saw you people. We’ll close the door behind you.” Apparently, by the look on his face, not fast enough.

  The men looked out the portholes at a huge nuclear submarine lying in the water like a giant black whale. It was an Ohio-Class submarine, 560 feet long. Hatches were opening and sailors were running around very busy on the exposed deck. The chopper stopped moving forward and slowly descended until it was almost touching the deck at the far stern end of the sub, away from the con tower. The sub was dead in the water, and its exposed deck was almost twenty feet above the waterline. A crewman from the helicopter opened the door and stepped away, obviously as thrilled to be here as the man in the suit.

  One at a time, following Mackey, the team and its prisoner jumped down to the massive submarine. Submariners were quick to grab their guests and lead them to hatchways where they could get inside before anyone ended up swimming. The Captain of the ship was standing on top of the bridge, looking down at his rescue operation. The helicopter circled up and away and disappeared back towards Brazil as the team descended into the sub one at a time for a long trip home.

  As the team made their way through the cramped corridors, the submariners stepped out of their way and allowed them to pass. They followed an ensign down the skinny hall, down two flights of stairs, and into a very cramped crew quarters area, where they were told they would have use of the ten bunk beds that were there. The Ensign looked at the two women and said, “My apologies, ma’ams, we weren’t expecting any women. I’ll have to see if I can find any room in the ladies quarters.”

  Theresa laughed at him. “Listen, bud, we’ve been living with these smelly animals for a few weeks already. Another couple of days won’t kill us. We’re fine here.”

  “Yes, ma’am,” said the ensign. “It is against navy regs though, ma’am, and I’ll have to clear it with the captain.”

  A voice filled the room from behind them, causing the ensign to snap to attention and bark, “attention on deck.” It was the captain, a tall man of about fifty with a white crew cut and matching beard, something submariners were famous for when at sea. “As you were, ensign. These people aren’t on this boat, son, and because they don’t exist, they aren’t subject to our regulations. Now which of you ghosts is in charge of your merry band?”

  Mackey stepped forward. “That would be me, captain. And this here is Senior Chief Ghost Number Two,” he said with a smile and a handshake.

  The captain shook hands and asked the two men to follow him, instructing the others to relax for ten minutes, and then he’d get them fed.

  Cascaes and Mackey followed the captain down the cramped hallway to his wardroom. They sat at a small table and he poured them each a cup of excellent coffee. It was so good they wanted to cry. Cascaes took a sip and immediately asked if he could get some coffee to his people, and was told not to worry, the captain had a special treat for them. After two minutes of small talk, the captain shifted to serious talk.

  “Gentlemen, this ain’t my first rodeo. I have taken Special Ops teams in and out of places more times than I can remember. But I have to tell you, this is the first time I’ve seen such a large team appear on my radar at the last minute like this. You were an unscheduled stop, to say the least. I trust your mission was successful?”

  Mackey cleared his throat. “Captain, we very much appreciate your picking us up. More of a rescue really. I’m not sure any of us would have made it out if not for you and your boat. May I ask what you were told, sir?”

  The captain laughed. “As usual, I wasn’t told jack-shit. I was given an emergency message for a special ops pickup and this location and time. I was expecting a helicopter, but not quite the kind that showed up.”

  Cascaes laughed. “We said the same thing, sir.”

  “Am I wrong, or was that a presidential aircraft?”

  “Vice-president, sir, but we weren’t on that helicopter any more than we are here on your submarine, if you get my drift,” said Mackey with a smile.

  “Right. Interesting. But you were satisfied with the results of your mission?”

  Mackey and Cascaes looked at each other. Cascaes cleared his throat. “The mission objectives were met, sir, but we lost a good man. Worse yet, I had to leave him behind.”

  The Captain read his face. “Senior chief, is it?”

  “Yes, sir,” said Cascaes.

  “Well, senior chief, listen up. In my twenty odd years in this man’s navy, I have lost more than one sailor. And at sea, when we deliver a sailor to the Almighty via a resting place at the bottom of the deep, I’m not sure it feels any different than sleeping in the earth or in ashes. We aren’t always offered the luxury of bringing our people home to rest, son. Losing is man is the worst thing that happens to an officer, but it happens. Now you put that to rest for your own sanity and keep on doing your job. That’s my whole speech on that subject.”

  He sat back and sized up the two men in front of them, then told them about their journey home. “We will have a day and half submerged, then link up with the fleet and transfer you to a carrier that will fly you home, wherever that is. Showers are limited aboard this boat, gentlemen, but in your case, we will make an exception. I’ll have a bunch of clean clothes dropped off at your crew quarters. One of my men will come get you in an hour an
d you will be treated to the best mess we can offer. Judging from the look of your people, you haven’t had a hot meal in a while.”

  Mackey smiled. “Mighty nice of you, Captain. And that would be a big affirmative on that.”

  “Unless you count the caterpillars,” said Cascaes quietly.

  “I don’t even want to know,” said the Captain with a smile.

  The Captain wasn’t lying. The team took quick showers and put on gray sweat suits that simply said “Navy” across the chest. Cascaes couldn’t help but think how cute Julia looked in the sweatshirt and imagined her waking up wearing his old one. After they cleaned up, they were taken to the officer’s mess and treated to lobster and steak dinners, complete with one cold beer each. The prisoner had been transferred to the brig, a small cell with one cot, and given a much simpler dinner. They ate in privacy, and enjoyed their first real meal in a few weeks. They clinked bud cans to Santos, and the team toasted their two bosses for getting them home.

  As soon as dinner was over, everyone ‘hit the headwall’. The adrenaline that had kept them going for the past week was gone, and now after an excellent meal and a beer, they were crashing. The two Chrises announced it was “bedtime,” and no one argued. They returned to their small sleeping quarters and dropped into the racks. Theresa and Julia took the two furthest in the back, with Julia in the bottom bunk. When she whispered goodnight to Chris, it was torture, knowing she was only a few feet away in the next bunk. They lay on their sides, facing each other and smiling, but were both fast asleep in minutes. Not one person in the room moved for the next seven hours.

  Chapter 41

  Fresh Air

  By the time the submarine linked up with the fleet, the team was rested, well-fed and anxious for some fresh air. More than one member of the team had commented on how they’d go crazy living on a sub for more than a couple of days. The day and a half of downtime was good therapy. The team joked, talked, ate well, napped, and generally got to know each other better and heal their minor cuts, bruises, and abrasions. It also gave Moose and Theresa more time to realize they really did like each other. Chris and Julia were already goners.