Yari was the only one still standing, leaning against the trunk of a tree and still going on about what life was like growing up in Indiana. None of the other men were interested in listening to Yari’s stories or his newfound energy. They just wanted to shut the day off.
Yari’s vocal recital accompanied the setting of the sun. His sullen demeanor during the day changed to non-stop talking as the sun disappeared below the horizon. However, after more than an hour of listening to Yari, everyone had simply tuned him out. Wade was the closest one to Yari, but was only listening with one ear to Yari’s white background noise.
As was the case for so many computer analysts, most of Yari’s work was done at night, when his brain seemed to function better than most. Storytelling compensated for the absence of computers in the field, but his only interested audience was night owls and tree branches.
The other men were half asleep, soaking up whatever warmth the dwindling fire provided. The low drone of Yari’s background noise didn’t keep anyone from going to sleep in his face, but neither did he seem bothered by the fact that no one was listening.
Charlie, lying with his head on his hand, glimpsed bright stars in spaces between fast-moving dark clouds. Max turned quietly to his side with his eyes closed. Wade, concentrating on the team’s next move, had his eyes focused on some mysterious point in the dark forest. He knew sleep would soon overtake him as he readjusted his position, nestling a few inches lower onto his rucksack. Yari went on speaking to himself, which didn’t seem to bother him.
With one eye half open Wade heard Yari mention something about the beauty of Indiana girls. He opened the other eye to catch the rest of the sentence, and that was when he heard the familiar sound of a pop followed by a sharp crack. Wade instantly realized that a high speed projectile had invaded the camp’s perimeter in a no-weapons space.
Wade looked up to see a small piece of bark fly off the tree branch a few inches from Yari’s head. It was like a light just went on. He put the two incongruous sights and sounds together and yelled, “Get down!”
Still oblivious to what had just happened, Yari turned to Wade and asked, “What?”
Wade grabbed Yari’s shirt and pulled him to the ground, repeating, “Down!”
Wade immediately knew that what came through their camp was a high velocity silenced round — that had just been fired at Yari’s head.
Jolted by Wade’s pull, Yari lay on the ground and asked, “What’s going on?”
Wade responded, “You were fired on. Roll.” And he pointed across the clearing to where the other men were lying.
In an instant, Max was on full alert in a prone position tucked against the thick bushes that surrounded the encampment. Charlie instinctively rolled twelve feet from Max and stayed tight to the bushes lining the camp area.
Everyone except Yari reacted with alertness and instinctively moved closer to the outer perimeter of the campsite. All eyes were on Wade.
Yari was still asking, “What happened?”
Charlie, who was next to Yari, turned and said, “We were fired on.”
“What?”
Wade rolled over next to Max and spoke quietly. “We took a round about three inches from Yari’s head.” He pointed to the barren piece of branch next to where Yari’s head had been.
By now they were all awake and attentive, their backs tightly pressed against bushes lining the edge of the clearing.
“Stay as flat to the ground as you can,” Wade ordered.
Whispering and using hand signals, Wade explained what happened and indicated the direction from which he thought the shot originated. “I’m pretty sure it was a silenced M-21. I heard the round hit a branch on its way in.” For Yari’s benefit, Wade once again pointed to the branch with the missing bark, so everyone was aware of the projectile’s direction.
Wade turned to Max and said in a low whisper, “I think the shooter is about seventy yards out.”
Wade drew a pictogram in the soft dirt: two semi circles and a straight line. Max knew exactly what Wade was thinking. Now that everyone was flush to the ground and safe for the moment, Wade explained what he wanted to do.
The campsite was higher than the ground around them and buttressed by a thick stand of large trees and bushes. Lots of dried twigs and leaves covered the ground for fifty yards around the campsite, making it difficult for anyone to approach without being heard.
Wade whispered to Max that he was going to roll to the other side of the clearing and suggested that he and Max begin a flanking movement in a semi-circle toward the shooter. He directed Max to stay low and referenced his diagram in the dirt for the pattern he wanted Max to follow. Wade’s impromptu plan would have them approaching the shooter from two different angles, meeting at the apex where the two semi-circles crossed, about seventy yards out. Max immediately understood Wade’s plan and signaled that he was ready.
Before giving the signal to Max, Wade wanted to think a moment more to ensure that he was making the right decision. He and Max would be approaching an armed sniper with nothing more than a field knife. If they tried to run or stay in place, the shooter could instantly pick them off one-by-one. They had the cover of a dark night with fog rolling in; maybe if they could get close to the shooter from two positions, he might get unsettled and leave the area. It wasn’t a great plan, but it was all he could come up with at the moment.
There were really no other options. He wasn’t going to sit still and remain a target. He had to move. After all, a trained sniper who already had them in his scope was repositioning for his next shot.
Chapter 8
Wade turned to Max looking for confirmation of his plan. “We have the cover of a very dark, overcast night on our side.”
As a seasoned sniper, Max anticipated Wade’s thought process. “A frontal flanking approach should give us maximum effect, assuming the shooter can’t get a clear shot at us.”
“That’s right. We’ll have to make sure he doesn’t get that shot. Remember the shooter probably has PVS 2 night vision goggles or a Starlight scope. Hug the ground like a snake. Keep obstacles between you and the shooter. Don’t let him get a clear shot.”
Max agreed and was ready to deploy. “I’m ready when you are.”
“I’m going to roll back to the other side. Move out when ready.”
“Copy.”
Wade rolled to the other side of the clearing to give final instructions to Charlie and Yari.
Still stunned by everything that happened, Yari asked, “This may be a dumb question, but why would you go after an armed sniper in the middle of the night with nothing more than your field knife? Am I missing something here?”
“It’s our only chance. Otherwise, he’ll pick us off one at a time.”
Trying to make logical sense of Wade’s last statement, Yari couldn’t think of a decent follow-up question.
“You and Charlie stick together,” Wade continued. “I’m putting Charlie in charge of your team. Stay flat on the ground for thirty minutes to give us time to draw the shooter’s attention. After that, belly crawl 100 yards to the south. There’s another clearing. Wait there flat on the ground, preferably with trees between you and the direction of the shooter until we return. Understand?”
Yari and Charlie nodded.
“When you make your move to the new location, stay as close to the brush line as possible. Give the shooter the smallest possible target at all times.”
Yari started to ask another question when Wade cut him off. “Just listen to Charlie and follow his instructions. I’ve got to deploy.”