Anatomy of a Rebellion

Chapter 19

Ozark National Forest

"… all the harm that I ever did, alas it was none but me; and all I've done, for want of wit, to memory now I can't recall; so fill to me the parting glass; goodnight and joy be with you all…"

The faint whisper of someone's voice singing over the soldiers' headsets was haunting. Most had switched the talk function off so they could hold conversations, but someone had removed their entire set and left the talk function on. The result was their chilly rendition of an old Irish tune echoing over the Company. Percy heard it; it made his hair stand straight up and he wondered who under his command had chosen to sing?

However, no time was to be wasted on those thoughts. The most recent satellite image was the focus of his attention. Riane was stuck in an awkward position; being between the Warrant Officer and the Major, her lap had essentially become a table for their conversation. The electronic map was placed there and she did her best to keep it level as they poked and prodded on it. They had the mind to ask her if it was bothersome, but she simply shook her head. She listened intently as they discussed strategies, scenarios, theories, and facts. The organization of Percy's company was much better than any militia she had covered.

Those in McGill's helicopter had to prepare for their arrival. They were off schedule by almost thirty minutes. Due to the Corporal's haste, they had left without checking the fuel gauge. She realized it was near empty after they were airborne. The Major didn't lecture her about it, as the rest of her squad was clearly heard berating her oversight. Despite this, she would still be the first to arrive at the scene.

The others had to deal with traffic. Mackenzie had sent out a call to all law enforcement agencies that Percy's Company would be traveling to Ozark National Forest, and provided them with the exact route to be taken. It was expected that the roads would be cleared in time for Percy's convoy, so they could see as little delay as possible. However, a few agencies chose to deliberately ignore the request, which resulted in a painful pace.

More than once, the vehicles had ripped off the road and onto the median of the freeway at unbelievable speeds. The swaying and rocking of the Humvee had caused Riane to forget about Percy's planning. She was brought back to reality by a heavy hit on the electronic pad she held. The accusing finger belonged to Wallace.

The Warrant Officer cursed, "Damn! It's just too hard to see anything on this piece of junk. The escorts were shot down, right? Why don't I see any crash sites?"

Percy shook his head, "I don't know. This is the most recent image we could grab before the system was encrypted. Could this be before?"

"This was a live feed taken the moment you asked for it," Wallace said. "This should be after the crash, by about five or ten minutes."

"Who would be able to do this?" Percy asked aloud. He had voiced it several times, but no one had an answer. He continued, "The Mexicans couldn't have gotten a strong enough force that far. The Chinese have never seemed interested in attacking America, and they don't strike me as the type to assassinate or kidnap the President. That leaves Prince Brunhart's agents. What about militias?"

Riane felt Percy's stare; she turned to face him. She jumped a bit when they made eye contact, his eyes emitting an intensity that frightened her. It took a moment for her to realize the question was directed at her, so she got her wits about her. She said, "We're in the south, of course there's going to be militias. Not many of them have the power to take over a single police squad, much less Marine One."

"So you're saying it can't be a militia?" Wallace asked.

"I'm saying it's implausible that it was a militia," she corrected. "If it was a militia, it would probably be a neo-Confederate, pro-secession group. Those are the only ones that have openly spoken about violence against President Kenning. Out of all neo-Confederate groups active in this region, the only one with significant fighting power is the Southern Legion, but they couldn't have enough to take down the Marine One escorts."

Percy rubbed his chin. He was running out of possible suspects. The more he knew about what he was sending his men into the better; if he hadn't a single clue as to who the enemy was it would be very difficult to figure out much else. Did the enemy know the region well, or were they invaders? Had they shot down the escorts from the ground or the air? Were they excellently trained or just damn lucky?

Compared to McGill's team he had plenty of time to think it over. Inside the helicopter no one spoke of strategies. The Corporal had given everyone a five minute warning. "I want everyone ready for combat within three minutes," she had said. A minute later she observed, "I didn't realize the forest was this thick."

Chiang Sun suggested, "It would be best to inform the Major we've arrived."

"Of course," McGill agreed. She turned the talk function back on and through the radio said, "Major Raymond?"

"What is it, Corporal?"

"We've arrived at Ozark National Forest," she reported. "I don't see any debris yet, just a lot of trees. We're about two minutes from the last known coordinates of Marine One."

"Be careful," Percy stressed. "We don't know how they were shot down. Stay alert."

"Yes, Major," she answered. The talk function was switched back to off and she barked at three soldiers in her helicopter. "You heard the Major! I want someone on that gun right now! Keep your eyes open! Report any movement on the ground!"

The orders were carried out as she yelled them. The door was opened, the gun was manned, and all of the soldiers were peering below for anything out of the ordinary. The only person not occupied with a task was Jordan, who fiddled with his camera. Out of all the times my camera has to stop working, it's when we're going to rescue a downed Marine One! He cursed to himself. How often has that happened?

"s**t!" McGill cursed loudly. It caused Jordan to look up from his camera just in time to watch the world nearly roll over. With nothing to grab, he was thrown against the helicopter wall. The sound of his head hitting sounded much worse than it felt; the rolling body of a soldier crushing into him hurt much more. Before either could recover, they were thrown the other direction, nearly barreling out of the helicopter all together.

Jordan was saved by a strong arm that wrapped around his waist. His body was hanging outside of the helicopter, the ground the only thing he faced. Quickly he was pulled back inside. Unable to catch his breath, he didn't properly thank whoever saved him. "Sorry about your camera," one of the soldiers joked. Jordan didn't care; he hadn't even noticed it fell and was just happy he hadn't plummeted to the treetops with it.

Despite the near-death experience, he got back onto his feet and joined the soldiers at the door. The sound of his heartbeat was easily drowned out by the loud roar of the helicopter. That sound was masked by the loud burst of the minigun. The noise was so startling Jordan jumped back a bit. The bullets ripped through the thick forest at a hidden target.

"What the hell are you shooting at?" Jordan asked. The Specialist that manned the gun did not respond.

"Good question!" McGill yelled. "You i***t, the missile was fired from a plateau! Pay attention!"

"I wasn't firing at him!" Specialist Roberts answered. "There were fifty cal bullets coming from down there!"

"Oh Jesus, Roberts!" McGill screamed. "Get the damn MPAD first!"

As soon as the order left her lips, another missile was fired in their direction. This time, the helicopter didn't tilt and swirl quite so much. Chiang Sun was quick to release flares, which allowed McGill the time to smoothly maneuver out of harm's way. She thought aloud, "They're using infrared guided missiles that can't distinguish between flares and aircraft. They're not American."

"Why would they be American?" Private Hart asked. There was no response.

The talk function was clicked back on and McGill reported, "Major, we have hostiles on the ground. At least one MPAD. These guys are top stuff."

There was a brief hesitation in Percy's response. "We'll be there as soon as we can. Keep me informed and stay safe," he said.

She didn't bother to respond. Again Roberts fired the minigun, this time ripping a perfect line across the plateau were one attacker rested. Now that the man firing the missiles had been taken care of, they could focus on the smaller targets and finding the crash site. Not wanting to make her chopper a target but not being able to see through the thick forest caused quite a dilemma for McGill. She hovered near the treetops but stayed ready to ascend.

There was a break over their headsets that pierced everyone's ears. "Unidentified aircraft! State your call sign or you will be fired upon!"

McGill retorted, "Will be? We already have been! This is Corporal Jennifer McGill of the Easy Eight, call sign November Hotel Zero Seven Seven One! Who the hell are you?"

"… McGill, this is Communications Sergeant Trout of the 20th Special Forces Group. You are unauthorized to be flying a military aircraft and you are in unauthorized space. Land immediately."

"No," she answered. The edge in her tone was evident to Chiang Sun, who prepared to override the controls if necessary.

"That is an order from a superior. If you do not comply, I will be forced to view it as an act against my authority and we will shoot you down," Trout said.

An animal like growl seeped through McGill's teeth. She snarled, "Wilco," and began to find a spot nearby to land her helicopter. She turned her radio off and ordered to her men, "You guys keep your guns tight! The enemy could be anywhere! Stay inside the helicopter when I go to meet Sergeant Trout! God damn asshole!" They all nodded in compliance.

The conversation between Trout and McGill was heard by everyone, but few paid it any mind. It was only natural that they would want the helicopter to land given the circumstances of the situation. Mackenzie, however, was very tentative and realized she had to ensure the Major was aware of what was happening.

"Major, please switch to a private channel," she asked. When she heard a faint click, she followed suit. She continued, "Major, McGill is in trouble."

"Why?" he asked, an edge in his tone.

"Sergeant Trout was on the jury that sentenced McGill several years ago."

"What does that have to do with anything?" he asked, annoyed he was being bothered.

"Sir, with all due respect to the Corporal, she has never been very good at keeping her temper," she explained. "And certainly hasn't gotten over her demotion."

"I understand," Percy answered with a nod. Not a second later he switched back to the main channel and asked, "Corporal McGill?"

Despite the amount of times he asked for her, she didn't respond. With her headset discarded, she couldn't hear a single word Percy uttered. When the helicopter landed, she ordered Chiang Sun to takeoff should any enemies try to ambush them and told everyone else to stay inside. They complied, except for Jordan, whom she had no authority over. The result was the separation of McGill from her helicopter.

Sergeant Trout and his men were not quick to rush towards the landed helicopter. They eased their way towards them and did not make themselves visible immediately. Someone ordered, "Show your hands!" Both McGill and Jordan stood in the open, unarmed and motionless, until the Communications Sergeant approached them.

It took everything McGill had not to punch him. For Jordan, the sight of the Corporal getting red in the face, nearly ready to pounce, sent a grin across his face. That changed when he had a gun pointed at his forehead. As the soldiers patted him down for weapons, he remembered they were in a combat zone and began to shake. It got worse when he heard Trout's loud voice began to berate them.

"What kind of i***t sends a helicopter into restricted space?!" he shouted. "Especially where aircraft have gone missing! You are sure full of yourself if you're willing to put your men at risk!" A twitch in McGill's arm went unnoticed by everyone but Jordan. He was afraid the racket by Trout would catch the enemy's attention, but the thought of McGill punching a Green Beret was even scarier. He continued: "How disappointing Major Raymond's Easy Eight are so careless!"

Jordan's shock had him let his guard down. "How do you know we're from…"

"Shut up!" Trout demanded. Jordan cowered immediately. For McGill, it was enough reasoning for her to deck the Sergeant square in the face.

A whistle reached Jordan's ears and instinct took over. He grabbed the Corporal as she made her move and slammed her into the ground. Not three seconds later a mortar round hit mere feet from her helicopter. Immediately Chiang Sun had the vehicle airborne; McGill heaved a sigh of relief when she realized it wasn't damaged, but was a little furious she was separated from her team.

Jordan felt himself panic. He hated the sound of mortar fire more than any other and felt abandoned in a land that was strange to him. To make it worse, the 20th SFG made quite a ruckus when they went to eliminate the enemy. Gunfire, shouts, and a few more mortar rounds pounded his ear drums. The real world was shut out and the war correspondent suffered a mental blackout. The only reason he survived was because a soldier had grabbed him and hurried him away.

The sound of a door closing forced his eyes open. He found himself on the floor of a vehicle and exhaled loudly. Curious, he peeked outside to watch the firefight. There was nothing. The enemy was shrouded behind the foliage of the forest and the 20th SFG had followed after them. His only company was McGill, who sat rather uncomfortably on the seat he laid under, her legs propped against the seat in front of her.

She pouted and said, "I forgot my gun." Still shaking and with ringing ears, Jordan could barely hear a word she said. "You're bleeding," she observed, and poked at her own cheek.

An unsteady hand touched the corresponding cheek. He pulled his hand away to see a fair amount of blood had built up. Sometime during the rush towards the vehicle, he had been hit in the face by debris. He looked down at his shirt and was relieved to see the offending mark below his eye was the only injury he had suffered.

Percy had no idea that McGill had met up with the Green Beret and was unsure what had happened to her. It was in the back of his mind but was shoved aside for more important matters. Chen, Skipper and Chevalier's men all arrived at Ozark National Forest, and rather than sending his Company in haphazardly, Percy wanted to create a plan. Thus he had the three pull off onto a road called Cap Fork. Before he even stepped out of the Humvee, he could hear the gunfire of the 20th SFG. He was anxious.

For Riane, she wasn't quite sure how to act. The sound of the battle was so distant to her she barely felt any fear. When the ground rumbled and an explosion reached her ears, she felt her heart skip only one beat. She asked, "What was that?"

Wallace grabbed her shoulder and pointed her towards a rising smoke cloud. "Mortar fire," he answered. "120 mil round. Probably about two hundred yards from here."

"Which means the enemy is close, also," Chen added.

There was an abrupt silence. Within minutes the 20th SFG had suppressed whatever enemy dared to fire upon McGill's helicopter. Despite that, Percy was still uneasy. He said, "McGill said they were using MPADs, but mortar rounds also?"

Skipper was the first to offer any suggestions about attack. "Major, let me send a scout out to get a feel for the area. My men have more experience in thick brush than yours." Percy said nothing but agreed with a nod. Skipper snapped his fingers, whistled, and pointed. Boomerang bounced from the squad and disappeared with a hop into the forest.

Their huddle was broken when a soldier shouted, "Grenade!"

Riane wasn't sure how to react and was a bit shocked when both Wallace and Percy grabbed her; the Warrant Officer made sure she was tight against the ground while the Major draped himself over her and protected her head. The explosion rattled her body much more than the mortar round and for the first time in her life she heard only a deafening ring. It wasn't until Wallace fired his rifle did the ringing dull even a tad.

The Major lifted himself up and asked, "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine," she breathed.

"Left side, left side!" Chen shouted. The sound of bullets ricocheting off of vehicles quieted the Sergeant and forced Percy to keep his arm around Riane. He knew he would never forgive himself if a civilian attached to his unit was killed. However, it deeply frustrated him to know that his men were engaged in a firefight and the best he could do was to kneel behind a Humvee.

"Going to intercept!" Roo shouted. He sprinted across Percy's vision and disappeared in an instant.

"Provide cover fire!" Wallace ordered. Soon after, his voice whispered over the headset, "We're forcing them back up the road. Cut them off."

"Aye, sir!" Roo answered. His voice broke over the walkie soon after when he said, "Suppressing."

Percy knew it was safe to stand again. Carefully, he led Riane up to her feet. His arm lingered just a second longer and he pulled away only when he was certain she was stable on her feet. Although she didn't shake, he assumed her heart was beating faster than it had ever done before. Before he could ask how she felt, Roo returned in a quick sprint.

Wallace greeted him with a, "Nice." They embraced briefly; the sight of two new teammates getting along so well after combat made Percy smile a bit on the inside. Blood had gotten onto Roo's hands and sleeves. Only Riane noticed the sight.

"Thank you, sir," Roo said. "I checked the bodies but there was nothing to identify them with. This is what they were shooting with."

He held up a bloodied assault rifle. Chen observed, "That is a standard issue Marine rifle. Is there a serial number?" Roo turned it over to check but shook his head. "Each individual part should have a number on it. We can take it apart and see if they were thorough. Then we can track the rifle down to whomever it was assigned to."

"Damn good idea," Percy said.

A loud POP startled Riane and caused her to jump. "Sniper fire!" a soldier yelled out. The first one to kneel out of the way of any gunfire was Percy. Wallace was instantly next to him; the others were crouched down soon after.

Neither Wallace nor Percy bothered to grab Riane, so she had to make use of her common sense and crouched near the Major. Once she was beside him, she realized his position on the ground didn't seem very natural or comfortable; Wallace knew this as well but refused to vocalize anything.

One hand clenched his gut while the other was used to keep himself balanced. Abruptly he grabbed Wallace's shoulder. He removed his hand from his gut and lifted it up. To the horror of Riane and Wallace, it was covered in a very thick maroon substance.

"I've been shot," he calmly stated. Suddenly he slumped forward. He avoided crashing his face into the ground because both Riane and Wallace grabbed him.

"Major," Wallace asked. There was no response. "Percy? Percy! I need an emergency evac right now! Emergency evac, my location!"