by JJ Aughe
“Don’t try to move, Jessie,” Bailey cautioned as he leaned over her with a concerned expression. “I’m going to check you for injuries. You may be badly hurt and don’t know it.”
Though it hurt like the blazes and knowing the circumstances were all wrong, she chuckled anyway then quipped, “That is the second time in two days you have told me not to move, I might be seriously injured. I hope it’s not becoming a habit.”
Relieved she was able to jest at his words of worry Bailey gave her a soft kiss on the forehead. “If it is,” he stated matter-of-factly, as he made a quick check of her legs and lower body. “I hope to blazes that after this it’s under better circumstances.”
Sobering, he frowned. She hadn’t moved her legs on her own and that worried him. “Jessie, do you have any pain in your neck, legs or back?” She told him that other than a rock poking into her back near her spine she felt fine. Her response not satisfying his worry, he instructed her to try to move her legs. He watched her facial expression for any sign of pain as she obeyed.
His sigh of relief as she complied sent her arms around his neck and her lips to his as she kissed him hard. She was about to draw back to say she loved him but was interrupted by a yell from the direction of the truck.
“Guys,” Melissa yelled. “We gotta get outta here! Carol says the truck is done and we are going to have to hoof it from here!”
Bailey broke the kiss, spinning on his heels towards Melissa. “How are Eddie and Sean?”
“Sean is shook up but says he’s okay. Eddie says he is okay too.” As she finished her eyes got as big as silver dollars as a muzzle flash and pistol report nearly blinded and deafened Bailey. Whipping back around he found Jessie in a crouch, her arms extended with her Glock ready to fire again. From up the ridge came the sound of a heavy body thudding into brush and sliding towards them. Then all was again quiet.
A rare, satisfied grin appeared on Ahmed’s lips as he heard the first shot from the hillside below. The sound of the truck crashing made the grin wider. Almed’s glee was short lived.
The following short exchange of gunfire, then a continued silence and the absence of a report from his men turned the grin on his lips into a thin, angry line. With a silent wave of his hand he sent twelve more men down the mountain.
Chapter 13: Peter
Forest Ranger Jill Sunderland was on her first patrol after returning to duty from a year’s deployment in the Persian Gulf with her naval reserve unit. She stopped her Forestry truck at the crest of a ridge across the Green River from Thomas Mountain. She loved this area and was so very happy to be back and back on duty at her job as a Forest Ranger. She was thinking that it was so very peaceful here when she was startled by what she was sure was the distant sound of gunfire.
“Was that a gunshot from across the valley?” she asked herself. Thinking someone may be target practicing or poaching on the other side of the valley, she automatically peered in that direction to check.
Jill watched as a grey pickup rolled over onto its top, then to its passenger side and slowly slide down an embankment. She heard a burst of what she knew to be automatic rifle fire and quickly pulled her binoculars from the pouch at her side, training them on the area.
“My God!” she exclaimed, seeing two men sprawled in the snow, four more firing from the cover of boulders on a man dodging bullets as he scrambled back up the incline toward a downed person wearing tan slacks and a tan and green checked long sleeved shirt just up the grade from him. “What in the hell is going on over there!” She quickly pressed the button on her lapel microphone to call in as another volley of shots disturbed the quiet of the afternoon. “H.Q.! Ranger Sunderland here. I have a civilian fire fight in progress with at least three casualties on the east side of the Green River in sector one zero three four on Thomas Mountain.”
The unusual report of a civilian firearms fight with casualties caused Tony Merriwether, the dispatcher, to sound shocked as he responded. “You what?” Hearing distant automatic weapons fire in the background brought a note of worry to his voice as he finished before Jill could answer. “Roger that. Are you close enough to see what’s going on?”
When Ranger Sunderland explained what she was seeing Merriwether told her to keep the communication open while he reported the incident to the Washington State Patrol as he had been ordered the day before. Seconds later he was completely dumbfounded when the person he was talking to at W.S.P. was interrupted and a very serious voice told him he was now speaking to the Regional Deputy Administrator at The Department of Homeland Security, Dennis O’Donald.
Dennis had been on route from Olympia to the safe house Saturday afternoon when Agent Winfrey had notified him of the attack there. When he arrived at the site of the destroyed Safe House a short time later the State Trooper at the scene informed him there had been five casualties. Four of the five bodies were those of the safe house security guards, the fifth was yet to be identified. Dennis was thankful that none were those of his uncle, Sean O’Donald, or those of Agent Carol Winfrey, Bailey Gilmore, Ms. Jessica Melano or Ms. Melissa Calahan-Hough. He was still very concerned though.
Had Agent Winfrey and her charges escaped? Or had they been captured by the attacking force?
Hoping against hope that he would hear something from Bailey or Agent Winfrey before too long, Dennis went straight back to Washington State Patrol Headquarters in Olympia. When informed later that one of the four GPS units he had included with the supplies in the tunnels of the safe house had been found near the White River four miles east of the safe house he had breathed a little easier. He had immediately issued an order to all law enforcement agencies in the surrounding three states that any and all small arms fire or suspicious activity, especially in Pierce, King or Snohomish Counties in Washington State be routed straight to him. The barrage of reports had been staggering, but fruitless.
Still worried about the disappearance and safety of his charges, this information from Merriwether spurred Dennis into action. He was certain of the identity of the people under attack on that mountainside. And they were being attacked by a well-armed force! Telling Merriwether to patch Ranger Sunderland through so he could get first hand, play-by-play information on what was happening, he put in an emergency call to the commander of Naval Air Station Whidby. He identified himself and ordered fully armed fighter jets scrambled to the site of the attack. The pilots were to be supplied with the digital photos, names and descriptions of his five charges he had earlier sent to all law enforcement and military installations and the RCMP in British Columbia. The pilots were directed to ascertain as close as possible whether the people from the pickup were in fact the people in question. If that proved true and they were in need of assistance the pilots were to immediately engage the attacking force.
For the first time in years Dennis O’Donald bowed his head, praying to God the help he had ordered would arrive in time.
Worry etched on his face, Peter Klieg ended the call from his boss and held the helicopter at treetop level until reaching the Green River. Then he brought the Huey around, pointing the nose of the craft down river and dropped as close to the surface as possible. His boss, Eddie Parker, had notified him that he and the five people with him were under hostile fire and needed to be air lifted out. Klieg, who had been on a delivery run to one of his boss’s businesses in Bellevue when his boss called, had immediately changed headings for his boss’ cabin. Now Eddie had just informed him that they were now afoot and under heavy hostile fire. He gave Peter directions to their rendezvous point and a layout of the terrain. Then he instructed Peter to come in low from up-river so the attackers would not be able to fire on him until the very last minute. Peter was thankful for the heads up. He had been a chopper pilot in Iraq and had seen first-hand what ground fire could do to an armored chopper, which was non-existent on this relic from bygone days.
Parker’s voice suddenly cut Peter’s thoughts short. “Peter! We can hear the chopper. Watch for that white quartz outcropping I told y
ou about. It will be right below the pickup area.”
“You’re not there yet?”
“No. We’re just above it. There is a very steep, bare boulder strewn area about a hundred yards wide that we are going to have to cross. I haven’t seen or heard any pursuit for a little bit, but that doesn’t mean there isn’t any. Bailey, one of the people with me, has come up with a plan, but it is going to be touchy.”
Shaking his head Peter asked, “What’s the plan?”
“This is what we want you to do. When you see that white granite outcropping call me. We’ll start down then. When you get even with the outcropping hover for the count of five then come straight up. We should be pretty close by then so you can go ahead and hover just above ground. You may very well be under small arms fire, so don’t touch down.”
“Gotcha!” Peter confirmed. Then, “I hope you are ready. I’m at the outcropping now!” Hovering abreast the white boulders, Peter didn’t disconnect. Instead he called off the numbers. “One, two, three, four, five!” and started his ascent.
Carol stood rear guard in an open area fairly clear of snow at the top of the slide area with the A-R fifteen held at the-ready-to-fire position watching for the enemy while the others, Melissa in the lead, started down the boulder strewn, brushless slide path. They reached an area half way to the landing site where the terrain leveled off a little as Eddie’s chopper cleared the rim of the canyon.
A few steps behind Melissa, Bailey and Eddie silently helped Sean navigate the steep slope. Behind them, Jessie walked half turned, her weapon at the ready so she too could keep a wary eye on their back trail. She had just negotiated past two large boulders when the first shot broke the silence that had prevailed since leaving the wrecked truck and a bullet ricocheted off the rock closest to her..
Carol, now prone on the ground, immediately fired at targets Jessie couldn’t see. Emptying a clip, Carol was inserting another when a bullet hit the stock of her rifle, knocking it from her stunned grasp. Knowing the assailant had zeroed in on her she quickly rolled to her right toward a fair sized boulder for cover. Another bullet gouged a trough in the wet ground she had just vacated.
Down the slope Jessie took shelter behind a boulder when she heard the second and third shots. She could see that Carol no longer had her rifle and was caught in crossfire. She carefully surveyed the area above Carol. Sensing, rather than seeing, movement in the brush above Carol’s position, she fired two quick shots from her Glock. A man rose from the brush, a rifle trained on her. She fired one round and the man’s rifle flew from his hands as he grabbed his chest and sank from sight.
Below Jessie, Bailey and Eddie both whirled at the shots. They saw that Carol was pinned down by fire from two directions and Jessie’s effort to protect her. With mutual, though silent consent they eased Sean to the ground behind a large boulder where he would be protected. Once Sean was safe they each took a side of the protecting boulder and began firing a steady barrage toward the brush above Carol.
Taking advantage of the cover fire from below, Carol somersaulted to a boulder further down the incline. Once safe she reached for her side arm only to discover it had somehow been dislodged from her holster and was gone!
Jessie, having seen Carol’s sidearm slip from its holster as the woman somersaulted to the safety of larger boulders, knew her friend was still caught in crossfire and would be helpless without a weapon. She would be putting herself in danger of being hit by the fire from above if she tried to help Carol by retrieving her weapon, but she had to help Carol!
She quickly, but very carefully, exposed herself to plot her course up the incline to the different boulders she could use for cover. She satisfied herself that she could do it and signaled Bailey that she was going to help Carol. Seeing his forward hand signal indicating he understood, she waited for their cover fire then dove from her cover, rolled and tumbled up the incline until finally reaching Carol’s weapon. Shoving the Glock into her waistband she tumbled head over heels back down to the boulder Carol lay behind.
Carol incredulously shook her head at Jessie. “You are crazy, woman! I thought you were a society woman! Where did you get all that moxie?”
“I have never claimed to be a society woman, Carol,” Jessie matter-of-factly replied as she handed the weapon to her. Swinging her Glock up she fired a round at an attacker who was trying to advance toward them. When the man sprawled headfirst on the ground and didn’t move she glanced back at Carol. “I’ll explain later, but I couldn’t leave you out of all the fun!”
Noticing the chopper was now taking fire from above, Eddie used his walkie-talkie to order his pilot to get out of there. Peter had observed the predicament of the two combatants above his boss’s position and had other ideas. He was feeling like he was back in the mountains of Afghanistan so, instead of leaving, he swung the craft around and maneuvered it so that it was between the firing from the top of the ridge and the woman closest to him. He activated the electric sliding side door and switched on the exterior P.A. system telling her to get in. When Melissa immediately scrambled aboard he signaled for her to get a set of headphones on then quickly told her his own plans for rescuing her companions. Then he told her what she would be required to do to help. At her silent nod of understanding and wide smile of approval, he maneuvered up the grade to a position above his boss.
Bullets pinging off the fuselage made for scary work as Melissa started the wench, lowering one of the two rescue baskets to her friends and loved one below. Again switching to the PA system Peter spoke into his microphone, “Eddie! You’ll have a better chance defending the women from up here!”
In silent unison, Eddie and Bailey carefully loaded Sean into the basket and gave the thumbs up signal for him to be winched up. When the second basket reached them, though it was designed for just one occupant, they both clambered on as bullets ricocheted off the rocks and basket frame. As soon as Melissa gave him the signal that both were in the basket and being winched up, Peter kept an eye out for hostiles as he made ready to send the chopper forward at an angle as soon as Melissa let him know Bailey and Eddie were safely aboard.
Flying at an angle as if the helicopter were an armed gunship, Peter moved the chopper up the grade, Bailey, Eddie and Melissa firing at any terrorist they saw from the open doorway. They were nearly to Carol and Jessie when three Navy jets made a low pass over them and went into a tight bank, returning to make a fly by above Almed’s attacking force.
The report informing him that half of his men were either killed or otherwise out of action had no effect on Almed’s mood. It was understood. In war casualties happened. Securing the objective is what mattered and he still had hopes of his men prevailing. His well-equipped men should be able to capture five ill-equipped men and women. In the next instant fighter jets arrived and Almed was forced to quickly re-evaluate the situation. He admitted to himself that Jamad had been right. It had been a mistake to leave Jamad and over half his men miles from where the infidels had gone to ground.
Because he hadn’t listened to Jamad this battle could not be won. In minutes the surrounding mountains would surely be swarming with military personnel and his men would either be killed or captured. He had to plan an escape. But where could he go, and how could he escape without being seen? The only road into the area would surely be watched and there would be more jets and more helicopters overhead very soon.
To escape he knew he had to use cunning. Recalling that the topographical terrain maps of the area indicated just to the south of him there was a brush-clogged ravine that ended at the river below, an appealing plan formed in his mind. Slithering into the brush, he disappeared.
The fuselage of the Huey riddled with bullet holes and the engine making sounds that made him apprehensive, Peter maneuvered the chopper to within a foot of the ground on the uphill side of the two women. The women didn’t hesitate. When they saw Bailey motion for them to get in, they jumped to their feet, made a mad dash for the open doorway and dove through
. Peter spun the chopper and headed for the gorge, dropping to safety below the rim.
Eddie slipped a pair of headphones on as soon as the women were aboard. Instead of having his pilot set a course for Eastern Washington, he informed the pilot of Sean’s condition, re-directing him to a hospital in Bellevue. Staying out of sight below the rim Peter immediately set a course along the river. Once he knew they were safe from hostile fire he changed course for the hospital. But to make sure they were safe he again stayed very close to the treetops below.
While in route to the hospital, Melissa, again fretting about her dog, Kerry, worried that the poor dog was frantic, borrowed Eddie’s cell phone to call her neighbor. The cell phone tucked up under one earpiece of the head set and the microphone pushed to one side so she could speak into the phone, Melissa began her conversation with her neighbor.
Seated on a bench seat beside Jessie, Bailey placed an arm behind her. Pulling her close he said, “While it was one of the bravest acts I have ever seen, Jessie, what you did back there was awfully dangerous.”
Jessie leaned her head into him. Feeling his lips on her cheek as he softly kissed it, she couldn’t resist pulling the headset and microphone off, turning his microphone out of the way and kissing those sensuous lips of his. She tilted her head away, gazed into those sky blue eyes and saw what she took to be anger. It startled her. Oh God, she thought, Bailey is upset with me for going to help Carol!
She felt terrible for causing him concern, kissed him again and spoke against his lips. “I love you, sweetheart. I realize now that what I did back there terrified you and I’m sorry, I really am. At the time though, all I could think about was retrieving her weapon and getting it to her.”
Bailey smiled, placed his palm on her cheeks, put into words what he had felt when he saw what she was doing. “I know, Jessie, and I understand better than you could ever know what you felt when you saw Carol in trouble. I’d have done the same thing in your place. It’s just that, and I think you will agree with me here, you are the first person to ever love me for who I am. I love you so much that I don’t think I could’ve lived with it if anything had happened to you.”
