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RINGO HAD ONLY EATEN a banana before loading up into the helicopter. It was a trick an old RAF helo pilot had taught him during his time with the Special Air Service. “Because it tastes the same coming back up as it does going down,” the pilot had mused.
Although he trusted the bloke up front and had done hundreds of flights like this, Ringo could never quite shake the nervousness he always got when first strapping into a helicopter. It was just too many moving parts flying together in close formation, and he had lost too many buddies in helicopter crashes in training and in combat.
But Ringo was a professional and he knew he had to focus on the mission at hand. Cowboy and Woody were in trouble and deep in bad guy territory. They had to bring their boys home.
He shook off his doubts and compartmentalized his fears as he always did as the advanced Blackhawk lifted off the ramp. He was leading a six-man team with Churchill and Sledge and three SEALs from Seal Team Six who went by Tommy, Paco, and Lars. They were in the second helicopter heading straight for the farmhouse where Coolio had tracked Cowboy’s satellite phone in hopes of recovering Cowboy and bringing him home.
Ringo and his team were carrying their custom suppressed H&K 416s, and wearing their specially designed and fitted Dragonsilk body armor jackets and pants, while the SEALs had more traditional lightweight ceramic body armor plates. Tommy and Paco carried suppressed H&K MP7A1s, while Lars carried a Knights Armament SR-25 sniper rifle.
After twenty minutes of calm, as he collected his thoughts and mentally walked through the mission, Ringo heard “Hold on!”
The pilot descended to just a few feet above the terrain. Ringo kept his night vision equipment off, having decided that it was better to just see a black abyss outside than to know how truly close to death they were.
Ringo held on as the helicopter started banking, climbing, and diving as it navigated the terrain. Across from him, Ringo saw that Paco had his eyes closed and was clutching something in his hands. His lips were moving – Ringo guessed that he was equally nervous about the flight and praying for a safe arrival. Not the worst idea, mate, Ringo thought.
As the helicopter maneuvered through the valleys, Ringo checked his GPS wristwatch. They were just passing Koesong and would be on station in a few minutes. He said his own silent prayer as he felt the helicopter suddenly climb and decelerate.
“Thirty seconds,” the pilot said calmly over the intercom.
Ringo unstrapped from his seat and removed his headset. The crew chief opened the side door and Ringo flipped down the night vision on his helmet. While the SEALs were using Panoramic Night Vision Goggles, Ringo and the other members of Project Archangel had specially designed lightweight night vision devices developed by ODIN with both color night vision and infrared/thermal capabilities.
Tommy led the team of SEALs to the right-side door as Ringo made his way to the left-side door. The crew chief hooked up the fast ropes and tossed them down as the helicopter slowed to a hover. He gave them a thumbs up and both teams descended their respective ropes.
Ringo hit the ground first followed by Sledge and then Churchill. They quickly started toward the farmhouse as the rope dropped behind them and the helicopter moved away. They had been dropped just outside the perimeter of the fence surrounding the small farmhouse and headed to their designated ingress point on the north side of the compound. Churchill broke the lock using a small pair of bolt cutters and they entered the front yard.
Tommy and his team moved to the south side and cut through the barbwire to enter. Tommy held the wire up for the others to duck under and then the three men moved to the rear door of the farmhouse. “Cujo Two is in position,” Tommy announced over the radio.
Ringo and company had stacked up on the front door. So far, no one had stirred and no lights had come on. They had passed a car on their way to the door that matched the one Coolio had tracked from Cowboy’s original location.
“Execute,” Ringo ordered.
Churchill breached the door using a small charge. As the door swung open, Ringo entered first, followed by Sledge. Simultaneously, Tommy and his team breached their assigned door and entered.
Ringo and company cleared the kitchen and then moved to the small living area while Tommy and his team cleared the two bedrooms. “We’ve got two in here,” Tommy reported. “Bedrooms are clear. No sign of Cowboy.”
“Cujo One copies,” Ringo replied.
They found the basement door. After a silent countdown, Churchill once again opened it and Ringo entered with rifle up. Sledge and Churchill followed close on his heels as he descended the stairs into the dark basement.
They found signs of life – an empty bowl and glass and a cot with a ruffled blanket – but no sign of Cowboy anywhere. They searched for hidden rooms or compartments where Cowboy might have been held, but found none.
“It’s clear down here, boss,” Sledge reported.
“Cujo One is clear, Chariot Two, we’ll be ready for pickup in sixty seconds with two HVTs,” Ringo said over the tactical frequency.
“Chariot Two copies, still clear out here,” the pilot replied.
Ringo led the team back up the stairs and met Tommy’s team. They had the two prisoners on their knees with hoods over their heads. Even in the darkness, it was easy to tell they were male and female.
Ringo took his helmet off and then walked to the male and ripped of his hood.
“Where is your prisoner?” Ringo asked angrily.
The man looked up at him but said nothing. Ringo could see that the man knew exactly what he was talking about.
“I know you speak English, mate,” Ringo said as he slung his rifle and drew his Sig P320 handgun. “Answer me.”
The man continued staring at Ringo defiantly.
“Thirty seconds,” the helicopter pilot called over the radio.
Ringo turned and pointed the gun at the girl’s head. “Answer or I put a bullet in her head, mate.”
“He’s gone!” the man yelled out.
“Gone? Gone where?” Ringo asked.
“I don’t know!”
Ringo pressed the barrel of the gun against the hood on the girl’s head. “Of course you do, mate. Now, start talking.”
“The Chinese,” the girl said softly as she trembled behind the hood. “He went with the Chinese.”
Ringo holstered his weapon as he heard the helicopter arrive outside. “Grab them and let’s go,” he ordered as he put his helmet back on.
“Oracle, Cujo One,” Ringo said over the tactical frequency as his team escorted the two prisoners out of the door.
“Go ahead, Cujo,” Coolio replied.
“We’ve got a problem. We’re bringing back two HVTs, but they’re saying they gave the package to the Chinese.”
“Say again, Cujo?”
“I said Cowboy’s gone, mate,” Ringo said. “These two HVTs say they handed him over to the Chinese.”
“Oracle copies,” Coolio replied. “Will pass to Punisher.”