Chapter 79

I looked up at Preacher when he slammed the folders down and waited for him to explain.

"Harry, sometimes I think I shouldn't be in command. I just perused through his jacket as I walked down the hall and guess what I found in the middle? His team has only been with him for two weeks. They just completed their training at Bragg. They all served together in Desert Storm as Rangers though. Johnston was an REMF in Saigon and he has to have met JJ at least a dozen times. According to the records I have, he was the team's supply officer. After Nam he went to OCS and passed at almost the top of his class. Guess who sponsored him? Yep, JJ himself. Stinger, where the hell do your hunches come from?"

"He is to be placed under guard immediately and shipped back to Bragg. When he gets there, he is to be questioned by a board of inquiry about his failure to report his previous friendship with a wanted felon. We are going to change our plans, Preacher. You can bet he has already warned JJ, and he will change his return route. Have one of the drone operators scout around and see if there is another way out of that camp that he could use. He will come after me, because by now he knows who I am and where I live. Alert the team guarding the women and for God sakes, make sure they don't cause a panic. Have your team leader pull Tran to the side and tell her. She will know how to handle it."

I watched as he went out the door at a run to do as I had asked. I picked up Anderson's folder, and he was a boy scout from what I was reading in his records. He and his team had been together from the start, and had been on seven successful missions without losing a man. He and his team were highly decorated and none of them were married. This was unusual, but better for all as they wouldn't have any distractions when on a mission. I decided then and there, Anderson and Stumpy would be my main teams in the field. I would use Johnston's team as a backup in case one of the other teams needed extra firepower. I was pondering this new information when Preacher came back in, holding a hankie against his bleeding nose.

"He about flipped out, Harry. It took me and Stumpy to put him down. Now he is shackled and cuffed and will face more serious charges. I called Nellis, and as soon as he arrives, he will be escorted back to Bragg in shackles and under arrest. We found a generic cell in his pocket but it was clear. Harry, why don't they just let us shoot traitors any more?"

I looked up at him and grinned before I half assed answered him.

"That would be too easy, Preacher. The armchair warriors wouldn't have anything to brag about at their golf outings then. I want to talk to Johnston's XO as soon as he is shipped out."

"I already put him on one of the choppers with two of my men as guards. I was afraid if word got out, someone would perform a little barracks justice, Harry. I will send LT. Masters in as soon as I get the drone operators lined out. Harry, we have to get this SOB, because I don't want any of my friends hurt by his egomania."

He went back out before I could formulate a reply to his statement. I was thinking about what I would do if I were in JJ's place, when there was a knock at the door, to which I hollered, "Come in." I looked up at Masters as he came to attention.

"At ease, Lieutenant. I'm not your superior as I said, and if you answer, or address me, do it as Harry, ok?"

"Yes sir, er Harry sir, er Harry."

I just laughed and he sat down, realizing I wasn't going to be a stickler for formality. I went on to explain about his former CO, and he just about ripped the top of the metal table he was gripping it so hard. I waited a few minutes for him to master his temper before I told him he could speak freely.

"He took command of our team two weeks ago Harry. My old CO was hospitalized for back problems. To be totally truthful with you, neither I nor my men liked him. He was just too sneaky and controlling for us. Does this mean we are going to be relieved of our duties too?"

"No Lieutenant, I don't base my opinions on whole teams. I see you and your men have been together a long time, and I will use you and your team as backup. You will be the firemen for the other two teams."

"Firemen, Harry?"

"Yea, if they get caught in a firestorm, it will be you and your men who are responsible for putting the fire out. The other two teams will be depending on your men to be there when you are needed."

"Thank you, Harry, for not branding my men with the same brush as that so called CO. You and the other two teams can depend on us, that I promise you."

"Ok Lieutenant, you can stand down on tonight's raid. I figure your former CO has already warned JJ, and he won't make the mistake of going back the way he came. Knowing him, he will find a different route back to his camp. I have the drone operators looking into that as we speak. I would appreciate it if you would check around, and find someone who can make some decent coffee though. This stuff isn't fit to drink."

He just laughed as he went out the door, remarking he was sure he had just the man for me. I sat back wondering how Tran would take this news when my personal cell rang.

"Harry Hanson, we are still staying at Sean's house tonight regardless of who doesn't like it. I suggest you put some of these sick animals out of their misery, before it spreads to decent folk in the county. I love you, be safe." Click!

I just sat back and totally lost it, much to my surprise. This woman I married was something else. Preacher came back in with his nose all swollen, and I told him about my cell call, and he busted out laughing too.

"You know, Harry, I never did get the story out of Monk. I don't suppose you would tell me would you?"

"Not in a million years, Preacher. If he wouldn't tell you then I am not about to ruin his silence for one of his old team mates. Besides, it's none of your business, anyways."

"Aw, come on Harry, that's not fair. We never kept secrets in the old days. We always told each other everything."

"This ain't the old days, and I am not about to make her mad at me by telling you about our past histories. If I did that, I would be living here like the rest of you, and smelling this crap all the time. I like having a nice warm beautiful woman to cuddle up to at night. I bet you sleep with your pistol like you always did."

"Ok Harry, point taken, but sleeping with my pistol has saved my life a couple of times in the past. I would appreciate it if you kept it to yourself, though. My men think I have a different girl in my bed every night."

I was just at the point of saying something smart, when one of the drone operators stuck his head in the door saying they had found his route back, they thought. We got up and followed him out to one of the monitors he had set up to show us. We watched as he went through what the drone had filmed, pointing out the route that would keep JJ undercover most of the way back to his own camp. The operator also said this was the only other way he could get there in those big Humvees, because of the width of the axles they had installed under them. I didn't think he would leave them behind either, so I looked for the best possible place for an ambush. There was one stretch that went on in the clear for about a half mile. This was the only place I could see to stop them with the choppers. I wasn't about to put the men in harms way because they didn't have any way to survive without vehicles. Besides, it would take too long to get them into position, even if we had them. I thanked the operator, telling him to make sure the drones were always above the camp at a high altitude. One was to be kept back and charged from now on as a backup. I motioned Preacher to follow me back to the Intel room where we sat back down.

"I am going to use the Whispers to take out the whole bunch at once, Preacher. They have those quiet Gatlings they can use so nobody survives. That clear stretch is the only spot they are in the open for any length of time. JJ might have one of those little Doppler setups on one of those trucks but they won't get a read on them, because the Whispers won't show on that type of radar. That's the only type I am aware of that is small enough to mount on a fast-moving vehicle. Do you know of any other type that is small enough to mount on that type of vehicle?"

"No, I sure don't, and if there were I would tell you. I know what type of clearance you have, Harry. I think your idea is the best I have heard yet. We can watch to see which way they head when they leave, then send the choppers to meet them. They will stop to check at the edge of the trees before going out in the clear, and won't even hear the choppers waiting on them, if they stay high enough. The timing will have to be almost perfect though, and the pilots will only have time for one run. They have to score on all of them or he will escape, and will be causing more trouble. I suggest you have a team on the ground to do mop up and take facial recognition shots. I suggest you put a team at both sites just in case. That way we can split the choppers so all routes are covered, Harry."

"Will just one run by a single chopper do the damage we are looking for, Preacher?"

"Harry, they cover eight feet on either side from the center, and they put out more firepower than the old Puffs we used to use in Nam. No man can run fast enough to escape, even if they knew they were there. I think one per ambush is more than enough to handle four or five vehicles in a column. This way we can hedge our bets since he already knows we are using drones with real time coverage. Our biggest break was your hunch that shut down his eyes in our camp. There might be others, but I now have the scrambler system going, so nobody can make any outgoing calls on a cell. The radio room is under guard, and all calls have to be cleared by me, you, or Stumpy. Can you believe he is now a Captain?"

"Not anymore than I can believe you are a Commander, Preacher."

"That's not funny, Harry. I worked damned hard to make my rank. But to be fair, I guess Stumpy did too."

"Ok Preacher, here's what we're gonna do."

I went through it step by step off the top of my head. I didn't have a plan, per say, but I knew the whole situation would be fluid. I knew that I had to make allowances for any thing that would pop up under the Murphy's Law syndrome. We got it pretty well hashed out, so I told him to call all the teams and the chopper pilots together for a briefing in fifteen minutes.

"Do you want Masters and his team too?"

"Of course, Preacher, they are going to be my backup firepower for any team in the field. I think Masters is a good XO, and if I can, I am going to call General Brown and see if I can get him promoted to Captain. That way he can command the team without some REMF telling him what to do. Let's move, Preacher, time is running out on us if we want to stop JJ before he gets home."

"Ok Harry."

He went out the door to make the arrangements. The door had no sooner closed when a man came in with a large cup of coffee and handed it to me. He stood there as I sipped it. To my surprise it was delicious and better than what I made at home. I was trying to figure out what the extra aftertaste was when he asked if it met with my approval.