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Part 7
The van was burning brightly and the area immediately surrounding it was well illuminated. As they got near the gate, just 30 yards from the van, Jim and Todd stopped and observed some more.
Jim reached into one of the pockets on his vest and pulled out a PVS14 night vision device. Clicking on the power switch did nothing. "Shoot, probably turned the battery around" Jim thought. It was his habit to turn the battery around in it after every use. This way, even if accidentally switched on, the battery would not drain.
Semi darkness turned into day and the area around the van looked like a well lighted stage. Jim snapped the J-arm attachment hook onto the head mount. The area seemed clear.
Todd carried both his AK plus a large fire extinguisher in his left hand. His rifle was slung on a tactical sling, allowing him to take hands off the weapon yet the weapon be retained on the body.
Jim could see Todd's face in the light. Todd motioned with a questioning look and an "O.K" finger gesture. Jim gave him back a questioning look, then nodded yes.
Todd moved to a cover position and set down the fire extinguisher. Waiting a few seconds to see if anything alerted from Todd's movement, Jim advanced forward to the gate, unlocked two paddle locks, momentarily fooled with two devices strapped to the gate, then let the gate hang open 3 feet.
With Jim in the lead, both men advanced on the van with AK's at the ready. Jim kept his muzzle trained on the van while Todd pointed his muzzle to the right and into the field.
Jim made it to the van and found 4 occupants, falling back on training, Jim put one round into each body as he approached. First to get his attention was the 2 bodies in the back of the van. It was one of those sliding door vans and somehow they managed to get the sliding door open during the brief firefight. The small fire that illuminated the area was burning the bodies in the back of the van. It was a hideous sight. Jim turned from it and went to check the front of the van.
A woman was in the p***enger seat, face and neck bloodied badly, definitely dead and barely recognizable. Jim moved around to get a better look at the driver.
"Oh my God no!" Jim said as a gut wrenching feeling went over him. "Todd come here!"
"What is it?" Todd asked. All Jim could do was point towards the driver.
"Oh **** dude, it's Andrew!" Todd said. "We totally killed him, oh crap what are we going to do? Rusty f'ed up bigt ime dude!"
"No he didn't!" Jim came to his senses. "He didn't. He did exactly what you or I or any of the other guys would have done. Andrew KNEW not to drive down here like that, without a doubt. Even though we've changed SOP's since he left, he knew what would happen driving up like that. HE f'ed up, not Rusty!" Jim said.
"But dude, it's Andrew. It's one of us!" Todd said.
"Listen, I'm not saying this is a good thing, all I'm saying is Rusty didn't "F" up. He did what he was suppose to. Listen, this is NOT Andrew, understand?" Jim said.
"What the hell are you talking about?"
"It's NOT Andrew. No one else here even knows what he looks like or knows him except for you, me and Bill." Jim said.
"What's your point?" Todd asked.
"If we go back and everyone finds out that someone who was maybe friendly was shot coming in here, they might hesitate next time this happens, which could get a bunch of us killed. Andrew hasn't been a part of the group in ten years but he knew not to do this in this way, hell it's common sense. We even put frickin signs out! Who knows, he probably thought he could bull his way in here. Don't get me wrong, I hate that this happened but we can't let it weaken us can we?" Jim said.
"This is too much. Can we just put this fire out and get the hell out of here?" Todd asked.
"Yes, but not a word about who this is. Tomorrow morning you and I will get rid of the bodies, Bill is not to get anywhere near here. You gotta keep your mouth shut on this or it could mess us up. It was Andrew's fault, not Rusty's." Jim said.
"I know man, I know what your saying. I don't think it's right though."
"H*ll, I don't either, but what can we do?" Jim said.
They put the fire out then put the IR lightsticks they had on their gear next to the open side of the van. "It will be helpful as a marker, maybe add some illumination to the area for the NVG's" Jim thought.
The retreat was put on 50% the rest of the night. Alternate guard positions were manned.
It was a rough night for both Todd and Jim, neither slept most of the night. When asked by his wife what the problem was, Jim simply replied that "the burning bodies were a little too gory for me."
Basic entrance SOP's had been discussed and trained into anyone that stayed with the group past their six month "probationary" period. Their was a real risk of friendly fire accidents and therefore people had to know without a shadow of a doubt how to SAFELY approach the retreat during an event. "Regulars" would be known by their vehicle make and color and would know the current methods of radio communication. Even then, they would use common sense and the standard procedures for approaching the retreat. No one that had trained with the group ever considered sneaking around the outer perimeter of the retreat during an event. It sounded harsh but since the retreat was situated in a location so far away from any normal route of vehicular or foot traffic, the chances of someone just stumbling on to the retreat was next to zero. Therefore the standard defense procedure was that ANYTHING that approached the retreat in any way except the designated route would be first and foremost considered a threat. No one needed it spelled out more than that. Everyone knew that the Group would not risk the safety of the entire group just for one person who couldn't follow basic instructions. You just can't let the whole machine fall apart because of one person, cause as that great philosopher once said "When the machine breaks down, WE break down...."
The van was burning brightly and the area immediately surrounding it was well illuminated. As they got near the gate, just 30 yards from the van, Jim and Todd stopped and observed some more.
Jim reached into one of the pockets on his vest and pulled out a PVS14 night vision device. Clicking on the power switch did nothing. "Shoot, probably turned the battery around" Jim thought. It was his habit to turn the battery around in it after every use. This way, even if accidentally switched on, the battery would not drain.
Semi darkness turned into day and the area around the van looked like a well lighted stage. Jim snapped the J-arm attachment hook onto the head mount. The area seemed clear.
Todd carried both his AK plus a large fire extinguisher in his left hand. His rifle was slung on a tactical sling, allowing him to take hands off the weapon yet the weapon be retained on the body.
Jim could see Todd's face in the light. Todd motioned with a questioning look and an "O.K" finger gesture. Jim gave him back a questioning look, then nodded yes.
Todd moved to a cover position and set down the fire extinguisher. Waiting a few seconds to see if anything alerted from Todd's movement, Jim advanced forward to the gate, unlocked two paddle locks, momentarily fooled with two devices strapped to the gate, then let the gate hang open 3 feet.
With Jim in the lead, both men advanced on the van with AK's at the ready. Jim kept his muzzle trained on the van while Todd pointed his muzzle to the right and into the field.
Jim made it to the van and found 4 occupants, falling back on training, Jim put one round into each body as he approached. First to get his attention was the 2 bodies in the back of the van. It was one of those sliding door vans and somehow they managed to get the sliding door open during the brief firefight. The small fire that illuminated the area was burning the bodies in the back of the van. It was a hideous sight. Jim turned from it and went to check the front of the van.
A woman was in the p***enger seat, face and neck bloodied badly, definitely dead and barely recognizable. Jim moved around to get a better look at the driver.
"Oh my God no!" Jim said as a gut wrenching feeling went over him. "Todd come here!"
"What is it?" Todd asked. All Jim could do was point towards the driver.
"Oh **** dude, it's Andrew!" Todd said. "We totally killed him, oh crap what are we going to do? Rusty f'ed up bigt ime dude!"
"No he didn't!" Jim came to his senses. "He didn't. He did exactly what you or I or any of the other guys would have done. Andrew KNEW not to drive down here like that, without a doubt. Even though we've changed SOP's since he left, he knew what would happen driving up like that. HE f'ed up, not Rusty!" Jim said.
"But dude, it's Andrew. It's one of us!" Todd said.
"Listen, I'm not saying this is a good thing, all I'm saying is Rusty didn't "F" up. He did what he was suppose to. Listen, this is NOT Andrew, understand?" Jim said.
"What the hell are you talking about?"
"It's NOT Andrew. No one else here even knows what he looks like or knows him except for you, me and Bill." Jim said.
"What's your point?" Todd asked.
"If we go back and everyone finds out that someone who was maybe friendly was shot coming in here, they might hesitate next time this happens, which could get a bunch of us killed. Andrew hasn't been a part of the group in ten years but he knew not to do this in this way, hell it's common sense. We even put frickin signs out! Who knows, he probably thought he could bull his way in here. Don't get me wrong, I hate that this happened but we can't let it weaken us can we?" Jim said.
"This is too much. Can we just put this fire out and get the hell out of here?" Todd asked.
"Yes, but not a word about who this is. Tomorrow morning you and I will get rid of the bodies, Bill is not to get anywhere near here. You gotta keep your mouth shut on this or it could mess us up. It was Andrew's fault, not Rusty's." Jim said.
"I know man, I know what your saying. I don't think it's right though."
"H*ll, I don't either, but what can we do?" Jim said.
They put the fire out then put the IR lightsticks they had on their gear next to the open side of the van. "It will be helpful as a marker, maybe add some illumination to the area for the NVG's" Jim thought.
The retreat was put on 50% the rest of the night. Alternate guard positions were manned.
It was a rough night for both Todd and Jim, neither slept most of the night. When asked by his wife what the problem was, Jim simply replied that "the burning bodies were a little too gory for me."
Basic entrance SOP's had been discussed and trained into anyone that stayed with the group past their six month "probationary" period. Their was a real risk of friendly fire accidents and therefore people had to know without a shadow of a doubt how to SAFELY approach the retreat during an event. "Regulars" would be known by their vehicle make and color and would know the current methods of radio communication. Even then, they would use common sense and the standard procedures for approaching the retreat. No one that had trained with the group ever considered sneaking around the outer perimeter of the retreat during an event. It sounded harsh but since the retreat was situated in a location so far away from any normal route of vehicular or foot traffic, the chances of someone just stumbling on to the retreat was next to zero. Therefore the standard defense procedure was that ANYTHING that approached the retreat in any way except the designated route would be first and foremost considered a threat. No one needed it spelled out more than that. Everyone knew that the Group would not risk the safety of the entire group just for one person who couldn't follow basic instructions. You just can't let the whole machine fall apart because of one person, cause as that great philosopher once said "When the machine breaks down, WE break down...."
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