by C. L. Jones
The team still felt helpless on the shore line but when it looked like Pops and Surfer might make it there was a collective sigh brought on by a feeling of huge relief. They were doing their best not to burst out laughing while watching the two bad-ass agents out there on a big wet rock looking like they were doing some sexy dance with each other.
Doing his best not to show his exhaustion Pops said to the shivering man, “Let me know when you’re ready and we’ll start back across.”
Doing his best to show his gonads were still intact, Surfer nodded and said, “It ain’t gonna get any better. I’m ready, let’s go.”
Pops paused to make it look like he needed more time to rest than the beaten and cold man did before they negotiated the rocks on the return trip. So Pops said, “No let’s wait a bit. We don’t want another slip up that would cause us to go through that again. I’m too damn tired and way too old to do it twice in one day.”
Surfer tried to smile but couldn’t control the shivering on his cold face. “Hell old man you have already done it twice in one day.” They both wanted to laugh but their shivering took away that ability.
The two men stood balanced on the rock each trying to be brave in the other’s presence when once again Surfer looked at Pops, nodded his head and said, “Let’s go.”
This time there was no response from Pops. They turned carefully on the rock and started back. Holding on to the rope was a little harder with the weight of two people pulling it in the same direction as they moved along at the same time. Each handful of rope and each double step on a rock brought them closer to the river bank. After a few more minutes of life and death struggle they finally made it to the shore where the team was waiting.
When Pops stepped off the last rock onto the bank the whole team celebrated, slapping Pops and Surfer on the back and saying, “That’s the way to hang in there.”
Cowboy walked up and stood face to face with a weary Pops and while looking him in the eye announced to the rest of the Crew, “Well boys the true leader is born.” He reached out and slapped Pops on the upper arm. Then changing his expression he turned to the rest of the Crew and said, “Well boys, I hate to be the one to break up the funfest but we are burning up the night.”
Pops and Surfer nodded their heads yes and got ready to go. Surfer wanted Pops to know his feelings one last time so he got up off the ground and slapped Pops on the back. They looked at each other and nodded. With regained strength and confidence Pops said, “Not bad for two dumb-asses but we made it, didn’t we?”
The team wasted no time as Cowboy took the lead again and they headed up the riverbank. All of the sudden Cowboy made a small hand waving motion and the team scattered into the taller shore grass a few yards from the river and hit the dirt. Their collective combat warrior instinct kicked in like a round had just been shot over their heads. It hadn’t been a shot they’d heard but a man calling out and it wasn’t too far from their position. It was likely that the Crew had hit the dirt before whoever made the noise could see them. Everyone remained still in the tall wet river grass and before long two of the blue team members passed by. It looked like they were headed in the direction of the tree bridge and away from the valley.
Everyone on the team looked at Pops for instructions and he knew what they were silently asking. But he looked at each crewmember and shook his head no. They waited until the men were well passed their position and almost out of sight. Then Pops motioned for Rocky and Roadside, “Hey alpha team,” Pops whispered, “follow them and see if there are any of the rest of the blue team nearby. We don’t want to be the ones walking into a trap if we head toward the tree bridge.” He pointed to the top of the hill they still needed to climb. “We will wait for you on top.” Rocky and Roadside nodded yes and within seconds had disappeared into the forest.
After the alpha team was well on the way, Pops waved his hand for Cowboy to continue. Cowboy led the team further upstream to what looked to be an old deer path that went up the side of the hill. He stopped, squatted down on one knee and motioned for the team to gather around. Surfer, Tracker and Pops closed in on Cowboy expecting to hear about what they would see as they headed up the top of the hill. However Cowboy looked at the sky, then at Pops and said, “I don’t think we made it in time so maybe we should stay out of sight today and wait until dark again.”
Pops’ eyes scanned the entire area and he asked Cowboy a number of questions in succession. “How far is it before we top the hill? How long will it take? Where is the blue team set up and will they be waiting for us? Do we have any cover?”
Cowboy looked up the hill picturing it in his mind. In a confident military manner he gestured with his hand in a way that every field soldier knows and answered, “If we stay low we can move over to the other side of the hill.” He was pointing to an area they couldn’t see yet on the backside of the hill about as far away from the cliff as possible. “If we head up the hill from over there I think we will have ample cover.”
“Let’s go. Show me, I want to look at it,” Pops said looking off in the direction that Cowboy had just pointed. Surfer and Tracker nodded in agreement.
Cowboy whispered, “Okay stay close and low and whatever you do, don’t shoot me in the ass.”
Pops followed it up with, “I think he meant don’t shoot us in the ass.”
The team took off around the hill. It was steep and the grass was long and mostly wet which made it especially slick on the steeper parts of the hill. After a few minutes they spotted the blue team’s outpost. There were a total of three men on guard. Two were sitting and one was walking back and forth. Pops and the others stayed low in the grass and looked things over. They had to keep ducking down when the walking guard turned in their direction.
After a good look and mental note taking by the four men, Pops whispered, “Okay,” and the team retreated to the bottom of the hill to wait for the return of Roadside and Rocky. Not knowing how long it would be Pops told the team to stay low, camo-up and get some rest. He knew everyone needed the rest after the river, particularly he and Surfer.
Pops kept an eye out for anything even while resting so he was the first to see the two coming back. He soft whistled so that Roadside and Rocky knew their position and waited for them to approach. They entered the circle of men, sat down and laid back on the grass. Rocky said in a very soft and weary voice, “Blue team has one less now.”
Roadside rolled his head to the side and smugly asked, “What are we waiting for?”
Still being cautious, Pops whispered back, “Night.”
Rocky and Roadside sat up and looked at each other with a puzzled look on their faces. Rocky lowered his head, shook it and asked, “Can we just check to see what’s up there?” It was clear that he wanted he and Roadside to push the edge a little.
Pops looked at Cowboy and shrugged his shoulders as if to say it’s up to you. After a second or two Cowboy motioned for them to follow and the three men disappeared around the side of the hill. Again it was a waiting game for Pops.
After a half hour, Cowboy came back alone, “Hey, there is only one guy up there.”
Pops’ head snapped around and he looked at Cowboy confused and asked, “What do you mean only one man?”
Cowboy shook his head in disbelief and answered, “We were watching the three men at the blue team’s outpost when one of the guys stood up and paced back and forth for a while. Then he walked over and physically picked up the other two guys and swung them over his shoulder and moved them around. You know what I mean. He moved them into different positions.”
Pops lowered his head into his hands and Cowboy heard him say, “What the hell do you mean?” Before Cowboy could answer, Pops’ head snapped back up and he shook his finger in the air, “Dummies, it’s dummies.”
Cowboy nodded his head yes and replied, “Yep dummies. They are using dummies to fool us.”
Pops, Cowboy, Surfer and Tracker started chuckling softly, half out of embarrassment and half out of t
otal disbelief. The men were recovering from their moment of humor when they heard a scream coming from the direction of the hill. It sounded like someone on top of the hill had just yelled out in pain. The four men looked at each other wondering silently if Rocky and Roadside had been caught or had something worse happened to them?
There was some fear in Cowboy’s voice as he asked Pops, “Should I go check on the guys?”
Pops simply replied, “We’ll go check and Surfer and Tracker will stay here and cover our backs.”
Cowboy and Pops grabbed their weapons and started around the hill. About half way around the hill someone yelled, “Hey you guys.” Reactively Cowboy and Pops looked up and there standing on top of the hill in full view were Rocky and Roadside.
Rocky stood on one leg with the other one crossed at the ankle leaning on his weapon and Roadside was making himself comfortable in the long green grass. Cowboy and Pops climbed up the hill to face the two smug looking guys at the top. Pops asked a question that one agent never asks to another, “What happened to the guard?”
Rocky said, “I think we scared him. He flew away.”
Roadside not being outdone waved his hands like wings out in front of his chest and said, “Flew like a dead bird.”
Even though he’d been in this type of business for a long time it still took a little time to digest everything. Pops recovered his composure and asked Cowboy to head back down the hill and get the other two men. As he was leaving Cowboy looked at Pops and said, “Now it’s seven to seven.” Pops wasn’t comfortable so didn’t answer. Instead he made a fast check of the explosives around his stomach after Cowboy turned away.
Cowboy took off down the hill smiling and shaking his head, enjoying some kind of self contained private humor. Pops knew he should feel something but the only thing he could think was it’s us or them. Less of them is better for us. He thought of Mary and the kids back home waiting for him and knew this was a big step towards retirement when he could return to them. Over the years he’d stopped letting himself feel bad about his business and now he tried to only think of his loved ones during his waking hours. He’d learned from years of terrifying nights that he’d never forget anything. You live with your ghosts every night, so you do your best to keep them out of your thoughts and keep the daylight hours for yourself.
Pops, Rocky and Roadside explored the top of the hill checking to see what the blue team might have left behind. The rest of the team joined them as Pops said, “We probably won’t find anything but we should fan out and check the area anyway.” They didn’t find much, just a couple of MRE’s, the dead guard’s weapon, and one clip of ammo.
After their methodical search the team met near the blue team’s former outpost and discussed what to do next. Cowboy came up with, “Let’s go for it. Let’s take the bridge right now.” Roadside and Rocky were chomping at the bit to hit bridge and agreed with Cowboy.
In a calm, easygoing manner Surfer asked, “Why?” He paused for a second while the eager threesome stared at him then continued, “All we have to do is wait until they send someone back to relieve the dead guard. They wouldn’t expect him to be on twenty-four hours a day. One of us can act like him and the rest of us can hide and take them when they return.” After a few minutes of consideration the team one by one gradually agreed with Surfer’s idea.
Pops watched the dynamic as the team joined in on Surfer’s plan and began plotting just how they should surprise the unprepared replacements. He turned to Surfer, “Okay Surfer, it’s your idea. It’s your baby so you run with it.”
Surfer was surprised at first but was ready to rise to the challenge. He replied, “Okay, okay I need two of you and the rest of you keep out of sight and just give us back up if we need it.” Cowboy and Rocky volunteered to take on whatever Surfer had in mind and the rest of the team retreated and took cover in the trees and tall grass. Their backup responsibility was to keep watch in case a blue team patrol was following the blue team relief for the guard that they’d just eliminated.
Hours went by without incident and Pops was beginning to think that the members of the other team wouldn’t be back until the next morning. The team was second guessing Surfer’s plan thinking maybe Cowboy’s idea of heading for the tree bridge was the better choice when Tracker gave out a soft whistle then hit the ground. The Crew mimicked Tracker as each man burrowed further into the undergrowth. The only ones still visible were Surfer who was acting like the former blue team guard, and a motionless Cowboy and Rocky who were playing the roles of the two dummies.
The noise continued to grow louder when finally Pops spotted the old green military transport truck coming up over the back of the hill. The hidden Crew stayed out of sight and watched as the truck drove within fifty yards of the outpost. It came to a stop and the driver got out and walked around to the back of the truck. He opened the back canvas flap and tied it out of the way and dropped the tailgate. Out of the back of the truck jumped two of the cadre carrying a hot food container. They set the container on the ground, waved at the guard then got back into the truck which turned around and headed back down the hill. It was quickly apparent that the reason the truck hadn’t come all the way up to the outpost was the narrow overgrown road which was really no more than a path that extended from the wider road along the top of the hill. The truck had stopped at a wide flat spot about thirty yards from the outpost which made it simpler to stop and navigate their turn around and drive back down the hill.
Once the truck was out of sight behind the hill, the backup team made a quick sweep of the area, listening and watching for anyone who could be a problem. After the check, the team converged on the guard’s post that was still manned by Surfer, Cowboy and Rocky. No one could believe that they had just seen the cadre delivering hot food to the blue team. Finally, Pops said, “Don’t that beat all.”
The Crew looked at each other and Tracker said, “Do any of you think we would’ve been getting that treatment?”
Someone said, “Hell no,” and everyone broke out laughing.
Pops glanced around and went on a rant, “Well this puts a new light on everything, doesn’t it? It’s not a competition, it’s a set up. Get rid of the organization’s A team, the best of the best and replace them with a bunch of disposables. We guys all have too much experience and too many missions with the organization. It means we all know too much. We’ve been ordered to do ruthless brutal things and the people who gave the orders were a bunch of gung-ho, wet behind the ears know nothings. Getting rid of us must cost the organization a hell of a lot less than it does to keep us on.”
Pops paused then he went on in a bit of a happier tone, “What’s you say boys? Let’s eat.”
While still staying on alert the Crew wasted no time opening the large hot food container. On top was a smaller container of some great looking beef stew with another container holding hot homemade biscuits. Not having any plates or trays, the team sat around the container using the biscuits as eating utensils and helped themselves. During the meal Pops told the group, “Tomorrow we do the same thing, but when the replacements show up we put them down and then move on to the bridge. Remember guys, it’s not a contest. Plus I now think it’s likely that there is not hundred-thousand dollars waiting for us at the end of the rainbow. I truly believe it’s us or them.”
Just then Surfer and Roadside dropped the biscuits they were eating and sharply looked around. With a cheek full of food Cowboy managed to sputter out, “Someone is coming.” The Crew scattered and quickly took up the first positions they could find that were out of sight. It was not a minute too soon as two men from the blue team crested the top of the hill, casually talking as they walked along. They walked right behind Pops’ position but he wasn’t spotted because the idiots were too busy talking and not looking around or watching where they were going. Pops couldn’t move because they were so close that he would give himself away and ruin the surprise.
Pops waited until he couldn’t hear their voices any
longer before he raised his head. He wasn’t able to see anything over the grass when two muffled shots rang out. He knew right off that someone was using a homemade silencer. Pops turned and aimed his weapon in the direction of the shots taking up a defensive stance. The whole team slowly rose up out of their concealed positions. Thirty to forty feet in front of Pops were two dark lumps lying on the ground. The team moved into action and quickly sanitized the area and after a few minutes you couldn’t tell anything had taken place. As the team finished cleaning up Cowboy walked by Pops and said, “Seven to five.”
Pops considered this latest event. Why would they send replacements out so late when it was clear that the outpost guard would not be able to get back before dark? He had to conclude that the guard was not supposed to go back tonight. The two extra blue team boys were probably sent to stay out here all night with one man on guard during the day and two on at night. Pops further concluded that the leader of the blue team was apparently expecting Pops and the Crew to hit one of the other positions first. It was good thing that they hadn’t undertaken the first plan, this one might work better.
The Crew’s three teams spread out around the hill. With three teams of two they could set up sleeping patterns so that one man in each position would remain awake and on guard through the night.
It was just getting light and Pops could see different members of the team up and moving around. Surfer and Tracker were sitting on the far side of the hill eating some M.R.E.'s. Rocky was walking behind the tree line and Pops wasn’t able to see Roadside. Then Pops spotted a dark heap moving around on the ground and knew it was Roadside still trying to sleep. Cowboy was sitting against a tree watching the path the truck had taken up and down the hill.
