Brothers In Blood: For Country

"What did we get ourselves into?"

fourteen minutes later, all of the men were assembled in GD’s living room. Jack was wearing a pair of Whip’s jeans and Mac’s shirt which hung off him like a toga. One of the suits who had visited Mac on the mountain was standing in front of the TV, the remote in his hand. Another suit was standing in the corner where the liquor cabinet had been. Scud gestured towards the suit with the remote. “Looks like Agent Smith from the Matrix.” Whip snickered.
The TV flashed on and Agent Smith stepped aside. he put a DVD in the player and moved away from the entertainment center. On the screen, the squad watched as the UN symbol filled the screen and the crosshairs came into focus. “Gentleman, this is not faked.” The president’s voice boomed out of the speakers. “All over the world, everywhere the United nations symbol is displayed, this can be found. Our friend Hogan was suspicious of the current Secretary General of the UN and expressed his fears to the right ears shortly before he vanished.” Murmurs filled the room then died down. “His loss shall not be in vain. Our CIA operatives have also concluded that alliances between nations that have formerly shown us good will have begun to sour.” The President’s face appeared on the screen. No American flag stood behind him, he was in his bedroom with a T-shirt and jeans on. “Boys, we have every confidence in your abilities... Alright, enough with this prepared speech crap.”
Jack smiled. Now they would be able to hear the man, not the office. “This isn’t something I’d ask of anyone else and you all know that. I was there when you came back to port, just a kid in the Honor Guard that escorted you home. Now look at me. The youngest president in history, the only one under forty. Your nation needs you to stop these creeps from bringing this nation to its knees. Jack, your military record is amazing and i thank you for your continued service to your country. GD, we know about your battle with alcohol and all that. Your record will be swept clean. Whip, Scud, I can’t thank you enough for coming back to serve your country. Custer, Joe, you guys rock. Flash, this is one mission you won’t be able to photograph, okay, buddy? Mac...” The President sighed. His eyes turned down.
The phone rang. The image on the screen froze and GD picked it up. he walked into the other room. Everyone waited. He came back, beaming and red faced. “Sorry about that boys, just Jennie letting me know she got to her mother’s place alright.” he jumped back on the couch and the video started again.
“... There isn’t much to say, Mac. Thank you boys for serving your nation one more time. The agents showing you this will tell you exactly what you’ll be doing, God bless you guys.” The screen went black and the TV turned off. Agent Smith stepped back in front of the set. “This is a very sensitive mission, gentlemen. You will be forced to infiltrate the UN offices and follow and watch the men and women on this list.” He pulled a sheet of paper out of his pocket. “In addition to your rather unconventional weapons,” Laughter bubbled up and the guys sitting on the couch started poking Mac in the ribs. “You will be equipped with the latest in spy technology and whatever conventional weapons you need. Does anyone have any questions before we go any further?”
Jack raised his hand and stood up. “Agent smith, you’d better get what I’m about to say on tape because my neck’s on the line already in this situation.” he waited while the agents set up a portable recorder. “GD, do you know why I was in New York this weekend?” He shook his head. “I was called to see the SG about something. no one would tell me anything until I got into the office. They’re planning something big, guys. And its been in the works for years. It started with the European Union and the unification of South and Central America. They wanted me to lead the final attack on the United States.” Mac stiffened, the hair on the back of his neck bristling. Jack noticed and gestured for him to calm down. “I said no and was chased out of the building by those Russians they got working security. They’re probably still looking for me. Its going to start as a blockade off all our ports and shutting off any incoming shipments. They want to crush us economically then launch an international strike force invasion up from the south and from the north and crush us. So, this isn’t anything we can joke about. Cut it off now, before they can start assembling their troops and everything will go along fine and dandy.” he sat down.
GD spoke. “Them Russians came after me too, wanting something. They wouldn’t say what, but they was asking if any suits had come to see me yet. What the hell are we getting our selves into?”
“Don’t know what, but if it gets a gun back in my hands and danger in the air, then to Hell with everything else.” All eyes turned to Mac.
The married men in the group just stared at him. Since Mac was single, he couldn’t understand what it meant to put them at risk. “Mac, think about what you sayin’. Jus’ cuz you ain’t got nobody besides us don’t mean that the rest o’ us can jus take off and risk they lives like our own. it jus ain’t right, brother.”
“You guys are gonna let family stop you from taking on the world? What happened to the men I used to know, the ones who ran with me from the jungles to the mountains to the sea in the name of the United States?”
Smack! Whip was on his feet, his hand making a sharp report when it met Mac’s face. “You don’t know what its like to lose somebody because of something you started. My wife and son are dead because someone asked me to take care of their house. They blew it up with my family inside, Mac. They freakin’ killed them trying to get me. You don’t know what its like to lose someone close to you and you’ve never had someone that close to you before. You scare people away and hide off in your little mountain hovel because you’re scared of what might happen if you became attached to someone. having a family is the greatest thing in the world, not just running around chasing adventure. I pity you.” Tears streamed from his eyes as he walked away.
No one said anything. Then, Mac grabbed his keys and walked out the door. “I’ll be back, guys. I’ve got some stuff to think over.”
he drove his truck back onto the highway. he pulled off the road, turned off his lights and just sat there. Time passed and memories floated back to him. Memories of all the people he had cared about, he had tried to connect with. Every new kid who looked lonely, he had talked to. And they had walked away from him. Friends he had kept for years disappeared.
A vibrating in his pocket interrupted his thoughts. “Hello?” A female voice came across the speaker. “Is this Kevin... Is this Mac?”
“Yeah, this is him. Whose this?”
“This is Rachel, the woman you helped out in Mass?”
her face drifted in front of his eyes, then the image of the two kids and the car. “Rachel, yeah, hey! How are you doing?”
“Not too bad, thanks to you. We made it to Ohio, and are doing fine.”
“Got a job yet? Or have you started looking?”
“No, just looking right now.” Silence filled the line. “Kevin?”
“Yeah, Rachel?”
“Could...” She paused again. “Could I come and see you some time? Like within a few days?”
“Rachel, I’m not at home right now. I’m at a friend’s house.”
“Oh.” She sounded disappointed. “Is there any way I can see you to thank you?”
His eyes closed and he leaned back in the seat. “Rachel, believe me, its better to forget...” What had Whip said? You scare people away and hide off in your little mountain hovel because you’re scared of what might happen if you became attached to someone. maybe this time it would be different. “yeah... Yeah, I’m in New York right now but i could come out there and see you if you wanted to.”
“I couldn’t ask you to do that!”
“You couldn’t ask me to take your car either.”
“You said you’re in New York?”
“yeah.”
“Where in New York?”
“Why?”
“Because I’m driving through. I dropped my kids off with my Mother and i came to the city to look for work. I’m at the Days Inn, off of Exit 4, just north of the city.”
Mac’s eyes shot open. “Want to talk tonight?”
She seemed at a sudden loss for words. “Tonight? You mean like right now?”
“yeah, I’m not doing anything.”
“I guess so... Where do you want to meet?”
“I’ll pick you up, in, whatsay half an hour?” he tensed, waiting for her response.
“Half an hour, in the lobby?”
“yeah. Is that okay?”
She seemed nervous. “I guess so. I’ll see you then.”
“Alright, bye.”
“Bye.”
He waited until she hung up before shutting off his phone. Pulling the truck around, he roared back into the stream of traffic. Exit 4 was a few miles away, an easy five-minute drive. Except for the road construction. When he finally passed it by, he was three minutes away from being late. The lights all turned green for him, as if knowing that he wouldn’t have stopped anyway.
She was standing in the lobby like she said she would be. In the fluorescent lights, Mac was shocked by the change. He remembered a young mother, bedraggled and tired with bags under her eyes and rumpled hair. The woman he saw before him was nothing like the person he had bought that clunker from. Rachel walked across the floor and stuck out her hand. Unsure what to do, Mac took it and pulled her close. He felt her arms wrap around him and he hugged her back. It was brief, but it was enough to attract attention from the desk clerk.
“Not in this hotel, sir. We don’t hold with people having affairs in this establishment.” Mac slapped him across the face and followed Rachel out the door.
“we’d better stay out in the open, Kevin.” She was definitely nervous.
“I won’t do nothin’ to you. Don’t have to be scared of me.” She seemed to calm down a little. he shut her door and moved around to the driver side. The truck started up with a growl, the lights blinked on and they pulled out. The road seemed almost dead, a few cars zipping around in the darkness, angels in the shadows.
“Pull over for a minute, please.” It came suddenly, waking Mac up from his highway hypnosis. Something popped when the truck eased over the shoulder, settling in the sand by the side of the road. Rachel reached over and turned off his lights. “What was that for?”
Rachel leaned back against the passenger door and looked at her companion. He was half-looking, as if he wanted to, but was scared of something. His shoulder jerked when she touched it. “What are you so scared of, Kevin?” Her brown eyes could see something was wrong. what was this man hiding? “You’re almost old enough to be my father, you’re not married, what’s so bad about spending time with someone? What are you afraid of?”
“I could only be your father if i had you at five.” They laughed, but then tears glistened in his eyes. breathing slow and deep, Mac fought to control himself. Whip had a way with words and now they were striking again, harder then ever. He looked her in the eye, a single tear running down his face. “I’m scared of gettin’ attached to anyone.” She nodded. “Can’t stand watchin’ people walk away every time I start to get to know them. Just trying to get through, you know? Help a few people out and had just one call me back. You’re different from them other people Rachel, but I don’t...” Mac turned back to look at the road.
“You don’t what, Kevin? Does commitment scare you that much? having someone who you helped suddenly return make you run away?”
“No one ever stayed for long, they just kind of used me as a starting point before diving off into something else. parents cared too much, friends kind of drifted in and out of life for most of it. Now, I help someone and here you are. Not something I'm used to at all, just kind of weird.” His eyes flicked to her face. “I guess I'm just looking for someone who cares enough not to run away when things get rough, when i don’t fit for a time. Whip, one of my boys said I didn’t understand what it was like to have a family, that I was scared of what might happen if I got attached to someone. I might hurt them and make them run away. Someone else could come along and take them away. Rachel, when you called me tonight, right after Whip said that, I felt like something was grabbing on to me.”
A small smile was growing on her lips. “Kevin, I barely know you, but I’m willing to take a chance with you. You being open with me means a lot.” She stopped. “Someone’s outside the-” She didn’t get to finish before Mac’s window exploded. The doors swung open and four figures dressed in black grabbed them. The two holding Rachel covered her mouth so she couldn’t scream. A flat black SEAL-style knife was placed against her throat. Over the gag, her eyes were pleading with Mac for an answer to what was going on. Unfortunately, Mac’s eyes were occupied, watching gloved fists smash against his chest and face.
Blood dripped from his nose and a split lip, but he wouldn’t give the attackers the satisfaction of cowing. he stood up as straight as he could and shook his captors off. “Can’t fight a man like a man, is that it? have to have your boys hold me down? Talk, wimp!”
An eastern European accented voice answered him. “Kevin McNaughton, your actions have attracted the attention of our employers. You and your friends are toying with powers beyond your control. If you strike me now, the girl will die. Cease your efforts to stop what has already been set into motion and there will be no problems. Comprehend?”
Rachel said later that Mac turned into a demon, wheeling and striking with every part of his body that he could. The men holding her were grasping their faces, trying to make sure they hadn’t fallen off. The knife was in his hand, the tables turned on the muggers. Out of the brush, three more black clothed men came with knives and stunners. Mac vaulted into the back of his truck. The trunk was still strapped to the bed. In the instant it took the newcomers to reach the truck, the lock was gone and Mac was armed for battle.
They looked like twin moon shaped shields with handles. The hand grip was guarded by a plate of spikes, facing outwards like a mace. The curved edges of the shields were razor sharp blades. Diamond shaped holes in the shields were designed to catch bayonets, or in this case, knives and break them or tear them away from their users.
His heavy boot caught one in the face, sending him flying. The still body crashed through the brambles by the embankment and slid out of view. Another followed, diving out of the way of the singing blades. The last went down with a cracked cheekbone and a circle of holes from the spikes in his face.
“Stop, McNaughton!” Their leader had Rachel by her hair with a gun at her temple. His mask was off, revealing a smile that would have done the Chesire Cat proud. All around him, men were nursing their wounds, contempt burning in their eyes. “You have shown that you care nothing for the girl in your attempt to resist us.”
Mac reached back into the truck and pulled out a long, rectangular piece of black metal. he held it up for the others to see.
“You want to see what makes America special and how, no matter what you do, you’ll never bring her down?” Slurring his speech again and staggering forward, he approached the circle of toughs. “This thing right here is an example of what makes America tick. Its good minds and manufacturing and the support of all the people, something you Commies never fully understood. Bring on the big business and take out the middlemen. There can never be equality in this world, no matter who you listen to. Not as long as you got people who think like us crazy Yankee’s.” He lifted the rod chest high and touched something on the underside. Like a three-foot switchblade, something shot out and stabbed into the leader’s chest. Not deep, just enough to throw him off balance.
Rachel seized her opportunity and broke away. She ran to the truck and screamed for Mac to follow. Tires screeched as they raced for a more populated area of New York. Bullets peppered the back of the truck.
As they pulled back into the parking lot for her hotel, Rachel started crying. When she started shaking, Mac put his hand on her back to try and comfort her. “Now I understand,” she sobbed, “I understand why you’re scared of becoming attached to people now.”
“Rachel-”
“No, Kevin, let me finish.” She sniffed and took a deep breathe. “Kevin, if that’s what you’re scared of, having to protect someone and not having it work out, then why did you fight for me tonight? If you don’t think you could care for someone, then tell me why you fought eight armed men to save my life? Tell me why you gave me your truck and ten thousand besides if you didn’t care about people?” She turned her tearstained face towards him, the neon lights making the rivers on her face gleam like trails of blood. “If you want to care about someone, at least for a little while, then be here in ten minutes.” Leather squeaked as she leaned closer to him. “You’re a hero, Mac, and I would like to get to know you better.”
The truck was still parked out front when she came down, ten minutes later with all her suitcases. Mac was on the phone, leaning against the side. He stopped to help her with her bags. “Yeah, GD. I have someone who needs a place to stay for a while... Look, something happened tonight, and I don’t feel safe leaving them at their hotel. You got an extra room or not?... It don’t matter who it is, just tell me whether you got a room or not... Great! We’ll be back in, like fifteen minutes. Whip calmed down yet?” Mac’s eyes flicked over the woman next to him. “Let me talk to him for a sec...” he grimaced. “Whip? Hey, brotha, look, i got something to tell you. Whip, I’m comin’ back and you betta... No, shut your mouth... Shut your mouth... Whip...” He hung up the phone. Rachel was looking at him funny. “I’m at a friend’s house, and there’s some other boys there with us. Mind?”
“Not at all.” The drive to GD’s house was uneventful. They pulled into the front yard, where Mista D, Custer, Scud and Jack were waiting. Inside, Whip was still screaming at the phone. GD was trying, unsuccessfully to calm him down. The boys eyes went wide when Rachel eased out of the passenger side. They rushed to get her bags, and she giggled as they stumbled over themselves, trying to make themselves helpful. GD pointed up the stairs, still trying to convince Whip that Mac wasn’t on the phone and couldn’t hear him.
After they got Rachel settled, Jack pulled Mac aside. “What happened, tonight, bud?” The story spilled out, from buying her car to Whip’s tirade to her phone call, to the attack. Just like he was giving a report, Mac kept his voice strictly monotone, not conveying any emotion. “That’s what happened, Captain.”
Jack sat back and flash analyzed the whole situation. “So, you’re looking for someone to care about so Whip can’t say anything about you not having anybody.”
“No, its more then that.” A confused, stressed look gripped his features. “Rachel’s someone I helped who actually cared enough to call me back after i helped her out of a spot. No one else ever did that, and there’s something about her that just grabs me. Know what i’m sayin’ Jack?” There was a pleading look in his eyes that Jack didn’t understand. “She came out with me, and now she’s in as deep as any one of us. She’s... She’s my responsibility I guess, now.”
They sat for a while, Mac staring at the floor, Jack looking out the window. The door opened slowly, and Scud stepped in. he glanced at the two human statues, then quickly left the room. It was Jack who broke the silence. “What was that thing you used to get that Russian off her?”
They went outside, Mac beaming because he could show off his toys. The black rod sat in the back of the truck, inviting Jack to touch it. He picked it up and looked it over. At one end, there was a curved piece of metal with degrees marked on it. A trigger assembly had been attached to the side. Devilish grins lit up the yard. “This thing’s the base for a saw guide!”
Mac stepped aside as the tip flicked out. “Yep, this one had its beginnings when i was still a kid, fooling around with another one of those things i had bought off some guy at a yard sale. People wouldn’t be expecting something like that, not a solid metal blade hitting them from three feet away.” His eyes misted over. “Wish we’d had that when we got caught that time, though.”
Their minds drifted back to the war, to the jungles of Thailand.
They had been out on manuvers, clearing the path for the rest of the guys. Just their squad before they split up. Scud, Jack, Mista D and Mac. And Odaul, King, and Schmitty. Seven men who thought they could take on the world. Then the nets fell. The rains had soaked the ground for days, turning it to thick mud that sucked their faces into its depths. They came from all around them, sprouting from the foliage like prairie dogs when a tunnel collapses, rigid faces, cruel bloodless lips moving, making noise that passed for a language in their home land.
Coarse ropes held them down, while the enemy poked and prodded them with bayonets and giant bamboo skewers. ‘I’ll eat you damn whatevers if i ever get free!’ Schmitty and Odaul just shut their mouths and were taken away without a fight. Gunshots were heard a few seconds later. Then King snapped. he jerked the nets so hard, he tumbled the soldiers who had been standing on the edges. Still entangled, he jumped on one and just went crazy, biting through the ropes, trying to get a piece of the man under him. Jack, D and Scud took advantage of the distraction and rushed the guards who had freed them. They freed Mac and subdued King and tried to escape.
All around them, in a circle, were more soldiers. They closed in and kept the marine’s guns off target with short poles. They closed in and pushed the prisoners around. By nightfall, they were prisoners of war.
“Yeah, Mac.” It broke the cycle of memories, Jack’s comment. “This thing would have been great then.”
“Never would have expected it, right, Captain?”
“Never would have even seen it coming.”
It clanked off the rest of the toys in the trunk. They locked it up, then went back into the house. Whip was passed out in the kitchen, his breath coming in ragged gasps. The rest of the boys had gone to bed. They followed suit, crashing to their respective mattresses and letting the Sandman have his way.