Seals (2005) (28 page)

"Even if they did put a small force ahead of us, they'll be bringing a much larger one eventually. They may be close to linking up even as we sit here. The ones behind us will want to drive us forward."

"Well," Cruiser said, "that makes it easy to figure out what to do."

"Right," Brannigan said. "We're going to attack the small group to the rear for a breakout. And I haven't got a clue what we'll do or where we'll go once we've cleared our way to open country."

"Out of the frying pan and into the fire," the senior chief remarked, spitting out the pebble.

"Whatever," Brannigan said, shrugging. "Get your teams ready." He watched as Cruiser and Dawkins returned to their men, and he spoke over the LASH to Mike Assad and Dave Leibowitz up on point. "Get your asses back here."

"Aye, sir!" came Mike's reply.

.

THE MUJAHIDEEN

1600 HOURS LOCAL

THE former mujahideen chief Ayyub Durtami stood off to the side alone as he watched his men gather into a mob to his direct front. Durtami's former faithful assistant Ahmet Kharani was no longer a part of his entourage. Kharani had found favor with Warlord Hassan Khamami and had been made a lieutenant in the garrison guard. This was an undeniable indication to Durtami that he was now an outcast. His best hope was to martyr himself in battle and seek redemption and reward in Allah's Paradise. There would be nothing for him in Khamami's fiefdom unless a miracle occurred.

Durtami's men each had a single canteen on a strap around the shoulder, and this small amount of water gave evidence that their chances in the coming battle were considered minimal at best. The Lee-Metford Mark II rifles they carried were in sorry condition. All were dirty, and at least a dozen of them could not be loaded because the bolts were rusted shut. The magazines were designed to hold ten rounds in a double column, but the men had been issued only three. However, those who could not load their rifles gave their three to close friends, so a few had six to fire at the infidels.

Durtami whistled and clapped his hands for attention. When the crowd of sacrificial fighters quieted down, he spoke to them in as firm a voice as he could muster. Even a true believer was nervous when facing certain death.

"Listen, brothers! At this moment Allah looks down on you with great love and appreciation. He is aware that you are ready to martyr yourselves for Islam without hesitation. He also knows which ones of you will sacrifice your mortal lives for His immortal glory. Already there are places in Paradise set aside for you. Your families will weep with great joy, knowing you have honored them and all true believers!" He paused, looking at the fierce pride shining in their eyes. "Are you ready?"

"Allah! Allah akbar! God is great!"

The cries and chanting rose in volume as the mujahideen encouraged one another for the ordeal ahead. Durtami did his best to take heart from their morbid celebration. He knew that his karma offered only two possibilities after the battle. He would either come out of it alive to return to the unlikely good graces of his brother-in-law Warlord Khamami or he would find his reward in Paradise. Either way required that he put himself in the front of his men and lead by example.

"Brothers!" he cried, pointing toward the enemy. "That is the direction to everlasting glory! Follow me!"

He held his prized pearl-handled Beretta 9-millimeter automatic pistol in his hand, raising it high above his head. Then he turned to trot toward the objective at a steady pace, raising his knees high to emphasize his fervor and passion. Durtami did not look back as his men cheered and fell into a disorganized crowd to his direct rear.

.

THE SEALS

1815 HOURS LOCAL

BRAVO Fire Team, with Senior Chief Petty Officer Buford Dawkins in charge, moved slowly down the valley, leading Brannigan's Brigands. The team, like the rest of the platoon, felt like they were simply spinning their wheels, since the outfit was now moving back in the direction from where they had come. The men held their weapons ready, their eyes scanning the tops of the valley as well as the area to the direct front.

For once Mike Assad and Dave Leibowitz were not on the point. Lieutenant Brannigan had kept them back with him and Frank Gomez as part of Alpha Fire Team. Charlie Fire Team was directly to their rear, led by Lieutenant (J. G.) Jim Cruiser. Chief Matt Gunnarson's Delta Fire Team brought up the rear with Bruno Puglisi being the tail-end Charlie.

Suddenly the sound of shouting men could be heard. Brannigan quickly ordered a halt via his LASH headset so they could determine who was raising so much hell. The disturbance grew steadily louder until it was accompanied by the pounding of running feet. A moment later a mob of mujahideen appeared around a bend some one hundred meters away.

The senior chief, Connie Concord and Chad Murchison immediately opened fire. Four men in the front of the crowd toppled to the ground, but dozens more now came into view. The Bravos fell back to join the four Alphas. Now a total of seven weapons poured 5.56-millimeter rounds into the attackers. But they continued advancing, leaping over their fallen comrades as if they sought death more than victory.

The Alphas and Bravos retreated back to join the seven men of the Second Squad. The mujahideen fired hardly at all, and those shots were aimed straight up into the air. The SEALs didn't bother to take cover as they continued sending salvos to rake the front ranks of the enemy. There was no choice but to back up, even though they were inflicting heavy casualties. Any hesitation or slowness would mean the SEALs would be physically overwhelmed by the suicidal maniacs stampeding toward them.

Brannigan wanted to break contact to get enough time to organize some sort of defense, but the assault suddenly halted. It was Chad Murchison who first noted what had brought the short, sharp battle to a halt.

"There are no more of them," he said into the LASH. "We've killed every single one."

Now everyone moved forward and could see that all the attackers were down. Connie Concord walked forward and picked up a rifle from one of the dead mujahideen. He examined it carefully. "This thing is a fucking antique," he announced as the others gathered around. "And it's as rusted as a garbage scow's keel:'

Milly Mills was confused. "What the hell was this all about?"

Brannigan noticed they were all shoving fresh magazines into their weapons. "These poor dumb bastards were sent to draw fire. That means the force ahead of us is probably stronger than we thought."

"Right," Dawkins said. "And it also means that another group of these ragheads is coming behind these crazy sons of bitches. And they'll be one of their better fighting outfits."

James Bradley happily pointed to the corpses. "They have canteens!"

"One man from each fire team get over there and gather up as many as you can," Brannigan shouted. "Make it snappy. We've got to get ready for some more visitors."

Dave Leibowitz, Chad Murchison, Joe Miskoski and Bruno Puglisi rushed out to collect the water containers. As Joe went from corpse to corpse, he came across a particularly bloody one. The man, his dead face locked into a fierce scowl with the mouth opened in a silent scream of fury, appeared to have been hit at least a half dozen times. A pearl-handled Beretta automatic was still grasped in his hand.

Joe grinned. The pistol would make a nice souvenir.

.

THE MUJAHIDEEN

1630 HOURS LOCAL

THE two Mi-24 helicopters came in and landed. Major Karim Malari and his radio operator jumped from the first, then turned to watch other mujahideen quickly disembark. The choppers immediately took off to pick up more fighters.

Malari took the handset from the radio and raised Warlord Khamami back at his CP. "Amir, Durtami and his men have made their attack. It did not take long, but from the sound of firing, the infidels expended many bullets to stop them."

"Very well," Khamami came back. The tone of his voice revealed his exultation. "Order Tanizai to move forward. Make sure he has troops up on the high ground as well as in the valley. The enemy will be forced to flee across open country by morning."

"I have already issued the order:' Malari said. "The helicopters continue to bring us more troops. Within an hour there will be more than four hundred men in our two units. The unbelievers will be caught between us. Even now they are unable to break out." He handed the handset back to the RTO, and looked over at his sub-commanders. "Get your men formed up! As soon as the next lift arrives, we shall be ready to move out and destroy the Infidels once and forever."

.

THE SEALS

31 AUGUST

0100 HOURS LOCAL

THE problem of thirst was solved at least temporarily. That was the good news. The bad news was that by the time a shortage of water became a problem again, there was a strong chance that none of the platoon would be alive to be aware of it. Brannigan had pulled the Brigands back to an area where the slopes on both sides of the valley were not so steep. First Squad took one side while Second Squad took the other. They had situated themselves as best they could without digging fighting positions, using the brush and top of the valley for cover. When everyone had settled down, the Skipper sent Mike Assad and Dave Leibowitz out to do a reconnaissance.

.

0230 HOURS LOCAL

THE Odd Couple eased themselves off the high ground onto the slope of the valley. They moved slowly down the firm terrain, making a slow descent. Although they were no longer thirsty, each was nearing the end of his physical endurance. They walked through the OP manned by Senior Chief Buford Dawkins and Chad Murchison. Dawkins stood up as they approached. He spat, reaching for the liberated canteen to treat himself to a drink. "Y'all bringing good news?"

"Not hardly, Senior Chief," Dave Leibowitz replied as he and Mike walked past. "To put it politely: we're in deep yogurt."

Dawkins watched them walk way, and took a swallow of the water. It was tepid, but delicious after the long dry days. The only thing that could improve it would be some Jack Daniel's for flavoring.

The Odd Couple continued down to the valley floor, crossed it, then went up to the spot where Lieutenant Bill Brannigan's CP had been set up. It was no more than a patch of open area between a couple of thick stands of thorn bushes. Brannigan's greeting was only a tired nod as the two scouts settled down beside hini.

Mike Assad shrugged almost apologetically. "Sir, we're ringed in tight here. They got us heavily outnumbered on all sides."

"Yes, sir," Dave agreed. "We couldn't make an exact count o' course, but I'd be willing to say they got us at about twenty or thirty to one."

"The ragheads have at least a battalion out there," Mike added.

Brannigan was silent for a moment before he spoke. "Okay, guys. Take a break. Try to get some sleep."

He watched the Odd Couple move off into the darkness, then turned his thoughts to the situation at hand: (1) There was no way in hell they would be able to fight their way through the enemy. Even if they broke through on one side, the mujahideen could quickly rally other fighters on their perimeter to go after them. (2) No doubt the enemy had brought along their mortars, and that meant they could leisurely bombard the platoon to pieces if an attempt was made to set up defense positions. (3) The SEALs were low on ammo after expending so much to kill the loonies who had made the suicide charge against them. (4) Surrendering would be as sure death as would be fighting to the end. The only alternative was to go through the open country in a wild attempt to break through. Chances of that succeeding were slim to none.

Brannigan reached in his vest and pulled out an energy bar. He bit into it and chewed slowly. He really regretted that he and Lisa had parted while angry with each other. It all seemed so trivial now in the light of what tomorrow would bring. He wished he could leave a note or some sort of last words to let her know he died thinking of her and loving her now more than he ever did.

Brannigan folded the wrapper over the remnants of the energy bar and shoved it back into his pocket. He touched the throat mike of the LASH headset and spoke in a whisper. "Two-I-C and chiefs report to me at the CP."

Chapter 19

THE WADI KHESTA VALLEY

31 AUGUST

0300 HOURS LOCAL

ALTHOUGH Brannigan's Brigands were a platoon in U. S. Navy terminology, the organizational charts of the U. S. Army and U. S. Marine Corps would have identified the group as a section or a reinforced squad. A normal platoon consists of forty-plus individuals broken down into four squads led by a platoon leader who is assisted by a platoon sergeant and four sergeants as squad leaders. Thus, when the Brigands moved out that morning to ascend the slopes of the valley and begin their escape attempt across the flatlands, the combat formation they assumed was called a squad diamond in military parlance.