Major Addison "Yadda" Reubens peered through the
glare of the Iraqi sun at the town of Qalqalas in the distance. They were still
several kilometers away. He could barely see their destination--an oasis
straight ahead of them, past the town--on the horizon.
Sweating profusely, he adjusted the rough linen turban on
his forehead and draping around his neck as he trudged among the smelly,
bleating, jostling sheep. He glanced to his left, where Captain Joseph Jamison
walked free and easily with the sheep crowding around him, as carefree as one
who had been a shepherd his whole life. Reubens had to admire the kid; he had
mastered the behavior of an Iraqi shepherd so perfectly, you could not tell by
looking at him that these sheep had been in his care all of four hours. You
couldn't even tell he had never been a shepherd in his life before then.
Reuben's wandering thoughts snapped back into focus when he saw the large
stones lining the road next to the town, as they drew closer. He knew what
awaited them--or at least Joseph--behind those rocks. Reubens paused; suddenly,
he did not want to go through with "the plan." He saw Capt. Faver
glance at him, and McJacobs, both with knowing expressions. Sgt. Hamid
bin Yakub, or "Yak," as they called him, had informed everyone of his
intentions to "remove" Joseph from the operation and make it look
like an inevitable accident. Reubens winced; if only he hadn't made the mistake
that cost him that point position! Granted, he didn't like Joseph's
preferential treatment by the Colonel any more than Yak did, but killing?
Surely there was another way!
Could they escape through the streets of Qalqalas, perhaps?
Yak would see them; he'd be watching them every step of the way so far. He
wouldn't be able to see them in town from the field, and Reubens hoped he
wouldn't be able to do anything about it. The soldier gripped his staff in
determination; Joseph would not be killed, not as long as he could do anything
about it.
"Yadda!" Corporal Aaron Revere, called "the Rev"
by the other members of ISRL, interrupted Reubens' train of thought.
"Which way do we go?"
Reubens glanced toward the rocks, and away toward the town.
He pointed toward town. "Steer the sheep down that way!" he ordered,
and the rest of his detachment obeyed, albeit not without puzzled expressions.
As Reubens expected, Yak's gravelly voice reached him over
his earpiece.
"Yadda, what the hell do you think you're doing?"
Reubens winced, "We're taking the long route through
the town… sir," he replied.
"That wasn't the plan, Reubens," Yak pointed out,
deliberately being vague about his alternate plot. "Skirt the town; it
will be faster that way. I'm almost in position."
Reubens and his group had almost reached the small decline
into the town. "Negative, sir," he responded to Yak, "We spotted
suspicious activity along that road; it's too risky."
"Risky?" Yak exploded, causing all the men to
jump as his voice blasted their eardrums. "Reubens, don't you dare leave
my sight--"
Reubens sighed with relief. They had made it to the
outskirts of the town. A few paces more and Yak would be blind to them.
"Approaching town, sir," he reported casually to Yak. "We'll
turn off our comms till we get through, then I'll let you know when we reach
the other side." He raised his hand to signal everyone to switch off their
comms.
"Reubens, you'll regret--" click!
Reubens nodded with satisfaction as he saw the rest of the
men switch off, effectively "going dark," at least to Yak. It was a
risky maneuver, but Reubens hoped it would be enough to save Joseph's life.
"Keep the sheep close," he cautioned the young
officer.
Joseph nodded and reached out with his staff to guide a
wandering sheep back toward the flock. Carefully, Joseph worked his way to the
edge of the flock, placing now his body between the flock and the various
obstacles in the town streets such as crates, people, and even the occasional
truck.
One sheep nearly got away from him, and as Joseph bent to
restrain it, Reubens clearly saw an Arab, standing next to a rusty, blue cattle
truck, raise his hand to his ear, staring at the group intently. Reubens saw
him nod, saw his lips move, and by the time Joseph stood up, the man was a
picture of disinterest. The Arab made eye contact with Reubens and nodded;
somehow he was in contact with Yak, who had given him some sort of instruction.
Reubens sighed and glanced to the other side of the road as they neared the
truck. He heard one of the men call out to Joseph, but the dialect was strange,
and even if they spoke Arabic, Reubens didn't know enough to fully understand
what they said. The man smiled a rotting grin full of wide holes at the young
captain and waved. Joseph looked to his sergeant for confirmation, which Reubens
felt loath to give. Slowly, reluctantly, Reubens sealed his involvement with
the plot against Joseph with a nod. Joseph turned back to the man, who began
fingering Joseph's jacket admiringly. Soon all the men at the truck had him
surrounded. Reubens used the ram at the head of the flock to steer the
rest of the sheep away from the small scuffle as five Arab men swiftly wrestled
Joseph into the back of their truck. He heard the others call out in surprise,
he heard the truck motor grind to life, but Reubens could not bring himself to
even look at the vehicle as it roared away with Joseph inside.
"Ey!" he heard one of the Arabs yell, and
something slapped against his left side.
The Colonel's jacket, the one he'd given to Joseph; the men
had ripped it off him and tossed it at Reubens. He saw a thick packet tucked
into the pocket; by the feel of it, Reubens deduced there was money inside. Yak
had sold Joseph to them.
Reuben burned inside.
"I hope you're happy, you turncoat!" he muttered
before turning on his comm as they reached the far side of town.
Meanwhile, in the back of the truck, Joseph struggled in
vain as a burly Arab bound and gagged him. The man left Joseph laying there and
climbed out to the side of the truck.
The young soldier's mind raced. This was not at all how he
envisioned his first mission! Why hadn't the others in his unit stopped them?
Did they even care about him? Had Yadda known? Joseph soon forgot about these
worries as he realized that this truck had very recently held many of some
animal--sheep, perhaps? The truck bed was heaped with piles of dung. Joseph
stumbled to his feet in disgust, for it occurred to him that he had landed on a
few piles, himself. In the bouncing, lurching truck it was difficult to gain a
footing, but at least Joseph made it to his knees, where it was easier to
absorb the movement and control his body.
He considered his situation. They obviously intended to
carry him a great distance, and Joseph was willing to bet the destination had
nothing to do with Operation Shepherd. Where would he end up, and why had he
been singled out?
"The Lord is my Shepherd," Joseph thought,
"I shall not want..."
/\/\/\
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