John O'Brien - Taken

The young kid closest to the door stirs. Robert turns his head slowly to look thinking perhaps his dad is slithering on the floor coming to let him know he’s here. If his dad offers to take him and help free Michelle, he’s definitely jumping on that. He doesn’t see anything other than the boy settling back down and pulling the thin cover up having apparently rolled over. A bit of wind escapes from the boy and Robert shakes his head. He focuses back on the ceiling to continue his thoughts; waiting. He looks over the far side of the gym momentarily. A glimmer of movement catches his eye. Was that the door to the upper gym closing? He thinks so but he’s not really sure he even saw anything move. His thoughts idle back to the number of team members he’d need as he ponders where he’d put them and what they’d have to do to get everyone out. Two muted claps in rapid succession echo from the upper gym followed by two equally muted thumps. He looks to the upper gym railing to see the guards have vanished. He smiles. The teams are here.

The two guards drop heavily to the floor with most of their faces obliterated. The two rounds entered close at the base of their skulls and traveled upward by the angle of my shots. The exit wounds removed most of their sinus cavities on one side. They will definitely need closed-casket funerals. A little of the fine red mist still hangs in the air before gravity takes effect and brings the tiny droplets downward joining the meaty chunks that have already fallen. I’m not concerned about hiding the bodies as the gym is now clear. If anyone who matters makes it this far, we’ll have already been done for.

“Lynn, the gym is clear. You’re up,” I say. “Bring everyone in via the gym door so we aren’t spotlighted by the outside light.”

“Copy that, Jack, we’re heading in. Keep the doors open. Call you soon,” she responds.

I head downstairs to see several people have woken and are sitting on their cots. McCafferty has entered and is going from cot to cot waking the young, old, and middle-aged, holding a finger to her lips as she wakes each one. Robert is mimicking her actions. I walk over and give him a big hug.

“I wasn’t looking hard but I never saw or heard either of you,” he says as we release each other.

“Well, I’m certainly feeling the age thing and definitely not as quick as I used to be. We were almost caught a few times,” I say smiling and give him a quick rundown of the plan.

“I ran it through my mind and would have taken down the barracks first,” he replies after I finish.

“Yeah, I thought about that and there’s more than one way to do something,” I respond.

We wake the rest of the people in the gym telling them to keep the noise down and not to move. There’s a propensity to start talking quietly in gatherings such as this, especially with tension present, which quickly grows to a murmur and eventually ends in an all-out roar. Any voice is hurriedly squelched. I hand Robert my M-110, a spare radio I packed along, and have him guard the south entrance telling him to stay out of sight. I put McCafferty in a similar position by the north entrance door. I head into the pool, gagging on the horrible stench in the hallway as I pass through, and wait by the pool entrance door.

“Lynn, the gym is clear. You’re up,” Lynn hears Jack over the radio. “Bring everyone in via the gym door so we aren’t spotlighted by the outside light.”

“Copy that, Jack, we’re heading in. Keep the doors open. Call you soon,” she responds.

She takes a last look around to assure herself that all is clear. Several shrieks emanate from the woods to both sides of the camp. The sounds make her heart beat a little faster. The adrenaline, increased with Jack’s call, now heightens even more with the sound of the night runners so near. She rises and dark shapes hidden beneath the trees rise with her; the shapes transitioning from invisibility to darkened silhouettes.

Black and Echo teams dart across the road in pairs and come to rest against the walls of the classroom building where the women are being held. Lynn looks through one of the entrance door windows to a long hallway filled with lockers. It’s dark inside but it shows up in the glow of her goggles. Nothing moves. She slowly opens the door. The teams slip quietly inside with Black team kneeling by the lockers on either side of the hall covering the length. She crouches at the head of the line and listens. Nothing. The silence wraps around her. Action is close by and the tension can be felt in the darkness.

She knows the timing will have to be right to prevent any collateral casualties. Somewhere in the unlit classrooms lie Gonzalez, Bri, and Michelle. This has the potential to get ugly quick if any noise is made. The sleeping guards are just a building over and if they’re awakened by any noise, the teams will have their hands full in a short period of time. If that happens, she’ll have Greg and Echo Team pull the captives out quickly while she and Black Team cover their withdrawal. She’ll set up a line of defense and go from there.

She rises in the pitch-black corridor that once housed boisterous students moving from class to class; exchanging greetings, stories, and plans. Lynn moves silently next to lockers that are now forever silent; another testament to a time past. As she passes each classroom door, she points and assigns two team members to each starting with Greg and Echo Team. That way, they’ll have a leader at each end. She creeps silently down the hall assigning doors until she reaches the sixth and kneels with another Black Team member at the entrance. The silence and tension filling the interior of the hall is palpable.

Her heart pounds as she reaches the door. She doesn’t know exactly what she will see once the door swings open but is relying on Jack’s description. She would use the fiberscopes but knows, with the low point of view, that it will not give her what she needs. She feels her heart pounding; felt even in her cheeks. The plan is for all teams to open the doors at the same time, rush in, and clear the guards quickly. It’s important to immediately start quieting the people lying on their cots inside. The sight of strangers rushing in with their goggles on and firing is sure to cause a panic if they aren’t quick with their reassurance.

Lynn looks back down the hallway. She sees just a part of each team member pressed close to the doors awaiting her command. At each door, one soldier stands a little ways back, leaning forward with his or her M-4 pointed down, ready to rush in while the other has the door knob firmly in hand. She sighs deeply to steady the tension and adrenaline coursing through her. Her thumb checks that her trusty carbine is on semi and raises her hand to the mic button.

“All teams, go!” She whispers firmly.

The once silent hall fills with the turning of latches, the slight squeal of doors being swung rapidly open, the metallic rattle of sling swivels moving as weapons are raised, and the squeak of boots moving on the linoleum floor. The rush of movement is felt more than heard. An almost imperceptible rush of air fills the corridor with the opening of six doors at once. Twelve bodies, once just darkened silhouettes against the classroom doors, vanish.

The soldier standing next to Lynn swings the door open on her command. The rush of air brushes by her cheek but it goes unnoticed as her focus is on the next three seconds. Reflex, movement, what her eyes tell her, followed by her body reacting. She sees lines of cots filling the room with drawn blinds across the windows; bookshelves to her left and right line the outside walls. With her M-4 at her shoulder and infrared aiming point on, she enters the room. Two men look up from behind a desk and begin to rise. A lit cigarette falls from the mouth of one, striking the desk with a small burst of sparks. She quickly moves further into the room with her companion close behind; the scuffle of his boots the only sound.