The Fall of America | Book 10 | No Winners

by Benton, W. R.

  Chapter 6

  Danya followed his fellow soldier back to his camp and to the waiting Captain Vitaliy. When the Captain saw him, he smiled.

  The Captain quickly shook hands with his man and then said, “We must leave, in case someone saw your chute when you landed. Once we are in place later, I will have you monitoring the Yank radio frequency. For now, Senior Sergeant, welcome home.”

  “That is fine, sir. I am glad to be back. My shoulder is still sore, but I will survive.”

  "Tima, take a heading of 106 and continue on the course until just before dark. A half hour before dark find us a place to spend the night.”

  “Yes, sir.” the thin man said and began stepping out in that direction, with compass in hand. Minutes later they were all walking in single file, with no talking or noise. They were true professionals and they acted like it most of the time. Danya relaxed, because he was home once again.

  An hour later, the point man stopped and, using sign, asked for the Captain to come forward. Once the man was in place, Tima pointed at his 2 o’clock position and waited. The Captain leaned forward and in a whisper said, “We need to avoid them, if we can. Our mission must be complete above all else. Go around them, but wait until it’s dark to do so.”

  Tima nodded in understanding.

  Moving back to his people, Captain Vitaliy said in a low voice, “Relax and eat if you wish, but absolutely no noise. A company or more of Americans are settling in for the night. Once dark, we will skirt around them and continue our mission.”

  Two hours later, it was colder and darker than a bankers heart when the squad of Spetsnaz made their way wide around the Americans. They had been a good mile from the dug in troops and it went off without a hitch. Once on the other side of the Yanks they continued for another four hours. Then, they moved into a small grove of trees and prepared for the night.

  “Danya, the Captain wants you to monitor the American radio frequency to see if anyone has spotted us. He said an hour was enough and if we weren’t brought up by then, we were probably not seen.”

  “Sure, set it down here and I will listen. I am so glad to be back with the squad and not stuck on base alone. They do nothing but eat and drink vodka. I do not mind a drink or two, but I am not an alcoholic like many of them.”

  “If I had to name one national weakness we Russians have, it is vodka and how cheap it is. I think all that keeps us back from being the best country in the world is our drinking.”

  “It is better now than when I came in 12 years ago. In those days everyone, from the Commander on down, was drunk most of the time and the Sergeants would drink and then abuse the troops. I mean kick the shit out of all of us, and we could not fight back or we would go to jail. It was a sad time for the army, but the civilian world was almost as bad.”

  “That rarely happens these days, but Sergeants still do not love their people.”

  “They should not love their people because he might have to lead his folks to almost certain death one day, and that is hard to do to a friend.”

  “I have no idea, I am just a Corporal and have no responsibilities for others. I like life that way too.”

  “I will eat as I listen to the Americans, so tell the boss I will let him know what I hear.”

  “Great, and enjoy your supper.” The radio man stood and moved to a bunch of privates that were eating together.

  Opening a ration, called a green frog from the green box they were issued in, Danya pulled out stew and crackers. Not bothering to use the heater, he ate the meal cold, and then pulled out a container of canned buckwheat porridge with beef, and again ate it without warming. Wrapping the package around the remainder of the meal, he placed it in his shirt pocket to eat later in the night just before bed. Eating just before bed helped him sleep and kept him warm on the cool nights in this country.

  He listened to the radio and heard nothing of any importance, and there wasn’t even a battle going on that he could hear. The radioman came, took the radio and moved to his overnight position. He noticed after they ate that they were all getting back to back and would form a rough circle overnight, and the least noise would wake them all. Guard would be pulled and while it was difficult to sleep sitting up, over time it could be done easily. All of them were veterans of at least one previous tour in America, so they were ahead of the typical combat squad.

  He knew little about this country, but he had attended college here and had learned his first English in secondary school in Russia. Overall, he loved Americans and found them friendly, but he was here to serve his country and not to make friends. Killing them bothered him at first, only now it was him or them, and he wanted to survive. He once had an American girlfriend and she was wild in bed, compared to a Russian girl. He didn’t have a lot of experience, but he knew there was great differences from one girl to another, no matter their nationality. He just liked American women and had no real reason. They were not the same in the dark, as some soldiers said often enough.

  He moved into his seated position and leaned back against his buddy. He tried to sleep, but his mind jumped from issue to issue, until he started thinking about women. He had a girlfriend waiting for him back in Russia but he wasn’t sure she was really the one he wanted. Hell, I still may not survive this tour, so I will worry about her later, he thought all of a sudden.

  Finally he drifted off to sleep a little after 2100.

  Near 0300, someone elbowed him and he woke from his dream.

  “Movement fifty feet or more.” someone whispered.

  Safeties were heard to click off and the Captain was heard. “Avoid contact, if possible.”

  Just then an America voice was heard, followed by laughter, and Danya felt himself starting to sweat and it was a cool evening.

  “Cut the grab ass and now.” someone said and then another man said, “Come on Sarge, lighten up, hell there ain’t no Russians within ten miles of us.”

  “Shut up, Mooney, or I’ll kick your ass when we get back. I mean now, cut the chatter and I want noise discipline followed. I don’t want to hear a single sound.”

  The noises stopped as if turned off at a master control switch. It was instantly quiet.

  Ten minutes later the company sized unit was gone and the night sounds soon returned. For some reason they'd decided not to camp where they were or their orders had changed.

  “Rest until 0500 and then we will get up and move out.” the Captain said in a low voice that was almost a whisper. Danya went back to sleep.

  At dawn the group was a good five miles from where they’d spent the night. They were making good time and the Captain made a decision to cross an open field to save even more time in their mission.

  They were halfway across when Private Putinov yelled, “Helicopter!”

  He was a little late, because the gatling guns on the bird fired, throwing clumps of dirt and rocks into the air. Some of the bullets went through the team, causing them to die instantly, while others lost an arm or leg when struck. All the survivors crawled into the weeds and green to hide. Passes after the first one brought no more firing, except from the door gunner who was probing by fire and having no luck. Finally, the pilot came to a hover off a ways and scanned the ground seeing nothing.

  Suddenly a Russian rifle cracked and the Chinese pilot’s head instantly dropped and he fell forward, only his harness keeping him in his seat. Two more rifles barked and the co-pilot went limp as a bullet burned a hole through his head and into the head of the already killed pilot. Blood and gore sprayed on the windshield and seconds later the aircraft, no longer under control, crashed to the ground. Almost instantly the aircraft burst into flames, but it was obvious the fuel tanks hadn’t gone up yet.

  “Move! The fuel will go up!” Captain Vitaliy yelled as he ran away from the wreckage. At the same instant the door gunner on the right side of the helicopter ran from the crash covered in flames. Usually the Russians would shoot a burning trooper, but in this situation all were moving away b
efore the fuel and ammo cooked off.

  The gunner ran about twenty feet, fell to his knees and continued to scream as the flames burned him to a crisp. Finally, he fell to land in a puddle of burning fuel, but he was beyond pain now and didn’t move. His body twitched at times as his central nervous system shut down. The overpowering smell of burnt pork filled the area.

  “Run to the woods on the other side. Leave the wounded, we shall return.” As a disciplined group they ran and they stayed together as they were instructed to do during training. On the other side the Captain quickly counted his troops and out of twelve men he still had seven, so his mission was still on.

  He said, “I need two men to return for those injured. If they will die anyway, kill them. We will leave none to be tortured and then killed by the Americans.”

  No one said anything about the order to kill, because it was a standard understanding in the Russian army. If you were fatally injured then no one wanted to pack your ass for miles only to have you expire anyway, and it also kept the enemy from interrogating you before you died.

  Danya and the medic, Corporal Ivanovna, moved for the injured men. They found three dead and two injured. One of the injured had taken a bullet to the calf while the other had a bad stomach injury. The medic overdosed the last man and talked with him until he died. As the medic brought comfort to his dying comrade, Danya bandaged a woman with a leg wound. He was surprised, because if the bullet had hit the bone, the whole leg would have been gone. Three of them were not Spetsnaz, and she was one of them.

  As soon as they were able they made a stretcher out of two rifles and a poncho. They then carried the wounded woman back to the others.

  “Radioman, check and see when we can have our wounded picked up by helicopter.”

  “Base, Banny Rooster. We have been attacked by a Chinese helicopter and have one injured and four dead. We need a pick up of our wounded to complete our mission.”

  “Copy, Base.” he put the handset back in its carrier. Turning to the Captain he said, “Sir, they will pick up our wounded near dark. All aircraft are currently committed to other missions.”

  “Okay, we will carry her until dark. Filippovna and Desisovich, you are my stretcher carriers until I change you. Artur, you are my point man, and let us cover some tracks before they come looking for the destroyed helicopter. Ivanovna, drop back and be my drag. Now move out.” As they moved, Danya shivered at the thought of another helicopter attack because they killed many more than they injured.

  It was an hour before dark when the radio came alive.

  Banny Rooster, Save One, over.”

  “Go, Save One.”

  “I am about ten mikes out from your position, and to pickup your wounded troop.”

  “Roger that. Contact us again when you are 3 mikes out.” He knew a mike was a minute.

  “Everyone to the small clearing to provide security, now.” the Captain ordered.

  They moved to the clearing as the radio blared, “We are 3 mikes out and see the clearing you told me about earlier. Are you near the clearing?”

  “Roger that, we are on the northern edge.”

  “I have you visual now. Wait for us to land and then load as quickly as you can. I need some smoke to see the wind direction.”

  “Roger, understand. You are cleared for no ground fire, so it should be an easy pickup.” He pulled a smoke grenade and igniting it, he tossed it to the ground.

  “Understand your landing zone is green. Good for a change. Uh, I see orange smoke.”

  "Roger that, orange."

  The helicopter landed in the middle of the opening and soon the wounded was loaded.

  As they took off, a jet zoomed by and the helicopter pilot said, “That was Chinese and I am out gunned. I am going to go down low and see if I can avoid a fight.”

  “Do that, Save One, and the best of luck to you.”

  The helicopter was down so low and branches would lose a few leaves as they zipped through at full throttle. The pilot hoped them being low as they were, they would not show on any radar and maybe they’d get lucky and get away with no combat.

  “Why so low?” the co-pilot asked.

  “So we will mix with the ground clutter and not be picked out on the jets radar.” “Think it will work?”

  “I do not know if it will work or not, but if you have a better idea, speak up.”

  “No, I have no idea of what to try.”

  Abruptly the helicopter vibrated as a line of bullets from stern to bow struck the aircraft and caused damage to the engine.

  Dark black smoke appeared and the pilot said, “We have to set down, or we will explode in the air. I am taking her down right now. Mayday, mayday, mayday, this is Save One and I am going down.”

  He then began a sharp rate of descent as he more or less fell from the sky. Just before they struck the ground, he flared the nose up and reached overhead to flick the power on and off switch. If he could kill the current, they’d probably not explode if the fuel tanks ruptured on impact. They struck hard and one of the skids broke off and the other bent, as he flicked the electrics off as soon as they touched the ground.

  “Gunner,” the co-pilot yelled, “Drag your patient to the trees off your left side. We will join you in a few minutes.”

  The two pilots left the aircraft, but the pilot and commander tossed a Russian grenade into the air frame and watched it explode. Dark, rich, and dense black smoke rose overhead and hopefully the jet pilot would think he downed the aircraft and killed everyone aboard.

  By the time Chinese pilot finished the pass and got the aircraft turned around, the helicopter was down and in flames. He assumed all on the aircraft were dead, turned his jet toward home and left.

  “What is the condition of everyone?” the pilot asked.

  “I injured my back in our landing.” the co-pilot answered.

  “I have a bullet wound to the back of my head,” the gunner replied, “but it is just a graze or I would not be here. It does not hurt much, but I am bleeding pretty heavy.”

  “Come over here so I can patch you up, then.” the pilot opened the first aid kit he flew with in his survival vest.

  “Save One, this is Mad Dog Two, over.”

  “Go, Mad Dog.” the Co-pilot answered.

  “Uh, wait one Save. I am in a Black Shark attack helicopter. I saw your fight, but I do not have the guns to take on a jet.”

  “Copy. Our patient is okay and no new injuries that I can see. I saw a bullet hole in the deck, less than an inch from her head when we landed, so she is lucky to be here.”

  “I am glad you spotted the jet and took action or we would all be dead right now.” the co-pilot said and then shivered.

  It was then the fuel tanks on the helicopter blew which cooked off the ammo left on the aircraft. Then the compressed gas cylinders blew, and wreckage was thrown high into the air with each explosion.

  “Move deeper into the trees.” the Captain ordered.

  “Save one, Headquarters is sending a helicopter to pick you up and ETA is ten mikes, over.”

  “Copy.”

  “I will stay above you and offer covering fire if needed.”

  “Save One, this is Angels One Six, and I am approximately three mikes from your position. I need you to pop smoke and give me 15 seconds of beeper. I will land where you instruct me to put down.”

  “I have no clear areas large enough to have you land.”

  “Copy, I will pick all of you up by litter then. Two of you can come up on the litter at a time.”

  “Understand.”

  “When the litter is lowered, do not touch it until it hits the ground. The cable will have static electricity and it will give you a hard shock if it does not ground out first. The riders need to sit at the ends of the litter and hang on tightly. They are not to let go until the winch operator tells them to do so. Understand?”

  “Understand. Do you see my smoke yet and if so, what color is it?”

  “I see o
range smoke, Save One.”

  “Roger, that is us. I can hear you now.”

  “I will hover over you in just a few minutes.”

  “Copy, and radio is going on beeper for a few seconds to allow you to have better accuracy in locating us.”

  “Roger that, Save.”

  The Pilot pushed the beeper button on the radio and he could hear the helicopter moving closer toward him. Then, looking up, he spotted the litter being lowered through the tree limbs. He had the gunner and patient get on first and then said, “Angels One Six, your litter is full and you can take them aboard with you now.”

  Five minutes later the litter was on the ground again.

  The two remaining crewmen climbed onto the stretcher and the Pilot said, “Up, we are on board, up.”

  They’d just cleared the trees when a long line of bullet holes suddenly appeared on the side of the aircraft. Over the radio he heard the helicopter pilot say, “Taking ground fire. I repeat, taking fire and appears to come from my western side, maybe 200 meters out.”

  “I am rolling in hot right now.” Mad Dog, the pilot of the attack helicopter, said.

  The men on the stretcher grew concerned when tracer rounds passed between them and the belly of the helicopter. Then, they were at the door and the aircraft began to move. Seconds later, they were gaining altitude and speed.

  “Mad Dog, after this strike, you are cleared to go. I am on my way home now.” “Copy, Angels. Have a safe trip back to base. Mad Dog out.”

  Twenty minutes later they landed on the chopper pad at the hospital and the four were removed, along with the door gunner, who looked dead already.

  “Take them to ER and alert the trauma staff.” an unknown voice said.

  “Let me up.” the now wounded pilot said.

  A Colonel appeared and said, “Sorry Comrade Captain, but you have been wounded and will see a doctor before you get up.”

  Falling back on the stretcher, the Captain said, “Yes, sir, only I do not feel a wound.” “You took small arms fire and a bullet went though your thigh. Just relax, the morphine will start working in a minute.” `