It wasn’t but a month after the endeavor with the girl when I was summoned again. I received a phone call on the weekend that there was a family crisis and my presence was mandatory. So mid day Saturday I got dressed, grabbed my bag and went down to my Harley. The engine turned over with the sound of muscle filling the air. I rode out of my apartment complex to the house I grew up in. A fifteen minute ride at the most, enough to give me time to think about what was going on. I pulled into the driveway next to a black sedan that had government plates. When I cut the engine and pulled the kickstand down I heard the front door open and my mother ran out. “Please help, they don’t know where he is!!” To be honest she startled the shit out of me. “Calm down mom, let us go inside and talk about this.” I had a vague idea of what was happening but did not want to jump to any conclusions. When we walked inside two marines in dress blues were standing in the living room, covers in hand and a video tape on the coffee table. My temper got the best of me. “WHERE THE FUCK IS HE!?!” They were shocked at the hostile question without them even having to say a word. “Sir, please take a seat with your mother and let us begin to explain the situation.” My mother grabbed the back of my right arm and pulled me over to the couch. As we sat down and they explained the situation my sister barged through the front door. She had the same response I did when she saw the two Marines. They to asked her to sit down and then began explaining again what we were about to watch.
After a video that was a couple minutes long, it ended with the screen going black. My mother and sister were crying, I was developing a plan. My face was still, hands clasped in a praying grasp, ready to do what was necessary. “The United states is doing everything in their power to bring your son home.” My mother and sister still crying, nodded their heads in acknowledgment of their statement. “Please, bring your brother home.” The two Marines looked at my mother as she stared at me. “Ma’am the United States Government has every available resource looking for your son. There is nothing you can do at this point to make his recovery go any faster.” I stood up and began walking towards the door. “Please bring your brother home, I know you can!” She screamed across the house with terror in her voice. I didn’t say a word back, I just left in silence. I rode back to my apartment with thunder and haste. As I got home I began dialing, making phone calls and calling in long over due favors that had been owed to me. Before the end of the night I called in a request to a friend of mine who was a pilot in Germany. “Sir, what can I do for you.” He knows I never call unless I need something and he is getting paid for it. “I need your plane, a list of weapons on board and a certain vehicle gassed up and ready for a rapid HAHO jump. I will send the landing credentials to your phone so that you can land at my local airport.” There was a moment of silence, “Yes sir, be there mid day tomorrow. Forward the appropriate funds to my online account and I will get this in motion for you.” My days as an online gambler with bitcoin had paid off. I sent my man oversees the amount required plus extra to compensate for his time and short notice effort. I began to pack my things and clean my guns. Once I was finished I wrote a note and grabbed the spare key then put it in an envelope and sent it to my mother’s house from my mail box. I asked my neighbors that night if they could make sure my dog was taken care of while I went out of town. Handing them One thousand dollars in cash, emergency contact info for the dog if I am not back in a week, as well as the second spare key.
The next day I was packed and ready to leave. Weapons loaded, plate carrier loaded down for war and everything in between. I put fresh water and an ample amount of food into my dog’s bowl, gave her a kiss and scratched behind her ears, “I promise I will come home princess”. My closest friend, Preacher, picked me up at my apartment early in the morning, his truck rumbling as loud as a jet engine drew attention from the neighbors. Yet again, their faces covered in awe at what they were seeing. I put my gear in the bed of his truck, keeping my main weapon slung across my chest as I climbed into his passenger seat. We drove off in silence, not saying a word to each other. Heading to pick up the other two, 30K and Pepper, guys who I had called. All four of us, brothers to the end, a blood oath we made back in high school. Never once doubting the bond, always being there for one another regardless of the circumstances. As we picked them up, they all had the same mindset, putting their gear in the bed of his truck and climbing into the back seat in silence. We made our way to the airport, my credentials got us onto the landing strip next to the plane that my German friend had promised would be there. When he saw us he walked back into the plane, knowing that we knew what to do and that we would be ready for liftoff within minutes. The driver threw his keys to a man on the ground and pointed at him then pulled his gear from the bed of the truck. As the other guys pulled their gear I was looking around, something felt off about this one. I pulled my gear from the bed of the truck and began to walk into the back of the parked C-130. We strapped our gear down and took our seats two across from two with a seat in between us. There was a black four door Ford F150 that had been lifted with the top of the line individual suspension system, push bar welded on the front and a rotator pad with a pole leading up to a mounted Browning 50cal. machine gun. It was tied down at the front and the back so it wouldn’t move during the flight. The truck was facing the back of the plane on a plate that had a cage rigged to it with a parachute so we could land on the ground where we needed to.
“Fifteen minutes boys, we take flight then.” They took their seats around the cargo bay of the plane. I pulled the satellite phone from my vest, calling in one last favor, one that was overdue to me. As the phone rang I walked out of the cargo plane to get a better signal, when he picked up the phone all he said was “Yes”. “You told me the family owes me, I am calling in that favor now.” His response was quick and without question. “My connections are already calling in all assets and resources to help you. Your mother called and said you were on the warpath to find him. Burn the world down if you have to, the family stands beside your every move. You saved my little girl, time to save your brother.” He hung up the phone as the engines of the plane began to wind up. I turned to walk back towards the bay of the plane as the green light turned red. Stepping onto the lifting ramp, taking my seat close to Preacher. “Hey Reaper” 30K tried yelling over the sound of the engines. I grabbed the headset above the seat and put it on, taping at it for him to put the one by him on. Once he had the headset on he started over again. “Hey man, what’s with all the artillery bro?” Pepper spoke into his headset. “I didn’t think to pack my depends, this really is a lot of heat dude.” Preacher answered for me, he knew what was at stake this time. “We are dropping into a hostile country where the only thing the natives want to do is kill the “Infidel” which mind you, is us.” Before he could continue I gave the final answer. “My brother as you all know, was there for ALL of us with his friends when any of us needed it. He knew how much the three of you meant to me. It’s time to repay the favor in full brothers, I can’t guarantee that we will all come out of this alive. But you all know the stakes and the cost, I am eternally grateful for this. My family will never forget this. Now get some sleep, we have a long flight and even longer fight ahead of us.” They all hung their headsets up and began to get comfortable on the cargo bay seats. They fell asleep quickly and without problem, we were used to this by now.
I awoke to the sound of lock on alarms sounding throughout the cargo bay, I didn’t even realize I had fallen asleep sitting up. I flew up from my seat as the other guys woke up to. “Strap in the truck and prepare to drop, this flight just got cut short!” I made my way up the stairs into the cabin and grabbed the co-pilots headset that was on the seat. “This is the United States Air Force Drone Interceptor Leviathan, you are in restricted airspace. Change course and return or prepare to be shot down.” The pilot looked up at me with wide eyes. He didn’t have an answer for the drone pilot. “How close are we to the drop zone?” He checked his instruments and then the flight map, “Fifteen miles till drop.” “You have 15 seconds to respond or prepare to be shot down. This is restricted air space for United States military personnel only.” “Open the bay door, we will drop right now. You turn your plane around and comply with their every order, Understand?” “Yes sir, good luck and godspeed.” I dropped the headset back into the co-pilots seat and began to make my way down to the truck. I could hear my friend complying with their every order. “Leviathan, this is Golf Foxtrot One. I was unaware that this was restricted air space.” The light one the bay door was still red as it opened. “Yes sir I understand, changing course and following your trajectory.” We could feel the plane begin bank and change course. The light turned green, the straps holding the trucks cage release, Preacher pushing the peddle to the floor with 30K screaming in excitement while standing in the bed of the truck on the 50. We could see the drone flying close to the plane, we threw up the middle finger as the truck fell down to earth.
As the truck landed in the desert my satellite phone began to ring. “This is Reaper” I could hear noise on the other end and then a voice came into clarity. “Reaper this is a friend, we have a lock on where your brother is. We used all resources in the past two days to get a lock on his position. The latitude and longitude has been sent to your vehicle’s GPS. Every available asset to support you is standing by, not only for your brother but for the men that are with him. We will be following your every move on the ground. We will send support as seen fit, bring them home Reaper.” “Rodger that, we appreciate all the available help. Reaper out.” Preacher looked at me and then the trucks GPS as it plotted a course to our objective. It was sixty-five miles away from our current position, no roads to follow just a directional arrow on the GPS. “You boys ready?” All I could hear was bangs on the side of the truck, then we began to drive off into the direction on the GPS. The modifications to the truck made it easier to drive in the sand as we made our way across the desert.
Pepper began to rummage through his bag and finally pulled out a CD. “Hows about some road trip tunes brothers?” He said this while climbing between Preacher and I, sliding the CD into the center console. A mixture of weird techno and orchestral music began to play. “That’s enough of that.” Preacher said as he ejected the CD and threw it out the window. “What the fuck bro? That’s the newest mix-tape for the band Techno Tribe!” Preacher let out a hearty laugh with a sigh at the end of it. “How about something a little more appropriate.” He pulled a CD from his side pouch and inserted it, “Nothing wrong with patriotic southern country and rock brothers. After all, we are representing America, why not throw some southern into it.” Pepper knew he didn’t have a leg to stand on with music choice, the rest of us always listened to this music. The drive did not take long but seemed like a like days, nothing but sand. “How could people live in these conditions, there is literally nothing out here.” Preacher shook his head in agreement as 30K chimed into his microphone. “These people are savages, they have been living like this for thousands of years. This is normal to them, I on the other hand like my running water and pizza delivery. Oh god I could go for some pizza right now.” We all laughed then Pepper added in “Dude don’t talk about pizza right now. I’m pretty sure the nearest Pizza Hut is about a thousand miles away. Food is a no talk subject, I am making that a rule.” We all laughed, some things just never change regardless of where we went.
After about two hours of driving I had Preacher bring the truck to a stop. “The GPS says we are only half a mile away, which means it is just on the other side of this sand dune. Bring the truck up to the crest of it and we will start our recon.” Preacher spun the wheel, floored the gas pedal and then turned the wheel all the way back around. Moving the truck straight to the top of the dune in a fish tail motion causing us to glide at a sideways angle until we reached the top. From our distance, we could hardly see anything but we could make out a small group of structures. I climbed out of the truck and went to the bed where 30K, with the biggest grin on his face handed me the biggest rifle bag. He had already unstrapped it and tied the rest of the gear back down. I lowered the tailgate on the truck and unzipped the bag. Unstrapping a very large Barrett M82 50. caliber rifle and setting it up on top of the bag on the tailgate. Preacher got out of the truck and 30K handed him a small bag, revealing a spotting scope. He set the scope the side panel of the bed. I could see his face, that silver tongue smirk, always doubting me but knowing I knew what I was doing. “Half a mile isn’t shit, you know that. This is nothing compared to what Pepper calls the “Godly smack” I did a while ago in the Philippines.” His facial expression began to change as I dialed in the rifle to see what was ahead of us. From where my rifle sat literally was one half of a mile. I began to survey the area to get an idea on what we were about to deal with. “Make ready guys, there are a metric fuck ton of hostiles in that town.” As I continued to survey the area for a weak spot I began to hear a long winded thumping sound in the distance. “Pepper, kick the tunes bro. Shit is about to get real.” He turned the truck’s stereo to the max as I began to throw hate down range. By the time I had emptied the magazine, half a dozen Apache gunships flew over head. My satellite phone went off as soon as they began flying over. “Reaper this is archangel, we have your six. Move in and get your brother.” I didn’t believe him until I saw the other helicopters firing on everything but the bigger building. “Rodger that, moving in now.” My guys knew what was about to happen. They all loaded back into the truck as I secured the rifle. Pepper spouted off “Let’s bring your brother home!” We rode into the small village under the cover of Apache gunfire. As we entered village, houses began to explode. Our headsets began to convey a voice. “This is AC-130 Gunship Locust, we have your back. Get to it men!” 30K let out a loud “HELL YEAH!” as we rode through the town, taking fire and shooting back until we reached the building.
As we began to dismount from the truck another voice came into our headsets. “This is Freedom squadron, we have your back boys. Do what you have to.” At that moment A10 Thunderbolts flew in over our heads. Decimating large groups of hostiles and making the fire we took a lot less. The sound of the numerous gunships overhead drowned out the sound of the men who opposed us. “Preacher do your thing brother!” He flipped his welder mask down and racked a shell into the chamber. With one swift kick he breached the door to the building. We could barely make out screams inside the building. “Sweep and clear. Preacher take 30K. Pepper you’re with me.” The other two took the stairs to search the second floor and we searched the ground level. I could hear the belt fed Machine gun 30K carried letting off small bursts, accompanied by Preachers shotgun blasts. As Pepper and I pushed through the first floor we only came into contact with two men who sat at a table in the back kitchen. Pepper froze when they grabbed their guns. I raised my M21 and put two shots into each of them, bodies slumping to the ground. “Second floor clear, coming down.” Preacher and 30K had finished upstairs. “Ground level clear.” My brother wasn’t in the building, we met back by the front door. “Rip the building apart, there is no way he’s not here.” They began to search. I took a step towards a hall closet and heard a hollow “THUD”. I began to stomp around that area covered by a rug. “It’s here, the basement access is a floor hatch.” I pulled the rug to the side to see a large double door hatch on the floor. “What these guys don’t prepare for intruders?” The doors didn’t have locks on them. “Pepper, gather all weapons and ammo in the building, 30K you are on lookout. Make sure no one gets into this building.” As they went off, the sounds of our support quickly came to an end. I looked at Preacher as I pulled a nine banger from my chest and grabbed one of the doors, he did the same. We pulled the pins with our teeth and slung the doors open. “COVER YOUR EYES MEN!” We threw the nine bangers into the basement and looked away. With Preachers welder mask, he descended down the stairs. He was standing at the bottom of the stairs looking up at me. “What do you want to do bro?” As I got to the bottom I saw the men who held my brother captive on their knees holding their eyes. I pulled my K-Bar from my chest and smiled, Preacher pulled the tomahawk from the back of his plate carrier. We slaughtered them without remorse. I caught a glance of my brother looking at us as we butchered these men with no remorse.
We wiped the blood on our pants and sheathed our weapons. “If you’re going to kill us then fucking do it already. I’m tired of waiting around to die.” Part of me began to choke up, seeing my brother bloody and beaten, Preacher stepped in for me. “We are here to get you and your team out Big dog.” I walked over and grabbed my brother, pulling him from the ground and pressing him to the wall. I drew My K-Bar and cut his restraints then took my plate carrier off, putting it over top of him. “Reaper what are you doing???” Preacher was shocked that I removed my protection. “He is a valuable asset to the United States. His life is worth more than mine.” My brother tried to muscle me back to remove the carrier. He was weak at this point, “Don’t try it, this is my mission. I will make sure that you get home with your men.” Preacher grabbed the rest of the men and cut their restraints. Giving one of them his carrier. We made our way to the ground floor. 30K and pepper saw what we did, following our actions and giving their carriers to the other two men. “This is all I could find in the building Reaper.” There was four AK-47 Assault rifles with only one mag to each. My brother and his men picked them up, checking operational status of the weapons. “I’ll pop smoke to let them know we are ready for extraction.” 30K began to move towards the door. “I got it, stay inside.”
I grabbed the two red smoke grenades from him and walked out the front door. I could hear my brother shout orders. “Covering fire men!” I was only a few steps out of the building before I began to get shot at. I pulled the pins and threw both grenades and ran back inside. They were waiting for us to come out of the building. As I made my way through the door Preacher grabbed me and pinned me to the wall. “RULE NUMBER ONE! WHICH YOU SET! DON’T BE A FUCKING HERO!” I nodded my head in compliance, he sighed and walked back to the door which he guarded. Pepper grabbed his headset and pulled it from his ear. “Bro I’m getting mad static on coms, someone is trying to get a hold of us.” I took my headset off as I began to hear it, smacking it against the wall then putting it back on. “This is Chief Warrant Officer Michael, my black hawk is en route to your position. Mini bird support to follow, be ready men, we don’t have much time.” “Rodger that Chief, awaiting extraction. The exfil zone is extremely hot. Advise having mini birds clear your landing. Will only need fifteen seconds to board.” The Chief responded with gratitude. “Thanks for the heads up but this bird has seen worse ops. Be there in ten mikes.” “Rodger that chief, awaiting your arrival.” My men heard on the headsets that it was going to be ten minutes. The longest ten minutes of our lives. We began to take pot shots at the enemy who was waiting for us. Most of them on rooftops and around ally corners.
After a few minutes of shooting back and forth one final voice came into my headset. “This is Marine Armored division Phalanx, we are coming straight through the middle of this town. We will create a perimeter for the bird to land, make it quick men!” As soon as they rolled into town all hell broke loose. They created a spot for the exfil chopper to land. Only a few minutes later the bird landed in the perimeter, side gunners firing upon anyone on rooftops as they landed. “Everyone get to the helicopter, we are getting out of here.” 30K and Pepper made their way to the chopper under gunfire of the Marines. My brother and his men went out the door making it safely to the bird. Preacher took point with me right behind him. The Marines began to move out, “Sorry boys but our time is up, get the fuck out of here!” As I followed Preacher to the bird I took a round to the thigh. Preacher made it to the bird, mini birds doing as much as they could to cover us. As preacher turned around he saw me on my knees. “Chief this is Reaper, get them out of here.” Preacher tried to climb out to grab me but was held back by my brother. “I’ve seen people die in combat, they give their lives so others may live.” Preacher broke free and jumped from the bird and ran to me. Dragging me over to the chopper as it took off. “IT’S YOUR JOB TO FINISH THE MISSION!” As he tried to get me into the bird, I pulled my knife and cut his arm. “I’m sorry brother.” His arm retracted with his other hand holding the wound, falling back into the bird. As they took off I pulled my face mask down, my brother realize it was me and began to scream. I could hear Preacher on the headset, “I’m sorry brother, I love you.” The black hawk began to gain greater altitude as it flew off. “I’ll see you in the halls of Valhalla brothers. Thank you from the bottom of my heart. ”
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Around the block and on the bus. 