Army Man

It was pitch black outside in the dense African jungle. Marine Colonel Paul Marsh was wading through the brown river that smelled like dead fish. Paul heard the beat of a helicopter overhead and he ducked below the surface of the water. It tasted like dirt, and he almost surfaced solely to evade the taste. Paul knew, however, that under no circumstances could he be seen because the Pentagon had sent him on a top-secret mission. The helicopter continued on its path, and Colonel Marsh surfaced, gagging on the water. 'I have to be quiet. They could hear me.' Colonel Marsh had dropped into the Atlantic Ocean just off the coast of South Africa. There was a terrorist group that was headquartered there, called the Eastern Liberation Front, or ELF. His mission was to completely destroy the base. Paul was connected by radio to the Pentagon, but he was to operate in radio silence.

Paul stayed in the river until he spotted a bridge. There were two guards patrolling. How am I going to get past these guards? He climbed to the eastern bank of the river and stalked toward the nearest guard who seemed to be interested in something that was lying on the desk. Paul pulled out his combat knife to ensure a quiet takedown. Paul crept silently until he was directly behind the guard. Paul then grabbed the guard and whispered, “Don’t move, and you might live for a few seconds more.” The guard froze because he knew that he was in trouble. Paul asked the guard a few questions about sentry positions, received the answers that he was looking for, and slit the guard’s throat, using a down-and-out stroke, to eliminate blood spatter. He then moved into the vicinity of the other guard. Paul moved so quietly and slowly that the guard he was stalking didn’t know he was being watched.

Paul moved across the bridge and crouched in some bushes on the east side of the road. While he was there, he called the helicopter that had dropped him. He was using a tight-beam radio, so it was very difficult for the enemy to catch. The message said, “Insertion complete. On way to installation. Two enemy fatalities.”

After Paul sent the message, he stood up, and began moving to the south down the road. 'I have to stay to the side of the road; otherwise, an aircraft might spot me.' As he was creeping up to the gate of the installation, he found a path leading off the road. Paul decided to follow that path to attempt to get a sniping view on the gatehouse. He crept up to the edge of the cliff and laid in the soft grass. I have to stay down because this guard will be paying attention. He looked down at the gatehouse and wasn’t extremely surprised at what he saw. He saw one African soldier in the gatehouse, and he was reading a magazine. The gatehouse was about a hundred-fifty yards away, which was too far for any gun that he was carrying, so Paul crawled back to the road. When he got to the junction, he paused just before he could see around the corner because he had heard a clicking noise. It was the sound of a gun, unmistakable in the still jungle air. He crouched and waited for the guard from the gatehouse. Paul almost didn’t see him because his movement was so slow and steady that it looked like the swaying of the trees in the slight breeze. When the sentry saw him, he was approximately ten yards away, and Paul had only his combat knife in his hand. He threw it just as the sentry’s hand reached his radio. The knife hit the sentry in the chest. The sentry was unable to call for help, due to his punctured lung. I still haven’t lost my touch. Paul had been recalled into service because he was the only person in the United States who knew this area well enough to be inserted for a mission. Paul had been told, back in the Pentagon, that after this mission, if it was completed successfully, he would retire as a Captain, First Class. Keep to the mission at hand, Paul. He then returned to the present and decided to leave the road before a passing truck spotted him. He crept stealthily parallel to the road toward the gatehouse. He was ready for anything. When he arrived at the gatehouse, he discovered that the guard had stored many guns and ammunition in the building. I can’t believe that guard was so stupid. He collected all the ammunition he could carry and took a look at the table. There was a Playboy magazine lying there. 'So this is what the guard was reading. Interesting choice.'

Paul stepped out of the guard shack and heard voices. When he saw the enemies, they opened fire on him. There were eight of them, so evidently he had set off a silent alarm on his way to the complex. Oh, shit! He dove back into the building, which was the only cover he had. Bullets flew right through the spot where Paul had just been. He used his gun to break out the glass window so that he could shoot without worrying about the glass ruining his aim. Then, he started shooting over the windowsill without looking. He heard a scream, which indicated that he had hit one of them. 'Wow. I could never do that before, or maybe I hit him because there are so many of them I just couldn’t miss.'

There was a lull in the shooting while everyone reloaded their guns. He peeked through the broken glass of the window and ducked as quickly as possible because there were suddenly bullets flying at him again. His reflexes weren’t as good as they once had been, and he had almost been too slow in bringing his head back down. One of the bullets had grazed his scalp, which caused him excruciating pain. That was way too close for comfort. Paul decided to change positions in the guard shack to throw off the enemies’ aim. As he moved, he got a clear look from the doorway at the placement of the enemy soldiers. Unfortunately, they got a good look at him, too.

Paul watched with detachment as one of the gunmen turned to face him. Time seemed to slow to a crawl for Paul. He saw the look of complete contempt on the soldier’s face. As he hit the floor, he was temporarily immobilized because the wind was knocked out of him. Paul saw the guard pull the trigger, and he felt an excruciating pain in his leg. The guard had aimed for a head shot, but Paul had kept moving on the floor. The guard snarled at Paul and let another round loose. Paul heard the gunshot and was killed in action before his head hit the floor of the gatehouse. The mission was a failure and the United States had one more body they had to deny knowing anything about.