The Blinding Light

The camouflaged Humvee truck issued by the military was blazing across the Russian Tundra. The truck was traveling over the dunes at over 90 mph. They were trying their best to reach the border without getting spotted by the natives. They hadnt been spotted yet but a big trail of dust and sand trailing behind a truck thats traveling 90 mph isnt exactly hard to see in a large empty desert. The drop-off zone is about 30 clicks to the north. Said Private Allen All right boys, time to suit up Said Captain McMillan. In the back of the humvee, Corporal Walden started getting his Ghillie suit on and the other soldiers followed. There was a lot of pressure on the last 5 minutes on the way to the drop-off zone. Private finally said that this was as far as he could take them the rest they had to walk. The three men jumped out of the back of the humvee and got their weapons out of the cases in the back. The military had already sorted out who would carry which guns. They would all use a Semi-Automatic .308 M110 Sniper Rifle. They would always use these for protection, but at their lookout tower where they would take their shot was a Barrett M82A1 .50 caliber sniper rifle. As the humvee drove off, Captain McMillan whispered calmly to his comrades, The objective building is about 100 clicks to the north (100 kilometers) so we have a ways to walk. Grab out your weapons and dont do anything stupid The three men walked slowly and quietly to get into thick cover. AS they walked closer and closer to t the look-out tower Captain stuck his hand up and everybody hit the deck. Contact, 1 Click to the east. Lieutenant Sandborn got out his spotter scope Corporal set up his sniper and was ready to take his shot. Lieutenant started whispering to Corporal and was telling him to make small changes to his scope. Make one click up, two clicks to the left, ready Corporal moved the knobs on the side of his scope to compensate for wind speed and the, Coriolis Effect, where they have to take the turn of the earth into account. Ready, Said Corporal

Taking the shot Corporal took a deep breath and held it hoping for a steadier shot. He took the shot slowly, and steadily. As he was looking through the scope, he saw his shot rip clean through the head of an enemy, and it fell creating a soft clutter of a weapon hitting a staircase. Great shot, whispered the lieutenant and Captain in unison. Lets get moving again Said Captain. As the three men got up to start moving, Captain raised his hand again. The three men hit the deck again once more. Contact said the Captain, half click to the east, Patrol, 3 men, armed. Lieutenant cot out his spotter scope once again and gave the other two men the details of their target. This time, all three men were going to take a shot. As the three men got ready, The Captain started to count down Lieutenant, you get the target on the left, I have the middle, and you, Corporal get the target on the right. On three. 123, Fire. All three of the targets fell simultaneously. Beautiful, Replied the Captain, pleased. Then, the radio on the belt of the Captains waist started babbling. Come in Captain, this is control. I read you control You guys need to pick up the pace, or you will miss the only time slot for this shot, I repeat, you need to get moving of you will miss the shot! We got it control, thanks for the update. The three men started moving to their lookout tower. By now they were only 30 clicks to their objective. All right, men, our objective is about 30 clicks to our north. We have 10 hours to get there, so we have plenty of time despite what control said. It should only take about 3 hours to get there if were moving fast. Then, suddenly, the colonel raised his hand, and everyone hit the ground. Contact, he said, 30 meters north I got him in my scope said the captain. Ready replied the Lieutenant and Colonel in unison. The Captain took the shot, and the bullet ripped clean through the torso of the target. Ah Shit, Replied the Captain, Theres another one to the east on that tower. Ok, 1 click down, 3 clicks up. Take the shot, replied Lieutenant rapidly. The Captain took the shot quickly without letting them know they were here. Good Shot captain, you just saved our damn lives.

All right men lets get moving before they recover the bodies and come with a search party. All three men started moving quickly towards their objective. They were only about 25 clicks away. They men passed destroyed buildings, and rundown houses, but somehow they all looked the same. They grey peeling paint, the missing walls, and the old style. They all reminded them of the protection they all had back in America. These people all had corrupt police, military and some never even had a chance because of all the wars that had broken out in this particular part of Russia. Contact, 500 meters west by that house. The lieutenant said. Where, I dont see him! asked corporal See that house up ahead with the large tower up on top? Yeah Then look to the right of the house theres two of them right by that tree. Ok men we need to move up by that fence to get a better shot at them we cant see the other one that is behind the tree. The captain said. When they moved up to the fence the corporal and lieutenant had perfect views of the two men having a smoke. When the lieutenant told corporal of the details to adjust his scope he quickly adjusted his as well. Ready Ready On three, Onetwothree. The shots sounded as one flying through the air, and hit the torso of both men collapsing them to the ground simultaneously. After the long grueling day of sniping, the three men reached their objective with 3 hours to spare. They had a good meal, and started setting up their equipment and weapons. The rifle they would be using to take their shot at over a mile away would be the Barrett M82A1 .50 Caliber Rifle. The Corporal would be on constant watch of the target building keeping watch of any activity on the 13th floor. Right on time, I guess the data was solid. said the corporal. The Captain and the lieutenant both got out their binoculars to check out their target. The captain then called control and got a positive I.D. on their target: Mallard Creech. Mr. Creech was responsible for selling illegal weapons to countries without the technology required to build their own reliable weapons. With the data that the U.S. got from an outside source said that the deal going down across the street in an abandoned Russian Military building was worth millions. The U.S. military had chosen the best of the best for this highly dangerous and important mission.

Control, this is Captain Macmillan. We have the target in sight and are on stand by. It looks like Creech is getting ready to greet his buyers. I think they just arrived now. We are preparing for the shot. Whenever youre ready Captain. All right men Command gave us the all clear. Lieutenant got out his spotter scope and started giving Captain MacMillan instructions on his target. Target, 1,000 meters north adjust scope 5 clicks up 6 clicks right. Wind 6 knots coming from the east. Whenever you are ready, take the shot. All men had heard a .50 caliber sniper rifle, but none of them were ready for the loud bang that erupted out of the barrel of the gun. The shot was a success, but there wasnt time for a chit-chat. Lets go, lets go, lets go! We gotta move! All three men had already set up their gear so that it would make a quick getaway. They set up ropes earlier that day so that they could get out of the building by rappelling. The three men all grabbed their stuff and clipped themselves to the ropes, and started rappelling rapidly knowing that the Russian military would be doing a heavy search of the area in order to find the snipers. But the men had one thing on their side: the Russian military had no idea that the shot was taken from over a mile away. The men had to make it to a Landing Zone where the helicopter was waiting for them. All right men, said the captain, the L.Z. is about 300 kilometers too our south. There we will see a large open space, with a destroyed coffee shop to the east. There we will pop green smoke for the helicopter to have a visual of the L.Z. But Sir, shouldnt the chopper be there when we get there? No Corporal, they know the general area, but control wasnt sure if the area was big enough. If the primary L.Z. isnt open, then we will move 30 kilometers to the west. There we pop the smoke instead. Its no that windy, so the smoke should go up into the air for the chopper to see. The other two men nodded as they jogged silently behind cover so they wouldnt bee seen by enemy patrols

Chapter 2
The men reached the primary L.Z. with only having to take out one guy in a look-out tower. As they reached the primary L.Z., the corporal pulled out the colored smoke grenades that would be used to signal the helicopter. Hey Captain, is this a good spot right here as he pulled the pin on the smoke grenade.

Yeah thats good, as the captain pulled a Quaker oats granola bar out of a pocket in his tactical vest. After waiting a few minutes, the three men heard the distant thumping of helicopter blades. At the first sight of the chopper, the Captain made all of his men get up and get ready so they would have the chopper on the ground for as little time as possible as to not attract attention. When the Black Hawk helicopter hit the ground, all three men jumped in and strapped the seatbelts on as fast as possible. As soon as they got in, the Pilot greeted them, and pushed the throttle up to rise off the ground. All of a sudden, there was a loud beeping noise coming from the cockpit. Warning, Warning, missile lock, Warning Ah hell, yelled the pilot, hold on! The pilot expertly maneuvered the Black Hawk, and dropped flares from the underbelly of the chopper. Out of the side, Lieutenant Sandborn could see the missile veer off to the side following the flares instead of the helicopter carrying the five men. Damn that was close; lets get outta here before we pick up another missile. said the pilot. The pilot then increased the throttle to head back to base.

Chapter 3
The ride in the helicopter lasted just a little under a couple of hours, and the men inside were all ready for a proper meal. The Black Hawk touched down in a U.S. controlled base 600 kilometers to the west. The three mens faces all lightened up when they were greeted by General Adams. The Captains men all saluted the General as he came to talk to them. No, no, no, I should be the one saluting you. You soldiers did an outstanding job. I could not be pleased more. Thank you sir, it was a pleasure serving you. said the captain. The men behind him nodded in agreement. Why dont you fine soldiers come by my office later when youre cleaned up, and in uniform and Ill give a debriefing. Yes sir, the three men said simultaneously. * After cleaning up after their mission, the three men went over to the generals office at the military base. As they waited outside for General Adams to finish an important phone call with the government, the men talked to themselves in the metal chairs. Do you think that we are going to get a big medal, or meet the president or something? asked Corporal

Im not sure, but that would be pretty cool. The captain said as the door to the Generals office door opened. Good evening men, so Im going to debrief you on your previous successful mission, but Ive also got some bad news. Ive talked to the Commander, and it looks like your going out again. Bad news is its going to be in Moscow. Moscow? Sir, no disrespect here, but we just came from Russia, much less were going to Moscow. Its the capital, the military is everywhere there. Yelled Lieutenant I know I asked to change it, but this might be the only chance we have to infiltrate the Russian Government. What are we going to do there, I dont understand? Asked Corporal Thats what you are here for. Later tonight at about 19:30, the Brigadier General and I are going to meet you men here, and we are going to give you all the details on you next mission. 19:30, yes sir said Captain MacMillan

Chapter 4
At 19:00 the three men were all getting ready for their meeting in about a half-hour. Right on time, the general said as he opened the door to his office. I have someone for you to meet. This is Brigadier General Owens. Good to meet you sir. Said Captain Good to meet you too. So I guess this is the team that marched through Russia, and took down Mallard Creech. Owens said to no one in particular. Yes it is. The Captain said flattered. That was some excellent work you guys did. Thank you, sir. O.K, enough chit chat, we need to talk about your mission. This comes from a very important person, you may have heard of him. No way, President Charles? Asked Lieutenant. Yes, has decided to give you a mission of the upmost priority. Do you know of a person named Demetri Ianov? Asked the general. No, I dont believe I do, what do we want with him? Captain asked as Owens butted in, We have reason to believe that he has relations with the Middle East, and has been funding their race to build a nuclear weapon. So, how are we going to get to him? asked Lieutenant He is going to a bank to transfer funds to an Iranian account. But before he goes, he is going to be doing a meeting because he also the left hand man of Imran Petrov, or the Prime Minister of the Russian Federation. There you

will take the shot while he is at the meeting. He should be talking to other members of the government about his relations to Iran. First, I want you to listen to the men in the meeting. There will be about one-hundred people in the conference room, and I want you to take the long distance recorder that you will receive, and listen, and record the meeting, and relay the recording back to Control. Then we will decode it, and send it back to you. When Demetri gets to the bank, you will take him out if the information from the meeting proves that he is helping Iran build a nuclear weapon. The three men where all taking notes, and there was only one question from the Lieutenant. What happens if the information from the meeting disproves that he is selling the weapons? Then we pull you men out. Owens said. Tomorrow you will be leaving with all your equipment at 0500 hours. You will be driven to a small hotel that is right next door to the place of the meeting so that you will have a clear shot of the meeting, and the bank across the street. Owens said. The men then were dismissed, and as they were walking out the door, the Brigadier General had one last thing to say. There is only one last thing that I ask: Do not fail.

Chapter 5
After the meeting the three men were all a little apprehensive about going on the mission but they knew there was no backing out. They knew that if Iran were to build a nuclear warhead, then they could destroy the country of America, and lots of innocent lives could be killed. As they started to head towards the munitions building, Corporal Walden started to talk; What kind of cool gadget do you think that they will give us this time? He asked trying to break the silence. The other men started to laugh, but then it got serious again. Is anybody else a little nervous? Lieutenant asked. I would be worried if you werent. the Captain said. The three men walked in the Munitions building looking for the expert. How are you fine soldiers doing today? asked the munitions expert who was in charge of giving the soldiers all of what weapons they needed to complete their mission. Pretty well, I have the list of the items that we need from the General. Captain said. Ok. Good. Come back here in about an hour and Ill have everything set up. You can then go through it, and make sure that you have it all, and come

back here in the morning when you getting ready to leave and you can just pick it up, and throw it in the truck. The captain then handed the munitions expert the list of items that they needed, and the three men started walking out the door. The men then went to their rooms inside the base, and started packing for the mission. Corporal Walden went on to the computer, and stared at the computer screen hoping that his wife was on as well so that he could tell her about the previous and upcoming missions. He had hoped and hoped, but she wasnt on. He then buried his hands in his face while sitting on his bead, and prayed that he wasnt going to die. Corporal hadnt known this, but all three men had done the exact same thing, and prayed the exact same thing. God was watching over them, and he was going to protect them.