Lord Falco is the most powerful man in all the realm. When he is online that is. In the real world he is no idiot though. He buys all his computer parts separately and with cash so that he can’t be tracked. There is no way the government knows his IP address. His work, his fun, in fact his entire life is done online and the last thing he needs is the government looking in on what he is doing.
Unlike his friends who live in cabins like hermits, “Falco” as he likes to be called lives in the city. Out in the woods you are one person for every five square miles, but here he is one of millions! The men in black can’t sneak up on him from the safety of the woods on his own property. Nope, here he can see them coming. Plus he can cache his stuff for escape nearby without any worries of discovery.
Wisely he shops at night. The area he lives is well lit and the satellites that track over cities at night use mostly infrared and the lights near the hospitals cause flares so they can’t see him. He is happily snacking on the cake and creamy goodness that is a twinkie when his worst nightmare unfolds in front of him.
They were right, the black helicopters would come when he least expected it. He is surprised that the government figured out a way around the tangles of the power lines in this busy part of town. They used the innocent hospital landing pads to insert their storm troopers. Somehow they must have been able to track his blogs and they know he is on to them. He alone has the proof that Dick Cheney staged the terrorist attacks on 9-11 to get at the gold underneath the towers and eliminate his rivals at the pentagon. If it weren’t for the Patriots about the other flight, he would have gotten away with taking out most of the reporters of the Washington post (his nefarious next target.)
When he sees the soldiers running up the street towards his apartment building he drops his groceries and hails the next taxi. Another benefit of staying so close to hospitals. He has the driver speed to a nearby parking garage, and as he watches the skies, he can see another helicopter circling, most likely looking for him. Once in the parking structure it takes all the money he has to convince the driver to take him to the airport, but with him in the trunk. That way “the man” will think that he is in the next car to leave the parking garage.
The driver lets him out of the trunk in the long term parking where he has a car waiting. He makes sure that there is still a “clean” laptop and a bag of clothes. Where his spare tire should be is a stash of cash and a fresh identity. Unfortunately Lord Falco will have to die. He may have to use his “norm” name until he is able to find a new network. As he starts up the car he checks under his seat for the pistol and makes sure it has a bullet in it. If they try and capture him he wants to make sure he has it handy. One bullet is all he has, and one bullet is all he needs.
They are making good time, unlike the smaller Blackhawks the large twin rotor Chinooks cannot land on the helicopter pads on the hospital. As directed they dropped off the 28 Rangers in a field and they had to run the half mile to secure the perimeter. They might be a little winded, but moving at a full run with gear on would take a lot out of anyone. However they are members of the elite Ranger Battalion. If any of them fall behind, they can expect to be wearing a new unit patch Monday morning.
Staff Sergeant Todd notices that they collect some curious stares from most people as they pass by. Armed men running the streets is something you don’t see everyday. But since they are in uniform and running in a file formation the natural assumption is that things are okay. So while there is no panic, there are some interesting reactions.
One guy tosses the drugs out of his pocket and places his hands against a nearby wall spreading his legs. Todd just tells him ot report to the nearest police station without losing a step. He doesn’t care if the guy does or not, but it is a funny story he will tell later. He does make sure he stomps on the man’s drugs as he passes.
The best reaction by far is the fat guy who squealed like a little girl, dropped his bags and waddled into the nearest cab. Todd watched the half eaten twinkie drop from his mouth as he freaked out. He doesn’t know why he had the reaction, but there has got to be a good story behind it.
As soon as they reach the front of the hospital, they see CSM Roc standing there waiting. There will be an asschewing to come if he had to wait long. It will not matter that one landed on the roof and rode an elevator down and the other had to run in. No Sergeant Major is ever left waiting.
Without waiting for instructions, the men form a semi circle around the entrance. The squad leaders go to the middle and wait for orders. The Sergeant Major looks around and smiles, if this is going to be his last chance at leadership, he is happy that he gets to lead this caliber of men.
One Blackhawk continues to circle with the sniper teams on it waiting for where they are to be employed. This is the hardest part, circling and waiting. The sooner you get in place, the sooner you can start doing the bad things to the bad guys. You can’t do anything up here doing a circle jerk in the air.
Specialist Chong takes off the surgical mask to give CSM Roc an update. While it can be difficult to remember every single soldier in the Battalion, he remembers this young man. When he was a private the recon platoon requested a medic, but he didn’t have any with Ranger tabs as they requested. So they got the most high speed medic in the battalion, Recon isn’t an easy platoon and you need someone who can keep up. Private First Class Chong was the only one who could. He proved himself beyond expectations, but still the Platoon Sergeant brought him in front of Roc complaining that he didn’t want an untabbed medic in his platoon. Chong was crushed, he though he had eared the respect of the platoon, to satisfy the Platoon Sergeant, Chong was on his way to Ranger school the next day. It he was the only medic to be recommended for Ranger School that year, and he eared his spot. The whole recon platoon insisted on it.
“He is out of surgery,” he says clearly tired, “three of Delta Company guys who were in town are outside his recovery room right now. He lost consciousness as he was being prepped for surgery and most likely will not wake up for a while.”
“They pulled two bullets out of him and he lost a lot of blood. If he would have gotten here five minutes later, he would not have made it. That is about all the good news that I have.”
“Give me the bad,” Roc orders.
“He has some blood on his shirt that does not correspond to an injury and they had to remove a few pellets from his left arm.”
“What does that mean?”
“Most likely that there is a someone out there with a shotgun wound. He was nearby when they were shot and tried to help which is where the other blood comes from. So either there is a civilian out there who is some serious trouble, or there is another wounded Ranger.”
That thought fills Sergeant Major with dread. If there is another one of his soldiers out there, he will find him before sunrise. Even if he has to turn over the entire city to do it.
Within a half hour the Harborview Hospital becomes the most secure facility in the city. There are uniformed Rangers in the parking lot ensuring good traffic flow and watching for suspicious activity. There are Rangers in civilian clothes sprinkled throughout the place, the ones with injuries are in the halls and blending in the ER. This is the first time in years that there hasn’t been people sneaking a smoke in the stairwell. With Rangers strategically placed, no one lingers too long.
Finally the Blackhawk stops circling overhead and teams are deployed on the rooftops. The teams are happy to finally be out and in place in case any action happens. While the city sleeps, Rangers maneuver all around the area. By the time people are going to work, there is an invisible force ready for anything. Which is good, because something is going to happen…….very soon.
Teams are in place, the area is secure, and the staff is assured that this is not going disrupt their daily routine. In the short time the Rangers are there, the place actually runs smoother than the normal chaos. Just as he finishes the radio checks and steps outside to get some fresh air before planning the next step, Sergeant Major Roc sees a familiar vehicle pull up into the loading zone.
Colonel’s Knights truck is hard to miss. He has an old Chevy Bronco, it has to be at least 15 years old. It has that deep throaty engine and huge tires. It is clear that it has seen more mud trails than asphalt in its life. And carried more than its fair share of deer out of the woods.
“You know you can’t park here,” Roc says to his commander as he climbs down.
Smiling he responds, “I’ll find someone to move it later.”
Colonel Knight is the only one in a pressed camouflage uniform. He knows that he is going to be the face on this, and wants to look presentable for meetings with the local police and government officials. Right now he wants to have the impression of being a tactical leader. When the time comes, he has his dress uniform in the back of his truck.
When he left the unit after giving his officers a way out, he drove his car back to his house. Got his uniforms and personal weapons, threw them in the back of his Bronco and drove to the city.
“I gave you an out Sir,” Roc says respectfully, “you should have taken it.”
“Fuck you.” Knight states flatly.
Gaining newfound respect for the guy Roc replies, “you wouldn’t like it Sir, I would just lie there.” There is some comfort in knowing that you will have others with you at your court-martial.
“How many officers left?”
“We lost a few lieutenants, Delta’s company commander and the XO. Alpha stayed 100%. No one took the lifeline.”
The Executive Officer, or XO, has always been suspected of being a shady bastard. Knight knows that he is hoping that the SGM and CO will be relieved and he will get command. Of course that will never happen. In the Ranger Regiment you are not rewarded by stepping away from risk.
“If any of them are still assigned to the Ranger Battalion Monday morning, you won’t be Sergeant Major.” It isn’t a threat, it is the gospel. And with that, the Commander walks off to check on his men inside.
When the doors open, the mood changes, here is the Commander! He is here to personally lead, taking risk upon himself but mainly he is directing any blame his way. Now no one is going to be the one to drop the ball. Inspired, every position, observation post and sniper team is inspired to tighten their shot group and they feel invigorated in the early morning hours.
They have been keeping the man in the room for a few hours now. Of course he wasn’t going to talk in the first hour. He needed to be “encouraged” to tall them what they want to know. He will break, they always do. Of course it is getting a little hot inside the masks. And for a while their prisoner hasn’t been too active, he remains slumped over repeating the same thing over and over. This part sounds like:
“Acknowledging the fact that a Ranger is a more elite soldier, who arrives at the cutting edge of battle by land, sea, or air. I accept the fact that as a Ranger my country expects me to move further, faster and fight harder than any other soldier.”
Before he can get to the next part, one of their group bursts into the room. “One of them survived and is in the hospital.”
Everyone shares a collected thought. If that guy talks, they all are in trouble. No one knows how much he saw or knows, but it isn’t worth the risk. He was taken to a trauma hospital that is second to none in the state. There is usually enough chaos in those places that a few guys can slip in and out without too much trouble. Quickly four men are selected and sent out. Had they known what was waiting for them, they would have said more lasting goodbyes. Then again if they really knew what was waiting, they wouldn’t have gone.
There is that moment when you set up an ambush where you are so excited that it is happening, you almost blow it. First you have doubts that anything is going to happen, then when it looks like things are going your way, you want to jump at the chance before your target can get away. The hardest part is having the discipline not to do anything at all, but to let them get farther into the trap.
That is exactly what most of the Rangers have to do. First there is the team on a rooftop half a block away that reported the car dropping off one passenger who then runs into a hospital entrance that has less traffic in and out. He passes near the ER where Sergeant Jordan is invisible among the other patients with casts and slings. He confirms the sighting and lets the guy get deeper into the trap.
Of course he is just a scout, and they want the whole group. He finds the entrance that leads into the alley and opens the door. One of the guys waiting outside hands him a sawed off shotgun and they head up the back stairs. They try to be stealthy but their footfalls echo in the empty stairwell.
Fortunately they know where they are going and will be in and out in a few minutes. Nothing creates chaos like gunfire. All they have to do it dump the guns into one of the red buckets that are used for biohazards and run out with the crowds. The car is going to circle and pick them up at the arranged site.
One of the problems with being the get away driver is that you tend to get focused on the getaway and lose sight of the peripherals. For example you are so intent on watching the door your friends are supposed to come out of you don’t notice the four Rangers sneaking up on you. Usually get way drivers don’t leave the cars running, for fear it will look suspicious, however it is good to be able to peel out and get away. So when he sees the men moving through the shadows and he tries to start the car, his window explodes inward and a barrel is shoved in his place. If he would have been ready he could have just pushed on the accelerator, but alas it is not to be. He is yanked out, searched, bound with zip-ties, and shoved back in his own car. Part of the team rides with him, the rest return to the OP. Suddenly he feels empathy for the man in the little room. Unfortunately, some things you can’t undo.
Exiting the stairwell suddenly they rush through the halls. This is the point where they are exposed, but also when they can do the most collateral damage. Most people will not be sure of what they are seeing, they will wonder if they really see men with guns. Those that don’t see it out of the corner of their eyes will usually either freeze or hit the ground. Either one will do. Naturally anyone who freezes in their way will be knocked down, but that is the risk they take.
This is step one in the chaos. After the shooting starts, everyone will be running every which way. If you no longer havethe guns in hand, they won’t be able to remember who was shooting and who wasn’t. By the time anyone figures it out they will be long gone. When they round the corner they find the first of a few surprises of the night, or for a couple the last surprises of their lives.
“Hi,” Wendy says in a chipper voice.
They hit a bottle neck in the doorway, there are things they were expecting to see, but a smiling, good looking girl was not one of them. She seems remarkably relaxed for the given situation. Her hands are clearly visible and not threatening. Slowly she raises them and only has a keychain in one of them. As she raises her hands, she eases to the head f the bed next to the still unconscious solider and slides her body as close to the wall as possible.
If Chong wanted a ride to the hospital, she was going to have to drive him, and if she was driving she wanted to know what was going on. Wendy knows that someday she will be Wendy Chong and she knows what to expect from the life of the Ranger wife. They couldn’t talk her out of doing this. Someone is going to have to stay in the room and the nurses won’t bother a woman as much as a man, especially if the only relationship is that of a fellow soldier.
She was given a simple keyless remote. The lock button arms it, the unlock disarms it. But all she had to worry about was get out of the way, and push the panic button. The rest would be taken care of. What she didn’t understand is why they told her not to close her mouth after pushing it.
For the two guys who are inside the room, practically stepping over each other, time seems to slow down. They have their guns raised and not really caring why the girl is in the room. But she closes her eyes, yet keeps her mouth open. It is the “beep, beep” coming from the window that draws their attention. Anything too sudden might make them pull the trigger in surprise, but the sounds draws their attention right before the windows shatter from a small shaped charge on the outside ledge.
Now everything starts to come together, when they got the call the men of the roof checked their ropes. “Oz” is visibly excited. His nickname doesn’t come from a compression of his last name “Oswald” it is because he likes to rappel “Aussie” style, which means head first. Plus like the people from Down Under, he is more than a little crazy. He pulls out he thinks is the right amount of rope and starts walking back.
Right before the explosives go off, they glow green. One guy is leaning over the side and as soon as he see the glow yells, “Green light!”
With that Oz takes a running start and leaps over the edge. His “Ranger Buddy” or rappelling partner just rolls his eyes and starts down the side at a swift, but manageable speed. Across the street the sniper team has been watching the men enter the room. The spotter sets down his binos and pulls up his silenced M4. The sniper has a M14 with a suppressor. They are part of the Long Range Recon Platoon, LRRPS were almost donw away with, the COL Knight kept a platoon around for the Headquarters company.
As soon as they see the green light, they shoot. In the half second delay, the window shatter and their sights fill with the two men. One shoot left, the other right.
Oz can actually see the vapor trails of the bullets below him that pass just a second before he swings into the room. As soon as his feet hit floor, his pistol is out and he is covering the room. His partner is not far behind.
The two in the hall run at the first sign of the red mist that was their friend’s chest. Panic isn’t a rational act by the mind or body. They don’t get three steps before they are taken down by the “patients” who were sitting outside in the hall. One of the orderlies pulls out a pistol from under his scrubs and covers the tow would be assassins. It is then that they see that most everyone in the immediate vicinity is here to protect their target.
Soldiers form the medic platoon are sprinkled throughout the floor. They are even try and help out the nurses on duty. While it is seen as a kind act, they are really just hoping for some play when this is all over.
As soon as Oz detaches himself from his rig he and his partner grab the two who are restrained in the hall and drag them to their feet. They hustle them up stair and onto the roof. The last thing they get to see before the bags go over their heads is the Blackhawk flaring into a landing, ready to take them away. Where, they don’t know but there is no way it will be good.
The same reasons why the Rangers are going through such extremes for their comrades is explained in the first sentence of the mutterings of a slumped over Ranger captive. If only they would listen they would understand as he speaks:
“Never shall I fail my comrades. I will always keep myself mentally alert, physically strong and morally straight and I will shoulder more than my share of the task whatever it may be. One hundred percent and then some.”
