Gigi and Frenchie

Author's note:

All characters and situations in this story are fictional except the well known very public names, obviously. I DID read Tommy Franks' autobiography about 10 years ago and hope I retained and represent all the key things from it accurately now. But no guarantees based on my current memory state. This is a supplemental story to my "Special Weapons and Tactics" series, but it should be understandable to anyone who hasn't read that series. But I make some cryptic references that certainly are spelled out more fully in that other series.

FINALLY - there is a lot of sex in this "Loving Wifes" genre story - but I pretty much skipped any lengthy graphic representations. Don't even bother skimming for those. Otherwise, I hope some people enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it. It just kind of flowed out pretty quickly, this time.

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Chapter 1 -

Iraq - May 2004

Her name was Miriam and she was a beautiful young 20 year old woman with classic Arab features. Very dark and expressive eyes, black hair, a perfectly proportioned nose, and lips that looked like honey tasted and a mouth that promised paradise.

She was dressed in "Western" style. A modest dress that could not hide her slim physique and hinted at her charms - top and bottom. She was about 5'6" and could weigh no more than 120 lbs. Sgt. Ben "Frenchie" Francois saw her on the street and made a pass at her reflexively. He was still only 24 years old himself and very much enjoying life - even in Iraq. He just smiled at her and tried to engage in conversation not even knowing if she knew any English. Nothing ventured, nothing gained, was his own personal interpersonal relationships mantra.

Of course there were very strict rules against fraternization in this still very tense socio-political post war environment. The short war had ended, now the "you break it, it's yours" part was happening.

General Tommy Franks had mapped out, strategized, and waged a brilliant war. During the planning stages most of his political superiors (and quite a few in the Pentagon) had almost mandated a huge invasion force be employed. Colin Powell, now Secretary of State, was the chief proponent of this strategy and what had been a very successful one he had employed in "Gulf War I" in 1990, when over 500,000 coalition forces were involved in victory - but only a limited victory. Yes, it freed Kuwait and chastised Saddam, but it also left the megalomaniacal dictator still in power.

The rather fanciful expectation that Saddam and his conventional military forces had been weakened enough that his own internal enemies would finish him off never materialized. And his Order of Battle left intact was STILL enough to rank in the top 10 worldwide - at least size wise.

For a very long time (since U.S. Grant in the Civil War) the core US Military war fighting doctrine was merely "overpowering force of arms and corresponding supportive logistics". That had not quite worked out in Vietnam in a victory - and yet it had worked. The US Military won every single major engagement and campaign in that entire war, even the 1968 Tet Offensive was a major catastrophe for the communists, militarily.

The Viet Cong, South Vietnamese communist insurgents, practically ceased to exist after that. Only NVA regulars and North Vietnamese irregulars continuing infiltration into the South maintained the bitter fight. But the communists HAD convinced Walter Cronkite they were "winning" with that offensive and Cronkite influenced a lot of other liberal Americans - and the politicians who had SO mismanaged the war finally bungled it all away. Over 50,000 stalwart American soldiers and millions of equally brave South Vietnamese allies paid the ultimate price for so much feckless American political foolishness. And with so little gained.

And now another questionable war was in the offing. Franks trusted his own staff and fought the political battles to fight this war his way, if it must be fought. War technology had changed greatly in the decade since Gulf War I. "Smart" weapons really were pretty smart now. Speed and precision had always been force multipliers and the new military was faster and smarter than ever before. C2 - "Command and Control" - doctrine was now expanded to C4: Command, Control, Communications, and Computers.

Massive armies increased complexity in all kinds of ways - and slowed everything down. Transportation and logistics problems inevitably multiplied. And everything merely became that much more expensive.

The initial Franks plan involved a two pronged invasion after the massive "shock and awe" precision targeting initial bombing campaign. One prong was to originate from Turkey and had two purposes, 1. Protect our Kurdish allies already under our "no fly zone" protection from Saddam's predation and 2. Merely tie down large amounts of Iraqi troops, artillery and armor in the North while the major invasion came from elsewhere.

The other prong was from the traditional South - Saudi Arabia and Kuwait. The total coalition forces involved this time was less than 200,000 and that force could be co-ordinated and assembled and then C4'd much easier and quicker than any over 500,000.

But then Turkey balked for their own socio-political reasons and refused to allow any large number of coalition forces to position in Turkey or attack Iraq from Turkey.

Time for Plan B.

Franks, Colin Powell, and ultimately Bush himself pressured the Turks to at least allow their decision in this matter to remain a secret, publicly. Then the Franks staff went with a "maskirova" - the Russian term for a deception gambit at least as old as Sun-Tzu. They would merely PRETEND the invasion was still coming from Turkey and "leak" that info - and even if Saddam sympathizers or spies in Turkey reported it wasn't, Saddam was quite paranoid enough to keep quite a few of his own forces positioned in the North. Just in case.

Well, we all know what happened and just how short the real invasion and conventional fighting war was. We also know there were tens of thousands of Iraqi POW's who quickly surrendered. But also additional hundreds of thousands who merely took off their uniforms and deserted. In fact, practically EVERY Iraqi man in uniform did that - especially internal security forces (secret police) but even normal police forces. This really threw the whole country into chaos.

It's simply not true that Franks and his team or Powell and President Bush gave no thought at all to the "after the war" scenarios. Their basic plan was simply to utilize existing Iraqi forces and command structure after removing the head - Saddam and his sons and other very top henchmen - to continue policing and administrating the country during the transition period to a Western style democracy. While maintaining a "low as possible profile" of occupation. Try and minimize day-to-day face-to-face friction between non-Muslim invaders and Muslim Iraqis.

Yeah, I know - Ha! Too bad no one in the Bush Admin with any real power or influence had apparently ever read Howard Bloom's "The Lucifer Principle" and then really thought about it. But hindsight is often 20/20 for those actually bothering to look.

But then any more detailed planning of "after" was all rather pointless. No one could actually know how quickly or how long the major fighting might last. Maybe some of Saddam's forces would just get lucky. Maybe he had and would use even more bio-chem weapons than was planned for. Initially, almost all US ground forces went in prepared for bio-chem assaults against them. Many were already suited up. This impacted their own combat efficiency a tad. But were so highly trained it was just a minor irritation and impediment. Maybe the war would become a multi-year engagement like Vietnam or like Afghanistan became for the Russians. Winning the war HAD to come first, and hopefully as quickly and with the fewest Coalition Forces and actually innocent Iraqi noncombatants as possible. Well, one out of two ain't bad. Sometimes it ain't good, either.

Anyway, only a few MP's went in initially - and all were "combat/line" MP's tasked more with combat roles than actual policing roles.

But after the initial massive POW situation eventuated - many more MP's were sent in - including John Thornton, Jack Clark, Ben Francois, and Jason Dunbar. They were all in the same unit initially involved in POW security, and some POW officer interrogations. They were all E5 - Staff Sergeants - but John was senior in grade and on that "31D - Criminal Investigations Special Agent" technical specialty path.

By May, 2004 they had transitioned primarily to the training role - training some of the whole brand new cadre of Iraqi civilian police now needed. They were also sometimes involved in actual MP felony investigation type roles - especially involving suspected US Army/Iraqi combined criminal activity - like stealing/selling US Army weapons or other supplies for either cash or very valuable Iraqi antiquities that had been looted in the chaos when Baghdad had fallen so suddenly.

And then one day Frenchie saw Miriam. It was a bad day. Maybe one of the worst ever, in retrospect - and for both.

Frenchie chased her, of course, almost by habit. Miriam ran, as she was expected to and also just knowing it WAS the smart thing to do. She was a very smart and a very willful young woman. But there was just something about Frenchie. He was mysterious - much moreso than any other of the Americans she had met and talked to. And he had the kindest eyes, it seemed like - whenever she looked into them while catching him staring at her with his equally kind smile.

So Miriam did not run too fast or too far, after all. And she allowed Frenchie to catch her. They somehow managed to spend some time together. John and his close buddies found out about it soon enough and warned him to be careful - VERY careful. John was now an E6 Technical Sergeant and basically Frenchie's immediate superior and starting to really worry about him.

Miriam's family also found out and tried to warn her - get her to just stop seeing Frenchie. They were Muslims but only "social Muslims" - just doing enough to not upset their many neighbors and friends - but nothing could placate the few Sunni Islamic fanatics they inevitably also knew.

Miriam's father loved her and only wanted his beautiful little girl to be happy. He had already gently resisted the many inquiries into potential very "good" marriage matches so many of his friends and associates had proposed for their own sons or cousins or nephews to Miriam. He was quite content to only act after Miriam let him know what her own preferences were in the matter of her own heart. But he felt a chill and fear about the path she was on right now.

And then one weekend Frenchie went AWOL.

"God damn it." John thought. Frenchie was now gone from his barracks for almost 48 hours straight. It was a Friday night when Frenchie went out alone and then didn't return. He had no specifically assigned duties until Monday at 8AM - but he was NOT authorized to be gone. They were all on call for any other policing duties they might be needed for. John thought he knew where Frenchie was probably at and he made his decision Sunday afternoon.

He called in Jack and Jason. "Gear up. We're going to take a little patrol ride and try and pull Frenchie's head out of his own ass." AWOL in a combat zone, which Iraq still was, might very well mean years in Leavenworth if Frenchie was charged and convicted in a general court martial. "Fuck."

John was thinking Frenchie might have been making use of an apartment the unit used as a sometimes "safe house" for meetings with Iraqi CI's who were willing to trade info - often ratting out their own accomplices - for a promise of extradition to the USA or sometimes just Italy or the UK.

So he checked out a Humvee and they drove to that apartment building - and right on by. Two Iraqi policemen trainees they recognized were standing outside the front entrance to the building - and looking outwards and not inwards with M16's at the ready. John got a sinking feeling. This might not be good.

"Drive around the corner and park. We'll check the back entrance via the alley. Maybe it will be clear."

And it was. They all went up the stairs quietly to the 3rd floor apartment. The door was shut but unguarded - at least outside. They cautiously approached and listened. Sounded pretty quiet, then there was a smack and a groan.

John just nodded and Jack tested the door - seemed to not be locked - he slowly and quietly just opened it and backed away - John kicked it on in the rest of the way and went in fast with his Mossberg pump up and ready to unload on whatever was inside.

They were all very surprised. Two more Iraqi police trainees were holding Frenchie's head up in the chair he was handcuffed to - while Lt. Haran, who was the leader of the police detachment they were helping train, was apparently looking to hit Frenchie in the face with something he was now surreptitiously trying to hide from the intruders. Frenchie was totally naked.

"Nobody better make any sudden moves." John said flatly.

"What's going on?" Was his next question.

"Ah, Sergeant Thornton. It's good you have arrived. We got here too late to save poor Miriam but not Frenchie." Haran smoothly lied.

John wasn't fooled. Haran was a slimy bastard who acted haughty and spoke excellent English with an upper class British accent. He came from a rich Baathist family and was educated at Cambridge. His family was trying to worm themselves right back into positions of political power in the "new" Iraq and control/influence in the police forces was always important. That was the job assigned to the lesser son, Haran, right now.

"We think it was Miriam's brother and cousins who found them together here in that bed." Jack and Jason had their own carbines up and didn't waver. John glanced over and saw poor beautiful Miriam, naked and dead. Her throat had been cut but there were other large bruises on her body. John didn't want to think what else had been done to her, but his own training and experience showed him at a glance what had been done to her, undoubtedly. "Fuck. Fuck, fuck, fuck," was all John could feel.

"We were just in the process of freeing Sgt. Francois here and getting him back to his base."

Haran continued smoothly while all John could think of this BS was, "Lies, lies, and damn lies."

"Uncuff him. CAREFULLY," John cautioned.

Frenchie groaned a little and was about to fall off the chair. "Jack, get him." John said.

"You two - in that corner. Haran, you're coming with us and I'll guarantee you a bullet in the back of your head if there is ANY problem with us getting back. Understand?"

Haran's eyes flashed anger and hatred for a second, then he smiled disarmingly. "Of course, Sergeant - we're all on the same side here, after all. There won't be any problems. I am really sorry all this had to happen. So many Iraqis are just still so upset at foreign - and non-Islamic - occupation forces, you know, old man." Trying the British charm tack, now.

They made it back OK. It was a real hairy feeling until they got in their armored HMMWV and out of that neighborhood. Frenchie was pretty beat up - a couple of fractured ribs and a broken nose and some lost teeth. But it was his emotional pain that was paramount.

It was Haran and his little goon squad that did it. This was actually the first time Frenchie and Miriam had any chance at all to be intimate. He loved her and she loved him and they were actually planning on getting married, even if Frenchie had to become Muslim to do it - at least until he could get his new bride out of the country and back home again. Maybe Haran wanted her also. Who knew? They must have followed Miriam to their rendezvous.

Frenchie needed some medical aid but just going to the infirmary would cause a lot of questions best left unasked and unanswered. One of the best corpsman John and Frenchie knew and trusted was called on and he treated Frenchie the best he could.

"Fuck. He's in a pretty damn sad shape. May even be a fractured rib or 2 and he probably needs to be airlifted to Ramsden. If there are ANY complications I'm going to blow the whistle on you guys. Understand?"

"Thanks, Jimbo - just do the best you can right now and if he doesn't IMMEDIATELY and continually get better I'm going to put him on the plane myself," John promised.

"OK. All I can do is tape the ribs a little and show you guys how. Here's two syrettes for pain - already off the books so don't worry about it." Morphine syrettes were very closely accounted for, obviously. "Don't give him anything but aspirin or ibuprofen today and tonight. Increasing pain is the best indication something may be heading seriously wrong - but if that doesn't happen he can use one tomorrow night for sleep and then maybe one the next night. And then nothing but aspirin or ibuprofen. Got it? Just in case I can't get back to see him in the next few days..."

Frenchie did steadily recover but needed a whole week before he could get back to his real job. His team covered for him OK but it was close a few times. Luckily their LT wasn't any kind of "hands on" guy and pretty much let John run the unit in this low priority - to him - training mission. The LT only really got excited when some criminal investigation got dropped on them and he got to try and play "Columbo" - a total impossibility with Iraqis. But funny to the team.

Frenchie's face was still pretty bruised and swollen when he finally made it back to teaching/training their Iraqi "brethren" and John caught Haran smirking at Frenchie a few times. The team members were all very careful watching each other's backs when training from here on out. They didn't need any training "accidents" nor any direct green-on-blue attacks.

It took John 3 weeks to catch Haran more or less alone on a street during dusk and close to dark. Haran had his own normal security, two person detail with him, but Jack Carter and Jason helped distract them all. Jack called out and approached Haran from one direction. As they faced him John came up behind him and tapped him on the shoulder. John was wearing Iraqi civilian garb and his face was pretty much covered up with an Arab Keffiyah. Haran turned to him and John shot him right in the forehead with a "liberated" Russian Makarov PM 9mm pistol which was then dropped right there. Why the tap on the shoulder? John wanted him to see his eyes and the gun and know what was coming to him. It was personal.

Then John ran around a corner while Jack and Jason pulled their own sidearms and started yelling to the guards to "get some medical help here, right now!" It was thin but worked just long enough. John was smoke in the wind and just disappeared, before rather quickly reappearing fully dressed in US Army combat fatigues uniform and driving the Humvee around to pick up Jack and Jason, and then offered his own sweetly sincere condolences on Haran's untimely end and even a promise to help find the murderer.

Haran's security detail and his other goons figured out it was the Americans pretty quickly. Things got pretty tense during the joint training sessions after this. The funny thing was that Haran's murder was assigned to John and his team to investigate. It didn't take much to discover Haran really was involved in all kinds of corruption and criminality - from protection kickback schemes against innocent Iraqi shopkeepers to Black Market acquisition and sales of all kinds of illegal merchandise, but especially arms and explosives used in killing the "invaders" via IED's.

John and his guys took down part of Haran's organization and even pinned the murder on one of his own people with enough planted evidence that it was just an internal power/control struggle - and this fall guy then died in a shootout as they tried to arrest him. Good riddance, indeed. But their own training effectiveness was now badly diminished and their hearts weren't in it, anymore. Especially Frenchie's. All four were mercifully rotated back to the states early - and put in a training role for OTHER MP's before their own deployments.