R. Ruggiero - Reckoning

He had laid everything out the night before, so it was a simple matter for him to don his body armor, the belt and pouches that held the magazines for the his FAL rifle, and then to hoist it into his arms. He checked the function several times out of habit more than necessity. He liked the heaviness of the rifle in his hands. He knew that there were disadvantages to carrying a rifle that weighed more than ten pounds; namely that fatigue could set in during combat. However, it was the weapon he was most familiar with and that counted for a lot, too, in the stress of battle. But, the biggest reason he carried the FAL was that he welcomed the hard-hitting power of the .308 cartridge.

Around him he heard the sharp snick of metal hitting metal and sometimes the louder bangs as metal crashed against metal. His friends were readying themselves and their equipment, as well. Everyone else, except Angela, was carrying the M4 rifles that they had taken from the men who had attacked them. The selective-fire M4s might make the difference in their attack. Angela was cradling a hunting rifle in .308. She would provide sniper fire during the attack.

“So, how did it go at Miles’?” Cooper asked.

Calvin finished snapping a buckle before responding, “Good, I think. In addition to Miles, he thought he could round up another four or five trusted men.”

Cooper nodded, “That is good. What kind of weapons would they have?”

“That part wasn’t so good. Mostly hunting rifles and shotguns.”

He rubbed his chin, thinking, “We can put the ones with hunting rifles as our sniper fire support team and those with shotguns can join one of the assault teams.”

“That makes sense,” Calvin answered, while hoisting his rifle into his arms.

“What’s the general plan, anyway?” Angela asked.

“We’ll review it in more detail later once we have all the people together, but it’s a simple plan. We will have the sniper team infiltrate on the left side of their position to provide suppressing fire. One assault team will approach from the front and to the right. The other will hook around and come in from slightly behind their position and from the left,” Cooper responded.

The others nodded and then Calvin spoke up, “What happens if, during all this movement, we have contact with them early?”

“I’m hoping they will mostly be buttoned up in their defensive positions. But, if not, we will have to crash it.”

“What’s that mean?” Freddie questioned.

“From point of contact, everyone moves quickly to engage the enemies’ positions as soon as possible.”

Cooper continued to jam magazines into their waiting pouches and turned back towards Calvin, “Where are Miles’ men supposed to meet us?”

“I told him that I would meet back up with him at nine.”

“Perfect. I’m meeting the men we hired from Portland at nine, as well. Hopefully they are on time.”

“Yeah, travel from Portland to here is iffy at best,” Freddie added.

Cooper nodded and continued. “So, let’s meet here,” he said pointing to a road junction on the map. Calvin leaned in to see it.

“At ten,” he asked.

“Sounds good,” Cooper responded.

Dranko slammed home a magazine into the M4 he carried to get their attention.

“As much as I hate to waste the gas, we will need to move out of here in a haphazard fashion.”

“Why?” Freddie asked.

“Well, if Hodges has an ounce of brains, he’ll have us under some kind of surveillance. If we all tear out of here at once, it will be too easy for them to follow us and too easy to know something is up.”

Cooper agreed, “That makes sense. You and I should drive out first. If someone is doing some tailing work, they will follow us. Then, Calvin and Buck should drive out to Miles’ spot. Finally, Freddie and Angela should leave last and just meet us at the ten o’clock rendezvous location. Sound good?”

“Sure. I will wait twenty or so minutes after you leave,” Calvin added.

“That’s good. If you see someone tail you out of here, do your best to lose them,” Dranko said, stating the obvious.

“Same will need to be done at Miles’ place. Leave in separate groups. He probably would have them under the microscope, too,” Cooper said.

“I will handle it,” Calvin answered.

“Everyone ready,” Dranko asked.

Cooper cleared his throat.

“I want to say something before we go out there,” he said. He paused for a moment, looking each of them in the eye. He liked what he saw: friendship, sympathy, and support. There is no greater feeling in the world than being with people you know will have your back in a life or death situation. His heart swelled.

“I just want to thank each of you.” Others immediately tried to stop him, but he plowed through their protests.

“What you are doing today, I will never forget. You are risking your lives to save my son . You aren’t just fighting for your own survival. You could walk away. From this moment forward, I owe each of you my life. If it is ever needed, it is there for each of you.” Despite his efforts, his voice cracked as he finished.

A long silence filled the room. They looked at each other, soaking the moment in. Warm smiles that spoke volumes without a word were exchanged across the room.

“Heck, I woulda settled for a Big Mac, but I’ll take it!” Freddie broke the silence with a deadpanned delivery and the room exploded in laughter before the group devolved into a flurry of hugs and high fives. Eyes were wet and hearts were warm by the time they had finished.

“Let’s do this,” Cooper said as he and Dranko left the cabin and scrambled into his Jeep.

They drove toward the rendezvous location with the hired men from Huynh’s gang. Silence ruled the cab, as neither man had anything to say. Cooper was preoccupied with reviewing the plan of attack over and over in his head. His stomach was tight. Thinking about his son in danger maddened him. He worried about what was being done to him. He wanted him safely back in his arms. He cursed himself for not being there when the men had come to take him.

A black Toyota Forerunner was parked at the intersection when they got there. Two men remained inside the front seats, while the other four had dismounted. They were dressed in green camouflage; pant legs bloused at their boots. They all wore bulletproof vests, while three had additional body armor on their legs and arms. Each wore a helmet on his head, with goggles affixed to the front. The weapons they carried were an equal mix of AK-47s and M4s. Vests carrying multiple magazines for their respective weapons were strapped over their body armor and their faces were stern, emotionless. Cigarettes dangled from half the men’s lips. They were taking deep drags and blowing clouds of smoke upward or to the side.

Dranko tapped his horn gently, flashed his headlights a couple times, and approached at a slow pace.

“You don’t want to surprise armed men,” he mused as much to himself as to Cooper.

He pulled the Jeep in behind the Toyota. Once they were at stop, they exited the vehicle.

One of the other men stepped forward from the others. He lifted his goggles up, so that he could make eye contact with them. He was young, in his later twenties. He had sharp, dark, eyes that surveyed Cooper as he extended his hand.

Cooper took it and the man’s grasp was firm, “I’m Cooper.”

“Nice to meet you. I heard a lot about you from Mr. Huynh. I’m Jason.”

Cooper mustered a smile, “What’d he say?”

Jason demurred, “Just that you were a man of your word. A straight talker.”

He nodded in response, “Fair enough. He’s a good man to deal with.”