“We’re five miles from Point Blue,” he told Shade.
“I heard.”
Bodycount nodded. “Right, well, we need to make up time. Follow me.”
They moved off at a much faster pace. As they did Bodycount asked, “So why’d Eagle pick you for this mission?”
Shade shrugged even though Bodycount couldn’t see her. “Beats me,” she replied. “I guess because he thought I needed more field experience. I’ve only been on a few missions.”
“Really?” Bodycount asked.
“Yeah, I’ve spent most of my time training Z Force infantrymen and SAS Force Attack Troopers hand-to-hand combat.”
Bodycount merely grunted in response.
As they continued, they came to a jungle trail. Bodycount took it since it was heading in their direction.
“It’s a risk,” he said to Shade, “But we need to make up time.”
The pair of SAS Force commandos were now actively running along the trail.
Suddenly, Bodycount halted near a curve in the trail and raised his hand. Shade halted next to him.
“Patrol up ahead,” he whispered. “Follow me.”
The two soldiers moved along the trail carefully, moving along the curve. Shade could now hear the soldiers’ conversing in Spanish. She couldn’t understand a word of it, however.
Rounding the bend in the trail, they saw four armed men ahead of them. They were dressed in black t-shirts and camo-pattern trousers. They were armed with a variety of weapons. Two had their backs to Shade and Bodycount. The other pair was standing facing each other.
“Shade, these Muppets have no idea we’re here,” Bodycount whispered. “Let’s take this nice and slow. You take the two on the right. On ‘three’. One… Two… Three…”
Bodycount fired his M16 dropping the first target with a single shot to the back of the head. The second gunman was turning toward the dead man as another single shot hit his right temple.
Shade fired her MP5 in burst mode, dropping her first target with three rounds in the back of the head. Her second target was faster turning, but took all three rounds in the face.
Bodycount had pivoted toward Shade’s targets as she fired her second burst. He lowered his rifle from its raised position in front of him. All four targets down in five seconds.
“Excellent.” Bodycount walked over to the dead gunmen. He knelt next to Shade’s targets. The bullet-holes in their heads were about the same size as a five pence piece.
“Nice shooting,” Bodycount said, as Shade approached. “I did wonder if you really knew how to use that thing,” he said waving his hand toward her weapon.
“Of course I do,” she replied, sounding offended.
“Well, you are a martial arts expert. No one told me you could shoot too.”
Shade smiled. “I was one of the best shots in my intake of recruits in the Tawaichu Army,” she said proudly.
Bodycount nodded, “Right. Let’s move.” He stood and began moving off down the trail and Shade ran to catch up to him. As she did, she thought back to her first days in the Army.
1988
Tawaichu
Aki Watsanabe had finished high school in Japan and returned to Tawaichu. She’d got top grades in English and Japanese language classes as well as maths, physics, chemistry and biology. She’d also spent the last four years mastering Japanese staff fighting, Ju-jitsu, Kendo and had also taken classes in Karate and Judo. Her father had almost disowned her when she told him she was returning to Tawaichu to join the Army.
Aki returned to Tawaichu and her mother supported her enlistment in the reformed Army of Tawaichu. Aki had gone through an orientation lecture, along with the other recruits, which had informed the seven women in the group that they could expect to be assigned to either the Signals Battalion or the Logistics Regiment. The men however, could expect assignment to either of those units, or to the three infantry regiments, the armoured regiment or to the Air Brigade. Aki was rather disappointed to hear that.
After several days of physical training, the recruits were finally given firearms training. Aki lay on her stomach on the firing line at the range. She lined up her target as the recruits had been instructed, then pulled the trigger of her M16A1 assault rifle and fired a single shot. The bullet punched a hole in the paper target, right through where a human heart would be. She fired off another four rounds, making the hole bigger as each hit.
The training sergeant was further down the line helping one of the other recruits to un-jam his rifle. Aki flipped the selector switch to semi-automatic fire, or burst mode, and fired off three bursts. The head of the target shape was ripped apart.
The instructor came over at that point and stared at Aki as she quickly flipped her rifle back to single-shot fire.
“Nice shooting Watsanabe. Come with me.”
Aki got up, a nervous expression plastered across her face.
The sergeant turned to the Corporal who was helping out and told him to carry on. The sergeant then led Aki across to a set of building shells. Bullet holes pocked several of the walls.
The sergeant had a vicious looking scar across his face, which made his smile look evil as he grinned at Aki when they reached the other range.
“Reload your rifle, Watsanabe, and pick up two mags,” the sergeant said, pointing to an ammunition box. Aki did as she was told.
“Once that gate opens, I want you to go in and start shooting the targets as they pop up. I’ll be up there in observation,” the sergeant pointed to a small box on stilts overlooking the range. “I’ll tell you what to do.”
Aki frowned as the sergeant walked off, but moved toward the gate.
The gate opened and Aki walked through, her M16 at the ready. As she turned toward the range, three targets popped up.
“Alright, Aki, start firing!” the sergeant’s voice rang out.
She quickly shot all three targets, firing from her shoulder, pivoting as she did.
“Area clear, move up!”
Aki ran forward to where one of the targets had been, as another five targets popped up. Three were Red Shadows. The other two were small children.
“Don’t hit the civilians!”
Aki fired, dropping each of the Red Shadows.
“Into the building!”
Aki ran forward, reloading her rifle as she ran, dropping the spent mag as she did. She entered the first building as more targets popped up. One civilian, three Red Shadows. She shot the correct targets.
“Up the stairs!” Aki ran across to a staircase that took her up to a higher level, where there were four moving targets on tracks. She managed to shoot two of the targets with one burst as they passed each other.
“Last area!” the sergeant’s voice boomed as she turned toward a large area where a window should’ve been.
“Jump down!”
Aki jumped down, hitting several sand bags, before quickly lining up her first target. Now there were six targets and four moving civilians.
She quickly shot the Red Shadow targets, hitting one civilian as she did.
“Sprint to the exit! Clock’s ticking!”
Aki dashed around the benches the targets were attached to and ran toward a gate with a green light over it.
She reached the gate and it opened, allowing her out.
“Sixty-two seconds,” the sergeant announced. “Not bad, but I bet you could do better. Reload and let’s go again.”
Aki reloaded the rifle and picked up another magazine. She stopped in front of the gate, took several deep breaths and then went through the gate.
Knowing what to expect, she shaved a full fifteen seconds off her first time. The sergeant made her run the course a third time and this time, she did it in thirty-eight seconds.
As she came out the last gate, the sergeant met her.
“That’s one of the best times I’ve seen a recruit do. I think I need to take you to see Colonel Choi.”
Colonel Choi, Aki soon discovered, was the head of the nascent Tawaichu Special Operations Battalion. The Spec Ops Battalion was going to be the elite arm of the Army of Tawaichu when it was fully stood up, Choi explained. It would be the only combat unit women could join. The battalion would be trained in demolitions, bomb disposal, sabotage, espionage, recon and close-quarter battle tactics. In the event of another invasion, the Spec Ops Battalion would be responsible for harassing an enemy force and doing its damnedest to make the invaders lives hell.
Once Aki agreed to joining the SO Battalion, she was returned to her recruit cadre. She spent the rest of the course learning basic infantry tactics, care and maintenance of her rifle, survival techniques for living off the land, first aid and land navigation both with and without maps or other aids.
