Page 6 of Whiskey

Later that night, I caught the boy crying with his pouch held tight to his chest. I bet the little guy missed his parents and probably his home.

I didn’t say anything as I covered him with my jacket. I knew that sometimes a blanket, or even an attempt at one, could offer comfort. Brown was on first watch, so I sat down and did my best to settle in for a few hours of uneasy rest. I peeked one eye open when I heard my jacket move, then moments later his hand reached out for my arm. He needed contact, and I was glad I was there to provide it.

“Whiskey, alpha, tango,” I whispered before I slipped off to sleep.

When the sun rose the next morning, I felt a small tug of relief that we’d gotten through the night without incident. I was also glad the kid would be in safe hands soon, and I’d be able to deal with Brown and get him the help he needed.

I stood and leaned back to stretch my tired muscles. Brown had barely made it three hours into his watch before I took over. I couldn’t sleep anyway, with my distrust in his ability to keep us safe. The kid woke briefly when I moved to take watch. He joined me and fell back to sleep once he was next to my side.

“He’s getting too attached,” Brown grunted as he joined me.

“He’s probably homesick.” I brushed him off. I couldn’t handle another conversation about the boy. “We’re,” I studied my map and compass, “thirty-one miles from the town. Then another ten to our chopper.” The kid yawned when I shook his shoulder, then he nodded at me that he was ready.

The sun beat down on our shoulders and made the walk that much more intense. We stuck to as much shade as we could, but that was nearly impossible. Overall, we were all just finished.

“Wait.” I snagged Brown’s shoulder and slid the kid behind me. I signaled to Brown that I saw someone asleep a short distance away in the weeds. “Wait here.” I spoke Dari and crouched low to show the boy what I wanted him to do. He grabbed my hand and made a scared face. I reached back, removed my knife, and handed it to him. “Like this.” I showed him how to hold it properly. “I’ll come back for you.” He reluctantly let me go.

Brown and I circled wide and moved in closer, I counted three men and spotted a few bottles of whiskey. I got closer and saw three were full but two were empty.

“Liquor?” Brown mouthed, confused. Taliban rules forbid them from drinking any alcohol at all. I noted all of them were dressed in the Taliban’s typical ware of turbans and vests over shalwar kameez clothing. I pointed to their hands, and Brown nodded. We could see they were stained with blood. I stepped on something strange and moved it with my shoe. It was a woman’s hijab covered in blood. My own blood ran cold. Those fucking animals.

I pointed my gun at the man’s head and nudged him with the tip. He groaned and shifted position but didn’t wake up.

“Give the order,” Brown hissed, ready to fire.

I looked over my shoulder and saw the kid staring at me with big eyes.

“Soak ’em,” I ordered, and he looked at me in disbelief. “I said soak them.” I tossed a half full liquor bottle at him and grabbed the other one and poured the amber liquid all over their clothes. “Let their own people deal with them,” I whispered. As much as I wanted to slit their throats, the kid didn’t need to see it, and we didn’t need any attention brought to the fact that we’d traveled that way.

We hid their weapons after pocketing all their ammo. I snagged a bottle of whiskey and tucked it in my pocket. One day, I’d open it and remember these men, and I hoped they were tortured in some horrific way for their crimes. But my hands were clean…at least at that point. I’d seen what looked like a few locals. They’d been shot. They lay with their eyes open as I flashed my light over them. I shook my head and glared at the drunk men. Such a waste. I couldn’t get my head around such senseless killing.

“We need to keep moving.” Brown checked his watch. “I don’t like this.”

“We stand out. If we’re gonna make it to town in one piece, we need to blend. Grab his turban and shalwar kameez tunic.” I pointed at one of the dead locals. We made quick work of camouflaging ourselves the best we could, and I helped the kid do the same. Our rucksacks stood out, but I wasn’t about to leave anything behind. With our weapons at our sides hidden by the fabric, we continued on our way. At one point, Brown asked for the radio and tried to contact Flex, but we must have been out of range.

We had to stop a few times to check if we had the Taliban on our heels, but they’d either pulled back or they were waiting for us somewhere ahead. I wondered if they’d figure we would head for the town, so I sifted through scenarios in my head as to what to do. My motions were like clockwork. I’d scan the horizon, scan the mountains next to us, block out all other noise to listen, then I’d look over my shoulder. I repeated this action over and over; it had become my habit.

Finally, an old, beaten road came into view, and I veered off onto it. We picked up the pace while we could. I knew from my map that it wasn’t a widely used road, so I chanced it. I hoped they’d assume we would take the most direct route into town. This would be the longer way around, but we’d be safer to follow it. We hugged the tree line then dove for cover when we heard an engine behind us.

“I can’t do another fight.” Brown shook his head. “I hate this place. I want out.”

“Keep walking but stay in the trees.” I dropped back and used a little mirror to see what was coming up on us. My radio clicked a few times, indicating Moore was close. I just wondered how close. “Looks to be a local and a dog.” I tried to ease his nerves. We hid again as the truck slowly rolled by, and I did a double take when I spotted Moore’s head sticking out the back cover of the vehicle. I quickly stepped out.

“Well, shit, if it isn’t one of us.” I grinned, pleased as hell to see my brother. I gave our echo call, and he looked back and repeated it.

“Hey! Stop the truck.” Moore pounded on the side to get the driver’s attention. He hopped off and greeted me with a smack on the shoulder. “I’ve never been happier to see your ugly face.”

“Yours too.”

“Come on.” He waved for us to follow. “We’ve had enough encounters to know they aren’t far behind us.” I lifted the kid up onto the back then hopped up beside him as Brown jumped in.

“It isn’t much farther to the house. Let’s just hope we can get into town without being spotted.”

“Oh, look, you made it,” Hill snickered, “and you brought the kid.”

I looked around at the men in the truck.

“Where’s Flex?” I asked.

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