Dawn Again

Three

2 years ago

The silence was getting to them all. Each one a veteran of several tours into various conflict zones around the world, and yet, this silence was unnerving them all. Because it should not have been there. It should have been loud and bright and crowded when they came into the compound. They had planned it based on the intel that said as much. And now as the team waited just outside the perimeter of the compound that belonged to Abu Zakar, one of the most wanted leaders of ISIS, they were all waiting for Nathan to indicate whether they were still a go, in spite of the unexpected scenario, or if they were calling it off.

They were a compact team. Richard, Jason the team medic, Brian and Chad. Today it was only these four, their CO Nathan Rawlings and Dylan Collins from Squadron G that were on the mission.

The intel was that the men in the compound would be celebrating their victory in Kessab, a town on the border of Turkey and Syria. There were no women or children in the compound and hence the raid to get the leader of this group of terrorists. The plan was to go in and get Abu Zakar by separating the men with a distraction.

There did not seem to be any celebrations going on. In fact, by the looks of it, there wasn't anything going on in the compound. "What the f**k do you think is going on here?" Jason "Chuck" Matthews whispered. "Damned if I know. This is a bloody mess." Chad muttered. "Z here. No visible action. Awaiting go." Richard contacted their CO Nathan. "No change in plan. It is a go", came the garbled voice of their CO from the other side of the compound. He was in position in the northeast quadrant along with Dylan Smith. "I do not like this," grumbled Brian. "Well...you do not have to like it, Princess! Just keep your panties straight, and we will be out before midnight." shot back Jason. "Yeah right, Chuck. How long until the party starts?" asked Chad. "In 3" crackled Jason's instant reply into the earpieces of all of the team.

And in exactly 3 minutes, just outside the compound, the north side lit up like a bonfire. There was an instant response from within the compound as several men came shouting out from the main building. As some of the men hurried outside to the fire the team breached the compound, heading straight for the area in the big building where they knew Abu Zakar to be. As Richard and Jason pushed opened the first door, there was a clatter from the inside and through his night vision goggles, Richard could see a short figure holding a rifle. The split second of hesitancy that the figure showed was enough for Richard to take the man out. He went closer to check the man's pulse, and that is when he realised that the figure was short because it was a kid no more than 8 or 9 years old. "Jesus! I found a kid here" He relayed to his team just as they heard Chad's fluent cursing followed by "Damn! There's a room full of women. What the heck have we landed in?" This was followed by a short barrage of bullets Chad's grunt and Bryan's frantic, "He's hit. Chad's got a bullet in his thigh."

Nathan and Dylan encountered the same scene as they moved along to another room in search of the elusive Abu Zakar. "Retreat now." Nathan barked into their comm. "There's too many women and children with bloody guns here. We are not taking any further risk." Richard could not look away from the boy's face. The innocence of the boy's age was back on his face in death. Richard closed the young boy's eyes and got up when Jason nudged him again.

The team beat a hasty retreat before the rest of the men who had gone out to investigate the diversion returned back. As they filed into the two trucks that were hidden away a couple of miles from the compound, each man was thinking back to the scene they had encountered back at the compound. "Well....shit!" Bryan exclaimed. "Very eloquent....but damn right Swiss" replied Nathan. "How's he, doc?" Richard asked nodding towards Chad. "He can talk, and I am fine. Was just a scratch" grumbled Chad. Jason nodded to indicate that Chad was essentially right.

A week after the Abu Zakar debacle, the team returned back to Fort Bragg, and after extensive debriefing sessions, the team was given a week off. Before going off, they decided to catch up at their favourite watering hole. The guys were all there and relaxed when Nathan said, "I have something to discuss with you boys." Once he had their attention, Nathan continued, "This was my last mission before the end of this term. I have decided to not continue after this." The guys were all shell-shocked.

Richard was the first to recover, "Whoa! You beat me to it mate. I was going to share my exit with you guys tonight. I cannot deal with the BS anymore. After what happened with Abu Zakar...I have no desire to continue." Nathan looked at Richard speculatively and then said, "Have you decided yet what you are going to do after you are out? I am planning to go private, and I would love for you guys to join me whenever you get out, and of course, if you feel like it."

"I am in," Richard said instantly. "So you are essentially going to do the same thing but on your own terms. Right?" "Exactly. And for a lot more money," said Nathan. And this is how the ACE Operators Inc. began its journey. Over the next 3 years Jason, Dylan, Chad and Bryan also joined in as their terms ended. And now, 3 years on, they had bought their first office in Seattle, had made name for themselves in all the right places and made a ton of money.