The Arizona State Guard Trilogy

by Jeffrey M. Fortney

  "Trigger, Bulldog...good thinking!" came CPT Ayotte's reply. Ayotte switched to a common general aviation frequency and broadcast, "Ag Cat...this is Captain David Ayotte of the Arizona State Guard. You are ordered to set your aircraft down immediately. If you will comply, rock your wings and begin your descent." The Ag Cat pilot did not respond by radio or by rocking his wings. Ayotte shifted to another general aviation frequency and issued his warning again. Still, there was no response.

  Bulldog pulled his Chinook alongside the Ag Cat's right wing. He signaled to get the jihadist pilot's attention then signaled for the man to land his aircraft. The pilot continued to ignore the ASGuard aviator.

  Ayotte switched back to the ASGuard aviation frequency. "Okay, everyone...he doesn't want to set his plane done. We need to convince him. Gandalf, pull in on his right. I'll take left. Trigger...see if you can snag his upper wing with your landing gear and cut power." Listening to the chatter between the three helos pursuing the second bogie, Marcus realized it was another risky plan. But then, the very act of trying to bring the three deadly crop dusters down without splashing the highly radioactive waste carried in their spray tanks all over Arizona (and potentially hundreds or thousands of Arizonans!) was a risky proposition.

  Quesada brought his Chinook in on the Ag Cat's right even as Bulldog positioned his Chinook on the crop duster's left. The two helicopters were close enough to the crop duster that its pilot knew he could not turn left or right without striking one or the other. Determined to kill as many Americans as possible, he flew onward, hoping to break away from the ASGuard infidels.

  A sudden thump and heavy vibration caught his attention. He looked upward through the Ag Cat's canopy to see the underside of an AH-64 Apache Longbow! The wheels of the Apache's front landing gear rested on his upper wing momentarily then rolled forward until they dropped over the leading edge of the wing. The struts of the AH-64's landing gear now rested against the wing's leading edge.

  Muhammad Abbas Haddad, the Ag Cat's pilot, felt his aircraft suddenly lurch and checked his airspeed indicator. Yes, he thought, I have lost 10 knots in air speed. Soon, the belly of AH-64 rested on the Ag Cat's upper wing. The infidels are pushing me to the ground. Haddad realized he had nothing to lose, so he drew his pistol from its holster and fired it upward through his aircraft's canopy at the belly of the helicopter above. Haddad didn't realize the underside of an AH-64 is heavily armored. All he succeeded in doing was to catch a ricochet in his right shoulder. The pain shooting through his arm made him drop his pistol. It fell to the aircraft's floor and bounced under the seat where Haddad could no longer reach it.

  Resigned to being captured, Haddad brought his Ag Cat down toward the floor of the canyon. When he was mere feet above the ground, the gunner of the Apache swung the attack copter's M230 30mm chain gun forward and down into the blades of the Ag Cat's propeller. The blades promptly disintegrated, sending whirling pieces of metal flying in all directions.

  Thanks to advanced warning from LT Batty Carter, Bulldog and Gandalf had moved their helicopters back and slightly away from the Ag Cat. A few, small pieces of the blades struck the three ASGuard choppers but caused no significant damage. Trigger throttled up her Apache's engine and pulled ahead and above the damaged Ag Cat. The crop duster's tires kicked up dust and sand as they hit the sandy bottom of a wide, dry river bed.

  Haddad clicked on his radio's microphone and said in Arabic, "I have failed you my, amir!" Back at the Omega Mine Compound, Abdul Aziz Mohammed Al Zahrani received a message telling him of Haddad's failure. A rage that had been building in the leader of Omega threatened to boil over.

  By the time the Ag Cat rolled to a halt on the dry wash, the two CH-47 Chinooks were on the ground and their four gunners had exited the helicopters to surround the crop duster. Two of the gunners were equipped with M249 Light Machine Guns while the other two were armed with M4s. Muhammad Abbas Haddad realized very quickly that the weapons of all four ASGuard troopers were trained directly on him. One of the troopers yelled for him to put his arms up with his hands on his head. Haddad had to use his left hand to help lift his right arm so he could hold both hands on top of his head.

  "Centurion, this is Bulldog!"

  "Go ahead, Bulldog," replied Roman.

  "Looks like we have ourselves another captive, colonel. Bogie on the ground intact!"

  "Ah...roger, Bulldog! Great job to you and your team! Looks like my bar tab just got bigger back at the Club! Stay with your captive and guard the plane until relieved. Centurion...out!"

  "We accept your kind offer, sir!" replied Trigger on behalf of her colleagues.

  Marcus left out a sigh of relief. Another bogie down...and intact...just one to go!

  ***

  Roman's remaining flight of helicopters spread out to cover more territory. Henley and Roman flew south while Captain Fred "Frodo" Hills swung his CH-47 Chinook to the east and Major LeAnn "Braces" Brazos turned her AH-64 Apache Longbow to the southwest.

  While Marcus scanned the sky for the last crop duster, part of his mind worked the problem from another angle. He must figure that we'll get one or more of his aircraft. Where could he strike that would cause the most damage...contaminate and kill the largest number of people? Where? More people in big cities...and metropolitan Phoenix is our biggest city! But where in Phoenix? Too early for the baseball game...too early for the fireworks.

  "Harpy...take us up!" Marcus said suddenly. "We need to see the big picture from on high!" The Apache Longbow's engines roared louder and the copter climbed higher. Finally, Marcus said, "This is good! Hold it here and put us nose on to Phoenix." The helicopter leveled off and turned slightly to the southeast. "Good! How do I toggle the helmet cam to zoom in...wait! Got it." An image of Phoenix appeared in the screen before him and began to grow larger as Marcus zoomed in on the buildings rising downtown.

  A flash of copper-tinted light caught Marcus Roman's eye. The copper dome of the new State Capitol Building...which is being dedicated this morning! It's gonna be packed. Hell, Mom and Dad will probably be there as well! he thought. "Harpy...call up coordinates for the new State Capitol Building and set course for it. Frodo...Braces...this is Centurion! It's gotta be the dedication of the new Capitol!"

  "Copy that, Centurion! Frodo on the hunt!"

  "Roger, Centurion! Braces tracking!"

  The ASGuard aircraft adjusted their courses and accelerated towards Phoenix. Marcus ordered Harpy to begin a slow descent. Major Henley had barely begun the descent when Major Brazos called out, "Talley Ho! Bogie at 12 o'clock low, coming out of the canyon, and into the flatlands."

  "Roger that, Braces! Lead us in!" Marcus replied. He watched as Brazos' AH-64 began to close on the now visible Grumman Ag Cat. Marcus switched radio frequencies. "Omega Ag Cat, this is Lieutenant Colonel Marcus Roman of the Arizona State Guard. You are ordered to land your aircraft...now! Do not make us force you down. Land now!"

  Surprisingly, the pilot of this Ag Cat responded. "Colonel Roman, why should I abandon my mission for Allah?"

  "You will not be allowed to reach your target," Marcus responded. "We've already captured the other two pilots and their aircraft. Your mission is over. Land your aircraft now!"

  A long pause followed then the Ag Cat began to slow down and descend. "Colonel Roman, I will comply," the Omega pilot radioed back. The Ag Cat continued to descend and lined up with a bare strip of roadway.

  "Frodo, as soon as he's down and slowing, set down in front of his aircraft. Braces, do the same behind him! Be on the alert for anything," Marcus ordered. "Harpy, once he's stopped, set us down about 30 yards from him."

  "Yessir!" Major Henley replied. "He's touched down, sir! Hang on!"

  "Roger that," replied Marcus. "Okay, everybody...get ready to close the trap. Now! Now! Now!" The Ag Cat rolled to a stop and the propeller slowed to a halt. Captain Fred Hills and his copilot, Captain Luella Mingus, brought their CH-47 Chinook in hot, landing the large cargo helicopter across the roadway
effectively blocking the Ag Cat from taking off again in that direction. Seconds later, Major LeAnn Brazos set her AH-64 Apache Longbow down on the pavement behind the crop duster. The Apache's copilot/gunner kept the helicopters M230 30mm chain gun targeted on the Ag Cat's cockpit.

  The ramp of the CH-47 dropped and Master Sergeant Abe Mokri and Private Jenna Richards stepped out of the helicopter. Both were armed and approached the Ag Cat slowly, weapons raised. Mokri called out in Arabic for the pilot to open the canopy slowly and throw out any weapons.

  The pilot sat quietly in the crop duster's cockpit for a moment, then raised his hands over his head. Once he was sure he wasn't going to be shot, he reached over and unlatched and opened the canopy. With the canopy open, he signaled that he would throw out his weapons. Holding each by the barrel, he tossed two automatic pistols to the ground then raised his hands once again. Mokri ordered the pilot to release his waist and shoulder harnesses then to stand up slowly. The pilot complied.

  Harpy Henley made one of her patented combat landings...wild, fast, and hair-raising! With the AH-64 on the ground, Marcus released his restraints and opened the canopy. Before exiting the chopper, he switched to the ASGuard's primary frequency. "ASGuard HQ, this is Centurion. We have the final crop duster down safely on Highway 60 about six miles northwest of Morristown. Send security and haz mat teams to this location ASAP! Centurion out!" With that accomplished, he climbed out of the front cockpit and reached back in to get his M4 CQBR rifle. Once on the ground, Roman ran to join Mokri and Richards near the Ag Cat.

  "Okay, Abe...Richards," Marcus began, "let's get him out of there and away from the plane. We'll cover him to the ground, have him remove his chute, get him away from the aircraft, search him then you can escort him to Chinook." Mokri and Richards acknowledged their commander's orders.

  The crop duster's pilot climbed down from the cockpit slowly. Upon reaching the ground, he turned to face his captors. Mokri called out for him to unfasten his parachute and set it on the ground next to the aircraft. The pilot slowly and silently complied. Marcus signaled the man to step away from the plane and walk towards the ASGuard personnel. Again, the pilot obeyed, walking forward with his hands on his head.

  As the man approached the group of ASGuard troopers, Mokri and Richards moved slowly away from Marcus and towards their prisoner. While Marcus kept his weapon aimed at the pilot, Mokri and Richards lowered their weapons and slung them across their backs where the prisoner could not reach for them.

  "Look out! Vest! Vest!" yelled Mokri as he saw how the pilot's jumpsuit bulged around his torso. The man appeared to be wearing a suicide vest under his outer clothing. Mokri jumped forward, grabbed the man's right forearm, and spun the man away from Marcus and Richards. As the pilot stumbled and fell, Mokri threw himself upon the pilot. As they fell to the ground, the pilot activated the vest's trigger. Roman and Richards dove away from Mokri and the suicidal pilot just as the vest exploded. Mokri's body took the brunt of the explosion and caught much of the shrapnel. The pilot died instantly...Master Sergeant Ebrihim "Abe" Mokri, formerly of the U.S. Special Forces and proud member of the Arizona State Guard, died a heartbeat later.

  ***

  July 4th

  Omega Mining Compound

  Northwestern, AZ

  The battle at the Omega Mining Compound was nearing an end. The fighting was still intense near the underground bunker. Those defenders still alive were pushed back from their combat positions and into the main shaft leading underground.

  The ASGuard and CBII personnel donned gas masks then flung tear gas grenades through the bunker's entrance. As the irritant smoke billowed and spread, some of the defenders threw down their weapons and came out hacking and coughing with their hands up. These personnel were rounded up and led away.

  After a few moments, the ASGuard troopers under Templeton's command moved toward the entrance. Standing to each side of the entrance, they fired their weapons into the tunnel beyond. When no return fire came, the ASGuard moved forward, leapfrogging into the tunnel. As they encountered doors, a team would break off to clear the room or corridor in the hopes of capturing or killing any defending jihadists.

  Reaching another room deeper in the bunker, Sergeant Major Templeton signaled to Caldwell to cover him and Private Dane Allen while they entered the room, then to follow them with his team and help clear the room. Templeton and Allen burst into the room and immediately came under fire. Instead of coming to Templeton's and Allen's assistance, Caldwell and his team continued down the corridor and around a bend. The two ASGuard troops quickly found themselves outnumbered by several jihadists on the far side of the large room and in deep trouble. Crouching behind a desk with the young private, the senior NCO called out to any ASGuard personnel who might hear. No one answered and no one came to their assistance. Trapped, Templeton had no intension of letting the jihadists leave the room and get behind the ASGuard and CBII personnel as they moved deeper into the bunker.

  Templeton ordered Allen to be prepared to leap through the door when he attacked the enemy. Templeton set his rifle down and pulled two hand grenades from his battle harness. Carefully, he pulled the pins on both grenades then he nodded to Allen before counting to five and throwing the grenades across the large room. Allen jumped through the doorway and into the hall beyond just ahead of the double explosion. The blast wave from the two grenades struck the desk behind which Templeton knelt. It slammed the desk against him, driving him into the wall. Pain lanced through his body as bones cracked and broke.

  Allen stepped back in the room with his weapons drawn and firing towards the enemies' positions. No return fire came...the jihadists were dead. Slinging his weapon, Allen shoved the desk off of Templeton then dragged the older man out of the room. Reaching the corridor, Allen turned and continued dragging SGM Templeton towards the bunker's entrance.

  "This way! Bring him over here!" a voice called out to Allen. Someone in an ASGuard uniform stepped into the hallway from outside and took Templeton's left arm. "This way! Let's get him outside where I can work on him."

  Outside the bunker, Private Allen was quickly able to identify the person who had just helped him pull Templeton to safety. It was Major Teresa Roman, senior ASGuard medic and the colonel's wife. They pulled Templeton to a covered location and laid him carefully upon the ground. Major Roman carefully pulled Templeton's gas mask from his face and checked him for breathing and a pulse. Finding both, she removed her backpack and pulled a pair of medic scissors from her battle harness. Allen quickly removed his gas mask and gulped in a breath of fresh air.

  "Keep an eye out, private," Major Roman said. "Don't let anyone get the drop on us and be prepared to call any ASGuard personnel over to us to help." With deft strokes, Teresa expertly cut away Templeton's battle harness then his uniform tunic. She bit her lower lip upon seeing the NCO's dark skin torn in multiple locations by shattered bones that had torn through the skin. Templeton's chest moved erratically as he tried to breathe, causing Teresa to worry about the damage to the sergeant major's heart and lungs.

  "That sonuvabitch Caldwell was supposed to back us up," said Private Allen. "The sergeant major told Caldwell to back us up then follow us into the room. Caldwell and his bunch took off down the corridor as we engaged. The bastards left us!" Teresa took a second to glance at the young trooper then turned her gaze back to her patient.

  Major Roman removed an IV kit from her backpack then swabbed both of Templeton's inner, lower arms with alcohol wipes. She quickly inserted IV needles into each arm and connected IV bag lines into each. "Here," she said to Allen. "Hold these up." She reached back into her pack and drew out a morphine syrette. She removed the cap, plunged the needle into Templeton's arm, and activated the syrette. Only then did she pull out her comm unit.

  "This is Ballbuster! Medical emergency! I repeat...medical emergency! I need two medics to converge on the front entrance to the bunker. Bring a stretcher and O2 system. Have Dust-off stand by for immediate launch! Mov
e people, move!" She set her comm unit down and began to pull pre-packaged dressings and surgical tape from her kit. Very gently, she applied the dressings then fastened them in place with surgical tape. She checked Templeton's pupillary reaction with her small flashlight and sighed. Damn! she thought. Damn, damn, damn!

  Two medics raced up; one carrying a stretcher and the other a portable oxygen unit. The two medics gasped when they saw who the injured man was then leaped to Teresa's assistance. After placing an O2 mask over Templeton's face and turning on the O2 bottle, the three medics carefully lifted Templeton onto the stretcher and strapped him down. Teresa closed up her backpack and picked up her comm unit.

  "Private, you're with us!" she told Allen as she donned her backpack. Major Roman nodded to the two medics who picked up the stretcher and they moved away from the bunker and toward an open area north of the compound. Soon, they were outside the compound's fence and Teresa waved her arms over her head to catch the attention of a medevac helicopter. The Dust-off swooped in and landed a short distance away. The two medics carried Templeton to the helicopter and carefully hoisted him into the helicopter. One of them climbed into the aircraft to lock the stretcher to the floor then took the IV bags from Private Allen.

  Teresa looked at Private Allen. "Get in the helo! You're coming with us," she ordered. Allen nodded and helped her climb into the helicopter then climbed in himself. She leaned into the cockpit area and told the pilots to fly directly to the new hospital at ASGuard HQ. As she turned around, only then did she notice someone else already seated against the rear bulkhead. Teresa checked on Templeton before turning her attention to the other injured trooper... Master Sergeant Tobias Cowen. Cowen's left shoulder was swathed in dressings and bandages and his left arm was immobilized with a sling and swath.

  "Tobias...what happened?" Teresa asked as she checked his pulse and respiration.