Location: Base Camp of Pakistan Anti-Terrorist Special Squad (Pakistan-Baluchistan)
I could feel the helicopter screeching the silence of the still darkness as it positioned to land itself on its assigned pad. I along with the members of my squad were tugging on the seat belts ready to take them off after having it around ourselves for hours.
I look outside and let the feeling sink in. The same feeling, I get every time we return from a mission.The feeling of being back home. Others might think that I am a completely nut-case for addressing our base camp as 'Home' or even a house, but for me; It's all I have and all I have ever known.
"Captain Emaan!" Azhar, calls out to me as he takes off the seatbelt. I notice we've landed and are ordered to leave the craft at once by the pilot. I too take off the seatbelt and leap out of the helicopter and join the rest as we walk back to the camp with Azhar walking beside me in complete silence.
" Everybody knows how you feel, and we too feel the same way." I hear Azhar's sympathetic voice, and all I can manage is a nod in response.
"Captain..." I turn my head to my right and see Azhar not beside me but a few feet away with his head turned to the helicopter we just aborted, and I too spot the guards carrying the dead body out.
I squeeze my eyes shut and turn back around and jog ahead of everyone and quickly let myself inside the camp.
Throwing myself on my assigned camp bed, I close my eyes only to open them momentarily and let the tears I've been holding back; to fall. This mission was the hardest. I felt broken and devastated and most of all I felt like a failure. I had no control over my emotion this time and everyone there noticed on how I reacted but I couldn't hold it back, I just couldn't.
A week ago we received an intel report on how there was suspicion on a few Taliban disguised as farmers trying to bomb a village school for girls. I along with a few other from the squad and 2 of our bomb diffusible squad volunteered to fly to swat to check the matter out.
The village; Uzaar Kherpur was small lively village with a population of 1500 people. We had to disguise ourselves as tourists, so we wouldn't alarm the people or cause any sort of suspicion. For three days and four nights we camped nearby the school and kept an eagle eye on everyone who came by. The villagers were kind enough to provide us with food and other necessities for which we were grateful. One local teenager, Abdul Kareem found fascination in the tourist that came to see his village as he would drop by twice daily to bring us fresh water and would always struck a conversation about life in the west, as we had told him we'd arrived from America. He seemed like a young jolly fellow who was eager to know more what the world holds.
Weeks had passed quietly and we got called back from the base camp to abort the mission as our superiors declared it as 'miss intel'. It was past midnight and we had to pack and leave before the villagers woke for the Fajr prayer. It was until Captain Azhar gave signal to our helicopter to get us from here, that one of our bomb-detector gave a signal.
Someone was going to bomb the school shortly.
I along with Captain Azhar and Captain Suleiman suited up and headed towards the school. Captain Suleiman is a professional sniper. We all took our positions with I, Azhar and two other members behind the school gate. One other behind the tree that hovered on the back wall of the school and Captain Suleiman on the roof of the school building. Holding my breath, we waited for the terrorist to approach. The cold breeze made it impossible for me to hold it on any longer so I tried breathing in and out of the nose. With my heart racing, I clutched my gun tighter and took a glance at the road the connected the village to the school; a shadow of a man caught my eye.
"Stand ready. Target is approaching the school." I heard one of the squad member through the walkie-talkie attached to my uniform.
"I repeat the target is approaching", It went off again.
My grip tightened around the weapon once again as I planned to take a last look at the suspect before giving orders to Suleiman to take him down. I poke my head slightly to get a glance only to be completely stunned at the scene before me.
Abdul Kareem is rushing towards the school. He is wearing a suicide vest. Abdul Karim, practically a child of seventeen years was the terrorist.
My heart stops. I couldn't believe it.
"Captain Emaan! Order to Shoot?" Suleiman is questioning me.
"Captain Emaan! Orders!""
"Captain!" The walkie-talkie goes off repeatedly. Everyone's yelling and I can't comprehend the fact that I would have to give orders to shoot a young boy. I could hear the thud of his boots as he runs towards the school.He is going to blow it and kill himself along with us all.
The thud gets louder and louder; Abdul Karim is getting closer and closer, I see him move his hand to the remote that he held in his hand, that connected to the bomb west and suddenly, he stops.
I seem him fall on his knees and through the moonlight I see his face turn white and his expressions wild and slowly they become still as he falls on his back toward the hard ground.
Suleiman had shot him twice.
"Mission Over"I hear Suleiman's voice, not from the walkie-talkie but by my side as he approaches me.
"Captain Emaan. The helicopter is here. We have to return to the basecamp at once" He said momentarily.
"We have to take him back." I said. "Abdul Karim. We have to take his body back."
"But Captain-" Azhar tried to intervene only to have me snapping back at him.
"The villagers are going to know once they see him. They are going to know that he's a Taliban who was about to blow up their school. They will not give him a proper burial and ridicule his remains. We need to take his body back and bury him." Looking away I barked the orders once more. And thus we arrived back at the base camp with his body.
And now lying in my camp bed, as I wait for my superior to report me and question the decisions I made.
AN: The story is going to be told with two character's point of view; Muzammil and Captain Emaan's .I am going to switch up the chapters between these two.
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The Pak Squad ( A Military Tale)
Action"Brother Aslam".." Muzammil whispered to his brother-in-law, who is busy going over the security arrangement with his fellow security officers. "Mhmm.. what is it Muzammil?" Major Aslam, turned his neck slightly asking him. "Who are those officers...
