Operation: Home Front

"4, 3, 2, 1, 0, Mark. Go! Go! Go!"

The roar of a Military grade drop helicopter rages through the air as several silhouettes drop down cables coming from it to the ground. Soon the signal is given once the final figure has dropped and the helicopter takes off, sending the tree's beneath it swaying near breaking point with the amount of pressure it's pushing down with. As the helicopters engine sound slowly fades away into the rising sun the mission starts it's first phase. The figures circle together and a man at point take a map and a flashlight out, stretching the map and holding it's corners with stones lying around. He points out several key entrances into the village nearby.

"This will be your main entrance into the village, but how you get from there to the pickup zone is completely up to you. This Mission is all about slaughtering every single person in this village as a means of sending a message to those who think they can mess with us. Be as brutal as you want, do whatever gets you off, but be back at the pickup zone before that sun reaches it's peak, you understand me? I'll have no casualties on out side, not today."

A circle of "Roger!" rings out from the rest of the group. As they break off onto their own one man takes his position along the wooded side of the village. A simple run through, kick down each door and toss in a grenade then shoot whoever runs out without second thoughts. He reaches back into a pouch strapped into his belt and pulls the zipper, reaching in and removing a bulky old-style wallet. When he flipped it open he bent his head down and gently kissed the woman's picture, saying a soft "I love you" to it before putting it back into it's pouch and zipping it up.
There wasn't room for emotion in this group. They may get a high pay, personal pick of weaponry, and exceptional downtime but at the end of the day they were still a glorified death-squad, and no one cared enough to argue it. Six minutes to Mark. It was four miles to the village where the Mission was to be held. The village itself was a half mile deep and over a mile wide. It was the biggest village in the entire state because of drug and Human trafficking. Nothing new. There was nothing that could surprise the Ranger Special Ops team at this point in their career.

"Alright.."

It was time to put Phase I into full effect. Everyone started their run to the village, pacing themselves enough so not to leave themselves open for attack upon arrival of their destination should the village get word of mouth about this attack and want to defend themselves. As they pushed forward through the brush a message came over their coms' earpiece, it was their captain, and he passed down information of the villagers being completely unaware of their coming doom. He said that a plane will be arriving from America to take them all there, as this was their final mission as Ranger Spec Ops.
This was great news, at the end of this mission he would soon be able to stay with his love for good and never have to see her hide tears as he leaves to go on a paid killing spree. The action to political talk. That's how this squad was born and how it will die. Trained to do nothing but kill what doesn't need to be there and the best at what they do. What could be out there for the group? How will they grasp the flow of American reality without high powered rifles and bullets? It didn't matter, no one there cared about eachother only the mission at hand. No one was friends with the others, they were silent unless they needed to pass information. No friends are formed in bloodied combat.
Just a minute or so of jogging left before they would be in the village, this mission was almost over. He could almost feel his lovers arms around him for the first time in nearly a year. These damn jungles have been the grave for so many, and were about to be littered with more dead. Whatever it takes to keep the fat politicians fat, right? Greasy hands and fat wallets were all America really was. There, the first glimpses of the upcoming village, the thing that stood between him and his love. This wouldn't take long.

"Hit 'em hard and hit 'em fast boy's. Let's walk through this shooting."

No responses, must be too busy thinking of how they'll kill everyone. It was natural for everyone in this field of work to go insane or mentally unstable from seeing too many skinning, tortures, and all around death that covered them all the time. Most went ballistic and just got shot up from either enemies or friendlies not wanting a bullet in their head too. Everything was death, if not on their enemies side it was a hit to them as a group. It only effected them as far as the dead comrade's effectiveness in battle. Sometimes it was a loss, most of the time it was a green rookie getting a little crazy.
Alright, this was the beginning of Phase I. Bullets started flying into the makeshift houses and people started screaming as the dead fell all around them. The villagers dropped like moths when they get too close to the fire. Daughters screamed for their fathers to get up, children cried, mothers tried to protect their children from harm, but nothing was going to stop these bullets. Everyone died today, no questions asked. Children were strewn around the ground to be executed. Mothers were shot down immediately and the men were all corralled to be gunned down en masse. Eventually the screams stopped, it was a hiding game that would work if this weren't a mass execution. Houses were burned, every one of them were set ablaze and the survivors that ran out were quickly gunned down without a second thought. It was pathetic how easy this was, like walking into a knife fight with a shotgun. This time there wasn't any skinning, no torture. Just blatant killing.

"Alright, Phase I. complete. Moving onto Phase II."

Phase II was nearly as simple as Phase I. Make sure that no one will know what happened here today. In other words burn everything to the ground and make this place something only a few people will understand, and they too would be killed eventually. All the houses had finished burning, all there was left was the facility in the back where the drugs and Humans were kept and exported. They were casualties too, there was no rescue planned for them. They knew too much of the Military's involvement so their lives were cast out as casualties of war and burned down with the building. It's hard to say what would have killed them first, the fire, the building coming down, or the toxic smoke that billowed out as the fire engulfed the entire building. Funny, from a cargo plane the screams almost sounded like a whistle, whistling a tune. No one spoke on the long journey to America, but everyone was wondering the same thing. What will I do once I get there? Where will I go? The military would pay you off for the rest of your life if you killed for them, and Ranger Spec Ops had the highest pay of all. We could all live like Kings if we wanted. Just as long as no one said a word about our Missions then we were safer than the president. Thirty-two hours later they finally reached California and separated after a short briefing with their commander.

"Well, what's in store for Mr. Family man Dante after this?"

"Isn't it obvious, chief? I'm going home to see my beautiful woman, then I'm probably going to take some time before I go and take her out to dinner. What about you, any plans with Mrs. Chief?"

"Hahah, maybe. You know, I'm not the one that set up this Mission. It wasn't worth your skills to slaughter them. It could have been handled by regular police if they tried hard enough, but you're squad did exactly what I said they would, killed everything and left nothing to chance."

"So America is where they wanted us to go, huh? What a sloppy final Mission though. I always pictured something way harder and more fun."

"I know, and I wish I had the political power to keep this team up and running. But the American Government is scared shitless of you guys. Killing without a conscience is something they said would never befall their Military. But it's what it takes to get a battle over with quickly and effectively and they know it. But they don't want to risk their Political Lifestyle to outright say that your Death Squad exists."

"Heh, sounds like you're just getting tired of keeping everyone in check when we're off duty. Keeping a giant Military secret can't be good for your sleeping habits, can it? Well, it's all over at this point anyway. I've got a woman waiting for me in New York. Chief, you'll keep in contact right? It's not like we're all going into the shadows."

"Yes, of course we'll keep in touch. I suppose I should let you go then, as you know there is your new Bank account which has the two-hundred thousand as you're first payment for Military services. The rest will come in increments throughout the coming five years, but no worries you'll have it all. You should pick up boxing again, i heard you used to be quite the boxer before we picked you up."

"Hmm, I might just do that, but it'll have to wait a while. Say, Chief. What's going to happen now, I mean drug and Human trafficking isn't going to stop from that one attack. What's the Government thinking? Political debating? That wont work."

"No, it's much simpler than that. Something I think the world should do from time to time. we're pulling our Military back to the U.S and keeping them here as a Home Front Military. Everyone is going to work on perfecting their own country before worrying about squabbles over power in different parts of the world. So far with the U.S is the U.K, Germany, Russia, Southern Africa, Mexico, and we're still waiting for China to get it's Military from their border war. It's being called Operation Home Front. This will work out for the better in the near future, I assure you."

"It sounds like they've been thinking this through quite a bit, it's not just some guilty decision they'll come to regret later now is it? Hey, I don't care what they do as long as I can see my girlfriend for as long as I want. With that set I'm perfectly fine with just about anything the Government does."

"Hmph, I trained you well then I see. Dante, do me a favor. Er, as a Commander and his subordinate. Don't poke your nose in the Government or the politicians. Leave all of that alone and just enjoy life with your girlfriend."

"Chief?"

"It took all of my strings to keep you and your team alive from this mission...It wasn't a drug trafficking routine cleanup...It was originally supposed to be a cleanup of the American Military. They didn't want to admit to their need for you and the others. That they needed elite killers to be effective in battle against our enemies. But I managed to keep the order from being passed and kept you and the others alive. But if they see you poking around they might take you and your loved ones with you. You and the others will be walking a very thin wire over a bed of razors for the rest of your life. I want you to forgive me, I never meant for any of you to be in this kind of situation, I wanted your Mission done then an easy life for the rest of your days but our Government wants to pretend their hands are not covered with just as much blood. So promise me that you'll keep your head down and remain just a family man."

"Uh..Yeah, Yes of course. I don't want to get offed but I wont ever put Rachel in harms way. What about the others, have you told them too?"

The Chief sighs, removing his glasses and rubbing his eye sockets like he was growing tired. He was an older man, but we always envisioned him as this strong man that wouldn't bend or break even if he had to hold up the world. It was silly, especially looking back at it, but we never questioned it. He always had an answer for everything and always had a plan up his sleeve to get what he wanted done. He turned around, his back was to me and he spoke softer.

"The others are nothing like you, I'm taking them into my own war...But I wanted you to enjoy the life of a family man. Go to her and be happy, for every one of the members here, for me, but most importantly do it for yourself. There isn't any reason to keep her worrying and waiting forever, eventually your life will end, why not make it a happy one instead of by a bullet."

"Chief..Alright, I'll go out and live the happiest damn life you ever seen. Just tell me that you wont go out there and get yourself and the others killed, tell me this personal war of yours wont end in me watching the news one night and seeing your bodies crumpled up on the ground!"

It took him a while, what seemed like forever, before he could turn around and answer me. His face was calm, the wrinkles of his aged face gave away that his mind was filled with so many thoughts buzzing around like flies. But he kept his calm, he always did no matter what.

"Yes, I promise that those you've called your comrade's for so many years and myself..We wont end up dead from this battle. Keep your head low, the shit will fly soon and it wont be pretty."

We laughed, then the Chief walked away and got into a car that rolled up to the curb. I knew in the back of my mind that I probably wouldn't see the Chief alive in my lifetime. Hell, I probably wouldn't see the others alive either. Killing without regard to Human life is what we were trained at. And we did better than they could have imagined. I think I stood their for another hour before I got around to finding a flight to New York. I was going home, going to the woman that would make this day better. That would make every day...Better.