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9-7
Oct 1, 2009 23:41:10 GMT -5
Post by NµKe on Oct 1, 2009 23:41:10 GMT -5
Derrik burst out laughing. 'Frickin' Children' he muttered to himself. Derrik slowed down the car a little but kept a good pace. The memories of his comrades began to flood back into his mind.
He wanted so much to talk it out, to discuss what happened, what could have happened, how they could have known, who to blame, what would happen when they got back on base, and a thousand other thoughts, but he couldn't. Derrik simply could not form words. He wanted to, but at the same time he really didn't want to. He didn't want the pain of the memories, of reality, to set in on him. He wasn't ready and definitely did not want to break down now.
...So he simply kept driving...
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9-7
Oct 2, 2009 10:43:15 GMT -5
Post by Galio on Oct 2, 2009 10:43:15 GMT -5
Derrik was startled when Jack slapped him on the shoulder. "Hey! Prioritize, Iks! Think about it later--the pain in my shin is crawlin' up to my butt, so you've gotta get me outta here." Jack scolded.
Jack could see that he took it well, and he was going to do what he said to. Jack glanced down at the GPS and said to Derrik, "This is it up here. Lights off." They could see the the Euphrat river for a few seconds before the lights went out. Jack said, "Turn right. We should get away from the city a little before we find a boat. We'll go down this road for about a mile. We need to have a motorized boat. There's no way we're covering three hundred miles on a row-boat."
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9-7
Oct 3, 2009 12:52:00 GMT -5
Post by NµKe on Oct 3, 2009 12:52:00 GMT -5
Derrik took the right turn and slowed down a bit, continually checking the direction in which the river was just in case a boat suddenly lit up or a light could show them a boat.
After about four or five minutes of driving parallel to the river, Derrik saw what he guessed must be some sort of fisherman or something lighting up a cigarette. The flick of the flame lit up his motorized craft that he was about to use. Derrik slowed the car down to a stop and tapped Jack on the shoulder and pointed.
"Good?" he whispered...
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9-7
Oct 4, 2009 0:11:52 GMT -5
Post by Galio on Oct 4, 2009 0:11:52 GMT -5
Jack answered quickly, "Yap. Let's take it." Derrik pulled the truck a good way off the road, and they both jumped out quick and quite. Stopping at the river bank several yards downstream of the fishing craft, Jack grabbed Derrik's shoulder and said, "OK, you're gonna have to do this. If it goes bad, I'll have covering fire for ya. Get this done, Iks."
Jack turned around and slipped a few feet into the bushes. He went prone and aimed his SIG at the small vessel. The IR revealed that three men were on the boat. By this time, it was too late to warn Derrik, so Jack quickly screwed on his silencer. His heart was pounding hard, and he began to sweat. "Whatsa matter with you Jack?" He thought to himself. "Breath. Emotions are dead. You're a machine. One mind, one mission. C'mon, boy."
The pep-talk didn't help much. He was legitimately worried for this kid.
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9-7
Oct 4, 2009 0:29:53 GMT -5
Post by NµKe on Oct 4, 2009 0:29:53 GMT -5
Derrik began to move closer to the vessel. He turned on his night vision for a moment, just to see which direction the guy was facing.
One...two...three of them... Derrik grinned. He drew his knife and his pistol, screwed on the silencer, and began to approach. Suddenly an idea popped into his head. He picked up a palm-sized rock near his foot and hurled it over the men, into the water.
SPLASH!
The three men turned to look... the man that was still on the dock who had been untying the craft suddenly groaned as Derrik's knife slide next to his spine. The two men turned, one was met with a bullet to the head. The other quickly drew his weapon and fired a shot towards Derrik. Derrik's knifed buddy caught the shot with his chest and Derrik quickly silenced the third man with two shots to the chest, the force of which throwing his body into the river.
Derrik slid the knifed man into the water and hurled the second man's lifeless body into the river. He clicked his tongue for Jack, then began untying the boat to get ready.
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9-7
Oct 4, 2009 1:07:21 GMT -5
Post by Galio on Oct 4, 2009 1:07:21 GMT -5
Jack was ecstatic in stone form. He heard shots fired from the boat, but couldn't move because of the movement behind him. Someone must have seen the truck and started nosing around. Jack slowly crawled toward the truck and saw the bogeys. "Dang turbans!" Jack thought. The men weren't overly surprised that shots were fired, but they obviously wanted to check on it.
If Derrik had just been killed, Jack considered these three men responsible. They spoke in their own tongue about the atrocities to women they had committed earlier in the day as they walked directly toward Jack while on their way to the dock. They arrived at Jack's position.
If there was ever a laying into, this was one. Jack sprung up in front of them and jammed his knife into the temple of the first turban in the line. He instantly yanked it out, slicing the throat of the second man, and fired his pistol into both eyes of the third.
He then holstered his pistol, sheathed his knife, and pulled out his SIG as he hobbled as fast as he could toward the dock. He anticipated the worst--Derrik dead, and all three men still alive. He stopped at the edge of the woods and saw Derrik dumping a man into the river. His heart leaped as he saw his friend. He ran out of the woods while saying, "It's me" and they untied the boat. After they both jumped in, Jack against the wall holding his shin. "Get us outta here, Iks."
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9-7
Oct 4, 2009 1:11:06 GMT -5
Post by NµKe on Oct 4, 2009 1:11:06 GMT -5
Derrik smiled at Jack's arrival, but asked anyways...
"I expected that last one to be yours... you didn't shoot him? Did ya fall asleep or somethin'?"
Derrik finished untying the boat and kicked off. He then started up the motor and turned the boat in the direction he thought was south and looked at Jack for confirmation.
"South?"
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9-7
Oct 4, 2009 13:23:06 GMT -5
Post by Galio on Oct 4, 2009 13:23:06 GMT -5
"Yeah, south. And no, I wasn't sleepin' ya retard! 'Had three turbans sneakin' up on us. I had to deal with 'em... Agh!" Jack grabbed his leg in pain. "Keep driving! Keep Driving. I'm OK. (Phew)" Jack was obviously on a lot of pain. "It's really startin' to kick in. I'm gonna take a PK pill."
Derrik drove at a kosher speed for the area to not draw attention. Jack knelt on a bench and watched the shoreline for anything suspicious. He then scooted closer to Derrik, so he could hear, "Two hours till sunrise. If we get noticed, you're gonna have to show me some tricks with this thing." Derrik smiled and kept driving.
Jack was worried about the long distance they had to travel. The original plan was to signal for a chopper to pick them up in a suburb if everything went according to plan. If they didn't contact anyone, a sub would wait in the Gulf for forty-eight hours and leave. Being as they hadn't signaled, this was the plan. Jack was worried about the distance because this boat was excruciatingly slow, and his leg was going numb. Jack called to Derrik, "Hey, pick up the pace until sunrise."
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9-7
Oct 5, 2009 9:16:41 GMT -5
Post by NµKe on Oct 5, 2009 9:16:41 GMT -5
Derrik sped up the boat a bit. The noise was a bit louder, but not too bad. He checked back at Jack to see if it was a good speed. Jack nodded.
Derrik's mind was beginning to race. What if they didn't get there in time? What if this boat just finally gave up the embarrassing existence that it was? What if the sub simply left? He finally turned and said to Jack...
"We need another boat. We're not going to make it in this one..."
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9-7
Oct 5, 2009 12:08:07 GMT -5
Post by Galio on Oct 5, 2009 12:08:07 GMT -5
Jack answered, "I was just thinking that. Keep your eyes open on the left side; I'll watch the right. We're gonna have to find something."
Just then, Jack noticed something that may take them down a different road. He saw a dock with a wide shelter next to it. He jumped over to Derrik and grabbed him by the shoulder, "Pull us over there!" Derrik had to turn around a little because of the speed they were going, but the arrived at the dock in less than a minute.
Jack peeked under the canvas and said, "Oh yeah! Pot for Jack!" He whipped off the large canvas to reveal a sea plane. Derrik had an adventurous expression, but Jack pointed at him and said, "I'm drivin' this one, sonyboy." They quickly assembled inside, and within two minutes, they were prepped for take off.
Jack hit the throttle downstream and they were airborne in ten seconds. Jack laughed, "Hahaaa! Just like dustin' crops back home!"
They maintained a height of about twenty feet above the river at a speed of one hundred and sixty MPH. The two Navy SEALs crept under the enemy radar in the dead of night, on their way to the freedom of open sea. Jack turned to Derrik and said, "Be my eyes. The shoreline and the skies are your zones. All lights are off so I'm just flying by my goggles."
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9-7
Oct 5, 2009 15:04:31 GMT -5
Post by NµKe on Oct 5, 2009 15:04:31 GMT -5
Derrik smiled.
"You got it..."
Skimming the shoreline, everything seemed quite quiet and pleasantly still. The hum of the plane was the only noise that could be heard on that morning. Derrik's eyelids began to get heavy with this new era of assumed safety. Derrik shook his head a bit and rechecked the skyline and the shoreline.
He saw a few children running along the bank doing what looked like calling out and waving. Derrik gave a bit of a confused face and tapped Jack on the shoulder.
"Do you think that's a bad thing?"
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9-7
Oct 5, 2009 16:01:11 GMT -5
Post by Galio on Oct 5, 2009 16:01:11 GMT -5
Jack frowned over Derrik's window and answered, "Kids up at this hour was only ever a bad thing in my neighborhood. Who knows what these little creeps are up to. But I don't think it's a problem. Way to worry though, rookie." Jack smiled.
They continued for another "long while" with no problems at all.
Jack said, "We're gonna have to land soon if we're gonna avoid getting shot down. I'd like to get as far as possible before the sun gets up at least like to get within walking distance of the gulf. Maybe the outskirts of Al Faw? There's not much there, and it runs right up to the gulf."
The sky was already fading into a pale gray light in the east. This was a ticking time bomb to the SEALs.
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9-7
Oct 6, 2009 14:03:36 GMT -5
Post by NµKe on Oct 6, 2009 14:03:36 GMT -5
Derrik yawned and nodded to Jack. He had no clue where Al Faw was or why it'd be a good choice, but that's why Jack was here.
"Okay, so how far is Al Faw from here then? Aaaand, ya got any food? I suddenly realized how hungry I am."
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9-7
Oct 6, 2009 14:18:19 GMT -5
Post by Galio on Oct 6, 2009 14:18:19 GMT -5
Jack rolled his eyes and said, "You retard! Yes, I have food. And from here it's probably fifty miles to Al Faw..." Derrik was already reaching for the food. Jack quickly scooted away and laughed, "What the heck?! Paws off--I'll get it, ya perv!" He smiled as he reached into a pouch in his vest, and pulled out a candy bar. "Substantialiscious." Jack said as he handed Derrik the food.
He looked back up and saw a light on the river. Jack jerked the plane up and right to get off the river. He said to Derrik, "Keep an eye on that thing. I really hope it's just a fishing boat."
Then the light on the river pointed up toward them. Jack shouted, "Dang it! Turbans!" He pushed the stick forward to get the plane lower, but the light was already on them. Suddenly bullets started tearing through and around the aircraft. Jack shouted, "Iks, get your 'nade launcher on that thing! We cannot let them leak!"
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9-7
Oct 8, 2009 15:51:58 GMT -5
Post by NµKe on Oct 8, 2009 15:51:58 GMT -5
With the candy bar in his mouth Derrik didn't even attempt to reply. He simply spun around, swiftly assembled his Grenade Launcher and aimed it back at the craft.
"Hold her steady one sec..." he muttered to Jack while aiming...
The sound of the grenade being launched... the sound of the grenade flying the through the air, the cry of the panicking Turbans... and the explosion of the boat into a million different shattered pieces all echoed throughout the morning air. All happened within approximately five seconds of each other and the only following noise was the engine of the plane and the random shards of the boat splashing into the water and thumping onto the nearby bank.
"Can she still fly?" Derrik asked.
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