Mike lay on the high ridge under an outcropping of broken rock. He watched a patrol move through the jumble of broken rock below him. He could tell these were not highly trained troops. They were sloppy in all aspects of their search. They should be easy to evade if necessary. Unless they stumbled on something by accident they should not effect the mission.
He watched as they moved away from his position toward the oasis. The tiny spring was not much, but it was the only surface water for many miles. People had stopped here for centuries.
He watched and realized that the patrol was checking out sniper positions. They were just about right if the sniper were using the 30 caliber rifles. Mike was using the big fifty caliber Barrett XM107 rifle with a much longer range. The patrol checked out every possible hiding place on the slope down to the spring. Every clump of rocks was examined. Other squads of troops were visible moving over the terrain in other sectors. It appeared that the meeting with German and French agents was going to happen. It would have been possible to wipe out the whole mess with one laser guided bomb but someone in the meeting was a valuable source of information. Could be anyone. Tomorrow was supposed to be the big day when the foreigners would arrive.
Normally he would have a spotter with him on a mission but Dave, his spotter had sprained or broken his ankle when they landed from the parachute jump. Mike had to leave him behind, well hidden, miles from the target area. Dave would wait five more days and then call for a helicopter extraction if Mike were back or not.
Mike was well back in the hole and couldn't see the whole area from there. He would move further forward later when the patrols moved further away or returned to camp. He checked the time, almost five. He slipped a little further forward and pulled the spotting scope up beside him. It was just about time for the beautiful girl to take her bath. She did it every day. There she was. She went to an area a short ways from the camp and entered a clump of boulders. She was hidden from the camp. She carried a small pail of water. She spread a blanket on the sandy ground and started removing her clothes. Her hair was long and black and hung below her waist. When she was finally nude she bent over and dipped a cloth in the pail of water then squeezed it out. She washed her face and neck. She took the damp cloth and rubbed under her arms and over her chest and back. She wrung out the cloth and dipped it in the pail again and washed between her legs. She began dressing again. She looked so sweet, serene, and peaceful.
Mike saw a man moving through the boulders and nearing the girl. He was a large man and wore native garb. He stepped in front of the girl and started waving his arms and suddenly a knife appeared in his hands and he threatened the girl with it. She fell on her knees before him and appeared to be begging for her life. He fumbled with his clothing and pulled out his semi erect penis. He pointed to it and she crawled toward him. She took the cock in her small hand and moved her face towards it. Her lips closed over the head of the erection and his head pulled back as he savored the feeling. Her other hand appeared with a small knife and she lunged upward and caught him in the throat with it. Blood spurted all over and he fell to the ground clutching his throat. The girl jumped up and grabbed the pail. She felt his pulse and calmly walked away.
Darkness fell quickly and Mike broke out his night vision gear and watched the camp. He got his satellite phone out and recorded a message describing the events around the target camp. Including the murder of the large man. He sent the message on the burst transmission feature of the phone. In about an hour the message received light glowed. He put the phone to his ear and hit the play button. The message directed him to try and remove all traces of the murder. He scratched his head. How could he do that? He thought the situation over. The girl had to be the informant. Nothing else made sense.
He got some items from a pack and crawled out of his hiding place. He started down the hill as fast as he could go. It was not too fast. He couldn't chance making any noise. He could see all the sentries with his night vision glasses and had no trouble avoiding them. He found the body and wrapped it in the blanket the girl had left behind. He moved the body in to the rocks and was almost back to the murder scene when he heard a slight noise. He froze and looked for the source. It was the girl, she was crawling around trying to find the body. He slipped up behind her and grasped her hands, mindful that she knew how to use a knife. He whispered, "Do you speak English?" He felt some of the tenseness leave her body. She nodded. He said, "Follow me." He took her hand and led her to the body.
He whispered, "I was going to try and hide him. I don't know where, do you have any ideas?"
She placed her lips to his ear. "Let's just get away as fast as we can, they won't find him until morning. We need to be as far away as we can by then. Hurry." He took her hand and led her into the night. He went up the hill very slowly and it was an hour before they reached his hideout. He moved her carefully into the hole. He gave her his sleeping bag to lay on. He softly told her he had to complete his mission before he could leave. She told him that his place was too far away for him to shoot anyone. He explained that he could get a killing shot on a man nine out of ten shots at this range. Better than that if the target was not moving. She wanted to know if the smoke from the shot would give them away. He told her that it was a very slight amount of smoke. Very hard to see at that distance. Mike asked her what her code name was. She said her name was Shalimar. He recorded a message into his sat-phone and sent it. The reply was rapid. Get the girl back to the American Forces. He told her the news, he said they would rest a few more minutes, then he would pack up and they would leave. They lay together in his sleeping bag for warmth. She smelled good. He asked what he should call her. "My parents called me 'Cookie', she said. "I would love for you to call me that. And what do I call you my hero?"
"Mike, my name is Mike. I want to hold you like this forever, but we must go soon."
"Mike, could you please hold me tight and kiss me just once before we leave. I haven't had a sweet kiss for a long time. Please."
He held her close and felt a tremor run through her. His face was in her hair and she lifted her face to his. The kiss was soft and gentle at first. Then his tongue slipped between her lips and she moaned and pulled him closer. The kiss lasted a long time. They broke part and he felt around for his gear. He packed everything in it's special place in his pack. He led her from the hole and placed a few selected rocks across the entrance He took her hand and placed it around a web of his pack harness. He put the night vision goggles back on and started over and down the back side of the hill. It was slow going and he knew it was much harder on her because she could see almost nothing. She often stumbled or hit rocks with her knees or feet. It was not exactly easy for him either carrying the thirty pound rifle plus his pack. They had to stop often to rest. He held Cookie's small body close while they rested. By first light they had several ridge lines behind them. They were only half way to where he had left Dave. Mike searched for a place to hide during the day. He opted for a clump of rocks that had a hollow under one giant boulder where they couldn't be seen from above and they had good visibility in most directions. There was no cover within half a mile where anyone could approach with out being seen. Pursuit from the camp would be seen further than that. They leaned back against a large rock and rested. They talked softly, asking each other questions about the other's life. They talked for several hours.
Mike opened his last MRE and heated the Beef Steak with Mushroom Gravy over a FRH heat tablet and gave it to Cookie. She wolfed it down. She looked up and saw he was eating an HOOAH! Energy bar. She handed him the remainder of the meal. He refused it, "Sweetheart you need to build your strength for tonight."
He suddenly held up his hand and told her to finish the meal as fast as she could. He said, "I hear a motor from our back trail. We need to be ready to slip away if we have to. They should come over that road through that narrow pass. Hopefully they are a regular scout patrol and are not looking for us." They finished their meal and buried every trace of it. It was that much less he would have to carry.
The truck he had heard came into sight and paused on top of the ridge line. He could see a man stand and look over the valley ahead of them with binoculars. The man searched the valley carefully for several minutes before he sat back down. Mike could see him talk on a radio, then wave the driver ahead down the road. The truck moved slowly over the crest and down the hill and made the slight turn toward them. Mike could see now that there were six men in the back of the truck. It was not a military vehicle, just a regular one ton commercial truck. Not four wheel drive either. He would probably stick to the roads.
Mike glanced back at the pass and thought he saw movement. He swung the scope back and spotted a man in the shade of a huge boulder surveying the valley with binoculars. He turned the scope to high power and watched the looker carefully. It was Dave! Mike rolled to his pack and got out his short range communicator. He keyed the microphone switch several times. Dave's head jerked up. He pulled his SRC out and held it to his ear. "Mike? Is that you?"
"Yep, I am at your two o'clock about three quarters of a mile. In a clump of boulders."
