Chapter 34: R-32, 6
Four years ago
Han and Amarillo heard two pops of handgun fire and their hearts sank. Men grabbed Han. They began to drag him into the cave as well. They were two steps from the near black shadow of the cave entrance when machine gun fire ripped through the camp outside the mine. Rockets rained down as three AH-64 Apache attack helicopters rained widespread death down upon the hostiles.
The men dragging Han stopped just long enough for their heads to be shot open by gunfire from further in the cave. Davis emerged holding the rifle of one of the men who had dragged her off. She tossed a handgun to Han and then swept her rifle right to left to take down the distracted crowd surrounding the downed Amarillo. Amarillo immediately grabbed the gun he'd dropped and he and Han finished off anyone left alive.
Han rushed over to Amarillo and helped him up. The Apaches from the 101st took a defensive position over the cave entrance and continued to fire thousands of rounds at anything that moved. The gatling guns in their noses whirled to life as they delivered death.
Finally, a minute after they'd arrived, the Apaches made room for a UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter. Two soldiers descended on ropes, grabbed Davis, Han and Amarillo, belted them into carabiners and then reeled them up into the large helicopter.
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There was a medic on board, along with Ekko, the only one from the Coyotes squad who escaped the initial assault unscathed so many hours ago.
The others were excited to see the three survivors. The medic chided them for tending to their wounds as poorly as they had. He confirmed that Amarillo would probably lose his lower right leg. The commander was on the radio and told them about their outstanding job. That they'd uncovered an active uranium mine under the control of the...
The chopping of the helicopter blades seemed quiet after the incessant gunfire they'd just left behind.
Amarillo just breathed the dry desert air. He listened to the constant, almost reassuring noise of the chopper blades and engines. He leaned his head back and stared out into the bright desert. Amarillo liked the desert. It was calm, peaceful. It held nothing back. It wasn't hiding around the corner or waiting to ambush anyone. He ignored his wounds. He ignored the horror.
Davis was in full officer mode. She was already starting her debrief. She ignored everything except the commander's voice on her helmet radio. She confirmed the uranium. She told the brass of the fighting. She ignored everything except the impending promotion, the probable medal, the accolades. She ignored her wounds. She ignored the horror.
Han just looked down at the AK-47 he still had a death grip on. Now, all of a sudden, he felt every wound. He felt every place he'd been cut open by the rocket blast. He felt the pain of the bullet still lodged in his foot. He saw flashes of the men he'd killed. He saw the non-combatant miners whose throats he'd slit. He saw their fear, their pleading, their regret. They were human. They were just as worthy of living as he was and he'd killed scores. He stared down at his feet, his bleeding foot. He couldn't ignore the pain. He couldn't ignore the horror.