Free Battleline (2007) by Jack - Seals 05 Terral

now."
    "Well, hell, guys," Pete said. "I'd rather owe it to you than beat you out of it."
    Now everyone was up and looking expectantly at their section commander. Cruiser motioned them to follow him away from the living space to the area near the entrance that was used for section get-togethers. He turned to face them. "Sit down and get comfortable, guys."
    Like everyone else in Brannigan's Brigands, the First Assault Section had constructed tables and benches out of the wood from the crates that had been emptied of supplies and ammunition. They situated themselves among the rough-hewn furniture to get the word.
    "The Skipper gave me a WARNO," Cruiser said. Whatever sleepy feelings were left over from their naps immediately evaporated, and they instinctively sat up straighter and leaned forward. "Combat patrol," he continued, giving an answer to the unasked question.
    "Ambush or raid?" Gutsy Olson inquired.
    "Raid," Cruiser responded. "The objective is to test the enemy's ability to respond to a small surprise attack on part of their line. In this case, the north flank."
    "Uh-oh!" Gutsy said. "This reminds me of that one attack we made down there in South America." He glanced over at the others. "Andy, me, and Lieutenant Cruiser were on that operation against a bunch of neo-Nazi rebels. They were tough bastards, let me tell you. All professional soldiers from South America and Europe. We was going up against 'em for the first time, and the Skipper wanted to find out how much of a fight they could give us. He told us about an old Chinese saying that says that the best way to test a tiger is to let him out of his cage."
    "Actually, he said you could do it that way," Andy said, "or go into the cage with him."
    "I remember that particular action only too well," Cruiser said. "I was hit and medevaced out of there. It was touch and go for a while if I was gonna be able to walk again." He paused as the unpleasant memory flitted through his mind. "Anyhow, that's exactly what we're gonna do--test the tiger."
    "I'm on pins and needles about the execution phase of this thing," Monty Sturgis said. "I got to tell you guys that this is the strangest operation I've ever been on in my ten years in the SEALs."
    "Okay," Cruiser said. He laid his map out on the floor so they could all see it. "This is gonna be an RON. We'll leave at thirteen-hundred hours from headquarters. There's a hole in the top of the bunker just big enough for a man to pass through. Gomez is using the place for commo. He sets his Shadowfire radio out there for long-range transmissions. There's plenty of concealment around the place, so we'll leave from there, and head east far enough to drop below the horizon. Then we move north about fifteen kilometers to this point on the map. It's near the desert where we ran our DPVs in Operation Rolling Thunder." He used his laser pointer to indicate the spot. "We should arrive there at approximately seventeen-thirty hours. As you can see from the wider contour lines, it's not so steep in that area. That's always a welcome break. At that time we'll turn west to this point"--he employed the beam once again--"which we'll reach at twenty-hundred hours. From there we turn south to an area that is at a direct right angle to the enemy lines. That's where we start climbing back up into the Gharawdara Highlands. When we're within a couple of kilometers of the enemy sometime after zero-one-hundred hours, we stop. I'll send two of you guys forward for a recon on the objective, which is the Zaheya positions." He glanced up at his team leaders. "Each of you guys give me one man for that chore."
    "Morales," Gutsy Olson said.
    "Halonen," Monty Sturgis announced.
    "You two guys will go for a look-see and bring back any helpful intel you can get," Cruiser said. "Do a good job, because at oh-five-hundred hours we attack the place. We'll stay engaged only long enough to get them to respond, then we haul ass straight across the valley and up the slope