Photograph (camren)

Chapter Forty (p.1)

April 3rd, 2017

Lauren's squad had been assigned a mission to infiltrate one of ISIS's camps near the forest outside of the mountain range. The lieutenant believed it was strange for a camp to be located near Mt Hermon. A mountain range that straddled Lebanon, which had little to no ISIS activity. They had been given the information from a member they had locked up on base. After a ruthless week of interrogation, the man had finally spilled his truth. Private Amari, one of the translators on base, had filled in the Colonel on how there was a camp just outside of the mountains and that was where they were planning their next attack. Not only that, but the man had said that the ISIS leader, was set to be there on the following Wednesday.

Although the lieutenant found it suspicious, she hadn't been overly sure of how to broach the subject without seeming like an idiot. She was one of the most intelligent officers on base, who had not been brought in specifically for that roll. If there were a problem, the team would've spotted it. But something in Lauren's gut told her that this wasn't a promising idea.

The next evening in the strategy room, they assigned a squad.

"The list is as follows;

Pte. Donte Johnson and Pte. Jackson Young: You two will be sent in with two coms each, when you're up on the mountain, you'll be able to get reception. During your journey to the edge, we suspect there to be a two-hour window without contact. If you miss three calls, we will assume, the worst.

Pte. Patrick Harris; as apart of the intelligence sector you'll be lookout. You keep your eyes pealed for anything suspicious or anything that indicates you four need out of there. I suspect you can shoot and handle your own at 6ft2. You also help Johnson with coms. All four of you will have radios to connect with one another should you be separated.

2ndLt. Ryan Kent; you're going to be on the lookout for this man." The Colonel flipped to a slide with a picture of ISIS leader, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi. "You see him, you radio your squad leader. Do not and I repeat, DO NOT, shoot. Any chance of you missing leads to you four being found out, and I am not losing anyone today."

And finally, squad leader 1stLt. Lauren Jauregui. Lauren if you get the clear shot, you know what to do. Keep the group together, you're the sniper in this mission. If there is an attack or you suspect one, use the coms to communicate with base. Kent will be your eyes, Johnson will be your eyes. Harris will be looking out for bombs, as well as other possible traps. Jauregui, we need you to do what you do best here. If we can snipe him, this isn't fully over but we're one step closer. Understand?"

"Yes sir. Understood." Lauren nodded, her eyes trained on the screen as it flipped to the strategy. Where they'd be dropped, how far they needed to climb, and where they needed to be.

"We had a plane fly over the area today. There was indeed a cap situated there, however, whether the information of Al-Bagdaddi, being there is true- that's what you four are being sent out to find out. We're going to drop you off on the Lebanon side, that's as safe as you can get throughout this. While at the top you should be able to see the camp clearly through binoculars as well as the scope on your riffles." The older man pointed to the other side of the mountain on the map and scratched his graying beard with his free hand. "The moment you land, you're on your own until you get up the mountain. Given the idea that you've taken breaks, or something is to happen regarding being slowed down, we've given you three call times. Each will take place two hours after each other. While on the mountains edge you should be able to receive one if not two. Should you miss all three, we will assume the mission has failed and send a plane to look for you."

"And if you can't find us Sir?" Johnson spoke up and everyone in the room turned towards the light-skinned man.

"We will declare you M.I.A until we do."

~ ~ ~

April 5th, 2017

03:00hrs

"Harris, have you seen anything unusual?" Lauren asked, as she set up her sniper riffle.

"No Lieutenant, nothing out of the ordinary. Just a fuck ton of rocks and trees." The taller man replied as he took a seat next to one of the larger rocks, to take a swig from his canteen.

"Kent? Eyes?"

"I'll be able to see better when the sun comes completely up, but for now there's no activity at the camp."

"Alright." The raven-haired girl nodded as she got in position and looked through the scope on her riffle. "Johnson? How're the coms?"

"We missed a call at 00:00hrs, then again at 02:00hrs, but we're up and working now, so we should be good for 04:00hrs." He smiled, proud of himself. Despite being a goofball on base, Donte was an all around good man. At 6ft, he used to be the captain of his basketball team back in high school, and much like Lauren had enlisted right after graduating. Like the lieutenant he wanted to follow in the footsteps of his father. He had grown up in California and had been on his way to Stanford on a scholarship looking to become a lawyer. However, when his father had been announced dead, he changed his mind.

His father was Matthew Johnson, a white man from Chicago, who had moved to California in 1990, after graduating Stanford and marrying Donte's mother, Charlize. A black woman from Vermont, who had just graduated from pre-med. After graduating medical school in '96, she'd fallen pregnant with their son.

When Donte was three, his grand-mother moved in, and his father enlisted. And for most of his life, he had wondered when or if his Dad would ever come home. When the question came about as to why he didn't look like his father and the kids at school picked on him, Matthew wasn't there to explain that they were a biracial family.

When people eventually got over it, and Donte had become rather popular amongst his friend group and in the sports world, Matthew hadn't been there either. When he had brought home the first girl he'd fallen in love with in Junior year, his father had been there. However, he wasn't fully present. His mind littered with the images of fallen friends and terrible encounters with evil. Donte never understood why his father had grown distant throughout the years or why he didn't want to throw the football around and talk about things like his friends and their fathers did. He didn't get why loud noises set him off, or why at night sometimes he'd hear him scream.

But today, today he'd come to understand.

0:3:50hrs

When the sun rose just behind them, Kent got a better view of the tents that were had been strangely empty. "What the-?" His eyes came to another tent, with the door wide open. There was a chair, with something sitting on it. When he zoomed in further, he let out a trembling breath as he took in the sight. There was a decapitated marine, tied to the chair, with his head in his lap "Holy fuck-"

Before he could get a good look at the figure beside the body, there was a missile launched towards their whereabouts. "RPG!! RUN!!!!"

The four scrambled to get up, grabbing their packs and doing their best to get out of the way. But they were no match for the grenade that hit the side of the mountain and sent them off the edge.