by Mike Hartman
“Trust me,” was Monica’s dad’s reply. “You need to enjoy this part of your career while you are here. There will be plenty of fleet time later.”
Monica’s mom interrupted, “Words of a truly wise man. How about some desert?” She got up and headed to the kitchen. Monica followed her to help and the men kept right on talking.
Monica didn’t get to talk to Mickey much since her dad sort of dominated the conversation, but she enjoyed meeting him and was glad they had invited him over. There was something about him that interested her. She hoped they would see each other again, although that seemed highly unlikely.
Chapter 29
June, year 3.
Red looked out the back of the plane into the dark night. Not that there was anything to see from 30,000 feet in the dead of night high over Afghanistan. This would be his 28th mission since arriving in Afghanistan three months earlier.
It seemed like a lifetime ago since he completed his SEAL team training. After completing the six-month BUD/s program he stayed in Coronado for an additional 12-week SEAL Team Training course. From there he went to the Army Airborne School in Fort Benning, Georgia for three weeks of parachute training. It was only then he had earned and received his SEAL trident, the navy’s special warfare insignia.
Now he was making final checks on his gear along with the other seven men who would be jumping with him. He had 200 pounds of equipment strapped to his body. There was nothing easy about these kinds of jumps. The plane would not pass over the landing zone. As a matter of fact, they would be jumping and deploying their chutes 20 miles south of the landing zone. The HAHO jump, or High Altitude, High Opening jump, was designed to allow the SEALs to approach a target in the dead of night with stealth. If conducted properly, the Taliban fighters would never even know they were in the area. The SEALS would open their chutes at 29,000 feet and fly their steerable chutes 20 miles to the landing zone.
This type of jump required the men to wear insulated jumpsuits to provide protection from the freezing temperatures at that altitude. Each man also had to use an oxygen mask since there was not enough oxygen to support life above 10,000 feet.
Their mission was to rescue three army soldiers who had been taken captive and were being held inside the power station at the Kajaki hydro-electric dam on the Helmand River. Three SEAL sniper teams each consisting of a shooter and a spotter were on-location. They had been sent in three days earlier to run reconnaissance and gather intelligence. Each of the three teams was strategically concealed at different locations approximately 400 yards from the dam. They had been actively feeding information from the scene for the last few days.
“One minute,” shouted the jumpmaster over the noise of the airplane. Red and the rest of his team made final gear checks on each other and prepared for the assault.
Exactly one minute later the jumpmaster yelled, “Go, go, go!” Without hesitation each of the eight SEALs exited the back of the airplane into the dark cold night. Fifteen seconds later they each pulled their rip-cord and opened their chutes. It was deafly silent. The sound of the plane was completely gone. The men set their course to the target zone 20 miles away and silently flew their rectangular parachutes through the night.
They landed just as silently on the sandy shore in the back of a large cove of Helmand Lake upstream of the dam. This particular landing site had been chosen because it was located just over a mile from the dam and was around the corner; not in direct line of sight to the dam. The men quickly removed their parachutes, insulated jump suits and oxygen masks. They packed these items into a duffle bag along with several large rocks for disposal. Donning their swim fins and masks, each man checked his weapons and then slipped silently into the water. As they left the shore, they took their duffle bags containing their dive equipment out into the deep water and allowed them to sink to the bottom.
As they had been trained to do, the men swam silently through the black water of the dark night. They approached the shore 50 yards from the dam at the designated spot and awaited the signal. The plan was for the snipers to take out the guards on top of the dam and then signal Red’s team to storm the dam, enter, recover the soldiers, and make a quick escape. Everything hinged on the element of surprise and quick precise initiation. Every minute counted. For each minute they remained inside the dam their chance of a successful escape diminished.
The snipers were using 50 caliber rifles with suppressors. Unlike the silencers in the Hollywood movies, these suppressors did not totally silence the sound of the gunshot. Rather, they changed the sound so it was quieter and sounded like something other than a gunshot. After waiting 10 minutes, Red heard 4 cracks that sounded like someone clapping their hands together. Thirty seconds later there was a single word spoken on his radio, “Go.”
Red’s team instantly sprang into action. They exited the water, stowed their fins and ran toward the dam. As they ran along the top of the dam toward the entrance doorway, they passed 4 bodies lying on the concrete. Not stopping to examine them, the SEAL’s entered the dam and conducted a methodical room search using a leap frog pattern to cover each other.
As Red rounded a corner he came face-to-face with a Taliban guard. Without hesitation Red fired his suppressed Heckler and Koch MP5 submachine gun. He had it in single shot mode and quickly put a double-tap in the man’s chest and a single round in his head. The man never knew what hit him. He moved on looking for the next target.
It took two and a half minutes for the team to locate the American soldiers. They had neutralized 6 Taliban guards in addition to the 4 taken out by the snipers topside. It was time to make their escape.
As the 8 SEALs and 3 soldiers exited the dam, the snipers kept watch for resistance, but detected none. The 11 men quickly made their way back to the point where they had exited the water. Even before they arrived on location Red heard the whosh, whosh, whosh of the chopper blades approaching.
On-board the helicopter, Red breathed a sigh of relief. He had cheated death yet again and would live to fight another day.
Chapter 30
July, year 3.
The drive to Yosemite National Park seemed longer than usual this year. Michael couldn’t believe it was July again already. Ever since that terrible day two and a half years ago his life just seemed like a blur.
As he drove through the park gate he decided to skip his normal stop at Yosemite Falls and head straight to the cabin. Lucy and Ethel had enjoyed the ride, but they were ready to get out and start their vacation. He pulled up to the cabin and let the dogs out. They ran around exploring everything in sight. They were happy. He only wished he was as happy as they were. He had been a bit depressed lately. Depressed probably wasn’t the right word for what he was feeling. Lonely might be more appropriate. The company had made great strides in the last year and a half despite their tragic loss. Their newest project was well on its way to becoming a success. His new team of research scientists was developing nicely. He had two weeks of bliss to look forward to with only him and the dogs. No worries. He had been lonely without Judy though. Perhaps it was time to move on and find someone else. There was a woman at church who had shown an interest in him, but he hadn’t really given her a chance. He decided to call her when he got home to get together for coffee or something.
He tried to push his loneliness out of the way and made a conscious effort to relax and enjoy himself. He carried his bags into the cabin and put on a pot of coffee.
**********
Michael awoke early the next morning just as the dawn was barely beginning to break. The first hint of light was visible through the window of the cabin. After a savory breakfast of bacon and eggs he put on his hiking boots, put together some supplies for his backpack, and headed out with Lucy and Ethel. Yosemite had 800 miles of hiking trails, but he made a point to hike the Mist Trail every year. The Mist Trail was Yosemite’s signature hik
e. It had fabulous views scattered all along it, beginning at the bridge overlook, progressing to two unforgettable waterfalls, and ending with perhaps the most spectacular sight of all: Nevada Fall, Liberty Cap, and the back half of Half Dome.
They loaded up in the Range Rover, drove to Curry Village and then walked the ¾ mile to the trailhead. He knew the trail well and knew it would take about five hours to complete the seven mile round trip hike.
As he walked, Michael thought about how things were progressing with the project. In the year in a half since they had brought the young recruits into the BioTech office there had been immense progress. Actually it had been one breakthrough after another.
They had continued to make improvements in their ability to tap into the central nervous system and capture signals from the optic nerves. While the images were blurry at first, they had reached the point where they could now see what the subject saw in crisp color focus.
Their vehicle had developed nicely as well. Gabe was a genius. He had reduced the size of their vehicle to the point a watchmaker would be envious. As the parts were made smaller and smaller there were problems with the tinsel strength of the metal causing them to break prematurely. Gabe had developed a process to increase the tinsel strength of their raw materials to the point where even the smallest parts retained the strength of much larger items. It was very impressive. Michael still couldn’t believe the progress they had made.
As he passed the Vernal Fall and headed on to the Nevada Fall the trail steepened. He found that this part of the hike required his full attention, so he put thoughts of work out of his mind and trekked on.
**********
That evening he was tired from the hike and considered going to bed early. He thought about how much he loved sitting on the front porch and listening to the night sounds and decided to do that instead. Lucy and Ethel dutifully took their places next to him on the porch. They liked this part as much as he did.
His mind switched back to the project. They called it the tick. After all, it would eventually be able to crawl on a person to just the right spot on their back, pierce the skin, and tap into their central nervous system via the spinal cord. At that point it would become a parasite like a tick, sucking information from the body. Just like with a real tick, the host would have no sensation or knowledge that the tick was even there.
Lucy commenced a low growl and perked her ears up in an alert fashion. Michael looked into the darkness but didn’t see anything. He heard only the night sounds of crickets and bullfrogs. He reached down to calm Lucy and assure her everything was okay. As Lucy calmed down, a single shot rang out. Michael never heard it. He lay slumped in his rocking chair with a bullet hole in the center of his forehead.
Chapter 31
July, year 3.
Sally sat in a local coffee shop staring out the window. The cappuccino here was the best in town and she often came here to relax and gather her thoughts. Life had dealt her a hard blow. Michael Bowles had been like a father to her. He had practically taught her everything she knew about the business world. What would happen now? Would the company survive? Would it be sold? Would she still have a job? Was all their work on the tick just wasted effort? So many questions. Her head swam with these questions and a million more just like them.
Dr. Bowles attorney had called and asked to meet with her today. She was supposed to meet him at 1:00 at BioTech, but she dreaded going there. She was avoiding the place like the plague. McCoskey, Daniel, Monica, Gabe, Jamie, and Jillian were around somewhere, but they all seemed to avoid each other. None of them knew what to do or what to expect.
She knew that at times like this her faith in Jesus was all that could keep her going. She prayed silently as she sat at the table. She prayed for Michael’s soul. She prayed for herself. She prayed for the others at Biotech. She prayed for strength to get through this ordeal. She prayed that God would somehow comfort her and watch over her.
She opened her eyes and gazed out the window in front of her. Her view overlooked a small park. An asphalt sidewalk meandered through the park with benches spaced periodically along the way. She watched as people walked on their lunch hour. A few people sat on benches eating sandwiches or just enjoying the sunny day. One man had just finished his sandwich. He wadded up the paper, threw it back in his bag and got up to leave. Disgusting, she thought. He just left the bag on the bench and walked off. There was a trash can not 20 feet away. Some people had no respect.
A mother with two young children was nearby. The young boy was playing with a balsa wood airplane; the kind you wind up a rubber band attached to the propeller. She thought back to when she was a little girl. Her brother had played with these. That was before he had been hit by a car and killed by a drunk driver. There had been so much death in her life. So many tragic losses!
As she watched, a familiar face appeared among the people enjoying the park. Ed McCoskey strolled along the trail. He looked strangely out of place. Perhaps this was because she knew him and this wasn’t really his thing or perhaps it was because he didn’t look at all relaxed. He was tense and looked around as if scanning everything in the park. He had her attention now and she watched as he moved along the path. He sat down at the bench where the man had finished his lunch just a few short minutes ago. He picked up the lunch bag and reached inside retrieving a piece of paper. He looked at the paper for a brief second and then stuck it in his shirt pocket. Standing up, he carried the bag to the nearby trash can.
What had just happened? This was obviously some sort of a transaction. Didn’t these things only happen in movies? Where had the guy gone who left the lunch bag on the bench? She quickly scanned the park. She found the man just as he was getting into his car. She watched as he pulled away from the curb and drove off in his white sedan.
She looked back at McCoskey. He had quickly walked off in the other direction. He no longer looked tense or nervous.
**********
Sally arrived at BioTech just 5 minutes before 1:00. The last thing she wanted was to have a bunch of time to kill before the attorney arrived.
The receptionist announced the arrival of Dr. Bowles attorney promptly at 1:00. He entered her office and introduced himself. She showed him to a seat at the small conference table and took a seat at the table herself.
“I’m very sorry about your loss Dr. Coltrane,” he began.
“Please, call me Sally,” she said.
“I’ve come to see you to discuss Dr. Bowles last will and testament. He gave me instructions to bring this to you personally should something ever happen to him. He wanted you to know that he thought of you as a daughter and was very proud of your accomplishments.”
Sally’s eyes began to tear up.
“His will was really quite simple,” the attorney continued. “He left everything to you.” He stopped and let this sink in for a minute.
Sally was dumbfounded. She couldn’t believe what she was hearing. This didn’t make any sense!
The attorney continued, “As you know, his wife died a few years ago, they never had children, and his two dogs were really all he had in the way of family. He considered the people at this company to be his family. He left it all to you. All he asked in return was that you take in Lucy and Ethel and provide them a good home.”
After the attorney finished, Sally showed him out and then returned to her desk, still in shock. She sat there for a long time not knowing what to think. How could she run this company? What was she going to do? She felt lost.
After a long time, she looked around her desk and her eyes came to rest on a plaque in a frame. It said, “What you are is God’s gift to you. What you make of yourself is your gift to God.” She felt a sudden surge of strength and knew what she must do. She had the receptionist contact everyone to organize a 3:00 meeting and then went home to get a quick shower before coming back to face her problems.
The shower refreshed her. After making herself presentable again, she took a deep breath and headed back to the office. She had a company to run.
**********
Sally waited until 3:05 to walk into the conference room. When she entered the room, she brought the receptionist with her. Everyone sat quietly and avoided eye contact with each other. The seat at the head of the table was conspicuously empty. Sally walked to the head of the table, but did not sit down. Instead, she stood behind the chair with her hands on the back of the chair.
She was nervous and trying hard not to show it. “The funeral is tomorrow. I’m sure we will all want to be there.” Her eyes teared up and she stopped for a minute to regain her composure. “I know we all have a lot on our minds and we have all been wondering what will happen now that Dr. Bowles is gone. I’ll give you the short answer. We continue our work. I received a visit this afternoon from Dr. Bowles attorney. He told me that his will left the company to me.”
There was an obvious reaction from everyone at the table. All the reactions were not the same, but nonetheless they all reacted in some way. Monica, Gabe, Jamie, and Jillian all looked relieved. They had been worried they wouldn’t have a job and didn’t know what they would do. Dan looked pleased as if he thought this was a wise decision and was happy for Sally. McCoskey tried not to show a reaction. He just looked stone faced, but his clenched jaw did not go unnoticed by Sally.
She continued, “I know we all need some room to adjust and grieve. I suggest we all take some time off. I’ll see you all in here a week from Monday and we will figure out how to proceed. You can all count on paid leave during this time.” Sally’s emotions were getting the best of her and she was having trouble holding it together. Without saying anything else she walked out of the conference room, locked the door to her office, and headed to her car.
