Read Online Last Stand: Patriots (Book 2) by William H. Weber - Free Book Online
Authors: William H. Weber
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bombings in and around Baghdad had left forty-three civilians dead. In one of them, a man had detonated a shoe bomb in a Shiite mosque, killing eleven.
To the west, U.S. and Iraqi troops were in the process of surrounding the Sunni city of Ramadi. The civilians trapped in the city expected a Fallujah-type assault any time now. John was moving onto something about prisoner mistreatment when First Sergeant Wright appeared.
Sweat poured down Wright’s neck and John wasn’t sure if it was due to the stifling desert heat outside or the news he was about to deliver.
“I’ve seen that look on your face before , 1SG,” John said. “And both times you were bringing me bad news.”
“We found them,” was Wright’s only reply.
“P FC Hutchinson and PFC Davis?”
“Yes, sir. About three miles from here.”
Wright didn’t say more, not right away, and John had a good idea why.
“They’re dead , aren’t they?”
“Yes, sir.”
The muscles in John’s jaw tensed as though he were working something hard between his teeth. He’d been to the base dental clinic three times already for grinding. During the day his response to the stress was often to clench. In his sleep he tended to grind, but all that really accomplished was a slow erosion of his enamel. At this rate he’d be in dentures within a year.
“Found them in a gulley south of the village of Mufaraji.”
“Had they been…” John paused.
“Decapitated? No. They’d been tortured, at least as far as we’ve been able to tell, but they weren’t mutilated.”
“Good. It’s horrible when the family has to see that sort of thing.” Whether they heard it on the news or not, John knew they would find out once the body arrived Stateside. Of course, the barbarity perpetrated by the enemy only strengthened his will to destroy them. “Wait, what do you mean as far as you can tell?”
Wright’s eyes dropped. “The EOD team’s still working on them.”
Wright’s answer confused John for a moment. EOD stood for Explosive Ordnance Disposal. He asked his sergeant to explain.
“ Hutchinson and Davis were both rigged with an IED. Those initial explosives were attached to lines leading to others in the immediate area. The idea was to lure our boys in and then detonate to create more casualties.”
The bastards were using their commitment to leave no man behind against them. Now this would surely be in the news. Not that John gave a damn about the bad publicity. It was the young soldiers’ families having to hear about this. It was hard enough losing a loved one, but to lose them like this?
The other implication was something that showed ever so slightly in Wright’s expression. John had committed to bringing the missing soldiers home alive. A promise that he’d failed to keep.
Chapter 15
John awoke sweating profusely. He sat in the driver’s seat of his truck for a few moments, not entirely sure which was worse: the dream or his present reality.
After a simple breakfast of canned beans with Brandon, he went looking for Marshall. They were supposed to discuss the Chairman and a strategy for freeing Diane, Gregory, Emma and the Applebys. Making his way into the command tent, John looked around and saw that Marshall wasn’t around. In a corner of the tent, however, one of his men sat at a table with a radio, fiddling with dials amid a sea of static.
“Looks like not everything got fried by that EMP,” John said casually.
The man at the radio turned and introduced himself as Robert Rodriguez, call sign KZ4TG, a former military communications and electronics specialist.
“She’s an oldie,” Rodriguez said , making a dull clang as he patted the top of the radio. “I kept her in a Faraday cage, which is why she made it.”
John had done the same back at the house for a few of his more important items. He hadn’t bothered with radios in part because he’d never had the time to figure out how to use one properly. Although it had certainly been
To the west, U.S. and Iraqi troops were in the process of surrounding the Sunni city of Ramadi. The civilians trapped in the city expected a Fallujah-type assault any time now. John was moving onto something about prisoner mistreatment when First Sergeant Wright appeared.
Sweat poured down Wright’s neck and John wasn’t sure if it was due to the stifling desert heat outside or the news he was about to deliver.
“I’ve seen that look on your face before , 1SG,” John said. “And both times you were bringing me bad news.”
“We found them,” was Wright’s only reply.
“P FC Hutchinson and PFC Davis?”
“Yes, sir. About three miles from here.”
Wright didn’t say more, not right away, and John had a good idea why.
“They’re dead , aren’t they?”
“Yes, sir.”
The muscles in John’s jaw tensed as though he were working something hard between his teeth. He’d been to the base dental clinic three times already for grinding. During the day his response to the stress was often to clench. In his sleep he tended to grind, but all that really accomplished was a slow erosion of his enamel. At this rate he’d be in dentures within a year.
“Found them in a gulley south of the village of Mufaraji.”
“Had they been…” John paused.
“Decapitated? No. They’d been tortured, at least as far as we’ve been able to tell, but they weren’t mutilated.”
“Good. It’s horrible when the family has to see that sort of thing.” Whether they heard it on the news or not, John knew they would find out once the body arrived Stateside. Of course, the barbarity perpetrated by the enemy only strengthened his will to destroy them. “Wait, what do you mean as far as you can tell?”
Wright’s eyes dropped. “The EOD team’s still working on them.”
Wright’s answer confused John for a moment. EOD stood for Explosive Ordnance Disposal. He asked his sergeant to explain.
“ Hutchinson and Davis were both rigged with an IED. Those initial explosives were attached to lines leading to others in the immediate area. The idea was to lure our boys in and then detonate to create more casualties.”
The bastards were using their commitment to leave no man behind against them. Now this would surely be in the news. Not that John gave a damn about the bad publicity. It was the young soldiers’ families having to hear about this. It was hard enough losing a loved one, but to lose them like this?
The other implication was something that showed ever so slightly in Wright’s expression. John had committed to bringing the missing soldiers home alive. A promise that he’d failed to keep.
Chapter 15
John awoke sweating profusely. He sat in the driver’s seat of his truck for a few moments, not entirely sure which was worse: the dream or his present reality.
After a simple breakfast of canned beans with Brandon, he went looking for Marshall. They were supposed to discuss the Chairman and a strategy for freeing Diane, Gregory, Emma and the Applebys. Making his way into the command tent, John looked around and saw that Marshall wasn’t around. In a corner of the tent, however, one of his men sat at a table with a radio, fiddling with dials amid a sea of static.
“Looks like not everything got fried by that EMP,” John said casually.
The man at the radio turned and introduced himself as Robert Rodriguez, call sign KZ4TG, a former military communications and electronics specialist.
“She’s an oldie,” Rodriguez said , making a dull clang as he patted the top of the radio. “I kept her in a Faraday cage, which is why she made it.”
John had done the same back at the house for a few of his more important items. He hadn’t bothered with radios in part because he’d never had the time to figure out how to use one properly. Although it had certainly been
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