The Edge Of Justice

The Edge Of Justice Chapter 19

The ride was uneventful, though turbulence shook me awake seven hours later. Katrina and I spent a few hours going over maps of the cave network, which she made sure to tell me were sketchy at best numerous times. We came up with a battle plan, and relayed it to the Marines. I spent the last few hours getting know to the men who would have my back, and came to trust the six who would be moving into the cave network with me. Blaster, Adder, Viking, Curly, Blackjack, and Hammer were all from MARSOC Special Forces on a base called Camp Lejuene, tasked with storming the caves alongside me. We spent some time going over their weaponry and equipment, and I was glad to see that all their weapons were equipped with silencers. The pilot came on the speaker in the middle of our poker game to announce that we had arrived at Bagram Air Force Base with twenty mikes till landing. I turned to Blackjack, who had started packing up the cards and chips. “Mikes?”

“Minutes,” he answered.

“You military people and your jargon,” I chided. “Would it honestly be so hard to just say minutes?”

“When the word 'minutes' can get lost in radio static, yeah,” he chuckled.

I nodded and turned to Katrina, who was slipping cartridges with red tips into magazines, and talking to herself quietly.

I nudged Blaster in the ribs with an elbow. “What do you know about her?”

“That you do not want to be on the receiving end of that rifle,” he laughed. “She's deadly with it, and it is a sight to see.”

My thoughts went to my own wife, who could probably out-shoot the girl in front of me any day of the week. “I'm sure I've seen better,” I mumbled, and he clapped a hand on my shoulder.

“She'll have your back, through thick and thin, I know that much.”

The pilot came back on to tell us to strap in, and I moved to my spot next to the redhead, buckling the seatbelt around my waist. “You ready for this, Ghost?” she asked.

I nodded, closing my eyes and remembering the route through the caves I wanted to take.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

The plane touched down around midnight, and the Marines filed off, followed closely by Katrina and I. I breathed in a lungful of humid air. “Holy hell it's hot here,” I gasped.

“It's a desert, what did you expect?” Katrina laughed. She squinted across the tarmac, and smiled.“There's our ride.”

I followed her gaze to see two helicopters being pulled by tractors out of a hanger on the other side of the airfield. “Blackhawks, huh?” one of the Marines said, shouldering his pack. “I hate the damned things since Guam.”

One of the other Marines punched him in the arm. “It's not everyday they get shot up by RPG's, Blackstone. Lighten up, will ya?”

The pilots of the Blackhawks went through their final checks, and so did I. Checking my weapons one last time before the engagement, I made sure my throwing knives were securely in their holsters, my ninjato were oiled to protect them from the sand, and the bo-staff was fastened in place on my back. I pulled the sai and checked the edges for nicks, then shoved them back into their sheaths once I was satisfied.

The Marines did the same, then we split into two groups of eleven and boarded the choppers, Katrina and my team with me, support team on the other. The rotors began to spin and the craft lifted from the ground. I was offered a pair of headphones and put them on, and a bit of static crackled before the pilot's voice came through. “Welcome aboard two-one-deadly, Team Leader. My call-sign is Arrow, and I'll be taking you to hell this fine evening.”

I laughed and thanked him, and he continued. “We'll be dropping you about two miles from the compound, and waiting for your return. It looks like you'll be hiking in under cover of darkness, so we'll do our best to preserve your element of surprise. Running dark with no lights is risky, but necessary. The target area is just over a hundred and fifty miles to the southeast, and we'll arrive in just over an hour. Enjoy the ride, Team Leader.”

I spent the hour sharpening my ninjato, earning myself a superficial cut on the finger when the helicopter started jerking from side to side because of turbulence. Dragging the stone across the blade gained me a small audience of interested Marines, but I paid them no mind, intent on bringing the edge of the sword to a perfect edge.

Finally, the call came over my headphones that we would be landing in ten mikes, and I sheathed the blade, stowing the stone in a safe place on the helicopter. The chopper was hovering about four feet off the ground, and the Marines jumped before Katrina and I, Adder falling on his rear to much laughter from his squad-mates. The pilot had chosen a small plateau as a landing zone, and I could see for miles. The terrain was strange, mountains rising on every side. Sparse vegetation, no trees, and only rocks for cover.

The other chopper had touched down only twenty yards away, and we all grouped up and began the two-mile hike after waving the helicopters off. “Christian,” someone said, and I whirled, hand on my sai, scaring the Marine behind me.

A moment passed in silence before the voice sounded again. “Christian, it's Prince. I'm using the communicator embedded in your ear. Speak quietly, and I'll hear you.”

“What do you want?” I whispered. “We're about to get to work.”

“I'm aware of this. I've been in almost constant contact with Katrina since the plane landed, and I just wanted to wish you luck. One of our analysts will be on the line throughout your whole mission, guiding you along, giving you directions, ensuring you don't get lost in the maze.”

I rolled my eyes, almost tripping over a branch at the same time. “I don't need a babysitter, Prince.

I could hear the smirk in his voice. “You'll want this one.”

A small burst of static, and another voice came through my earpiece. “Christian? It's Stacey. How was your flight?”

I smiled, glad to hear the young woman again. “Tedious, but it got me here and that's all that counts. How goes it?”

“All's well,” she said. “I've got you up on satellite, and the earpiece also works as a GPS transponder, so I'll be able to follow you into the cave network, and be able to ensure you don't kill anyone we might be able to garner information from.”

“And how would you know if I were about to kill someone you might need?”

“Watch out for the rock,” she said.

“What rock-ow!” I hissed.

“The one you just banged your shin on,” she giggled.

“How in the hell?” I wondered aloud.

“The contacts,” she answered. “They also transmit what you're seeing to my screens, so make sure you let me see someone's face before cutting them down.”

I rolled my eyes, pledging to kill Wight for leaving that part out. “I'm not sure this is something you'll be wanting to watch, darlin'.”

Her voice softened, barely audible as twenty Marines and I trudged along the path. “I've both seen and been subjected to worse, Christian.”