Long Shot | 13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi

Chapter 11

Drawing in a deep breath, I watched as the men in the fields began to separate from each other and disperse throughout the tall grass. I tried to keep my eyes on as many of them as I could, but eventually they had all ducked down so low and created so much space between them that I could only really watch one or two at a time.

At this point, something inside of me clicked and I felt it in my bones that whatever was going to happen, was going to happen real soon.

"Okay, they're breaking off." Oz commented. "It's game time."

Tanto nodded as he moved to the opposite corner of the building. "Yeah, they're coming in now."

"Lex, what you got your eyes on over there?" Rone asked.

I took a moment to survey my surroundings before answering. "I've got eyes on maybe twenty tangos at this point but they keep poppin' up and down like damn gofers, so that number could be higher or it could be lower. My sight is currently set on a group of three near the back bushes."

"Copy that. Chief, if we're expecting any friendlies, I need to know that information now."

"I am not aware of any friendlies. I have no confirmation." Bob relayed the information he had to us, which was pretty much nothing at this point. None of us knew a goddamn thing.

As more and more time passed by at an agonizing rate, more and more men seemingly appeared out of nowhere. They moved quick and low, staying mostly covered by the grass and other greenery, but we could see enough of their movements to know there were way more than twenty of them out there by now.

"Chief, this shit's starting to get real." Rone informed Bob and the others inside the buildings. "Oz, Lex, we got seven Tangos by the pillars."

"Got 'em." Oz confirmed.

Spotting another gathering of men near the slaughterhouse, I turned my attention away from the pillars. "Oz, you take pillars. I've got maybe ten or so tangos by the sheep pen."

"Chief, are we cleared hot to shoot?" Tanto checked in. "Chief, I repeat, are we cleared hot to shoot?"

"See a weapon, shooter's discretion."

"Everybody hold." Rone cut in. "You do not fucking fire till I give the word."

"I ain't shooting no kids, Boon." Tanto sighed as he flipped a switch on his gun. "All right, guys, eyes open. I'm gonna paint these guys with the infrared so we're all on the same page."

Slowly, one by one, Tanto pointed his red infrared laser at as many men as he could see so we all had a rough idea of just how many bodies we were looking at. "Look at these guys." Tanto half muttered to himself as he moved onto the next body. "It's like kids playing hide and seek."

"I got AKs." Boon announced as soon as one of the men got close enough to ID a weapon.

"You guys got to draw them in." Rone instructed. "Draw them in. They cannot see you. We have night vision, they don't."

I exhaled slowly as I watched a group of men grow closer than I would have liked. "How much closer do we let them get?"

"Come on, Rone, they're right here." Tanto crouched down as he aimed up a shot.

"We got about twenty-five to thirty Tangos."

Then it happened. The air was as silent as it had been all night, and then in a split second a grenade went off beside one of the buildings and lit up the whole compound. "That's my cue." I announced as I locked onto another man as he got ready to throw another explosive, and with one pull of the trigger, I gave him a quick and painless death.