The Reprisal

“Donny! Pull it together; I got you! I got you, brother,” I said

Kareem’s men surrounded us with blazing gunfire from both sides of the crypt. Last week we got intel that Kareem shook hands with SSA’s (Terrorist group) leader to aid them in delivering chemical weapons, which were later being used on our troops fighting Iraq’s northern Kurdistan region. Our mission was to execute Kareem and seize the delivery. 

“We are trapped, Simon! We are not getting out of here alive!” Donny said. He was seriously wounded when the explosion happened. I grabbed his arm, and with all my strength, I pulled it around my shoulder and dragged his body.

“We need rescue. Contact Base! Contact Base!” I yelled in the comms. We need to make it end of the crypt, where the rescue helicopter will meet us. I positioned myself on the right and held Donny with my left arm around his waist and his right shoulder around my neck.

“Cooper, give me cover,” I said. He fired at will. I dragged Donny across the hall on the other side. We ran, leaning forward to make ourselves smaller targets where I could use the fallen pillars to my advantage and shoot the machine gunman. Six men attacked us with raging bullets. They were constantly firing. We must hold them back as we protect ourselves from a band of trained guards closing in from the other side. At that moment, I thought Donny was right. We are not getting out of here alive. Chances of survival are close to zero. 

“Run, Run!” I screamed at Cooper swinging my arm with a grenade and throwing it at the firing squad above us. This act of sheer courage pierced a bullet in my left shoulder, and I lost my balance. Donny took a hit as well. The explosion collapsed the platform, and men threw themselves on our feet. Cooper point blanked the machine gunman, and the rest of the crew gutted like fish. 

“Captain, come in; CSAR is on-site.” the radio called. 

“Copy that,” I said. I turned towards Donny. He was not moving, eyes shut, body lifeless. I tried feeling his pulse and holding him in my arms. Donny took a hit on the back of his head. The feeling was zero, and the grief still made my heart bleed. Donny was my soul brother. We joined Special Forces together and were on two tours, fighting side by side. The day I lost him, my country lost two good soldiers.

I was in the hospital for the next three days. According to the mission log, the rescue team found me unconscious. Cooper held the guards back till the rescue team arrived at the site. The day I returned home and saw Maria waiting for me at the door. The officials had already informed her about the death of her brother. Her eyes dissolved into tears the moment she saw stepped out of the car. She came waddling towards me, lifting her belly. She was due in two weeks. Her arms tightly wrapped around my waist we both wept in our sorrow. 

Six years later, on a bright Sunday morning, my phone rang. It was Special Operations. “Come on, Karla. Let’s go in the yard. Daddy has an important call to attend.” Maria and Karla both went outside. I spoke on the phone. They wanted me to come to the building the General wanted to speak with me. It was ambiguous, but I felt that it was something I had waited a long time for.

“Captain. I will leave the choice in your hands. Cooper and you are the only survivors from that mission.” General said. I later came to know that weapons delivery did not happen. Kareem went silent until he was seen in Syria. Our intel recognized him at the ISIS camp. Cooper was going, and I have waited for this opportunity for a long time. Since I lost Donny, executing Kareem and avenging my soul brother is all I have thought about daily.

“Daddy, Daddy, look what I made,” Karla came holding a scribble in her hand. I lifted her and gave her a peck on the cheek.

“Hi, Kiddo. Let's see what we have here.”

“It’s a picture of you and me.” 

“Oh! I see; where’s mom, though?” I asked

“She went for groceries.” I chuckled at her response. I tell her to continue with her scribble and looked for Maria. She was in the kitchen. “Karla needs her dad, Simon. She looks up to you. You are her superhero. She’ll need you during the transplant,” She said. 

“Maria, I know that. But I have to do this for Donny. He would have done the same for me.” I said

“Oh my god. You already agreed to it.”

When Karla was born, she was diagnosed with Congenital heart disease. She had a hole in her heart. The doctor said the medication would keep her going but eventually, she would need a heart transplant. A turn of fate leads me to make the hardest decision. I cannot live a life knowing that I turned my back when I had a chance to avenge my best friend. Karla was the ray of light which got us through the grief of losing Donny. 

Our troops deployed. I tucked Karla for a good night's sleep. Maria clenched my arm; she insisted on me staying. She knew we could twist the circumstances, but the surgery could not be delayed any further. The mission was to execute Kareem in the Syrian Camp. But I had to wage a war with myself, knowing that Karla’s superhero was not with her when she needed him the most. 

“Captain, come in. We have visual confirmation.” comms called.

“Copy that. Let’s get him, boys.” I said

Kareem was protected by trained guards all the time. We proceeded towards the tent. A guard saw us, they rushed towards for their guns, and some went in to get Kareem to safety. I divided our troops to counter the men going towards the tent from the north and blocking our entrance to the tent. We were battering against their men. His trained guards fell like ninepins. 

“Captain. The blue van! Kareem is getting away!” Cooper said. I could not let that happen. I ran towards the van with a launched grenade and threw it in the direction. It smashed the van and busted it wide open on the ground. I walked towards the van and saw Kareem crawling out, all covered in blood. He screamed in agony. I turned him over I wanted him to see my face and beg me for mercy. I grabbed his knife, grabbed him by the head, and slit his throat. A fountain of blood soaked my face. The saline taste of blood was in my mouth. A gash of radiant light broke through the black sky. I looked up and screamed my lungs out. I prayed to let the cries of reprisal leave my soul alone.

Maria and I have parted ways now. She could not look me in the eyes after the funeral. Today is Karla’s seventh birthday. I still see her angel face shining bright and hear giggles. The world is now an inhospitable dwelling, and so is my mind. As Donny said, “Swings and roundabout. Mate!”