Curtis Woodman Ch. 03

JoJo looked across at her and smiled. "You're done, when you get back you will already be on the books. The only thing you're going to miss out on is final parade. In the eyes of the Marine Corps, the time spent on this assignment qualifies you."

Joan looked hard at the woman. She wasn't using the correct terminology for any of the events leading up to her becoming a Marine. She clearly wasn't a Marine and yet her drill Sergeant called her Ma'am.

For some time, all both women did was stare out the window. Joan noticed the sign for the airport but didn't comment. The vehicle went in via one of the less used entrances and pulled up at hanger six. Both women got out and Joan followed behind, watching and trying to anticipate if needed. The hanger held a private jet and even that looked small compared to the size of the hanger. JoJo walked towards one of the offices at the far end. As Joan followed, she could already hear soft music coming from inside.

As Joan entered three men sat on chairs around the only desk in the office. Two she didn't recognize, the third instinctively made her stand ramrod straight to attention.

"At ease Marine."

General Moore had been to boot camp to watch the new recruits only yesterday. Officially he told everyone he was just passing through. Joan knew that was now a lie. She did stand at ease though, after all, this was General Moore.

The General looked towards the two men sitting, they nodded, and both stood to follow JoJo out of the office, closing the door as they did.

Her eyes never left the wall in front of her, she heard the General sit on the edge of the desk, Joan had to will herself to breathe.

"Over the years my Marines have had associations with groups like the one you're going to be with for now Marine. I've read your file; I've also read the one you hide from everyone as well."

Even at ease, she couldn't stop her body from shaking. She had done her best, she was going to be a Marine and now she felt like that was going to be snatched away from her.

"These folks need you, Marine, and it's only because I read the file you hide from everyone that I'm allowing you to end your course short to join them."

Joan felt his presence; he was standing right next to her.

General Moore shortened even this small distance to whisper in her ear. "The Four Horseman have to be stopped; these people plan to do that. You will assist in any way they ask. Make us proud, Marine."

The Marine within her took a step back as her emotions tore through her soul. The tears ran down her cheeks unchecked. For so long now, she had run and hidden from the Four Horsemen. Only joining up the when the Recruitment Sergeant mentioned the Marines did she feel even a glimmer of hope that she no longer had to hide from the men of death, they had taken so many innocent souls from her life, because they could.

She turned to look at the General, the stern features that everyone sees, had left him. Only the man and father stood next to her. She understood that she was being given a prize like no other, Joan could now fulfill the promise she had made to her sister and the innocent little ones. Whose lives were ended, just to set an example to others in the village.

Even though her emotions felt like the sea crashing against a rock in the ocean, Joan Hernandez was still a Marine. The "Sir, yes Sir." Came out barely above a whisper, but the emotions attached to it carried with it her total gratitude towards her boss. In an unguarded moment that even she didn't see coming, two other words escaped her lips. "Thank you."

General Moore nodded his head, the smile briefly crossed his lips as he walked past Joan Hernandez and out the door. Joan watched through the office window as he stopped to talk to the woman who came to Boot Camp. She nodded and shook his hand before the General left the hanger.

*******

Freddy watched from his office window as the Unit came out of the building, Joan Hernandez keeping close to Ashley as the team jogged over to the camp's assault course. His office door clicked shut and Freddy turned to see JoJo getting ready to sit in front of his desk.

"We need to talk."

Freddy sat and watched JoJo. She was leading on this, so he left it to her to start the conversation. The time it was taking her to find a way into the conversation was amusing, so he gave her a helping hand.

"Let me guess, Rick?"

She nodded in agreement. "With the time constraints that we are up against and pulling Joan away from Boot Camp before she was finished, I'm going to have to change the plan."

Freddy shook his head, JoJo just looked confused.

"I pulled Rick's file. I know when he last did a Halo jump. He kept his mouth shut when you put a Halo jump into the plan because he, like all of us, wants this plan to succeed."

JoJo winced when Freddy told her the date of his last jump and then swore. She could see the plan falling apart before her very eyes. She desperately needed Rick there, but not if there was a greater chance of him being nothing more than a dent in the ground when he did get there.

Freddy let the war going on in JoJo's head go on for just a while longer before he put his own suggestion forward.

"We both know that those two people are what this plan hinges on: Joan and Rick. Change our insertion to a higher altitude, higher opening jump. That will give us all a slower drop and we wouldn't need Joan and Ashley at the field as backup. So, give Joan the grand entrance she wants but is too polite to ask for it. She's a big girl JoJo, she can take care of herself."

JoJo opened her mouth, but Freddy put up his hand to finish his own thoughts.

"Bring her in on the late morning bus. The Horsemen will be at the field when the bus comes into the village. With the area being predominantly Catholic, they will let Joan pay her last respects to her sister and the children before they drag her in front of the Horsemen. Ashley can take care of whoever they put on her as a shadow."

Freddy could see her start to smile.

"It's a win, win. You get Rick at the field in one piece and Joan gets the revenge she wants even though she knows she has to be a decoy for a few hours."

"I wouldn't want to call her a decoy."

Freddy shrugged and then added. "Not to her face maybe, but she's not stupid. You need the whole village to be looking towards Joan and not at the field, at least until the shooting starts that is."

*******

It was 0315 according to Freddy's watch, the sound of the aircraft engines meant that conversation between the Unit was impossible. The red light flickered, and the interior light went dim. In five minutes, the tail of the aircraft would open, and the Unit would leave. He watched them all once again check the equipment strapped to their bodies; the only one taking his time was Rick.

Freddy's thoughts went back to the plan, he had even offered to organize a couple of high altitude, high opening (Halo) jumps to get Rick up to speed. He reminded everyone in the room at the time that it was like riding a bicycle, although none of them could see them riding bikes at the speed they would be dropping from the sky.

What amazed Freddy was actually sitting Rick down and telling him that for security reasons, they couldn't call him Halo Two-Five over the radio. To Rick that was his name, his security blanket, and lucky charm all rolled into one. It took him two cups of coffee, but he buckled in the end and accepted a number designation instead.

The lights flickered once again and for the last time, every member of the Unit ran their hands over every pocket, strap and fastener attached to them. Freddy heard the jump master shout over the wind rushing in; his whole body had turned red from the light above him. He held up his hand and when the light then flicked to green, then the concentration in the aircraft was total. Once both lights went out, every member of the Unit left the plane.

Earlier, Freddy had pulled two of the team to one side and detailed them to look after Rick on the way down. All three knew that if he ever found out that he was being ghosted, all hell would break lose. But jumping in daytime was one thing, at night meant having faith in the technology strapped to your body, that would let you know what was going on around you, not to mention that big solid thing rushing up to meet you.

The moon was full; it was both a good and bad thing. The sky was clear of cloud and very little breeze. They couldn't have hoped for a better time to do this. Freddy cast a glance behind him and quickly counted the stack as they descended. No one heard his relief when the body count was correct. He turned to concentrate on the compass strapped in front of him, leaving the team to keep the line and not wander off. His mind now totally on the compass, the contours and terrain in front of him as well as also relying on the skill of his team to keep its formation.

He saw the moon reflect off the river and quickly glanced at the compass. He could almost taste the relief in his mouth as he adjusted his course accordingly. Anticipating the fork in the river and turning right, the full moon continued to act as his guide as the stack slowly descended. The river forked once again, and again Freddy turned onto the right-hand fork. The village's lights could be seen in the distance, and then the trees parted to become one huge field. Freddy pulled on his chute and the stack turned and came to rest in the middle of the field.

*******

The name of the next village appeared on the roadside signpost as Joan looked out the window. The bus protested loudly as the driver once again attempted a seamless gear change and failed. They had grown numb to the sounds of protest coming from the engine and gearbox as it slowly ambled it way across the countryside. She knew one day she would see that sign again, she never envisioned she would see it with such a destructive force as her shadow. Out of instinct she looked once again at her watch, it was constantly drilled into her at the many briefings, it was all about timing.

With such a closed in community, everyone knew each other, strangers were looked on with distrust. Even the Horsemen were not wanted in the beginning. Then they started spending money, and the village once again prospered, and the younger ones saw hope. The older men of the village urged caution, until one of the most vocal of voices was found one morning at the bottom of his stairs; his neck broken in the fall, or so the police chief said.

Joan stepped off the bus, a small suitcase as her only luggage. Two others stepped off as well. One went about his business, and the Muslim woman in the Burka crossed the street; the wheels of her suitcase making a rumbling noise along the sidewalk. Joan walked to the police station and entered. Slowly the room fell into a lull as recognition came to all in the room. She walked over to the desk and stared at her cousin; the look of uncertainty crossed his features.

"I'm here to see the grave of my sister and the little ones. I will be here for two hours until the bus returns to take me back to the city. Once I board the bus, I will never return. Do I have your permission to do just that?"

Sweat started to accumulate across her cousin's brow as he looked uncertainly over her shoulder. It was then she heard another person answer her question.

"Go and see the grave of the thief's wife if you wish but be back here in an hour. We will want to have a sit-down talk when you're done."

She felt herself blush her training kept her mouth shut. She continued to stare at her cousin but nodded her head and then turned to leave. The police chief still standing in the middle of the room.

The sneer let her know he wasn't finished. "Leave your suitcase, just in case you have intentions of skipping out again like you did the last time."

Joan squeezed the handle tightly and felt a faint click in the palm of her hand. Turned and placed it on the counter in front of her cousin. He lifted it off the counter and placed it on the floor beside him. She then walked out of the police station and towards the graveyard that was situated on a slightly elevated hill at the end of village.

*******

The Police chief went to his office to phone the Horsemen's number, his hand was already on the receiver before he paused. It was noon, they would be leaving for the training field, if they hadn't already. He knew they enjoyed these few hours.

Then he smiled, she wasn't going anywhere, Manuel was keeping an eye on her, all the way to the cemetery and would then bring her back here, in handcuffs if he had to. He would personally take her to the Horsemen when they were finished later that afternoon. His imagination grew at the treasure he would have in his hands later and the rewards the Horsemen would heap on him at the next party. His pants became tight as his thoughts turned to Maria, the new addition to the girls who came from the city.

Yes! When he walks into the Four Horsemen's place later this afternoon, with Joan Hernandez in handcuffs, standing beside him, they would reward him, and Maria would be his for the whole night. He wouldn't have to share a girl like he has had to before when he displeased the Horsemen.

He leaned back in his seat, yawned and closed his eyes. His mind opened up that fantasy of wishes in his head, dreaming of Maria and those tight thighs. The Police Chief yawned once again as the gas slowly leaked from the suitcase on the floor by the police officer's desk. They would sleep uninterrupted; after all, no one in the village voluntarily went into the police station since the Horsemen now owned everyone inside the building.

*******

As Joan Hernandez knelt by the graveside of her sister and the little ones. She prayed for forgiveness, that her sister understood that she had to leave.

But she was back now. "And vengeance shall be ours my sister."

Two fingers came to her lips and then touched her sister's headstone. A tear left her eye, and her lips replaced her fingers.

"I have to go now my sister, its killing time."

Joan stood and turned to look at the Woman in a Burka. Her head-cover was off and folded into her belt as she opened the suitcase and started to put a stand together, then attach a scope to it. She then tossed a Sig at Joan, who caught and checked it with trained ease. Her combat training instantly came to her; she scanned the cemetery for anyone and anything that moved, lived or breathed. Other than the now sleeping Manuel, now resting against one of the headstones, the place was empty. She was a Marine; she was looking after her comrade.

Both women looked at their watches and smiled. Ashley looked through the scope once more, and when she was satisfied, nodded to the woman standing next to her. Ashley then handed Joan the remote, and a wave of emotions came to her. The pain of leaving her sister and little ones, living in almost secrecy so she could earn enough to be eligible to be a citizen, and enduring the marine training. It had all led to this. Joan once more looked over the treetops at the fortress where the Horsemen lived and planned.

She pressed button on the remote, the building was now marked with an invisible guiding light. The drone quickly picked up the signal and the rocket followed the invisible light. The first rocket hit the building twenty seconds later. The second wasn't really needed since the ammunition the Four Horsemen had stored there had also ignited but it came anyway. The building had to burn completely into the ground. Whatever secrets the Horsemen had in there, had to die with them. The second rocket's incendiary load speeded up that process.

The Four Horsemen turned in unison towards the sound of the explosions. Alexie turned even further when the first shot from Rick caught him in the chest and he went down. The shout went out between them and handguns appeared. They all eyed up the distance between them and the safety of the armored vehicle, and the open ground they would have to cross when they attempted such a move. Peter turned to the other two to shout, he lurched back and rested on the grass, the green grass now turning red around his head.

With the last two Horsemen now back-to-back, they spotted the figures walking closer and closer. All five of them walking towards them in a loose circle surrounding them, still out of range, unless they could get to the weapons in the armored vehicle. Anton shouted a curse in Russian at the figures walking towards them, demanding that they meet him like men and not cowards.

Those were the last words he spoke, two shots passed through him spinning him on the spot like a ballerina on speed. The last of the Horsemen made a show of dropping his gun and stepping two paces back before kneeling on the ground with his hands behind his neck. One of the men walking towards him placed his hand behind his own back and pulled out a smoke grenade, pulled the pin and dropping it on the ground. The others followed suit and a ring of smoke obscured everyone within it.

JoJo and Rick stripped down their rifles and placed them in backpacks. Preferring the stairs to the building's only lift, that looked like it may or may not work, dependent on a whim. JoJo had donned a baseball cap, to go with her sunglasses and sweats, then jogged over the road and onto the field and into the smoke as the last of the shots rang out over the sports field. The engine of the bulletproof vehicle now rumbling in idle, just waiting for JoJo to jump aboard before it once again roared and sped over to the other side of the field where Rick was waiting.

As the vehicle drove through the village, the place was deserted. The people of this village learned long ago that if you're a witness to what the Horsemen do, then your life span decreased to seconds.

Ashley had disassembled the equipment that marked the building for the drone strike and placed it all into the now unfolded backpack along with her burka, the jogging pants and tight sports shirt now keeping her cool. Ashley and Joan ran down the hill, Manuel's was the only vehicle parked in the car park. He was either to lazy to walk to the cemetery or keen to get Joan back to the Police Station when she was done saying goodbye.

They waited at the car park, when the Horsemen's vehicle turned up, two of the team joined Joan and Ashley. Both vehicles left the Village just as the sounds the complaining engine and gearbox of the bus once again passed the cemetery gates.

*******

General Brownlow lead the debrief. It was blunt and to the point. Every one of the Four Horsemen was now dead. The place they once called home was nothing but a burned-out hole in the ground.

Rick and Freddy went to see Curtis. Rick stayed with Curtis while Freddy went for a walk with Ruth. They stopped down the corridor and Freddy sat Ruth down.

"They're dead Ruth, every single one of them."

His hand came out and instinctively hers followed, expecting Freddy to drop something into the palm of her hand. A flash drive came to rest.

"The last to live was the one with the tattoo on his hand. He told us that what happened at the ambush site had them unprepared. They were lied to."

Freddy's head nodded towards the drive.

"That is every detail about the hit. From the name of the person who hired them to the bank the money came from. Two of the Four had doubts about this hit and expressed them to the others, they were overridden in favor of the money they were offered for the job and so they took it."

The one remaining Horseman admitted that they took the job at face value and did not do any research of their own. They were told that the husband was nothing more than a security consultant. The contact even sneered when he said that much.