Chapter 45

Present – Maria – In the equipment room

Who the hell does Liz Fucking Morgan think she is!!! Imagine her telling me what the fuck to do and to back off on Ivan. I'm so pissed I'm seeing red, however it does help me to make a decision: The next time that damn brat gives me any shit, I'm going to spank the hell out of him.

I head back to my Princess Boss to check her wound. When I arrive she takes one look at me and asks...

Present – Jens – In the equipment room

Maria returns after she and Liz talked and I can tell she's pissed off. Hell, her face is red and if looks could kill, she would have done us all in! Since I can't really rest because of the pain I decide to find out what is wrong, "Maria, what the hell is wrong?"

She obviously lies to me, "Jens, nothing is wrong."

I think for a moment and it finally dawns on me, "Maria, I know you're pissed at Ivan but I think you are overreacting."

Maria gives me an even harsher glare and complains, "Jens, I'm not overreacting! Everyone here is going gaga over Ivan when he's just a kid - and a spoiled one at that." Then she loudly continues, "And to let you and everyone else know, you need to mind your own fucking business and stop trying to tell me how to feel and act..."

Present – Liz – In the equipment room

Maria just yelled at Jens and the rest of us and I've had my fill of her and her 'princess' attitude. Yeah, she may call Jens the Princess Boss but as far as I can see the only 'princess' in this room right now is Maria.

I applaud and snidely comment, "Spoken just like the princess you are."

Maria turns, glares at me and bristles, "What the hell did you just call me?"

I sneer and taunt, "I called you a princess as in Cinderella! So if the fucking glass shoe fits don't bother wearing it, shove it up your anal retentive sphincter sideways!"

A very enraged Maria flies toward me, gets in my face and swears, "Take it back bitch or you will be sorry..."

Present – Jens – In the equipment room

Hell! Jack is right, the old fart! There's too much infighting between us because – and I hate to confirm it – there are too many women involved!

Maria and Liz have squared off and I need to do something about it otherwise one or both of them will be hurt. I think quickly and decide to yell, "Ohhhh!"

I watch them out of the corner of my eye as they both look toward me and Maria says, "You're lucky I have to take care of Jens, otherwise I'd mop the floor with that fat ass of yours."

I thought we were out of the woods when Liz continues to fan the flames, "My fat ass? What about yours? Your ass is so big that when you walked in front of the TV we missed a whole season of our favorite shows."

Maria jumped on Liz and the fight was on!!!

Present – Mike (formerly Major and then Captain M) – At the cabin.

The fucking SOB had messed with the wrong person this time - I was angry as hell! As the captain and private haul me toward the new mess tent I order, "I want that fucking bastard found! If the drone can't find him, perhaps the Apaches can. Get them in the air and then get me the backup wheelchair out of my disabled chopper..."

Present – Ben – At the cabin

I was elated at taking out bastard Mike's chopper and blowing the wheel completely off his fancy wheelchair. But now we needed to get the hell under cover, especially since I heard the Apaches start to spool up their engines. They weren't as dangerous as the drone because they only had FLIR¹, however the pilots would probably be wearing NV² goggles and if they got lucky they might actually see us.

¹ FLIR – Forward Looking Infra Red - imaging technology that senses infrared radiation.

² NV – Night vision – Different than FLIR because its image intensification technologies work on the principle of magnifying the amount of received photons from various natural sources such as starlight or moonlight.

Destiny questions, "Ben, where are we going?"

I answer, "We need to get you underground while I tend to a few other things."

She again challenges me, "Ben, you aren't going to kill Mike..."

I interrupt her, "Not yet, but I am going to make him and the greenies rue the day they decided to come onto my property and mess with my friends."

We get to the hidden location, I find the entrance, open the door and order, "Climb down the ladder and I will make sure the entrance is covered. I will be back before sunrise. Make yourself at home: There's food, water, lights and probably even some booze."

Destiny again complains, "Ben, are you sure?"

I swear, "Hell yes I'm sure! Now get inside and don't give me any more shit."

I slam the entrance closed, make sure that things look good around the area and begin to backtrack - wiping out our tracks as I leave. I get far enough away from the hidden entrance and begin to implement my plan...

Present – Mike (formerly Major and then Captain M) – At the cabin.

I've been drinking coffee in the new mess tent when the captain walks in and reports, "Sir, we haven't had any luck finding Ben Blaine."

I swear, "Shit! Not even the Apaches can find him?"

He answers, "No Sir, he must be using something to shield himself from the thermal on the drone and the FLIR on the Apaches."

I question, "How about the patrols?"

The captain has a negative report on this too, "They haven't found any trace of their location. However, we did pickup their tracks several times and our tracker says they are wearing Mickey Boots and one of them might be a woman because of the depth of those footprints."

I'm still pissed about the bastard blowing the wheel off my good wheelchair as I consider the fact that he's with a woman and wearing the Mickey Boots. I know he's doing that so he doesn't leave thermal footprints for the drone. Yeah, he's a smart bastard but I am determined to capture him or at least kill him.

The coffee is going through me so I order, "I need to go to the head and want two men to escort me."

The captain responds like a good little tin soldier and orders, "Men, accompany Mike to the head."

I was glad I made them bring one wheelchair accessible Porta-Potty along with the others. Otherwise, I would have been forced to have the Privates help me into the head.

I get settled in, clear my thoughts and begin to think about things when – Oh hell no!

Present – Ben – At the cabin

Now that was more than satisfying! It was fun as hell and it was all I could do to keep from laughing my ass off - now to get back to the tunnel before sunrise. I take a different route this time and I'm thankful I did since I spot a patrol out searching for me on the route I would normally use.

I know where the hell their headed (hey this is my property) so I beat feet to get ahead of them and set up a few surprises. While I'm in the area I arrange for a few more surprises for any future patrols. Then I head back to the higher ground, get onto the rocks and head toward the tunnel. I arrive above the tunnel, pause for a few moments and scan the area to make sure there are no more patrols close. I open the entrance slightly and command, "Destiny kill any lights."

Destiny replies, "Ben, I heard you coming and I don't need any artificial lights since I see fine in the dark."

I drop inside as I hear evidence that my surprises for the patrol have been found. Then I challenge her, "Are you trying to tell me you can see fine in here without artificial lights?"

She nonchalantly answers, "Of course I can, but I know you can't." Destiny turns on the light and continues, "Ben, what did you do?"

I begin to laugh, "Destiny you wouldn't believe it! I blew the hell out of their Porta-Potties - with Mike settled in one of them."

She asks, "I hope he wasn't killed or injured?"

I continue laughing, "Not this time because I wanted to send him a message so I only used flashbangs. I could have easily used satchel charges and this would have been over. Ah, I also found they were sending patrols nearby so I put flashbangs on many of the trails on my way back."

Destiny smiles and comments, "Ben, I am so proud that you didn't kill Mike, despite the temptation."

I like the praise but then get serious and explain, "It's not time yet. I want him and the greenies to suffer some more humiliation before I do that. How about you toss me an MRE and a heater? I want to eat and then get some sleep. I have some more plans for tomorrow night..."

Present – Jack – In prison at the cabin.

Multiple flashbangs go off then I hear someone swearing up a storm and smile - Banzai's been busy. Masha is asleep and Linus questions, "Flashbangs?"

The swearing continues and I answer, "Hell yes! I'm not sure what Banzai did with them but he sure as hell pissed someone off."

Linus continues to ask, "By using flashbangs?"

I answer, "Hell yes! Banzai was sending a message to someone, probably Mike, that he could have killed him. I know for a fact Banzai has high power explosives hidden somewhere on his land and he could have used those."

Linus states, "I wished he had, then this would have been over."

Even though I was certain she was sleeping Masha comments, "Ben is fighting a guerilla war and wants to intimidate the Special Forces and send a message to Mike."

Someone else in the tent asks, "Do you think he will come and release us?"

I answer, "While I would like to believe that he would, my guess is that we're being used as bait and he won't fall for the trap unless he can distract most of the greenies."

Linus looks around and says...

Present – Linus – In prison at the cabin.

I notice most of the Marines are awake and I decide to do something to boost their moral so I ask, "Have you all heard the joke about the Pierre the French pilot?"

Jack moans, "Oh no, not another lame joke!"

The other men say, "I don't think I've heard that one – anything is better than sitting here freezing our asses off – so go ahead and tell it."

I begin..."

Pierre, a brave French fighter pilot, takes his girlfriend, Marie, out for a pleasant little picnic by the River Seine. It's a beautiful day and love is in the air. Marie leans over to Pierre and says, "Pierre, kiss me!" Our hero grabs a bottle of Merlot and splashes it on Marie's lips. "What are you doing, Pierre?" asks the startled Marie. "I am Pierre, the famous French fighter pilot! When I have red meat, I like to have red wine!"

She smiles and they start kissing. When things began to heat up a little, Marie says, "Pierre, kiss me lower." Our hero tears her blouse open, grabs a bottle of Chardonnay and starts pouring it all over her breasts. "Pierre! What are you doing?" asks the bewildered Marie. "I am Pierre the famous French fighter pilot! When I have white meat, I like to have white wine!"

They resume their passionate interlude and things really steam up. Marie leans close to his ear and whispers, "Pierre, kiss me lower!" Our hero, grabs a bottle of Cognac and pours it in her lap. He then strikes a match and lights it on fire. Marie shrieks and dives into the river. Standing waist deep, Marie throws her arms to the heavens and screams furiously, "PIERRE, what in the hell do you think you're doing?" Our hero stands up, defiantly, and says, "I am Pierre the famous French fighter pilot! When I go down, I go down in flames!"