Chapter 21

Present – Jack – At the cabin

I along with three Marines I acquired from Glen are ripping into the ventilation system in hopes that we can use it to get into the tunnels and rescue everyone - especially Vanya. Jennifer's dog is raising hell and trying to help: He's biting the hell out of the metal and digging at it with his paws like crazy. This gives me hope that my plan might actually work.

I hear a hell of a lot of gunfire from the Marines I stationed on the perimeter, take a second and observe a big as hell truck headed our way. I order, "Fuck this shit! We need to stop the truck."

We grab our weapons (which are always close at hand because we're Marines!) and begin to fire at the truck. Then Jennifer's dog does something crazy (I wonder if he inherited his craziness from her)!!!

Present – Glen – At the cabin

There's a hell of an explosion which knocks me on my ass, but it's too large to be a suicide bomber. I scramble back to my feet and can't believe what I see...

Present – Mira and Alexi – At the cabin

There is a devastating explosion which levitates my corporeal self into an airborne status. As I transverse through the air I order Alexi, "Remember to tuck and roll..."

There's a large explosion which tosses Mira and myself into the air as if we are dolls. Mira has the foresight to remind me to 'tuck and roll' which I have not forgotten. The ground approaches, I tuck and roll as ordered, come up on my feet and turn to see what has exploded. I cannot believe it! One of the tents is totally missing and two others have been knocked to the ground!

However my attention is again drawn to the continued battle with the charlatan Marines...

Present – Glen – At the cabin

I survey the AO (Area of Operations) and son of a bitch the armory tent is gone and the two tents next to it are flattened! This bullshit with the bogus Marines has become too much so I order as loudly as I can, "Form up on the twins and their brother. Kill with extreme prejudice anyone they fire at."

My men begin to follow my orders while I turn and say to the four Marines with me, "You four are tasked with starting a rescue operation for the two flattened tents." I sadly note that one of the tents was the mess tent...

Present – Linus – TSIFFTS semi

There's a huge explosion which rocks the TSIFFTS semi so the commander orders, "That's enough of this bullshit! We're getting out of here before we're the next target."

The team begins to pack up before I have a chance to pull the tunnel drawings so I request, "Jennifer and others are trapped in the tunnels and I need the schematics."

The commander promises, "We will try to pull them on route and send them to your e-mail account."

I exit the trailer just as the semi begins to move and I land right in the middle of a huge fucking battle. I notice that everyone is forming up on one of the twins and they shoot the hell out of anyone targeted by the twins.

Then I realize the explosion was the armory tent. Damn it, the mess tent and command tent are also down (can you say bad planning in having them both too close to the armory tent). I see a few Marines trying to rescue the survivors and decide I will be better used helping them. I run my ass off toward the mess tent...

Present – Todd – At the cabin

I'm thankful we're lying down as there's a huge explosion which could have hurt us if we were standing. I push to get Ira off me and surprisingly, she falls right off of me and to the ground. I quickly realize she's unconscious. I kneel over her and perform a quick physical assessment. I turn her over (onto her stomach) and can't believe what the hell happened! I take off my backpack and quickly begin to work while trying to ignore the battle raging around us...

Present – Glen – At the cabin

The tide of the battle has finally turned and there are fewer bogus Marines. Hammer runs up and I question, "Where the hell have you been?"

He states, "I hae bin patrollin' th' perimeter 'n killin' fake Marines."

"I have been patrolling the perimeter and killing fake Marines."

I question, "Can you tell the difference?"

Hammer laughs, "Heel och aye Ah can, it's as doddle as tellin' th' difference atween a Sassenach an' an Irish git."

"Hell yes I can, it's as easy as telling the difference between a Brit and an Irish bastard."

I notice he's been wounded and order, "You need to get to the medical plane."

Hammer states, "I cannae dae 'at, th' plane left ower an hoor ago."

"I can't do that, the plane left over an hour ago."

I look at the field and realize I didn't even notice. I decide I've gotten old since this isn't something I would have missed when I was younger. I take a minute to assess the battlefield and realize we're going to need medical support yesterday.

Then Hammer wisely suggests, "Glen yeh woods dae a better job leadin' y'r troaps if yeh werenae fightin' wi' em."

"Glen you would do a better job leading your troops if you weren't fighting with them."

Damn he's right and it makes me feel even older. Because this concerned Jennifer, I let my emotions control my actions and instead of being the commander I had become just one more grunt.

I look at Hammer and my men and order, "I'm going to the top of the hill to assess the battlefield, Hammer lead this squad."

I find a secure location on the top of the hill, where I can finally see the whole AO and realize I need to make some phone calls. I hope like hell I haven't used up all my favors because these calls are going to cost me...

Present – Zarika – In the medical plane

Yasmeen asks, "Zarika, when will we fly back to the cabin?"

I reply, "I do not know. I will find the nice doctor and ask him."

I wander through the flying hospital plane when a nurse catches me and states, "You need to sit back down because we are going to land soon."

I find my way back to Yasmeen and tell her, "We are landing soon."

The landing is very smooth, much smoother than the takeoff.

I am surprised when I see Yasmeen's shithead lady and another man. The lady says, "Once again, I am Ms. Horning of child protective services and I am here to take both of you into custody."

The nice doctor comes up and complains, "Not you again! I thought I told you my patients cannot be moved."

The man (who looks very sick) pulls out a large wallet and says, "I am Special Agent Hotchner of the FBI and we are here to take custody of these two girls. If you would like to resist us then I have a team ready to examine every inch of this aircraft."

The nice doctor states, "I refuse to sign their releases so anything that happens to them is on your heads."

Some other men come in, the nasty Ms. Horning grabs my arm and the men roll Yasmeen's bed out of the plane. Yasmeen complains, "You all are fucking shithead idiots and if I wasn't shot, I would kick all your asses."

I lean over and whisper, "Yasmeen, the best thing for us is to not say anything."

For once Yasmeen listens to me as we are escorted off the plane and into a waiting ambulance...

Present – Ben – On the road

Just as I hoped when the semis bypassed the highway patrol road block, the lead one rolls up beside me, the driver pushes open the passenger door and orders, "Hop the hell in here and let's get the fuck out of here."

I latch onto the entry assist bar and swing up into the still moving semi. The driver floors it, jockeys the wheel so we bypass the roadblock again and we head off into New Mexico. I notice the lead car in front and realize they are using the strategy I came up with. But I still need to ask about a trailing car.

I offer my gratitude, "Thanks for the ride."

He replies, "Hell, it's us that should be thanking you. By the way my name's Fearless Freep." Because of his name, weather-worn face and easy-going countenance I immediately like him.

I laugh and chide, "Well if you're Fearless Freep then Yosemite Sam must be around somewhere."

I hear a yawn then a voice from the sleeper cab behind us, "Did someone call?"

My hand instinctively flies to my side arm but Fearless Freep advises, "Now don't go getting all excited, it's just my old lady. Honey, come up here and meet the famous Trucker's Angel."

I hear some rustling around and one of the most incredible looking ginger-haired women slides up between the seats. An 'old lady' hell, she can't be more than late twenties.

She holds out her hand and states, "Damn, now this is an honor having the Trucker's Angel riding with us."

I shake her hand and reply, "The honor is all mine to ride with one of the 'hootinist, tootinist, shootinist bobtail wildcats in the west!'"