Chapter 41

Flashback – Ben – Undisclosed location

When I woke up, it was hot as hell and the inside of my GAZ smelled like ASS! We needed to find someplace to wash the stench off us - it was so bad my eyes watered. I rolled down the window and decided I would send a report to the Major. I had really hoped destroying everything on our mission list would lead to him finally pull us out of this fucking desert and send us to Russia. I hadn't counted on the bastard pulling a quick one on us when he determined a way to use the destruction to his advantage. That's the thing about officers; they're slippery as hell bastards. But it would be a cold day in hell that one could outthink me. I wrote a new message and grinned as I sent it off and waited for the FRAGOs.

Flashback – Major M – Command and Control

The Sgts. weren't totally unpredictable. I figured that after the storm they needed to take care of some things then we would hear from them. But I was antsy as hell because we really needed them to get their asses over to the new target and verify what we think we saw. This site was way more than justification for a war, this was a concrete provocation.

The report came in but I didn't bother to look at it because I already knew they destroyed the underground hanger. I skipped to the bottom and it read "10-7."

What the hell! They were 'out of service'?

I composed a new message with the new target and sent it...

Flashback – Jack – Undisclosed location

Banzai chuckled and woke me up. Wow! The inside of the jeep smelled like hell. I quickly rolled down the window, stuck my head outside to keep from puking and sucked in the hot and damn dry desert air. At least it was some better than the perfume from the jeep.

Once I was sure I could stand it, I brought my head back inside and complained, "Damn Banzai you need a bath!"

He countered, "Jack, most of that smell is you. You're sweating all the vodka out of your system from last night. This is a good thing because the way you stink, if we had to go it on foot, every nose within a klick would target you immediately."

I sniffed my clothes cautiously. Damn I hate it when Banzai was right. Then I questioned, "Well is there an oasis or watering hole somewhere close where I can wash up?"

Banzai laughed, "Yeah, there's one close but the way you smell you'll pollute the hell out of it."

I notice Banzai had the computer out and asked, "What's going on?"

He looked at me and grinned, "Negotiations."

Flashback – Major M – Command and Control

I was pissed as hell and replied back, "Well then get the hell 'in service'! We need observation only on this target. Repeat, observation only because of possible radioactive danger."

Damn that Sgt. Blaine was giving me shit again! Just when I thought we were working well together. This was the worst possible time for them to pull this shit and all this messaging was way out of protocol.

The two word reply came in, "Too hot!"

I composed a reply and questioned, "Your vehicle? Proceed to target on foot."

Flashback – Jack – Undisclosed location

Banzai was doing a bunch of messaging. More than protocol said we should so I questioned, "Aren't you worried we will be discovered?"

He said, "Just a little. But with the underground hanger being gone, I haven't seen or heard an aircraft since I woke up. I figure if they do get lucky and triangulate on us, they will have to send something from a hell of a distance away and we will be gone by then."

I continued, "So what's going on with the Major?"

He grinned, "He has his panties in a bunch over something 'new' they discovered and they want us to just observe it because it might be a nuke."

I smiled, "Sounds to me like we have him over a barrel. So what are your plans?"

He grinned and said, "Wait. I need to reply to his last message."

Flashback – Major M – Command and Control

The reply came back and I swore out loud, "What the hell! They are too hot and need a fucking vacation someplace where it's cold!" I knew exactly what Sgt. Blaine was telling me: He was still pissed about not going to Russia. I hadn't counted on his deep attachment to a Russian assignment. I know had never been there but really wanted to go. But dammit! I needed them on this mission ASAP. Somehow he figured that out and was 'negotiating'.

I asked my techs, "Any sign that the location of the team has been compromised?"

My techs came back, "There's a ninety percent chance when you send this reply they will have a triangulation."

I composed the message with a warning and sent it.

Flashback – Jack – Undisclosed location

Banzai looked at the message, then smiled and said, "Jack we need to get the hell out of Dodge!"

I questioned, "Well, are you going to tell me what it said?"

He jumped out of the jeep and yelled, "Yeah once we're moving. Now help me get the camo net off her because we need to move it."

I jumped out, helped with the net and jumped back in. Banzai grinned at me, turned on the radio (which hadn't worked before), reached down, pressed the play button on his music player and I heard, "We're just good old boys..."

He started the jeep, floored it and we both sang along to the theme song from Dukes of Hazzard.

After we went a short distance, I reached over, turned down the volume and asked, "Well what the fuck is going on with the Major."

Banzai answered, "The Major and I have come to an agreement. If we take this mission and continue working for a short while longer, then he will pull us out and we get to go to Russia."

I was excited as hell about Russia. Actually I was excited as hell about anywhere but here because I was pretty damn sure what was coming. And I didn't want to be here when that shitstorm came down, at least not on this side of the lines. But I worried and asked, "So how long is this 'short while' going to be."

Banzai jumped another ravine, grinned at me and explained, "If what I think we're going to find, we indeed find, then our remaining desert tour is going to be really short. But first we're taking a short break to get cleaned up."

I rubbed my hands together - a bath, clean clothes and then Russia soon!

Flashback – Major M – Command and Control

I no sooner got my Sgts. working on this critical mission again when a tech comes in my office and said, "Sir! We have an issue."

I jumped up and demanded, "What the hell is going on now."

He answered, "Sir! I think we might have made a mistake."

I walk into the main C&C room look at the satellite feed and again swore! Then I ordered, "See if you can contact the Sgts. to abort the mission."

Dammit! This might be enough to push Sgt. Blaine over the edge and then he might try to pull a Mr. Smith on me. It would be a shame to have to kill him...

Flashback – Jack – Undisclosed location

I was swimming in the little bit of warm water and luxuriating in the feeling of finally getting all the crap off me. My clothes dried on the jeep (which was hidden under the camo net close to the little oasis, and Banzai was standing watch up on a sand dune above me. The bastard made me do the same while he was first into the pool, because he explained, "He didn't want 'sloppy seconds.'"

That was okay with me, because it gave me more time to relax and I planned on using every second. I was wrinkled as hell because I'd been in for so long, but I didn't fucking care. I even used some soap despite what Banzai told me (he was a little bit of an environmental nut sometimes but I chalked it up to living in the Rocky Mountains as a kid).

I saw Banzai flying down the sand dune and I jumped out of the water and started drying in a hurry. Banzai ran up and I asked, "What the hell is wrong?"

Banzai said, "There's some sort of fucking caravan headed this way and I don't think it would be wise for us to be found here."

Then he sniffed and complained, "Jack don't tell me you used soap?"

I got into my dried clothes, grinned at him and answered, "Okay I won't tell you that."

He whined, "Dammit, that's going to fuck up the water, piss off anyone else that uses it and besides now you smell like a French whorehouse."

We climbed in the jeep and I countered, "And just how many French whorehouses have you been in?"

We sped off and Banzai answered, "Well, none."

I answered, "Well having been in more than one myself, I can say that I don't smell nearly as bad as any of the ones I was ever in. I think they only took a bath once a week and just splashed on more perfume each day."