Corps Justice Boxed Set: Books 1-3: Back to War, Council of Patriots, Prime Asset

by C. G. Cooper

  +++

  Daniel breathed a quiet sigh of relief as Trapper kept his submachine gun pointed at him. Obviously the man hadn’t seen Lance yet. Daniel prayed for guidance.

  “Where’s the rest of your team?” Trapper asked.

  Daniel stood silently.

  “I said, where’s the rest of your team?”

  Daniel smiled. Trapper responded by adjusting his aim and firing a round into the snow next to Daniel’s left foot. The sniper didn’t even flinch.

  “I can’t wait to beat that smile off your face, Marine,” Trapper said. “Now move.”

  Trapper motioned toward what Daniel correctly assumed was the hide that he and Lance had been looking for. Like all the others, the observation point was situated along a small path overlooking the ravine.

  Daniel ducked his head and entered the alcove. He saw a radio, extra ammunition and claymores lying on the far side of the depression. There was room for almost twenty men to stand comfortably. Daniel was surprised by the size.

  “Turn around,” Trapper ordered.

  Daniel turned and faced his enemy.

  Trapper moved into the hide. “Last chance. Tell me where the rest of your men are.”

  Daniel didn’t see the harm in telling the man ‘most’ of the truth.

  “We split up. Some of them are on the other side of the ravine. The rest are probably a mile behind me.”

  “Why are you by yourself?”

  “I’m a sniper. I’m used to being on my own.”

  Trapper took a few seconds to respond. He’d thought the blonde Marine would have resisted more.

  “What did you do with Lance?”

  “He’s still tied up at the house,” Daniel lied.

  Not that Trapper necessarily cared about Lance’s well-being, but he had been curious about his former colleague’s whereabouts.

  “So here’s what’s going to happen. I’ve gotta go find the rest of your friends and kill them. Since I can’t drag you along, you’re going to kneel down right there and I’m gonna put a bullet in your head.”

  If Daniel was frightened, he didn’t show it. He knew that when his time came, he would be prepared to meet The Almighty. But something told him that it wasn’t his time to go. It might have had something to do with the flicker of movement he saw behind Trapper. Daniel smiled again and kneeled down on the ground.

  +++

  Lance had silently followed Trapper and Daniel. He’d overheard snippets of their conversation. Lance knew he had to save Daniel, but he didn’t know how. His mind worked desperately to come up with a plan. His lack of brainpower and the uncertainty he felt toward harming Trapper kept Lance from making a decision. He knew deep down that Trapper would shoot Daniel.

  Stepping up to the alcove’s entrance, Lance took a quick peek into the space. Daniel was slowly kneeling onto the floor. Lance knew he had to move fast or his new friend would die. Knowing it would slow him down, he placed his weapon against the rock wall. Lance paused to steady himself and then ran into the cave.

  +++

  Trapper sensed the movement coming from behind. Moving to his left, he pivoted away from the cave’s entrance. He stood in shock for a protracted second as he recognized Lance barreling into the room. His surprise didn’t last long as he quickly depressed the trigger and rounds reached out at his target.

  +++

  Daniel didn’t have time to watch. He extracted the blade strapped to his left wrist. Daniel silently thanked Cal for the welcome gift he’d gotten when he joined SSI. Cal had an identical blade that had been put to good use in the past.

  The sniper gracefully hopped to his feet and moved toward Trapper.

  +++

  Lance grunted away the shock as he felt the rounds tear into his body. The room seemed to move in slow motion as he kept his focus on the wild-eyed Trapper. It seemed like a never-ending stream of bullets coming his way, violating his muscular body. Lance pressed forward through the pain.

  +++

  Trapper knew he’d hit Lance with at least ten rounds, but the man kept coming. It was too late when he finally remembered the other man in the room. Turning back to where Daniel had been, Trapper’s eyes went wide. He struggled to swivel his aim as Daniel closed the remaining distance, blade leading.

  +++

  His heartbeat barely elevated, Daniel silently slid his blade under Trapper’s chin to the hilt and twisted. Trapper dropped his weapon as he moved his hands to stop the blade. While the two men locked eyes, Lance barreled in, knocking all three to the floor in a bloody heap.

  Chapter 31

  Grand Teton Mountain Range, Wyoming

  3:56pm, September 28th

  The bear had stopped its bellowing. He must have found the pack, Cal thought as he inched his way forward. The satisfying boom he was waiting for never came as he sat and listened again. Maybe it was a dud.

  The Marine hadn’t found any other tripwires so far, but he wasn’t taking any chances. He had to be careful. The thin path was too easy to booby trap.

  Just as he started forward again, he heard a loud explosion followed by a frightening scream from the injured grizzly. Cal didn’t like killing innocent animals, but if it came down to a fight, he sure as hell was going to do his damnedest to win, even if it meant killing the bear. Cal closed his eyes, waiting for the grizzly’s screams to subside. Instead of stopping, they became angry roars and seemed to be getting closer.

  Cal hurried to try to close the remaining distance to the hidden alcove. He glanced back and saw the bear moving effortlessly along the ledge. Cal had no choice but to turn back and defend himself.

  His submachine gun felt pathetically small as he looked up at the gigantic bear that had now reared up on its hind legs. Cal fired his 9mm rounds into the grizzly’s body. The bullets didn’t even seem to slow the bear. With lightning speed, it swatted the weapon out of Cal’s hands. The gun fell into the whiteness of the deep ravine.

  The bear looked at Cal as if to say, you have two seconds to run. Cal took the hint, turned and ran. The grizzly paused for a moment to lick its bloody paw, roared, and then followed. It seemed to recognize that its quarry was cornered. The large male knew every inch of its territory. The path ended soon and Cal would have nowhere to go.

  +++

  Daniel checked Trapper to make sure the man was dead. The beak-nosed mercenary’s eyes stared into nothingness.

  Lance was struggling to sit up. As Daniel moved to help him, he saw blood seeping out of the big man’s mouth. It didn’t look good for his new friend.

  “Where are you hit?” Daniel asked in concern.

  Lance tried to answer but couldn’t speak. He looked down at his torso as Daniel ripped the man’s coat open. There were too many entry wounds to count. Trapper had done the job.

  Daniel reached into one of his cargo pouches and pulled out a small first aid kit. Knowing the dangers of the battlefield, he’d packed it himself long ago. He extracted a small syringe and looked at Lance.

  “This will help with the pain.”

  Lance looked at Daniel with pleading eyes. He knew he was going to die.

  Daniel carefully grasped the larger man’s arm and injected the powerful drug. The effects were almost instantaneous. It was a special concoction he’d come across while serving in Afghanistan. The Corpsmen and their Marines called it ‘sleep juice.’ It was used for the worst cases and only as a last resort. There were some times when you just knew an injured warrior was going to die. Better to let a man die in peace. The drug wasn’t officially sanctioned by any of the military branches because of its potency and the obvious ethical issues. After losing his spotter in Afghanistan, Daniel had made himself a promise that he would never let anyone suffer the way Grant had. Better to let a man die in peace.

  Lance’s features softened as the drug took effect.

  “Don’t worry, I’ll get you out of here,” Daniel said softly.

  Lance shook his head already knowing what would happen. He would die in
the cave. With great effort he grabbed Daniel’s arm and spoke through gurgled blood, “I’m…a…Marine.”

  Daniel nodded solemnly and smiled at the dying man. “You won your honor back, brother. I’ll make sure everyone knows you died as a Marine.”

  Lance’s smile filled the room. Daniel would never forget the look of pure joy on the dying man’s face.

  “Close your eyes, Lance. It won’t be long now.”

  The big man nodded and closed his eyes for the last time.

  “God be with you, my friend,” Daniel whispered, as Lance exhaled his last breath.

  The sniper silently asked God to watch over Lance. Then he stood up, gathered a few items, and left in search of Cal.

  +++

  Cal reached the end of the trail and cursed. He was trapped. As he went to brace himself on the steep rock wall, his hand slipped. Cal barely caught himself before he slammed his head. He hadn’t noticed it as he approached, but there was an opening. Looking closer, Cal saw that there was a hole about three feet in diameter. This must be the hide.

  Hoping that there was something inside he could use, he went head first into the alcove. The space was small. Cal figured that it might be possible to fit two men in the tiny cave. Luckily, there weren’t any traps awaiting his arrival. He felt around in the dark for anything he could use as a weapon. His hands finally found a stout stick. Cal picked it up and felt along its length. It was barely two feet long with blunt ends. Cal guessed that someone had probably once used it as a fire poker.

  The thought gave him an idea. He reached into one of his pockets and felt the butane lighter he always kept there. His hope somewhat restored by the feel of the lighter, he unzipped the parka and started to tear strips off the bottom of his polypropylene undershirt. Cal wrapped the thin strips around one of the ends of the stick. Just as he went to light the improvised torch, the space went completely dark. The bear had reached the cave’s entrance.

  +++

  After retrieving his gear from where he and Lance had staged it, Daniel took off for the rendezvous point. Daniel was glad that Cal wouldn’t have to deal with Trapper. Maybe the rest of the insertion would go smoothly.

  Chapter 32

  Grand Teton Mountain Range, Wyoming

  5:22pm, September 28th

  Daniel made good time getting to the rendezvous point. He’d waited impatiently as the minutes ticked away and still no Cal. Finally, Daniel made the decision to find his friend. It wasn’t far, and he figured out a route that would ensure the two Marines wouldn’t miss each other.

  The sniper staged his gear and put on his skis. He tried to raise Cal on the radio. There was no answer, so Daniel got his bearings and took off in Cal’s direction.

  +++

  Cal had managed to light his makeshift torch and look around the small cave. There wasn’t anything else he could use as a weapon. The bear had at first searched the trail thinking that Cal had jumped off the side. It didn’t take the grizzly long to figure out that his target was right behind him in the little recess.

  Man and beast had traded swings and shouts of anger. The huge animal couldn’t fit in the hole and Cal couldn’t deliver any damage with his measly torch. Whoever said bears are afraid of fire was full of shit, Cal pondered angrily as he took another ineffective swipe at his opponent.

  Despite the claymore mine explosion and being riddled by Cal’s rounds, the bear didn’t seem to be slowing down. Occasionally he would step back and lick his wounds, only to come back at Cal’s hideout with renewed vigor. Cal knew it was only a matter of time before a claw came far enough in to deal a deadly blow.

  +++

  Daniel heard the bear long before he saw it. He could only hope that Cal was on the delivering end of the wrath in the beast’s tone. It sounded like something from the pits of hell.

  Following the bear’s cries, Daniel made his way along the ridge.

  +++

  The bear smelled something in the wind. It paused briefly and cocked its ear, straining against the howling storm to hear anything out of the ordinary. Nothing. The creature stood back on its hind legs and sniffed the air. The smell was gone.

  It turned back to the cave and gave in to its primal instinct. The mighty mammal roared deafeningly as it knew it would soon have its prize.

  +++

  Daniel had eased himself down onto the narrow path. It wasn’t hard to pinpoint the location of the bear from all the noise it was making. Gazing through the white downfall, Daniel finally saw the brute. It alternated sticking each arm into the hole almost like it had found a gigantic bee hive filled with honey.

  Daniel knew at once that it was Cal the bear was after. He could even see a flicker of what he assumed was a torch coming from the small entry. Daniel couldn’t understand why Cal hadn’t just killed the grizzly.

  The sniper couldn’t get a good shot from his precarious position, so he went with another option. He started yelling.

  It took the enraged bear a second to hear him over the blizzard. Even when he did turn around, he couldn’t pinpoint Daniel’s location. The beast sniffed the air again trying to find what had now claimed his interest twice.

  Daniel watched quietly as the bear searched. He yelled again and locked eyes with the mighty animal. It seemed confused as to what it should do. Go after the new human or stay with the one cornered in the hole? While it was deciding, Daniel watched in amazement as Cal climbed out of the hole, took the quick steps to the edge of the ravine, jumped into the swirling wind and disappeared below.

  The bear turned just in time to see Cal jump. Much as a child quickly loses interest in a toy, the bear forgot about its first prey and set its angry gaze on Daniel. Daniel watched in amazement as the gigantic fiend deftly maneuvered its way along the narrow path. The Marine turned and ran back up the trail. He could only hope that Cal was still alive. Right now he had to deal with the enormous grizzly.

  +++

  Cal tried to keep his descent as close to the ravine wall as possible. He had no idea how far the fall would be, so he kept trying to grab hold of something. The descent was painful as he hit branch after branch and then twisted his knee slamming into a rock only to be thrown down the wall farther. Cal worried that the drop would never end. As soon as he thought it, the ground greeted him with a painful thud. He lay there for a full minute, listening for the bear that he was almost sure had jumped after him. The animal never came.

  Cal rolled over onto his stomach and pushed himself into a sitting position. He tested his limbs, amazed that, despite a few bumps and bruises, nothing appeared to be drastically wrong with him. I think I just used up another one of my nine lives.

  He got to his feet and steadied himself against a large boulder that he’d just missed coming down on. Cal knew he couldn’t climb back up, so the only way to go was through the ravine. Hopefully Daniel took care of Trapper, Cal thought as he started walking. This is gonna be a real pain in the ass without my skis.

  +++

  Daniel glided along the path until he came to a small section that looked just big enough for him to lie on. He skidded to a stop and moved into a prone position on the snow-covered ledge. It would give him the best stability to fire his rifle if he was lying on the ground. The bear wasn’t far behind. Daniel knew he would only have time to fire one shot. With minimal visibility, the window of opportunity was finite. He could only see ten feet down the path.

  He settled his breathing and searched for the bear through the rifle site. The mammoth beast broke through the blinding snow not twelve feet from the prostrate Marine. Daniel aimed at the animal’s head and fired.

  Chapter 33

  Grand Teton Mountain Range, Wyoming

  7:35pm, September 28th

  “They should be here by now, Top,” Brian commented.

  MSgt Trent tried his radio again. They hadn’t been able to establish contact with Cal or Daniel for hours. He’d found out from Gaucho that the two men had gone off to find Trapper. The normally optimisti
c Trent was starting to fear the worst.

  “I don’t know if there’s much else we can do but wait, Doc. I’ll bet they just got distracted catching snowflakes or something.”

  Trent’s attempt at humor fell flat against Brian’s anxiety. It wasn’t like the two Marines to be late for anything. Brian was usually the one catching flack for not showing up fifteen minutes early.

  “Anything from Gaucho?” he asked.

  “I just talked to him. He and his boys are waiting for us at the next checkpoint. Says they haven’t encountered any bad guys.”

  Brian nodded and looked back down the ravine. “Where are you guys?”

  +++

  Cal was slowly making his way up the ravine. Not wanting to walk on the possibly booby-trapped trail, Cal’s travel was further hindered by frequent holes, rocks and bushes hidden beneath the winter snow. If he had his skis, he would have glided right over them. But with only the boots on his feet, the going was slow and painful. He’d aggravated his knee worse than he’d thought in the fall. Each step brought a shooting pain up his right leg.