SHORT IN HEIGHT, TALL IN COURAGE
Chapter 14
Emergency Recall
Leah and the four unknown horsemen of Mossad accompanied us to expedite our Nigerian expedition planning on the flight home. It would be a closely-run affair, but The Team was no longer an infant. Today, we have access to many resources that were mere dreams in our early days. Once you prove yourself effective, everyone wants a piece of your success. Out of everyone, Israel was our closest ally. The U.S. was very good to us. We had a great relationship, but they had a tendency to leak info that we wanted to be kept under wraps till active operations.
Samuel had fallen asleep during our long and arduous meeting. He woke up with a shout, "Thank you, Jesus!"
Concerned, Mabior asked, "You okay, Little Brother?"
Wiping the sleep from his eyes, Samuel sat up straight, saying, "That's it! Jesus lined me out. Everyone knows we are coming. That alone has them nervous. We'll play an ancient mind game. When we land at the airport in Abuja, Nigeria, we fade magically from sight. BH will have spies watching us. We'll disappear before their very eyes. That and the other things we will be doing on this mission will slowly build a fear of our powers in their minds. The Bible tells us about a song the Jews sang concerning David bringing down Goliath with a single rock. That song helped to build fear among David's adversaries. We will build a mystique that instills fear in our enemies, if not already there. By night, we'll surround them, then silently come out into the light as if by magic. We shall do all of our ops by the cloak of night. After strikes, we will disappear into the darkness as quickly as we appeared."
Leah hugged her Sam, as she called him, gushing with, "I have never known anyone that works so hard while sleeping." Chuckles circulated around the room at that quip.
Giving my legs a much-needed stretch across the aisle and complimenting Samuel and our Lord, "Samuel, none of us here doubt for a moment that our Lord gave you those ideas in your dream. It's an excellent idea and complements our Nigerian mission's tactics. They will know that we are up to something but the what part will scare them. Fear of the unknown has compelled many great generals into making misguided moves. Good job, Samuel."
Thon entered the conversation at that point, "Why would anyone in their right mind challenge a force that from all evidence has God on their side?"
A resounding "Amen, Brother" came from everyone.
Every day, I could see more evidence of God's favor upon us, and, every day, we all stiffened our faithful living due to that knowledge. It sends chills through my body whenever I focus on this spiritual aspect of the Holy Spirit guiding and watching over us.
Our planning period was small and the mission big. As I have said, our organization is strong and capable of such things today. We plan and constantly train for various situations that could happen in the future. A great strength on our side is our multitude of Christian contacts in Nigeria. Its leaders do not reflect a Muslim and Christian government working together to support both faiths as it was meant to do. It leans heavily toward the Muslim faith.
As our Christian contacts in Nigeria had hinted, many Muslim leaders came quietly forward, contacting Christian groups. Tired of having their lives and livelihoods disrupted by these militant groups, they wanted to aid us in destroying some of BH's Farm Militia's resources and material assets. Most people in this world do not want to fight and kill others for any reason. For most of humanity, the desire is for peace and supplying their families with food and shelter. We let the Muslims know that we were not coming to destroy them or their religion. Our goal is to bring more peace and security to their region. Also, we reiterated that only they and the other citizens of Nigeria can bring a sense of true and lasting peace and prosperity. They must put pressure on their elected officials to do what is morally right for their people. I am hard on them, but I sincerely love the people of Africa. As I see it, the biggest problem is that the Europeans turned over the African countries with giant power vacuums. European rule did not involve the citizens to educate them on the rules and expectations of the duties of the electorate. The citizens rarely saw examples of their own citizens governing them. Their native leaders govern in the same manner as the Europeans, as disconnected autocrats.
Instead of vehicles or military planes, we booked a commercial flight into Abuja, Nigeria, the capital. Thanks to Mossad, various Christian agencies, and our Muslim friends, all of the necessary munitions, MREs, and other necessary equipment were already tucked away in strategic and secure locations in northern Nigeria, Kano, to be precise.
We landed without complication in Abuja. The weather was excellent. The Team strolled off the civilian airliner and into the airport, wearing blue jeans, t-shirts, and tennis shoes. One of our contacts told me, "The Team looked like a tour group from the U.S.," just as we intended.
Per planning, we walked together while casually ambling down the long hallway to the baggage pickup area. At a slight narrowing in the hallway, our accompanying Nigerian cohorts closed in tightly around us, which slowed traffic and diminished the ability to see us in that hallway. We were whisked through a side door and down a stairway to a waiting box truck. Straight away, it took off through the busy airport grounds toward the exit. The Team sat on the floor laughing. Our contact and driver opened a small sliding window that connected the driver's cab to the truck's freight area. The driver, Olumoroti, we shortened it to Olu with his permission, showed us all of his big white and friendly teeth while telling us, "I was just speaking on the phone with our friend at the airport who said that it was easy to tell the Boko Haram spies. They were looking and running around frantically after you disappeared. God is with us."
That news was like manna to our ears. The first part of our plan had come off just as we had hoped. Merrily, we jumped into singing Robin Mark's "Days of Elijah." Olu and his co-pilot joined in.
From Abuja, the capital of Nigeria, to the town of Kano in far northern Nigeria is 276 miles or 444 km. A long ride in a box truck. We stopped periodically for rest and meals. After a hundred and some miles of travel, we slowed down. The little door from the cab slid open, so Olu could speak to us, "There are maybe five men beside a vehicle blocking the road ahead. If you have binoculars, can you make them out to be friendly?"
Mabior handed me his binoculars, "I recognize four of the men as our Mossad contacts. It's safe. You can stop, Olu."
The truck rattled to a bone-shaking stop. The back door rolled noisily open. One of the four Mossad boys whom we cannot know their names spoke, "We have a passenger for you."
A man dressed in the familiar Saudi or Arab red and white checkerboard colored headdress, keffiyeh, and the Saudi or Arab robe, the thawb, climbed into the cargo area and sat down by Alek. Over his left eye, he wore a black patch, like a pirate. Not one of us recognized this strange man. I suppose we all assumed the Mossad boys would tell us this man's identity, but they cut the conversation by closing the overhead door.
The truck took off on its merry way to Kano with an additional passenger. Mabior nudged me with his elbow, "Chief," then nodded toward the stranger. Before I could ask the needed questions, the man lifted the patch and threw off the keffiyeh, saying, "Whew, it's nice to be me again."
We all stared as Samuel remarked, "Alexei, what are you doing out here in the middle of the Nigerian hinterlands hitchhiking?"
"Sorry, I didn't have time to change before jumping on a helicopter to come here. Have been in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia watching one of our old Taliban nemesis up to no good. It warms my heart to see everyone again. You are all looking so well."
Finally, I decided it was time to ask some more pertinent questions, "Alexei, it is good to see you also, but what brings you here? Aren't you afraid of being found out by the agency?"
A large smile enveloped his face as he responded to my questions, "JJ, I had the shock of my KGB life to be called into President Putin's office one day recently. He told me, 'Mr. Fedorov, the U.S. and Europe have gone mad. I am not a Christian, but the civilized world's morals and system of laws are all based on Christianity. If we lose this battle, we will end up in anarchy. I hear that you have firm contacts in the Christian military group referred to as The Team. I want you to continue that relationship with my blessing. We do not wish to see Christianity destroyed. It is one of the best things that God has ever given to this world. Go with your people's blessings.'"
Reaching out my hand to shake his, I said, "Welcome aboard, Brother in Christ."
Our plans for this mission were radically different from the past, but God seemed to be implying that they weren't radical enough.
Most of us were sleeping as we approached a Nigerian military checkpoint about 60 miles out of Kano. Olu slid the little door open with, "Military checkpoint, brothers."
I woke everyone so that we would be alert to any trouble. We could hear the driver talking and laughing with the soldiers. That's when a loud banging on the side of the truck's cargo area put us on high alert. The overhead door was thrown open. We pointed our weapons at the menace looking at us out of the darkness. That menace turned out to be authentic. It turned out to be the laughing faces of Artie Shaw and Giff Davies. They climbed in among us with a lot of shouting and back-slapping but still sober. I remarked, "Can't believe I'm saying this; it's good to see you."
Artie plopped his big self down beside me, imploring, "JJ, you are taking on a big job in a strange country. Mossad is trying to recruit all the help they can for you. This is a serious lot you are up against here."
All I could think to reply was, "To quote General Patton, 'I am a soldier, I fight where I'm told, and I win where I fight.' God has made winners of us all."
Artie elbowed me in the ribs, yelling, "That's the JJ I know and love. This is the kind of fight all of us here love to be a part of! Outnumbered but not outgunned. Right, Alek?. Has JJ ever told you guys about the time he and a few Kurds were surrounded by a large unit of Iraqi Republican Guards?"
"Artie, please, not now. These men don't want to hear these old war stories. We need rest before we go into action," I had to clamp down on his mouth, but he, Giff, and Alexei were welcome reinforcements to this little band of God's warriors. It really was close to being like a David and Goliath match. This may very well be the moment God asks us to be martyrs for his glory. Without a doubt, all of these men in this truck would give their lives without any question or hesitation.
Arriving at the outskirts of Kano, a city of over four million people in northwest Nigeria, we jumped out of the truck to a much-needed muscle stretch. The truck had pulled into a warehouse filled with MREs, weapons, ammo, camo uniforms, flak vests, and even an armored Bradley Fighting Vehicle. There were many Nigerians inside the building busy with various tasks. The local Christian churches had prepared an inviting buffet in the far left corner. Seeing this feast, all the men flocked in that direction. Soldiers never have to be persuaded when it comes to eating.
Samuel climbed up on a stack of shipping crates, pleading, "Attention, let us take time to thank our Lord Jesus Christ for this opportunity to gather together in his name all these wonderful servants. Let us thank our gracious hosts who have provided this abundant feast for us. Let us ask God for his strength and guidance in the coming battles."
After the prayer, we feasted. We were blessed with the opportunity to meet so many faithful servants of our Lord. The feast gave us renewed energy. Then we rested.
Upon waking, I saw everyone else still sleeping but Alek. I woke Mabior asking about Alek. The first volunteer we asked pointed to the Bradley Vehicle. I should have known. We climbed on top and peered down into the interior. Alek looked up, smiled, then said, "She'll take care of the heavier stuff, Chief."
I laughed, "Alek, we aren't going to need this." Seeing the disappointed look on his face, "But familiarize yourself with everything just in case."
We loaded supplies, extra fuel, ammo, and weapons into our SUVs the next day. At sundown the following evening, we loaded up in six SUVs with dark-tinted windows and drove out of the warehouse into the gathering darkness toward destiny.
Each SUV was driven by a devout and competent Nigerian ex-Army volunteer. Four of the drivers were Christians, but two were Muslim.
After traveling for several hours, we came to a secluded and forested area in what, to us, was the middle of nowhere. The vehicles were driven into the forest, then covered with leafy branches. All of us loaded up with backpacks, weapons, ammo, and determination. The camouflaged group, led by the drivers, disappeared silently into the thick bush following an overgrown trail. The night was steamy, without a hint of a breeze. Sweat poured down our faces and onto our clothing as we lugged our heavy loads through the nearly impenetrable jungle foliage. The thick bush rarely allowed us even a quick glimpse of the star-lit sky. But we had trained in worse than this.
Around 3 am, we arrived at a point our guides signaled was the planned launch point for the storming of the village ahead of us. Mabior and I went over our assignments with the men. At that time, the men broke into six groups, each led by one of the Nigerian guides.
We made a circle around the perimeter of the village. All six groups stealthily moved into the sleeping village toward its center at the appointed time. The village people were Muslims. A Boko Haram unit operating in the vicinity was known to frequent this village to coerce food and supplies from its inhabitants. Dogs spread the alarm of our coming to the slumbering people. It was fully expected. People began to peer out of the darkened huts to see what the commotion was about.
As they peeked out, they made out military-clad men standing all around with weapons at the ready and wearing sinister looks on their faces. Our Lead guide, Akunna, spoke to them, "Come out of your houses. We mean you no harm if you cooperate. We are known as The Team and not connected to the Nigerian Army. We come to ask for your help to find the Boko Haram unit stealing your food and supplies. We will not tell them where we get our information. Come out. Let's talk."
Seeing that the village people were carrying no weapons. We lowered our weapons and motioned them to come out with smiles on our faces. The people responded positively, but their actions were still hesitant and fearful.
Once everyone was outside, The Team noticed that some villagers and children had been beaten. I ordered the men to attend to the injuries as best they could. We carried extensive medical supplies, and we were here to save lives more than to take lives. When the people realized what we were doing and our exhibited kindness, they let their guards down. The information literally gushed forth from their mouths like geysers. These sadistic actions had been locked away for years. The appalling behavior of Boko Haram toward even the people of their own faith was clearly evident.
We obtained all the needed info for our excursion into the Boko Haram local camp and much info that would help Islamic officials and us down the road to someday defeat these brigands disguised as faithful Muslims.
Preparing to leave, we handed out MREs and extra medical supplies to those needing them. It was a pleasant encounter, but we kept the mission in focus.
Once we re-obtained the trail, we stopped to adjust our attack plans. Actually, it wasn't an attack at all. The Team was about to voluntarily let itself be surrounded by the much-larger Boko Haram unit nearby. I called the Israeli Drone Team to give them the coordinates of the BH encampment. Once they had those, they could locate a good area for us to become surrounded by BH. It didn't take the Drone Team long to develop what we needed.
We maintained good tactical spacing and alertness while cutting our way to the assigned area. Our guides were ordered to leave for home. In no way did we expect them to accompany us into the extreme danger ahead. They just laughed and stayed right by our sides. That gained our respect.
The Drone Team warned us that infrared indicated pickets a half-mile away on the trail. It was prayer time.
We adjusted our night vision goggles, made sure a round was locked into the chamber, and performed a final check on one another. Finding everything in order, we took off.
Artie nudged me with his elbow, telling me, again, "JJ, this is the craziest strategy I've ever heard of, but love crazy and wouldn't miss it for the world. Hey, Giff, let's bring up the rear," and off they went. I placed Shermake with our lead guide due to his knowledge of Islam. If we encountered unexpected contact, his job would be to convince them that we were coming to join them.
Fortunately, we filed silently into and took up positions in the area that had been chosen for us without any problems. It was as if they didn't know we were coming or didn't care. After all the effort to make sure they knew we were coming, they hadn't taken us seriously? We could have walked right into their camp and killed them all while they slept. It was similar to what the Lord had David do to King Saul: sneak in but don't kill. As Christians, we were going to do this mission in a manner that could save many lives, hopefully.
Deciding to stick to our plan of demonstrating how close they had come to all dying, we did the only thing left to do. We dug in and camouflaged ourselves near BH's camp. Then it was a matter of waiting for them to become aware of our presence. It actually took much more time than any of us had imagined. We could hear them going about their routines of eating and doing nothing worthy of mention. BH argued, laughed, got high on drugs, and argued some more.
Eventually, when a man came within five feet of us to urinate and still did not spot us, I told Mabior, "The next BH that comes near us, say hello or something to get his attention."
It took till the following morning, but a man ventured near us for the same reason. He was nearest to Thon. You know Thon, he didn't miss the humorous opportunity, "Excuse me, sir, can you direct me to the nearest McDonalds?" I've never heard a man scream more like a woman in my life. Indeed, I think he also set a world speed record getting back to the camp.
Screaming, yelling, rattling guns, and general cacophony reigned in the BH camp. It took most of the day before they managed to surround us. Many shots were fired toward our positions, but we were securely entrenched. The Drone Team kept us informed about where every BH soldier was placed. Night came on with nothing but random shots being fired by BH. As yet, we had found it unnecessary to expend even one round.
Mabior whispered to me at one point during the day, "Chief, this is the bad boys that the Nigerian government is so afraid of? No wonder they only capture little girls and kill innocent and helpless families."
After darkness set in, we put the next phase of our plan into action. Samuel, Deng, and Shermake put on their Arab thawbs and keffiyeh headdresses. We waited until 3 am to make sure the BH men had a chance to get drowsy. After everybody joined in quiet prayer, the three brave men whispered to one another, "For God," then crawled silently away and disappeared into the bush surrounding The Team and the doughty Nigerians that accompanied them.
Everyone readied themselves to immediately attack BH if the three got into trouble. I kept constant contact with the Drone Team to know precisely where Samuel, Deng, and Shermake were positioned at any time. We didn't want to hit our men if a firefight broke out. The Three wore sensors that gave the Drone Team their exact locations. The night goggles gave us good night vision, but we couldn't see through the bush with them. At the slightest noise, our trigger fingers tensed. Once in a while, a BH soldier would shout out something from his dreams. An hour passed that seemed as if it were an entire night. It was becoming unbearable. Why weren't we hearing something?
Even though we were expecting it, the noise startled us. It came as a guttural scream of horror, "It's him! It's that little man that brings the wrath of God! Ahh!" Then other screams and confused shouts erupted. We could hear men crashing through the brush in evident panic. This went on for over an hour before we heard a voice shout out, "Chief, it's us. Hold your fire."
I gave the order to hold fire. We all stood up while studying the darkness for any image of our three men. At last, a loud crashing and breaking of the bush broke out along with shouted orders of Samuel, Deng, and Shermake. Appearing in our sight came many BH men with hands zip-tied behind them. Everyone jumped out of their holes to take charge of the prisoners.
Dawn was slowly emerging over the eastern horizon. The prisoners were placed in prone positions in the depression that we had formerly occupied. We left the guides to guard them as The Team, Alexei, Artie, and Giff made our way toward the BH camp. We spread out to form a circle around the camp. The Drone Team could see the few BH soldiers left in the camp to guard the hostages with daylight. Knowing their positions, we put together an immediate plan of action.
The drone had on board a powerful loudspeaker. It opened up with, "You are surrounded. Lay down your weapons and walk to the center of your camp. Then lay face down with arms and legs spread apart. If you attempt to harm the hostages, you will be killed immediately."
The Drone Team Commander said, "That was quick. They've all done as instructed. You should be free to move in, JJ."
Shortly, we had the men on the ground secured. Mabior and three others were sent to locate the hostages. They found the hostages in a dark and filthy underground enclosure. The young women were traumatized but overjoyed at being rescued. Leaving Artie and Giff with the prisoners, the rest of us helped the hostages by assessing and treating injuries.
Somebody yelled, "Chief, we've got people coming into camp! Think they're from the village we were in a couple nights ago." Marial was the one shouting. He spoke with the people before walking with them to my area. "Chief, they are here with food for the hostages. The village women want to comfort them. I think that's a great idea."
"Marial, take them to the women." Until the transport vehicles arrived, the villagers remained with the traumatized women. I was pleased to see Muslims working with Christians for a good cause. One step at a time.
Our SUVs were located and driven by our Citizen's Team members to our location. We left the situation at the BH camp under the Nigerian Army's control at that point, for we had phase II of the mission to begin work on. The Team and our capable drivers took off to intercept Abubakar Shekau, leader of Boko Haram. We had intel that he was currently established near Maiduguri, the capital of Borno State, Nigeria. It was a distance of 360 miles. We were exhausted, but we could rest by taking turns driving. We had just come out of nowhere to rescue the hostages. Now, we were going to do another thing akin to impossible, show up at Shekau's front door tomorrow morning. With God, everything is possible. BH is feeling the wrath of God. Without a doubt, BH will be full of the fear of God by the time God finishes this mission. Morale among The Team was excellent. It was a go.
On one of our rest stops, Alexei approached me with, "JJ, we are taking on a most difficult mission with this evil man. Do not hold back from putting me out front in the most dangerous position. My life is nothing compared to that of The Team. They are the young future of Christianity. I am old. My time has come and gone. If you must sacrifice someone tomorrow, let it be me, my Brother."
His words really got to me. I put my arm around Alexei, saying, "My Brother, you are far from old and much too valuable to sacrifice. Remember, Jesus was the ultimate and last blood sacrifice."
He was not the only one to express similar words to me that day. What great men our God has blessed me to command. The men thought I was feeling unwell. But there was just so much emotion laid on top of my heart at that time.
As we rolled sleepily along the highway mile after mile toward the BH HQ, One of our SUVs left the convoy line, coming up even with my SUV. Lowering the passenger front window, Artie signaled to pull over for a meeting.
The convoy moved to the road's shoulder. Artie and I exited our vehicles to talk. What he had to say was, "JJ, Mossad has been keeping a close eye on Shekau at his HQ. They want to send a crack Israeli insurgency unit to attack it after we get into position."
As Artie finished, I put my hand on his shoulder, saying, "I don't suppose you would be a member of that crack team, would you?"
With anger in his voice due to my rebuff, Artie fired back, "JJ, you have to pick and choose your battles wisely with a light infantry unit like yours. Taking on BH's HQ is loaded with bad outcomes. The Team is a tough outfit, but not of the quality and strength needed to confront a hundred Islamic militants tanked on meth."
"Okay, Artie, we'll turn back toward the airport in Abuja, but I don't want that Israeli unit hitting BH's HQ - understood? You know how involved Samuel and Leah have become. I'll have Samuel give her a shout if you don't back out."
Artie kicked the ground, yelling, "JJ, you always have to have a leg up."
With rejection weighing heavily on his pride, Artie jumped back in his vehicle. Meanwhile, I ran back to Mabior and Samuel in the last vehicle. They were sitting in the back seat with maps and papers covering their laps. Mabior lowered his window, asking, "What's up, Chief?"
"What's our plan looking like for a feint toward the Abuja Airport?"
Mabior turned to Samuel, saying, "Little Brother and I think it looks fabulous. We're ready, Chief."
Hurrying back to my vehicle, I phoned all The Team to tell them to turn around for Abuja's Airport. The rest of the plan will be explained at our dinner stop. Lastly, I phoned Leah, asking her to somehow pull off a ruse with BH to make them think we are leaving for home.
Leah had no reply for a few seconds before asking, "Then -?"
"Then - we're going to turn around tonight in the dark and hit them with all we've got."
Leah exhaled a deep breath as she said, "This sounds like Sam had something to do with this plan. I'll smooth it over with the men at Sayeret Matkal concerning this strategic change. They will be ready just in case. God go with you all. Tell Sam, he is in my heart, always."
Our vehicles burned up the highway. We drove close together with brights on. As our convoy shot through towns along the way, we honked and rolled windows down to let everyone see our camo outfits and weapons. Our goal was to make sure BH got the message that The Team was tucking its tail and running for home.
At our evening rest stop in a secluded field near Abuja, as the sun dipped steadily below the horizon, we went over the plan piece by piece. Artie fumed, but he would fight when the time came. The drivers were offered an out, again. And again, they just laughed. We all prayed and talked of our obligation to God to be feeling and loving human beings, even during the extreme violence of battle. As Christians, we are to be different in everything we do.
With all the prep and pre-prayers completed, I signaled to Mabior. He yelled out, "Turn to, Brothers. Reverse course for Boko Haram's Headquarters."
The Team and everyone else riding into battle with us laid hands one on top of another, saying, "For God!" Then we were off.
As our convoy drove out of the field, I looked over at Akunna, our guide and driver, asking him, "Akunna, I met your wonderful family. Why do you come with us to such a dangerous place?"
"You met my family, yes. They know what I know. They know with certainty that if Jesus had run when his Father asked him to die on that cross, where would we be now? Our Lord conquered death, so what can Boko Haram do to me? They certainly can't kill me. And with a big brother like Jesus, those heathens had better start running, now." The vehicle was filled with laughter at his uplifting words.
It was 3:57 when we set up for the attack at a point 200 yards from the BH HQ that was a series of old thatched-roof huts. It took less than an hour to circumvent their outer defenses, to our surprise. The defenses consisted of hungry dogs chained to trees and seven sleeping men on pickets. We simply fed the dogs and woke the pickets up during the process of zip-tying them. Alek, Diemba, Thon, and Amani set up our M240 Machine Gun in a group of low-hanging trees. This was on a slight rise that overlooked the BH huts. Next, Alek and Diemba left Thon and Amani to handle the M240 while setting up the two mortars on the back slope of the rise. The rest of us were divided into four squads of five men. Spreading the five squads in a 180-degree arc reduced the threat of friendly-fire incidents. Our attack would open with Samuel on the megaphone demanding the BH surrender. We would give them 2 minutes before opening up with our initial salvo of 2 minutes to provide them with a taste of just how serious we are. That initial salvo would consist of two mortars, a machine gun, and our M203 Grenade Launchers on our Scars. If there is no positive communication after that, I will give the commence-firing-as-opportunities-develop signal. The twins, Ali and Kuol, were to fire incendiary grenades into the huts unless evidence of women and children was discovered.
The official language of Nigeria is English, but in the rural areas, various tribal languages are spoken. Samuel's research showed several of the high-level leaders present spoke English. He gave the announcement in English.
About a half minute passed before our binoculars gave us a glimpse of a few sleepy-eyed militants peering out of the huts here and there. At the two-minute mark, we opened up. Total chaos erupted. Men were flying in every direction. Many head-on crashes between the militants took place. People tried desperately to pull their pants on, load weapons, see the enemy, and do panic runs to nowhere. I ordered an early halt. That resulted in our taking heavy return fire. These BH men have no idea who we are.
I told Samuel to inform them who we were. That started another panic accompanied by unabated and poorly aimed return fire. I told the men to pick their targets carefully and accurately. Our return small arms fire, mortars, grenades, machine gun sweeps, and incendiary rounds soon had the desired result. A white flag was hoisted on a makeshift flag pole in the middle of the compound. Fire, smoke, screams from the wounded, and the shouts of Allah were a large part of the scene before us.
A cry from Thon on the machine gun told us that an RPG, rocket-propelled grenade, was coming at us. There was no time to prepare. The round flew just over the rise and into an old outhouse to our Lord's credit. On their own, Alek and Diemba, with ranging info from Amani, dropped eight mortar rounds into the area. There were no further RPG rounds that day.
Samuel got on the megaphone, commanding the militia to send a man out with a white flag and authority to make decisions for the entire group. Mabior and I guessed that it took so long for the two men to walk out due to the difficulty of finding a man brave enough. Samuel directed the men over to Mabior and me. They were clearly shaken and in fear of their lives.
First, I enquired about Abubakar Shekau. Their reply was that he fled last night upon our first approach. He had told them that he was going to get additional men. Then they received word that we were at the Abuja Airport and on our way home. They felt safe enough to not post extra guards and drank heavily during the night.
Asking if they could read English, they affirmed that they could. I read off then handed them a list of our demands. At that, we sent them back to the compound.
About an hour passed without action on BH's part. I ordered Alek and Diemba to put a couple of well-placed mortar rounds just outside the compound as a warning. The explosions caused the inhabitants to scream and run in a nonsensical manner here and there. However, five minutes later, action. The militants came out with a white flag in a line across with hands empty and in the air. They were all searched and sat down facing away from us. Mabior and I walked around them and into their vision in the direction they were sitting.
Not sidestepping with my words, I told them, "We have prayed long and hard to our Lord Jesus Christ about your fate. Our God is a loving and forgiving God. He has turned us away from our anger with you. He has told us to let you go in safety, but with this warning, "You will sleep with one eye always opened for fear that God will send The Team to kill you if you ever harm another person, no matter whether it be woman, child, or man. Our God will send The Team to kill you just like a thief in the night. You tell this to all the Boko Haram and especially to Abubakar Shekau, who abandoned you like the coward he is. Go back to your homes, and tell everyone that Jesus Christ has given His divine mercy to you today. The next time will be different. We are giving medical aid to your wounded and will help you transport them to a hospital in Kano if needed. We have food we will share with you if you are hungry."
The BH militants were shocked by our gracious behavior toward them. They groveled at our feet. We tried to give a good show of treating our enemies as our neighbors that day. I was pleased with The Team and those that accompanied us in their actions after the battle.
After the militants were helped with their various needs, our convoy turned toward the Abuja Airport. Trading off on the driving often, those not driving fell into a deep sleep from exhaustion.
At the airport, we had a welcome surprise. Mossad had arranged our homeward transport on a private jet owned by someone in the Saudi Royal Family. We were too drained to question this gift nor the ambiguity it brought about in our minds. As always, prayer came before anything else. Christian prayers on a Saudi jet, interesting. The cabin attendant was very respectful of our prayers. She and the pilots treated us with extreme kindness as we did them in return.
