blocking any visibility from the video feed as the MH-47 throttled up and began to torque straight up into the sky. The video followed the aircraft up, watching it nose forward over the ledge and speed off, ramp still open.
“ They’re away—”
The UAV video suddenly erupted with a billowing, grey and white image when the MH-47 exploded just above the landing zone. Burning pieces of the debris wafted into the deep crevice beyond the mountaintop.
Eversoll pushed away from the table and stood up. “Where did that come from?”
Rampert looked at him. “Do you really want to know, son?”
He was afraid for his commander. He was personally devastated. “Yes, sir. Damn right I do.”
“ Rerun it, VD,” Rampert said to Van Dreeves, sitting in the dark corner of the room.
The video picked up again where Eversoll could see Honeywell on the ramp, Jergens being flopped onto the ramp, and Colonel Garrett on one knee in the snow. The operator had enlarged the picture. It wasn’t great, but it was good enough to see the three men through the snow tornado created by the rotor blades. As the aircraft lifted off, the whiteout thickened, and there was no way to tell what happened next.
“ Stop it,” Rampert ordered. “See there. That’s got to be Colonel Garrett getting on the aircraft.”
Eversoll followed Rampert’s green laser. Through the snow, it was possible to make out a dark mass moving quickly onto the aircraft. As the video played in slow motion, the aircraft took off, nosed over, and then two streaks of light cut across the feed from right to left. Then the helicopter exploded.
“ Those could be RPGs or maybe even surface to air missiles,” Rampert said. “We’re not really sure. There could have even been an explosion inside the aircraft.”
Eversoll sat speechless for a moment. On one hand it seemed undeniable. Colonel Garrett was on the aircraft, and it exploded, killing him and the rest of his friends.
“ Sir, does the UAV ever go back to the landing zone?”
“ No. It follows the aircraft into the gorge. Why?”
“ How about Rampage?”
“ Watch it,” he said, motioning.
The AC-130 video continued to focus on the enemy that seemed to come pouring from nowhere. There were at least thirty on the mountaintop, cheering wildly as the helicopter exploded. Rampage’s 105 rounds expedited their meeting with Allah.
“ So, nothing ever gets back to the landing zone? The UAV and the AC-130, they never look at the LZ? Rampage couldn’t have killed everyone up there.” Eversoll’s mind was in high gear.
“ No, but we killed about forty AQ. Rampage had to break station about five minutes after this. They were out of gas. The team that went in Saturday afternoon saw some blood trails and a lot of shell casings from the firefight. That’s about it, son.” Rampert paused, then continued. “We never kill them all, that’s for sure. And there’s a cave complex up there. That’s where all those guys came from. I think we were onto something.”
“ But we don’t know for sure that Colonel Garrett got on that helicopter, General.”
“ We know it, son. It’s hard for me to accept, too, but we know it.”
“ The last image in the video that we know for sure is that of Colonel Garrett was on the ground.”
“ We found his dog tags in the wreckage, son.” Rampert stood. “We’ll talk more about this later. It’s been a rough couple of days.”
Eversoll stood, thanked the general and walked out.
As Eversoll departed, Rampert looked at Van Dreeves and said, “The real question is did he leave behind what he needed to?”
Van Dreeves looked at the general and said, “Actually, we can be pretty sure of that. What we really need to know is if the bad guys found it.”
CHAPTER 9
Spartanburg, South Carolina
Sunday Evening
The major sitting across from her had a serious tone. They had returned from their earlier visit in the morning in accordance with military
“ They’re away—”
The UAV video suddenly erupted with a billowing, grey and white image when the MH-47 exploded just above the landing zone. Burning pieces of the debris wafted into the deep crevice beyond the mountaintop.
Eversoll pushed away from the table and stood up. “Where did that come from?”
Rampert looked at him. “Do you really want to know, son?”
He was afraid for his commander. He was personally devastated. “Yes, sir. Damn right I do.”
“ Rerun it, VD,” Rampert said to Van Dreeves, sitting in the dark corner of the room.
The video picked up again where Eversoll could see Honeywell on the ramp, Jergens being flopped onto the ramp, and Colonel Garrett on one knee in the snow. The operator had enlarged the picture. It wasn’t great, but it was good enough to see the three men through the snow tornado created by the rotor blades. As the aircraft lifted off, the whiteout thickened, and there was no way to tell what happened next.
“ Stop it,” Rampert ordered. “See there. That’s got to be Colonel Garrett getting on the aircraft.”
Eversoll followed Rampert’s green laser. Through the snow, it was possible to make out a dark mass moving quickly onto the aircraft. As the video played in slow motion, the aircraft took off, nosed over, and then two streaks of light cut across the feed from right to left. Then the helicopter exploded.
“ Those could be RPGs or maybe even surface to air missiles,” Rampert said. “We’re not really sure. There could have even been an explosion inside the aircraft.”
Eversoll sat speechless for a moment. On one hand it seemed undeniable. Colonel Garrett was on the aircraft, and it exploded, killing him and the rest of his friends.
“ Sir, does the UAV ever go back to the landing zone?”
“ No. It follows the aircraft into the gorge. Why?”
“ How about Rampage?”
“ Watch it,” he said, motioning.
The AC-130 video continued to focus on the enemy that seemed to come pouring from nowhere. There were at least thirty on the mountaintop, cheering wildly as the helicopter exploded. Rampage’s 105 rounds expedited their meeting with Allah.
“ So, nothing ever gets back to the landing zone? The UAV and the AC-130, they never look at the LZ? Rampage couldn’t have killed everyone up there.” Eversoll’s mind was in high gear.
“ No, but we killed about forty AQ. Rampage had to break station about five minutes after this. They were out of gas. The team that went in Saturday afternoon saw some blood trails and a lot of shell casings from the firefight. That’s about it, son.” Rampert paused, then continued. “We never kill them all, that’s for sure. And there’s a cave complex up there. That’s where all those guys came from. I think we were onto something.”
“ But we don’t know for sure that Colonel Garrett got on that helicopter, General.”
“ We know it, son. It’s hard for me to accept, too, but we know it.”
“ The last image in the video that we know for sure is that of Colonel Garrett was on the ground.”
“ We found his dog tags in the wreckage, son.” Rampert stood. “We’ll talk more about this later. It’s been a rough couple of days.”
Eversoll stood, thanked the general and walked out.
As Eversoll departed, Rampert looked at Van Dreeves and said, “The real question is did he leave behind what he needed to?”
Van Dreeves looked at the general and said, “Actually, we can be pretty sure of that. What we really need to know is if the bad guys found it.”
CHAPTER 9
Spartanburg, South Carolina
Sunday Evening
The major sitting across from her had a serious tone. They had returned from their earlier visit in the morning in accordance with military
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