Sending Messages

Chapter 13 Launch

The Osprey lifted off the deck of the Iowa and sped into the night sky. Inside was the special operations team with their gear. Just two hours before, the men had received their final briefing, updating them on the latest intelligence and last minute instructions. Captain Chapman had received further instructions privately from both Hammond and General Richardson via secure comms.

Chapman made his way back and took a seat beside Ricks. “Master Sergeant, it looks like we need to get there as fast as we can. Our bosses think things are starting to rattle Parente a little and he might just pull the plug and snuff these people. I have to rely on you to get us in there and get the job done. You know how best to evade and get to your destination. Just don’t take a couple of weeks to do it like you did in Korea,” he said leaning over to Ricks.

Ricks nodded in understanding. “With all we’ve been through, I can understand it. We proved we can do it in South Carolina. Right now, we need to get on the ground and get going. As I mentioned before, I’m not sure how easy we will be able to get through that jungle growth. With eyes overhead, we should be fairly safe from ambush, but if we’re having to cut our way through, we’ll be dead tired before we get anywhere near that compound. Let’s hope our intel is right and we can make it on time.”

Chapman leaned in again. “You got that right. If we don’t make it tomorrow night, our transport will leave without us. I really don’t want to carry these people all the way to Colombia. Did you get the gear checked out again? We’re beating it up pretty bad.”

“I had the guys triple check it before we took off. At least we’re not jumping,” Ricks said.

Chapman nodded. “How about those legs of yours, they up to the task?”

“Another good reason not to jump, but I brought my spares. I’ll walk your asses into the ground,” Ricks said with a grin.

Chapman laughed. “Nothing like carrying around a cripple,” he joked. “By the way, your buddy Hammond seems to be a great guy. I think I’d like to serve with him.”

Ricks laughed. “You’ll have to stand in line. He takes care of his people. Most everybody I talked to think he’s a saint.”

“Where did you meet him?”

“Actually, it was aboard the Iowa. He got his MOH the same time I got mine. Later that afternoon we swapped stories and made friends. Since then he’s kept up with me and dropped by. His wife Patricia is his twin. They are a lot alike and she helped my wife, Su Lynn get a few things going. That’s how she got enrolled in the local college. In another few years, she will have her degree in horticulture. I just hope she doesn’t decide to leave an uneducated cretin like me,” Ricks joked.

“I don’t know, some of us cretins can be useful,” said Chapman.

The aircraft banked sharply and the men could feel it slowing. The crewman motioned for everyone to buckle up. In a few minutes, the aircraft seemed to hover for a minute or so, then the men felt a bump as the plane’s wheels hit a deck. After another minute, while to men could hear metal pieces hitting parts of the plane, the engines were shut down and the men unbuckled and exited the rear of the aircraft.

In the dim light, they could barely see that they were on a small deck. It appeared that the blades of the Osprey hung out over the water. Someone with a helmet came up.

“Gather your gear and follow me inside quickly. The ship will begin her high speed run in just five minutes. You need to be inside,” he said.

Each of the men gathered their gear and followed the man into a door next to what appeared to be a hangar towards the bow of the ship. Once inside, the door was shut and the overhead lights were turned on. A Navy Commander came forward to greet them.

“Gentlemen, welcome aboard USS Freedom. I’m Commander Hill, the Commanding Officer. I wish I could offer you some better accommodations, but for the next four hours you are going to be on one hell of a joyride. Store your equipment here and Petty Officer Macke will show you the messdecks. We’re going to get you a hot meal before you set off. Until then, make yourselves at home,” he said. The sound of turbines speeding up increased in the background and the men could feel the ship seem to surge ahead. After wishing the team good luck, Commander Hill left for the bridge and the men went down to the ship’s messdecks. The television was on and several crewmembers were watching a movie. Ricks noticed that the ship was starting to feel more like a motor boat than a large ship. It seemed to bounce more and on occasion it seemed to jerk around a bit. A set of numbers was prominent beside the television set. The numbers were passing 45. Little did they know that they were looking at the ship’s speed.