SEALs Honor (12 page)

Tuck
hit the ground first and ran for the village, confident his men were right
behind him. They'd practiced this maneuver so many times they performed as a
well-oiled machine. Nearing the outer walls of the village, they encountered
enemy fire.

Tuck
gave the signal to drop in place. The other team followed the lead and hit the
dirt.

After
two more tracer rounds, Reaper had his man in his sights and picked him off
with one shot.

Another
hand signal and the team was on the move again.

Shouts
went up from inside the mud and stone walls. The alert had gone out, and the
people inside would be scrambling for weapons and positions.

Tuck
and his team approached the east wall. When he arrived there, he bent down and
the man behind him planted a boot in his back, leaped up to the top of the
wall, and rolled to the other side so quickly no one could get a bead on him
and fire before he was already over.

The
next man flew over the wall, and the next until the fourth man topped the wall
and reached down to grab Tuck's hand, hauling him over the top as he slid down
the other side.

Once
inside the perimeter, Tuck led the way again, moving down the narrow streets
between the buildings and outer walls of each dwelling, counting the doors to
the ones identified by the Afghan translator who'd gotten the information from
the captured Taliban leader. As they neared the identified door, Bravo Team
would be converging on the opposite side to head off any escapees out the back.

Gunfire
erupted from above. A Taliban soldier manning a machine gun fired down on Alpha
team.

Each
man hugged the wall, preventing the gunner on the top from getting a clear
shot. All he could do was lay down suppression fire to keep them from stepping
out to take a shot at him.

The
gunfire came to an abrupt halt and they could hear the clinking of metal on
metal. Most likely, the weapon had jammed.

Tuck
motioned for Reaper to take the sniper, and he gave the signal for the rest of
the team to follow him.

Behind
Tuck, one round was fired, marked by a soft grunt followed by silence from the
gunner. Reaper was a gifted marksman, an asset to any assault team.

Tuck
moved on to the back side of the next compound and around the corner from his
team. Reaper positioned himself at the corner, weapon ready, scanning the
rooftops for more sentries.

With
his back to the alley and feeling exposed, Tuck pulled C4 plastic explosives
from his pocket. Despite their earlier argument, Tuck knew he could trust
Reaper with his life. His friend had his back.

With
quick, practiced moves, Tuck smashed the plastic explosives against the middle
of the wall closest to the living quarters inside the compound. He pressed a
detonator into the plastics and motioned Reaper back around the corner.

He
pushed his guilt about his rift with Reaper to the back of his mind and
concentrated on what would happen next as he checked his watch, and waited for
the time agreed upon for Bravo Team to move into position. At exactly the
minute designated, he held his hands over his ears and pressed the hand-held
detonator. A small explosion shook the wall he leaned on. Another explosion
sounded from the other side of the compound a couple seconds later, like an
echo of the first.

Without
waiting, Tuck ran around the corner and dove through the gaping hole in the
wall. The tap, tap, tapping of gunfire kept Tuck low to the ground, bullets
kicking up dust near his feet. He ducked and rolled into the shadows, pulled
his NVGs in place, and scanned the corners of the building and the rooftop for
the sniper. A moment later, he found him as he leaned around the corner to fire
off rounds at the hole in the wall, then retreated behind the corner.

Tuck
aimed, waited for him to appear again, and fired. The gunman grunted and
slumped to the ground.

Reaper,
Big Bird, and Gator entered through the hole and spread out. Fish remained
outside the wall. He'd provide protective fire on their rear.

If
they timed their moves right, they'd converge on the building at the same
moment. Satellite photos had shown them where the entrances were. Bravo Team would
take the main entrance and provide a distraction while Tuck's team blasted
through the wall with more explosives and entered through the rear.

Everything
was going as expected. Like clockwork. A niggling doubt insinuated itself into
Tuck's mind as he pressed more C4 into the back wall of the residence. Enough
to blow a hole without causing too much injury to the occupants inside.

Charges
set, he held his ears and detonated. The wall crumbled, dust spewing outward.
He motioned for his team to move in. No gunfire erupted from inside.

If
the meeting was being held in this building, the attendees would have come
B.Y.O.G. Bring your own gun.

Tuck
didn't like it. Something wasn't right.

Before
Tuck could alter the plan, Reaper was first in, as they'd planned in the drills
they'd conducted at Little Creek back in the states. He rolled to the side,
pointing his weapon at the empty interior. Tuck followed behind him, moving
more slowly, peering through the dust-clouded interior of an empty room with
nothing but broken furniture and rags littering the floor.

While
Reaper moved toward the door leading to the interior, Tuck hung back. On the
wall, someone had spray painted a message on the stucco walls in Pashto. Tuck
took a moment to translate and when he did, lead sank to the bottom of his
belly. He spun toward Reaper. "Reaper, don't go—" Tuck saw the trip
wire just as Reaper bumped into it.

One
minute, Reaper was standing in front of him, the next he was thrown across the
room, along with half the wall.

Tuck
flew back on his ass and the ceiling above him crumbled, caving in on top of
him and Reaper. His ears ringing, Tuck forced himself to his knees and threw
his body over Reaper as the stones and timbers crashed down, pummeling his back
and head.

Something
large and heavy hit the base of his skull, knocking his helmet loose. For a
moment, the world around him faded into darkness. He fought to shake it off.
Reaper lay beneath him, having taken the brunt of the explosion. His body armor
would have protected his torso to an extent and he still wore his helmet, but
what about his face and limbs?

Tuck
pushed against Reaper, the pressure on his back giving way a little at a time.
Not fast enough.

Shots
rang out beyond the building's walls. Big Bird shouted, Gator and Fish
responded, but the sounds all came to Tuck as if from down a long, muffled
tunnel.

He
pushed again and a heavy beam rolled off his back onto the floor beside him,
along with crumbled bricks and stone. Fumbling for his flashlight, he found it,
switched it on, and shone it in Reaper's face. His eyes were closed, skin
coated in dust.

Tuck
pressed his fingers to Reaper's throat and prayed. When he felt the slow thump,
thump of a pulse, he let go of the breath he'd been holding, and tapped
Reaper's face. "Hey, buddy. Wake up."

Reaper
didn't budge.

Bracing
his hand on the ground, Tuck tried to stand. His leg was pinned by another
beam. He twisted around and shoved the debris to the side before wiggling his
foot. It hurt, but he thought he could stand. The main thing was to get Reaper
out and back to the helicopter.

A
mortar exploded close by, sending out a spray of more debris, the explosion
reverberating in Tuck's already numb ears. If they wanted to get out alive, he
had to move, now. The whole situation stunk of setup.

"Tuck?"
Big Bird leaned into the building. "Tuck?"

"I'm
here."

"You
okay?"

"Yeah.
But Reaper's down."

"Alive?"

"For
now."

"We're
taking rounds and mortars. Team Bravo was hit hard. Two dead, the other three
heading back to the LZ."

"Fish
and Gator?" Tuck asked, afraid of the answer.

"Injured
but mobile. Need help getting out Reaper?"

"I'm
not sure what injuries he sustained." Tuck pushed against the ground in an
attempt to stand. Where he planted his hand was warm and wet. "Holy shit.
Shine your light over here."

Big
Bird stepped over the debris and focused his light on the ground at Tuck's
feet. "Fuck."

Tuck
ripped off his belt and looped it around what was left of Reaper's right arm,
pulling it tight to stop the relentless flow of blood from his severed artery.

"We
gotta get him out of here."

"I
know. You go ahead of me. I'm right behind you."

"Tuck."
Reaper's eyes blinked open.

"Yeah,
buddy."

"Get
out of here."

"Not
without you."

"If
I die, take care of Delaney for me, will ya?"

Tuck's
throat closed up and his eyes stung. Whether from all the dust or the knowledge
his friend might not make it out alive, he didn't have time to debate.

Reaper
tried to lift his right arm, gave up, and caught Tuck with the left. "Promise."

Tuck
ground his teeth together, adrenaline coursing through him. "Bullshit on
all this talk about dying. You're making it out of here alive, so hang on."
He bent, grabbed Reaper's uninjured arm, and dragged him over his shoulder in a
fireman's carry. His ankle hurt like hell, but the injury was nothing compared
to what Reaper had suffered.

His
teammate grunted and then went completely limp, a deadweight hanging over Tuck,
unable to balance or help to steady Tuck's load. Well, damn it, he didn't need
help. He'd get him out if it was the last thing he did.

Stumbling
over the stones, bricks and debris, Tuck made it outside the building where Big
Bird was firing into the night.

"Go!"
Big Bird yelled. "I called for transport. They're on their way."

Tuck
ran through the alley, back the way they'd come, followed by the reassuring
sound of Big Bird's weapon firing behind him. Gator and Fish were pinned at a
corner, ducking around to fire in bursts.

As
Tuck neared, they left the corner and charged past the intersection of two
narrow streets.

Bullets
pinged off the sides of the mud-covered compound walls. Tuck kept running. He
had to get to the helicopter. If they could make the chopper, Reaper had half a
chance to live. "Hang on," he said to his friend, again and again,
like a mantra to cling to, getting him through the next few minutes.

Rushing
past the last building and out into the open field, Tuck felt something hit the
front of his leg, like a sharp sting. He ignored it and ran on.

The
familiar whopping sound of helicopter rotors gave him hope for Reaper. "Please
hurry."

"Tuck,
wait!" Big Bird ran to catch up to him, grabbed his arm, and forced him to
stop, pulling him to his knees. "Get down!"

Machine
gun and rifle fire filled the night and the sky over their heads.

Tuck
laid Reaper down, then covered his friend's body with his own.

A
Black Hawk swooped in, guns firing at the fields ahead of them.

It
was then that Tuck saw the silhouettes of men moving their way, carrying
weapons. One of them stopped and lifted an RPG to his shoulder.

"No."
Tuck couldn't leave Reaper to take out the Taliban man soon enough to stop the
round from being fired. All he could do was watch in horror.

The
round hit the helicopter above them. It jerked, then exploded in a ball of
flaming aviation fuel, rotor blades flying loose, doors, skids and the fuselage
breaking apart, flung across the sky like a broken toy.

Tuck's
heart stopped in that second and he ducked his head, praying it wasn't
Delaney's helicopter. "Dear God," he said. "Dear God."

The
bulk of the craft crashed to the earth, the flames reaching toward the sky. The
second helicopter flew in—low, fast, and deadly—firing everything it had at the
men on the other side of the field.

When
the machine guns attached to its belly ran out of bullets, the helicopter
launched the rockets, the pilot expending every last bit of ammo. Then the
craft turned back toward the town and landed near to the spot where Team Alpha
had taken cover.

Team
Bravo emerged from the walls of the village, two men flanking two others
helping a third between them.

Tuck
rose, and with Big Bird's help, carried Reaper to the waiting helicopter. With
the door gunners providing suppression fire, the teams made it to the Black
Hawk. Tuck and Big Bird laid Reaper on the floor. The others piled into the
craft around him, hanging onto whatever they could find.

Tuck
turned to Fish, the team corpsman. "Take care of him." Then he ducked
back out of the chopper, followed by Big Bird, Gator, and two of Team Bravo's
men. They scoured the area around the downed helicopter, careful not to provide
a target for the Taliban. They found one of the door gunners lying among the
poppies, the others appeared to have burned in the fire. Big Bird and Tuck
carried the dead door gunner back to the waiting helicopter and loaded him next
to Reaper.