Chapter 2

Dawn came early for Oscar. He woke stiff and cramped from leaning against the rocks while he slept. It wasn’t the most comfortable position to have slept in, but if he had been woken by a noise, he wouldn’t have had to move in order to search out the source. His robe had kept him warm through the night. It always amazed him how cold it could get here at night. He had heard stories that they could make ice even in the hottest of deserts.

He looked around his surroundings to see if there was any source of danger to him. A man lost behind enemy lines needed to remain aware at all times. He was about to move when a very small cloud of dust appeared on the horizon. Dust was caused by movement and movement meant danger. He waited to see what form of danger was causing the dust cloud.

He wasn’t worried about being spotted. With the cloak and its hood, he could look like just another rock, simply by keeping still. The height of his location gave him an advantage as far as watching what was going on. The distance gave him a disadvantage if he had to engage the enemy. Armed only with a knife, he needed to be within reach of the enemy. There was no doubt that they would have guns.

Twenty minutes later a white truck pulled up to the well. Two men got out with cans for water. He couldn’t tell if they were terrorists or not. Too many people out here carried guns and white trucks were very common. The men disappeared from view when they approached the well. In the still morning air, their voices carried a far distance so that while Oscar could not see who was speaking, he could hear every word they said.

“We killed a lot of infidels the other day. That was good.”

“Too many of our men became martyrs that day.”

“Still it was good to kill the Americans. If we kill enough of them, they will leave. They are weak when it comes death.”

“They think there are rules to war.”

“That is another of their weaknesses.”

“Did you see that one run into the dust devil? I had to laugh at the dog.”

“I wouldn’t waste the bottom of my shoe on such a coward.”

“He got away.”

“Bah! The Djinni got him.”

Oscar flushed in anger, despite that his reaction was unreasonable. He didn’t appreciate hearing his escape discussed in that fashion. What choices did he have? To stay and die? To run while only risking death? The problem was that he didn’t know if his flight had been cowardliness or if it had been a willingness to die.

He considered the actions that he could pursue to deal with the two terrorists. He felt with some confidence that he could move down and take them both out with his knife, particularly if they were busy filling the water cans. On the other hand, if he waited then he could follow them to their destination. There was no doubt that they were part of the terrorist group that had attacked him and they would soon be returning to their camp. His thoughts were interrupted when the men resumed talking.

“Azim will be happy to martyr himself using the captured Hummer.”

“It is a good plan. Drive one of their own vehicles into their camp and then blow it up. He will kill many of the infidels.”

“Azim is very committed to Allah.”

“Seventy-two virgins.”

On hearing that, Oscar’s decision was made for him. He had to follow them to their camp and prevent them from using his Hummer to kill more men in his unit. The problem was that he had no idea how far he would have to walk, but he would follow them day and night until he found their camp, if that was necessary.

He stayed where he was and listened to the rest of their conversation, but there wasn’t anything of interest to him. Finished with filling the cans, they loaded them into the rear of their truck. They started the truck, the engine noise announcing that it wasn’t a Fusion Motor. He waited until they drove away before climbing down from the rocks. The tire tracks were clear and would be easy to follow. He took a sip of water and then followed after them.

Eight hours later, he spotted the terrorist camp as he came over a hill. He lay down so that only his head was over the horizon. With the hood of the cloak, he looked like one rock among many. He stayed still watching with eyes that hurt from the glare. As he lay there, he realized that he had changed in a significant way, he had become deliberate in how he acted.

The camp, nestled in a small valley cutting into the next hill, was covered with camouflage netting to prevent it from being seen from the air. From above, it would look like part of the hill. He examined the camp from his location looking for strategic solutions on how to attack it. Knowing it was guarded, he examined the horizon attempting to locate the guards, but he couldn’t spot them.

Baking under the hot sun, he realized that he would not be able to get into the camp during the day without being spotted. The situation demanded that he scout the camp while it was still light out so that he could assess the security. Settling in, he watched the camp from his position. The heat of the day created mirages and he could hardly make out the men due to the distortion. In light of the mirages, his chances for moving closer without being spotted were good if he were to belly crawl towards camp. There wouldn’t be much risk of detection since he would look like a minor distortion in the mirage.

Before heading out, he finished the water in his pant-leg canteens. They had been slowly leaking water and only a few sips remained in each one. He remembered someone saying that the best place for water was inside the body, but he didn’t remember the context in which it had been said. No matter what, it would be best for him if he drank all that was left before losing it. Now that he was out of water, his next drink would have to come from inside the camp. Even as he drank, he knew that the decision to drink his water had committed him to attacking the camp.

He tied the remains of the pant-legs around his knees. If he was going to crawl close to the camp, then he wanted to protect his knees from the rough surface. Adjusting the cloak and taking a deep breath to steel his resolve, he started crawling across the burning rocks. He took his time, laying down on occasion and moving forward at an imperceptible rate. The hot sun beat down on him, but the heat coming off the ground was even worse. The temperature was well over a hundred and he felt like he was baking in an oven. The sweat ran off him, making his clothes damp and binding.

Three hours later, the sun was just above the horizon and Oscar was much closer to the camp. Lying on the ground covered by his cloak, he had arrived at a spot where he could make out the locations of the guards who were set up around the camp. There were two men guarding the entrance to the valley and one man up on the hill. He watched as the guards were relieved; an event that confirmed his observations.

Oscar waited for nightfall. Lying on the hot ground he began to get thirsty beyond belief. He sucked on a pebble, a trick to keep the mind off his thirst. There was no water anywhere near him except within the camp. His tongue was beginning to swell; but he waited, using the opportunity to rest, knowing that he wouldn’t move for another hour. It was better to be patient than to rush into action.

The sun set and the sky darkened as an hour and more passed. Oscar stood and began to move slowly and silently towards the camp, stealth was the key to his survival. The only light was from the stars and the small sliver of moon near the horizon. He had the locations of the guards committed to memory and moved along a route that would allow him to approach them from the back. His progress was slow as the rocky terrain made his footing unsure. It took a long time, but finally the guard was ten feet in front of him, facing away to watch the poorly lit desert. Oscar moved closer until he was within two feet of the guard. Striking as fast as a snake, he covered the guard’s mouth with one hand and shoved his knife into guard’s kidney. Pulling the knife out, he slit the throat fully aware of the awfulness of his actions.

He searched the body of the guard finding a canteen, a rifle, a knife, and a pistol. He opened the canteen and took a sip of water. The warm tepid water tasted sweet as honey as it flowed down his throat. It was tempting to finish it in one long draw; but he controlled his desire, and replaced the top after one more good-sized sip. Swallowing too much water too quickly, would make him sick. He put the pistol in a pocket of the cloak, but left the rifle behind. He did grab the ammunition and put it in another pocket of the robe. He would get the rifle of the other guard.

He took his bearings and moved in the direction of the other guard. With three hours before the next shift change to execute his plan, he moved away from the guard position, balancing the need for speed with the demand for silence. When he was three quarters of the way to the other guard, he slowed his approach, taking care not to make noise by placing each foot with care. He didn’t concentrate on the guard, feeling that the man would feel such concentration. Instead, he focused on a rock next to the guard.

Just as he reached the guard, the guard’s stomach growled. The guard turned to pick up a packet on the ground, but Oscar jumped him before he had a chance to see him. The knife flashed in the dark as it cut the guard’s throat. It was over in just a few seconds and without enough noise to raise suspicions. The smell of blood was thick in his nose.

Oscar searched the guard finding another pistol and a rifle. He grabbed the rifle and slung it over his shoulder. Remembering the growling stomach of the guard, he looked for something to eat. On the ground next to the guard was a small package. When he opened it, he found that it contained some bread and a piece of goat cheese. Oscar smiled as he ate it and drank some more water from the canteen of the first guard. Even though he wasn’t particularly fond of goat cheese and flat bread, the meal tasted great. It was the first thing he had to eat since the raw snake the night before.

He circled around the camp and snuck into it from the rear. His Hummer was parked at the rear of the camp, covered by camouflage to prevent it from being seen from the sky. The camp was not quiet as men snored in their sleep. There were still men awake in what appeared to be the command tent so he avoided getting too close to it. The last thing that he wanted was to be spotted by men that were alert. A sleepy man would be much easier for him to overcome.

Oscar moved slowly and quietly from tent to tent. He stopped outside each tent to listen to what was going on inside it. Tents in which men were snoring he went past while tents that were quiet he entered. One tent was empty and he assumed that it belonged to the guards that he had taken out.

He entered another tent and found boxes stacked within it. He opened one of the boxes and found several stacks of explosives. Other boxes held weapons, ammunition, and food. He collected a number of blocks of C-4 and noticed a stack of timers nearby. He had never dealt with explosives, before. It took him some time to figure out how to wire them to explode. The detonator caps went into the C-4 and connected to the timers.

He crawled out of the tent to place an explosive charge just outside each occupied tent. When he was placing the first set of explosives, he realized that there would not be any shrapnel. Shrapnel would assure that the explosion damaged stuff rather than made noise. He went back to the tent and grabbed two boxes of ammunition. He sandwiched the explosive between the pair of boxes. He checked his watch and seeing that it was a little after three, set the timer so that it would explode at the top of the hour.

He repeated his actions throughout the camp until the only tents that did not have explosives next to it were the command tent, the empty tent, and the supply tent. He checked his watch. It was getting close to four and the time when the explosives would detonate. He moved away from the camp, up the wall of the valley, searching for a place that would offer some protection. He didn’t want to be anywhere close when the timers went off, but he did want to be close enough to engage anyone that survived.

Private Foo had not had any training with explosives, so he hadn’t known what he was doing when he’d set up the explosives. That didn’t prevent them from exploding, but he hadn’t realized that the explosion would also set off the bullets in the ammunition boxes. Five hundred bullets per box and sixteen boxes all exploding at the same time meant a very big bang. He realized why the car bombs made of various kinds of ammunition were so dangerous and destructive. No wonder they could bring down entire buildings.

He had expected to have to have a fire fight with the men inside the command tent. Instead, he had spent the next several moments hiding behind a rock for protection from the bullets flying throughout the whole area. He made himself as small as possible to avoid the bullets and casings that were ricocheting off the rocks around him.

Stunned when silence finally descended, he peered around the rock to see what had happened inside the camp. It looked like a tornado had blown through area destroying everything in its path. Tents had been knocked over, the camouflage netting had been shredded, and debris was scattered over the entire area. He watched for movement within the camp with his gun at the ready.

Nothing moved until the stunned guard from the hill came down into the camp. Oscar followed the man’s progress and fired when he had a good shot. He took the man down with a single shot.

He waited for sunrise to see what would happen. Nothing stirred in camp. He drank some more water from the canteen he had taken from the first guard. Even as he drank it, he hoped that there was still some water left in the camp. As the sky started to lighten, he looked over at the Hummer. He could tell from where he sat that it had been shot up pretty badly from the chase, but it seemed to have come through the explosion well.

He climbed down from his hiding place and headed towards the command tent. He entered it with his gun ready, but the men inside were dead. Bullets had flown through the tent from every direction. He examined the contents of the tent just to identify any possible threats. Once he was satisfied that he was safe, he went to the dead men on the floor. He bent down and searched the dead men one at a time. One of the men had what looked like a map in his pocket. There were x’s, o’s, and t’s connected by lines. However, there weren’t any major landmarks on it that he could tell. He folded it and put it into his pocket.

He searched the rest of the tent with the result that the only thing he found of interest was a video camera. It was easy to assume they used it to record their training activities. Picking it up, he filmed the faces of the men in the command tent. At least he would leave here with a record of who he had killed. There was no telling how important these men were to the terrorist organization.

The only other item of any significance was a laptop computer, but it had several bullet holes in it. He looked for disks or other storage media, but there weren’t any. He considered what to do about the computer and decided to take it with him. He had no idea if the techies could get any information off the disk drive, but it was better to take it then leave it behind.

He went from there to the remains of a tent that he had blown up during the night. He pulled the shredded canvas of the tent away and looked at the bodies inside. The bodies were not in good shape, but he videotaped them as well. He searched the area, but didn’t find anything of value. There was a small box of personal possessions that contained nothing of military value. He did find one small flashlight, which he put in his shirt pocket.

He went from destroyed tent to destroyed tent videotaping the bodies. If he was going to get in trouble for being separated from his unit, at least he wanted proof that he had accomplished something good. He had no idea who was important and who wasn’t, but there were people that knew that information. They would want to know who had been stopped in this raid and the video tape would answer that question.

He soon found himself outside the supply tent. He went inside and checked out the goods within. It had been dark the night before and he was sure that he had missed some items of importance. There was a crate of food that had been dropped from the air when the American troops had first entered Afghanistan. He opened and ate one, surprised at how tasty it was. He took another sip from his canteen before putting a number of the packages in his pockets. He set the crate next to the laptop computer.

His hunger abated, he went out to examine the Hummer. The Hummer had a number of bullet holes, but it looked like it was still in workable condition. Opening the door and looking around, he smiled when he spotted his roll of toilet paper on the passenger side floor. He guessed they weren’t worried about someone stealing it since the key was still in the switch. The Hummer started right up, its characteristic whine letting him know that the fusion cell was still functioning. He gave a sigh of relief and turned the key off. He checked out the back of the Hummer, expecting it to be loaded with explosives, but he found that it was empty.

Returning to the supply tent, he carried out boxes of ammunition setting them in the back of the Hummer. He added a box of new rifles to the back, as well. He dug through the supply tent again, locating two boxes of RPG launchers and a number of boxes of coresponding grenades. He carried them out to the Hummer and set them in the back. Taking out one of the launchers and a grenade, he assembled it and tested it out by firing at one of the white trucks that was sitting off to the side of the camp. It exploded in a great fireball. He put another grenade in the launcher and set it in the passenger’s seat.

He went over to the white trucks. These were a problem, and he didn’t know what to do with them. All of them were still in working condition and he was sure that if he left them there, the terrorists would reclaim them. He finally decided that he would destroy them where they stood. He set explosives on their engines, and set the timer for three hours, confident that he would be long gone by then. These were gas-powered trucks rather than fusion powered, and would blow up in spectacular fashion.

He went through the camp again before he found some five gallon cans of water, although only a few had survived without bullet holes. He carried them to the Hummer and stepped back satisfied that it was now fully loaded with all that was valuable from within the camp. He had transportation, food, water, and weapons. Laughing as he recalled an advertisement for the Army, he said aloud, “I’m an army of one.”

Chapter 3 »