Some Days, Part Two.

As usual, the plan was to wait for nightfall, enter the city, steal something that can hold 10 armed men, and get out of Dodge. We could wait for the angels, but as the ranking officer, I had to get us moving before whoever shot us down found us, and there was no excuse for staying put when no one was hurt.

PBE troops are good in the woods. We're really, really good in the city. However, we're just not top-tier desert warriors when the plane carrying the toys gets shot down. We didn't have a lot of food, we didn't have a lot of water, and we didn't have a lot of that most precious of commodities, ammunition.

Much as I want to find the fucker that shot me down and return the favor, we're getting out of here.

Anything that can put a small artillery shell a mile into the sky can put one into a mountain. I knew what the Germans used to do with their 88mm AA gun, and it wasn't pretty for Allied tanks. Also, AAA guns aren't small, aren't cheap, and can't be used solo...

Who? Who's got the balls, the funding, and the actionable intel to shoot down...oh, fuck me.

"Guys, the timetable just got bumped. We're going NOW. Wut, move these boys out, we are not going to have time to jerk off and wait for a rescue."

"Rescue? Why...yeah that makes sense. No one else around here."

It took us the better part of two hours to reach that village. That was probably the longest two hours I'd ever marched. Every PBE employee is regularly qualified on several different weapons, but I'm a pilot. I work for a living in a seated position, and while I'm damn fit compared to most pilots, I'm just not up to the level of PBE troopers. Furthermore, I just don't have the level of Infantry training they have.

Some days, I go from valuable asset, relied upon to deliver death to the enemy and bring salvation to the troopers, to a liability.

And I hate that.

Wut's boys managed to find an empty hut on the outside of town. Of course, it was empty because it had once been part of a much larger mud hut, which had at some point been exploded. Still, it got all of us under one roof. How one of the trooper had the presence of mind to grab a camp stove was beyond me, but they had chow on.

Then my cell phone rang. I knew from the ringtone that it was the Boss, so I stepped outside to take the call.

"OK, so from what we can gather, you got shot down by Quds Force operators."

"Shit, I didn't want to hear that confirmed."

"Yes, well, it gets better. They got the Prince."

"No."

"Yes. Want to guess the next step?"

"Not really. Iran is a big place, and you want us to invade it with ten men, eight rifles, and two machine guns?"

"You guys left your sidearms in the plane?"

"Fuck you. We are not prepped for that level of engagement, we have no intel"

"Actually, you do. We know where the Prince is, but you're going to have to get him. You'll be reinforced as soon as possible, but that won't be tonight. Oh, and Soren?"

"Yes?"

"He's got some data they'll tear the country down for. They're not going to play nice."

"This mysterious data had better be something other than his porn stash."

I walked back inside the hut.

"Guys, you're not going to like this."

Some days