Collision Course (A Josh Williams Novel) (3 page)

"Killing the rest," Machado replied.

The Marines tensed as the sound reached them.

The mortar has an unnerving sound, deep and guttural. One feels it as well as hears it.

You know the round has left the tube. You can run. But which way? If you run back, and the trajectory is long, you are dead. If you sit still, and the bastard knows his stuff, you are dead. You make yourself small as possible, a part of the earth, and hope...

Machado regained consciousness.

He heard the sound of the wind; but there was no wind.

He saw Gunny Scotton lying on the ground next to Sanchez. He tried calling to them. He could not hear his own voice. Just the whistling sound of the wind.

Machado started to move toward the two wounded Marines. With each motion, he felt searing pain. From his shoulders to the small of his back, he felt as if he was on fire. Reaching back, his hand returned covered in blood.

Painfully making his way to Sanchez, he checked for a pulse, it was weak, but he was breathing. Gunny Scotton began to stir and tried to rise up. One hand torn to pieces, covered in shrapnel wounds from his feet to the top of his left shoulder, and his right eye swollen and distended.

Sounds slowly returned. He heard more rounds incoming.

Crawling toward Sanchez, spitting blood, Scotton ordered, "Go find that mortar, Sergeant, I'll take care of Sanchez, if they fire with the same trajectory again we're screwed."

Machado made his way toward where he thought the mortar was set up. Gambling the guy would be firing a pattern out further from his position, trying to bracket the Marines. He heard another round, and it gave him a fix on the position. The round arced further east, giving Machado the opportunity to focus on killing the bastard and not worrying about his two friends.

Rising slowly to the top of the rocky tableau, he caught sight of the mortar. There were five Taliban. Two were operating the mortar; the other three were in the process of setting up a DsHK 12.7mm machine-gun.

They were trying to lure the Marines back to their position, get them to attack the mortar, and then take them out with the heavy automatic weapons' fire.

Not bad, not going to work, but not bad, Machado thought.

The two mortar men carelessly left their AK-47's out of reach, making them less of a direct threat when he opened fire. Planning his attack, Machado would take out the machine-gun team first, and then go after the mortar men. It would take them time to react to Machado's initial assault. Enough time, Machado hoped, for him to eliminate them before they got to their rifles.

Then, for once, chance intervened in a positive way.

The three Taliban working on the machine-gun, laid down their weapons, walked over to the mortar position, and began arguing.

Machado's elimination of the leader left a void.

Quickly revising the plan, Machado threw two frag grenades into the group and opened up on them in full-auto mode.

Not as economical as his previous work, but quite effective.

Moving down the slope, he retrieved some Russian grenades from the dead, used them to destroy the mortar and machine-gun, and headed back.

Making his way back to Gunny and Sanchez, Machado set up the communication net and called for a medical evacuation chopper. Using the encrypted channel, he provided their position and situation. The response was as expected. Within minutes, several Super Cobra helicopter gunships and a Huey transport chopper arrived on scene.

Hoisting Sanchez onto the chopper first, then Gunny Scotton, Machado threw off his pack, weapon, and helmet and jumped in. The chopper pilot began climbing out. The force of the liftoff threw Machado headfirst into one of the supporting pillars, knocking him unconscious.

The medic, working on Sanchez and Scotton, looked over, saw Machado was breathing, and continued to work on the more severely wounded Marines. He would get to Machado when he could.

On arrival at the Medical Station, the staff evaluated the Marines. Machado regained consciousness, but was having trouble moving his right arm, difficulty speaking, and was unable to follow simple commands.

The doctors managed to stabilize Machado and ordered him transported to the airfield. Within an hour, he was airborne to Germany.

JoJo served his last tour.

On
December 24, 2004, Staff Sergeant Anthony Machado received an Honorable Discharge from the United States Marine Corps. A consequence of his designation as medically unsuitable for duty due to wounds suffered on 5 October 2004 in Combat Operations, Helmand Province, Afghanistan.

Staff Sergeant Machado received the following decorations for actions while serving in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Navy Cross

Bronze Star with "V" Device

Purple Heart with three Oak Leaf Clusters

The citation for the Navy Cross reads as follows:

The President of the United States of America takes pleasure in presenting the Navy Cross to Staff Sergeant Anthony Machado, United States Marine Corps, for extraordinary heroism while serving as an Assistant Squad Leader with First Reconnaissance Battalion, First Marine Division, I Marine Expeditionary Force Afghanistan on 5 October 2004, in support of Operation ENDURING FREEDOM. Sergeant Machado was assigned a part of a three-man reconnaissance patrol in the hotly contested Kajaki region of Helmand Province, tasked with locating and interdicting the Taliban's infiltration routes. Machado, along with two other Force Reconnaissance Marines, engaged Taliban fighters in an ambush, killing twelve and destroying a Stinger missile launcher. A heavy volume of small arms and machine-gun fire then poured in on the Marines from three enemy positions. All three Marines were wounded. Despite suffering a concussion and neck and shoulder fragmentation wounds from 73-mm blasts, Sergeant Machado exposed himself to the unrelenting barrage of enemy fire, taking up several positions to engage the enemy with his rifle and grenade launcher and protect his wounded fellow Marines. Despite being wounded twice more, Sergeant Machado continued to engage the enemy, leading them away from the injured Marines. His unhesitating actions resulted in the elimination of all enemy combatants. Sergeant Machado then contacted evacuation helicopters and transported the friendly casualties to a landing zone 1000 meters away. Refusing to seek treatment for his own wounds, Sergeant Machado steadfastly held his position providing protection for his fellow Marines until the responding support elements safely evacuated the patrol area. By his decisive actions, bold initiative, and complete dedication to duty, Sergeant Machado reflected great credit upon himself and upheld the highest traditions of the Marine Corps and of the United States Naval Service.

At the award ceremony, Machado received heartfelt thanks from Gunnery Sergeant Michael Scotton and newly promoted Sergeant Emilio Sanchez, both of whom recovered from their wounds and returned to full duty.

On June 6, 2005, JoJo received a letter from the Veterans Administration regarding the application for full disability due to injuries suffered in combat. JoJo looked at the envelope, opened it a skimmed through it.

Sergeant (Retired) Anthony Machado

United States Marine Corps

101 Third Street

Apartment 21

East Providence, RI 02914

RE: Claim 564573USMC-2004, Application for Disability Eligibility

Dear Sergeant Machado,

Review of your application is complete, and the result of this inquiry is as follows. Per the requirements set forth in applicable Federal Statutes and Department of Veterans Affairs Regulations, all requests for determination of disability eligibility must meet stringent requirements...

JoJo did not understand most of it. He tried to read it all but only caught part of it. The last part read,

Review of the medical reports indicates the injury contributed to, but did not cause, the current diminished cognitive brain functionality.

A review of the petitioner's prior medical history indicates the primary cause of the condition was pre-natal alcohol and drug use by the birth mother commonly identified as Fetal Alcohol Syndrome. This condition indicated by a progressive, long-term, deterioration of brain and cognitive functionality.

The injury suffered aboard the helicopter exacerbated, but did not cause, the condition.

Determination:

It is the determination of this agency that the petitioner's request for a 100% disability is denied, and the petitioner is designated as 20% disabled.

Petitioner is eligible for the applicable disability payments based on this designation retroactive to the date of discharge from the United States Marine Corps. Enclosed is a check in the amount calculated from the date of eligibility to the end of the current month. Subsequent disability payments will be sent to the address on record on the first of each month.

The decision may be appealed by filing the appropriate documentation with the Veteran's Administration with 90 days of this notice.

JoJo cashed the check and threw away the letter.

To everything, there is a season
…
a time to kill, and a time to heal, a time to break down, and a time to build up. Ecclesiastes 3-1

It
is unnatural to kill, despite our human propensity for it.

One of nature's great mysteries is why we evolved to be so efficient at something that can haunt us.

March 15, 2006 started in the usual way for East Providence Police Sergeant Josh Williams, an early-morning 5k run, followed by breakfast at Julie's Kitchen in Riverside Square, and then picking up his partner, Lieutenant Christine "Swiss Cheeks" Hamlin.

Christine Hamlin, born into a well-to-do family in Rumford, RI on June 25, 1952 in the midst of the Korean War, was not your typical cop.

Her father was a major corporate adviser on several Boards of Directors for companies with significant military contracts. Warfare had enriched Chris’s life.

Chris went to the Wheeler School. Her parents wanted her to go on to a quality college where she would engage in some esoteric educational pursuit, marry a man of proper upbringing, and provide several grandchildren. Chris wanted to go to medical school. Her parents thought this a waste of money. Chris enrolled in a two-year Registered Nurse program.

Furthering her quest for independence, she joined the United States Air Force. Assigned to Viet Nam, accompanying casualties back to the U.S., she soon realized that neither medicine, nor the military, was the career for her.

Honorably discharged from the Air Force, Chris looked around for a civilian job. She saw a recruitment notice for Police Officers with the City of East Providence and filed her application. Accepted into the academy, due to pressures that Police Departments hire more females, she graduated at the top of her class. Most of the other recruits, all males, attributed this success to everything except dedication, intelligence, and ability.

"Morning, Cheeks."

"That's Lieutenant to you, smart-ass."

"Sorry," sitting ramrod rigid in the car, “good morning, Lieutenant Cheeks, Sir, or Ma'am or whatever the hell gender you really are."

"You know, smart-ass, I could always reassign you to Cunts and Runts."

"Bullshit, who else would put up with your mood swings, hot flashes, and whining about how much you hate whatever poor sap you've convinced to sleep with you lately? It is a guy, right, or are you changing teams to open more possibilities?"

Detective Lieutenant Chris "Swiss Cheeks" Hamlin was 54 years old, with thirty years on the job. She had survived the days of "what kind of broad wants to be a cop?"

It took time and balls.

She bore three compounding burdens when she joined the department. She was female. She was pretty, and she was intelligent. Most men dislike smart women. They feel threatened. Most assume attractive women succeed only because of their sexual appeal. It is genetic. Chris's mere presence reminded them of these weaknesses.

She made her mark on the department early on. All she needed to do was kill two armed robbery suspects holding a 14-year-old girl hostage. Shooting both while they were distracted. She managed this, despite being shot in the ass by an enthusiastic, but poorly disciplined, patrol officer.

The officer suffered a premature discharge. The round ricocheted off the ground, dispersing most of its energy, went in one side of Chris's ass, fragmented into pieces, and exited the other side, Creating several holes in both cheeks.

As the two bad guys flinched and looked toward the source of the sound; Chris took that moment to aim and fire. She made her kills.

Earning her the irreverent nickname, ‘Swiss Cheeks’ and acceptance on the department.

Chris then went to her knees, screaming. She started crawling toward the officer, who compounded the error by trying to approach her and apologize.

Chris threatened to emasculate him with her bare hands. Some of the cops entertained the idea of holding off the rescue guys to see if she would actually do it, but wiser heads prevailed. Nonetheless, her legend made.

That is the way it is with cops. One unlucky call, one moment, as long as they survive, defines them.

The unlucky Officer, from that point on, known as 'Swiss Cheek's Butt Boy.'

Josh headed toward the station.

"You are so damn funny. I don't understand why you don't have your own comedy series. Drive to the station, let's pick up the evidence and get to Court."

"Why the hell are we wasting our time on this, it's a freaking Sale of Alcohol to a Minor, there's not going to be a trial. That idiot won't spend money on a lawyer, let's just go there, and file the charge. What's the big deal?"

"Josh, why are you trying to avoid this, you've been bitching about it since the subpoena was served, is there something you need to share?"

"Well, now that you mention it, we already drank the evidence."

"What the hell are you talking about?"

"Remember last month after we hit that house for the stolen guns? You said, and I emphasize you, 'I need a beer, go get me some'. Like all of your instructions, I took that to heart as a lawful command."

"Yeah? And I don't like where this is going."

"Well, in order to save the city money, and being environmentally conscientious not wasting gas driving to the liquor store, I just grabbed the six-pack out of the refrigerator in the back room. It happens to be the one scheduled to be in court today. I never expected to go to trial. We throw the shit away all the time, well, at least the cheap shit."

Smiling his best altar boy look.

"You fucking lazy, dumb ass, nitwit. Didn't we agree to stop drinking stuff that has goddamn chain of custody tags on them? Didn't we? Okay ace, go buy another six-pack, and let's hope we don't need it."