John O'Brien - Taken

Arriving in our concealed spot, I tiredly remove my gear and drop it in the back of a Humvee. I see dark circles under Greg’s eyes and imagine mine are the same. I want nothing more than to just drop to the ground and sink into a coma. I have a few more items to cover before that happens though.

“Lynn, this is Jack, over,” I say with my eyes feeling like they are going to close on their own accord.

“I take it you made it back, Jack,” she responds with the same tired voice we all have. I should have known she’d be up the entire night monitoring as well.

“Yeah, hon, I’m back,” I reply.

“Good. I’m glad. Shall we have a discussion now about going off with half-assed plans?” She asks.

“I’d prefer not to thanks but point taken,” I answer. I’m still a little surprised at myself for not taking the exit into account. To be honest, I feel a little ashamed.

“I’m just glad you’re okay, Jack. What’s the plan?” She asks.

“Well, I think we’re going to need two more teams up here to do this right,” I say.

“That will leave us a little thin here. Alpha, Bravo, and Charlie teams left heading south to see about a windmill,” she says.

“Okay, one team then and we’ll make do,” I say giving directions and caution her to travel slowly on the access road. I mention dragging branches behind to cover their tracks.

“Okay, Jack, I’ll send them out pronto,” Lynn says.

“Can you have them bring ladders? We’ll need collapsible ones like the portable tactical assault ladders. I think they might have them or something close in the armory or at the store,” I say. “Oh, and a few slabs of thawed meat in airtight bags.”

“Do you want scones and glass of milk as well?” She asks with a small laugh.

“If you have them, that would be great, thanks,” I answer.

“Anything else?” Lynn asks.

“Yeah, the silenced M-110’s, long links of light but sturdy chain, C-clamps, all of the 550 cord you can get, at least ten claymores and a corresponding amount of 30-minute fuse pencils,” I answer adding a ‘pretty please’ at the end.

“Okay, I have to ask. What in the hell do you want the slabs of meat for?” Lynn asks.

“I’ll tell ya later,” I answer.

“Okay, Jack, I’ll see what we can dig up here and be out shortly,” she says signing off.

“Does that mean she’s coming out with Black Team?” Greg asks.

“I’d place money on it,” I reply.

“What the hell do you want the meat for?” He asks.

“Just an idea I have,” I answer. He shakes his head and walks off to rest.

I settle to the ground after seeing our day shift is covered and relish in the simple luxury of being able to lie down and rest. I watch as the occasional bird wings across the open space of the power lines looking for better hunting grounds. I look up through the boughs of the tree above and watch a squirrel launch from one limb to another. I think how nice it would be just to enjoy that freedom. I realize this is a rather simplistic thought as their world is just as fraught with danger; finding food and surviving. A day of planning, another night and day of watching and then we’re going in. I drift off as beams of sunlight stream through the air above.

I drift in and out, finally waking in the late afternoon. I realize I heard a radio call from our outpost indicating a Humvee was pulling past. Our backup has arrived. Through the trees, I see the vehicle slowly moving up the road. In periodic glimpses through the gaps, I see an extendable ladder strapped to the top. I bet that was fun , I think rising. Others guide the Humvee under the trees and Lynn steps out. I brush the needles, twigs, and other assorted objects off my fatigues and meet her with a hug and a kiss. The rest of Black Team exits and we cover the vehicle with branches in a like manner to our own.

With a yawn, I try to banish the remnants of my nap. The day is another warm one but the breeze blowing lightly through keeps it cool enough in the shade. The black fatigues hold the heat however and I soon feel like another nap would be nice.

“What’s the plan, Jack?” Lynn asks after situating herself and I take a look at the gifts they brought.

The ladders are extendable and fold down to about twelve inches. The extension ladder is a monster and will take some doing to get it through the woods quietly but it won’t be taken all of the way inside so it’ll work. I gather everyone around and give a basic layout of the area, both inside and out; drawing a diagram of the camp in the dirt.

“They number their towers in order starting from the southwest corner,” I say pointing to the rocks I put to designate the towers.

“They’ve separated the men from the women. The men are being held in the main gym and the women in the first six classrooms of the middle classroom building. The far end classroom building is being used for a barracks as far as I could tell. The office is manned and lit at night,” I continue outlining guard positions and describing my observations in detail complete with night runner activity.

Lynn stares at the twigs, rocks and lines in the dirt. Well, we all do as if a magic answer will appear. I see the cogs turning in her head to the point I’m surprised wisps of smoke don’t appear from her ears. She rubs her chin in contemplation. “Day or night?” She finally asks.

“You know, I have a plan in mind but I’m not really sure to be honest. Day will eliminate night runner risks but will definitely make it harder. If I knew what their reaction on their ‘guests’ would be, it would be an easier choice. They keep them covered pretty well so collateral casualties are a real possibility if we go in during the day. That’s something we avoid at all costs,” I answer. Everyone gathered nods in understanding.

“So it’s a night op then,” Greg states.

“I think so but the night runners being in the woods last night have me worried. We’ll have to infiltrate quickly and our timing will have to be spot on,” I reply.

“You said you have a plan?” Lynn asks looking up.

“Well, it’s not much of one but it’s the only plan I can think of without truly knowing their patterns and I’m not leaving the kids in there long enough to find each and every one of them. I think the location I went in is the best place to infiltrate. We’ll have to minimize our time in the trees and make it a bit quicker than last night. The last thing we need is to be trapped between the night runners and the camp. We’ll approach the camp toward dusk and wait for deep twilight. Two of us will creep up to the fence and gain entry. Once inside, who are the two best shooters here?” I ask looking around.

Everyone looks at everyone else. “I’m a pretty decent shot, sir,” Henderson finally speaks up. “And Denton is pretty damn good.”

“Okay, you two are it. Those 110’s are sighted in but I want everyone with a 110 to head off tomorrow and get them sighted in,” I say turning back to describe the plan using the diagram etched in the dirt.

“Yes, sir,” Henderson responds. “What distance are you thinking?”

“100 yards but test your bullet drop compensators out to 250 yards,” I answer.

“Hell, sir, I could throw a rock with deadly accuracy at that range,” he says. “But okay.”

“Once inside,” I continue, “and by tower 5, Henderson and Denton will take out the two guards. They need to be further back in the trees to minimize noise but with a good line of sight. We’ll be packing one of the tactical ladders and once the guards are down, one of us will scale the tower and take over the guard functions. We’ve monitored enough of their radio traffic to fit in. The rest will then hurry through the gap in the fence. I want Henderson and Denton on tower 5 replacing the initial team member there. We’ll then make for the trees between the gym and tennis courts. Everyone clear so far?” I ask.