Chuck
Still Sunday
I opened the door, expecting someone to be there, but no one was. I grabbed my duffel, and John grabbed his, as we deplaned. A golf cart came up to the plane and a guy in fatigues, but no rank, name, or insignia said, "Climb in and I'll give you a ride."
We went down into a tunnel and traveled about ten minutes until he took a turn then headed up. We ended up in a little driveway area with doors on each side. The guy said, "Go through those doors on the right. Your contact is in there."
John and I shouldered our duffel bags and walked through the double doors. Amazing, there was our Marshal. He was standing with a couple of men also in fatigues with no names, rank, or insignia. He smiled at me and said, "Hey, Chuck, John, good to see you. Follow me and we'll chat."
As we walked, with the other men following us, he said to one of the men, "Can you get some sandwiches and coffee. I'm sure these guys could use some. If you guys need a restroom, use this one." He stopped at a door that had a male sign.
John and I peed. I looked at John's face and raised an eyebrow. He just shrugged his shoulders. We washed our hands and went back to the guys who were waiting for us. We all went into a stark conference room. The only thing in it was a table and chairs.
After sitting the Marshal said, "You two are going to do something that needs to be done by someone not military and not CIA. You were chosen to do this. Only these three gentlemen, myself, and one other, know of this mission. It's not difficult and should be easy, but it may take a little time to complete."
John and I were looking at the Marshal. One of the guys in fatigues said, "I have a file that once you look at it, you are committed to this. It is not that dangerous. You were chosen for your abilities and for your past experience. John, you may be rusty but I'm sure you'll remember easily. Chuck, you have a rep that says you can do this one blindfolded. Now, will you two do this?"
John and I looked at each other. John said, "It would be nice if we had an idea of what needed to be done. You have to know that this is really unusual, considering all the shit that's been happening lately and the strange way you got us here."
The Marshal looked at the three guys. The one with the file nodded his head to the Marshal. He looked at us, closed his eyes, and then opened them again, probably to dramatize what he was going to say.
"You two are going to a special place and are going to remove a problem. You are going to take care of a sanction. There is a picture of a man in that folder that needs to be gone. Your government has not been able to accomplish this and the C.I.A. has people, observers and critics, crawling all over it. Unless it's in the Middle East or Africa, they can't do anything. Someone else needs to do this. Chuck, I know you acted in this capacity in special ops. John, you used to be one of the best spotters around. I want you two to act as a team and take care of this. You don't know the target, but if you did, you would want to just do this in the open. Chuck, you've sort of dealt with this guy in Texas, but not directly, just his minions. So what do you think, will you do this?"
I looked at the three guys in fatigues and asked, "Who are you?"
You could see them squirm so I said, "I don't want to know your names, just what branch you work for."
The center guy looked at the Marshal then back to me and said, "We are from a division of the Secret Service. We do not deal with the president or his protection. We act as liaison between various security branches. We are often directed to take care of special situations. This is one."
John and I nodded then looked at each other. I nodded to him and he said, "We'll take care of it. Give us the details."
The man with the file pulled a coordinate section map and pointed, "You are going to be in some fairly heavily forest area. The terrain is mountainous, but navigable. You won't need climbing gear and your access will be surprisingly easy."
The man traced his finger along a line, "This is the Mexican border. Your target is going to be on the other side, but you should be able to remain on this side. We have scanned this area where you will be for anti-personnel detection devices and lookouts. We even have several men in the field watching to make sure no one sneaks in and places any there. Once you two are on the ground, my men will withdraw. They cannot remain while you take care of business."
The Marshal said, "You need to find a place to set up with a clear firing lane, and then wait for the target. The target is there almost every night and most days. He leaves by car or helicopter, goes to various places, then returns."
The guy in fatigues, while showing an eight by ten picture, then said, "This is the target. These other photos will give you an idea of his physical stature."
When John pulled the pictures across the table, the guy pulled some more pictures, "These are secondary targets. If any of these should happen to be around, their elimination would be good. There are five men who frequent this location. It could be a real big deal to clean it out."
I had to ask, "Why don't you just set up a post and watch. When you have all five just send in a drone."
The Marshal said, "That would require the military and too many would be aware. This target is influential. He can be very influential with the Mexican government. He may be a bad guy, but he has enough influence to cause a lot of trouble. If no one knows who did this, no problem."
John asked, "So what's the plan?"
"You two will be outfitted tonight. Chuck, you will be able to sight in your equipment up to a thousand yards, a full klick. John, you can get used to your scopes so they will be familiar in the field. You will sleep in tonight, and will leave here at 0300 to be inserted within a mile of what is probably the best area for positioning. You will see it tomorrow and then you can move around to find the right place."
Another person in fatigues had come in with coffee and sandwiches, so we all had a sandwich. The leader of the fatigue guys said, "You will be provided with water and rations. I don't think you're going to want a fire, but we have this neat little bottle that will boil water for coffee. We'll make sure you have the right clothes to stay warm. Chuck, I'm not sure how you get around so well, but I hope your leg doesn't cause you any problems. This should be easier than your Oklahoma raid. That was something according to the reports."
I said, "As long as the insertion isn't a jump and I don't have to jump off a high chopper, I should be fine. I have to pay attention to where I step, but I'm fine other than that."
John said, "Let's get outfitted and test our equipment. We'll need to sack out as early as possible."
We went down a hallway until we went through a door marked supply. There were mounds of equipment on a counter. John and I began going through it. We separated a set of camies, a couple of pair of silk-like long underwear, four pair of socks, and all of the carry equipment. We both set aside a Kbar and sheath, plus the camouflage equipment and masking grease for our faces. I thought it was funny that both of us chose slouch hats that looked to be a little big, but we both knew that was best.
I was looking at the heavy coats when I asked if we had weather Intel.
The guy with the folder was surprised and turned to one of his men. "Get the forecast for a week. Hurry."
He turned to us and said, "Sorry, we should have had that."
John and I sorted out food then we both checked the map they had given us. John pointed to a stream and asked, "Has the water been tested out there?"
Again, the guy was embarrassed, but said, "Take these pills to be sure. Take a test kit. That will tell you what's in the water. Can't you take enough water with you?"
John looked at the guy and said, "For a week? How many Jerry cans can you carry?"
When we were done sorting everything out, I said, "A couple of things you've forgotten, how about some space blankets. Two apiece. John, they are great for a ground cloth too. The other things we need are a few packages of toilet paper, a machete with a scabbard, and a camping or foxhole shovel."
The Marshal asked, "What's the machete for?"
"Same as an axe, but more useful," John answered. "We'll need some sharpening equipment if it isn't sharp."
He then asked, "What are you going to dig?"
I said, "Who knows, we may need a foxhole, but we have to cover our shit. When we leave, wherever it is, we have to make sure no one figures out where we were at, or that we were even ever there."
John asked, "Okay, how do we contact you to get back out?"
The fatigue guy said, "You'll each have a radio. If you get into trouble or when you are ready to come in, call."
The guy who had gone for the weather information came in with a piece of paper. The nights were going to be cool, but not freezing. We would be good with some layers and the space blankets. There was no rain forecast, but we each took a shelter half to use to keep moisture off us. Only one of us could sleep at a time anyway.
We had our gear separated and loaded up everything, stacking the MREs neatly. We double checked everything and were surprised the shovel and machete were both very sharp. We checked the Kbars then began going over the useful hardware.
John was looking at two different types of scopes. One was an available light scope. Those were tricky. I opened the first case to find a fifty caliber sniper rifle. That thing was big. I looked at it then set it down. The other case had a military version of a .308. There was every piece of equipment to go with it you could want. When I saw the noise suppressor, I asked, "Do you have good noise suppressors for our Glocks?"
The supply guy asked to see mine. I pulled it, dropped the clip, and the jacked the round from it. He left, then came back, screwing on a short suppressor. He said, "This thing is really quiet. It's good for about thirty rounds before it begins losing its effectiveness. The one with that .308 is just as good. The fifty doesn't have one. It's too big. There is a suppressor, but it doesn't silence the thing."
I kept looking at the fifty and asked, "Are these explosive rounds or plain metal jacket?"
The supply guy said, "These are standard rounds. I have explosives, if you want. You know the range for the explosive rounds are just over a click. Not as far as the standard round."
"I can't see that far anyway. Can you give me a dozen explosive to go with these eight standard rounds. If I have to lug this thing in, it might as well have some firepower to use with it."
Picking up the cases, I said. "Have someone take the gear and our clothes to our quarters, then we'll test this equipment."
The fatigue guy said, "We need you to change clothes to walk around here. Take an extra set of fatigues. We'll wash a set and make them wearable for you for in the morning. You should try on the boots anyway."
John and I grabbed an extra pair of socks and another set of fatigues then followed everyone. They all assisted carrying our gear. There really wasn't that much.
They gave us a bare looking room with two beds and a table with four chairs. There was television in a cabinet on the wall opposite our beds. We put our stuff on the table knowing we would go through it again before going to bed. We stripped while the guys watched. The Marshal changed into fatigues with us. The guys watched me closely as I put the boot on my fake leg. They noted my extra piece of equipment in the holster on the prosthesis.
It felt funny to be in new fatigues again. I smiled at John as he went through the same sensations. I took both cases that had slings and we went out into the hall. Wearing our slouch hats, we walked back to the door that we had originally come in and mounted a long golf cart. We drove back through tunnels until we came up in a long building that could have been another hangar.
We were directed to a table and a mat. A guy with an armband that said, "Range Officer" came up to us and said. What distances do you want to start with? I said, "John will need to sight in several, but I want to start at a hundred, then go three hundred, five hundred, seven fifty, and a thousand."
The guy asked, "Do you want any wind?"
"Not at first, let me see what each of these will do first. Can you replace our rounds for us?"
"I have as many as you guys could possible use, not to worry. If you want to test a couple out of what you were given, do it. Our equipment is usually good."
The guy asked, "How about I light up the targets first, then later you can test the available light."
I didn't bother with the fifty for the short distances. At 100, I locked the rifle into the brace, a vise like apparatus for sighting. I used the scope and hollered, "Clear." The range officer hollered 'Clear' and I squeezed the trigger. John said, "Dead center."
"Light up three hundred."
I checked the rifle and adjusted the scope, noting the clicks. I had to adjust the rifle in the brace a little. We did the 'Clear' thing then I fired. John said, "Center."
"Light up five hundred."
I went through the adjusting, watching John as he checked his scope. He said, "Either your measurements are off or this scope is. That's six twenty-five."
The range officer grinned and said, "You know how that thing works. That's good."
I said, "Leave it up. I'll use that one then we'll go back to five."
I adjusted the rifle, sighted in, went through yelling 'Clear, ' and fired. John said, "Center."
I said, "Good equipment. Let me adjust the rifle then turn on the five hundred. I want to see if the scope is right." I did the clicks then had the officer light up the five hundred. It looked right on. I had to adjust the rifle then we did the safety 'Clears' and fired. "Center," John said.
"Okay, go on out to a thousand and lets see what the .308 does." The target lit up way far away. It was still small through the scope, but I was able to sight it in using the exact clicks I thought it should be. I adjusted the rifle in the brace. John confirmed, "One thousand." I said "Clear" then began squeezing the trigger. The round hit the target and looked good through the scope. Still sighting, John said, "Damn, center again and at a thousand."
I said, "It's not me, John, it's the rifle. Let's get some wind and see what it does. Can you give me ten knots first?"
John and I, along with the range officer, pulled our hats down tight. I said, "I'm not going to adjust for wind. I want to see where this thing hits with wind."
We did the safety 'Clears' and I fired. John immediately said, "About a quarter inch."
"Bring it up to twenty-five knots and let's see what the effect is."
The wind increased. I still didn't change anything and after the safety yells, I squeezed the trigger. John said, "About an inch and a half. Not bad."
I said, "Let me do this without the brace. I picked up the rifle, used the sling to get a good position, and using the table to brace and sight, I yelled, "Clear." The range officer yelled and I squeezed the trigger.
John said, "Dead center with the wind."
I said, "This is a damn good rifle. I think I'll steal this thing." I said to the range officer, "Let me do one prone with the same wind then I want to try an available light shot."
Laying on the mat is different than in the field, but it is close. I was able to sight in then yelled 'Clear.' To compensate, I sighted in to allow for the wind. As soon as I shot, John said, "Center, about an eighth of inch low."
I said cockily, "The target probably has a big forehead."
That got a chuckle, but a caution from the fatigue guy. He shook his head and said, "You won't be shooting at a stationary target. Your target will probably be moving from one side to the other, perhaps moving up and down. Let me move the target in a manner your target may be walking. The head of the target will move up and down about an inch or so. I'll give you a side silhouette and leave the wind on. See how you do."
I lay back down, watching the target as it began to move. John brought his scope down to lay next to me and softly said, "He moved the target forward about twenty yards while we were talking. Remember the wind, but your elevation should be about right."
It took me a couple of seconds to focus through the scope, so I had a rhythm of the target that was varying its movement. At this range you are actually anticipating the movement. This is when I should go for a body shot, but I kept targeting the head.
With careful sighting, I led the target just slightly, allowing for the wind and squeezed the trigger.
"You put it right in the temple," John said. "Good shooting."
The range officer said, "I'm going to give you two targets, both moving to give you a primary and secondary. Keep in mind the secondary will begin reacting as soon as he hears you fire and sees the primary hit."
Up popped two silhouettes, pointed in the same direction, and moving from right to left. They were moving a little faster than the targets before. John said, "Target one thousand two hundred, secondary behind primary."
I said "Acquired."
John answered, "When ready."
I had the primary targeted and squeezed the trigger. As soon as the recoil finished, I used the bolt to put another round in the chamber without ever leaving the target area with the scope. The secondary stopped and began lowering. My shot hit the secondary, but I didn't know exactly where in the head it hit.
John said, "Primary exact, secondary above the ear."
The range officer was looking through his scope and said, "About as good as you're going to get. Want to fire the fifty or available light?"
"Let me do the fifty. If I need to fire at a vehicle or if I need an explosive round, I should know how it feels."
The range officer said, "remember, the rounds are hand fed, one at a time. Between rounds you have to pull the bolt back, the empty will eject, then you lay the next round in the carriage and slide and lock the bolt. Go through the motions a couple of times to get an idea. You might want to check the sighting at least at five, seven-fifty, and a thousand. This round is big so the drop at a thousand is significant, so let's fire without wind first."
I locked the big fifty into the vice/brace on the table, sighting in at five hundred yards, more than a quarter of a mile away. This was another near perfect weapon, so I figured its accuracy would be right on.
The first round at five hundred yards put a huge hole where the head would be. The range officer said, "You can be assured, a body shot will be terminal. The body offers a bigger target as well. Let me turn off the lights, use the available light scope. Five hundred yards is more than the effective distance for available light sighting.
I closed my eyes tight while the lights were turned off. When I opened my eyes, I noticed that high up on the roof of the hangar was a small, diffused light that made it look like a new moon. After sliding the switch on, it took me a couple of seconds to find the target. Just as I was trying to feel the range, John said, "Seven twenty-five."
"Acquired."
"When ready."
I squeezed the trigger and the target blew off the rack. John said, "You hit somewhere on the body and it probably disintegrated."
The range officer, "You two make a good team. You didn't take anything I said as gospel and made your own distance estimates. Do you want to try any more?"
I said, "Let me try the fifty at five hundred with a twenty-five knot crosswind. These big rounds may be affected more than the smaller round."
The guy lit up the five hundred yard target and turned on the wind. John said, "Right at five hundred."
"Acquired."
"When ready."
I squeezed off the round and watched the target move around. John said, "Good upper body contact."
I said, "Leave everything as it is and let me see how it feels holding the equipment on the mat."
After taking the rifle from the brace, I flipped down the tripod on the heavy weapon and set it on the mat. John came down with me and sighted in with me. He said, "Stable at five hundred."
It took me a second to find the target, "Acquired."
"When ready."
I squeezed the trigger and felt the heavier recoil of the big gun. John said, "Upper body, good hit."
"Too bad I can't see what the explosive rounds do. I'll bet they are something," I asked wondering.
The range officer pushed some buttons then said, "Check out the target area to the left."
There was a picture of a car that appeared closer than five hundred yards. The range officer said, "The target area is in an enclosed area. You spectators must go behind the Kevlar barricade to watch."
The officer stood a barricade up in front of him and said, "Use an explosive round and see for yourself."
I reached for one of the big explosive rounds while John was sighting in. He said, "Three seventy-five."
I clicked the scope then lay the round into the chamber and slid the bolt forward and locked it. I sighted in and said, "Acquired."
John said, "When ready."
Squeezing the trigger made the gun fire. As I watched the target during the recoil, I was amazed at the blast within the confined area where the target is. Wow!
John didn't say anything, but I said, "What is that target made of, tin or sheet metal?"
The range officer said, "That's quarter inch sheet metal. How about the hole you just put in it."
"No shit. I can see where that could come in handy," I said in wonder.
Lights began coming up in the huge hangar type building. The range officer pointed at a table with a bunch of cleaning equipment and said, "You know the drill. Clean 'em up before you put them away. Make sure you restock your ammunition. Oh, hey, you didn't try the available light scope on the .308. Get down and I'll give you five hundred and seven fifty. You don't need your spotter, I won't mess with you."
I picked up two rounds and put them into a magazine, slid it into place, and got down on the mat. The lights in the building went off with my vision totally screwed up because of having been in light. I said, "It's going to take a few seconds for my eyes to adjust."
The range officer said, "Let's pretend you just had a flash of light that changed your vision. Try quickly, I'll change the distance as soon as you fire."
I flipped on the available light mode on the scope to see the target clearly at five hundred. I had to turn the scope back to the base hundred yards then click it up to five hundred. I pulled the rifle tight, sighted, then squeezed off the round.
I immediately ejected the empty casing, and slid a fresh round into the chamber as I was adjusting to sight in the next target. I clicked the sight to seven hundred yards, acquired the target with my eyes still screwed up, and at more than the functional distance, I squeezed off the round. This time I kept my eye on the target. I had to smile. The target had a nice hole right between the eyes. I had aimed higher than that but obviously didn't elevate enough.
John said, "Holy shit, the first was a decent head shot and the second was exactly between the eyes. That was incredible."
"Luck, John, pure luck. I was aiming higher, but didn't allow enough for the elevation."
As I walked over to the cleaning table with both rifles and cases, the Marshal came over and said, "That was quite a demonstration. I've never seen anyone shoot those distances before. We could tell that you were hitting the targets, but we could barely see the targets way out there, much less see where you hit."
It took me a while to break down the fifty as I wasn't that familiar with it. I had seen a couple in training, but never in the field. The .308 was very familiar as I had used it frequently in the field. I said to John, "I didn't know you had that much experience as a spotter."
He smiled and said, "All my early experience was as a spotter and communications specialist. That was before I got my gold bar."
We cleaned the equipment and replaced it all into their respective cases and replenished the rounds. While we were cleaning up, I kept thinking that this was a strange situation and a real strange place out here in no man's land.
The three fatigue guys and the Marshal drove us back to where our room was. They told us to leave our equipment and go to supper. John had to go into the latrine, (Listen to me, I've regressed and it's a latrine now.) While he was in there and the four other men were out in the hall, I pulled a business card from my wallet. I tore a piece off and stuck it in the rear of the .308 case and did the same to the case for the fifty. I stuffed the partial card back into my wallet and waited for John. I figured the room was probably monitored by video cameras, but I had shielded myself pretty well from the area that would be where a camera would be scanning. Somehow, this whole thing was too weird to relax without questioning the situation. When we stepped out into the hall, another guy in fatigues was there. He had a sidearm and we were told he was there to watch our room for us.
We had a decent dinner in a large cafeteria, or chow or mess hall, if you want. When we were through, the lead fatigue guy gave John the folder and said, "Tomorrow, take only the map. Before you go to sleep, memorize the faces one more time. We will wake you up in time for you to shower and be ready to be inserted before first light. The helicopter you will be using is quiet. Before you get on the chopper, test your radios one last time and remember, don't break radio silence unless it's absolutely necessary, or until you are at your pickup point. We're going to leave you now. The Marshal will walk you back to your room."
When the men left, the Marshal leaned over to us and said, "I know this whole thing is bizarre, but you two were chosen because of your backgrounds. When this is done, whether successful or not, all of this will be forgotten. It will not have happened. We could have used some SEALs, but it would have required more people to be in the know. Right now there are only seven people in total that know your mission. This has become very important as the target has been threatening some of our people. He has his side of the border under his thumb and thinks he can do our side as well. Please, be patient out there, get a good target. Be careful and cover your tracks, as we don't really know whether he's watching for an attack."
John said, "You've never steered me wrong. In all of my time with you, you've never given me a reason to doubt you. This thing is right on the edge, though. We're going to do this, but you know what, we're going to be watching our backs real close."
The Marshal and John looked at me and I just said, "Come on, let's get some sleep. I think I'm ready."
At the room, the guard said, "I'm here to keep you two safe tonight." I thought, sure you are. You're here to keep us from running. The Marshal said goodnight and said he would see us off in the morning.
John and I went into the room and both of us went through our gear one more time, rearranging our packs and gear to be easy to carry. I checked the two cases to see both pieces of the business card were as I had placed them. That made me feel a little better. The weapons cases were a little unwieldy to carry, but we needed them so the equipment stayed in good shape while traveling. We stripped down and crashed.
There was a beeping sound coming from the television. I sat up, as John did on his bed, and the beeping stopped. The low light in the room brightened and the bathroom/latrine light was lit. There was knock on the door, then it opened.
The guard said, "Get your morning stuff done. Breakfast and your man will be here in twenty minutes."
Our man? They must mean the Marshal. If the guy didn't know he was a U.S. Marshal, then this operation was very quiet.
John was headed to the bathroom while I stretched and contemplated my prosthetic. Hopefully, I was up for this. I had been able to function in some pretty stressful situations so far, so who knows.
The bathroom was big with two sinks, a separate room for the toilet, and a shower. John was in the toilet so I dropped my leg, took the sock off and hopped into the shower. A couple of minutes later, I was drying off as John jumped into the shower. I shaved after putting my leg back on, and then went into the room to dress.
I was dressed by the time John came in to dress. He said, "I'm out of practice. The easy living I've had for so many years is catching up with me."
When we were done, John suggested, "We should leave as much of our pocket junk in our toiletry bags as possible. I'm sure it will be secure until we get back. They should have some form of field identification for us."
There was a knock on the door and the Marshal stepped into the room, followed by a guy in fatigues pushing a cart. The fatigues began setting the little table with three settings and began putting food out for us. The guy even poured three cups of coffee, along with putting out cartons of juice and milk.
John said, "I guess our last supper is supposed to be good."
The Marshal chuckled and said, "I asked that they serve us in here this morning so I could chat with you guys. We have an hour before lift off. Sit, eat, relax."
The breakfast was good. They had some SOS, ground beef in thick cream gravy, along with scrambled eggs, sausage, bacon, and toast. As we ate, I told John, "Enjoy this. The MREs aren't anywhere near this good. We do have some instant oatmeal though and that's pretty good."
John said, "I left active duty when the MREs were just getting decent. I don't have bad memories of them, but I didn't have to subsist on them for a long time."
The meal was good and I could tell that John and I were more relaxed than the Marshal. He finally said, "I know this thing is strange, but no one could figure out how to get it done. I saw Chuck and how he handled himself in the field. I've seen the videos of his exploits and I know how you were in the field, John. You two trust each other, so you were the perfect team, at least in capabilities. Chuck was a question, but I saw him move around very well. I know he's led people in a couple of situations that were in difficult terrain. And, John, I know this will be tough on you, but you're still fit. You two were the best pair we could get. Chuck could get you here without a problem and you both are the best qualified; perhaps not physically, but definitely from experience."
The Marshal reached into his pocket and pulled out two chains with ID tags like dog tags, except one was plastic. He said, "You might want to tape these up, I have some electrical tape here. This plastic thing is a GPS marker. It is encrypted so it doesn't show on any equipment except special forces location equipment."
I taped the three pieces together then taped John's. I put mine on and said to the Marshal. We're leaving all our personal pocket stuff here. It'll be safe right?"
"There will be a guy outside that door the entire time you're gone. Your stuff will be safe. So, are you ready?"
John and I looked at each other and John smiled and said, "Let's do it."
Primary editing by Pepere
Proofing by Sagacious
Last one through - Deenara2000