Chapter 24

Flashback – Ben and Jack – The trip to hell ... Ramadi

With the way this Humvee jockeyed around, I needed to do something to stabilize Captain M to keep his back from being further damaged (I was already highly concerned about Jack moving him out of the destroyed Humvee). I began to pack Ma Deuce ammo cans around him to keep him from moving when he woke up and asked, "Where the fuck are we and what the hell are you doing?"

I answered, "We're in the back of a different Humvee and I'm packing these ammo cans around you to immobilize you. How do you feel?"

Captain M complained, "I feel like hell - like a ton of shit fell on me."

I cautiously continued, "Can you feel your legs?"

It took a second then he said, "Fuck no I can't feel anything! Why didn't you follow my orders and leave me in our Humvee."

The driver of the new Humvee yelled an answer, "Sir, apparently you don't remember what the fuckers did to the last soldiers they captured in Fallujah. They tortured them to death, then dragged the bodies through the street and finally hung the bodies from one of the overpasses."

I asked the driver, "The Captain needs more medical care than I can provide, how long until we reach Ramadi?"

The driver answered, "If we don't have to stop to deal with anymore injured, about an hour."

I had an idea so I asked, "Is there any chance we could get a medivac for the Captain?"

The driver responded, "Well for that to happen, we would have to stop and it's going to be hell from here to Ramadi so if we stop for a medivac there's a pretty good chance we all die."

I made the Captain as comfortable as I could. I turned, looked at Jack and sure as hell didn't like what I saw...

Banzai had his hands full with the Captain so I didn't want to be a bother. He finally looked at me and asked, "Jack, what the hell is wrong with you?"

I faked a smile and answered, "My back is bothering me a little."

Banzai came over beside me, looked me in the eyes and whispered, "Like hell it's bothering you a little bit! You're diaphoretic (sweating profusely) from the pain, now where are the pain pills I gave you earlier?"

I pointed to the Captain and whispered an answer, "I gave the bottle to the Captain. He took two of them but didn't return the bottle."

Banzai swore under his breath, "Jack, that bottle didn't have your name on it. If they find it on the Captain..."

I interrupted, " ... If they find it on the Captain they will assume they are his."

Banzai smiled and responded, "Jack, that was quick thinking. Now I'm going to get some more pills for you."

I shook my head, "Banzai, there's no way in hell I'm taking anything right now because the last pills I took knocked me for a loop and I need all my wits about me if we're going to survive. Now stop being a fucking mother hen and take care of the Captain. He needs you more than I do."

Banzai left me alone, moved back beside the Captain and I watched as he searched for the bottle of pills...

I began to search for Jack's bottle of pills which he gave to the Captain and finally found it. I tossed it to Jack, he caught it but the old fucker refused to take anything.

The Captain began to moan and complained, "I hurt like hell! Can't you give me something for the pain?"

I grabbed my UOP¹, found two of what I was looking for, jabbed one of the doses of morphine into the Captain's leg and then slipped over and nailed Jack with the second dose.

¹ Unit One Pack – a basic combat medic's backpack.

Jack swore up a blue storm, "What the fuck did you do that for?"

I smiled at Jack and answered, "You needed that because in the shape you are in you couldn't fight anyway. So, take it easy until you feel better."

Jack continued with his complaints, "I'm going to kick your ass when we get out of here."

I was going to respond, when the gunner fell into the Humvee, bleeding from multiple wounds and looked like death warmed over. I ordered Jack, "Take care of him; try to stop the bleeding with pressure dressings from the UOP. I'm going to take over as the gunner."

Having learned my lesson from our previous trip, I slipped the hearing protectors off the injured gunner and climbed up into the turret. I wished like hell I had time to replace the already damaged layer of my ceramic body armor plates.

The driver was certainly correct: There were more towelheads than the Captain had complaints. I began firing Ma Deuce and then ran into a huge issue. The injured gunner had fired so many rounds through this Ma Deuce that the barrel was shot out. I ducked back into the Humvee and the driver complained, "What the hell are you doing? Get back on the gun before we all die!"

I scrambled toward the back of the Humvee and the Ma Deuce I took from our Humvee and yelled, "This Ma Deuce is toast, the barrel is shot out."

I had to move the dead driver from our Humvee out of the way because he was on top of my Ma Deuce. I grabbed it and scrambled back to the gun station. As I raised up some fucking towelhead got lucky and grazed my helmet so I pulled up my 1911 and emptied it into the fucker.

Then I pulled the pin holding the Ma Deuce to the mount, dropped it inside the Humvee, wrangled my Ma Deuce up and into position when – son of a bitch, it happened again! Another round glanced off my helmet and made my ears ring. I jammed another mag home into my 1911 and fired like crazy to keep the fuckers off me.

With my Ma Deuce finally in place, I racked the action and began to give them hell.

Flashback – Masha – child care

I had a terrible night last night! I foolishly let my emotions get the best of me and became sad, depressed and despondent. This life was not the life I dreamed it would be: It wasn't a dream it was a nightmare. My Jack was deployed to Iraq, headed to the very dangerous Ramadi and I hadn't received a single call from him. I had no friends in America as I had in Russia other than Louise and Michal and I'm not sure I would call them friends. I was as alone as a little lost ship on the sea of despair just trying to find my way to a friendly port.

But soon, Louise and Linda would be here, then I would have something to occupy my time. I needed someone to take care of all day and as Louise had asked yesterday, I would push Linda in her stroller to the market.

I was anxiously waiting for Louise's arrival and today she even arrived earlier than before. I opened the door, smiled a real smile and waved. Louise returned the wave as I worked my way toward her car, which sounded worse than it did yesterday.

Louise complained, "This piece of junk car already died three times today! I almost didn't make it here this morning."

My throat tightened with the possible fear that one day Louise's car would not make it to the house and would strand her and Linda somewhere beside the road. I had to do something so I suggested, "Louise, we have a car that you could borrow."