A Promise Kept Ch. 02

"Holy shit," I said, after out waitress had taken our food orders, and was out of hearing range, "What happened after that?"

"We managed to stay hidden until dark," he continued, "And how we ever pulled that one off, I'll never know. But anyway, as soon as it was dark, we made our way to the compound that she was being held at."

"Look, man, I don't want all of the gory details," I told him, "I only want to know what got you taken off of active duty."

"Okay, here it is then," he said, "The long and the short of it was that our operation was successful but it cost Chief Petty Officer Rick Mathers his life, and though they had no proof, the board of inquiry saw to it that I indirectly got blamed for his death, hence the reason they broke me back to Lieutenant; and then made me a BUD/S instructor, where I thought I was going to spend the rest of my enlistment...until you came along..."

~~~~~~

When I finally made it home that night, I gave some very long thought to the conversation that I'd had with Danny, who by now, had become more than just a good friend, he was more like a brother whom I trusted implicitly. And because I knew him so well, I don't know how I knew this, but I just knew that he more than likely had nothing to do with the death of Rick Mathers. I was willing to bet everything I owned that because of his high standard for the old code, Honor, Morality, Ambiguity in all practices...etc, he more than likely took the blame for a mistake that Rick Mathers must have made himself, otherwise he would still be alive. Danny didn't want him to die dishonorably so; he took the blame for Rick's mistake...that was it. I was going to take the time to talk to him about it before I made my move. He'd been through too much, and had seen way too many terrible things in his service for this country, and I was not about to let anyone dishonor this man. I didn't care what it might cost me."

~~~~~~

The next morning I reported to the air field where we took a C-130 for a trip to the northeast, where, three and a half hours later, it landed on an airstrip somewhere in the middle of the Mojave Desert. And after it landed and had come to a stand still, the big plane slowly turned around and then made its way to where the hangars were located.

~~~~~~

Once we de-barked the aircraft, we discovered that Dave was there to greet the five of us, Me, Danny, Brad, Johnny Lee, and Sam, explaining why he wasn't on the plane before we took off.

"I hope you guys are ready to go to work," Dave told us, "We don't have time to screw around; we leave in less than forty-eight hours...

Thus we began to train for what I found out was, too, a hostage situation. The daughter of the British Ambassador to Syria had been taken hostage by a renegade Islamic faction, and no word had been heard in the last twenty four hours, placing the ball in our court, and the clock was ticking...

~~~~~~

"It's the same as jumping at a lower altitude, except for your oxygen mask and your re-breather," Danny told me, right before HALO'ing out of the same C-130 we'd arrived in, but now was flying at an altitude of thirty-two thousand, one hundred and fifty feet, over the Mediterranean Sea, "Watch your altimeter and keep your oxygen mask on until you reach fifteen thousand feet, where you'll activate your rebreather and put it on. Once you get to a thousand feet, open your chute and get your dive mask on; put your fins on, and get ready to get wet, okay?"

"Okay," I nervously replied, "When I hit the water, I hit my five-way release and then dive to sixty feet, correct?"

That's right," he grinned, "You're going to be just fine, I promise."

"Don't worry, kid," Sam laughed, "This is one of the most exciting things you'll ever do with your clothes on, man."

"I don't know about that, bro," Brad good naturedly teased, "It just doesn't make sense to me to jump out of a perfectly good aircraft. What about you, kid?"

"I think you're all fucking nuts," I laughed, "Every single one of you."

"Very cool," Johnny Lee laughed, "You're gonna fit in nicely with this group of pirates, kid."

The co-pilot gave the order that we were approaching the drop zone, and when the red light in the belly of the aircraft turned on, we slowly pressurized the inside of the aircraft with the outside, and then the two big doors in the rear of the C-130 slowly opened.

"READY," Dave commanded, when the jump light turned green, "JUMP, JUMP, JUMP..."

~~~~~~

Once we'd landed and were in the water, we all swam to thirty feet once we were clear of our parachute lines and prepared to make the long, six mile swim to shore. Granted, it may have been dark outside, but the adrenaline that was pumping through my veins at an astounding rate, the like of which I'd never experienced.

It was then that all of what Danny had tried to tell me earlier came to mind, and in doing so, I also began to understand his warnings. Still though, I was feeling more "Jacked Up", almost high, and I'd never felt this good in my life. It was also then that I now understood what my friend meant about some people not being able to handle it so; it was now up to me to keep my sanity and deal with it the moment which, I was done with whatever had happened to get me to that point, came to an end.

~~~~~~

Once we came ashore and were safely hidden from anyone that might see us, or God forbid, catch and/or kill us, Dave began to inform us of what he knew According to the intelligence reports we'd received, the Ambassador's daughter was being held in a place that was roughly four miles due east of where we were at the moment.

"This one ain't gonna be a cake walk," Dave quietly told us, "There are going to be tangos (Bad Guys) everywhere, and it's going to be up to us to get in and out in less than five minutes once we reach the compound. Are there any questions?"

As there were none, Dave looked at everyone smiling and said, "Okay guys, everyone knows their job so; let's get to our positions and get this show on the road. We meet back here in eight minutes. Anyone who's not here is going to be left behind, now let's move," and with that said, each and every one of scattered in different directions, disappearing into the darkness.

~~~~~~

As my team's Corpsman it was my job to stay, as well as extract with the hostage once she'd been located and removed from where she was being held captive. And as I neared the compound, I could not only feel my heart beating at a rapid pace, but I also thought that it might be heard because of how loud it sounded to me.

Still though, I knew that I was there to do a job, and that someone was depending on me to rescue them and get them safely home. I only hoped that I didn't get us both killed in the process. I suddenly remembered something that Danny told us during training, and that was, "Remember your training and you'll be alright."

Hoo-Yah," I silently told myself, "I'm not going to let these stinking Syrian assholes get under my skin," and after checking my watch, I saw that the time to execute our plan had arrived.

~~~~~~

The moment I heard their ammo dump exploding, I moved through the hole I'd already cut in the fence; to a small building that was about forty yards away. I quietly made my way there, and to quote the poet, David Frost, I moved as silently as the fog on little cat's feet, in order to surprise anyone who might be guarding her.

~~~~~~

As I rounded the corner of the building, I saw two men dressed in desert Nomad attire, only they were both brandishing Soviet made, AK-47 Assault rifles. I knew that because my MP-5 was equipped with a suppressor, I silently turned off the safety switch on it, and began to get in closer to ensure that I could take them both down quickly.

However, I got within twenty yards of the men before one of them spotted me. But...I got off a shot before he could warn his partner, catching his partner off guard when he fell, and in order to make sure that he didn't get a shot off to get the attention of anyone else in the compound, I drilled him right between the eyes with a single shot, dropping him like a fly to the ground.

And as soon as the two men had been "neutralized", I moved their bodies out of plain sight, and then as quietly as possible, forced the door open to find a young woman of about twenty years old, gagged, blindfolded, and bound to a chair that sat in the middle of the room.

~~~~~~

The first thing I did was to take her blindfold off of her so that she would know that she was being rescued, and not begin to scream and raise hell.

"I'm a member of the U.S. Navy's SEAL teams," I told her, as I was releasing her bonds, "And I'm here to take you home."

"Thank God," she began to cry, "I wasn't sure how much longer I was going to be able to hold out."

"Are you alright?" I asked her, as soon as she was completely untied, "Can you walk?"

"Walk, hell," she sarcastically grinned, "As soon as you get me out of this fucking place I can run if needs be, love," and with that we took off through the door, heading back the same way I came in.

"Thank you," she sweetly sniffled, leaning over and kissing me on the cheek the moment we were far enough away from the house and off of the compound, "I owe you my life."

"Nah, you don't owe me a thing," I gently smiled, "I was just doing my job."

Then I got on the MX/2020 and called the rest of my team, "Viper One, this is Viper Six, do you read?"

"I read you loud and clear, Viper Six," Dave's voice replied, "What is your situation?"

"I have the package in my possession," I replied, "Awaiting further orders, Sir."

"Move to the rally point and await inbound chopper," he told me, "You are ordered to extract with the hostage, Viper One, out," and then the line went silent.

"Alright," I told her, "We've got to get moving because a chopper is on the way in to take you outta here, young lady."

"Alright, then," she smiled, "Can I ask you a question before we leave here?"

"Of course," I smiled, making our way to the rally point, "You can ask me anything you want."

"Good," she sweetly grinned, "What is your name, love?"

"My name is Michael," I told her, "But my friends call me, Mike. What's your name?"

"My name is Pamela," she softly replied, "And it's very nice to meet you, Michael."

However, before we could continue the conversation any further, I heard the Helicopter coming so; in order to let them know exactly where we were, I prepared to light a single flare in order to let the pilot see us in the darkness.

"Viper, Viper," the helicopter pilot said, ringing in my earpiece, "This is Archangel, what is your status?"

"Archangel, Archangel," I replied, lighting the flare, "This is Viper Six, come in on the single light at your twelve o'clock, over?"

"I read your signal Viper Six," the pilot replied, "Will be at your ten/twenty in twenty seconds," and before I could reply, the chopper appeared directly above us.

The moment the bird was on the ground and had its cargo bay doors open, I ushered Pamela into the chopper, and made certain she was secure. However, right as I began to take my seat, I heard something in my earpiece that really got my attention.

"This is Viper One," Dave loudly yelled, "I want everyone to move to the rally point for extraction. That is a direct order...NOW," and then the line went dead.

"Viper One, this is Viper Six" I said, into my mouth piece, "Do you read me?" and when I received no answer, I repeated myself, only this time a little more frantically, and not hearing from any of the other team members, I realized that Dave, and possibly the rest of the team, were all in trouble, and it was my responsibility to help them. Besides, I knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that they would've done the same, exact thing for me."

~~~~~~

Chapter Six

Once Pamela was safely inside the Jolly Green, I turned to the airman in the chopper who was armed with an M-16 and told him, "Take the girl back to the ship. Then I want you back here in no more than thirty minutes. Do you read me?"

"But, sir," he explained, "My orders are to..."

"I don't give a fuck what your orders are," I viciously growled, shoving the muzzle of my weapon, an MP-5 submachine gun, under his chin, "Just have your asses back here in thirty minutes," and then after looking at his name tag, I warned him, "Petty Officer Adams, don't make me come looking for you when all of this shit is over. Are we clear?"

"Yes, sir," he acknowledged, "We'll be here, sir."

"And don't call me sir," I grinned, "I'm an enlisted man just like you are...now get outta here," and with that, I jumped out of the aircraft right as it took to the air, leaving me on the ground to go and find my guys.

~~~~~~

Knowing that Dave's and Brad's job was to take out the communications building, I headed in that direction to see what had happened, as I'd not yet seen and /or heard the explosion from the radio tower, which, that right there let me know that that they'd not yet completed their objectives.

I also knew that there were only two reasons that they hadn't; either someone had seen them and they'd been captured, or God forbid, they'd been killed. I refused to think the latter of the two because of the fact that Dave and Brad were both that good at what they did so; with that in mind, I took off to find out what the hell was going on...

~~~~~~

"Viper Six, Viper Six," Danny's voice suddenly but quietly sounded in my earpiece, "This is Viper Two, do you read me?"

"Viper Two," I answered, "I read you loud and clear. What is your status?"

"We're in pretty bad shape," he replied, "Viper One and Viper Three, (Dave and Brad) have been captured and Viper Four (Johnny Lee) has been wounded."

"What about Viper Five? (Sam)" I asked, "What is his status?"

"He's here with me, too," Danny replied, "He's still in good shape though, but I need you to come and take a look at Four," and then he gave me his location.

"I'll be there in three minutes," I said, "Sit tight...this is Viper Six...out."

~~~~~~

I silently made my way through the darkness to their location, and when I discovered that things weren't as bad as I'd originally thought, I breathed a little easier.

"Take it easy, bro," I told Johnny Lee, "I'm gonna fix you right up, man," I smiled, as I injected him with morphine so as to take the edge off of the pain of being shot in the right leg, making it a little more bearable.

"Damn, Doc," Johnny smiled, as the effects of the morphine began to kick in, "This is some pretty good shit. Man, we need to have a major party when we get back home."

"I'm gonna take him to the rally point, Danny," I said, "Don't move an inch until I get back, okay?"

"Bullshit," Danny told me, "We all move together or we don't move at all, okay?"

Knowing that he was second in command, I followed his orders, but not before I told him, "That's fine, bro, but don't you think that someone ought to stay here to keep a watch on the building that Dave and Brad are being held in just in case they're moved while we're gone?"

"You're right," he grinned, "I'll stay here and watch, but don't be gone for very long, alright?"

"Aw, what's the matter, sweetie," I teased, making Johnny and Sam laugh, "Are you afraid of the dark, or something?"

"Shut the fuck up," he grinned, "Just make sure you get your asses back here in a hurry. We gotta get our guys back. Nobody gets left behind, remember?"

"Not a problem," I knowingly grinned, "Sit tight, and we'll be back in a few minutes."

"Whatever," he grinned, "Hurry the fuck up..."

~~~~~~

After making sure that Johnny Lee was safe, sound, his wound was dressed and he was armed to the teeth, Sam and I left him at the rally point and headed back to Danny's location as quickly as possible. It was dark at the moment, but after a glance at my watch, I knew the sun would be up soon, breaking our cover, which was tantamount to the operation.

~~~~~~

"It's about time you got back here," Danny grumbled, nodding to the two dead Syrians on the ground behind him, "I almost got caught a couple of times."

"Come on, man," I said, "Quit your grumbling and let's go get our friends..."

~~~~~~

We approached the small communications building quietly, so that the five men who were inside of the building, Dave and Brad included, knew nothing of our existence. I could clearly tell that the three assholes who held our guys captive were trying to decide what to do with their prisoners now that the hostage they'd taken captive was no longer in their possession.

"Where is the girl?" one of them angrily demanded of Dave, "What did you do with her?"

"I shoved her up your ass," Dave laughed, "You stinky motherfucker," and then both Dave and Brad began to loudly laugh."

"Shut up," the Syrian shouted, back-handing Dave across the face, and then placing the muzzle of his weapon under Dave's chin, "I will kill you right now. Do you understand me?"

"You're very brave," Dave laughed, "Especially picking on someone who can't fight you back, because my partner and I are tied to this chair, you chicken shit," and this only caused the Syrian to beat Dave even harder.

"FUCK YOU, ASSHOLE," Brad shouted, "Your mother fucks camels, and your sister sucks jackal dicks," which of course caused Dave to laugh again, only frustrating their captors even further.

"Jesus," I whispered, "What's he trying to do, get himself killed?"

"We need to get them out now," Danny told me, "Go around to the other side of this shitty little house and wait for my signal. Then I want you to come in and take out the guy at the radio while Sam and I take the other two out; is that clear?"

"No problem, sir," I quietly replied grinning, "I'll see you on the other side, brother," and then I disappeared into the darkness, preparing for the immanent attack...

~~~~~~

Once I got to the other side of the house, I looked through the window and was barely able to make out Danny's and Sam's shadows through the window across the room. Still, I crouched at the bottom of the window, ready to spring into action at Danny's signal.

One of the Syrian assholes was interrogating Dave, very brutally I might add; while the other one stood back; watching and laughing every time the other one would, hit, slap, or kick Dave because he refused to answer his questions.

All of a sudden, the front door flew open followed by a flash grenade, which temporarily stunned the Syrians, allowing Danny and Sam to take the two out while I neutralized the guy manning the radio before he could get a warning off. Because our weapons had suppressors on the muzzles, the gunshots went practically unheard; which was great because no one would see us extracting Dave and Brad.

Me on the other hand, I made sure that Dave and Brad were in good shape, and in doing so, I looked at Dave once he'd been untied, and asked, "Are you alright, skipper?"

"I'm fine," he grinned, "What took you guys so long?"

"Oh, you know," Danny laughed, "I was having a hard time deciding on what to wear, and Mike was busy getting his nails done, while Sam..."

"Shut up," he laughed, "I swear, one of these days I'm gonna tell everyone on base that you like to wear women's clothing, Reed."

"Come on, Skipper," Brad chuckled, as I was untying him, "Don't you remember that time in Monterrey when you got drunk and wore that girls' garter belt on a dare?"

"Shut up," he laughed, placing an explosive charge on the radio console and arming it, "I was drunk and don't remember."

"Is that right?" Danny chuckled, "So, that's your excuse then?"

And after activating the arming device on the SEMTEX that he'd placed on the radio console, Sam looked at us and anxiously said, "We've got five minutes before this whole place goes up in flames, gentlemen so; I suggest we get the hell outta here...quickly."