by Altaire Aurelius

Created on: October 03, 2008   Last Updated: November 03, 2008

Inside Death's Den

The rain fell in sheets as I exited the Bus that hauled us all to embark on our latest mission. We traveled by a bus that looked like any other public transportation in the city. The bus would not be singled out like a military vehicle. Another reconnaissance mission, 15 in as many days. Our location...well, yet again unable to contact my family to tell them where I am but not a part of the world that we are welcomed in. It seems as though I have been away forever. I have forgotten the feel of a mattress or the smell of freshly washed sheets. All I know is mud and rot and unbearable heat and humidity when the sun does break free of the strangle hold the clouds seem to have on it.

Captain Able had called us out for muster at 0300 and briefed us on intelligence received about a possible terrorist plot against the Embassy in this foreign place. The Intel was deemed credible because we had thwarted an attempt only 2 months prior to this based on Intel from he same source.

The problem with paid informants is that they'll work for anyone who has money and apparently our money wasn't enough. The Terrorist cell was supposed to be working out of a remote location just 5 miles outside of the city. We were bussed into a drop zone 4 miles from the suspected location and 9 miles from town as to not raise any suspicions among locals and to defend against the possibility of terrorist informants living in the villages and farms surrounding the area. Our uniforms give no clue as to the country of our origin and hygiene was a forgotten luxury. As far as anyone could tell we were the terrorists and well armed.

Each of us who worked on this team did so with the knowledge that if we were killed here that our families would receive a visit from some officer explaining how we died in some tragic accident during a training exercise and that our death was mourned by a nation. They would tell our families that they have every reason to feel pride, as we would have died in service to our country. A hero's death, not a bad way to go but I have no intention of dieing here. Each man with me was intent on making it out of this sewer of a country and would do everything in their power to make sure the rest of us went with them.

I recall LCpl David Randolph. Randolph was a 6'2, 240 LB former college Football star. He had played for an NAIA school because his grades weren't good enough to get into a bigger college. He was a Marine reservist at the time he was in school and had

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