A Promise Kept Ch. 03

"I don't know anything about that," I told her, "We were sent on a training operation, no more, no less."

"Michael I know better," she said, "So; please don't lie to me."

"Rita, listen to me, this is very important," I gently told her, making her look into my eyes, "I can't talk about what I do for the Navy. Even after I get out of the Navy, I still can't talk about it, not ever."

"I'm trying very hard to understand that, baby, I really am," she sniffled, "It's just not fair though."

"I'm really sorry about that, Rita," I empathetically replied, "But there's nothing I can do about it."

"Will you make love to me, baby?" she softly asked, gently climbing into my lap and removing her shirt...

~~~~~~

"Mmm, baby" Rita softly purred, stretching after making love for an hour straight, "That was so nice, Michael baby, it's always good with you."

"I aim to please," I grinned, as I rubbed my hand up and down the front of her body, gently squeezing her beautiful breasts, and then on down to the small dark patch of her mons, "Plus, I like the way you cheer me on while we're doing it."

"I'm glad," she sweetly giggled, "Besides, I certainly don't mind to let you know when you're doing something that I like, baby..."

~~~~~~

That evening when I left Rita's house, I had stopped to get some gas when my pager went off. Of course I went to the nearest pay phone and called in, only to find out that, this time, only Danny and I were to meet Dave at Special Operations Command. Don't ask me why, I sure as hell wouldn't even begin to try and guess what our superiors had in store for us. However, one thing that I did know from my experience as a SEAL thus far, I knew that small teams were used for something usually very hazardous...and also very dangerous. I also made certain that I called Rita back to tell her what was going on in case she didn't hear from me for a few days

"Dammit, Michael," she suddenly began to cry, "This isn't fair...it isn't fair at all."

"I'm sorry, Rita, I really am," I compassionately told her, "But you knew this is who I was when we met; it's not like I waited until after I slept with you to tell you."

"You bastard," she snapped, "That was mean, Michael," and then she began to cry again, "I just afraid that something is going to happen to you."

"Relax, sweetie," I softly told her, "I won't be gone for very long..."

~~~~~~

SPECIAL OPERATIONS COMMAND 1600 HOURS

"This is "Operation Snapshot", Admiral White began, "We've received unconfirmed information that there are American POW's being held against their will in Northern Laos. The place where they're being held is in a camp, fifty clicks east of the Mekong River, tucked in between Communist Burma and Southern China. Your job, gentlemen, is to HALO in, taking photographs of the area, the compound itself, and last but not least, I want definitive proof that there truly are American's being held captive against their will."

"This is totally on a voluntary basis," Dave added, "So, if you choose not to go, it won't be held against you."

"I'll go," Danny grinned, looking at me, "What about you?"

"Why not," I said, "It's not I have anything better to do," which elicited laughter around the room.

"I'm happy to hear that, Mike, you, too, Danny," Admiral White nodded his approval, "I paged you guys because I happen to think that with your two strengths combined, you guys are not only an unstoppable force, but also the most capable Frogs we've got."

"Did ya hear that, L.B.?" Danny grinned, "It's official, now...we're the Best in the West, partner."

"Jeez," Dave playfully groaned, "You shouldn't have said that to these two, their heads are big enough as it is, Sir."

"Do you want us to engage them if we find Americans, sir?" Danny hopefully asked, "Why don't you let us take a full team of six men, and..."

"You will take pictures, Lieutenant, and pictures only," White quickly interrupted him grinning, "Do I make myself clear, sailor?"

"Yes, sir, Admiral White," Danny respectfully replied, "Crystal clear, sir."

"You guys know what will happen if you get caught so; I won't go into that at this point," Admiral White told us, as he stood, making us do likewise, "Good luck gentlemen..."

~~~~~~

SOMEWHERE OVER LAOS 0330 HOURS

It was dark out side, and Danny and I were in the belly of a C-130 at an altitude of roughly 35,000 feet. This was definitely going to be a HALO jump for the simple fact that if we flew any lower, the Vietnamese, or maybe even the Chinese would've ordered at least two MiG-29's into the air to investigate, and then we would be screwed. The purpose of flying at this level was so that on any ground radar screen, we would appear as a Commercial Aircraft, nothing more...pretty smart, huh?

"Alright," Danny told me, going over the op once more to be certain, "You're sure you know what to do, L.B.?"

"Would you relax?" I grinned, "We've been doing this shit for a while now. Haven't I proved myself to you already?"

"Yeah...you have," he grinned, patting me on the shoulder smiling, and then worriedly began to frown, "But you've never been on a gig that's this hot before. You stay directly behind me. Do you understand?"

"Alright," I relented, "I understand, Bro..."

~~~~~~

After turning off the white lights and switching on the red ones, Danny slowly depressurized the cabin, allowing us both to easily adjust, and then he opened the back doors of the aircraft. Needless to say it was pitch-black outside; as the new moon hadn't begun waxing toward its full cycle yet. Plus, it was slightly cloudy, according to the weather reports.

We'd been ordered not to break radio silence once we were out of the aircraft and on the ground so; basically, we were on our own, hence the term "Disavowed". Don't get me wrong, we'd been given a maximum of two days to do our jobs, but we were strictly and specifically ordered not to engage the enemy under any circumstances, as this was only a reconnaissance mission, and that was it, no more, no less.

~~~~~~

As we jumped out of the aircraft, a strange and foreboding feeling began to take up residence inside of me. Danny and I made certain that we stayed within eyesight of one another, least we get lost in the thick ass jungle that lay a little less than seven miles beneath us.

The air was thick and humid, and I wasn't surprised when it began to rain not two seconds after we landed. Danny took a reading for the purposes of establishing our location, and then we got to work digging in for the night until sunrise. Hell we sure as hell weren't going to be going anywhere in the rain, or the darkness. I did take a quick look around though, and was grateful for the dense jungle that would be not only our cover, but also our salvation in the hours to come...

~~~~~~

The sun began breaking over the eastern horizon around five-thirty that next morning, and with it came the knowledge that were had a job to do, and it was time to get moving. I was glad that we weren't going to have to fight anyone, because I sure as hell didn't feel like getting shot at that morning. I didn't feel like a lot of things that morning, but knowing that there might be captive Americans over the next horizon became a strong motivator for the both of us...

~~~~~~

Like I'd said earlier, I was somewhat happy that it was raining, because not only did it keep the Laotian government ground troops indoors, but it also meant that there would be no air patrols while the rain still fell.

"Alright," Danny quietly told me, "Once we top this hill, we'll be able to see the compound. You know what to do, right, L.B.?"

"Roger," I grinned, "I'm right behind you, bro."

"Good, he smiled, "And I want you to stay behind me, too."

~~~~~~

The moment we reached the top of the hill that Danny had spoken of, I could see the compound that was roughly five hundred yards below us. It was in the neighborhood of ten thousand square feet in size, and according to the intelligence reports we'd received at briefing, the big hut nearest the fence line that was closest to us was the where the prisoners were being kept.

All of a sudden I heard the loud sound of a horn blowing, as the soldiers from not only the barracks, but also the poor ragged souls within the prisoner's hut, all came running into the compound apparently reporting for morning muster, at least that's what it looked like to us.

The camera that I'd been issued had a rather long, but powerful telephoto lens on it, making it easier to take pictures from a distance. I looked through the lens, and after spotting four men who were clearly American, I began taking as many pictures as the camera's automatic exposure motor would allow.

"It's getting lighter outside," Danny whispered, "We need to pull back so that we don't get spotted, or else this whole party will be for nothing if we get captured."

"Yes, sir," I quietly replied, as we backed farther into the jungle away from the compound...

~~~~~~

"So, how many pictures did you take?" Danny asked me, once we were far enough away to talk to one another without being heard, "I saw at least two Americans down there, what about you?"

"Actually, there were four of them," I smiled, "And according to this camera, I got twenty-three pictures so; there's no way the Laotian, or the Vietnamese governments can deny it."

"That's great," Danny smiled, "I wanna go back later to see if there are any more, okay?"

"I don't know," I uneasily replied, "I think we ought to stay here for now. Command is going to make initial contact tomorrow morning. Hell, we've already got all the proof we need to burn the Laotians and Vietnamese at the NATO peace talks in two weeks."

"Maybe so," he said, "But I want to get indisputable proof."

"We already have indisputable proof, man," I crossly replied, "Don't be stupid, dammit."

"Hey, I'm leading this operation, Masterchief," he quietly, but angrily told me, "And we go when I say we go. Is that clear?"

"Yeah, crystal clear," I quietly growled, "But I've got as bad feeling about this shit, Danny...Come on, man."

"Relax, L.B.," he grinned, "I've got your back, man, come on, Mike; it's gonna be okay; I promise..."

~~~~~~

After taking a few more pictures of the overall compound, as well as making it a point to find out which of the four buildings there was the armory. Of course that was done once we saw two unarmed soldiers enter the building farthest away from us, and then come back out carrying AK-47's with an ammo belt fastened around their waists.

Granted, we may have been ordered not to engage the enemy under any circumstances, but that didn't mean that we weren't armed. Hell, I carried not only an M-16, but I was also carrying two nine millimeter pistols, as well as an MP-5 just in case I found myself in a close quarter's battle.

Still though, orders were orders and I knew that if I so much as fired one shot, that all hell would break loose, and whoever they sent back in here to extract the Americans we found would lose the element of surprise, making this operation a complete and utter failure. And that was not about to happen, especially because I was part of it...

~~~~~~

It was nearing evening, but it was still light enough to complete our mission, and we did, taking pictures of the area as well as the camp, communications shack, command hut, etc, before we extracted that next morning. However, we had to wait until established a scrambled contact with the Commanding Officer of the aircraft carrier, the USS Kittyhawk, letting us know he had her sitting on station, somewhere out in the South China Sea.

It had been my experience in the over six years, since I'd joined the Navy, that, logistically speaking, the USS Enterprise, or the USS Nimitz were the two new powerhouse weapons that the government to "Rustle the bushes" so to speak. But both were indisposed at that time; and had been called elsewhere and the Kittyhawk was there in their stead. To be honest, none of us really cared which ship they sent, just as long as we had a reliable ride home.

~~~~~~

EARLY THAT MORNING SUNRISE 5:47 AM

"Kilo Hotel, this is Tiger-Two," Danny said, into his radio, "How do you read?"

"Loud and clear, Tiger-Two" was the reply, "Your taxi is on the way, and will be in your area in ten, Kilo Hotel, standing by."

"Man," I nervously said, "They better get here quick, or otherwise we're gonna get caught."

"Nah," Danny grinned, holding up his radio, "This radio signal is scrambled, and these gooks are slow when it comes to decoding."

"Let's hope so," I told him, "Otherwise I'd be pissed at you for volunteering us for this fucking operation to start with."

Whatever," he grinned, "Come on, L.B.," he grinned, "The chopper will be here by the time we get to the rally point..."

~~~~~~

We were almost at the rally point and could hear the chopper churning the sky, approaching us from somewhere in the distance. I could barely see the clearing in the distance when all of a sudden; we began receiving gunfire from our left side, making the both of us hit the ground.

"Shit," Danny groaned, "I'm hit."

"Where," I asked, turning to find that the entire lower half of his left leg looked like mincemeat, and he was bleeding in squirts, "Shit, hold still for a minute while I come stop the bleeding."

The minute I raised my head, enemy gunfire tried to cut it off. As I looked around, I could see soldiers approaching our location from the distance. Suddenly Danny took off his belt and wrapped it around his right thigh, just above the knee.

"Get your ass out of here," he groaned, "I'm not gonna make it back."

"Bullshit," I replied, "You're coming with me, hell; I'll carry you if I have to."

Suddenly I heard our radios come to life as the chopper pilot said, "Tiger, Tiger, this is Taxi One, acknowledge."

"Roger, Taxi one," Danny said, "Popping white smoke," and then he pulled the pin on a smoke canister, throwing it into the clearing just ahead of us."

"I see your white smoke, Tiger," the pilot replied, "Will be on your ten twenty in thirty mikes, Taxi One, standing by."

"Get out of here," That's an order...I'll take em out so that you can get the picture back home. Those poor bastards are depending on us...it's all up to you now...Don't ever forget me, L.B."

"I said, bullshit," I told him, my eyes beginning to fill with tears, "Don't you do this to me, you son of a bitch...please, Danny...I can't do this shit without you, man. Can't you see that?"

"I gave you a direct order, L.B." he plead, "You've got to get the photos home..."

~~~~~~

He left me with no choice but to leave him there. I knew that when the enemy captured him, he would be tortured beyond reason, if he didn't bleed to death first. Either way every time I attempted to get to him, he shot at me.

"Come on, L.B." he softly begged, "Let me do this for you, otherwise we'll both die, and the operation will be a failure," and then I saw a Laotian Red Guard coming upon us with his AK-47 blazing. I saw him coming and raised my weapon and dropped him, but not before he pumped at least three more rounds into Danny, placing him in the fatally wounded category.

"Go now," he groaned, "I've got three satchel charges that I'm gonna take the rest of these bastards out with...get out of here NOW," and then I saw the chopper approaching.

"I'll never forget you, my brother," he told me smiling, "Hoo-Yah...now get out of here," and then he began shooting at me with his MP-5, driving me toward the chopper.

~~~~~~

"What about your partner?" the pilot asked, "Where is he?"

"He's dead," I said, "Let's go," and then the chopper took to the air.

However, right before we left the immediate vicinity, I could look down and see that the enemy was nearing Danny's position. I knew that he was almost dead when I heard his voice on the radio softly say, "This is Tiger Two, signing off...Alpha...Mike...Foxtrot," (which means, "Adios, Mother Fucker), and then there was a big explosion...

~~~~~~

SPECIAL OPERATIONS COMMAND 48 HOURS LATER

"I tried to get to him," I told Admiral White and Dave Turner," But every time I tried, he shot at me."

"I understand," Admiral White quietly replied, "You guys got some excellent pictures."

"I want to be a member of the team that goes in after the Americans," I asked Admiral White, "Please sir?"

"I'm sorry, Mike," he told me, "It's just not possible."

"And why not," I asked, a little overzealously, I've already been there so; that's gonna make me the wisest choice to lead a team back in there, sir."

"You need to check your tone of voice, sailor," he growled, "You know the routine, Mike, you're on stand down till the Navy thinks you're fit enough to return back to duty."

"Is that right?" I spat, "I mean no disrespect, sir, but this is bullshit, and you know it," and then I turned to walk away."

"Wait right there, Mike," Dave angrily replied, "I'm not going to let you..."

"Leave him be, Dave," I heard Admiral White say, as I was leaving, "He's gonna need a lot of time to get over this, I promise you."

~~~~~~

Chapter Twelve

After debriefing was over, I went straight home, took a shower, and then climbed into my bed, throwing the covers over my head in the process....

~~~~~~

THE PRESENT

By this time, tears were silently rolling down my face as I looked at Mr. John, who himself had tears in his eyes, and told him, "Your son died saving my life; and just so you know, I was the who made damn sure that his family received the Medal Of Honor that he was awarded post-humously."

"Thank you for telling us how he died, son," he gently told me, "Now his mother and I can have a little closure, Michael."

"You're welcome, sir, ma'am," I quietly replied, Kara holding tightly onto me as I stood, "I need to go home now...I know you understand how emotionally draining this was for me."

"Of course we do, chere," Ms. Etienne smiled, standing to hug me, "Thank you for everything, Michael, baby. You come see us from time to time, okay chere?"

"Yes, ma'am," I told them, then I looked at Kara and Jayne, and asked, "You guys ready to go home?"

"I hope you don't mind, Michael," Jayne sniffled hugging me, "But I need to be with my family for a while. I'll be home in a couple of days if that's okay."

"Sure it is," I replied, "You take all the time you need, sweet girl."

"I love you guys very much," Jayne said, hugging Kara and I at the same time, "And thank you, Michael, from the bottom of my heart..."

~~~~~~

The End for now...

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