Chapter One

Hawk grinded his eyes and ran a hand through his hair before the next team to take part in Operation Wraith entered. They looked rough. Each of them had been through the A10 defensive action together. That was part of the reason Hawk had assembled them, they had worked well as a team under pressure. Hotseat, Repeater, Ripcord, Covergirl, Zap, Fastdraw, and Heavy Metal. Also between them, they had nearly all angles covered. Taking a last look at their battle hardened faces Hawk spoke up. "Okay people, I'm sending you on a recon mission into the Brazilian Amazon. Your mission is to scout out a factory that is a part of Cobra's MARS weapons production infrastructure. This mission will involve a great deal of speed and stealth, as they are essential to the mission's success. However since this is the main complex in the MARS system you'll be more heavily armed than a standard scouting mission in the event something goes wrong." Hawk dimmed the lights in the small briefing room as a map of a jungle was cast on the wall. "Immediately following this briefing you'll gather your gear and report to the helipad to a waiting UH-60 that will take you to Pope AFB. At Pope you'll board a C-141 which will contain two VAMP Mark Ones and one VAMP Mark Two. The C-141 will then fly to the Amazon, where 140 miles out from the target area you and the vehicles will do a low altitude static line drop into this clearing. After you make the jump you'll board the vehicles and drive to the target location. Once there you'll observe the factory until HQ radios you to pull out. Then you'll drive to this clearing and await pick up by three Army CH-47 helicopters." Hawk raised the lights and cut the projector. In a way Hawk was relieved that this would by the last time he had to say it. This line had haunted him throughout every briefing he'd conducted that morning. "Due to the covert nature of this operation you won't have access to any kind of support." No one reacted. All of them, especially Ripcord and Covergirl were beginning to think that no support was SOP for the unit. "Dismissed." Hawk said, causing the group file out, leaving the General alone in the small briefing room. He rubbed his brow and sighed, "Now we wait."


She leaned her head back against the reverberating metal of the Blackhawk's hull until her teeth ached, then sat up to take inventory of her 'team.' On her right was Ripcord last minute checking some gear. He gave a slow nod and a wink in her direction, his usual confident self undaunted even after everything that happened at A10. To her left sat Fast Draw. Even above the din of the chopper blades she could almost hear him cracking his neck, a gesture he performed sporadically. He threw an elbow her way every now and again, going on about how he was looking forward to getting back into battle.
"These snakes, they ain't gonna know, you hear me? They ain't gonna know what hit them.. BAM, Fast on the Draw…" She felt like he was getting more obnoxious as the flight went on, but chalked it up to nervous anticipation. Directly across from her was Hotseat, the NCOIC. He busied himself with some light maps, looking up from time to time to give his team the once over, almost if he were sizing them up. To his left, sat Heavy Metal. She smiled in his direction. A Tanker. One of her own. He didn't return the smile, but shifted nervously in his seat, causing her to gaze towards Zap. He held fast to a small photograph, giving it a quick kiss before noticing her stare.
He smiled warmly, handing her the picture, saying "Mi Familia…" My family. Two dark haired little girls, three she figured, maybe one was four, tops, stared back at her, their hair pulled back neatly into two perfect braids. They stood on the steps of what looked like a brownstone apartment building, next to a woman she assumed was Zap's wife. Pretty. Covergirl thought, long brown hair and eyes, and still a cute figure even after 1, 2… 3 kids. In her arms she held a baby wrapped in a blue blanket. "This picture is kind of old." Zap explained. "Emmy, she's now almost six. My little Rose, she's five. And my boy, Rafael, R.J. for short, he's going to be three. That's Maria, mi amore…" He stared forlorn at the photo in her hand for a split second. "We'll be married for seven years this June." She smiled, handing the photo back, noticing for the first time the warmth in his brown eyes. Away from the others, the only one in the front facing forward bench of the Blackhawk sat Repeater, like a statue, stoic. Looking at no one, talking to no one, in fact, she hadn't recalled hearing him speak at all, not back in the woods, not back on base. It was almost eerie. She shuddered slightly, letting her eyes fall back on Ripcord. The one person she knew she could count on; he’d proved it more than once. She gave him a quick wink before leaning her head back against the hull as the chopper touched ground at their home away from home as of late, Pope AFB.


As the regular Army UH-60 touched down on the tarmac of a hangar apron, the view out of the windows of the Blackhawk was dominated by the sight of the massive C-141 Starlifter air transport that was warming up near by. A USAF Security Forces Airman jogged up to helicopter and slid the cabin door open.
"Dismount people." Hotseat said as soon as the door was open. With that the group began to pile out of the helicopter. After stepping away from the Blackhawk, Hotseat waved the others over to where he was standing. Raising his voice in order for it to carry over the engine sounds of both the Blackhawk and the Galaxy, he outlined the specifics of the mission. "Okay people, here's the plan once we're in the operational area. For the most part we'll be traveling through the rain forest with the VAMPs in a single column. I'll be on point in one of the Mark Ones with Repeater as my gunner. Next will be Covergirl in the Mark Two. Finally we'll have Heavy Metal bringing up the rear with Fastdraw as his gunner. Ripcord and Zap, the two of you just jump into one of the VAMPs' passenger seats. Once we're roughly ten miles from the target, we'll dismount and hide the vehicles before proceeding on foot. Once we find the complex we dig in, cover up, and observe. Stealth is word of the mission. Think twice before you engage. Act accordingly, don't do anything stupid that'll blow our positions. Also I don't know how long it'll be until we're recalled so take it easy on food and water. After what we have with us is used up, we'll have to use whatever we can find for a substitute." Hotseat almost didn't want to say what he had to next. He knew what his next orders usually entailed - a suicide mission. Despite his misgivings he didn't hesitate, the NCO wasn't supposed to be scared. "Also, right now I need everybody to take off jewelry, personal items, wallets, and I.D. tags." This earned Hotseat several looks ranging from indifference, to reluctance, to fear. "C'mon people give 'em up, it's just standard procedure for a covert op. It's not like this is a suicide mission or anything." With that said, a few people started to slowly put their personal effects into an empty gasmask bag that Hotseat was holding open. As the last item was put into the bag, Hotseat snapped the buttons on it shut and jerked his thumb towards the C-141 which was just loading the final VAMP into it's cargo bay. As the others started to walk towards the C-141 Hotseat looked at Ripcord "Hold up a second Ripcord, I need to speak with you." Hotseat waited until the others were out of earshot before he spoke, "Alright kid, here's the deal, you're the best jumper I've got, so the second we hit that plane it's your show."
"Roger that." Ripcord said with a nod. Hotseat nodded in return and handed the gasmask bag to a USAF Security Forces Airman and the two jogged off to catch up to the others on board the C-141.


Once the plane had taken off and began to cruise towards its destination, Ripcord suggested everyone get some sleep. Only Zap and Hotseat listened. He didn't follow his own advice because he had made it a point to check out all the chutes personally. He hated low altitude static line jumps. On the personal side they didn't give him the same thrill as HALO; no freefall and the plane pulls the cord for you. Not his idea of excitement. On the professional side with this many inexperienced jumpers it didn't give them much time if something went wrong and if he had to go after them he'd have to cut his main first, leaving him with only his reserve. Then of course there was the other issue that made him transfer from a standard airborne detachment to a HALO detachment when he was in the 82nd. You were a slow moving target that couldn't hide or run once that chute deployed. Ripcord pushed the thought to back of his head and moved on to check the chutes on the Mk.II. As he approached it he saw Covergirl sitting alone in the driver's seat. He walked around to the passenger side and just stared at her for a long moment. She seemed to be engrossed in memorizing the locations of the controls but he could tell that her mind was elsewhere, she'd been that way for a while. He knew that the A10 defense had gotten to her, he couldn't do much about that, but there was something else. His mind flashed back to a few days ago, she had said something about the roof just before they hugged. That he could do something to fix. He slid into the seat beside her and touched her lightly on the shoulder to get her attention. As she turned around and gave him a quizzical look he spoke, "I don't blame you leaving in England. It was my call. And even if I had blamed you," he smiled warmly "I would've forgiven you long ago."
"It doesn't make it right, I mean, I know what they drilled into you in basic, but I was supposed to be your backup." She said as she let her hands drop into her lap and kept her eyes downplayed.
"You are my backup," Ripcord said as he gently lifted her head up, forcing her to make eye contact, "I'm still alive, you didn't fail."
"I know," She started with a sigh, attempting to look past him and not at him, "Still, I just wanted to tell you," She started to stumble over her words slightly as she continued, "I'm sorry."
"Don't be." Ripcord said as a warm smile crossed his face.
"Thanks, Skyboy." She said as his smile and soft tone caused her to look him in the eyes, which lead to a half-smile of her own. Ripcord nodded and gave her a pat on her leg, just above the knee, as he slid out of the Mk.II and continued to check its parachutes. He continued to on the next VAMP, looking up and noticing Heavy Metal emptying his LC-2 ruck on the floor of the aircraft and began to check its contents. Ripcord continued looking up on occasion, seeing him inspect and re-inspect every item. Each time the man had a worried look on this face. The A10 complex mission had hit him hard. He seemed to be getting worse with every passing day. It must have awakened him to his own mortality, Ripcord figured as he shook his head at the sight and walked around to the front of the VAMP. Repeater was sitting on the floor with his M-60 disassembled, each piece spread carefully out over his poncho. The man was very methodically and carefully cleaning each piece. Unlike Heavy Metal, Repeater's face was the stoic mask the man had worn each time Ripcord had seen him. Ripcord just couldn't figure the big Ranger machine gunner out. No matter what was going on the man always looked fine. Ripcord had only heard him talk twice, once a short report, another a simple 'Amen'. Ripcord approached Repeater and took a knee beside the man. Even as Ripcord spoke the machine gunner didn't look up.
"Repeater, since you're the only person I've got here that has real jump experience, you'll be the first one out, I'm taking high man in case something goes wrong." Ripcord said wondering if Repeater had even heard him, he simply nodded. "Thanks." Ripcord said as he got up and headed towards the back of the plane. As he passed the Mk.II he saw Covergirl still sitting inside while Fastdraw stood out the passenger side.
"Don't worry babe. Once we hit the ground. It is so on." He boasted as his pointed his M-1911 at imaginary Vipers, and making gunshot noises. "They can run. They can hide. But it ain't gonna matter." He continued as he started pulling the pistol in and out of its holster like an old west gunslinger. "And that's a fact." Ripcord shook his head at the sight. If Fastdraw didn't turn out be as good as he made himself out to be, Ripcord had already decided to personally kick his ass after the mission. Ripcord continued past the Mk.II, and laid down on a section of the web seating. In spite of the drone of the C-141's engines and Fastdraw's boasting, Ripcord drifted off to sleep.
Ripcord awoke to the high pitched beeping of the alarm on his wrist watch. Hitting a button to stop it, he slowly shifted to sitting position and rubbed his face, trying to clear his head. They were an hour out. It was time to get started. He had rounded everyone up and took them towards the back of the plane. Time to get it on, "All right, this is how the jump is gonna go," Ripcord started quoting his DIs from Benning almost to the letter. "You're only gonna have your BDUs, kevlar, and your personal radio on. Everything else ALICE gear, LC-2, and flak jacket all goes in this bag. You will however have your knife where you can reach it easily and your weapon will be strapped your chest." Ripcord reached into his pocket and withdrew out several condoms and rubber bands and handed them out to the group. A few gave him a strange looks before he continued, "Put the condom on the muzzle of your weapon, secure it with the rubber band. It'll keep dirt out of the barrel if you fuck up your landing. Also since this is a jungle environment you may wanna keep it on after you land. It'll keep water out of the weapon. Don't worry, the latex will burn up when you fire the weapon and won't effect the bullet. Since we're going into a possible hot DZ you'll need to have a magazine in your weapon but don't charge it and have it on safe. Make sure you take some hundred-mile-an-hour tape and secure the magazine to the weapon." Ripcord looked around, making sure everyone understood before moving on. "When you exit the aircraft pull you knees to your chest and put your chin to your chest. Your arms will wrapped around your equipment bag which you'll hold to your chest. Once your chute opens you'll let go of the bag, which will then hang ten feet below you, attached by this tether, your hands will then move to take hold of the risers. If your main doesn't open when you exit the aircraft pull this black handle, if that doesn't work, radio me. When you land, bend your knees then fall back backwards onto your butt before roll to one side. Your chutes have been prepped. Once you line up, you'll only need to attach this hook, to this cord." Ripcord then went through telling people what order they'd jump in, helping them get into their chute harnesses, answering questions. The group spent the rest of the time getting their gear ready, applying camouflage paint to faces and arms, Ripcord had to wrap torn BDU fabric around the bandages and plastic covering his left forearm. Then they sat down in silence, except for Fastdraw. After a while the two minute warning sounded. Ripcord ordered everyone to stand off to the side as the USAF Loadmasters rolled the vehicles' platforms into place. The rear ramp slowly cranked open. Everyone immediately felt the blast of hot, humid air enter the plane. The group lined up in their order. Ripcord, last in line, the 'high man', waited patiently on the go signal. Ripcord started to hum 'Paint it Black' a habit he'd never been able to shake since he'd first started jumping. The go signal came.


Covergirl's heart quickened when the large ramp of the C-5 opened, turning away with the sight of the VAMPs being pushed into the hazy sunshine. There was still something wrong about hurling yourself out of a moving aircraft, but sending out a defenseless 3 ton VAMP? That almost seemed worse. Repeater was first out, followed by Hotseat, and Zap. Fast Draw, Heavy Metal, Covergirl and Ripcord were to be last.
"I signed on as a tanker, not a jumper!" Heavy Metal growled, loud enough for Covergirl to hear over the engines roar.
"By the numbers!" She yelled back. "Your chute will automatically open, I'm right behind you! Knees and chin to chest!" She gave him a walk-in-the-park sign, then with a quick thumbs up added… "You'll do fine!" He didn't look too reassured, she thought, but she didn't have time to dwell. Without warning, Fast Draw, next to be out, unhooked his static line, rehooking it behind Heavy Metal, who simply stood there dumbfounded.
"Hey Babe, what say we…" was the only words he got out. Ripcord seemed to react the split second he saw Fast Draw's hand reach up towards the line.
"Dumb Motherfucker!" He shouted, unhooking himself and shoving Heavy Metal down the ramp. "Move Goddamnit!" He yelled again, this time pushing both Fast Draw and Covergirl out. She looked back to see him running off the ramp, pulling his own cord. If her heart were racing before, she was sure by now it had stopped. She pulled it together to remember what he'd said, knees and chin to chest, looking down was easier than looking back, seeing how far off course Ripcord seemed. She shook her head.
"This is what he does." She told herself. "He'll be okay. He's a big boy," Once again repeating Big Ben's words. "He'll do just fine." She hit the ground with the others, forgetting about rolling up her chute, concentrating on finding Ripcord. She saw him last to the far west of where they had landed. They had fallen through a narrow clearing in the thick rain forest ceiling, but he was nowhere in sight. Seconds, maybe minutes passed as she fumbled with the chute's restraints, her fingers not cooperating.
"What's up, Chica?" Zap asked, helping to unhook her chute harness. She didn't take her eyes from above, still no sign of him.
"Ripcord's miss…" She started saying, when she heard the swearing.
"Son of a bitch!" She heard him curse. "Goddamn motherfucker…" Covergirl had to smile. No words could have been comforting than his swears, and there were plenty of them. She and Zap headed into the thick canopy, following the angry sounds. The arrived just as he finished his climb down, his parachute still suspended from trees near 100 ft. up. "Where is he?" He spit through gritted teeth, pushing past them roughly. He tore through the trees towards the intended landing zone, and found his mark. Fast Draw wore a sarcastic smirk, even as Ripcord grabbed at his BDU jacket. "You stupid Fuck!" Heavy Metal grabbed him before he could swing, and Zap stepped in front of him, both men holding back what looked like a raging bull.
"Easy, easy buddy." Zap told him repeatedly, while Ripcord continued with his onslaught of colorful terms. Covergirl's blood pressure shot higher when she saw Fast Draw wasn't making the situation any better.
"You want a piece of me, tough guy?" He chuckled, sending Ripcord into another fit of rage, making holding him even harder for Heavy Metal and Zap. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see Repeater quietly still rolling his chute, and shaking his head slightly at the scene.
"Hey! He's not worth it." Covergirl finally tried soothingly, as she stepped beside Zap. "C'mon, Ripcord, he's not worth it." His face seemed to soften for a brief second, as her eyes met his, the brief second being cut short by Fast Draw needing the last word.
"Awwww… C'mon Baby," he mocked, flexing a bicep. "You know you want this." Before she could make a comment back, rage covered Ripcords face once again.
"Motherfucker…." He started, but this time was interrupted by Hotseat.
"HEY!" The NCOIC called out as Ripcord still tried to tear through Zap. "What the hell is going on?"
"This stupid sonuvabitch just jeopardized the whole operation! Almost got himself and two others killed!" Fast Draw made a sarcastic 'Lighten up.' comment, visibly putting a bigger strain on Zap and Heavy Metal. Covergirl stepped to the side, not wanting to be in his path if he did make it through.
"Stand down, Ripcord." Hotseat said sternly. Covergirl thought Ripcord looked almost shocked at the statement, like it caught him off guard. "You heard me! I said Stand down. Cool off!" After a second or two more of intense breathing, his body relaxed, though his intense eyes stayed focused on Fast Draw, who was busy again cracking his neck. Hotseat patted Ripcord on the shoulder, as Zap and Heavy Metal finally released their grips. "Now," He continued. "If the bell for last period finally rang, how about we stop acting like we're in high school, and remember we're on a recon mission, shall we? Ripcord's riding with me, Heavy Metal, Fast Draw, to your vehicle. Let's move it people."

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