The following story is a work of gay fiction. If the subject matter is offensive to you or you are too young, please exit now. This work is the property of the author and may not be reproduced without permission. John Tucker JETjt@aol.com
SUPER JEFF
Chapter Twenty-nine
JEFF'S POV
Scotland was beautiful and the golf more than a bit unusual. If a real Scottish course was `transferred' en mass to the U.S. there would certainly be a mixed reaction, to say the least. The heather roughs are very difficult to play reliably from, sand traps abound; not just on the edges of the fairways but smack dab in the middle, and most of the traps are deep with vertical faces, making a shot at the green impossible.
The four of us, Kayden, Terry, Chris and I were having a wonderful time. The two of us from the U.S. found the two Brits delightful to be around and once we got the hang of some of the language' understood all that was going on around us. We still had to ask occasionally about some of the slang that they used but it was a minor inconvenience. Of course then we ran into the Scots. In some ways it was harder to understand them than the proper' English spoken by our friends, but easier than a couple of the London dialects' that we were exposed to on our night out'. That night we'd run into a couple of Aussies and another couple from India which made Chris and I wonder if we really all spoke the same language.
It was unfortunate that Rick and Mandy weren't with us. On the flight to London, Rick announced that his father had asked him to travel to Southampton to represent their company in a business meeting. They left for the coast immediately after our welcome by our hosts, then called the following evening. After hearing that there were no new developments in our parents' case, Amanda announced that they were going to take the Chunnel Train to Paris to meet some of her friends from school who had traveled there. At the beginning of the summer she'd planned to go with them, but that plan had been cancelled because of the folks' kidnapping. She promised to call us daily. I'm sure that Rick would have enjoyed the golf trip, but I guess that's the price you pay when being in love with a girl who has no interest in golf.
The Scottish countryside was beautiful, but gave us a new appreciation for the hardiness of the Scots. Not only were their golf courses a challenge, but the damned wind blew constantly and seemed to change direction each time you looked to it for some help'. Only once were we challenged by a squall' but managed to get properly dampened before we donned our rain suits. Of course by the time we got into the rain gear it stopped raining. We left the protective coverings on for one hole before deciding to brave the elements again, as the extra clothing impeded our swings.
I was glad to have the distraction of golf as my mind wanted to wander to Tyler's efforts to rescue our parents. One thing I had long realized about golf is that if you think about anything but golf as you go around the course you'll play poorly. It was the perfect solution to my nervousness. If we had played any nondescript courses, I'd have probably let my game suffer while I worried, but I was in such awe of the courses we played that I forced my mind to concentrate on my game. I think Tyler must have planned it this way when he insisted that we play.
On the second day in Scotland, we played St. Andrews. I was unashamedly in awe of this daunting course. Kay and Terry had both played there before, and of course we had caddies to point us around and give us advice. We three shot in the mid-to-high seventies, which I considered good, but especially good for playing courses we'd never played before, including the unfamiliar `links' variety.
I was particularly proud of Chris. Even though he scored the highest in our group his scores were just over 80, more than remarkable, considering that he was fairly new to the game which at best, is a difficult game of coordination and concentration. It is good to see his confidence build. He is no longer the meek and afraid boy he'd been when we first met. It would be difficult to say that he is yet truly gregarious, but he's come a long way from being the introvert that he was. Even though each new experience fills him with wonder, his confidence has slowly built so that change no longer frightens him. His physical and muscular growth and developing athletic skills have combined with the personal security he now feels to face head-on the challenges of the world. Even though I'd fallen in love with the guy I'd met earlier, the new Chris means even more to me, if that's possible. I inwardly rejoice at his achievements, giving him encouragement, while being careful not to overdo it. It wasn't any of that however that made me love Chris. In spite of his new confidence, he's remained that same sweet boy I'd fallen for. His compassion for others and his deep caring for me is a gift far beyond any personal achievement.
I've changed too. B.C. (before Chris) I'd appeared to others as arrogant. I didn't want to appear that way, but when you have all of life's physical rewards handed to you on a silver platter it's difficult not to appear that way. Sure I worked hard (for me) on developing my physical, mental and musical skills, so I was not one of the `idle rich'. I guess that I just never before understood that the rewards of having people you care about, that you wanted to please more than being pleased, are far greater than the achievements themselves. I understood now, that achievement for me had been easy. I had the mental capacity to learn easily and was gifted physically, making those accomplishments a natural outgrowth of my God-given abilities. I had musical talent and was outgoing and friendly, drawing people to me when I desired. I now realized that I had used all that which I'd been given selfishly, for my own ego. With all of that going for me, I realize now in retrospect that then I had no one who loved me for myself, for the Jeff within. I was lonely and didn't really know it.
I can thank Chris for making me see the light. Although I'm sure that he was initially overwhelmed by all the trappings that my parent's wealth displayed, and I'm even sure that he was flattered by my attention to him, given my social status in school, he quickly cut through all that crap and found the inside Jeff. Yes, he found the real me and loved me, even though I really didn't deserve it. As he changed, so had I. I began to love the love he gave and to crave it. More than that, I found that I wanted to please him more than I cared about him reciprocating. He became my pride and joy. I find myself now wanting to be a better person because of him, not a person who achieves more for himself but one who gives more of himself to others, starting with Chris.
When we had finished playing golf, we found a pub that Kayden assured us would serve us. We took a quiet booth, got our dark brews, and sipped them as we talked about the round of golf we'd just played. As we reached a point of complete relaxation, my cell phone rang. Pulling it from my pocket, I flipped it open and said, "Hello, this is Jeff."
"Hi Jeff," the voice answered. "This is Tyler."
TYLER'S POV
The flight from Rome to Athens had been short and comfortable. The young agent from the Athens office of Worldwide Security, now owned by Aztec-Turner met me at the biz-jet terminal and soon had me whisked to the office. After a short visit there, exchanging pleasantries with the staff and discussing our business, I was ushered out the back door to a waiting vehicle. From there I was taken to the commercial passenger terminal where I was handed a ticket folder for my seat on El Al bound for Tel Aviv. I was told that my luggage had already been checked through and that the stubs were in my ticket folder.
I really hoped that my movements had not been observed by terrorist agents. If they were monitoring my plane, they'd be disappointed to see it still tied down in Athens for the next few days. My driver had taken a round-about route from the office to the terminal, making sure that we were not followed. In less than an hour from my arrival at the Athens airport the large plane moved away from the gate to begin its flight.
Once the plane was in the air, I laid back and closed my eyes. I still felt a bit unsettled from the time changes and air travel, but was determined that it wouldn't curtail my activities or involvement in the rescue.
In Tel Aviv as I exited the jetway from the plane I was delighted to see a friendly face. Gary Franklin, the manager of the U.S. Southeast region of Aztec, was standing talking with another suited man. As Gary spotted me he rushed to my side, where we exchanged hugs. Gary had left his companion to follow at a more leisurely pace.
"Hi Gary," I said with a huge grin. "How's Jessie?"
Gary had been a Las Vegas FBI agent and had thwarted the successful bombing of one of our planes in an effort to kill the four Turner adults who were aboard. Later I had convinced Gary to come to work at Aztec-Turner and even later, had promoted him to manage the Atlanta regional office of the company. While in Las Vegas, Gary had fallen in love with Jessie Fox, an ex-lover of Tyler's brother Ron. At first shunned by all of us because of his unhappy break-up with Ron, Jess had taken the Recreation Director's job at the Thornton Center after the shooting and untimely death of its first Director, Barry Young. Proving himself to be a remade man from his earlier days, Jessie had fallen in love, this time for good. His new partner was Gary Franklin.
"Jessie's great," Gary beamed. "I'll fill you in on all the news this evening. "Now I'd like you to meet Zachariah Feldman. Zack is attached to a certain organization I won't mention in public. He also works for us under cover. Zack is in charge of the case we're working on. We'll fill you in when we are in a more private setting.
"Nice to meet you Zack," I said, offering a handshake.
"A double pleasure to meet you Mr. Turner," Zack said breaking a small smile.
"Please call me Tyler," I asked with a much larger smile. "I look forward to working with you."
"Let's recover the luggage and we'll go to your hotel," Zack suggested. "We can talk there."
"Are you sure it's secure?" I asked.
"Yes, we've swept your room for bugs and have had it under surveillance for the two days since. We swept the room again an hour ago and sealed the door. It should be fine."
"If you're satisfied, then so am I," I agreed. "Your `company' has a reputation for being very thorough."
"Thank you. So does yours." Zack commented as he led the way to the baggage claim.
In moments the baggage arrived, was retrieved and stashed into the rear of a non-descript four-door sedan that was parked in the parking garage. A drive afterward through harrowing traffic found the three of us arriving at the hotel where a room had been reserved for me, next to, I found after checking in, my friend Gary's room. After entering the room and closing the door Zack asked me to unpack so that my luggage could be scanned.
"I can see first hand, that you're exceptionally thorough," I said as I placed the luggage on the bed and began to comply with Zack's request.
"Yes, even though we know that El Al's employees are given thorough security checks, your luggage has been out of your sight. It would be foolish to secure the room and not check everything entering or leaving it. Ah, I see the security tape is still in place. That is good, but not conclusive. The tape is specially constructed so that when peeled off it will leave tell-tale markings on your luggage. The markings are difficult to remove unless you know what you're doing and the tape is nearly impossible to replace without it showing. "
"Since my luggage will be marked," I said, "How do I remove the markings when I get back home."
"It's a state secret," Zack replied, "so you can't tell anyone."
"Agreed," I promised
"Mayonnaise," Zack whispered, "Helmans."
I broke up laughing. "My lips are sealed," I said smirking after my laughter had subsided.
Zack's eyes twinkled at his agency's peculiar choice of solvent and my reaction.
After checking out the luggage and contents, the three of us adjourned to a small seating area of the suite.
"What's the latest?" I asked Gary.
"The transmitting devices were delivered to Dr. Richards as planned. They are on temperature delay and require some time after insertion to activate. We know that Bin Laden underwent surgery on Friday. Hopefully the transmitter was placed in his body at that time. Our plan is to swoop in on Tuesday at 3 AM to execute the rescue. If we're able to locate Bin Laden, we'll go for him, but our primary mission is to rescue the Richards who have also been provided with transmitters, but on a different frequency. If we cannot locate Bin Laden, we'll rely on the transmitters at a later time. Unfortunately, their range is only about 5 miles so even with pretty sophisticated listening equipment it will still be a challenge."
"I'd like to go along," I requested.
"I hardly think we will agree to that," Zack replied. "This attempt will be by Israeli Special Forces. I'm sure they won't take the risk of someone not trained by them to participate."
"I've been trained in SWAT maneuvers," I argued.
"As have I," Gary countered. "I requested to go too and was refused."
"Do they have an English speaking person on their team?" I asked in one last attempt.
"I'm not sure," Zack replied. "I'll ask."
"Are they going to use helicopters?" I asked.
"Yes, that's the plan," Zack replied.
"If we can't go on the actual ground part of the mission, we'd like to at least be on the choppers. We're damn good marksmen if they have a need."
"We can only ask," Zack said. "Don't get your hopes up though."
"We're more interested in success than glory," I assured him.
"Tomorrow we'll meet with the Army," Gary informed me. "I've met with them twice and am convinced of their capabilities."
"They're fearless, if they measure up to their reputation" I agreed.
"I'll leave you two then," Zack said as he stood. "I'll meet you in the first floor café here in the morning at 9:00. Go ahead and eat. I'm up at 6:00 so I'll have eaten. I'll just have coffee."
Gary and I stood, and I extended my hand.
"Thanks again Zack. Your connection here with the powers-that-be has been just what we needed."
"It was my pleasure meeting you Tyler," he responded. "You're quite a bit different than I envisioned."
"How so?" I asked.
"I expected a desk-bound executive, somewhat older and out of shape," Zack replied. "Instead the boss man is young, trim and fit. I like the real you."
"I'm afraid you don't know the real me," I replied with a laugh. "That's okay though. I'll let you keep your delusions."
"If you mean the gay part, don't worry about it," Gary interjected. "I accidentally outed myself, and Zack blew off the revelation like I'd told him I had a mole on my cheek."
"Yes, you Americans are so paranoid about things that don't matter," Zack said. "The measure of a man is not determined by the gender of who he sleeps with. I'd not make it common knowledge while we're here though. Just like anywhere there are assholes here too."
"Thanks, I agree," I said. "Our first responsibility is to our clients. There's no point in muddying the water for no purpose."
"I like you more every time you open your mouth," Zack said with sincerity. "Well, I'm off. See you in the morning."
"Bye Zack," I said as he walked to the door.
"See ya then," Gary echoed.
Gary and I again took seats.
"What's your honest evaluation?" I asked Gary.
"From what I've seen so far, the Israelis are trained, have good intelligence, and are properly equipped to handle the job. I'm sure we couldn't have begun to match their capabilities in such a short time."
"That's good to know," I said. "What's the force going to be like?"
"There will be a strike force of five choppers, four transports and one Cobra gunship. Each chopper has the normal capacity for 20 troopers plus the crew. There will be 16 troopers in each chopper in case one is downed there will be excess capacity in the remaining ones to evacuate the others. In a pinch each chopper can physically handle 26 without overloading. Each of the choppers will have a gunner in addition to the normal crew, for ground support. The Cobra will remain aloft and will take out any exterior resistance. It will also have missiles for both air defense and ground attack. Two of the transports will discharge their troopers on the roof then land for the evacuation. The third and fourth choppers will land and take control of the first floor and building perimeter where the evacuation will take place. In addition, the Israeli Air Force will have F-16 fighters ready to take off if there is sufficient opposition. It will take them only minutes to reach Damascus if necessary."
"Isn't this operation a huge risk for Israel?" I asked.
"Yes, of course," Gary said. "Israel has no compunction though about using force against terrorism. Syria is well known for harboring terrorists, but is far too poor and weak to take on Israel's militarily alone. Syria, along with Iran, are the two most anti-west nations in the Middle East. Iran however poses no direct threat to Israel in that it shares no common borders with Israel like Syria does. If the Richards had been taken to Iran, it's unlikely that Israel would have helped us."
"Do you think that the Al Qaida guards are under order to execute the Richards in the event of a rescue attempt?"
"We're not sure," Gary said, but the Israelis will have two undercover agents inside near the Richards' room disguised as maintenance men. They will not act as long as the Richards are left in their rooms."
"What about Bin Laden? Are they going to go for him?"
"Only after the Richards are rescued," he answered. "At this stage we don't know where he's staying. We understand that he never stays in one place for more than one night. If the locater beacon leads to his quarters, they'll make an attempt. There is a slim chance of getting him though. First, the element of surprise will be gone. Second, he'll be well guarded and third, I'm sure that he has an escape plan."
"I'm glad the Israelis are conducting this raid instead of our own government," I said. "I suspect that the U.S. would try to take Osama out with a smart bomb, and damn the consequences with the Richards."
"I suspect that you're right about that," Gary agreed. "Superpowers tend to take the meat- ax approach even when delicate surgery is called for. The Administration has a lot at stake as far as Bin Laden is concerned and I think they'd be tempted to flatten half of Damascus if they were sure it would result in Bin Laden's death."
I yawned.
"I'm sorry Gary, but I'm exhausted," I said. "Let's take this up again in the morning."
"You got it, my friend," Gary agreed as he stood and started toward the door to the hallway. "I'm right next door if you need anything. I'll come by and tap on your door at 8:00 AM. That way we can be finished with breakfast before Zack arrives."
"Good plan Gary," I agreed. "Goodnight."
"Goodnight Tyler," Gary said as he stepped through the doorway and closed the door behind him.
I had not lied to Gary. Within 10 minutes of his departure I was asleep.
The next day was interesting and exciting. After waking, getting ready, and eating breakfast with Gary, Zack showed up right on time. He sat with us, talking about the day's possible activities as we drank our coffee. At 9:30 we left the hotel and drove for 30 minutes to a military base where, after careful checking of our identification, we were issued passes and admitted. Zack knew the way to the Administration Building where our identification was again checked and compared to our passes. Once inside Zack led us to the offices of Col. Krackenhauer, who was the officer in charge of the rescue operation.
You could tell at once that the Colonel was all business. His office was tidy, his desk clear of papers, except for one or two that he was reviewing as we entered, and his clothing, though just fatigues was clean and crisp.
"Ah Mr. Turner," he said rising as we entered his office after being admitted by his aide, "It's good to meet you at last. Mr. Franklin and Zack," he continued. "It's nice to see you again too."
"Thank you Colonel," I said with a smile. "You must believe how grateful we are to you and your government for this rescue attempt."
"We are always happy to work with our American friends to combat terrorism. As you know we are a small country but fiercely independent. Every citizen here has compulsory military duty, though of course, most are not in active military service. We are surrounded by enemies and depend on our allies to help us keep the peace."
"As you know, we are not working directly through our government," I said. "If I may speak frankly, we were concerned that our government might act unilaterally since Osama Bin Laden is involved and that our clients' lives might be considered expendable. I've been assured that the opposite is true with your government."
"I'd be lying if I told you that the possibility of capturing or killing Bin Laden was not what got us interested," the Colonel responded. "On further investigation, we found some interesting information. It seems that your company is on the brink of some interesting discoveries."
"You are very thorough," I said with a smile, prepared for this turn of events. "Regarding the subject to which I'm sure you're referring, we have two pilot plants presently under construction in the U.S. One is constructed to economically convert sea water to fresh water, while the other will manufacture hydrogen as an economic alternative to gasoline, diesel, and kerosene as sources of fuel. Our research on a much smaller scale has already proven the viability of the discoveries. I am authorized by my company to agree to negotiate either a licensing agreement with Israel, or if financing is a problem, to construct and operate plants here by our company."
The Colonel smiled.
"I like you, Mr. Turner. You get right to the heart of the matter without mincing words."
"Thank you, Colonel Krackenhauer. We recognize the benefit that our discoveries will have for the world. Water is of course our most important resource, but most of it is salt water. In arid countries, particularly those that border the ocean, or in your case the Mediterranean, our conversion plants can turn those lands into a virtual oasis. Our hydrogen plants can reduce dependence on fossil fuel, we estimate, by 80% or more. We have even taken water from the Dead Sea here and the Great Salt Lake in our own country and put it though our test facility. Both of those land locked bodies of water have a greater concentration of salt than the oceans. The processing was successful at negligible increases in cost."
"While most of our neighbors in the Arab world will rejoice in your water desalinization discoveries, I'm sure you'll get the opposite reaction from your hydrogen discoveries," the Colonel prophesied.
"To a degree I believe that you're correct Colonel. As I'm sure you're aware, the Turner family is very wealthy. Given enough time we could ourselves, supply the entire world with enough fresh water and hydrogen to meet all foreseeable needs. We, however, are not greedy. In addition to building many plants ourselves we intend to license our discoveries so that everyone benefits soon, rather than 40 years from now. It is our contribution to world peace. As for the oil producing countries, including our own, our discoveries will not totally replace oil, particularly in the short run. We all know that oil ultimately is a dead end street. Whether we run out of oil in 20 years or 100, we will run out. Our discoveries will delay that day far into the unforeseeable future. It is my brother Ron's opinion that without our discoveries, the next world war would be over oil and it would be fought on your doorstep. It is in no one's best interest for us to hoard our technology, simply for the purpose of being richer."
"You are amazing," the Colonel remarked. "It appears that you've given this subject a lot of thought."
"Yes," I agreed, "we have. Anticipating your needs and probable interest, I've brought along with me both a licensing agreement draft and a business agreement draft for your government's review. If you have an immediate interest, we can have a negotiating team here within days. We also have plans for our plants that can be easily adapted for your use. You could be under construction in only months and within a year be producing fresh water and hydrogen."
"If your agreements make economic sense, I'm sure we'll be interested," Krackenhauer said.
"You'll be amazed at how reasonable our agreements are. The poorest countries can afford our processes. Our only limitations are with the parties of our agreements. It is not our intention, for example to deal with oppressive dictators, simply to give them another weapon that they can use against their own people to increase their own personal wealth. Those leaders will be standing at the end of the line. It's unfortunate that we may have to deny their people early relief because of the leaders' greed, but with the magnitude of our discoveries, it is impossible to give it to the whole world in sufficient quantity to make a real difference immediately. Therefore some selection process is necessary."
"We'll be delighted to review your proposals at once Mr. Turner and get back to you without delay. I guess one thing has me baffled. Our discussion on water desalinization and hydrogen production is 180 degrees away from security issues which are the real reasons we're meeting. I guess I don't understand your personal involvement with the Richards' abduction."
"My first love is the security business," I explained. "I have a degree in Criminal Justice. Ron Turner is really my half-brother. We had different mothers and were raised without knowing about each other. When our parents died and we discovered our relationship, I was already in the security business, and Ron was running my father's large and successful other businesses. We decided to purchase the company I was working for and subsequently have become the largest private security company in the world. When we decided to back the discoverers of the water and hydrogen processes, we realized that they, the scientists, had no interest in running the businesses, only continuing their research and enjoying the fruits of their discoveries. We decided that I should head the new water and hydrogen companies, and at the present time I'm in the process of doing just that. I will be turning the operation of the security business over to Gary here within the next month."
"Ah, now it makes more sense," the Colonel remarked.
"In the process of personally phasing out of the security end of our businesses," I continued, "I became acquainted with the son of the Richards, Jeff, who was seeking our help with his parents' kidnapping. I decided that I was personally interested and further that it would be the last case that I'll become involved with before I transition into running the water and energy businesses."
"Excuse me for changing the subject, but our investigation of you and your companies has revealed a rather unusual family arrangement with you and your brother."
"We're gay, if that's what you referring to," I said. "Does that give you any problem?"
"Oh no, no, no!" the Colonel said apologetically. "I didn't mean anything derogatory."
"I'm glad," I responded. "Our personal life is our own business. Anyone who chooses to make an issue of it will have a hard time doing business with us. That's the way it is and the way it will be. Our motto is, `We're gay. Get used to it!'"
"I hope I haven't upset you," the Colonel said
"Not at all," I said smiling. "We are all VERY happy and well adjusted. We just have no room in our lives for bigots. I'm sure that you as a Jew can appreciate that."
"Well put," the Colonel said.
"Now, let's talk about the rescue," I said, changing the subject. "Gary and I would like to go with the rescue team."
The colonel was now visibly nervous.
"I heard of your request though Zack. I'm afraid that going with the team itself into the building is impossible. Our team has been working on this operation as a team for two weeks. Even if you were fully qualified, I'd be reluctant just because you're not trained in the operation. It would be an added burden to the team and might jeopardize the operation," the Colonel explained. "I am willing to concede that you can each go along on a rescue helicopter, but you can not leave the aircraft once you're there. If you're proficient with sniper equipment and prove to be qualified, we'll equip each of you with a sniper's rifle and you can operate with the aircraft's machine gunner as back-up."
"We understand. Where and when do we qualify?" I asked.
"Now would be most convenient," he replied. "It has to be understood that if you don't qualify you remain here."
"Agreed," I responded simply.
"The sergeant that I'll assign to you will take you afterward to a briefing by the captain who is leading the team. If you qualify, you join the team; if not you return to your hotel. In either case Zack will need to pick you up at midnight as the final briefing will be in the morning at 0100 hours."
The Colonel rose from his chair, motioning us to remain seated, and stepped to his desk. Picking up the phone, he summoned the sergeant who entered seconds later.
"Sergeant Eberstein," he said to the new man as we stood at his arrival. "This is Mr. Turner and Mr. Franklin that I told you about earlier. You of course know Zack."
"Nice to meet you gentlemen," the sergeant said.
"Likewise," we returned his greeting and offered our handshakes.
"If Mr. Turner and Mr. Franklin qualify at the gunnery range," the Colonel explained, "they will join the rescue team as helicopter sharp-shooters. If not they will remain here. In either case, after the qualifying they are to be taken to the briefing by Captain Yankovic at 0100 hours. You will accompany them and make the introductions."
"Yes sir," the sergeant responded stiffly before looking at us. "Please follow me."
"Thank you Colonel," I said as I handed him the agreements, we'd discussed.
"Thank you, Mr. Turner," he said with a smile. "Good luck."
We followed the sergeant as requested.
The shooting went better than I had any reason to hope for. The gunnery range sergeant presented our weapons and spent 45 minutes explaining the weapons' operation including the night scope with which they were equipped. It was not unlike similar weapons we'd used and we were impressed with their feel and balance. Unlike long range sniper rifles, the weapons were sighted in for 300 yards and were semi-automatic.
Once we were on the range we were instructed to fire in a variety of positions and a variety of lighting conditions. As we handled the weapons, the sergeant commented that he recognized our expert and safe handling of the pieces of ordinance. That was in our favor.
Both Gary and I spent 20 minutes apiece firing at a sequence of targets, both still and moving, in a variety of conditions and positions. From what I could tell, we scored very well. Then we were taken to a special part of the range which was unlike any I'd ever seen. We were told to adjust the sights to 2000 yards and told to fire at a target downrange at that distance. On the left side of the firing line were huge fans that were started up and we were told that they produced side winds of 50 kilometers per hour along the bullet's path. After a little quick mental arithmetic, I approximated the wind speed in MPH and began shooting. I was off the mark a bit, but once I saw where the first shot went and made the corrections, I fired off 5 more rounds more accurately, emptying the magazine. Gary followed suit and shot equally well.
The gunnery range sergeant had been recording our scores but had said little during our shooting. When we were finished, he handed the scores to our guide, Sergeant Epperson and said. "Please follow me and sign out your weapons and ammunition."
The grin on my face was matched only by Gary's.
We followed the gunnery sergeant who provided us with cases for our weapons as well as 200 rounds of ammunition each. Zack, who had been watching, carried the ammunition as we carried the gun cases, leaving the range.
"We'll just make the briefing," our guide announced as he indicated that we should follow him in our car to the briefing area as we had to the firing range.
Arriving at a large hangar building we were taken into a smaller briefing room adjacent to the cavernous hangar space while Zack remained in the car with the weapons. The teams inside were seated by group. The aircraft teams were seated together as were the individual assault groups. We were escorted to the raised platform where Sergeant Eberstein saluted the Captain standing on the platform and handed him the papers from the gunnery range. The Captain's eyebrows rose when he looked at the scores.
"Captain, I wish to present Mr. Tyler Turner, and Mr. Gary Franklin," the sergeant said. "Mr. Turner, Mr. Franklin, this is Captain Yankovic, who will lead the operation."
"I must admit I'm not too pleased to be taking civilians on this operation," the Captain said, "but I see that you're more than qualified for your jobs as helicopter snipers. I accept you with reservations, and only under the conditions that you can follow orders. If you disobey my orders I cannot be responsible for your safety. And if you willfully disobey to the point that the mission is endangered, you may be shot."
"Captain," I said with all sincerity, "We understand and agree fully to follow your orders. We're far more interested in the success of the mission than any personal agenda."
"Good," he said pointing. "Please take your places with the aircraft crews and we'll get on with the briefing. Afterward, we'll get you outfitted with the appropriate gear."
"Yes sir," I said as we moved to the area where the helicopter crews were watching us with interest.
"Gentleman," the Captain said to the curious teams before him. "This mission has a new ingredient...."