Get Some (2 page)

‘
Questions?’

Not sure of the best plan of action, Spade spoke first. ‘Yeah sounds good but how we doing this? A quick knock ‘n’ drop, or are we throwing a few stun grenades in waiting for them to run out then tagging them?’

I decided to have my input because the safety of the men was my main concern. ‘Careful is the key, my man. No more knock ‘n’ drops, man, not when I have 21 days left. No we have to be doing this careful, sorry Spade; I know you wanna pull some Rambo shit. Think of hut 1 as a drum. We will beat it from the outside with bullets, and then throw a few grenades in. That should do it. Minimum chance of damage to us is key always, however boring it may be. We wait for word off Trigg when he and Samson have secured hut 2, then we roll. That cool with you Trigg?’

Trigg didn’t acknowledge me, but he nodded to the other guys.

‘
Cool. Let’s move.’

We all got ready. We got our COM earpieces turned on which went in one ear. I always liked to have COM in one ear, and my music in the other. People said it was a distraction but it helped me concentrate if anything. Maybe because I was a sniper and further away from the action, I could afford such a luxury. Still, people have their own ways of getting into character, and this was mine.

‘
What you rolling to, Tommy? Some evil shit? Bit of techno to get the blood pumping or some nasty rap or rock shit to get that mean feeling?’ asked Dave.

‘
Nah, mate. Some therapeutic shit. I’ve got a dance track on, Livin’ Joy – Dreamer.’

All the guys seemed to laugh at me, but I didn’t care, my taste was my taste.

‘
What? You really are losing it, Tommy,’ laughed Dave.

‘
You know what, Dave, it is to stop me from losing it. You see this fucking tune, this tune, she used to drive me nuts with it. She used to have it on all the time, so it reminds me of her. Come to think of it, everything does these days, Dave, so yeah, it keeps me sharp, makes me look forward to what I’m getting when I get out of here.’

‘
Which is? Bit of ooh là là?’

‘
Ha-ha, you’re a caveman, Dave. Her, it’s her, mate, it’s her I get. That’s all I want. But, hey, if I get the other stuff then who am I to argue, eh?’

Always being one to wreck the moment, Trigg couldn’t help but have his say. ‘You focus on the fucking job, homo. Don’t go getting misty, not here, not now - you fucking do this shit then go, leave the fucking army you homo. Go run to your little Bransholme bitch and fucking toffee-nosed lawyer fuck friend, cunt. You know what I have in me ears? Die, Motherfucker, Die by Dope - a man’s tune, bitch.’

At this point Trigg’s insults just went over my head. I found him pathetic and just laughed. ‘Ha-ha, yeah, because music makes you a man - fucking joker.’

‘
Fuck you. Right then, Samson, we are Oscar Mike (ready to go/move out),’ was Trigg’s reply before he and Samson headed off to hut 2 to secure the informants. I watched through my riflescope as Trigg and Samson slowly sneaked in a crouched running position towards hut 2.

I remember the night being so damn windy. I adjusted my sights a little because the wind always fucked things up when going for a long shot. I positioned myself about 60 yards away from hut 1. I could see multiple targets in hut 1 through my scope, most of which were shadows moving about. I kept pulling my scarf over my mouth as the fucking sand kept blowing up into it. Fucking sand.

Both Trigg and Samson were out of sight now. I got a confirmation off Trigg that he and Samson had reached hut 2 and were secure. I gave the nod to Dave and Spade to roll out.

Hurrying forward parallel at about 10 metres apart, both Dave and Spade rushed just over the hill. They were around 30 yards from hut 1. They both hit the dirt with their weapons aimed at the hut. I adjusted the frequency on the COM so just Dave and Spade could hear me.

‘
Guys, I just wanna say be careful, ok? Stay frosty, guys. I know Trigg would have you up in there Rambo fevering them motherfuckers, but we do this easy, lads. I don’t wanna lose any more mates. We don’t get close until they stop firing, which they will of course once we get going. Also, about protecting them informants and keeping it quiet, that is secondary to your safety. If things get FUBAR, then light up the fucking night, you dig?’

‘
Ha, yeah, I dig,’ laughed Spade

‘
Yeah me too, dad, cheers,’ joked Dave.

It was quiet as we waited for word from Trigg. The only real sound I could hear was the wind and the sand whistling in the air. It was too quiet.

Dave and Spade were perfectly postured, waiting in position, hidden by my friend the sand. Or so we thought. That’s when the bullets came.

‘
Fuck! Dave’s hit, man. Dave’s fucking hit!’ screamed Spade over the COM.

It all happened so fast. I looked down to where Spade was. He was already making his way to Dave, who didn’t look good and wasn’t moving. I had to make the protection of Spade my priority as he shuffled through the sand to get to Dave. The bullets whistled through the air. They looked like fast white flashes through my night vision.

I took my first shot of the night. I steadied myself, breathed in as my aim fell still. I could see a man with a heavy machine gun. He must have been the one who took down Dave. I could see him just behind hut 1. ‘Ah, you sneaky bastard,’ I thought as I got set for his head. I breathed out as I squeezed the trigger. Almost a perfect shot. It took half of his head off.

With my second shot I took out a barrel which I had been eyeing up earlier. I figured it was a barrel of fuel. I had figured right as the barrel exploded into the air along with two men close by.

My next shot echoed through the night sky. It was a distinctive sound, which you could easily separate from the normal sounds of a burst from an assault rifle such as an AK or an M16. I was happy to see I had my first headshot of the night. Perfect shot, the head was completely off. The blood looked as black as oil in the night vision as it sprayed out of his neck. People don’t fully understand the power of today’s sniper rifles. If you think of it like this, with just a 6.5mm caliber Carcano rifle, Oswald hit JFK, a moving target, and basically took his head off. A 50 calibre weapon is designed to disable machinery. Once I saw a man get hit when the sniper aimed for the engine of a truck and the man was at the other side. 50 Cals are the monsters of the sniping world. If a 50 cal bullet is shot at you and comes within 6 inches of you, then it is taking a piece of you on its journey.

Firing some random shots, I made my way to help Spade with Dave. The bullets flew by my head as I got to Spade who was panicking. I removed his night vision quickly. The night had been lit up now and there was a fire burning from the blown up fuel barrel which at least made it easier to see.

‘
He’s fucking dead, Tommy,’ shouted Spade amidst the gunfire.

With my fingers on his bloody throat I confirmed Dave’s death as I checked his pulse. In doing so my hands were covered in his blood.

Dave had been shot in the head and in the throat. Death was instantaneous.

‘
We have to get away from Dave. We are exposed here, Spade,’ I tried to tell Spade who looked in shock, something strange from him because he was a veteran in combat.

‘
We can’t just leave him!’

‘
You have to for now or you’re dead too.’

Spade followed me back to my original sniping position.

We sat behind cover of the hill. The bullets were still flying in our direction, flashes of light. Some were aimed at us, some random shots, but they were zooming past our heads and bodies all the same. Doing my best to calm Spade down, I figured we had to sit for a few seconds and assess the situation.

‘
Look, you take the snipe stick, Spade, I’ll take yours. We have to act now. There ain’t no time. I’m gonna get to hut 1. You back me up with the Barrat. For now we have to assume both Trigg and Samson are toast, otherwise where the fuck was the suppressing fire from the back? They ain’t making their presence known so I think they’ve copped it, mate. We can’t run - we have to take these fucks out. I think they knew we were coming. I need you with my Barrat to help me get to hut 1. Once I’m there I’ll try and do what I do best...’

‘
Which is?’ asked Spade who was now calmer.

‘
Get shit done, of course. Back me up. I’m gonna circle to the right, flank ‘em, then come up from behind taking cover from the car near the burning fuel barrel - a long shot, I know, but the only shot at this point, you follow?’

‘
I dig. Use you COM and let me know what you’re doing. What you gonna do once your there?’

‘
Nothing fancy, bro, just try and kill the fuckers. Simple.’

Running in zigzags, Tommy sprinted and ran to hut 1. Spade gave support with the sniper rifle and looked for Tommy in his scope. He saw Tommy kill two men with his M16 - both shots were close range – then Spade lost Tommy for a second. He saw him reappear and slit a man’s throat from behind. There were some more shots but Tommy again was out of focus. Spade waited impatiently for a glimpse of Tommy, or anybody. The firing had stopped at least.

It had been a few minutes now. Spade decided to get up and go and try and find Tommy.

As he got closer he shouted ‘Tommy? You ok, mate?’

There was no reply.

The night’s sandy wind could be heard again, mixed with the roaring flames from the burning fuel barrel, as Spade edged closer.

There were dead bodies scattered on the desert floor and all around hut 1 which was also on fire, but no sign of the rest of the men. Spade stayed alert, frosty, just as Tommy had said. Spade preferred the gunfire compared with the eerie quietness as he at least knew were he stood when in the shit. He paced slowly towards hut 2.

‘
Tommy? You in there? Trigg? Samson?’

Still no reply as Spade edged closer.

Getting to the door Spade switched back to night vision as he could see no lights were on in hut 2. He grabbed the door handle and twisted the doorknob ever so slowly.

It seemed he heard the shots before he felt them.

There were two shots at first, then a third, as Spade fell and tried in vain to keep his stomach intact with his hands as he followed his rifle in dropping to the floor.

His night vision goggles had half slipped off one eye. In one eye he could see the floor in bright green, in the other he could see the pretty orange and yellow flames of the fires all around. He could kind of hear a muffled laugh, then he saw some boots approach him. Everything quickly started to fuzz. He couldn’t feel pain, just a feeling of coldness as he slipped away.

Chapter Two

Standing above Spade, Trigg admired his handy work.

‘
Get some! Now that’s what a fucking double-barrel shotty does at close range, Samson. Fucking bang-bang-bang, none of this tip-tap silenced shit. Look at him, deader than dead, not even any need for a double tap. Nice.’

‘
I agree,’ added Samson as he lightly tapped Spade’s head with his boot to check for signs of life.

‘
Look at him, all zombiefied ’n’ shit. Tell you what, this plan of yours, Trigg, it’s going well so far. I’m liking it. I’m liking it very much.’

‘
It’s how we roll, baby,’ laughed Trigg as he high-fived Samson.

Coming out of hut 2, four Iraqi men stood and joined Trigg and Samson. Two of the men were dragging Tommy, who was unconscious, by his boots. Another man had a big suitcase which seemed heavy as he lowered it to the sandy floor. The last man approached Trigg smiling. He had a fuzzy old-fashioned styled side-parting haircut with a thick moustache reminiscent of Saddam Hussein’s. This man was obviously in charge as he said something in his native tongue and sent one of his men running round the back of hut 2 for their jeep.

Wearing more or less the same attire, which was full combat gear, the Iraqi men were heavily armed and looked ready for battle.

The man who approached Trigg spoke decent English as he shook Trigg’s hand firmly.

‘
I trust we are done now, yes?’ he asked as another man opened the suitcase. It was full of heroin.

‘
It seems so, my friend,’ laughed Trigg as he cut one of the foil bags then wet his finger as he dabbed it into the heroin. He smiled. Its bitter taste told him that the heroin was of high quality.

‘
Now that is good shit,’ Trigg nodded as he approved the merchandise. Trigg knew good shit from bad when it came to heroin.

‘
Please though, my friend, just tell me you’re gonna kill this fuck, will you? Why the fuck did you want him alive?’

Chuckling as he helped his men put Tommy in the back of the jeep which had been brought round, the man in charge shrugged his shoulders. ‘We need him, Trigg. I say before - a soldier boy good for us, we can sell him, we can trade him, he good for our cause, gives us good, er - how do you say? - stature, respect. We also maybe have fun with him, you know, kick and punch him a little, and try out some new torture methods.’

‘
But he is gonna die, right? We need him dead, comprende?’

Samson asked as he looked nervously at Trigg.

‘
Yes, but we have to gain some things first. I assure you men he won’t be seeing your lands again. It doesn’t matter if we do a beheading on camera, or a shooting, or maybe he will starve to death. Who knows, but dead he will be, very soon my friends, very, very soon!’ The man in charge looked so happy and excited to have a British soldier as a captive, he felt like he had struck gold.