by C. G. Cooper
Daniel knew he couldn’t change Cal’s mind. They reviewed their maps one last time and went their separate ways. Daniel watched as Cal disappeared into the squall. He could only trust that he would see his friend again soon.
+++
Cal felt alive. Being all alone in the wintery wilderness, he suddenly remembered what he loved most about being a Marine. He loved the thrill of coming to a brother’s aid, even in the face of almost certain death. Cal didn’t want to die, but he wasn’t afraid of it. Like many other warriors, he’d always hoped that his life would come to a swift end. He’d seen fellow Marines suffer and fight through horrendous injuries only to succumb in the end. No, Cal preferred a sniper round to the head. Instant. No pain.
He shook the macabre thoughts from his head. It wasn’t his time to die. He had to save Neil and get his men out alive.
Ten minutes later, Cal knew he was getting close. He stopped to consult his map and study the terrain. Despite having an ultra-reliable GPS, Cal still liked to fall back on his land navigation skills. As long as he had a map and a compass, Cal could find his way.
Confident that he was exactly where the GPS indicated, Cal moved cautiously toward his objective. He didn’t want to approach the hide from the most obvious route. It would take him a few more minutes to traverse up and over the objective, but Cal didn’t want to leave anything to chance.
Just as he neared the point where he’d decided to stage his pack, he caught movement out of the corner of his eye. He looked around. There wasn’t anything in his field of view. Turning back to his pack, he took off his skis and arranged them in a standing X over his gear so he could find it again after clearing the objective. It wouldn’t help one bit if he lost all his equipment.
As he stuffed his last spare magazine into one of his large cargo pockets, he heard what sounded like an animal roar. What the hell?
Weapon out, he spun in a quick three-sixty. Nothing. What the hell was that sound? His breathing picked up as he tried to scan through the snow. He’d have to get back at MSgt Trent for putting the idea of bears in his head. Almost since they landed, Trent had talked about wanting to see a grizzly bear. He even kidded about the bears being hungrier than usual. “If they’re so hungry, I’ll bet one of those grizzlies would love to catch them some Mexican meat, Gaucho,” Trent had joked.
Maybe my mind’s just playing tricks on me, Cal thought.
Cal did one last check of the area and picked up the small day pack that had been clipped to his larger hiking pack. It had some emergency rations and a first aid kit. The smaller pack came in handy. At least he didn’t have to lug the larger one around for a few minutes.
Stepping toward the steep drop, Cal looked over. He couldn’t see more than ten feet down. Damn all this snow. Cal tested his footing and crept along the ledge that would take him to a small game path up ahead. He found the passage and did a quick look around to make sure he wasn’t being followed. Looking back the way he came, he squinted. Holy Shit! He saw a huge form running toward the ledge. An enormous grizzly bear was charging straight at him.
Without a moment to think, Cal turned and sprinted as fast as he could down the game trail. The angry bear wasn’t far behind.
+++
Daniel had already found three claymore mines on their approach. Rather than take the time to disable the booby traps, the expert sniper bypassed them altogether. Trapper was watching his back and using some heavy firepower to do it.
Just like Cal, Daniel and Lance staged their gear as they neared their destination. Briggs grabbed his sniper rifle and handed the smaller H&K submachine gun to Lance.
“You know how to shoot one of these?” Daniel asked.
Lance nodded.
“Good. Hopefully you won’t have to use it, but here are two extra mags just in case.” Daniel handed the ammunition to Lance. As Lance checked their gear one last time, Daniel pulled out the small radio and tried to reach Cal. All he got was static. He couldn’t pick up any of the other teams either. As long as they made their rendezvous, they’d be fine.
Daniel closed his eyes and tapped into his heightened awareness. He said a silent prayer and then motioned to Lance that it was time to leave. They moved off quietly, both wondering if this would be the right place.
+++
Cal’s lungs burned as he ran. He could hear the bear getting closer and closer. The path was getting narrower as he moved. He had to be careful not to get too close to the edge.
Ducking under an overhanging tree branch, Cal stopped suddenly. Two inches from his face was a thin wire. Cal traced it to its origin on the rock wall and found a claymore mine carefully concealed behind debris. He’d come within inches of having his head blown off.
The grizzly was closing in despite the size of the path. Maybe I can use this, Cal thought. He eased his way under the tripwire. Although he hated to do it, Cal unslung his pack and placed it under the deadly trap. Cal quickly opened the main pouch, took out his small emergency kit and stuffed it in his cargo pocket. Next, he extracted one of the compact bags of cold weather rations and tore it open. He ripped each small food packet open and threw it on the ground. Maybe that’ll give me a couple extra seconds.
Not waiting to see if his trap would work, Cal turned and moved away from the roars of the angry bear.
+++
Daniel was the first one to see the small hide. It was obvious that someone had been there recently. Despite the heavy snowfall, he could see boot prints. The sniper slowly stalked toward his objective, checking for tripwires as he went.
“Move another inch and I’ll blow your fucking head off,” came a voice above the cave. Daniel halted and looked up. He could just make out a white form sitting on the branch of a large pine tree. Daniel couldn’t see the man’s face but he knew it was Trapper. “Put your rifle on the ground and puts your hands up,” Trapper yelled over the howling wind.
Daniel did as ordered. He couldn’t believe he’d walked right into the trap. The only consolation was that apparently Trapper hadn’t seen Lance yet. As his enemy climbed down from his perch, Daniel hoped Lance would have the sense to stay out of sight.
+++
As luck would have it, Lance had just bent down to examine something on the ground when he heard Trapper’s voice. Lance froze as he strained to take in the unfolding scene. He couldn’t see his former co-worker, but Lance could just barely observe Daniel putting his weapon on the ground carefully and placing his gloved hands on his head.
Lance flattened himself on the ground and started to crawl toward the hide. He stopped again as another figure walked into view. Trapper had his weapon trained on the Marine sniper. Lance didn’t know what to do. He wasn’t smart enough to come up with some elaborate play to help his friend. Lance decided it was better to sit back and wait. Maybe an opportunity would present itself.
+++
Daniel breathed a quiet sigh of relief as Trapper kept his submachine gun pointed at him. Obviously the man hadn’t seen Lance yet. Daniel prayed for guidance.
“Where’s the rest of your team?” Trapper asked.
Daniel stood silently.
“I said, where’s the rest of your team?”
Daniel smiled. Trapper responded by adjusting his aim and firing a round into the snow next to Daniel’s left foot. The sniper didn’t even flinch.
“I can’t wait to beat that smile off your face, Marine,” Trapper said. “Now move.”
Trapper motioned toward what Daniel correctly assumed was the hide that he and Lance had been looking for. Like all the others, the observation point was situated along a small path overlooking the ravine.
Daniel ducked his head and entered the alcove. He saw a radio, extra ammunition and claymores lying on the far side of the depression. There was room for almost twenty men to stand comfortably. Daniel was surprised by the size.
“Turn around,” Trapper ordered.
Daniel turned and faced his enemy.
Trapper moved into the hide.
“Last chance. Tell me where the rest of your men are.”
Daniel didn’t see the harm in telling the man ‘most’ of the truth.
“We split up. Some of them are on the other side of the ravine. The rest are probably a mile behind me.”
“Why are you by yourself?”
“I’m a sniper. I’m used to being on my own.”
Trapper took a few seconds to respond. He’d thought the blonde Marine would have resisted more.
“What did you do with Lance?”
“He’s still tied up at the house,” Daniel lied.
Not that Trapper necessarily cared about Lance’s well-being, but he had been curious about his former colleague’s whereabouts.
“So here’s what’s going to happen. I’ve gotta go find the rest of your friends and kill them. Since I can’t drag you along, you’re going to kneel down right there and I’m gonna put a bullet in your head.”
If Daniel was frightened, he didn’t show it. He knew that when his time came, he would be prepared to meet The Almighty. But something told him that it wasn’t his time to go. It might have had something to do with the flicker of movement he saw behind Trapper. Daniel smiled again and kneeled down on the ground.
+++
Lance had silently followed Trapper and Daniel. He’d overheard snippets of their conversation. Lance knew he had to save Daniel, but he didn’t know how. His mind worked desperately to come up with a plan. His lack of brainpower and the uncertainty he felt toward harming Trapper kept Lance from making a decision. He knew deep down that Trapper would shoot Daniel.
Stepping up to the alcove’s entrance, Lance took a quick peek into the space. Daniel was slowly kneeling onto the floor. Lance knew he had to move fast or his new friend would die. Knowing it would slow him down, he placed his weapon against the rock wall. Lance paused to steady himself and then ran into the cave.
+++
Trapper sensed the movement coming from behind. Moving to his left, he pivoted away from the cave’s entrance. He stood in shock for a protracted second as he recognized Lance barreling into the room. His surprise didn’t last long as he quickly depressed the trigger and rounds reached out at his target.
+++
Daniel didn’t have time to watch. He extracted the blade strapped to his left wrist. Daniel silently thanked Cal for the welcome gift he’d gotten when he joined SSI. Cal had an identical blade that had been put to good use in the past.
The sniper gracefully hopped to his feet and moved toward Trapper.
+++
Lance grunted away the shock as he felt the rounds tear into his body. The room seemed to move in slow motion as he kept his focus on the wild-eyed Trapper. It seemed like a never-ending stream of bullets coming his way, violating his muscular body. Lance pressed forward through the pain.
+++
Trapper knew he’d hit Lance with at least ten rounds, but the man kept coming. It was too late when he finally remembered the other man in the room. Turning back to where Daniel had been, Trapper’s eyes went wide. He struggled to swivel his aim as Daniel closed the remaining distance, blade leading.
+++
His heartbeat barely elevated, Daniel silently slid his blade under Trapper’s chin to the hilt and twisted. Trapper dropped his weapon as he moved his hands to stop the blade. While the two men locked eyes, Lance barreled in, knocking all three to the floor in a bloody heap.
Chapter 31
Grand Teton Mountain Range, Wyoming
3:56pm, September 28th
The bear had stopped its bellowing. He must have found the pack, Cal thought as he inched his way forward. The satisfying boom he was waiting for never came as he sat and listened again. Maybe it was a dud.
The Marine hadn’t found any other tripwires so far, but he wasn’t taking any chances. He had to be careful. The thin path was too easy to booby trap.
Just as he started forward again, he heard a loud explosion followed by a frightening scream from the injured grizzly. Cal didn’t like killing innocent animals, but if it came down to a fight, he sure as hell was going to do his damnedest to win, even if it meant killing the bear. Cal closed his eyes, waiting for the grizzly’s screams to subside. Instead of stopping, they became angry roars and seemed to be getting closer.
Cal hurried to try to close the remaining distance to the hidden alcove. He glanced back and saw the bear moving effortlessly along the ledge. Cal had no choice but to turn back and defend himself.
His submachine gun felt pathetically small as he looked up at the gigantic bear that had now reared up on its hind legs. Cal fired his 9mm rounds into the grizzly’s body. The bullets didn’t even seem to slow the bear. With lightning speed, it swatted the weapon out of Cal’s hands. The gun fell into the whiteness of the deep ravine.
The bear looked at Cal as if to say, you have two seconds to run. Cal took the hint, turned and ran. The grizzly paused for a moment to lick its bloody paw, roared, and then followed. It seemed to recognize that its quarry was cornered. The large male knew every inch of its territory. The path ended soon and Cal would have nowhere to go.
+++
Daniel checked Trapper to make sure the man was dead. The beak-nosed mercenary’s eyes stared into nothingness.
Lance was struggling to sit up. As Daniel moved to help him, he saw blood seeping out of the big man’s mouth. It didn’t look good for his new friend.
“Where are you hit?” Daniel asked in concern.
Lance tried to answer but couldn’t speak. He looked down at his torso as Daniel ripped the man’s coat open. There were too many entry wounds to count. Trapper had done the job.
Daniel reached into one of his cargo pouches and pulled out a small first aid kit. Knowing the dangers of the battlefield, he’d packed it himself long ago. He extracted a small syringe and looked at Lance.
“This will help with the pain.”
Lance looked at Daniel with pleading eyes. He knew he was going to die.
Daniel carefully grasped the larger man’s arm and injected the powerful drug. The effects were almost instantaneous. It was a special concoction he’d come across while serving in Afghanistan. The Corpsmen and their Marines called it ‘sleep juice.’ It was used for the worst cases and only as a last resort. There were some times when you just knew an injured warrior was going to die. Better to let a man die in peace. The drug wasn’t officially sanctioned by any of the military branches because of its potency and the obvious ethical issues. After losing his spotter in Afghanistan, Daniel had made himself a promise that he would never let anyone suffer the way Grant had. Better to let a man die in peace.
Lance’s features softened as the drug took effect.
“Don’t worry, I’ll get you out of here,” Daniel said softly.
Lance shook his head already knowing what would happen. He would die in the cave. With great effort he grabbed Daniel’s arm and spoke through gurgled blood, “I’m…a…Marine.”
Daniel nodded solemnly and smiled at the dying man. “You won your honor back, brother. I’ll make sure everyone knows you died as a Marine.”
Lance’s smile filled the room. Daniel would never forget the look of pure joy on the dying man’s face.
“Close your eyes, Lance. It won’t be long now.”
The big man nodded and closed his eyes for the last time.
“God be with you, my friend,” Daniel whispered, as Lance exhaled his last breath.
The sniper silently asked God to watch over Lance. Then he stood up, gathered a few items, and left in search of Cal.
+++
Cal reached the end of the trail and cursed. He was trapped. As he went to brace himself on the steep rock wall, his hand slipped. Cal barely caught himself before he slammed his head. He hadn’t noticed it as he approached, but there was an opening. Looking closer, Cal saw that there was a hole about three feet in diameter. This must be the hide.
Hoping that there was something inside he could use, he went head first into the alco
ve. The space was small. Cal figured that it might be possible to fit two men in the tiny cave. Luckily, there weren’t any traps awaiting his arrival. He felt around in the dark for anything he could use as a weapon. His hands finally found a stout stick. Cal picked it up and felt along its length. It was barely two feet long with blunt ends. Cal guessed that someone had probably once used it as a fire poker.
The thought gave him an idea. He reached into one of his pockets and felt the butane lighter he always kept there. His hope somewhat restored by the feel of the lighter, he unzipped the parka and started to tear strips off the bottom of his polypropylene undershirt. Cal wrapped the thin strips around one of the ends of the stick. Just as he went to light the improvised torch, the space went completely dark. The bear had reached the cave’s entrance.
+++
After retrieving his gear from where he and Lance had staged it, Daniel took off for the rendezvous point. Daniel was glad that Cal wouldn’t have to deal with Trapper. Maybe the rest of the insertion would go smoothly.
Chapter 32
Grand Teton Mountain Range, Wyoming
5:22pm, September 28th
Daniel made good time getting to the rendezvous point. He’d waited impatiently as the minutes ticked away and still no Cal. Finally, Daniel made the decision to find his friend. It wasn’t far, and he figured out a route that would ensure the two Marines wouldn’t miss each other.
The sniper staged his gear and put on his skis. He tried to raise Cal on the radio. There was no answer, so Daniel got his bearings and took off in Cal’s direction.
+++
