Chapter 8

During the confusion someone fired a 1000-foot light-flare in the direction of where the mortar fire came from, lighting up the area, but no movement was to be seen. As Mai-Loan said, the attackers were long gone. This was a hit-and-run attack. To me, it seems more of a “run” attack than a “hit,” as not a single mortar hit any target other than open ground, causing no visible damage. This made me wonder why did they even make the effort to attack in the first place. Or was there something else behind this attack, something besides the terrorists?

“The Somali Security has been alerted,” Captain Joseph called out as the three of us approached. “They will go and sweep the area. In the meantime, the Colonel has placed everyone on high alert.”

“Is that the US commander?” Ash asked.

“Yes. He will coordinate with all of us. Seeing you guys are not ‘officially’ involved, I will keep you posted. Now scram and go do what you guys do best!” he instructed, smiling a white Colgate smile. “But I suppose you won’t be starting that whirly bird of yours tonight?”

“Well, flying CAP is out of the question now...” Ash said.

“Then, just keep a low profile and be ready if we need you,” Joseph said and turned away to a troop at his side, speaking rapidly in Swahili. “Ripoti! Umepata nini?” (Report! What did you find?)

“Come, TC, Ron, we can just as well go and get some nerve calming juice,” Ash said with a chuckle. “They don’t need us now but come later they might conscript us into the Army.”

“Like I need to be in the Army!” I exclaimed.

“I have a nice battle-jacket, and a second-hand AK-47 assault rifle for you, Ron,” TC chuckled. “It even has a folding stock and a bayonet!”

“I prefer my 68-millimetre rockets and 30-millimetre cannons, thank you very much! Besides where did you get the AK from?”

“Spoils of war. Found it this morning in a clump of bushes next to a dirt road.”

“Okay, so it is a FORD,” I said, turning to follow Ash.

“A FORD? Why a FORD?” TC asked.

“Found On a Rubbish Dump!” I laughed. TC stood with an open mouth just looking at me. Ash gave me a sideways stern look but said nothing. I later found out that Ash was a Ford fan. I like both the Ford and the bow-tie products, but could not help it to needle TC somewhat.

Back at the luxury housing, Ash and I found all the girls in Darya and Roxy’s bungalow. Roxy was laying on the couch whit her feet up on a pillow. Her sprained ankle tightly wrapped in a bandage. She did not look happy. There was an understandable expression of pain on her face.

“How’s the ankle, Rox?” I asked.

“Throbbing...” She softly said. “It feels numb, and sore if I try to stand on it.”

“It will get better. Just sit still for now, and don’t try to stand on it or put weight on it,” Ash advised.

“And ... how ... am I ... supposed to get to ... bed?” Roxy mumbled.

“We’ll cross that bridge when we get to that bridge...” Angie tossed in, using one of Ash’s famous sayings.

“I gave her a painkiller. She’ll be better in a while,” Mai-Loan said.

“Good!” Ash agreed.

“The ice helps, and I think the painkiller is kicking in...” Roxy mumbled, lying back on the couch armrest with her eyes closed.

“The sprain don’t look too bad; nothing broken. Just I think she pulled some ligaments. It will be good in a day or two,” Mai-Loan continued.

“Better take her to the sickbay in the morning. Just to be sure,” Ash advised.

“Will do,” Mai-Loan replied, and stretched her arms out in front of her, stifling a yawn. “But time for bed now. It’s been a heck of a day so far.”

“Yeah, I feel sleepy too, now all the excitement is over,” Angie said.

“Let’s blow,” Ash said and got up, followed by the rest of the gang.

“I better go as well,” I offered, and made as if to get up, but did not get far.

“Stay awhile longer, Ron. I’ll need your help to get Rox to the room,” Darya asked. It was clear that Roxy was about out for the count, still leaning back on the couch with her eyes closed.

“I ... can hobble ... there...” Roxy mumbled.

“Come on, Roxy, let me take you to the room. Drop your arm around my neck,” I said and picked up the feather-weight girl off the couch, placing my right arm around her back, and my left arm under her knees.

Giggle. “Are you going to ... fix me up ... in my ... pyjamas too...” She mumbled with her eyes still closed. I just looked at the girl in my arms and then cast my eyes towards Darya.

Darya stood with an evil grin on her face. “You better help the poor wounded pigeon...” She chuckled, a naughty light playing in her dark eyes.

“I’ll take her to the room. You can help her get in her pyjamas, or just let her sleep like she is right now,” I said and proceeded to take Roxy to the room.

“Are ... you ... going to ... tell me... (breath) a ... bedtime story?” Roxy mumbled.

“What the hell did Mai-Loan give her?” I asked.

“Battlefield-feel-good-goo!”

“Battlefield-feel-good-goo?

“Morphine...”

“Jeez! No wonder she is seeing pink elephants,” I replied, and turning sideways through the bedroom door so as not to bump Roxy’s head against the door frame. I took Roxy inside her room and gently placed her on the bed, then adjusted her so that her ankle was on a pillow and in a good position.

Roxy, like Darya, was still dressed in her t-shirt and black knee-high skirt. While putting her down on the bed, her skirt rode up. I pulled it down a bit and straightened it, nevertheless, I caught a glimpse of wonderful thighs.

Her room was like any other barracks room worldwide: the bed neatly made with the blankets folded at the bottom of the bed, and the pillows stacked one on top of the other.

I took a blanket from the bottom of the bed and covered her, hiding those beautiful long legs. Roxy just sighed, mumbled something, and was gone into slumber land. I turned to Darya.

“Okay, maybe I must call it a night as well,” I sighed. Darya snaked an arm around my neck, a soft glow in her dark eyes, her lips slightly parted.

“It’s not even nine o’clock yet. Let’s go sit on the couch for a while...”, she purred, and how could I resist? Placing my arm around her waist, I led her back to the little lounge and the couch.

We sat down on the couch and Darya turned sideways to me, placing her head on my shoulder and her arm around my waist.

“It was an eventful day,” I said, not knowing what else to say, and just enjoying the closeness of this beautiful girl next to me.

“It was...” she sighed. She kicked off her shoes and curled her legs up under her on the couch. Her black skirt rode up a little higher above her knees.

“At least we came out of it okay,” I went on to say.

“Except Roxy. The poor thing. Twisting her ankle of all things.”

“Yeah ... I just hope it is not serious.”

“She’ll be okay,” Darya said and then giggled.

“What now?” I asked.

“Would you have really dressed her in her pyjamas?”

“No!”

“And why not? She requested it...”

“She was under the influence, drugged. She did not know what she was saying.”

“But you would have had a chance to see her naked...”

“She would still have her underwear on.”

“She doesn’t sleep in underwear ... You would have needed to remove it too...”

“I did not know that...”

“Well, now you know. She sleeps in the nude.”

“Darya!”

“What?”

“You are naughty!”

“So, spank me!” Giggle.

“Darya...”

“Ash promised Angie a spanking five or six years ago...”

“And?”

“Well, they never got around to it. Angie said something about ... no, never mind. Oh, all right, Ash always getting distracted” Darya recounted and then looked away.

“Sometimes ... No, never mind...” I said.

“No, tell me,” Darya insisted.

“NO!”

“Oh, come on, Ron. You know we can tell things to one another...”

“You think?”

“I know.”

“Okay, if you say so.”

“So, are you going to tell me?”

“Sometimes, if done in the right way, spanking can be sexy and a turn-on,” I reluctantly said.

“I heard that before. No wonder Angie is tendering for a spanking.”

“How so?”

“The way she entices Ash. One of these days, he will really spank her.”

“That’s their business.”

“Okay...”

“Good. Subject closed,” I said.

“So, if I’m naughty, you’re not going to spank me?” She asked, tracing her index finger along the buttons of my shirt.

“You’re a grown woman, Darya, not a little girl.”

“But still, sometimes the little naughty girl inside me needs correcting,” Giggle.

“There are other ways...”

“Such as?”

“Darya, why don’t we...” I got no further. Darya had her fingers going inside my shirt, her index finger rubbing my right nipple. Then she leaned in closer and kissed me on my lips. Time stood still as we kissed. I felt her tongue slightly caressing my lips. It felt good. My soul was leaving my body. This girl can kiss. She threw her leg over mine and cuddled in close to me, her skirt riding up higher on those shapely trim legs.

“You know, it is a little unfair,” I said, as we came up for air.

“What is unfair? Darya asked, a naughty light flashing in her eyes.

“You playing with my nipple, but I can’t play with yours...”

“Nothing is stopping you...” She said, sliding onto my lap.

I had my hand on her back. Slowly I dropped it to where her t-shirt was riding away from her skirt as she leaned forward, straddling me. Slowly, ever so gently I let my hand slide under her t-shirt and brought my hand around to her tummy.

My hand slid up on its own volition to touch a small firm breast. No bra!

I teased her hard nipple with my index finger, softly, slowly running the tip of my finger around her nipple.

“Ahh...” Darya sighed, then she leaned in, placed both her hands behind my head, and kissed me hard.

“We can skip through that door to your place...”

“We can...” I whispered.

“Rox will be okay ... Let’s go to your place and...” Darya said and stopped. She just looked at me with tenderness I have not seen in her before.

I withdrew my hand from under her t-shirt.

“NO! Don’t. Just a little bit more...” And she pressed her hand over mine, holding it against her breast, while touching her forehead to mine. Her long hair falling forward, covering both our faces. The kiss continued. The tip of her tongue was tracing my lips.

“Well, if we go next door, I’ll remove your t-shirt and kiss both your breasts. Playing my tongue around and over your nipples,” I mumbled around the kiss.

No words were said. A slight smile played on Darya’s lips, her eyes searching my face, then she got off my lap, and pulling me to the interconnecting door to our bungalows.

UN Compound, Kismayo. 16 June, 05:30 GMT +3

The sun cleared the horizon, bathing the arid dry land in colours of brown, yellow and orange. There was no wind. Only a few puffy clouds hung loosely in the sky. The ever-present haze of smoke over the hill to the west and the city of Kismayo, painted a dull grey to the horizon, while the sun peeked as a white ball in the morning sky, slightly dimmed by the smoke haze of the charcoal burning fires.

Ash, Nadia, Leah, Olivia, and I sat around a steel fold-out table in the hangar. The mirages were neatly parked along the west wall. Dim lights were trying their best to dispel the gloom inside the hangar.

It was still early in the day, and the heat had not penetrated into the hangar, leaving it cool. We each had a mug of coffee, and Ash was speaking.

“We go in tomorrow at dawn,” he stated flatly. “I will lead off, followed by Leah, then Olivia and Ronny.”

“We go in one after the other?” Olivia asked.

“No! That will be the catch. We take off and hang a right towards the City of Kismayo. Continue our flight to the south of the harbour and at the coast turn south-west along the coast.”

“Seems to be the route to take,” I ventured, sipping my coffee.

“When we hit the first stream that looks like the Mississippi River, we split up. Olivia goes east towards the ocean. Then turn south-west until the village of Burgabo, turn west and overfly Burgabo. The Camp is eight kilometres to the west of her position. It will be clearly visible as the fires of Ron’s rockets will highlight it for her, and the rest of us.”

“So, I better shoot good and true,” I said, chuckling.

“Okay ... So, are we hitting them from all directions?” Olivia asked.

“Yes. I will give you your entry coordinates just now. But yes, I will hit from the north, Olivia from the east, Leah from the south and Ron from the west. Ron, you go in first.”

“Ain’t that a little dangerous? I mean we will be crossing each other’s flight paths,” Leah asked, concern showing on her face.

“Timing is of the utmost importance. Your coordinates are worked out so that we will strike the camp at 25 second intervals. There will be plenty of time to get out of each other’s way,” Ash said. “Watch you speed and altitude. After your strike, don’t hang around to look at the fireworks! Hit them hard and get out. After your rocket release, climb to 18000 and high tail it back here. The incoming jet will be lower than you on your climb out.”

“Is this so that it will disorientate the terrorists with the SA-18s?”

“Yes!”

“Okay, sounds risky but fair ... Any reason why I should break the ice first?” I asked.

“Because after your strike you climb to 18000 feet and high tail it back here. Ditch the Mirage and grab the 105. Mai-Loan, Darya, and Lorie will be waiting on you. Then you fly back and help TC and the AU members in clearing the camp. And, Ron, you have my permission to go supersonic on your way back. Gives you a little more time to get back into the game with the 105.”

“WOW! Looks like I’ll be doing some flying tomorrow. But ain’t Darya going to be with TC and his squad?”

“Nope. After thinking it over and discussing it with TC, we decided that one lonely sniper ain’t going to cut it. There are three sides to the camp that she won’t be able to cover. So, scratch the sniper and bring in the Browning. Much more fun!” Ash chuckled. “Besides, it frees up some guys to clear the camp and not play security and defence for Darya.”

“That is mighty generous of you, Ash.” I quipped.

“Logistics my friend, logistics. And I have a slight suspicion that Darya would welcome the change,” Ash said and looked me full in the face.

“So, Lorie is going to fly shotgun for me?”

“More like Mai-Loan and Darya will fly the shotgun part, but I can’t think of a better replacement for me than Lorie as navigator slash communications officer,” Ash chuckled.

“The weather looks like some cloud cover over the target,” Olivia stated.

“Yeah, 17000 down to around about 5000 feet.” Leah confirmed. “It will be moving from west to east at about ten knots.”

“That means no sun to cover our fly-in, and it gives us some nice cover for if they do get off a SA-18,” Nadia spoke up.

“Watch your TCAS, and stay out of each other’s way,” Ash instructed.

“So, the sequence will then be: First up Smudge, then Olivia. Then me, followed by Leah.” Ash reinforced.

“We will only have one chance each! Fire all 72 rockets and be damn sure they are on target,” I said.

“There will be 288 rockets into that camp! If anything still moves or breathes, TC and the AU guys will get them,” Olivia summed up.

“Deus hoc vult!” I said. (God wills it.)

“Jeez! Trust Smudge to have a battle cry,” Nadia chuckled. “If only Ash could have found me a cruise missile ... say something like the French 10 kiloton nuke that the M2KN were designed for!”

“Now don’t go and raise poison mushrooms around here!” Olivia remarked.

We all laughed, and Ash summed it up: “Your personal briefings are here in your mission packs. Read it. Memorise it. And ... be safe. Dismissed.”

I took my mission pack from Ash and opened it. Inside was all I needed to know about the mission: the location of the target. A satellite photo of the target, all the coordinates, speeds and altitudes. A comprehensive package. I smiled at the last entry: “We will have a post mission braai after the mission ... bring this mission pack along to kindle the fire!” Leave no evidence. Is this then called plausible deniability?!

On my way back to my little UN compound kingdom, I ran into a big man. When I say big, he was rated as big. I don’t stand too close to the ground, but this guy was head and shoulders higher than me. Colonel “Dusty” Carter, US Africa Command, and UN representative in Kismayo.

“Good morning, Colonel!” I greeted and wanted to bypass, but he stepped in front of me with a smile on his face.