SHORT IN HEIGHT, TALL IN COURAGE
Chapter 19
Footprints Equal Trouble
Ambling toward Fred's, I was somewhat enjoying the sultry and still early-morning air. That was until Mabior and Samuel pulled up beside me in one of our R&Rs, Range Rovers. The passenger window came down with Samuel motioning me to get in the back. Dutifully, I hopped in. The two serious-looking messengers turned to me in sync. Mabior opened with, "Chief, we may have a problem. On our weekly hike yesterday, with the CTeam, Kafeel and Ismail spotted something that we need you to have a look-see."
I let the two know that I do nothing till I have a lifter. We temporarily downgraded the urgency of the Mission to drive to Fred's. Now, that takes training.
After grabbing three coffees, we flew across the rough Yei roads toward our rendezvous. Tongues and mouths were burned almost continuously by stupidly drinking hot coffee on a moonscaped road. We pulled off the main road onto a rougher road about six miles out of town for a quarter-mile. Soon, we drove up behind another R&R and parked behind it. The other R&R was the Twin's vehicle. They were scouting in the brush beside the main road that ran parallel to our route from this point for several hundred yards.
I exited the R&R and followed Mabior and Samuel to a stream between the two roads. As we neared the stream's bank, Mabior and Samuel began pointing to footprints in the muddy soil that led up to the bank, then down and across the shallow stream. Mabior showed me a rifle shell that he had found smashed into the mud under the footprints. I recognized it immediately as a 7.62 x 39 round usually accompanying an AK 47. We slid down the stream bank to ford the shallows, then climbed the other side.
As we gained the top of the opposite side, Mabior pointed to a wooden footbridge in good shape just a hundred feet or so to the left of us. He asked the obvious question, "Why are a large group of people, adults by the size of the sandal and boot prints, not using that perfectly good footbridge over there? Why go up and down this treacherous embankment?"
"I couldn't agree more. What else you got for me?"
Mabior motioned to Samuel to give his info. "Chief, I found this in those bushes there. By the looks, someone has worked the bush to form a camo-parking area for vehicles. Tracks are all over it. Heavy tracks like pickup loaded down with men. Here, read it. It's in Arabic."
Unfolding the paper, I read, "St. Mark Sunday 4 kilos basement cell phone primer. Oh, my. This looks like a shopping list. That's enough C4 to take down an entire building."
Mabior commented, "St. Mark is the orphanage in Yei," with a disturbed look. "Is this group planning to bring down that orphanage on Sunday?"
Scanning the main road, I mumbled, "Guess you already have the twins busy." Turning to Mabior and Samuel, I stated the obvious, "Boys, looks like we've got a fight on our hands. You two contact the rest of The Team while I contact General Chuol at South Sudan Army HQ. The General's units are fully committed to a problem in the far northwestern area if I'm not mistaken. Tell The Team to activate Level One for an imminent attack by what appears to be Al Qaeda. Tell Alek and Diemba that we'll use the heavies."
Samuel let me know that he had already begun planning an ambush with Amani and Mabior. Things went from a slow refreshing morning to total mania. We drove back to the compound to let me retrieve an SUV to drive to St. Mark. In this situation with all the children, I would have to exercise an abundance of caution. On the way to St. Mark, I phoned General Chuol to inform him of the situation and plan. I needed authority to act on behalf of South Sudan in a military capacity. After that, I would need to coordinate with General Iverson.
Over the years, trust and a good working relationship had been built with South Sudan's Government and Military. General Chuol rubber-stamped my authority. General Iverson made it short and sweet, "Just tell me what you need, and I'll have it to you at the fastest speed possible."
A call from Artie and Giff made my day. Artie said they were on assignment in Tripoli and are catching a flight in three hours for Yei. He let me know, "JJ, The Team ain't fighting that outfit without Giff and me. Mossad looked into their intel when they found out about your threat with the Saudi AQ signature all over it. These are the real-deal AQ. They're sporting experienced fighters from Turkmenistan and Afghanistan, the real bad boys. We'll be there in time for any action tonight. This AQ group knows South Sudan has its army tied up on ops. They need to learn the lesson not to discount The Team. We'll gladly help you teach it to them."
No sooner had I finished speaking with Artie and Giff than Leah phoned, "JJ, Unit 262 of Sayeret Matkal are on standby. Just text these numbers and letters to this number. I don't know if you are aware, but the same AQ group is responsible for the beheading of seven Israeli citizens vacationing in Eritrea. Make Sam wear his vest. You know how he complains that it restricts his movements and is too hot. God Bless."
Time restrictions made me decide to do the final planning on-site as we set up. I gave orders to load the gear and expedite movement to the expected POC. Arriving there in a long convoy, we set up our main body about a hundred yards west of the discovered area.
As we unloaded, Shermake approached me with a request, "Chief, I would like to request to be out front on point for this fight. The group we are going to go up against is Shabab AQ. They are the group that massacred my family in Somalia."
Staring at Shermake, I put my hands on his shoulders while explaining, "We'll do what is best for The Team, and we'll do what God asks us to do. If that means putting you on point, then no problem. Remember, revenge is God's. I don't know if you have ever heard of the American General Patton of World War II fame. He said, 'A soldier doesn't win wars dying in battle for their country. He wins wars by making the enemy soldiers die for their country.'"
He smiled at me, replying, "Chief, you are a great leader. Thank you for reminding me that it is about God, not me. I will serve where I am most needed. And I will make Shabab die for their violence against mankind if that is what God desires."
After Shermake walked away, Samuel grabbed me and took me to the side to tell me in private, "Chief, I had a dream last night that Shermake is going to be lifted up by God tonight."
My eyes shot wide open, "Samuel, is Shermake going to die?"
Smiling, Samuel restated his comment with, "Chief, I should have included that God is going to exalt him before his enemies for His glory tonight. Shermake has already done great things for our Lord, but tonight the Lord will make Shermake His vehicle for justice."
"Samuel, you never cease to amaze me. You are always bringing a new emphasis on a personal relationship with our Lord."
Strange that I hadn't noticed before the many locals gathering around. They appeared to be helping carry items to their setup points, clearing brush to give clear lines of fire for our machine gun, and handing out water in the stifling tropical heat and humidity. One old man approached, telling me, "Mr. Jefferson, it is an honor for the citizens here to serve The Team that has done so much for our community. We will be here, even fighting to give your men support. Some of us have seen this group over the past few nights. We knew they were up to no good, but we could only keep our eyes on them. We attempted to make the authorities aware of these bad-looking men, but they ignored us as ignorant people."
Thanking the man graciously, I told him that we would be grateful for any help the citizens could offer. The spirit in this country was growing to the point that they were willing to take risks themselves instead of letting foreigners make all the sacrifices for them. This self-governing experiment will eventually fail if the people do not stand up and fight for their country.
The Team settled into their assigned positions. Artie and Giff had arrived like the fireballs they are, roaring to everyone around about position prep, reminding them about the extreme dangers they were about to encounter. At one point, Artie stopped prep and went on one of his tirades shouting at the top of his voice, "Listen up! You lads have a decision to make. Ask yourself, Do you want to die tonight, or do you want to eat victory breakfast tomorrow morning with this charming bloke? Dig those foxholes deeper, clean those weapons again, and sharpen those knives. Alek and Diemba, are those mortars sighted in properly? You see this old local here beside me? Well, he is working harder than anyone else here. He told me personally that he can outwork any of you young slugs. Either take this seriously or just shoot yourself in the head right now, and get it over with. God didn't give you a brain so you could sleep better! Use it! Dear Lord, you told me they were young, but you didn't tell me they acted like little girls. Get your skirts off and pants on, men. If you ain't a man yet, tonight will take care of that. I've got only three hours to do what life couldn't do for you in all your prior years - make a man out of you! Now, everyone on the ground, you local helpers, too. Sammy, give us a prayer like you never prayed before, son."
The old man that spoke to me earlier came up to me saying, "Mr. Artie is tough, but he knows how to get these young men home alive. I like him."
Observing the men hit the ground for prayers, I told the old man, "I respect him, too."
Dusk began to fill in the landscape with shadows that increased the concealment of the camouflaged men. I was away from the action, maybe a hundred yards, with several locals to act as runners if need be during the coming action. My job was to oversee and coordinate resources and commit those resources for the best tactical advantage.
This fight would take place on home ground with strong local support. A phone call informed me of the St. Mark Orphanage evacuation being completed. Further down the road, the Yei Police set up a substantial roadblock if AQ bypassed this spot. We could react to that location quickly if need be. Once the AQ convoy had passed a pre-planned point down the road in the opposite direction, another Yei Police roadblock would be set up.
Hours crept by. Several miles down the road, The CTeam had a part in the action as the early-warning system. Kafeel called shortly after midnight to tell me nine assorted vehicles had passed in convoy toward our position. Maybe 36 armed militants. I sent the fleet-footed runners around to the positions they had memorized in the daylight to let everyone know action imminent. Ali and Kuol would initiate the hostilities from their forward observer post near the AQ parking lot in the bush. Until then, we waited.
The noise of many motors could be heard from my position. All the runners were back after making their contacts. Nerves explode, knowing the enemy is right there but not receiving the signal to open fire.
The double report of Ali's and Thon's Scars grenade launchers firing then exploding opened the skirmish. Our line erupted in firepower. Mortars poured down on the parking area while grenade launchers and scars on fully automatic opened up. Alek could be heard on the machine gun sweeping the parking lot. This went on for five minutes as planned. At that time, judging the situation right, I ordered the advance. Wearing our night-vision goggles, we took out targets as opportunities arose.
I heard the distinctive sound of the AK 47s increasing fire. Someone in the enemy camp was still able to respond to our attack. We had expected this, but still, it concerned me. Our firing increased. I called Artie to get an update. Artie's response was short and sweet, "We've had good progress, but one area of several men is holding us back till we register some mortar rounds onto them. They are putting up a very effective, well-placed fire. We've had two men hit, nothing life-threatening. Hold on, will get back to you."
I couldn't see it, but the brisk fire from AQ had set off Shermake during his advance on the hold-outs. He launched a single man attack running from one bush to another, zigzagging, and throwing himself to the ground. The Team was laying in a withering protective fire for Shermake, but the AQ men were still returning fire. I was told that you could see the dirt flying into the air around Shermake as he weaved toward the hold-outs. The AQ boys blindly threw several hand grenades into Shermake's path but didn't slow his attack.
The firing from our side stopped to keep from hitting Shermake. As he reached the vehicle protecting the AQ men, he launched his body up and over it, landing on the other side and out of sight. The Team advanced at a run toward the vehicle.
Shots rang out behind the vehicle. Shermake could be seen to stand up at one point as he grappled with one of the men. As the two went at it hand-to-hand, he drove his knife into the man's midsection, then used the man's body to absorb an AK bullet fired at him. At that, he let the body fall, then quick-drew his 357 shooting the remainder of the men dead.
Mabior and Artie were the first on the scene. They observed seven dead AQ boys lying in various death positions. Mabior grabbed Shermake, asking, "You okay, Brother?"
Artie shouted at Shermake, "You blasted fool! I've never seen anything like it. Three cheers, Mate!"
Mabior held him tightly as Shermake lost consciousness. He had been wounded several times in various places. Frantically Mabior signaled the Medics and emergency vehicles, such as they were, to enter the area.
Jumping in my R&R, I drove to the middle of the battle scene. I found the men revved up. They were pumped by the combat and the ensuing victory. Samuel worked on Shermake as others bandaged the wounded, Mar and Amani. The rest were carefully inspecting the area for live combatants. Walking up to Mabior, I was given a replay of Shermake's attack as something out of a John Wayne movie."
I asked him, "Do you realize what The Team just did?"
Mabior gave me a half-confused look, saying, "Yeah, we just destroyed this AQ Unit."
I slapped Mabior hard on the back, shouting, "We just totally destroyed the fiercest terrorist group in Africa, maybe the world. We set up an ambush that wiped out and set AQ back years in Africa with a mere few hours of prep. When the news gets out to these other militias, it will instill a fear that will not easily be erased. They will jump at shadows, and their hearts will leap with anticipation and fear whenever they hear the wind rustle the leaves on the trees in the night, thinking it may be us out there stalking them. God has brought his mighty hand against AQ on this night. We need to give thanks for our deliverance."
With a solemn look, Mabior said, "Chief, I never once felt hate while reigning down destruction on these AQ men. I felt it was necessary for the wellbeing of God's faithful, but not as a vengeful act."
I replied, "That's as it should be for a Christian."
I moved on, thanking the men and locals for their courage and actions under fire. Except for Shermake, the local civilian Medics informed me that the wounded would recover fully. As I came upon Samuel in the headlights of the emergency vehicle loading Shermake onto a stretcher, he smiled and gave me a thumbs up. "He's critical. We'll just have to wait and see.
After loading and seeing off the ambulance, Samuel turned to me, saying, "Chief, you need to keep in mind that you could not have prevented what Shermake did tonight. God pre-ordained his actions. This was God's way of putting an end to his internal torment. God brought down his judgment on them, and Shermake was the vehicle that delivered that judgment to the seven men around him. Mabior asked me to round up the men for the prayer. Let's put all this at God's feet."
"Samuel, I'm not upset. I'm just thankful to God that Shermake is on our side after seeing him in action. I agree. Let's put it at God's feet."
And we did.
Shermake's life once again hung in the balance between life and death.
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