Revenge

Nearing Reckoning

The vibration of the oncoming convoy alerts everyone to the immediate danger they find themselves in. As one, they disappear from sight. Not that they were ever really that visible, camouflage was the first thing the young men had to master. It did not take long though. These young men had volunteered for this, knowing that the chances of survival were as low as the chance of success, never the less, they have become skilled as only those in combat can. Armond knew that these men would die on the spot of it guaranteed the outcome of this mission. In their lifetimes, they have often seen the men in their community go out on a mission never to return. It was a right of passage which they fulfilled with pride and dignity.

As the first of the vehicles rounded the sharp bend in the mountain pass, he felt the frisson of excitement and dread. The adrenaline pumping through his veins will power his need for revenge, keep him steady, and keep him vigilant. There is just enough time now, to replace the discarded match stick. This new habit of his, would have driven every one of the women in his family to a point of murder, and for that reason he will not give it up until they have been avenged.

As he watches the first vehicles in the convoy cross that invisible point of no return, Armond does exactly what he had planned. The faces of his mother and all three of his sisters flash before his eyes. The day has finally arrived. It was time for Scarlet and his men to pay for what they had done to his mother and sisters. What they had done to his community, and what they had done to the generations who would not be born. The convoy comes to a halt and Armond watches the minesweepers move ahead, ensuring the crossing is safe.

With painstaking precision, Armond begins to connect all the wires to the respective terminals. Until the electric current flows through them, they are practically undetectable. The danger of relying on this kind of device is that it is fallible; one wrong twist and the thing either blows up prematurely, or not at all. He and his men have been precise in the measurements of distance, leaving nothing to chance. He knows that they all want to go home and that his precision will be the answer to their prayers. The sooner they complete this mission, the sooner they can return home to help rebuild what had been destroyed without a second thought.

Watching the three men with mine sweeping equipment make their way across the bridge, one way then back, he knows that the other men in his outfit are watching too. He imagines he can feel their collective adrenaline spike as they wait to see if their trap will be discovered. There was a calculated risk involved. Of course there was. No mission is without it. That little bit of luck that runs your way. Armond knows that if they spot even one of the wires linked to the underside of the bridge, this mission is over. General Scarlet will instruct his men to light up all the surrounding hills, with the same unaffected air he had when he ordered the brutal slaughter of the women in his family.

To Scarlet, it was nothing personal, just the cost of war. Collateral damage. But to Armond and the people in his village, this was personal. A deeply rooted hatred lay at the heart of this act of vengeance. Neither he, nor any of his men would hesitate to take a bullet or offer to be blown up with the convoy. That however, was something he could not allow. Enough of his people have died because of this monster. Many ambitious men in history are labelled as monsters, or butchers, but this man? General Scarlet? He is genuinely the embodiment of what people think of when they hear such adjectives assigned to men like Scarlet.