John O'Brien - Conspiracy

Greg thinks of their amazing timing. One day on either side and they wouldn’t have been able to help Kyle’s sister. If they didn’t leave the base when they did, they would have completely missed finding her. If they did arrive a day earlier, there’s a chance they would never have known about the captives. They might have checked out Kyle’s house and, finding no one, departed without knowing the fates of Kyle’s brother and sister. If they arrived a day later, stayed on another day with the people of Lamar, well…that would have be one day too late.

Morning arises without interference from the predators of the night. The soldiers stir from the uncomfortable positions and, after a quick check around, disembark from the locker room atmosphere within. The fresh air after a night in the Stryker is invigorating. The morning promises another day of blue skies. A flock of birds crosses the small canyon as their day has begun as well. Diane looks moderately refreshed and the bruises on her face are beginning to fade, turning yellow on the edges. There is an underlying tension with the soldiers knowing that they may see action before the day is out.

Greg calls Kyle over. “Where can we get the best view of this place?”

They pour over the map and Kyle outlines several trails that will take them through the hills south of town and put them directly on a ridge overlooking the city and the vast network of caves on the far side.

After a quick meal, they start forward. Kyle’s selections of trails are narrow, but they accommodate the bulk of the Stryker. The ridgelines keep the team from view and, after a very roundabout foray, they find themselves on a dirt road that climbs the spine of one of the larger ridges. Parking the Stryker below the crest, Greg and Kyle walk the remaining distance to the top, careful not to silhouette themselves.

A lone house sits at the very top to their right. Keeping out of view of the house, the two go prone next to the road. They have a vista-like view of the city below and the hills across from them. Kyle points out the cave location almost directly north of them. Looking through his field glasses, Greg sees a paved road winding its way up the ridge and terminating at a collection of buildings a half mile from the highway. The parking lot serving the facility is filled with a collection of new pickup trucks and Hummers. He continues looking over the area for a long period of time with ideas racing through his head — discarding all of them for one reason or another.

“Well, they’ve picked their place well. Assuming they are in those buildings, there’s no way we can approach without being seen long before we get there,” Greg says.

“Sir. Diane said they’re in the cave. At least the captives and some of the men. I know an entrance to the cave system that we can get to from that valley to the right. It enters the caves near the main entrance, but not many know of it,” Kyle comments.

“Those buildings have a view of that entire ravine. How can we get to it without being seen? I’m not all that interested in heading in at night for obvious reasons,” Greg states.

“From the other side, sir. See that light patch across the ravine on the next ridge over?” Kyle asks. “That’s a quarry and, although it’s a steep route down, it’s doable. We could park the Stryker and head in from there. They won’t be able to see us that way,” Kyle responds.

“Okay. So how do we get from here to the quarry without announcing our arrival?’

“We can cross the highway near the crosses and I know paths that will take us there. It’s a long ways around, but I can get us there without having to go through any housing areas. Plus, the ridgelines will keep us out of view. Again, we’d have to go slow to keep the dust down, but it can be done. We would be coming up on the other side of the adjacent ridge, which will block our noise. They won’t hear us.”

“How long will that take?” Greg asks.

He feels his decision is being guided. As long as there is a possibility of them being able to keep the danger levels to a minimum and get in undetected, he’ll take the chance.

“Unfortunately, with the speed we’ll have to go…most of the day, sir.”

“Point out these paths,” Greg commands.

As Kyle points and communicates the twists and turns, Greg follows with his binoculars. To all appearances, it looks to be almost a twenty klick drive only to position themselves less than a mile across from the caves, but it’s needed to get there unobserved.

“What can we expect inside?” Greg asks, making several mental calculations.

“For one, it’s cold…freezing as a matter of fact…and, of course, dark. A lot of the caves are narrow where they transition into larger caverns. Only one or two can pass abreast. The halls and caverns widen tremendously. Sound carries far. With NVGs, you can see fairly well except where the caves turn or ascend or descend. Once we get inside, we’ll reach the main entrance very shortly. Then the path will turn to the right and proceed to the Canopy Hall. Diane said they were being kept off to the side near that. I have an idea where that may be…though I don’t know for sure,” Kyle answers.”

“Any obstacles in the pathways?”

“Not really. There are a few ice-covered stalactites, but they don’t come down very far.”

Looking across the way at the numerous vehicles in the parking lot, Greg is worried about being caught away from the protection of their armor. Figures emerge from the nearest building and walk to several trucks. From this distance, he can’t make out their facial features, but they seem relaxed and jovial. The pickups depart and slowly wind their way down the road. Hitting the freeway, they turn east. Greg loses sight of them as they pass by the crosses and vanish behind Hogback Ridge.

Soon others materialize and they too drive away to the east. No one slows or stops at the crosses for which he’s thankful. Should they take a closer look, they’d notice that the ropes from their latest victim were cut.

That’s one of those little mistakes from begin tired that can cost the mission , he thinks. We’ll have to rectify that before we cross. If they find those cut ropes, they’ll know someone is around.

With a heavy sigh, Greg makes up his mind. They’ll go. “Okay, if we’re going to do this, we’d better get started.”

“Thank you, sir,” Kyle says.

The day passes from morning, to noon, to early afternoon by the time they make it to the crosses next to highway. Strands of cut rope lie on the ground next to the cross Diane was tied to. Kyle disembarks quickly and retrieves the line. He stays behind while the Stryker traverses the freeway to clean up their tracks. With a glance left and right, he fades into the shrubs and rejoins his team.

Being more than a mile above sea level, the land is arid. This slows their travel over the dirt-covered roads, but they have a few hours before nightfall. Scattered housing follows them for a few blocks and then they transition back into the barren, rough terrain. Their route meanders through the hilly environment. After an hour of travel, they double back down another road, each turn of the large wheels carrying them closer to their destination.

The soldiers are quiet as tension builds within. Each is lost in their thoughts as they contemplate what is ahead. They are going into a place where possibly forty armed men are encamped in order to rescue hostages. They don’t know the layout or have a plan. Details are severely lacking. That’s not because the information isn’t being shared, it’s because no one knows. It’s one of those ‘play it by ear’ missions. Not a one doubts the operation, but their thoughts are turned towards their being able to survive it.