The Colonel's Daughter (2 page)

“Where’s your commanding officer?”

“Our platoon leader is KIA, sir.”

“I thought you boys secured the place?”

“We were swarmed, sir.” Specialist Daniels waved his arm in the air.

“They came out of some caves on the other side of that cliff.” Private Lewis pointed using his rifle as an extension of his hand.

“What do you mean by swarmed? How many insurgents are we talking about?”

“About thirty five armed men took over the whole village. It was double that amount before our teams took them out. We were ambushed, sir.” Specialist Daniels wiped his brow masking his horror.

Closing in on the Intel location of the hostage, Javi rounded the corner with confidence coming to the end of the gravel road then stopped abruptly. On the other side stood a firing squad of insurgents aiming their machine guns at his face. He turned to make a run for it, but was quickly apprehended by five men who put a hood over his head and carried him inside the building.

“Captain, the Intel is wrong, I repeat, the Intel is wrong. There’s approximately thirty five, over.” Bits of transmissions echoed from Javi’s radio headset that lay on the sandy ground.

“The Intel is wrong Captain, approximately thirty five insurgents, over.” Dallas waited in silence. “Are you there, Javi? Come in Javi, over.”

“Let’s go,” Dallas motioned to the two soldiers, “This way.” They ran across an alley parallel to the open road. A sudden piercing blast sent them crouching along the mud wall.

“RPG’s!” Specialist Daniels scrambled to catch up to Dallas.

On Dallas’s radio, Sergeant Greenwood’s voice weaved in and out of the chatter muffled by a distinct missile approach signal in the cabin. “The fuselage’s been hit.” Belt fed machine guns continued to fire from the damaged Chinook until it was engulfed in flames.

Glassy eyed, Dallas stared at the explosion. In the midst of battle, for a calculated second, he mourned his friends. His deep blue eyes mirrored the ball of fire. He shook his head as he flicked on his night vision goggles, and followed the smoke trail. “The shooter’s inside that building.” He signaled left. “Let’s go.”

Crackle of gunfire veiled in smoke and dust pierced the moonless sky. Focused on stopping the RPG shooter, Dallas led them through a maze of corridors gripping his rifle pointing the barrel in every direction. Private Lewis followed behind Daniels as they made their way into the building. As the Private crossed the threshold, a fatal shot to the back of the neck forced him to the ground.

Specialist Evan Daniels grabbed his friend’s lifeless body and dragged it across the corridor. Resting the body behind a stairwell, he got on one knee and with his teeth tugged at his glove, quickly removing it. He checked for a pulse. “No, C’mon Jason, c’mon man. C’mon buddy, breathe!”

“I could use a little help up here Daniels.” Dallas called out from the middle of the stairwell.

Evan wiped his runny nose, tears with the back of his hand, and staggered up the steps.

Reaching the second floor, Dallas entered an adjacent room and opened fire shooting two insurgents who were holding the RPG launcher. Evan walked in behind him maneuvering around the dead bodies and assessing the area. The smell of sulfur filled the entire room. The young Specialist put a hand to his roiling stomach and involuntarily gagged. He grabbed hold of the windowsill and doubled over drawing a breath of the night air.

Dallas grabbed hold of his radio refusing to give up on the Captain. “I got the shooter, Captain….Captain Santos, I got the shooter. Do you copy?”

There was no response from Javi.

Evan popped his head back inside. “You better come see this, Lieutenant.” He pointed out the window.

Stepping over the dead bodies, Dallas sneered at the window frame before putting a hand on the same windowsill contaminated by those who incinerated his friends. He looked outside and studied a group of armed insurgents heading down the gravel road. “How many did you count?”

“I’d say about thirty, sir.”

“I counted twenty nine.”

“What do we do now sir?”

“Shit, Javi, where are you?” Dallas whispered. “Captain Santos, do you copy, over.”

Evan stepped out of the room and caught sight of five armed men racing up the stairs. “We’re trapped in here, sir.”

“Start shooting Specialist.” Dallas gripped his rifle then looked down at the RPG launcher. “These bozos only had one rocket?”

Evan shot towards the hallway and stairwell holding off incoming enemies while Dallas unloaded a torrent of bullets out the window to prevent more men from entering the building. Both soldiers discharged every round they had while covering their faces from the reek of the sulfur-filled room.

Dallas veered his weary head towards the rising sun. “I’m out, you out?”

Evan’s arms collapsed, “I’m out of ammo sir.”

Dallas took a seat on the mud hut floor.

* * * * *

Sitting at the kitchen counter of her mother’s Miami Beach apartment resting her long slender tanned legs on the nook chair, Abby browsed the internet on her laptop. A shaft of morning light stretched across the chiseled granite. Taking a strawberry from the fruit bowl with her eyes fixed on the screen, she bit into it letting small drops run down her porcelain chin and while reaching behind the computer for a napkin, she caught sight of the day’s headlines.

Failed rescue attempt in northeast Afghanistan lands two more soldiers in enemy camp.

Abby brought a hand to her mouth and thought, o
h no, dad.
She slowly tucked a fallen strand of brown hair behind her ear and read the online article.

U.S. and NATO officials confirmed the identity of the two soldiers shown in a video released by the terrorist cell. Special Forces Captain Javier Santos and Lieutenant Brian Star appear in the video sitting next to Colonel James Johnston who was kidnapped just eight weeks ago.

They were ambushed in the village of Barg-e Matal by insurgents who have recaptured the remote district of Nuristan province.

Her deep set, brown eyes welled up with tears. She buried her face in her hands then wiped the running mascara from under her eyes. Exhaling slowly, she had a brief flashback of her father leaving for this last tour. At the curb of the airport drop off, Colonel James Johnston stood in his dress uniform adorned with medals. He gave his daughter a peck on the forehead and said, “I don’t want you worrying about your old man.” He pinched her chin then noticed a pout. “We’ve been through this enough times. You know the drill. Promise me you will go on with your normal life. And promise me you’ll continue through graduate school.”

She had replayed his words often and had found herself struggling to keep those promises. Taking a deep breath, she opened a file on her laptop, Application for admission to candidacy, Art History Graduate Requirements. Her fingers stiffened. She typed her name, Abigail Johnston.

* * * * *

Dallas sat shirtless on the dirt floor, his heart splitting dimpled smile hidden by an emotionless face and his blond crew cut darkened by sand and grit. He hunched his shoulders keeping his scourged back from touching the jagged cave wall. With dirt-filled fingers, he tugged at Javi’s arm. “Captain, wake up.”

Javi lay sleeping against the serrated rock. His tanned six-pack abs gleamed with sweat.

Dallas slowly crawled to the entrance of the cave. “Do you hear that Captain.”

Javi opened one eye. His magnetic crooked smile was bloodied, swollen and disfigured. “What do you think it is?”

Dallas put an ear to the entrance. “They’re beating the kid.”

Javi lightly tapped his swollen face with a finger. “Shit,” he said as he flinched. “What’s the kid’s name?”

“Specialist Evan Daniels.”

“He better not talk,” Javi grumbled, peeling his muscled back off the rock wall.

“I told him. If he talks they’ll kill him.” Dallas crawled back towards Javi. “Did you hear all that wailing? He’s going to talk, I know it.”

Dallas sat down carefully. “My back is on fire, dude.”

Javi glanced at the hanging flesh on Dallas’s back, “You’ll be alright,” with a fleeting expression not wanting to alarm his friend.

A bright light suddenly entered the poorly lit cave. Two guards rolled open the stone door and shoved Colonel Johnston inside. He lost his footing, plummeting to the ground amid a cloud of dust.

“Are you alright Colonel?” Javi rushed to his side.

Contusions on the old man’s body were like a diagram of painful blows administered by his cruel captors. Javi helped him to his feet. The Colonel’s once carefully trimmed beard had overgrown asymmetrical, patchy. His grey hair was wiry, unkempt, and every wrinkle on his aged face coated in mud.

“How you holding up, Colonel?” Dallas managed a half smile.

“A walk in the park boys…just a walk in the park.” His wheezing grew louder as he took a seat on a rock.

“I think I figured out a way to get us out of here.” Javi drew an improvised map on the dirt floor. “Last week we got Intel of an assault that will draw some fighters away from this area.”

The Colonel leaned over the map then pointed to Javi. “Son, you get yourself and Dallas as far away from this place as you can. I won’t be with you much longer.” He drew a difficult breath. “Shahrivar paid a high ransom for me. He’s been hoping to get his hands on me for a long time.”

“Damn bastard…but why you Colonel?” Dallas fixed his blue eyes on the old man.

“He wants his hands on the codes.” His thumb touched his index finger. “The launch codes for an entire nuclear arsenal.”

“We’re definitely not going to let that happen to you sir.” Dallas grabbed a fist full of dirt from the ground and looked at Javi. “Right, Captain?”

“Listen carefully Lieutenant Star. Forget about me. Get yourself out of here in one piece so you can protect my daughter. If these sons of bitches try to come after my little girl, I’m going to need you to protect her. Dallas you go to Miami and protect my daughter.” He gasped for air.

“Why would they be going after your daughter, Colonel? You think they’re after her for money?”

The old man rested his back against the jagged rock. “She’s the only who has access to the codes.”

“What?” Dallas’s blue eyes grew wider.

Javi stood up with a fist. “With all due respect Colonel, What…kind…of…fucked…up…shit…is that? Who in their right mind puts their little girl in that kind of danger?”

Dallas stood in front of Javi and grabbed his arms. “Calm down, man, just hear him out.”

“He’s right Dallas. I shouldn’t have ever involved her.” With the aid of the rock wall, the old man stood up.

“You’re damn right you shouldn’t have ever involved her.” Javi pushed off Dallas who was holding him back.

Placing a hand to Javi’s chest, Dallas tried to make eye contact. “Calm down bro. This ain’t gonna solve anything.”

“She’s the only one I could trust.” The Colonel paused. “Don’t underestimate the strength and tenacity of my girl, Captain Santos.”

“I don’t agree, Colonel. Let’s just leave it at that.” Javi wiped the sweat from his brow.

Letting go of Javi’s arm, he turned to face the old man. “I’ll take care of your daughter, Colonel.” Dallas’s voice full of emotion, “I’ll keep her safe for you.”

“I know you will, son.” Giving Dallas’s shoulder a firm grip, Col. Johnston then turned his wrinkled fatherly face towards Javi. “Captain Santos, I guided you as a young ranger. I taught you everything you know. I helped you build a foundation not just for your military career but also for things to come. Remember that old business I told you about in Tampa?”

“I’m really not in the mood to hear about the place where you grew up, Colonel.” Javi looked away.

“You’re in no mood?” The Colonel raised his coarse voice. “Just last month you were thanking me for saving you from becoming a high-paid Blackwater thug. Now you wanna kick my ass?” He stiffened, adrenaline shooting right up his spine. “Now, you listen to me…You’re going to get out of here. And you’re going to Tampa. Follow my orders.”

Javi’s puffy eyes gave the Colonel an earnest stare.

A cold draft entered the stifling cave as guards rolled the heavy stone door and erasing the improvised map, Javi ran his foot over the sand. Two armed men dropped a weeping and wailing Evan on the ground and sealed the entrance.

“I think my leg is broken. I need a medic. My leg is broken. Ugh. I need a medic.” He lay on the ground rocking his body from side to side.

Getting within inches from the young soldier’s face, Javi knelt to the ground. “Specialist Evan Daniels, look at me. I’m your Captain. Look at me. You’re going to be all right. Tell me what they did to you.”

Evan looked into the Captain’s eyes while still panting. “That bastard beat my leg with a club. He wouldn’t stop…ugh…Oh God…I can’t move my leg—”

“I’m going to take a look at it but you need to calm down. Take deep breaths. Come on, take them with me.” Javi drew short deep breaths, focused on calming the young soldier while Dallas, who had been sitting next to the Colonel, looked on in silence.