You could smell the copper in the air, that brass taste which is the unmistakable smell of blood, we we’re in the shit and we knew it. There was no chatter over the radios which meant the net was dead or we where being jammed (A favourite technique of hostile agencies was to make the area a communications black spot). Scotty was in front, I could just make out the back of his shoulder in the smoke and hear his un-even steps due to his right leg needing medical attention right away.
Both of us had been cut off for two hours now, no comms and no route out of the city thanks to the bombing raid and we where running out of ideas fast. Scotty dropped to his knee with his G3 straight into his shoulder, I used the green glow of the night sight to close in and take a position to his 5 O’Clock to cover our arses in case the hit squad where about to try and say hello again.
30 minutes went past without incident and my right leg had gone to sleep, I tapped Scotty on the base of his back to signal the lift off and we slowly, but awkwardly stand to out feet; ”Shit” I turn to see what’s wrong with Scotty expecting some massive problem; ”United lost 3-1” He was reading the sports page off the back of a newspaper, god knows how it ended up in this hell hole, but it raised my morale no end to see Scotty so pissed that United had lost again.
I was starting to wonder if the distant small arms fire was the rest of the team, the last thing I remember is getting hit with .50 Cal and RPG’s then in the confusion Scotty and me had taken on the hostiles but I have absolutely no idea where the rest of the team went. I know that contact took it’s toll on my ammo, I was down to three mag’s and two flashbangs with three more magazines for my Sig Sauer P226 worn on my leg. It would be light soon and we needed to get to the ERV and quickly, other wise we would have to spend the next 12 hours hiding till it was safe enough for us to move, if the locals found us here, we would be dealt with quickly and painfully.
”Jim” I could sense the urgency in Scotty’s voice and could see him walking backwards towards me while his rifle was pointing forwards, everywhere his eyes went the weapon pointed. I placed a hand on his back when he was half a pace away and put my face to his shoulder ”Whats up mucker?’‘
What I heard next was literally the last thing I thought I was ever going to hear;
”X-Rays 10 feet north of that brown bus”
”How many?”
”At Least 8”
I didn’t ask if they where armed, Scotty had been in the team for a few years now and served with me in Africa, so I knew if he was saying there where 8 X-Rays within spitting distance I knew we where walking into an almighty gang fuck.
”Let’s go for it, one flash bang hit ‘em and we’ll head east between those houses till we hit the ERV”
I knew the rest of the initial hit squad that tried to throw us a party a few hours ago where getting closer to us and soon we would be boxed in, really we had no choice, but I really did not want to use the last bit of ammunition we had taking on these guys
”OK mate, throw in the flashbang and I’ll take care of the rest, you clear the route to the east”
As my HK53 went back into the shoulder and and I took the initial slack of the trigger Scotty already had the pin out of the handle and was taking aim at the group, it landed a little behind them and landed with a right clatter, the group shit themselves and turned to see what made the noise which was perfect for us, on the second bang I let them have it.
Truth be told it was over in about 4 seconds from the grenade leaving Scotty’s hand to us darting between the houses after seriously tearing up their little party. We were now running at full tilt weapons still in the shoulder, my knee pads had completely fallen down and where keeping my ankles nice and warm, but it didn’t really matter as we could hear the HELO near by, we where now only a couple of Kilometres from the pickup, 3-4 minutes and we would be home free.
I felt the fizz of the first round as it went past my head, then Scotty screams at the top of his voice;
”Contact Right, Contact Right”
I know this is completely out of left field, but would anyone be interested in hearing what happened next?
Heck yah. Really left us hanging!
.-= Doug´s last blog ..Social Media Ignorance =-.
Ha ha Did you like it then?
Wow! Your writing style had me completely engrossed, and now I just wanna know what happened
.-= Tom | Build That List´s last blog ..Flipped: The Complete Guide To Flipping Blogs For Profit (Review) =-.
Do you really think so?
ha ha @ the united comment, good old Brit humour that is…only a Brit would do that!
Now… spill the rest then…
.-= Rob Sellen´s last blog ..Make money online creating products =-.
Think it’s worth putting the rest out?
What do you think?
You can’t tease people like that, you bad man!
.-= Rob Sellen´s last blog ..Make money online creating products =-.
Sweet. I agree, totally engrossed in the story. Wow. You should turn this into video. That would be like crazy shit. lol
Hey Richard,
Ha ha yeah i twould make a great film, do you think I should release the next part?
Yeah man, I’ll read along.
I can’t talk about my stuff. Recon doncha know. If I told ya I’d hafta… hahaha!
(Actually, I can, but not gonna steal your thunder. Here.)
.-= Dave Doolin´s last blog ..Why the Apple iPad Will Make Me More Productive =-.
Hey man yeah brother we should write something together
Alright James…. are you writing a blog or starting your memoirs? Either way your a bastard for leaving the story hanging!
Now I know why as part of the armed services the Submarine Squadron was such an attractive option! I have a strong aversion to being shot at!
.-= Mick Morris´s last blog ..How much value are you REALLY giving? =-.
Well you mighta lost some of your female commenters here, but us hairy legged dudes want more….
If it ain’t for real, you got me fooled. I love to read this type of Shizz. Only non-fiction in my library but if you keep telling it, I’ll read a little everyday Jimmy!
Is this your new product?
I like it James. You got another writing style in you and I like it a lot. All I have to say is, I want to read more dude!
.-= Alex´s last blog ..Interview with Kid Entrepreneur Jason O’Neill =-.
I didn’t realise Andy McNab was guest posting today?
.-= Matthew Needham: The Big Red Tomato Company´s last blog ..How to get rich the boring way =-.
Serious question, do you want to hear the rest? Do you think it was OK?
Serious answer, Yes!
Love it thanks brother, thanks for the support
Yes, thought it was excellent. I love books by Andy McNab and Chris Ryan. More recently I’ve read a load of books on Afganistan and Iraq war stories.
.-= Matthew Needham´s last blog ..How to get rich the boring way =-.
hmmm OK thinking of releasing more seen as it’s got such a good response
Hey James
I wish I was a book agent I would sign you up!
Carry on…..
Roland
.-= Roland Millward´s last blog ..Does Owning Your Own Business Bring You Freedom? =-.
Hey man ha ha I actually wrote this off the cuff in about 15 minutes, How often do you think I should release the next part?
James
I think you are on a winner here. Set up your storyline and start writing. Release chapter 1 for free and then sell the rest of the book to those gasping for more!
Go for it!
Roland
.-= Roland Millward´s last blog ..Does Owning Your Own Business Bring You Freedom? =-.
Shame you’re not a book agent lol
WHAT! you CANNOT do that to us!
I see what you’re doing here though – you can make a lesson out of this post making people crave more
but yuh seriously… you have to tell the story!
Hey brother glad you liked it, it’s something I’m thinking of releasing bit by bit, what do you think?
Would be a great book man. Bring on more, it was very engaging. And don’t do video on it. Let the words and imaginations work for themselves. Send it out bits at a time and people will line up to read it!
.-= Justin Matthews´s last blog ..Cantankerous Old Coots Unite! =-.
Yeah not thinking about a video, but thought about doing a audio of me reading it too to run along side, what do you think?
Hi James,
I agree with Nathaniel. It is a great point, you have to get your readers attention, and get them wanting more.
When I read it I thought that you were quoting a piece of a book or movie…Great stuff.
Neil
Hi Neil,
Ha ha no like I say it took me minutes to write, mainly because I lived this sort of stuff for tens years so it’s easy to write. Would you want more?
I would follow it for sure. I have to find out what happened next.
That’s exactly the response I was hoping for, thinking of putting it out every Wednesday, ultimately it’s going to be produced into a book but it will be totally free on here, I’ve put a Contact Right page tab at the top which I will edit in the new part every time to make it easier to keep up
Dude my favourite post of yours that I’ve read yet. Sure, I haven’t read THAT many yet but seriously, that was elegantly written and I hope that you’ll play that card every so often. Will you? Please think about it!
.-= Mo´s last blog ..The Rolex and the Unhealthy Zorro Obsession =-.
Yeah I think I’m going to release the next part soon, no date yet but I will be releasing it bit by bit
Dude James! You really had me on a mission here. Why? You should keep writing this it just sound so real the way you delivered it.
.-= Wilson Usman´s last blog ..Seth Godin-Linchpin Are you Indispensable? =-.
Hey Wilson ha ha yeah I’m going to brother
Release one part a week. It’s like a cliffhanger that will keep people coming back again and again. Pick a day for release. Like the Saturday Serial theme. It really is quite good.
Hey brother, yeah I’m thinking of doing something like that, have you seen the latest post?
Saturday serial does well for me. I like it because it lets me cheat for a post on saturday and still draws some traffic. It also lets me get my fiction out without distracting the rest of my blog.
.-= Justin Matthews´s last blog ..How I Got Into Kettlebells =-.
James,
You scared the crap out of me!! You should keep it for a book, but I still want to know what happened next.
Hey Maria, ha ha sorry dude. Do you think it was engaging?
Engaging? I was reaching for my rifle and taking cover!!!
Ha ha cool!
Chap…don’t tell me you were hit by a .5o calibre and lived to tell the tale! I know a wet blanket can stop a 9mm from an old school SMG, but .303 and .50 do serious damage. Brassy or copper smell? Good description tho’…amazing how much the brain absorbs in life threatening, adrenalin pumped circumstances.
.-= Tommy Twanker´s last blog ..SEO – Is It Dead in the Water? Is PR rising from the Ashes? =-.
Hey man watch out for part two next Wednesday, thanks for the email too
Wow – you have no idea how frustrated I was to reach the end of the post! Yes, I want to know what happens next!
Actually, I would quite happily read a book full of stories like that.
.-= Chris´s last blog ..Turn your writing into music at CodeOrgan =-.
ha ha well the next piece will be coming next Wednesday I think so keep an eye out for it.
Sad we live in a world where people have to experience such horror. I think it was some excellent visuals and writing and I encourage you to continue
Thanks for your excellent comment on my blog earlier and the support appreciate it
.-= John Sullivan@The Blog No One Reads´s last blog ..Oh no he didn’t !!! =-.
Hey brother, massively gratefull for your encouragement in this, actually quickest post I have ever written and have already wrote the next part love it. No probs bra that’s what it’s all about my brother