Chapter 19
It was the darkest
of the nights. We wanted it just like that. I remember. I remember as
if it is happening to me right now.
They were all around
me. The sixteen of hand-picked men that formed Force Recon Unit. Some
ex-Navy Seals, some battle-hardened Marines, all mercilessly trained
to successfully complete whatever job is asked from them to do.
The mountain range
in Afghanistan. The bitter coldness of the night that nibbed on my
nose.
The offensive on the
nearby town held by the Taliban happened yesterday. The whole place
was going to be overrun in the next few days by Afghan Government
forces. Taliban will run. Their commanders will retreat. We had our
info.
So, we got us placed
along the only paved road curving itself through the mountain rocks
and leading west toward more mountains and Pakistan. And waited.
The ambush point was
picked perfectly. We studied the terrain and the roads with carts and
videos, and after a long analysis, a few good options presented
themselves. I suggested the one before the road leaving the town
forked into two different paths, one paved and one unpaved. We could
never be sure that they would not just take the unpaved road to get
lost.
The spot was on a
minor hill plateau. A steep curve up the front that would make the
vehicles slow down. Then, an open space of about a hundred meters.
One side of the road was slightly elevated but it was relatively
flat.
Also, there was not
a steep drop off on the other side of the road like in most other
places along its treacherous winding. I really wanted not to have a
stiff cliff dive. I did not want anyone to have a chance to jump
down. Maybe the jump would have killed them and maybe it would not. I
just did not want to take any chance since there is no way I would
send any of my men to risk their lives unnecessarily. We lived with
more than enough risk as it was.
My inscrutable crew
hid so well I could not see them even as I knew exactly where each
and every one of them was stationed at.
The idea was not to
use high-power explosives or anything dramatic. This was an asset
acquisition mission after all. But I agreed with my Captain when he
said that no asset will be acquired if it meant taking unnecessary
risks. In other words, let's not blow everything up - that could be
done from the air any time of a day - but play it safe nevertheless.
The picture of the Afghan mountain range:
The vehicles were
targeted to be blocked and stopped by our arm's gunfire. They were
not supposed to pass us through. If for some miracle we all missed
and they did get through, we had a safety-net solution. The backup
was the twin of roadside mines positioned before the road curves
itself to the left again. Those remotely activated explosives can
take apart anything that comes their way, no matter how thick their
vehicles might be reinforced. I knew it was overkill, but better be
safe than sorry. An acceptable margin of error on a mission like this
was zero.
Still, as I looked
around, the set up was not making sense here. We were without
close-by air support and I could not see clearly beyond the curve. We
would not know what is coming our way before they get here.
“I do not like
this, Beamer,” I told my commanding officer, a guy only a year
older than me but with enough experience and intelligence to know to
listen to an opinion of a sergeant like myself.
"What you do
not like about this? You yourself suggested for us to be here."
He hated those last-minute changes. I do not blame him.
“Yeah… Still, it
just does not sit right.”
"There are
plenty of big rocks to hide behind. We have enough power to take care
of any problem that comes our way."
“It’s not that.
I feel blind. We won’t know what to expect.”
“The info seemed
solid.”
“Yeah, until it
isn’t.”
“So… What then?”
I looked around for
a moment and knew what had to be done.
“They already left
the town, Sergeant,” he tells me. “We can expect them any minute
here. Whatever you want, do it fast.”
“Sam and Butter,”
I called two members of our team. “Head out beyond the curve, 2
miles up, and then climb the hill.”
“Yes, Sir.”
“Take a pair of
AT4s with you,” I tell them, pointing to the two M136 AT4
shoulder-fired rocket launcher that lay with the rest of the
equipment. “But use them only as a backup. And keep the com line
open. Let us know what you see. And… if anything turns around, you
get it. You understand?”
“Yes, Serg.”
“Nothing goes
back.”
“Yes, Serg. It
will be done.”
“Is that all?”
Beam looked at me as I still had my doubts.
“Ramsey?”
“Yes, sir.”
“Head the other
way. Behind the rock there, on the other side of the road, before the
other curve. You sniper them down if they try to hide behind the
cars.”
Even back then,
Ramsey did not like me very much, and a year later it proved that he
had every right to feel like that. So, he looked at Beamer and only
after our commanding officer nodded his head did he say, “Yes,
Sir,” before he took his gear and headed down the straight stretch
of the road.
“You happy now?”
Beamer asked me as I watched him go.
“I’ll be happy
when we have a few of those fellas inside our holding cells.”
Beamer chuckles.
Good old Beamer. I wished I did not disappoint him so very much.
We took our spots
then and the waiting game started. The game did not last that long.
Even we could see them from far away.
They traveled
heedlessly with the lights on their cars turned on. Not much they
could have done on a night like this unless they wanted to us
night-goggles. It was just too damn dark to navigate the treacherous
mountain road with only a sparse light of the cloud-dimmed stars. We
had info that they acquired night-vision through the black market.
So, why not use it here and now?
“What do you see?”
"There are…
six vehicles there. I repeat - I confirm six vehicles there…
Confirming their make. The first one is… White Toyota Tacoma."
“Heavily armed in
the back?”
“No. See nothing
in its back.”
“How tight are
they packed?” our Captain asked.
“Can’t tell from
here. But they drive close to each other. Speed, twenty miles per
hour. You have a few minutes still.”
“Okay, you keep on
watching down that road. Let us know if you see anything coming
behind them. You know the drill.”
“Yes, sir. We’ll
do that. Out.”
In a minute, they
were back with new info, “The cars are packed, six, eight people
per car,” came the info from our scouts. “Expected arrival, two
minutes at present speed.”
"Waiting for
your order, Commander," I said as I tried to take in a few deep,
calming breaths.
Nobody moved, the
noise of the slowly approaching cars the only noise interrupting the
night. I pulled down my night-vision goggles and scouted the area
again. I could see no heat signatures around except those in the
cars. And there were plenty of them there.
We waited for the
cars to come next to us.
We knew what we were
doing. Six snipers, six drivers. Those were our primary targets. We
were pretty certain that no high Taliban commander would be driving
their own car. It was safe to take them all out. All six of our
snipers, together with our commander, were positioned along the road,
on elevated spots, about a hundred meters up.
I was in the assault
part of the team. Six of us hiding behind the big rocks, trying to
conceal our presence in case they used nigh-vision. We were the main
firepower, the main assault, and the cleanup crew.
I hoped that if we
get in a jam, Ramsey could cut them down from the left flank and if
anyone tried to run down the slope away from the road, we could
incapacitate him rather easily that way. It was as good plan as any.
The biggest threat
was the friendly crossfire so the six of us next to the road were not
supposed to get even close to the vehicles, not after the firing was
all done.
Strange thing is,
that what happens in those thirty or forty seconds you think about
for years and years on, some would say, for the rest of your life.
"The first car
is ready to make the curve," announced our spotters. All six of
us had to be hidden behind and I did not dare even take a sneak peek
at them.
Let them come, I
thought. I’ll see them plenty really fast.
When the last car
was announced to have made the curve, the first car had already
passed my spot. I was in the middle so it was working out perfectly.
I counted my
breaths, holding my MK18 retracted close-quarters assault weapon in
both hands, my right index finger caressing the side part of the
trigger. Soon, soon, I was going to press it and then the death was
to come out of it.
The wheels of the
third vehicle roam past me.
"Fire!"
our CO suddenly announced and then the whole hell broke loose.
