Bishop's War (Bishop Series Book 1) (10 page)

“What happened after we left the scene?” John asked.

“You were right about everything you warned us about,” Captain Ryan said. “We found a flower truck a hundred feet from where we were standing packed with enough C4, TNT, and gasoline to take out three city blocks. The bag with weapons was booby trapped too. It was designed to blow when someone picked it up.”

Felix reflexively grabbed John’s arm and squeezed hard. “Shit, you saved my ass, primo,” he said and exhaled deeply.

“How many casualties from the bomb that went off?” John asked.

“Good news, at least in the context of what might have been if you hadn’t been there. The second team blew themselves up when the park had been mostly cleared by your warning shots. We have just over twenty injured. Three are serious, but they’re all expected to pull through. Most of the others are just cuts from flying debris. No fatalities. The two terrorists did not survive the blast of course and they blew the head off the statue of Gandhi. You saved us all John.”

General Palmer stood up walked over to him. “Sergeant, you saved thousands of lives today. Job well done.” He snapped to attention and saluted formally.

All John could say was, “Thank you sir,” while standing and returning the salute.

The Q & A session lasted another hour. They both identified Amir Rashid from his mug shot. His picture was sent out city, state and nation wide and forwarded to Interpol.

Kolter had stepped out to brief the president. When he came back he said, “The president will be contacting you both personally. Can we count on your assistance if anything else comes up?”

“Absolutely,” they replied in unison.

“Now, is there anything we can do for you? You can reach me on this number day or night,” he said handing them each his card.

“Two things,” John said.

“Name them.”

“One, our names stay out of the paper. I know this is big news, but I want us to stay anonymous. I don’t want CNN and Oprah calling us for interviews.”

“Done.”

“Two, this guy Amir Rashid or whatever his real name is has seen us both. He obviously has resources and plenty of firepower at his disposal.”

“Agreed. So?”

“I want concealed weapons permits for both of us. Felix is as good a shot as I am, and I don’t want to get arrested again if we have to protect ourselves.”

Kolter looked at John for several seconds before answering.

“I’m a no bullshit guy. We know who your uncle is and what he does.” Turning to Felix he said, “Felix, I don’t think you’re a drug dealer, but you do have a felony murder conviction.” He paused for another long moment and then said to Ryan, “Make it happen. Give ‘em both permits and hardware before they leave the building. You two be careful and stay close in case we need you,” said Kolter over his shoulder as he walked out.

“Give me a few minutes to get you outfitted,” Ryan said.

Palmer was one of the few generals outside of an active war zone that insisted on carrying a side arm. He unclipped his holster from his belt and handed it to John. Colonel Masters, the aide at his elbow did likewise and handed his piece to Felix. It was the ultimate act of respect. For a soldier at any rank his weapon is part of him, constantly cared for and kept ready for the day it’s called upon to save his life. Both pistols were 9mm Glock 19’s.

“I don’t want you boys having anything less than the best if you get into another firefight,” Palmer said.

“I’m honored, sir.” John said.

“Me too. It’s an honor,” Felix said.

Palmer stepped in closer and put his hand on John’s shoulder. “Son, I know you’ve had a long hard day, but I have some bad news.”

“Sir?”

“Major Burke and four Team Razor sergeants were killed yesterday.”

John doubled over involuntarily as if someone had just punched him in the stomach.

“Oh no, not Tommy,” he whispered. A tear rolled out of his right eye and traveled down the jagged scar. “Who else besides the major?”

“The Team was ambushed east of Khost. Sergeants Collins and Jacobs were killed by the IED that got Major Burke. Riley and Lugo were shot and killed. Ilchuck and Waters were shot and wounded, but they’re not critical.”

“The shack at the base of the mountain?”

“That’s right,” Palmer said.

John fell into a chair upon hearing the names of so many friends. He put his head in his hands and closed his eyes for a moment, letting the reality sink in.

“Their families have already been notified in case you want to make any… well, I’m very sorry Sergeant. I know you’ve had a rough day and this just made it a whole lot rougher, but I thought you should hear it from me here and now.”

Felix moved closer, gently putting his hand on John’s shoulder as the general and his men said their goodbyes and the meeting adjourned.

Captain Ryan was still there and it was clear there was something serious on his mind.

“John, I’m really sorry about your friends. I know this is a really bad time, but I want you guys to listen carefully. You both need to watch your backs, and I’m not talking about terrorists now. Felix, you were right about Meecham. The man has a lot of power, a shit load of money, and he uses them both to destroy people. I hear he’s border line psychotic, but he’s got pull in Washington and you two just cursed him out and more than likely got him fired. He’s coming after you for sure and it probably won’t be straight on. He’ll find some way to back shoot you. I’ll protect you if I can, but I’m just a city cop and he carries a bigger gun. Thought you both should know.”

“Thanks Captain,” they both said.

“Call me Jimmy, and thanks for not jamming my guys. That was stand up. Now, let’s get you your permits and a ride home.”

When they walked out of the building they were surprised to see their drivers were none other than Louis and Martin. Louis and Martin were Officers Louis Johnson, Jr. and Martin Sullivan. The left side of Louie’s face was already purple and swollen from where Felix hit him. His jaw was probably broken and he needed to get X-rays, but he waited on the hospital until he could speak to the cousins directly.

“Look, I made a big mistake and I’m here to apologize,” he said through gritted teeth. “I’m sorry for shooting at you.” He turned to Felix. “And no hard feelings about the jaw. I box and you pack one hell of a punch. You saved your cousin’s life and saved me from being the fuckup that would’ve killed a hero.”

It was Martin’s turn. “I’m sorry too. I saw Louie on the ground and you had his gun so I thought… you know… I just… point is, that kick was way out of line. I’m really sorry, and understand if you want to file a complaint or even hit me back.”

“We’re cool,” Felix said. “I probably would have done the same or worse if I thought someone had wasted my cousin here. I knocked out your partner and you cracked my rib. Let’s call it square,” he said offering his hand.

They shook hands all around, compared pain levels and discussed the best ways to reduce swelling.

“Here’s both our cell numbers. You guys need anything, I mean anything at all, just pick up the phone,” Martin said.

They were driving home in an unmarked car when he finally called Maria at 11PM.

“Hi honey.”

“Ohhh baby, where are you?” Maria asked.

“On my way to you.”

“Are you okay? Are you hurt?”

“No baby I’m fine.”

“Thank God. We’ve been watching the pictures of you all night. You’re amazing. I’m just glad you’re not hurt and you saved all those people.”

“Pictures? What pictures?”

“Pictures, video of you in the park. It’s on CNN, YouTube. You’re on every news channel Johnny. They don’t have your name so they’re calling you the Unknown American Hero and the Hero of Union Square. I recognized you right away. You look so fuckin’ hot shooting that terrorist. I can’t believe those bastards came at us again. Thank God you were there to stop it.”

Not good
, he thought. He hoped they would never get his name. Celebrity status was something he definitely did not want, especially after his uncle had just warned him about staying out of the news.

New York Times

Special Sunday Edition
Terror Cowards Stopped By Unknown Hero!

The first terrorist attack on U.S. soil since 9/11 was thwarted by an unknown hero (pictured below) in Union Square Park yesterday. This Citizen Superman single handedly killed two terrorist suicide bombers before they could blow themselves up in the middle of the crowded farmer’s market. He then confiscated one of their weapons and shot and wounded the terrorist leader known as Amir Rashid who is now a fugitive (pictured right). Rashid, the name is believed to be an alias, was actually arrested on Thursday night in downtown Manhattan for driving without a license and running a red light. He was released on Friday morning only to lead this cowardly, bungled attack the next
day.

The mysterious hero who saved hundreds of lives was briefly taken into police custody before being released. His name and whereabouts remain unknown.

The story was covered in every major newspaper and news broadcast around the world, with John’s picture front and center right next to Amir’s.

Chapter 12

Return to the Battlefield

Khost Province, Afghanistan

“We found two
more mines. One south and one north of the hut. We disarmed and cleared the one on the south side so you can go up there now. My men’ll have the other one cleared in twenty minutes in case you need to go further up, Chief.”

“Thanks, Lieutenant. We’re moving in now. It looks quiet, but the Predator stays on over watch to make sure no one’s hiding under a rock,” Bear Bernstein said.

“Understood.”

“Chief?”

“What is it?”

“We’re all real sorry about Major Burke and the team. Let us know if you need any backup, or if you’ve gotta go off the reservation on this one. We want in regardless.”

“Thanks Loo, I’ll let you know.”

Bear, Able, Bobby, and Mace were the remnants of Team Razor. Traveling up the same dirt road where they fought for their lives two days earlier, they stopped next to Major Burke’s Humvee. It was mangled from the explosion and burned black from the fire. The charred body of Sergeant Dan “DC” Collins had been removed after the battle. What was left of his him.

They all stared in silence, looking on at the wreckage that was also a grave stone for their five brothers.

“Mace,” Bear said.

“Yeah,” he replied, his jaw flexing.

“I couldn’t have done it either.” He didn’t have to spell it out. They all knew Bear was talking about when DC begged Mace to shoot him.

“He did it himself so I wouldn’t have to carry it,” Mace said.

“That’s the type of man he was,” said Bobby.

“Every time I blink I see his face,” Mace said.

“I know, but I’m gonna picture him smiling when we kill everyone that had a part in this,” Bear said.

“We’re gonna find these fuckers,” said Able.

“Find ‘em and waste ‘em,” Bobby said.

Mace didn’t say anything. He just spit in anger and flicked the safety on his M-4 on and off.

They walked across the road to the other two disabled Humvees. Bobby looked down at the engine block of the third vehicle that had taken the two RPG rounds.

“Good thing we welded that front plate on last week.”

“Without that hillbilly armor we all would’ve been dead instead of just put to sleep,” Able said.

“My ears are still ringing,” Mace said.

“Mine too,” said Bobby.

They had all been standing behind the last Humvee when the RPG’s hit. The impact knocked them out cold, but no one was seriously hurt from the blast.

“Let’s see if they left anything for us,” Bear said.

They drove the quarter mile up to the tiny one room shack which remained intact even after the aerial barrage. The pilots had been alerted that there was potentially valuable intel inside and they skillfully placed their ordinance down on everything around it. There were impact craters, blood stains, and bone fragments everywhere, but no bodies. The enemy had come back after the battle to retrieve its dead.

“All clear up there?” Bear said into his headset. The Predator UAV was circling high above and could detect the heat signature of both man and weapon.

“All clear Chief,” was the quick response from the UAV Command and Control Center thousands of miles away back in the States at Creech Air Force base in Nevada. There was no ambush today and no booby traps other than the mines that had already been detected.

“Wish we’d had that Predator when we came up this road the last time,” Bobby said.

“Would’ve saved all our guys,” Able said.

“We didn’t, they’re gone, and we’re still here so let’s stay sharp and see if we can get some info to help track Aziz and his guys,” Bear said.

All heads nodded silently in agreement. There was no joking around now. They were all professionals and war was their business, yet each knew that the fight was now very personal.

Even with the all clear they approached the hut cautiously with M-4’s pressed to shoulders and safeties off. They checked all four sides of the small mud and stone structure that had one entrance with an ancient wooden door on rusted hinges and no windows. Mace kicked open the door and looked in on the dark sparse interior. There was a small wood burning stove and a few old rugs lay over the dirt floor. That was it.

“Shit. This is mission control?” Bobby asked while pulling up the rugs.

Mace looked up at the ceiling: “Jonny said he hid it over the door in the roof. How’d he get up there without a chair or a table?”

“How Johnny Bishop did most of the things he did has always been a fuckin’ mystery to me. Boost Able up past the door frame,” Bear said.

Mace and Bobby each held a leg and pushed him up. Able switched on his helmet light and searched the wall, feeling for anything loose with his hands. Frustrated, he was about to give up when he spotted a small piece of straw stuck between two stones. He pulled on it and the rocks fell away revealing a small hole where the microphone and recorder were hidden. He grabbed it and the guys lowered him down. There was a note wrapped around the recorder.

“Asshole,” was all Able said after reading it and passing it around.

JB was here. Miss you guys.
P.S. How long and how many of you dipshits did it take to find this?

“Fuckin’ Johnny,” said Bear after reading it and passing it to Bobby.

“Wish he was here,” Bobby said.

“Then you’re wishing him dead cause he would’ve been riding lead with Tommy,” Mace said.

“Fuck me. I wasn’t thinking straight. I just miss the guy is all,” Bobby replied.

“We all do,” Able said.

“Play a song Chief,” Mace said.

Bear hit the play button on the voice activated digital recorder. They each listened to the conversation in Pashto from the meeting two days prior.

“Motherfucker,” Mace said.

“Yeah, they were tipped off,” Able said, shaking his head and looking out of the doorway at the ambush site.

“Yeah, we’ve got a mole for sure. No doubt about it. Some other good info here besides that. The nephew in New York must be the one that led the attack. He’s probably the one Johnny shot, so this Amir Rashid may actually be Amir Khan,” Bear said.

They had all been briefed on the Union Square attack and their former teammate’s role in thwarting it.

“Johnny retires and still finds time to kick Jihad ass on the weekend,” Bobby said.

“You gotta love it,” Able said.

“And then there’s this part about a secret passage through the mountain,” said Bear.

“We going up there now, Chief?” Mace asked, eager to be on the hunt.

“Not today. We’ve got leave. We’re all going stateside for a week to attend the funerals,” Bear said. He took a final scan of the hut to make sure they didn’t miss anything. “Okay, mount up. Let’s get this intel to SOCOM ASAP.”

As they headed back down the road they each pledged a silent vow of vengeance and retribution against Aziz Khan for their fallen brothers.