A Soldier's Love Never Dies

It didn't take us long yo get to the site where Sergeant Maria Chasely was last seen. Gibbs, DiNozzo, and I scanned the area looking for any indication that Sergeant Chasely had been taken. I've seen this kind of situation before where an ambushbis planned and the Taliban capture a soldier to torture information out of so I know exactly what to look for. The Taliban think they're smart and sneaky little shits but in reality they're stupid as fuck. I kept my eyes peeled to the ground until I found what I was ssearching for. The dirt was messed up from ssomeone deliberately tried to cover their tracks. I followed the mess to a cluster of rocks where the footprints and drag markings were never brushed away.

"Over here!" I called out catching Gibbs and DiNozzo's attention. They rushed over to see what I had found.

"What made you look here.?"

"The disturbance in the dirt. Someone tried to cover up their tracks and did a sloppy job." I said yo DiNozzo. My eyes followed the visable drag marks until they disappeared around a bend.

I'm pretty sure that once we get around that bend we'll find something useful. I motioned for the Marines to follow as Iled the way. Sure enough my assumptions were correct. I took a pair of gloves out of my pack and placed then on my hands before picking up the vest and reading off the name. The right shoulder strap had a bullet hole in it with dried blood and dirt.

"Is that hers?" One of the Marines asked.

"Yes. My boys will lead the way from here."

"Should I call it in ma'am?" A Marine carrying a radio asked but I shook my head.

"Not yet. We need confirm sighting of her first." I placed the vest between Tsunami and Jethro giving them a scent to track. Their noses pressed into the vest taking in the lingering smell of Sergeant Chasely's scent.

"Suchen." I ordered. My boys placed their noses to the ground and began their tracking. We kept quiet as we followed my boys. The Marines behind us had their weapons at the ready. I raised my hand as Tsunami and Jethro stopped and we all crouched down.

"I bet that's where she's at." I whispered to Gibbs as I looked on at the village a few yards ahead.

"Most likely. I hadn't seen and tire tracks."

"Franks!" I whisper yelled. He kept his body low as he came up beside me.

"What is it?"

"Who's the best in the squad for recon?" I asked.

"At the moment I am."

"What are you thinking Blayke?" DiNozzo inquired.

"Franks and I will sneak into the village to see if we can spot Sergeant Chasely."

"I can't let you do that." Gibbs said sternly.

"We don't have any other choice. We can't call in an extraction team unless we're 100% sure that she's being held there."

"She's right sir. If we go in there and kill people then find out that she's not there, we'll be in some deep shit. Not to mention so will the Commanding General and Colonel Cooper." Franks said agreeing with me.

"Alright just be careful. Find her and then get back here." I nodded and handed over the leashes to Gibbs. I pulled my SIG out of the holster after securing the automatic weapon on my back.

Franks followed me as we stayed low within the large rocks leading to the village. As we got closer, we could see armed Taliban standing guard at the entrance to the village. I motioned to Franks that we would have to go through the back. We got to the side wall where a lonely Taliban was keeping guard.

"You want him?"

"You do it. I got your six." I said sneaking down the rocks. I watched as Franks waited until the man turned his back before getting behind him and cutting his throat. We dragged the lifeless body to the rocks and hid him.

As we got to the end of the side wall, I peeked around it to see another loner. This time Franks waited until the man got to us before grabbing him. He places a hand over his mouth before slicing his throat. We his his body as well before going into the village. We split up to search the grounds faster. I checked the buildings through the windows until I found the right one. 2 men and a woman were in the room with Sergeant Chasely. One of the men stood guard with his AK-47 clutched in his hands while the other man was punching on the Sergeant. The woman stood there just watching as if she were waiting for them to tell her to do something.

I rejoined Franks and told him what I had found. He informed me of the numbers in the village. Only 10 minus the 2 that he had killed. Franks and I left the village and went back to the squad awaiting word.

"Did you find her?" Gibbs asked.

"She's in there. Hostile count is 10 minus 2. Blayke saw a woman with the Sergeant and her captors."

"Confirm with the base that we've located Sergeant Chasely." I said and the Marine carrying the radio immediately called into the base.

"Base confirms extraction for Sergeant Chasely. We are ordered to eliminate all hostiles." I led the men back the way Franks and I came. Half of the squad split up to storm the front while we took the back.

Gunfire could be heard from the other side of the village. Men with AK-47s came out of the buildings ahead of us and started firing. We all fired back taking them down with ease. When we got to the building where Chasely was being kept, I kicked in the door. Franks and his fellow Marine shot the two men as they grabbed their weapons. The woman got behind Maria with a gun of her own and held it to the Sergeant's head.

"Drop your weapon!" Gibbs yelled as he pointed his gun at her. She acted as if she didn't understand what he was saying but her eyes told me differently.

"Listen to him lady."

"Aismah laha 'an tabhhab." I said speaking to her in her native tongue. Her eyes met mine as I aimed my weapon at her head. I knew she understood me but she didn't respond.

"Wasawf yutliq alnnar ealayk." I said warning her that we would shoot her. This time she held the gun away from her with only one finger. As Franks untied Sergeant, DiNozzo took the gun and I detailed the woman.

As we left the building, several Humvee's pulled into the village. Gibbs and DiNozzo took control of the prisoner and got into one of the Hummers as my boys and I got into another one with Franks and Sergeant Maria Chasely. It felt so good to get back to combat and it gave me a charge that I thought I would never get back but what feels even better is knowing that this woman will be able to go home and see her husband again.