“You got it.” Janet said. “So, how’s this going to work, exactly?”

  “I’m going to watch until I see the man I’m looking for and then I’ll pass your rifle back to you. You can take a look through mine, if you’d like.”

  “Alright, but doesn’t Henry shoot first?”

  “That’s correct, Janet, but I want you to have a high value target as well.”

  “Oh… alright.”

  “You still okay, over there, Janet.” Bennet asked, picking up on her sudden apprehension.

  “Yeah, I, uh… I just never thought I’d ever be put in this position…You know?”

  “I do know, absolutely.” Bennet said, already working on a plan to ease her mind.

  He picked out the ugliest, dirtiest looking son of a bitch he could find and got a good bearing on him. He then passed the .375 Remington back to Janet.

  “Here, take this. I want to show you something and practice our hand off. Don’t shoot anyone. Keep your finger out of the trigger guard. This is just a practice round.” Bennet said.

  “Okay.” Janet replied, taking her rifle back.

  “Look down there and I’ll give you his approximate position. Then, once I’ve guided you to the guy I’m talking about exactly, I’ll get you to describe him to me.”

  Looking through his own scope, Bennet said, “Squad of nine soldiers, walking three abreast in the north bound lane. Three on the outside are walking on the shoulder.”

  A few seconds later, Janet said, “Okay, I think I see the ones you mean.”

  “Good. Now… the three walking in the rear. I want you to describe the middle guy to me. Tell me everything you can about him.”

  “Okay… Hang on… Oh, geez, he’s a handsome devil.”

  She’s got him.

  “What else, Janet? Be specific. Clothing, headwear, weapon… everything you can see.”

  “Okay… Basic army fatigues, helmet… He’s carrying some kind of weird rifle with a huge banana magazine sticking out the top. Oh, and he’s as ugly as a pile of bear shit.”

  “That’s the guy, Janet. Good work.” Bennet said with a mild chuckle. “Now I’m going to tell you something about that guy that you don’t know. He’s on his way over to your house right now. He’s going to kill everyone you love and then he’s going to burn your entire town to the ground.”

  “The hell he is.”

  “Easy, Janet. Just track the asshole and listen to me very carefully. He’s going to do all of those horrible things unless you shoot him first. Can you see yourself being able to pull the trigger?”

  “Yes, Colonel.” Janet replied. “To protect my community, I can.”

  “Outstanding. That man you’re tracking right now is only a tool, a puppet for the men that are really pulling the strings. The next time I pass your rifle back to you, we’ll be targeting the man in charge, the one that gives the orders. You’ll keep your sights on his midsection for as long as it takes. When we hear Henry’s shot, across the way, you’re clear to take yours. Don’t wait for me to say anything, just take the shot. Once that first guy is out of the way, all of us will open up on them. Just keep firing and don’t let up until I tell you to. Okay?”

  “You got it.”

  “At ease… er… That’s enough, Janet.”

  “This is a lot more difficult than I imagined.” Janet said, exchanging rifles with Bennet again.

  “Killing isn’t an easy thing, Janet. If you were excited about it, I would have started to wonder about you.” Bennet replied.

  “I kill game animals all the time, but this is something else.” Janet said.

  “Not really.” Bennet said, placing her rifle back to his shoulder. “Think of it this way. You kill to eat, so that you don’t starve, right?. You’re killing to stay alive. Well, today’s no different.”

  As Janet placed Colonel Bennet’s rifle to her shoulder again and began to look through the scope, she considered what Bennet had just told her. It made sense and she immediately began to feel better about what she was about to do.

  It’s no wonder this guy’s in charge. He could charm a salmon from a grizzly bear.

  04:30 PST

  Engagement Zone – Western Flank.

  “You doin’ alright, mate?”

  “Yeah, uh, yes sir. I’m trying my best, but I’m a little nervous… I’m sorry, I can’t even remember your name, sir.”

  “Major Graham Jenkins. For now, just call me Major. When this is all over, I’ll have you call me Graham over a pint in that nice little town of yours.”

  “A beer… ha, wouldn’t that be nice.” Henry said. “We drained the beer store over a week ago.”

  “No beer? Bloody hell! What the blazes are we fighting for?” Jenkins said, trying his best to ease the man’s nerves.

  “You got me there, Major. Yesterday, I was skinning a moose and today I’m about to kick off a damn war.”

  “Look, Henry, I know this is not at all what you’re accustomed to, but we’ve got an important job to do. It’s imperative that you make this shot. Are you going to be able to do that? I need to know now.”

  “I’ll make the shot, Major. I just need you to tell me who and when.”

  “Smashing. Just remain calm and imagine it’s just another hunt. We’re well out of their range from up here. They’ll be firing blindly into the hills, but their bullets will be landing well short of us. When it begins, it’ll get crazy around here, but you need to stay focused. Just find your next target, take the shot and move onto the next, nice and calm.”

  “Okay, Major. I’ll do my… Shit, I’ve got something.”

  Major Jenkins turned back to his scope, but he couldn’t see anything yet. After a few seconds, he finally caught a glimpse of something, but it was very faint. Looking up to the sky, he saw that a single small cloud was blocking the moon, killing their only light.

  Bugger off.

  “The clouds have killed the light for the moment, Henry. I can’t see anything just yet.”

  “Here, try mine.” Henry said, passing the major his rifle.

  Major Jenkins took the rifle and was immediately put off by its incredible weight.

  “Good God, man. This is a bloody cannon!”

  “You learn to appreciate the weight once it fires. It’s got one hell of a kick.”

  “I imagine.” Jenkins said as he looked through the scope.

  As Colonel Bennet had thought only seconds earlier, while looking through Janet’s scope, Jenkins was also immediately impressed. It was simply amazing how effortlessly the high-end scope gathered light. He could even tell the instant the moon came back out from behind the cloud. Through the scope, it appeared as though a spot light had gradually been turned on.

  “And there you are, you little bastards.” Jenkins said. “They’re walking at a fairly slow pace. It’s no wonder they’re late.”

  Jenkins lowered the rifle and said, “There’s one soldier down there with a hat on his head instead of a helmet. Tell me if you can find him, Henry.”

  Henry took his rifle back and shouldered it again, quickly finding the man.

  “Yeah, I see him. He’s got a flat top ball cap on. That the guy you mean?”

  “That’s the one. Can you range him from here?”

  “Scope shows 425 metres to the road. With the 45 degree slope, I’d call it… 300 even.”

  “That’s brilliant, mate. A literal ballistics savant.”

  “Well, I don’t know about all that. I’ve been hunting mountain goats for 30 years, Major.”

  “Right, I want you to practice keeping your aim on his chest for a while, but do not fire. That’s the way this’ll go, Henry. Once I find the man I’m looking for, I’ll describe him to you and wait for you to find him. I may change my mind, but until I do, you’ll keep your crosshairs on that primary target the entire time. Nothing else exists except for you, me and that one target. I’ll let you know when it’s time to squeeze the trigger.”

  “Got it, Major.”

  “Captain Wallace, front and centre.” Jenkins ordered, turning to his left.

  “Sir.”

  “Spread the word. Enemy entering the engagement zone. Range to highway, 300 metres.”

  “Aye, aye, Major.”

  As Major Jenkins dealt with his soldiers, Henry kept targeting the man with the ball cap.

  Hmm… Maybe 325.

  04:42 PST

  Engagement Zone – Zero Hour.

  “Whenever you’re ready, Henry.” Major Jenkins said. “Start us off, mate.”

  Positioned as they were, high above the highway, the sea of enemy soldiers was truly overwhelming. It looked as though an entire football stadium had been exited all at once and its patrons were now all walking home together. For 15 minutes, the soldiers and hunters watched patiently for the North Koreans to pack themselves into the kill zone.

  Major Jenkins had changed Henry’s target twice before finally finding his man. He had Henry abandon a senior colonel for a lieutenant general and then five minutes later, for a colonel general. When Henry had described the third man’s bars, decorated with three stars, Jenkins knew that they had found their high value target.

  The thunderous sound that exploded was absolutely earsplitting. When Henry squeezed the trigger on his .460 Weatherby Magnum, Major Jenkins was surprised by a one metre flame erupting from its muzzle. The rapidly expanding gases propelled the enormous 500 grain bullet ahead of it at 2800 km/h. A half second later, it arrived at its destination to devastating effect. Colonel General Ri Yong-Chol would have his entire left side rib cage torn from him, along with all the gooey bits therein. He would die instantly, never having known what had just happened to him.

  Colonel Bennet and Janet, directly across the highway valley, had fared slightly better in their search. They had been tracking the enemy’s highest ranking officer, promoted by default, when their vice marshal had been turned to mist by a well placed JADE bomb. The officer’s four stars and ridiculously large hat meant that he was their general. It also meant that the field commander was taking his final breath.

  Impressed by Janet’s reflex time, Colonel Bennet would find himself with his own ears ringing one second later. He watched as General Hwang Pyong was blown backwards as a bullet from Janet’s .375 Remington struck him centre mass. Not surprisingly, the two soldiers standing directly behind him also collapsed in a heap. Bennet couldn’t tell what had taken the general’s two hapless followers down, but judging by the high angle of the shot, he guessed both were missing at least a leg.

  Before the enemy had a chance to determine where the two shots had come from, 12,000 rifles suddenly opened up, sending a hail storm of hot lead down onto their heads. From every direction, it seemed, bullets of every calibre rained down. Automatics, semi-automatics, bolt actions, lever actions, even a few pump actions were brought to bear on the unsuspecting North Koreans.

  Seconds later, the machine gunners and infantry soldiers to the north, engaged from ground level. The swath of destruction, they carved out in front of them, was completely devastating. The North Korean soldiers that had made the mistake of running ahead frantically into the dark, were immediately cut down by 50 powerful C6 7.62mm medium machine guns and hundreds of C7A2 automatic rifles.

  Bodies were shredded, chunks of them flying through the air, as the men and women of the Canadian Army continued their relentless onslaught. The asphalt under the enemy’s boots was converted to a blood slickened skating rink. The North Koreans that did manage to get through unscathed, soon found themselves desperately trying to stay on their feet as they slipped on the entrails of their disembowelled comrades. Eventually, they too were added to the growing pile of eviscerated corpses.

  The carnage that Colonel Bennet’s division was unleashing on the enemy was having a shockingly catastrophic effect. North Korean soldiers were dropping everywhere, but as Bennet looked about the battlefield, he knew that they weren’t falling nearly quick enough. That’s when the 50 M224 mortar teams opened up. The instant they began lobbing 60mm bombs into their ranks, the situation for the enemy went from dire to absolutely abysmal.

  The first volley were all high explosives, designed to detonate on impact. They resulted in massive dismemberment and various fragmentation wounds. Those bombs were kind, however, when compared to the second volley, made up entirely of white phosphorus. Also exploding on impact, these bombs sprayed burning chemicals over the enemy, causing many to catch fire. Many others would die of asphyxiation, unable or unwilling to breath in the acrid smoke.

  Burning white phosphorus has been described as a ‘sticky’ fire, immediately transferring to anything used to douse the flames. More than one enemy soldier had learned this the hard way as they foolishly tried to put out the flames consuming a comrade. Many were now running around hysterically as their hands were burned through to the bone, their flesh falling from them in molten clumps.

  The final type of mortar round, only fired when needed, were simple flares. When their parachutes opened, the flares hung over the enemy, illuminating a good percentage of the battlefield. While Bennet’s division enjoyed the benefits of a clearly visible enemy, their targets suffered the blinding effects of having flares burning brightly over their heads.

  “Keep pounding them! Don’t let up! Give ‘em hell!” Colonel Bennet shouted. “Those soldiers down there are here to burn your country to the ground!”

  “Colonel, rear column!” a private shouted, pointing to the south.

  Bennet swung his head to the left and his eyes widened, horrified by the wave of fresh enemy soldiers that began pouring into the zone. He knew that all 60,000 North Koreans hadn’t entered the engagement area when Henry had taken his shot, but what he was seeing now was shocking, even to him.

  There’s no way this is only 60,000.

  “Put some fire on that rear column!” Bennet shouted.

  He looked towards his mortar teams, still lobbing in bombs towards the enemy’s central positions. Never in his career, had he wanted a radio more. If he could order them to lower their angles and extend their range, the swarm of enemy troops at the rear would be thinned out dramatically. Instead, he needed to depend on his rifles alone to pick them off one or two at a time.

  “RPG!” someone down the line shouted.

  A rocket propelled grenade soared into the night sky, its flight ending only 20 metres below the section of trail Colonel Bennet was currently standing on. In an instant, 24 more RPGs were launched, all climbing steadily towards his brigade.

  “Take cover!” Bennet shouted as he grabbed Janet by the waist and heaved her backwards into the trees.

  The series of explosions were literally Earth shattering as fire, rock and wood splinters erupted all around them. Four had detonated over their heads and five had landed short, but the other 15 had found their mark to devastating effect. There was now a 20 metre gap separating Colonel Bennet from much of his brigade. The relatively soft limestone, that made up the bulk of the rock they were standing on, gave way quickly when subjected to the powerful detonations.

  “Are you alright, Janet?” Bennet shouted, trying to hear his own voice over the loud ringing in his ears.

  “I think so.” Janet shouted back, suffering from the same affliction. “Thanks, Colonel, but I think you can get off me now.”

  As Bennet carefully got up and gave Janet a hand, he looked to his right, knowing full well what he would find. The soldiers that had been occupying that 20 metre section of trail, only seconds earlier, were simply torn to pieces. Only bits of unimaginable horror and a sheer drop off remained. The trail and what was left of the 30 soldiers that had been atop it, were now below, forever part of the sloped landscape.

  Up until this point, the battle had been going extremely well. Other than a few lucky shots, fired blindly up into the trees, the enemy hadn’t managed to deal Bennet’s division or Janet’s hunters any appreciable damage. Now that the enemy had them ranged, however, Bennet knew that the fight could quickly swing in the other direction. The shocking discovery that they were standing on easily fragmented rock, wasn’t doing much for his confidence either.

  Separated now from the fighters to his right, he shouted across the void, trying desperately to get his soldiers to reengage. Before a single one of them heard his order, though, the enemy launched a second barrage. This time, Major Jenkins’ position was being targeted. Bennet couldn’t count them all, but he estimated that there had to be at least 40 explosive rockets streaking towards the British.

  There were 50.

  Bennet watched helplessly as the RPGs slammed into the mountain side. They struck above, below and directly onto the trail that Jenkins, Henry and their fighters were standing on. Unlike the clustered fire they had placed on Bennet’s trail, this time, the enemy RPG unit commander had ordered them to spread out their shots. The result was complete and utter devastation. The trail bearing outcroppings, trusted to hold the weight of an entire company of British soldiers, completely gave way.

  Janet forced herself to look away as 150 British soldiers fell away with the mountain side. Even in the low light, it was obvious that their bodies were being mangled by thousands of tons of tumbling fragmented rock. If the explosions didn’t kill them, the 350 metre tumble down the mountain side most certainly would. It saddened Janet terribly to know that her lifelong friend, Henry Wilson, was among them.

  As Bennet looked across the battlefield, trying to determine the best course of action, three extremely advantageous events occurred in quick succession. Each event was decidedly more beneficial than the last.

  First, Bennet’s soldiers and Janet’s hunters opened up on the rear of the enemy column. With renewed vigor and hatred in their eyes they poured it on like never before. They completely ignored the rest of the enemy column as all fire was now being directed entirely at their greatest threat, the men with the iron tubes on their shoulders. Looking across the valley, Bennet saw that the British were also directing all fire to the rear. Together, the RPG units were being held at bay.

 

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