Captain West entered the building where Gunny Quick and his Marines had sought refuge. The carnage from the direct hit was devastating.
Fortunately, the mortar round had landed at the other end of the building, but the shrapnel had torn out chunks from the walls and floors. Two of the ceiling support beams were split in half, one end of each hanging down to the floor, the other still attached to the roof. All the windows and both doors had been blown out.
He spotted Gunny Quick as Staff Sergeant Hayes tended to Sergeant Baker, who was bleeding from a wound to his torso.
The table they’d used for cover was in pieces.
It’s a wonder any of them are alive, Captain West thought.
The gunnery sergeant was bleeding down the right side of his head, but the wound looked superficial. Captain West knew head wounds bled profusely and often looked worse than they were. Gunny Quick ignored the blood, which reassured the Marines it wasn’t life-threatening.
“How’s Baker?” Captain West asked.
“He took a piece of shrapnel to the abdomen, but he should be okay. Fortunately for him, he was knocked out when he hit the wall. So he’s not feeling the pain that’s going to come when he wakes up. Hayes already gave him some morphine.”
Captain West nodded, relieved he hadn’t lost another Marine. He was dreading the letters he’d have to write notifying the families of the loss of their loved ones. He pushed the thought away since there was one more piece of unfinished business.
“What about you?”
Gunny Quick looked up. “I got knocked out, too. Fortunately, it’s just a small cut. You know how these things are.” He shrugged. “I’ll live. What happened out there?”
Captain West responded matter-of-factly. “Avery and I got ’em all. Saved the sonofabitch who led the ambush for last. Hopefully, he’s in hell with the rest of ’em.” His voice wavered slightly with the fury he felt, suppressed emotions he wasn’t sure he’d be able to contain for long.
Before he could continue, Sergeant Helms spoke up. “Sir, the cloud cover is abating. Fixed-wing support is minutes away, and the CASEVAC is about fifteen minutes out. Your orders?”
“Tell the fixed-wing to maintain an altitude of twenty thousand feet. We have the situation under control. Helms, contact the COC and tell them we have eighteen EKIA, but we have one last target to take out before we’re done.”
Captain West looked at Gunny Quick and said, “John, there’s one more thing we have to do.”
Gunny Quick interrupted him. “I know, sir. The fucking mortars. Already thought about it. We can’t leave the bastards using them alive, or they’ll do this to someone else. What’s your plan?”
Captain West outlined his intentions, and as Gunny Quick listened, a wicked smile formed on his face, a line that cracked the mask of blood he wore from the head wound.
This is actually going to be fun, Gunny Quick thought. He looked forward to delivering the justice his fallen comrades deserved.