“Roger that. Bring ‘em out. The outside looks clear,” Jack responds.
The hall fills with the shuffling of feet and murmurs of quiet conversation. Lynn breathes a sigh of relief. It’s not over by a long shot but they have the captives, are safe for now, and are on plan.
I step out into the dark night letting the door close silently behind me and crouch by the corner of the gym looking over to the office. I’m the eyes outside and I send prayers and good thoughts to those in the classroom building. I put a special wrap of protection around Bri. If anything goes wrong, she could be in the direct line of fire. I just don’t see any other way to get the kids free. I know the teams will do their best but once the first round leaves the chamber, all plans fall to the floor and variables are introduced.
I hear Lynn give the command on the radio. Seconds later, a series of quick strobes flash from the nearest classroom windows. It’s a rapid series, almost non-existent, and all falls dark once again. I check the office to see if the lights have drawn any attention. The same dull glow emits from the windows with no movement. I hear Lynn check in with the teams. It’s done. They have the rooms under control.
“Jack, we’re secure and bringing you company,” Lynn calls.
“Roger that. Bring ‘em out. The outside looks clear,” I respond.
I see the entrance doors open slowly. Two members of Echo exit and dart across the pavement to take stations near the edge of the trees. They will guide the captives to the pool door. The stars above provide a little light but the absence of the moon makes for a darker night. Two others exit and head to opposite corners of the building while Greg and the remaining Echo Team member crouch at the entrance door itself. Faces appear at the open doors. Greg gestures and a small group runs across the street to the trees and is guided to the door.
I tell each group to wait in the pool area as they pass by. I see Bri run in with one of the groups. I rise and meet her as she approaches, giving her one mighty hug. My heart soars at the sight of her. A tear of joy wells up in my eye and I feel the tension of worry evaporate. My kids are okay.
“I’m so glad to see you,” I say into her ear continuing to hold her close.
“Glad to see you too, Dad,” she replies.
I want to continue hugging her but time isn’t stopping for me. I release her and usher her inside. Michelle stands close by and I give her a nod, thankful she is safe as well. Julie stands in the background waiting for Bri. I can tell she’s a little confused. After all, I’m not her most favorite person in the world but the teams and I did just bring her out of the classrooms. Perhaps she doesn’t know what her position is with regards to the kids in this new world. I don’t know. She ends up giving me a tight-lipped look and turns with Bri toward the pool. I give Gonzalez a pat on the shoulder as she passes. The last of the groups cross the road and are followed by Echo Team. I tell Greg to have his team drop the claymores they are carrying by the door and escort the others into the main gym. He disappears and the door shuts.
“McCafferty, they’re on their way in and we’re up. Meet me outside of the pool,” I whisper.
“On my way, sir,” she replies.
“Lynn, they’re in. Head back and meet me at the pool door,” I say.
“Copy that, Jack. We’re on our way,” she responds. McCafferty arrives at about the same time as Black Team.
I have Lynn and her team help carry the claymores to where the guards have established their barracks. We creep through the silent building where the women were housed. The faint smell of gunpowder lingers from each open classroom door; a reminder of the quick assault.
We check the area before exiting the building and proceed quietly up to the doors of the barracks. I have Black Team leave the claymores and head back to the gym to help out Greg.
“Get everyone ready to start taking out the tower guards. Wait until you hear the first of the claymores go off and then start. McCafferty and I will wait here and clean up any leftovers,” I tell Lynn.
“Will do, Jack,” Lynn says giving me a quick kiss with her fingertips. Yeah, it’s awfully hard to kiss with NVG’s on. Black Team backtracks and disappears into the building we just traversed.
Crouching by the doors, with McCafferty keeping an eye out down a hall very similar to the one we just came through, I pull out the fuse pencils and line the claymores up. Taking a pair of pliers, I crimp each of the fuses and then place them in the fuse wells. I am crimping all of them quickly as the desired result is to have the claymores all go off at once. Any time delay between crimping them will result in that much time difference between the mines going off. It wouldn’t do to have the first one go off and the others explode into empty rooms. Kind of defeats the purpose.
Finishing with the fuses, I peer into the corridor through the window. Not only does the unlit building give me the creeps because of the experiences with night runners, but my proximity with people apparently causes them to have to go to the bathroom. I’ll be loaded down to a degree with the claymores which will slow any reaction time. I won’t have the time to place a set, go back out, grab more, and place them. Thirty minutes may seem like a long time but it passes by quickly when you are trying to be stealthy.
I edge along the lockers to the farthest door housing the guards. The stillness of the interior belies the beating of my heart. This is just something that, although one may get used to it, it never reaches the totally comfortable zone. Discovery can happen at any moment. And it’s sudden. A door opening just in front; a chance encounter that you can’t prepare for. If we’re discovered, the whole scenario will change and we’ll be on the defensive. Plus the fact that it will be hard to get out of this building in one piece.
Crouching near the door, I want to take a quick peek with the fiberscope. Time is not standing still so I can’t afford to take long with each room. The view is the same as the night previous; guards lying in their cots asleep. No one is moving. McCafferty is keeping watch in the long corridor. I remove one of the mines and extend the legs. They are capable of being set on solid ground and I want to place them up high to give an angle of coverage. Placing them on the ground will just take out the nearest guards. Granted, the others will be in a state of shock but they will recover from the deafening explosion.
I ease the door open hoping the maintenance people who prowled these halls at one point were liberal in their use of oil on the hinges. I step silently inside ever mindful of the guards sleeping just a couple of feet away. I gingerly place the mine, angling it slightly downward, on a bookshelf close to the door. I step back out hearing a few snores change patterns. A rustling of blankets. I stop and look about the room anticipating one of the guards rising; waiting for the shout of discovery. I’m ready to drop the other mines and begin a delivery of rounds into their midst.
I see one of the guards roll over and pull the blankets up closer to his chin. He hasn’t quite reached the realm of the awake. He stops moving and is soon joining the chorus of snores about the room. I ease out of the room and gently close the door. Time presses on and I’ll have to hurry the process. The last thing I’d want is to be given notice that the thirty minutes is up while I’m only partially finished. That would be a hell of an alarm clock - the remaining mines I’m carrying going off almost simultaneously. I’d just be a vaporous red mist and a memory. One minute creeping down the hall and the next a spray pattern on the walls, ceiling, and floor.
I hand McCafferty several of the claymores and indicate for her to take one side and I’ll take the other. She shoulders her M-4 and crosses the hall. We finally reach the last doors having placed the mines in similar locations within each room. No one enters the hall on a midnight bathroom run. Our alarm clock doesn’t trigger. We made it in time. McCafferty and I unshoulder our carbines, lie on the cold, hard floor facing down the hall, and wait. I ease the entrance door open a touch with the soles of my boots and ready myself for the concussive explosions about to occur.
Even though I’m ready for it, the massive explosions that fill the hall and surrounding area startle me. That many claymores going off close to the same time creates one continuous, rolling boom. The building shakes and the floor beneath me vibrates as if the linoleum is made of water. Glass blows outward into the corridor from the window panes. If anyone was caught in the hall, they would have been chopped to pieces. The intensity and noise of the explosions can’t be adequately expressed. It’s deafening. Smoke rolls out of the rooms and fills the hall. The back blast jars several of the doors open causing them to slam against the lockers with a metallic clang. At least that would have been the sound if I could hear. All that’s left of said hearing is a deep ringing.
The last tinkle of the glass, hitting the opposite walls, lockers, and doors, ends as it falls to the floor.
