Chapter 14
The Mission: Hurry Up and Wait . . .
The next several days went by slowly. Jack kept busy with his day-to-day activities. Jill called him at the end of each day to say that they were still waiting for the order to begin their mission. Jack fieldstripped and cleaned his M-16 each morning after his two-mile run. Then he fieldstripped and cleaned his 1911 pistol. Then he counted his ammunition, and inventoried his equipment. He did this by first unpacking his rucksack. Then he did his count, and repacked his rucksack. Then he went over his memorized compensation numbers for Betsy: range, elevation, and windage numbers that he wanted to have fresh in his mind when he took his “kill shot.” Finally he mentally reviewed his escape strategy and alternate plans. He knew from past missions that there is always a high probability of things not going as planned when they are making a quick egress from hostile territory. After this routine in the morning he would get some lunch and then relax in front of the TV watching the sports channel. After that he would go for a walk. Then dinner. Then wait for the call from Jill. Then go to bed and think about Jill. I wonder how Jill is holding up under this stress of waiting. I wonder how Jill is going to do on her HALO jump. I wonder if her parents are worried about her. I wonder how long it will be before I see her in those stiletto heels again.
Jack, even though he was relatively young, had been on several missions like this before. He knew how to manage the stress of waiting. It was not easy for anybody, but he was comfortable with the uncertainty.