John O'Brien - Taken

“Gotcha,” he says.

“One last thing, if it looks like the tower to the south will be a problem upon our entry, then we’ll take it out the same manner but with Henderson eventually manning that one and Denton in tower five,” I add.

“Thus the second ladder,” Lynn says.

“Yep, thus the second ladder,” I say nodding.

“My jaw aches from so much talking so it’s your turn,” I say addressing the group as a whole.

“I don’t really have anything to add,” Lynn says.

“Me either,” Greg comments with the rest shaking their heads.

“Let’s rest up, keep our watches, and brief your teams when they come in. Oh, and keep my fine work of art clear to use for your briefings or if you need another look or two,” I say.

The rest of the afternoon floats by lazily yet with a prevalent tension knowing action is coming up. We have another night and day until we go in but there is always a certain amount of anxiety present when a known operation is on the horizon. Part of it is the ‘let’s get on with it’ aspect. The waiting game is a hard one. I sit for most of the time staring down at the diagram looking for something I’ve overlooked or missed. Lynn sits quietly with me; our hands clasped. We chat, share a laugh or two, or talk seriously about a variety of subjects but my mind is never far from my kids or the plan.

The evening and night passes in much the same manner as the one prior. It’s hard to sleep on the hard floor of the Humvee even with the cushion of a sleeping bag nestled below. Couple that with the aroma of a few people who haven’t been introduced to a shower in a couple of days and it makes it a very interesting place indeed to try to rest. The morning dawns with a few yawns and a scramble to get out of the Humvee. Apparently, several others share my thoughts on the locker room smell and are in need of some fresh air.

We head off in a couple of vehicles to sight in the 110’s leaving a skeleton crew behind to monitor the camp. We head slowly down the access road and up the side road for several miles finding an old rock quarry. The sun beams brightly as we shoulder our M-110’s and begin sighting in. A line of clouds paint the sky to the west indicating a front coming in. I monitor them and notice they aren’t advancing quickly so we should have a clear night. I’m anxious to be done here and get started toward the compound. It’s going to take me some time to maneuver around the camp and place the steaks.

We finally finish and make our way back to camp. The going is slow so as not to raise a dust cloud and to also erase our tracks. We pull up with the heat of the day climbing. There is a palpable increase in humidity and I glance again at the clouds on the horizon. They haven’t moved. We clean our weapons and I begin to gather my gear. I’ll be meeting the rest of the teams in the woods close to the camp after I finish. I think about taking Lynn or McCafferty as more eyes are better, especially seeing I’ll have to transit outlying residential areas to the north of the high school. I’ll have to swing very wide of the compound and come down from the north so I’m not seen from the towers and then exit in the same manner. The one aspect about heading through residential areas is that no one is likely to be around. Our lookouts monitoring the camp will be able to let us know if someone heads in our direction.

I talk to Lynn about taking someone with me. After she recovers from her shock and actually reaches up to my forehead to see if I’m alright, she mentions she’d like to go. As she so delicately put it, “I’ll be there to be the ‘anti-stupid move or decision’ person,” she said with a big smile. We kid each other a lot but never really mean it. Our skins are thick enough to handle a little fun sarcasm.

“Are you saying I don’t make good decisions?” I ask giving my fake shocked look.

“Jack, you attract all sorts of odd situations,” she says.

“Huh! Name one,” I reply.

“One!? Why don’t you make it a little more difficult? Okay, how about everyone needing to urinate when you’re in a hallway,” she says and is on the verge of listing more. I’m sure she has quite the list stored up.

“Okay, point taken,” I say leaning over quickly to kiss her on the forehead.

“Are we ready?” She asks patting her vest and checking her mags.

“Just about,” I say reaching in and cutting a couple long strips of cardboard from the boxes we brought supplies in.

Lynn watches with her head tilted to the side wondering what is in store. I have a theory that she only stays with me to see what ridiculous idea I’ll come up with next. It’s like I have an entertainment value for her. I call Henderson and Denton over. I grab a roll of duct tape, roll the cardboard strips around the muzzle of the 110’s they’re carrying, and tape them securely into place. Even Greg has taken an interest in the proceedings. The rifles end up with a cardboard tube extending approximately a foot and a half from the muzzle.

“What’s that for?” Lynn asks.

“It’s an old trick I learned. It helps to keep the muzzle flash from being seen from the side. When we take out tower five, the flash won’t be seen from the other towers to the side,” I say handing Henderson’s weapon to him and begin working on Denton’s.

“You’re such a dork, Jack,” Lynn comments smiling at my handiwork.

“Hmmm… Rather ingenious. Does it work?” Greg asks.

“Well, it did to an extent. Can’t completely cover any flash but it did minimize it to the side. Of course, the light is then focused to the front making it much more visible to those in front but I’m more worried about it being seen from the side towers,” I answer. “If the guards in tower five see it, it will be followed shortly by the cause of the flash thereby rendering the sighting moot.”

I check my equipment and prepare to head off with Lynn. “You do know I’m kidding when I make those comments, right?” Lynn asks making sure her words are for my ears only.

“Of course. I wouldn’t have you any other way,” I answer seeing a hint of worry in her eyes. The worry vanishes with my words and is replaced by those blue eyes I just melt in.

“I love you,” I say.

“I love you too, Jack.” I still can’t figure out why but that’s not important.

“Shall we,” I say offering my elbow.

“Why of course my charming prince,” she says taking my arm.

“Oh, shit, forgot our beef,” I say turning back.

Gathering the steaks wrapped in large baggies, I look for where to stash them. I eventually decide to put some inside my vest and Lynn does the same. “I know where I’m going for dinner,” I say watching her stash two bags in the top of her vest.

“You wish you were so lucky,” she says and starts off.

We maneuver through the trees and shrubs, passing where I headed into the school grounds, until we get to a point further north. We then cut to the east and cross the highway without problems. Pushing slowly through more trees and ground covered in large bushes, we arrive at a wooden fence. The length of it, stretching away to the right and left, seems to be the boundary of a housing development or a series of backyards. Whichever it is, I don’t see an entry point along this length.

“It’s over we go I guess,” I say.

“We could try going around,” Lynn suggests.

“True. I think we’d find the same thing though. Time is not our friend,” I say. “Here, let me boost you up and take a peek.”

I lace my fingers together and form a cup for her to step in. She slowly edges up until she can barely see over the fence. “It looks clear,” she says after a moment and steps back to the ground.

“Okay, boost me then I’ll lift you up,” I say.