Hunting Party
A growl in the night
The helicopter landed on the bone-dry dirt, two miles away from Joel’s desert hideout.
Simo called for a weapons check as Ari, Gunnar, Theo, and Jessie got out of the aircraft.
Red-tinted flashlights lit up as everyone checked their gear.
Simo watched, scanning their equipment as well.
When he was satisfied, he called out, “Night vision on.”
Everyone attached their night-vision goggles to their black Kevlar helmets and turned them on.
Everyone nodded.
“Theo, you will activate the cell jammers on both sides of the building and take the northeast position; Ari the west, Gunnar east, and I’ll handle the exit at the south. Jessie will stay close to my six on the rise at two hundred yards out. When we are set, Gunnar will light it up.”
Gunnar grunted and patted his backpack.
“Theo, you have point as usual, then Gunnar, Ari, Jessie, and I will bring up the rear.”
“Simo, are you positive about making the trek with your injury?” Ari asked.
“I’ll crawl there if I have to. I believe Jessie will as well.”
“Wouldn’t miss it for the world,” she purred.
“Gunnar, you carry the drone. I’ll handle the .
50 Caliber for Jessie.” He turned to her sour look.
“You carry the laptop, drone, and ammo.” He turned back to his group.
“Check your line of fire and every person’s position before you fire.
Last: should we be overrun, fan out, circle back, and meet one mile north of the helo at the dirt road intersection. Questions?”
Everyone shook their heads.
“Let’s go hunt that fucker down,” Simo smiled.
Simo watched through his binoculars as Theo swept up behind a guard and, with cat-like speed, garroted the man and dragged him back, kicking and writhing, into the brush.
They all could hear the man’s desperate struggle for air through their headsets.
Soon, the man stopped moving, and Simo watched as Theo sunk his blade deep into the dead man’s heart as reassurance.
Then Theo was moving to within ten yards of the house to set up the last small cellphone jammer.
Then he was back in the low scrub on his belly with his weapon ready.
Simo signaled Gunnar, who began setting small, radio-activated incendiaries, which were tied to plastic jars of gasoline, around the perimeter of the small, ancient, ranch-style house. He watched as Gunnar faded back into the scrub as well.
He turned toward Ari, who was on his belly with the smoke grenade launcher, and gave him a quick wave. Simo turned away from the house and spoke quietly to Jessie. “Update.”
“Heat signatures indicate two are sleeping in the room Ari is facing. Two or three in the kitchen and one roaming the house. Uh-oh… they must know their man is down. Roamer is waking up the two in the room. Lost contact.”
“Gunnar, hit it!”
Suddenly, all at once, fireballs erupted skyward around the house, except for the front-facing south exit, leaving the rear exit of the small house engulfed in flames. Simo smiled as he used Xander’s strategy with fire. “Ari, hit them now!”
Simo heard the thump of Ari’s launcher and breaking glass. Then more thumps came as Ari launched his smoke grenades into the three remaining windows.
Simo watched the front door with his M4 trained on it.
“Contact,” Theo called out.
“Don’t kill Joel. Shoot high and make them come to me. Watch your crossfire.”
“Roger.”
Simo heard the faint, thumping shots of Theo’s M4 burst out into the night.
“Contact,” Gunnar called out. “Aiming high.”
More suppressed shots rang out. Simo lowered himself belly-first onto the dirt. “Jessie?”
“No heat signatures outside, fire is masking. You should be clear.”
“Contact leftmost window. Firing high,” Ari called out.
“Rear is completely engulfed,” Theo called out.
“Same with east.”
“West fire is fading; the brick siding didn’t catch,” Ari replied.
“Jessie, cover west.”
“Roger.”
Ari’s calm voice called out, “Contact, center window. Firing. They ducked down.”
Suddenly, shots burst through the front door toward Simo, who rolled to the side and waited. More shots ripped through the door, shredding it.
“Roof collapsing, rear.”
“Eyes open for the diversion. Don’t kill the little bitch,” Simo replied.
More shots finished off the door, and Simo held fire.
“Jessie, eyes open.”
“Roger.”
Suddenly, three men came bursting out the front door in formation, firing blindly into the night.
“Contact, three,” Simo called out as bullets whizzed above his head.
He let them clear the covered porch and began firing.
He dropped the lead man and ceased firing, then rolled away as bullets peppered the ground where he had just been. “Jessie, take them.”
A boom sounded and the second man’s head vaporized, as the third dived for cover. Simo fired and chased the man toward Theo, who dropped him with three rounds to his neck and face.
“Three down, three left and Joel.”
Ari’s voice called out, “Contact, Joel plus one. Taking fire.”
“Jessie, please assist.”
A sharp boom echoed.
“One down. Joel is on foot heading to the SUV,” Ari calmly replied.
“Leave him. Gunnar, take out the tires now.”
Suddenly, the SUV’s tires were exploding in a hail of bullets, and Simo saw Joel reverse course and sprint off into the night between him and Ari.
Simo called out, “Contact exiting. Firing. He’s down. Another contact... his hands are up. Gunnar, take him alive.”
“Roger.”
Simo watched as Gunnar approached and, as the man was clearing the burning house, Gunnar kicked his back leg and hammered the butt of his rifle below the man’s ear, dropping him to the ground.
“I have Joel inbound to my position,” Jessie purred over their headsets.
Simo chuckled. “Have fun. Not too much… yet.”
“Party pooper.”
“Watch for more from the house, just in case.”
“Half of the house is consumed,” Ari called out.
Simo watched as fire erupted out the front door and flames billowed out all the windows in his field of view. “Theo, Gunnar. Latrine detail, pile them up. Hold the live one for later while I go make sure Jessie doesn’t have too much fun.”
Simo got a round of confirmation beeps and headed toward Jessie’s position.
Joel Miller gasped as the SUV’s tires exploded, sending bits of rubber blasting over him. He screamed, ducked, and changed directions as he screamed in rage toward the house, “Randolph, you fucker! Where are you?”
Joel didn’t pause and soon felt his legs straining as he ran off into the darkness.
Suddenly, he tripped and fell face-first, getting a mouthful of dry desert dirt.
He picked himself up in a panic and continued running.
He guessed he was more than a few hundred yards away and slowed down.
He grinned into the night, thinking there was no way they could find him in the moonless darkness.
He slowed to a jog, turned back, and saw the house looking small as it burned in the distance.
Breathing hard, he continued on at a brisk walk, trying to negotiate through the short scrub and occasional Joshua tree. He guessed he was heading south toward Harding and safety. Joel pulled out his phone and dialed Harding. No answer.
“Fucker,” Joel hissed, and suddenly, off to the side somewhere, he heard a deep growl. He spun in the direction of the sound and quickly changed direction, the hair on his neck standing on end. He picked up his pace as the feline-sounding growl got closer.
Then the growling sounded angrier and closer still; it was closing fast on him.
He started jogging in a panic away from the sound, and he realized he was now heading back toward the burning house.
The angry growl was closer now. He felt his bladder loosen as he took off away from the house at a sprint.
“Fuck!” he groaned as he tripped over a shrub.
The growl was so close he pulled out his gun and spun around, looking for whatever was after him.
Something hit his arm and his gun went flying through the air.
“Shit,” he yelled as a screeching hiss angrily screamed at him from the darkness.
He began running again and immediately tripped and fell face-first into the dirt.
Pushing himself up to his hands and knees, he began crying as the growling cougar was nearly on top of him.
“No! Get away from me!” he screeched in terror and scrabbled away.
He reached a Joshua tree and tried to climb up it; his face was immediately impaled by the pointed, spiky leaves.
He cried out in pain as he struggled to climb higher.
Then the growling cat was behind the tree, and Joel pushed higher, crying out as the spikes continued to impale his hands and face.
He suddenly gasped in terror as he felt the cat raking its claws against his leg.
He kicked at it and cried out as its teeth took hold of his leg and began pulling him down.
“Nooo!” he screamed and tried to pull away.
Before he knew it, he was falling and, with a thump, he was on his back in the dark and the cat had let go.
He whimpered and thought about running back to the house but was frozen in fear as he felt the big cat near his head, growling.
He covered his face as the big cat hissed in fury. “No, no, no, please!” he cried.
Suddenly, the cat began laughing, and a light blasted its brightness into his face. From somewhere deep in his subconscious, he recognized that laugh…
“Hello, Joelly…” she purred and began laughing.
“Jessie?” he gasped. “How? What the fuck?” he screamed. He looked up in time to see Jessie’s fist as it came crashing down onto his battered face.
“Now, that was funny,” Simo chuckled, looking down at Joel’s unconscious body.
“You did say to have fun,” Jessie laughed as she shined her light down on Joel. “Look, he pissed himself.” She laughed.
“I see that,” Simo laughed. “Good job.”
Jessie kicked Joel’s body over and handcuffed his hands behind his back. “You gonna carry this sack of shit?”