Ali cursed and drew his side arm. A quick shot to the man’s head ended his suffering.
And his screaming.
“Go!” He pushed his men forward and as shots bit into the nearby trees, Ali allowed himself the luxury of moving to another covered location.
He looked back at the pale and crying babyfaced man still lying in the dirt. He couldn’t be certain, but it appeared as though he had wet himself. “Craven,” Ali muttered then darted to the next tree.
“We are coming for you, American! Give us al-Abadi and we will allow you to live!”
Tree bark erupted near Ali’s head and he ducked again. He took that as a “negative” from the infidel.
32
Camp Deric, South of Dallas, TX
ROGER PACED SLOWLY, his eyes never leaving the bulletproof windows. “Jay’s already engaging them. Bridger is about to be overrun. How can we just sit here?”
Jim leaned against the table and shook his head. “I know you want to rush out there and get yourself killed, but that’s not how you do things.” He sighed heavily and, for all intents and purposes, appeared bored. “Think of it like an onion. Each layer protects the layer deeper inside. Right now, they’re the outer layers. As each layer gives way, the inner layers step up.”
“So they’re sacrificing themselves to protect…what?”
Jim shook his head. “Nobody said anything about sacrificing themselves.” He pushed off the table and pointed out the window. “Things get hairy, they’ll fall back. Hell, they may even use the tunnels to get back in here. But me and you? We’re the final layer. We protect the asset and the intel.”
“The asset? You mean al-Abadi? He’s no fucking asset. His own people want him dead.”
Jim nodded. “But he can testify to the facts of the case. He has believability because his own people want him dead.”
Roger shook his head. “We should be out there helping to drive them back.”
Jim crossed his arms over his chest and sighed. “Orders is orders. Each man has a job to do and the whole machine doesn’t work unless each man does his part.”
Roger swore and kicked a plastic bucket across the room. “This sucks you know.”
Jim nodded. “Believe me, brother. I do know.”
Camp Deric, South of Dallas, TX
“ENGAGING.” BRIDGER PULLED the trigger and watched as the lead assault team member fell, his hands instinctively grasping his ruined knee. “No body armor there, eh, pal?”
He brought his scope to bear on the second man and fired the suppressed rifle. He watched the pink mist that erupted from his shoulder before the man spun and fell to the ground.
Rapid fire erupted from his left and he watched as the assault team scattered behind makeshift cover. The suppressive fire didn’t last long and he quickly pulled the next target from a poorly hidden team member. He focused on the man’s ass cheeks protruding from behind the tree he was attempting to hide behind. He quickly pierced both cheeks with a well-placed shot. He watched as the man screamed and dove face first to the ground.
“Baby Bear, Topside. You shooting to wound?”
“Affirmative, Topside. These poor bastards are just following orders. They’re still Americans.”
Steve chuckled to himself as he lay low in the pillbox. “They won’t pull their punches if they get a clear shot of you, man. You sure you want to give them a second chance?”
“Hard to shoot somebody when you can’t stand or hold a weapon, Topside.” Bobby squeezed the trigger again and watched as another assault team member crumpled, the toes of his boot now turned to shrapnel. He watched as the team slowly began to retreat. “Looks like they’re pulling back, Topside. Want to light them up and speed them on their way?”
“Copy that, Baby Bear.” Steve poked his head back out of the pillbox and leveled the rifle on the retreating assault team members. He opened fire, keeping the rounds just short of their intended targets.
An explosion behind him had him dropping back into the pillbox. “That the claymores?”
“Affirmative, Topside. I think we have movement to the west of us.”
Camp Deric, South of Dallas, TX
GREGG SQUINTED AT the monitor. “Movement to the west. Somebody tripped a claymore.”
Jay broke in on the signal. “Mother, these assholes aren’t wearing tactical gear.”
“Copy that, Poppa Bear. Looks like we’re in the middle of a three way.”
Jay groaned and settled his reticle on another advancing soldier. “Only you could make a firefight sound like something dirty, Slippy.”
Gregg smiled to himself. “And ain’t it amazing how easy it is?” His smile dropped and he leaned closer to the monitor. “Fuck me. Baby Bear, to the west. Incoming bad guys, dressed in their Sunday finest assault gear.”
Steve broke in. “I got this.” He leaned down and yelled through the hatch. “D! RPG!”
Deric hopped onto the ladder rung and handed the RPG up through the access. Steve fought to get the oversized explosive through the upper hatch and stood on the ammo can to get more clearance.
He flipped up the iron sights and stared off into the distance looking for movement in the trees. He cursed to himself and quickly pulled the plastic safety tip from the shaped charge. He cocked the rebounding hammer and rested his finger along the trigger guard. “Mother…I’m not seeing movement.”
Gregg scanned the monitors and tracked the distance. “They’re about 120 meters west-northwest of your location.”
Steve swallowed hard and slowly shook his head. “I got nothing.”
Bridger caught the movement through the corner of his reticle and keyed his coms. “They’re breaching the edge of the woods west of you.”
Steve turned more to his right and caught the movement of another tactical team working their way towards the bunker. “Contact.” Steve pulled his finger inside the guard and rested it on the trigger. “Release.”
The RPG thumped from the launch tube and the secondary rocket caught as Steve ducked back in. He felt the concussion even inside the concrete pillbox and the screams that filled the air after the explosion told him that
