by W. R. Benton
An hour before dark, he saw the Russian team move into the woods and knew they were establishing an overnight camp. He would wait until full dark and then call out to the team. As he waited, he wondered about Albert and if he'd survived his time with his unit. The mosquitos were getting bad now, so he applied a layer of insect repellent to his face and hands. I must give these men names of our Commanders and tell them things only a Russian soldier would know after being stationed at Edwards, he thought.
Once dark, he moved near the Russian team and said, “I am Master Sergeant Vlad Sokoloff, of the Russian army, and on a special mission. Can I come to your fire?”
“Stand.”
“I am dressed as a partisan, because I speak English.”
“Stand and remain still. I will send two men to bring you into our camp.”
Sokoloff stood, two men approached him and placed his hands behind his back, handcuffing him. He was led to a very small fire, about the size of tea cup.
“Radioman, contact Edwards and let them know we have a man who claims he is Master Sergeant Sokoloff and he is on a special mission. Get me a description of the man, and some questions only he would know.” the team leader said.
Each new man assigned to Edwards had filled out an authentication card to use to verify a person's identity if found in the bush or following an aircraft crash.
“Sir, a Master Sergeant Sokoloff was last seen with American partisans and is on a top secret mission. The description fits this man. I have his three authentication questions, too.” the Radioman said.
“Ask him, then.”
“What is your pet name for your wife?”
Sokoloff grinned, “Cat.”
“What was your nickname in school?”
“Vee, because of the v in my first name, Vlad.”
“How many children do you have?”
“I have three girls and four boys.”
Smiling the radio operator said, “He's passed, sir, he's our Master Sergeant.”
I moved north, once far enough away to do so safely, and moved down the trail quickly, not at a run, but a fast walk. I knew three people were easier to hide, made less noise, and were less likely to be seen moving, but if seen, we'd not be able to resist much if spotted by the Russians. It was as we moved I considered only moving by night and pulled my two people in close and told them of my plan.
“How far are we from your target, sir?” Alford asked.
“Not far as the crow flies, but we aren't crows. I expect to take two nights to arrive at where I need to be. We will move off to the right, sit back to back, then eat and sleep some. An hour before dusk we will move again. Now, moving at night is much more dangerous than daytime, but I don't expect us to encounter much in the way of Russians until we near Pearl. Pearl, Alford is our intended target.”
The rest of the day passed quietly, with none of us speaking, and no one was heard moving on the trail. My biggest fear was a dog team, but the trail remained empty the remainder of the day. I suspected we were in a gray area, which neither side patrolled much, and where Russian teams were often inserted to start their missions. We were only a few miles from Pearl, so I didn't worry much about choppers flying overhead, because most partisans were a good twenty miles from us. I suspected most of the aircraft overhead would be from Jackson, since the Chinese had torn Edwards to hell and back. As a matter of fact, I'd not heard a single aircraft all day. There was also the likelihood that no Russian aircraft would fire on us this night, because if they were out of Jackson, they may not have the locations of most of the Russian units in the field.
An hour before dusk, we were moving down the trail slowly, because this was a perfect time to be ambushed. At one point, on the edge of an open field, I spotted at least five heavy Russian tanks out in the open. I knew they were likely protected by a few companies of infantry, so we gave them a wide detour. The last thing I wanted was a fight with an armor unit.
A little after midnight, I heard, but did not see, a unit near the trail. Someone had snored and I heard it clearly, but try as hard as I could, I saw nothing. I stopped for a second, heard it again, and then moved on. I don't think they had a guard posted, but if they did, he either didn't see us or was asleep.
Near 0300 hours, while it was still dark, Alford raised his fist and moved to the brush. Carol and I did the same. I shivered as a company size unit of Russian infantry moved passed us. That was when I decided Alford needed to be at least a Sergeant, because he'd saved our bacon again. I'll do something about his promotion once we return, I thought, and seconds later he was beside us.
In the dim moonlight, I saw him holding up two fingers, and at that point I heard a laugh on the trail. I heard the sound of men moving, metal striking metal, and rustling of trouser legs as they moved. A short order in Russian followed and the laughter stopped instantly, along with the metal sounds. I squatted and watched another company file past us.
Near dawn, Alford found an abandoned house and I was tempted to stay there, since we had rain coming, but I didn't like the idea of being trapped in the place. Instead, we moved into the trees behind the house and once daylight, ate a fast breakfast. One of us would always stand guard, except for Carol, and that was because I didn't trust her to remain awake. This was her first experience in the field and while she was doing fine, she was exhausted each morning when we stopped. I couldn't afford to take a chance with her and told her so. She agreed with me.
Near noon, right after I'd taken over watch, I heard noises near the old house. I watched as a Russian tank drove to the place, revved it's engines a few times and then with a company of infantry, the big monster drove through the house, causing it to collapse. The infantry had more or less surrounded the house, in the event the tank flushed any partisans. But, this time they found no one. I woke the other two and we watched the Russians move south, away from us.
“Damn,” said Alford, “I wanted to sleep there this morning.”
“I did as well,” I replied, “but something told me not to enter the place. Always listen to your inner voice, always.”
“Do you think they're looking for us?” Carol asked.
“No, not really. I think they are partisan hunting and a tank adds a lot of fear for most folks. If someone had been in the house, they'd have run out, right into the arms of the infanty. They would have been taken captive or shot on the spot, depending on the mission assigned to the Russians. Right now they want us, know we're moving north, but have no idea how many of us there are, where we're at, or much about us at all.”
“What now?” Carol asked.
“You two go back to sleep. I wasn't comfortable with you two sleeping and a bunch of Russians at our back door. You can still get a few hours of sleep.”
After they left for their sleeping bags, I sat thinking a whole lot about nothing. I thought of my first grade teacher, my parents; Willy Williams came to mind, and he was a hell of a good man. It was one of those times when thoughts just zipped through my head, but at least this time I wasn't trying to sleep. I had the bad habit of thinking after laying down to sleep. I'd sent Dolly back with Top and I actually missed her as much as if she was a person. I then gave thought to all my dogs; Newt, Skillet, Benji, and Dolly. I'd had other dogs too, but those four were my favorites. I'd lived in the country then, and my 'babies' were well cared for. I can honestly say they were all treated better than some kids I knew. I've always wondered why some folks had children, when they couldn't take care of a dog or cat. Soon, it was dark.
All was uneventful until around midnight when I heard a Russian Bison open up and heard bullets striking the leaves on the trees around me, then an explosion of a grenade sounded, followed by screams. Then a second grenade and more screams.
I had Carol remain with me and we waited. We were all three wearing NVGs, but I had no idea what had happened. Minutes later, Alford came to us and said, “Group of Russians eating. One saw me and they opened fire. My grenade put 'em all down, but I don't thin
k I killed them all. Let's take a detour and swing wide the rest of the night.”
“Go.” was my only reply.
The remainder of the night was quiet and I'd seen deer, a fox, and a 'possum as we moved. Simple things like seeing those animals made me remember the old days, before the fall. Times were different then, much different, and most Americans had no idea of the condition of our country. Our President downplayed everything, wouldn't stand up against our enemies, and he was so bad, folks began thinking he was favoring our enemies over us, his own countrymen. I'd not voted for him, not either time, and suspected from the start he was no good.
He was too smooth, and reminded me of a hungry used car dealer. I found out later he could barely say his name without a teleprompter. He'd doubled our deficit, and ruined race relations. Racial tensions were the highest during his Presidency than any time in our nation's history. Our nation's credit rating dropped, our deficit was in the trillions of dollars, he lied about many things and then later when confronted with his lies, lied again. But for the average citizen, all was well, at least on the outside.
I can remember taking my first wife on drives at night, on gravel country back roads, so we could see wild game in the headlights of my truck. We'd often see deer and other animals. It was then I felt my heart strings break and the tears flowed.
Chapter 18
Master Sergeant Sokoloff pulled the team leader, Captain Stepan Smagin, aside and told him of the partisan mission to plant a nuke near Jackson. He met his eyes and said, “Are you positive of this action?”
“I assure you, Captain, it is true. I lived and traveled with them a long time. I even saw one of the missing suitcase bombs.”
“We will report what you have told me today to Headquarters, but in code.”
“At all costs, sir, they must be stopped.”
“That, Sergeant, is up to our superiors, not us. We will follow orders.”
“Yes, sir, but stress to them I know what the partisans look like, as well as the general direction they are moving.”
“I will do that; now let us get back to camp, eat breakfast, and get ready to move.”
Once in camp, Smagin and his radioman moved away from the group to send a coded message to Base. Twenty minutes later they returned and the Captain said, “Master Sergeant, your request to follow has been refused. We are to continue south and attempt to take out partisans.”
“Yes, sir.” Sokoloff replied, but he was greatly disappointed.
The morning was rough because it turned to rain, and mud was causing problems. They were moving slower than usual, mainly because of booby-traps in the area. Near noon, their man on point suddenly stopped and began to scream. When they neared, he'd stepped on a trap the Russians called a teeter-totter trap. The board, balanced on a fulcrum, was flipped all the way up, and 6 sharp rough-metal stakes were embedded in the chest of the point man. The two barbed stakes were seen protruding from his back.
The medic was called to the front and he gave the injured man a lethal shot of morphine, because he was beyond help. Minutes later the soldier died quietly, the strong drug taking his pain away.
It was then a Chinese helicopter must have spotted the men, because the 30 mm cannon began to fire. Men dropped as limbs and heads were removed and bodies blown in half. As Sokoloff dropped to the weeds he found it strange to be under attack by a Chinese Z-10 attack helicopter in America. The cannon threw dirt high, almost ten feet high, as it continued to grind the men into fine chunks of meat.
The Chinese bird then slowly came down low to see the damage they'd done to the Russians. After circling a few times, with a man in the front seat taking photos, the helicopter rose into the sky and continued north.
Uninjured, but deeply stunned, Master Sergeant Sokoloff moved among his comrades and found all dead, and one man missing, the radio operator.
“Is it safe now, Master Sergeant?” a voiced asked from the brush.
“Come to me, and what is your name?”
“I am Private Goreva Luklov, Sergeant, and I am the radioman.”
“Call base now and report we have experienced an attack by a Chinese Z-10 attack helicopter. Report you and I as the only survivors. Tell them we are continuing our mission.”
“Continuing our mission? How can that be, with just the two of us?”
“Do as I instructed, Private, and do it now.”
As soon as the Private finished, the Master Sergeant took the radio and removed the batteries. He handed them to the man and said, “Save these to use later. Right now, you and I need to be moving north.”
“North? Our original mission was south.”
“Sit on the log with me, Private, and let me tell you a quick story about an American football game, which may have a terrible ending for all Russians.”
Ten minutes later the man blinked a few times and said, “That is like something out of a book to me. How do we stop them and not get our asses vaporized in the process?”
“I have no idea, but they must be stopped before the device is armed.”
“And how is it armed, Master Sergeant?”
“When they insert a key, a panel will pop up, with a keyboard on the panel, but only with numbers. By typing in the proper code, the bomb is then armed. So, they must have both the key and code for a detonation.”
“What kind of damage would a bomb like that cause in, oh, maybe if placed between Jackson and the airport?”
“Total devastation to both the airport and the city. I mean they would both be flattened, and then there is the fallout to consider, which could end up killing millions, including most Russians, depending on the winds.”
“They must be stopped, because the one bomb that we exploded is already making some of my friends ill.”
“Okay, on your feet, because we will travel fast and long this day. All I know about them is they said something about Pearl, but I know of no such town on our maps.”
“It is a small village, closer to the airport than the big city of Jackson, I think. I once pulled guard duty at an abandoned fire station there.” the Private said they walked north.
“How far from the highway is this town?”
“In some parts of town, you can walk to it quickly. It is not far at all.”
“Okay, enough talk as we move; we will talk again later this evening.”
The remainder of the day was slow and wet. But, near dark, the Master Sergeant picked up the tracks of three people, all moving north. While the Private wanted to stop and rest, as long as he could see the footprints Sokoloff wanted to continue following. It was near midnight, in a light drizzle, that he moved into the trees. They used one poncho to make a shelter and the other as a ground cloth. They moved under the shelter and ate cold Russian rations for supper. As soon as they finished eating, the Private fell asleep, so the Sergeant let him. After three hours, he woke the man, slept for a couple of hours himself, and woke up feeling terrible; his eyes felt like they had sand in them, and his body was sore. He and the Private broke camp and moved north.
The Master Sergeant was the man walking in front, because he didn't trust the Private. More than once he had to stop and warn the man behind him of booby-traps or mines. Seemed the closer he got to Pearl, the more mines he discovered. He was able to clearly see the tracks of the partisans, so he continued to follow. Often he could see where the partisans had stepped over a trip wire or walked around a planted mine.
Master Sergeant Sokoloff was worried all day about the Chinese helicopter, and had never seen one before in the field. He'd seen one once at an air show in Moscow, but he was glad he'd never been under it's guns before. The cannons had torn his team to hell and back. The attack worried him, and in many ways. Did this mean the Chinese were now supplying and supporting the partisans? Just the thought of war with the Chinese scared him, because they had more people than any nation on earth and that meant an unlimited number of potential soldiers in their country.
At noon, they walked into t
he trees and ate a quick ration. As they ate, they spoke in low tones.
“Do you think base will be angry when they cannot reach us?”
“Not, really,” Sokoloff replied, “because all radios have trouble at times, right?”
Smiling the Private said, “Sure they do. If we save the Russian army, do you think we will get a medal and promotion?”
“I am sure we will, but this is being done to save lives, not for our own personal reward.”
“I know, but I would love to return home to my family and wife a war hero. It will help me get a good job too, once my two years of service are over.”
“How much more time do you have to serve?”
“Four months, and I can return to my farm. I dislike the army, but mainly because I have no rank. When everyone outranks you, the army is not a good place.”
Giving a light chuckle, he said, “Well, as a senior enlisted man, I can assure you, we all answer to someone.”
“I hear you, Master Sergeant, but you do not spend all night guarding empty 55 gallon metal drums, have to shoot civilian hostages, or spend a day burning shit that has been mixed with gas and oil. The stink is never washed out of the clothing, and I cannot eat for two days after.”
“I have done my share, Private, but in different countries and different conflicts.”
“I know you have, only I had never considered that before. To me, it is like you have always been a Master Sergeant.”
“There is nothing you do that I have not done years before. The army will never change and twenty or fifty years from now, someone will be complaining about burning human dung on a hillside in another country. Now, get your radio on, and let us move.”
It was near mid-afternoon, when the Private motioned the Sergeant into the brush. Since both men were wearing camouflage clothing and face paint, they'd be hard to spot. As they lay in the grasses, a team of partisans moved south. Sokoloff suspected they were a special Russian team, like Albert had been assigned to, because all he heard spoken was two words in English.
