In The Shadow of Thieves

Excerpt

"Chief, get alpha unit to tighten up the perimeter. I want fighting positions established every twenty meters. That concertina wire on the north side looks like an uncoiled slinky. Good job setting the HESCO barriers. The north ECP needs to get that M2 into position."

"Yes, sir."

"Bravo team, keep working on structure. I know it's late, but we have to get those surgical tents up and wired. I need power and communications up and running by 2100 hours. Charlie, get on those dozers and start clearing ground cover in sector three where the dental and orthopedics tents are going. We've got medics arriving in five days. Go… go… go!"

Elijah studied the blueprint for the 125-bed expeditionary medical facility his unit was to construct on Tinian. The EMF and the constructed FOB would serve as a training ground for U.S. Joint Forces. It had been eighty-one years since Seabees built and bled on the island, but to Elijah it looked like they were gearing up for a return to their island-hopping ways, especially given the Navy's focus on jockeying with China and the Marine Corps’ Pacific focus. Those decisions were above his pay grade, but as a lieutenant in the Naval Mobile Construction Battalion, or NMCB, he was responsible for making sure the infrastructure to support the troops was in place.

He had a company of reservists arriving tomorrow to produce the aggregate for the roads, port, and airfield construction. Not to mention the detachment of underwater construction specialists that needed to assess and repair the heavily deteriorated steel piers left over from WWII. It was like juggling three flaming balls above a pit of vodka.

Lightning flashed, and Elijah looked up at the darkening sky. All day, gunmetal-gray clouds had billowed in from the sea, and it appeared the storm had finally reached land. The gentle sway of the palm trees disappeared, and the fronds whipped in a frenzy. "Great."

The eardrum-vibrating rumble of the bulldozer and grader ricocheted off the trees. In the past week, his Bees had constructed the triage area and wards. Prior to their arrival, the hospital area had been overgrown with jungle; their first order of business had been to get the land cleared and graded. Unfortunately, they'd had some broke-dick equipment they had to fix and got behind schedule so Elijah made the decision to clear and construct in phases. They had three more days to complete the project and about 800 items left on the checklist.

He checked his watch. He'd been working for fourteen hours. From the moment the wheels of their planes touched down, they'd been on the move. These field exercises really showed the mettle of a sailor. As an officer, Elijah got a better understanding of his shipmates’ core strengths and weaknesses. He knew it was tough. FTX were designed to be uncomfortable. Case in point, he'd been sweating his balls off in ninety-degree heat with 120 percent humidity all week. His kit pulled on his back and shoulders, and his weapon was a lead weight against his thigh. Sweat dripped off his hair beneath his helmet, and he already knew he'd need that burn cream tonight despite slathering on sunscreen the moment he rolled off his rack. Normally, the Seabees worked in an office or on a construction site, but being out in the field like this was very different. Take, for instance, when those clouds above his head unleashed their fury, there was no building for him or the troops to hunker down in until the storm passed. They had to keep building because they were deployed in a combat zone. War didn't stop when Mother Nature got pissed off at human stupidity.

He stepped away from the sawhorses and plywood that was his makeshift office and took a walk around the area. Shadows of night crept into camp. High-powered generators rattled, and lights with enough wattage to blind a person kept the construction area illuminated. Sailors buzzed around in controlled chaos. Curses and commands rang through the air. He was home.

Elijah tilted his head with his ear to the sky. "What are the rotorheads doing up there?" He ducked when a jet buzzed the island and fired down the beach. "Motherfuck!" Another jet went in the opposite direction. He covered his ears as the scream of the turbine engines thundered overhead in its wake.

He ran for the central command center a football field away. Along the way he passed several Bees standing around with confused looks on their faces. "Fighting positions! Now!"

A shrill alarm blared, and like a cattle prod to the ass, the Bees moved into defensive positions around the construction zone. They had to protect the EMF and any troops about to arrive. Fuck, they only had three medics and limited supplies. This was not good. He sprinted behind the perimeter just as the searchlights snapped on, slicing through palm fronds and thick jungle mist. Thirty feet away, sand and dirt exploded into the air when a mortar round hit.

"Lieutenant, what should I do?"

He looked over his shoulder at a young E-2 likely right out of high school standing in the open with wide eyes. "Keep working on the surgical tent. We're going to need it."

"Yes, sir!"

"Chief! Move that dozer over to the south ECP, use it as a barrier, then coordinate the fighting positions. Radio me if there's any contact."

"Roger!"

Elijah scanned the jungle. He couldn't see beyond the tree line. Who was out there? The rat-a-tat-tat of machine gun fire sounded in the distance.

"Theirs or ours?" Master Chief Vega asked.

"Can't tell. Launch the flares—I can't see shit."

"In this weather?"

"Got a better idea?" The next set of explosions made his asshole pucker they were so close, and the flying debris obscured his vision. Beyond the perimeter of the EMF, he had Bees stationed in defensive gun pits. His radio crackled with updates and commands from the petty officers in charge of the various units defending or working. The skies opened up, and sheets of rain smacked into the ground. Tracer rounds sliced through the rain only to disappear before Elijah could identify their origin.

He keyed his radio. "Havoc, we are under attack. Launch QRF."

"Negative, Ringo. Nobody's flying in that weather. Defend and maintain your position."

"Figured they’d say that but didn’t hurt to ask."

Lightning flashed overhead, and Elijah spotted movement. "Form up! Suppression fire on that tree line! No one breaks the line!" He keyed his radio. "Fire Mission Bravo, grid reference 17-J. Mark it now!"

Static crackled from his radio. There was all kinds of interference from the storm. Ghostly figures dashed between trees, firing from the shadows. In his peripheral vision, Elijah saw sailors fall and their shipmates doing their best to drag them behind cover. Shouts of 'medic' blended into cracks of thunder. From the pits he heard the M240s send their projectiles toward the attackers.

"They're breaking through on the north side!"

He knew that wire was too loose. It was a weakness in the position. Elijah ran across the field. He spotted an infiltrator and fired. The body went down. Another followed, climbing over their battle buddy's body. Elijah aimed his weapon center mass and fired. The attacker stumbled but didn't go down. They must be wearing vests. He aimed lower to take out a leg and fired again. A scream hit his ears, and he grinned.

"Hold the goddamn line! They want this camp, they better pay for it in blood!"

As if Mother Nature turned off the spigot, the sheets of rain stopped. The field had transformed from a muddy mess as a result of all their heavy equipment rolling over and around for the past week into a bog that threatened to swallow his Bees as they repelled the attackers. The sound of gunfire slowed.

"All positions, check in."

"South clear."

"West clear."

Elijah waited. "East ECP, check in." Silence met his order. "East ECP, check in."

"Sorry, sir. They got Nicholls. This is Seaman Cross. I think we're clear, sir."

Elijah closed in on the north perimeter. He approached the body of the attacker he'd shot. "Cease fire! Cease fire! Cease fire!" he shouted in all three directions.

Elijah held out his hand, and the body on the ground groaned. A hand reached up, and Elijah pulled the man to his feet.

"Fucker, that Simunition hurt. Now I'm going to have to explain the big-ass welt to my wife."

Elijah chuckled. "You should have gone down the first time."

"What was that 'They better pay for it in blood' line? This some bad Hollywood movie about the battle of Saipan?"

"I thought it was inspiring. And we're on Tinian, not Saipan. I know you jarheads are kin to Neanderthals, but figured you could read the map I drew you in crayon."

"Fucking frog. My boot will find its way up your ass real quick."

"Careful, I might like it." Elijah turned his back on Sargeant Major Lee, the ranking member of the marine unit tasked with infiltrating their camp. He took the megaphone his master chief handed him. "Bees assemble!"

Sargeant Lee snorted, then held up his hands. "Sorry. It’s just, you know, Autobots assemble. Bumblebee? Transformers? Tell me that was intentional."

Elijah reached back to itch his neck while flipping Lee the bird. All the officers and Bees gathered around. Elijah put the megaphone down. "Great job! You successfully defended the EMF. For those of you who survived, go get some chow from the mess. Those of you who are dead, I want you to report to Petty Officer Lincoln. You're going to do some additional small arms fire and sniper attack training." He heard a few low groans. "Next time don't get killed! Now, if I call your name, step forward. Seaman Barker! Seaman Clarke! Seaman Klossner! And Seaman Pajes!" Elijah waited until all four sailors stood in line before him. "Congratulations, sailors, having successfully survived this exercise and passed all the assessments this week, you have officially earned your Bug Badge."

Elijah pulled the pins from his trouser pocket and stepped forward to pin the silver medals on each of the sailors. Elijah saluted the group and acknowledged their return salutes.

Elijah stepped back and looked across at the sailors that had made him proud during the exercise. "Seabees!"

"Can do!" the entire unit shouted.