***
Jack sat in silence for the next hour thinking about how much he would enjoy killing Ramiro.
“Jack, I think we need to start planning the kill shot. Tomorrow is going to be a busy day, and we have enough recon data to make plans.”
“Yeah, today didn’t turn out like expected, but I did notice that Juan-Carlos and Ramiro got on the helicopter at the same time both days.”
“Their schedule for the rest of their days was erratic. The early morning helicopter flight seems to be the only thing that’s consistent.”
“And the early morning should have little wind,” Jack said.
“Then it’s settled. At zero-six twenty-eight tomorrow, Ramiro will take his last breath.” Then Jill spoke in a jesting fashion, “I just wish I was going to be the one to pull the trigger and kill that creep.”
“Yeah, you should have brought your BB gun.” Jack laughed.
“I have been watching the sentries, and they are venturing a little further into the woods, but I don’t think they are coming close enough to be a problem,” Jill said.
“I noticed that, too. I agree, not a problem as long as they don’t get any closer,” Jack said. “We should start sorting out our equipment. Then I will put a call into HQ.”
“It’s time to make our two piles. I am going to miss this campsite. It’s crazy how attached I can get to a place like this. I hope we will see the deer again tonight,” Jill said.
Jack began sorting their equipment into two piles. One pile was equipment they would leave behind, like unused food, sleeping bags, and extra water bottles. The other pile was all the equipment they would have to carry during their egress—weapons, ammo, radio, and a single water bottle for each. They did not know how fast they were going to have to run after the kill shot. They needed to minimize the equipment they carried in case they were pursued aggressively by the sentries from the Zaragoza compound. Hopefully there would be minimal resistance, and that would mean they could just walk briskly to the landing zone for pick-up by the Black Hawk helicopter.
After ten minutes of sorting, the two piles were finished, then Jack began taking the items from the “take it with us” pile and stuffing them into their backpacks. The only items he didn’t pack were their weapons and radio.
“Is it time to make the call to HQ?” Jack asked.
“Yes,” Jill responded.
Jack unfolded the comms radio and flipped the power switch to the “on” position. Then he entered the scramble code. Next he checked the signal strength indicator. “We have a strong signal up here—five out of five bars.”
“Be sure to ask HQ if there is any change in the weather.”
“Delta Bravo, this is Flap Jack Two. Do you read me?” Jack waited for a response.
“Flap Jack Two, this is Delta Bravo, go ahead.”
“We are planning our egress for tomorrow and we wanted to give you our ETA at pick-up point Alpha and Bravo.”
“Go ahead.”
“We will be at Alpha tomorrow morning at oh-seven-oh-five.”
“Affirmative, Alpha at oh-seven-oh-five.”
“If anything goes wrong, we will be at pick-up point Bravo at oh-eight-twenty.”
“Affirmative. Back-up plan will be Bravo at oh-eight-twenty. How is Flap Jack One doing?”
“She is bruised and limping a little, but getting better every day. If needed, she could double-time her egress. By the way, she wanted me to ask about the weather for tomorrow.”
“It will be a beautiful warm day, but colder tonight than expected. A front is moving in and the nighttime temperature will drop to 30 degrees. Temperature at zero-six hundred will be 31 degrees, and winds will be calm. By the time you arrive at the aircraft carrier, it should be in the high fifties. Is there anything else you need?”
“No, just make sure the helicopter is waiting for us. I don’t want to have to hike all the way home.”
“Affirmative. Delta Bravo out.”
“Flap Jack Two out.”
“So, now we wait,” Jill said.
“Wait, and sleep.”
“Speaking of sleeping, I was wondering . . .”
“That tone of voice sounds dangerous,” Jack said.
“We both went to survival school, right.”
Jack hesitated. He had a sense of what was coming. “Yes . . .?”
“Do you remember the cold nights?”
“Yes.”
“Do you remember how you had to ‘share body warmth’ with another soldier?” Jill asked.
“Yes, but that was different.”
“It was different because the other soldier was a guy, and now the other soldier is a girl, am I right?”
Jack took a deep breath. “Jill, you should be careful what you ask for.”
“Listen, Jack, I am just saying that we are both soldiers, and we are both adults. I think we should make logical decisions in the field that are not based on emotion.”
Jack took another deep breath. “Okay, what’s your plan?”
“If you gather a few more bunches of pine needles, then we’ll have plenty of room for the both of us. We can lay back to back, just like we did in survival training. Then we can cover ourselves with our blankets, and we will be toasty warm.”
“Sure, whatever you say . . . ma’am.” Jack placed a bit of official-sounding emphasis on the last word. He wanted to set the record straight. They were going to share body warmth. Nothing else was going to happen. She is his commander, nothing else.
Jack strolled into the woods. Ten minutes later he returned with an armload of pine needles. He said nothing as he spread them next to Jill’s bed of pine needles. Jack looked at the bed of pine needles he had spread out. He sat down in the middle of them and patted them with his hands. “This is comfy.”
“I slept rather well on my pine needles last night.”
“Can I ask another question?”
“Sure, Jack.”
“I enjoyed meeting your family at the pizza shop. They seem like a really nice bunch of people. They are friendly, jovial, fun loving, and they all have a great background in the military, except for your mom of course.”
“Of course. Sooo . . . what is your question?”
“Well, I was wondering . . . they are . . . or rather are sort of . . . I mean . . .” Jack was having trouble finding the right words.
“Come on, Savage, out with it!” Jill taunted Jack in a jesting fashion in hopes that she could put him at ease. She could tell that he was having trouble asking his question. She reached out and punched Jack in the arm and smiled.
“It seemed like your family is . . . religious?”
“Oh, you think they’re a bunch of religious wackos, huh?” Jill replied.
“They did pray in a public place, and they all held hands. So I assume that they were all in favor of the prayer that Shooter prayed.”
“Jack, I could give you the short answer, and say yes they are religious. But that wouldn’t do justice to your question.”
“Okay, then give me the long answer. I don’t have anything on my schedule until six twenty-eight tomorrow morning.”
“I hope it doesn’t take that long.” Jill smiled. “Hmm, where do I start? First, I should tell you that spiritually speaking, I am the black sheep of my family.”
Jack raised an eyebrow.
“Everyone in my family is a Christian except me, but they weren’t always like that. A long time ago my mom became a Christian, then Shooter, then my brothers. Now, I am the only person that is not a Christian.”
“Continue . . .” Jack nodded.
“Maybe I can use an analogy to explain the ‘Christian’ thing. I suppose it is like our egress plan.”
“How is that?” Jack asked.
“We have two plans, plan A and plan B. Plan A is landing zone Alpha, and if anything goes wrong, we have a plan B which is landing zone Bravo.”
“Sure, but how does that relate to the religious thing?”
“S
piritually speaking, plan A is how we try to be good enough to gain God’s favor. We try to do some good things, and refrain from doing lots of bad things. Hopefully, we will eventually have enough good deeds so they will outweigh our bad deeds. Then we assume we have God’s favor, and as a result we will go to Heaven when we die.”
“I’ve heard that before,” Jack said.
“The problem with plan A is that we cannot be good enough to have God’s favor.”
“Why not?” Jack asked.
“First of all, God demands perfection. Anything less than perfection will send us to hell. In the Bible, Matthew 5:201 Jesus said, ‘except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven.’ And in Romans 8:28 it says, ‘For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.’ We will never be perfect, no matter how hard we try.”
“Are you sure you aren’t religious? You sound like a preacher.”
“Jack, I don’t want to sound like that. Mom and Shooter encouraged me to memorize a few Bible verses when I was young and I still remember them. Anyhow, it’s just that you asked me a question, and as partners we have been making a lot of progress being honest and open with each other. If you want me to be quiet, we can change the subject.”
Jack took a deep breath, and looked at the ground. “I think it would be hard to listen to this if you were religious. But you aren’t, and I am actually kind of interested.” Jack finally looked up from the ground. “Please continue, Jill.”
“Plan A is impossible, it just doesn’t work. Lots of people try it and fail. Some think they are succeeding; unfortunately they are not. So, just like landing zone Bravo, we need a plan B since plan A will not work.”
“You’ve piqued my interest. I’m listening. What is plan B?” Jack asked.
“Plan B is Jesus’ death on the cross for our sins. God knew we couldn’t be perfect, so He sent his Son, who was perfect, to be punished for our sins on the cross. There was an exchange made, our sins for his righteousness. In 2 Corinthians 5:21 it says that God made Jesus to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in Jesus.”
“Okay, so if he died for us all. Then shouldn’t we automatically be Christians?”
“Hmm, not quite. I wish it were that easy, especially in my case. The problem is our lack of faith. You see, the Bible says in John 3:16 ‘For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.’ So to have eternal life we must believe that Jesus died for our sins. That is the part that I am struggling with.”
“Why would you struggle with that? It seems like the sort of thing that people like you would want to do.”
“People like me?”
“Oh, well . . . I just mean that since you came from a family of Christians, you would naturally believe that Jesus died for your sins. I don’t understand why you would hesitate.”
“My family tells me that it’s my own pride.” Jill’s gaze dropped to the ground. After a long pause, she looked back up at Jack. “They think that deep down I want the thrill of earning my salvation. They say it is a natural thing that everyone wrestles with, and I just have to give it time. They hope I can work things out eventually. My mom says she prays every day that I will put my ego behind me and put my faith in Jesus.”
“So, I guess you don’t like going home and hearing them preaching at you all the time?” Jack asked.
“No, it’s not like that. They hardly say anything about it nowadays. Once in a while one of them mentions it, but usually they are interested in talking to me about everyday things, and I actually feel really glad to see my family whenever I can. And like I mentioned, I talk to my mom whenever I can on the telephone.”
Jack thought about how unique Jill was. Bright, tough, a tomboy, likes killing bad guys, likes hunting, likes the military, and has a religious background. No wonder she never got far with any of her boyfriends. How many guys would like someone like her? Maybe a military chaplain? No, on second thought, I don’t think a chaplain would like her tendency toward violence.
“From what I saw of your family, they are very special,” Jack said.
A loud snap came from the south side of their camp. Jill and Jack both froze. Jack quietly pulled his pistol and knife. He hoped it was a deer, and not a sentry. Nonetheless, he released the safety on his pistol. A figure rose slowly above the crest of the hill. Jack glanced at Jill in anticipation, then looked back at the approaching figure. The deer from yesterday was again taking an evening stroll through their camp. It nibbled at berries at the edge of the camp, then worked her way toward Jill. Jack glanced at the ground and saw the remains of his last MRE that he didn’t finish. He slowly reached down and picked up the packet of chocolate pudding. Jack quietly opened the packet, then reached out and grabbed Jill’s hand. Turning her palm up, he squeezed the packet and the chocolate pudding oozed into her hand. The deer approached and sniffed its way toward Jill’s hand full of food. The deer moved cautiously. It seemed to sense the friendly attitude Jill had, but was slow in its movements. Finally, when the deer was close enough, it bent its neck and began licking the chocolate pudding from Jill’s open hand. Jill’s blue eyes filled as she watched the beautiful brown deer nibble and lick at the food in her hand. Jill smiled at Jack. The food in Jill’s hand was quickly disappearing. The warm tongue wiping her palm with slippery saliva sent a chill through her body. The deer saw Jill quiver, paused a moment, and then continued licking Jill’s palm. Its tongue furrowed between her fingers to get the last of the pudding. Another shiver course Jill’s body. Finally, when the pudding was gone, the deer looked at Jack. He smiled. I’m sorry, but I don’t have any food to offer.
Seeing Jack was empty handed, the deer meandered off toward the Zaragoza compound. When the deer was out of sight, Jill finally spoke. “I have never experienced anything like that before. The deer was licking my palm. It was so sensuous; it gave me chills.”
“I enjoyed that too. I think we were lucky to have one last visit from the deer.”
A half hour passed and neither spoke. Jack was thinking about the deer as they watched the sun setting in the western sky.
“Jack, it’s getting cold. I think it’s time to share body warmth.”
“Hmm . . .”
“Oh come on, Jack, I am not asking you to have sex with me. I just want to keep from freezing to death tonight.”
“Okay . . . It is getting cold. How do you want to do this?”
“Let’s lay in the center of the pine needles. We can lie back to back, and then we can put both our blankets on top of us.”
Jack grabbed his blanket, slid over and turned his back to Jill. Jill grabbed her blanket, turned away from Jack, and slid close to him until their backs touched. Jack felt her buttocks and shoulders touch his. Instantly, the warmth of her body began flowing into him. Jack thought how this was much better than sleeping on the cold ground by himself.
Jill reached over and spread her blanket over them. Then Jack spread his blanket on top of hers. They pulled their arms under the blankets.
After several minutes, Jill began wiggling her hips and shoulder as she repositioned herself. She shifted her body up several inches toward Jack’s head. After several more readjustments, Jack felt Jill’s buttocks settle into the small of his back. Then the full length of Jill’s back was in close contact with his back. He felt a surge of warmth because of the full contact. This swell of heat from her body relaxed him. This was a lot better than sharing body warmth with another guy during survival training. There are definite advantages to having Jill as a partner.
In the final glow of the evening twilight, Jack fell asleep thinking about Jill’s closeness and warmth.
Hours passed and Jack slept soundly. Jill rolled over and her movement woke Jack. He felt her slender body draw close to his. Her tummy was pressed against his back, and her legs were drawn up close
to his. I like the feeling of Jill being close, but I wonder what my buddies would think if they could see me “spooning” with my commander.
Jill must have been dreaming. She was mumbling words that Jack could not understand except for one. She kept repeating the word Buzzy. Then without warning, Jill reached her arm out and wrapped it around Jack’s chest, and squeezed close. Jack didn’t know what to do. He wondered if he should wake Jill and ask her to turn away from him. He wondered what she was dreaming about. He wished he understood all the words she was mumbling. What should I do?
Jack quietly contemplated his situation, and decided to do nothing. I am going to lie here and enjoy this moment.
Notes:
1. All bible verses are from the King James Bible.