Part 9

"Plant yourself down here, boys," Buck roared across the room. Nathan and Chris grinned at the exuberant captain who was sitting at ‘their’ corner table in what the men had affectionately dubbed ‘The Saloon’. It was a veteran’s bar - or at least, returned and serving service men had taken it over. Unlike other such bars scattered all over the country, this one did not have the traditional military regalia adorning the walls. Rather, the theme was the old west, which suited E.M.6 - J.D. in particular - just fine.

Tonight, Buck was celebrating. Only three hours after Chris had put them on full alert, he’d cancelled the order. General Travis had activated Special Forces to take care of The Hawks. Special Forces consisted of a platoon of thirty-five highly trained combat soldiers. If they couldn’t handle the Hawks, no one could.

Buck raised his glass as Chris and Nathan took seats around the table. "To Special Forces. May they and the Hawks become better acquainted."

"Where’s J.D.?" Nathan inquired.

"He and Ezra are working on cracking the code to get into that second file. Don’t reckon they’ll be joining us tonight."

"Ezra spending a whole night with J.D. That would be interesting viewing," Nathan remarked with smile.

"Where’s the Preacher?" Chris asked. Josiah had taken on the nickname, ‘The Preacher’, some time in Katinda. The big man’s affinity for telling stories had only been part of the reason. Josiah had actually been a minister some time in his former life, but something had caused him to leave the calling. The big man had shared little of his past, only that ‘I had trouble turning the other cheek’, and ‘I found God, but I never found religion’... or more correctly, ‘God found me but I never accepted man’s interpretation of God.’ Chris knew Josiah’s faith in God was unshakable but the Preacher’s trust in those who preached the word was practically non-existent.

"Preacher’s in the bathroom. He’s already put away at least a gallon of whiskey."

"Looks like you aren’t far behind him," Chris commented.

The smile on Buck’s face faltered slightly. "Yeah, well, we dredged up a few memories I haven’t visited in a while."

"Our memories don’t need to be painful," Josiah stated, returning to the table. "Not all our memories of Kat. are bad."

The men settled, allowing their minds to wander back to a place that had marked them forever. Most of the other occupants of the ‘saloon’ were just as somber. Some came to forget - some to remember - but all came to find others who understood the mixed emotions they felt. Both the retired soldiers and those currently serving their country as active members of the armed forces felt comfortable here among their own kind. There were always one or two loud groups, but the majority of the men kept their conversations hushed.

Josiah watched as his colonel fingered Buck’s bottle of whiskey. Chris was a million miles away - caught in a time warp. The huge ex-preacher decided to take a chance. It was time to break down the barriers and bring their lost friend out into the open.

Without warning, Josiah’s face lit up with a mischievous smile. "Do you remember the day Vin and Buck..."

"Don’t," Chris ordered. For a split second, Josiah thought that it was an order, but he could see the mirth hidden in his leader’s eyes. Chris knew exactly what incident his Sergeant was referring to.

"I’ve never laughed so loud in all my life," Nathan commented.

"I came very close to shooting both of you," Larabee grilled softly, his eyes narrowed at Buck.

"Hey, now wait a minute. I’ve told you a hundred times I had nothing to do with it. It was all Vin’s idea."

"I find that hard to believe, Buck."

"Look, I swear I don’t know how he did it." All of the men glanced at Chris laughing. There was something strangely relaxed about their leader’s face - but then, Vin always had that effect on the serious, professional soldier.

"You should have seen the look on your face that day, Chris. It was priceless."

"The look on Chris’s face. What about the look on Travis’ and those other Generals?"

"Don’t reckon they’d ever seen a helicopter spinning upside down. At least not one on the ground."

Larabee grunted. "Do you have any idea how long it took me to explain to Travis..." Chris grinned, unable to maintain the stern look on his face. His men erupted with laughter again. All too soon the laughter echoed out and the group became quiet once again. It was the first time since Vin disappeared they’d even mentioned him or anything he had been involved in. Larabee’s orders had been very clear. None of the men were EVER to mention Vin Tanner again.

"Good evening, Senors. The usual?" the pretty bar attendant asked, interrupting the quiet group.

"Thanks, Inez."

"The young one and the fancy man aren’t joining you tonight?"

"Afraid not, darlin’ but you can come and take a seat. It would make my night to have the pleasure of gazing on someone so lovely," Buck proclaimed, raising his eyebrows.

Inez rolled her eyes and returned to the bar. Nathan and Josiah made the sound of a plane crashing. "May day, may day. Engine failing. Oh no! Buck bites the bust again."

"She can barely resist me," Buck insisted. "The young lady is struggling to maintain control of her emotions."

"Well, she’s doing a mighty fine job of it."

"There are some things that can’t be rushed," Buck claimed. "One of these days..."

"...you’re gonna realize that when Inez says no, she means it," Nathan laughed.

Buck opened his mouth to reply but Inez returned to the table. "Why, thank you. You know, you remind me of a lovely Mexican dove." Inez frowned, shook her head and then strode away. "Her resolve is crumbling," Buck claimed with a delighted grin.

"Whatever you reckon, Buck."

"So, Chris, you think the Hawks will back down?"

Larabee shrugged. "I don’t know. Something brought them to the States. I don’t think the likes of Special Forces is going to scare them away. Kane must have something important on his mind and I doubt the fifty million has much to do with it."

"Innocent bystanders will be hurt."

"I’ve warned Travis."

Again silence descended on the group as they drank quietly, watching the other customers drown their memories of the many wars that had affected their lives.

"Chris?"

"Mmmm."

"Nothing."

Larabee glanced at Nathan. "Go on."

"I was just wondering if maybe... no. Doesn’t matter."

"If we should spend some time trying to find out what happened to Vin now the war is over?" Chris murmured.

Nathan licked his lips and then nodded. Chris Larabee had an intimate understanding of his men.  They had lived in the jungles of Katinda for almost three years together under the most horrific pressures. The bond established was unbreakable and afforded each of them a unique understanding of one another.

"I’ve thought about it a thousand times, but nothing’s changed, Sergeant. If Vin had been there to find, we would have found him. Now, we’d be going back looking for a bundle of bones. Vin wouldn’t want or expect us to return to that hell-hole to do that. The only thing we have left is honoring what we think his wishes would have been. And he would have wanted us to move on." Every word was whispered and full of inner conflict.

"You don’t think he’s dead, do you, Colonel?" Josiah asked gently.

"What I think is that Vin will always be with us in one form or another," Larabee stated as he rose to his feet. "Night boys." With that, the Colonel disappeared through the batwing doors.

"He didn’t answer the question."

"He can’t," Buck stated. "He knows Vin’s dead, but he can’t bring himself to consciously accept it."

“To do so mean’s losing the other half of his soul,” Josiah agreed, softly.

**********

Chris stood staring down at the simple wooden crosses in the small fenced section of the property. Behind him was the burnt out shell of what had once been his ranch home. The fireball that had consumed it had been so intense the house literally melted. The County had been sending the colonel final notice after final notice, demanding he do something to rectify the ‘mess’, but each letter had ended up in the trash.

The three acres of unkept wilderness had been Chris and Sarah’s dream. How quickly it turned into a nightmare. Larabee crouched in front of the graves of his family. He stared at the phrases he’d personally hand carved into the wood. ‘Rest in peace, my darling wife Sarah’, ‘Always in my heart, my little Adam’... and ‘Please forgive me, Cowboy’.

Chris sighed long and deep.

The night had closed around him and he knew if he didn’t leave now, he wouldn’t arrive back in D.C. until after dawn. Slowly Larabee rose to his feet. The cell phone in his top pocket began to scream insistently. For several seconds Chris ignored it as he dragged himself back to reality.

"Larabee." He listened. "Fax it through, General." Chris hung up and depressed a button that sent a three word message to five beepers. ‘We’re on, boys’.

**********

It was just after dawn. E.M.6 was collected in the conference room discussing the urgent orders General Travis had faxed.

"That isn’t gong to work, Colonel. You’re leaving yourself wide open," J.D, argued, pointing to the spot on the map.

"I could circle this way, Sir and take out any guards on this side, but if there’s anyone passed the water tank, I’m not going to get a line on them."

"If there’s anyone on the water tank, we’re sunk. They’ll be able to cut us down before we can move into position," Nathan agreed.

"What if... or..." It was impossible. "And they’re likely to have at least three men up there," Larabee murmured.

"Only place we could take them from is here," Buck stated. All of the men began to shake their heads.

"It’s too far. None of us are that good," Josiah argued.

Ezra sighed. The solution was very obvious, but none of the former members of the STF1 appeared prepared to admit it.

"What if I was to plant a charge... but I’d have to get there first."

The phone in Larabee’s office rang. The Colonel turned and left the room to answer it. The men became quiet.

"Buck?" Chris called. The pilot rose and disappeared into his leader’s office.

Ezra eyed the others. "We need a sharpshooter on the team." The statement brought wary looks from Nathan and Josiah. "I know it will be painful for Colonel Larabee - for all of you, but the bottom line is we need, and have needed, a professional marksman since our conception fourteen months ago."

"It’ll never happen, Ezra," Nathan argued softly.

"But it must," Standish insisted forcefully. "He is endangering our lives for a man who is... Look, I’m sure Lieutenant Tanner was a good man, but surely he wouldn’t want you risking your lives for the sake of his memory. We need a sharpshooter. There are a lot of very talented marksmen who would give their right arm to be a member of our little band. I’m sure we could find the kind of man who...

Josiah Sanchez exploded. Josiah rarely lost his cool, but when he did it was quick and violent. The huge Sergeant leapt to his feet, a fist the size of a bowling ball waving under Ezra’s nose. "YOU WANT TO KNOW WHAT KIND OF MAN VIN TANNER WAS, STANDISH?"

"Easy, Josiah!" Nathan warned, grabbing his enraged friend and dragging him back from Ezra. Josiah didn’t seem to hear the medic and continued with his furious onslaught.

"Vin had been with us three *&%@ing weeks when..."

"JOSIAH, don’t. Not Kim Mai!"

(WARNING: The next scene outlines a graphic war scene that may cause distress to some readers. If you feel you may find this offensive, please scroll through until you finding the row of hashes like this. ##############. The hashes mark the end of the scene. All you need to know is that something horrific happened that marked the boys forever. Thanks.)

Sanchez shoved Nathan away. "He wants to know why we can’t replace Vin. He wants to know what kind of man Vin was, well, I’m going to tell him," Josiah paused, collected himself and stared across at Ezra. The big man’s face was a picture of agony and determination. "We were called to a small village called Kim Mai."

"Josiah, please," Nathan pleaded. J.D. swallowed. He had never seen Josiah look this angry or Nathan so horrified.

"Population 80. A day and a half earlier, a Kat Cong raiding party travelled through with a French platoon about six hours behind it. To slow down the platoon, the K.C. tied three of the men of the village to the trees surrounding the community. But those bastards hadn’t just tied them there." Sanchez’s voice faded. The anger was leaving him, drained away by the brutal memory filling his mind.

Nathan had sunk down into his seat; his hands clasped together, his face down. Josiah drew in a deep breath and patted Nathan’s shoulder in silent apology. He hadn’t meant to upset his friend. "I’m sorry, Nathan. I got carried away."

"No, I think you’re right. I think we should tell them. They deserve to know what kind of man Vin was. You see," Nathan stated, taking up the story in a strained voice that clearly showed how painful he found it to reflect on the incident. "The K.C. had mined and booby trapped the area around the trees so getting to the victims was impossible. Worst of all, they’d secured the men with wires connected to mercury switches."

"Any attempt to untie them would set-off the sophisticated devices attached to each of those civilians," Josiah explained. "But the explosion wouldn’t kill them. The Kat Cong weren’t that merciful. Movement would only trigger a minor explosion which would release and spread a powdered chemical over the man’s body." Josiah shut his eyes, trying to maintain his composure.  He regretted starting this.

J.D. glanced at Ezra. There was something about both Nathan’s and Josiah’s voices and faces that caused the young man to shudder.

"The chemical used was D672. I don’t know if you’ve heard of it, but D672 is a cruel acid the medical profession is yet to understand or treat. Those villagers had been promised a very slow and agonizing death. First, they would experience minor burns from the explosion. Then, the D672 would, over the period of three days, slowly burn the flesh from their bones. And it would happen while they were still alive."

J.D. felt physically ill. He’d never heard of such an atrocity.

"It would have taken three long days for those men to die, and die in an agony you could not even begin to imagine. But we knew, because we’d seen D672 at work before."

There was dead silence in the conference room.  The STF1 had been confronted with horror in its purest form.

"You don’t need to go on," Ezra stated. Like J.D., he was affected by the looks on Josiah and Nathan’s faces. He didn’t want to hear the rest of the story.

"No, it’s important you know. I want you to understand why Chris can, and will never, replace Vin." Josiah paused to collect his thoughts. "The French platoon sent for us because they knew of my expertise in explosives."

"If anyone could work out a way to bypass the mercury switches, it was Josiah."

Sanchez sighed. "It was impossible, at least, not in the time we had. The three men had already been out there for a day a half."

"They were weak and suffering from exposure. No one had been able to get close to them because of the minefield and booby traps. The families of the men were hysterical by the time we arrived. They knew about D672 and asked us for a miracle, but... " Nathan began to shake his head.

"I could have bypassed the switches, but I didn’t have the time or the equipment I needed and getting it flown in would have taken at least twelve hours. Those men didn’t have that long. They were dying of exposure and dehydration. If we had only been able to get to them, but the &*%@ing mine field..."

"What did you do?" J.D. whispered. The atmosphere in the conference room was tense, uncomfortable and becoming worse with each passing second. The young technology expert found it suffocating.

"Chris radioed for orders and what came back was official clearance for Chris to ask the victims themselves what they wanted.  We were to carry out their request, whatever that may be. We already knew what it would be. Since we’d arrived, all three men had been begging for a quick and painless death."

J.D. Dunne’s jaw fell. Ezra Standish lowered his head. The latter had anticipated that course of action. By the sound of it, it was the only path left open to the dying men.

"But..." J.D. gulped

"There was nothing we could do. The men were dying. Insects and birds of prey were already pecking at... we just couldn’t leave them hanging there being attacked by all manner of creatures. " Nathan swallowed as the sobs of the women and children, and screams of the victims filled his mind. The vision of the men being attacked by the birds and swarmed by the insects caused the hardened soldier to tremble. The same helpless feelings he had felt that day resurfaced. Josiah reached out and squeezed his companion’s shoulder.

"Chris asked Nathan how much longer he felt the three of them would last. The diagnosis wasn’t great. We couldn’t just stand by and watch them suffer." Josiah breathed out. "They were begging for their suffering to end and we had official clearance to do just that. I remember watching Chris walk up to Vin. I remember him placing a hand on Vin’s shoulder." Josiah swallowed. "Vin didn’t flinch. He just listened and he nodded. He understood what he had to do."

"Oh, God," J.D. gasped. He suddenly realized where all of this was heading.

"A bullet straight through the heart was the only way. It was the painless death the three men were begging for. There was no way of saving their lives. It would have taken us at least eight hours to clear a path through the mines and then hours more for me to operate on the switches... without equipment, I’d likely set off the charges and those men didn’t want to die at the hands of D672. A quick death was the only humane way to rescue them from the horror they were living. They knew that and so did we. Chris had to choose his most accurate shot, and that was..." The explosive expert felt his control desert him as he remembered all too clearly what had happened that day and what it had done to his young friend. "Vin was only twenty-two $%$@ing years old.  He’d only been with our unit for three &%$@ing  weeks."

Nathan could see Josiah’s temper was at breaking point.

"Easy, Josiah," the medic soothed. Turning to Ezra and J.D., Nathan continued. "Vin had only been with us three weeks, but he didn’t question Chris. He nodded and walked up to the rest of the villagers with Chris as the colonel explained to them what we were going to do. The people didn’t react the way we expected. They began to pray thanks to their Gods for sending us to deliver the three men from the torture they were enduring."

"I spoke with each of the men and we prayed together. All three of them shouted their thanks to us." Josiah swallowed. "Vin loaded his rifle. He took aim and fired three times. He didn’t pause, just did the job that needed to be done." Tears began to stream down Josiah’s proud face. "It was the children that made it so difficult. We’d suggested the villagers take them away, but they were adamant they stay. None of the kids realized what was going on when Vin started to fire. When the firing was over there was this unreal silence, and then two of the kids started to scream. It was the most horrific incident I have ever experienced during two wars."

"It took Vin less than three seconds to end the suffering of those men. A single bullet each." Nathan explained.

"The villagers flocked him, thanking him over and over again for saving their loved ones - saving them from a fate worse than death itself. For granting their dying wish."

Josiah covered his face with his huge hand and finally broke down.

#########################################

(Scene is over. What was in it? A mercy killing. Vin was forced to take the lives of three civilians in order to save them from a long suffering death.)