The Grizzley—by Terry LaBreck
It was the summer of 1863 and the news of a Civil War had made the headlines in Quebec,Canada. For the trappers Pierre LaBreck and Jon Buchond it came as no surprise.The newspaper was always about a month old,by the time it made the remote trading camp,where Pierre and Jon traded their furs!They would carry their furs into Trader Jacques,as the sign over the door proclaimed,where Jacque would read the latest news to them,while they sorted out the pelts,and sipped whiskey!
“Says,here the war in The States is cause the southern half wants to own slaves and the northern half is against it,”Jacque told the trappers!”There’s some talk of a big fight at Vicksburg,and could be the turning point,”Jacque read on! “Well,I’d have to say that I’d side with them northern fellas,”Pierre cut in,”don’t seem right one man owning another!”Jon nodded in agreement.Pierre took another sip of whiskey,and slid a list of supplies to Jacque.”We been hearing stories ‘bout gold in California,and me an Jon,was thinking we’d give it a try,so we’ll be settling up our bill.”Pierre casually mentioned.Jacque looked surprised!’”What about trapping,”he asked? “Woods are pretty much trapped out ‘round here,we’d have to move west sooner or later,”Pierre told him.”Does he ever talk,”Jacque asked,motioning toward Jon?”Ya,he talks,but he bit part of his tongue off as a kid,and he gets embarrased when he talks,”Pierre stated! Jon looked at Jacque and smiled,showing his front teeth missing!”Yea,I can see that,”Jacque replied.
Pierre and Jon settled the bill with the trader,gathered up their supplies including a bottle of Trader Jacque’s homemade whiskey and headed out back for the night.They’d move west in the morning.The two trappers talked about the news,and drank the whiskey,until Jon got drunk and started slurring his words.”Damit Jon,your hard enough to understand,with half your tongue gone and your front teeth missing.Now your a spitting,when you talk!” the two men laughed and passed out behind the shack! The morning came soon enough,and the two men woke to the sun in their face.They filled their water pouches after drinking their fill,and shook off the cobwebs of a hangover. The two friends started their journey west.
They’d traveled better than a weeks journey west,when they heard gunfire echo through the woods. It was followed by the sound of men yelling.Pierre and Jon looked at each other,and began loading the ‘50’ calibur Hawkins buffalo rifles they had. The sound of men crashing through the woods was coming straight toward them. It was the sound of someone being chased! Moments later, a black man with tattered shirt and trousers came into view.The man stopped to catch his breathe and decide where to run next,Pierre and Jon watched him for a moment.He turned to run and Pierre let out a little whistle,the black man looked and saw Jon and Pierre motion for him.He made his way toward them as the others made their way to the clearing. Five other men came into the clearing and Pierre recognized one of them!Pierre raised the Hawkins shoulder height,”that’s far enough,”he hollered!The men stopped short.”What brings you out here in these parts Phillip,”Pierre asked?”Pierre,well we got us a runaway slave,”the man panted,trying to catch his breath,”me and these men need to take him back to the states,”Phillip replied. “I’ll be deciding what you need Phillip,I ain’t forgot about those pelts you took,and as far as I can tell them bounty hunters ain’t got no call to be here in Canada! So, you boys just turn around and head back south!”Pierre warned!”Come on, Phillip!He ain’t worth getting killed over,”and the others turned and headed back the way they’d come!
“My name is Andrew Washington and I’m mighty grateful for what you done there,”the black man told them.”Well don’t give it no never mind,me and Jon there don’t think nobody’s got the right to own nobody,”Pierre told him.”My names Pierre and that’s Jon, he don’t talk much,well you’ll see why later! We better get moving before those fella’s change their mind,”Pierre cautioned! And the three headed west! Hours later, they decided to make camp.Andrew built a small fire,while Jon got a pot of beans ready!He added some beef jerky to the pot for flavor and threw in the beans.Pierre dug in the mule pack and opened another bottle.As they sat around the fire and ate,Pierre poured the whiskey.They had both noticed the scars on the black man’s back,but didn’t think it proper to ask.Now that they had eaten,and were sharing whiskey,”Did they put them marks on you,”Pierre asked?”Naw,them men chasing me.Was the fella that owned me!”Andrew replied.”Well,you ain’t never gotta see him no more,”Pierre stated!”Nooo moore,”Jon repeated.And they all laughed,and took another sip.”I don’t know ‘bout that,my momma still down there,she gave me this before I left to remember her,”and Andrew showed them the locket with her picture! They all grew silent and took another sip.
The night passed by,and the fire died down.The smell from the campfire and the meal floated out into the forest.The three men slept on,unaware of the danger.The bear had finished the last of the beans,and sniffed around the camp.He sniffed Andrew and the recently healed scars on the black man’s back.The roar of a 1000 pound Grizzley is a bone chilling sound to wake to.The bear pawed at Andrew to test his statis!Jon and Pierre grabbed for their Hawkins and leveled it against the dark.The embers from the fire cast a low shadow around the site,and Jon was the first to make out the silhouette of a bear.He jerked the trigger in his haste,and hit the bear.The bear roared again,this time in pain and rage.Andrew scrambled to his feet,reaching for a skinning knife,used to slice the jerky,that had been left by the fire.The Grizzley stood upright,and growled it’s defiance at Jon.At full height it towered 9 feet tall,and gave an ample target for Pierre.
The bear was prepared to charge Jon, as Pierre squeezed the trigger.It turned the attack on Pierre.The two men ran for the nearest tree and climbed the branches at top speed.This had also given Andrew time to scurry for a tree,but his back had been laid bare by the assualt,and he was bleeding badly!Jon and Pierre had made the branches while trying to pack a load in the Hawkins.The bear had caught Pierre’s leg,just before it was out of reach.His teeth went through Pierre’s calf,and Pierre cried out in pain!Andrew charged the bear from behind,stabbing the bear over and over.The Grizzley turned to him!The animal covered Andrew,biting and clawing,then suddenly fell slump.The two trappers climbed down,as they finished loading the Hawkins.They approached cautiously,holding the weapons at ready!The bear laid silent!They rolled the bear off Andrew and saw the handle of the knife had pierced the animals heart,but Andrew was a mess!
“Why did you do it,”Pierre asked.”Cause I was free to make up my own mind,and you were my first friends,”Andrew replied.Andrew Joseph Washington died the next day.He was attended by two friends.He was given the best Christian burial they could manage.Pierre LaBreck and Jon Buchond paid their respects and headed west toward the gold fields of California!
Several years later,as the war in the states was at an end.Two well dressed men rode up to a plantion in Atlanta,Georgia.One of them carried a cane,and the other had front teeth missing.They were greeted by the owner!”Do you have a Emmie Washington in your employ,”asked the man with the cane?”Yes,I do,”was the reply! The man with the cane stepped down from the buggy,and whipped the man that replied.He tossed $1000 dollars in gold coin in front of the man on the ground.”Get her,”he demanded!They fetched the old woman,and the man with the cane,handed her a locket with a picture of her inside,and a set of bear claws on a golden thread.”Your free!” the man said.And the three climbed in the buggy and rode North!
The Subway—Jack Lives! Part Two
The attack came swiftly,as Jack was knocked to the floor.Jack instinctively covered his head as his attackers kicked him.”Hey,what’s going on there,”yelled a man’s voice? Jack managed to look toward where the sound had resonated from.He saw a huge man come down the steps,and was now running toward them.His two assailants fled toward an empty part of the platform,and up an adjacent flight of steps.”Are you alright,”the man asked,as he stood over Jack?”Thank God,you showed up,”Jack stammered! Jack accepted the man’s hand,and got to his feet.”I think they were about to rob,and possibly kill me,”he muttered! Jack looked at his benefactor.The man was easily 6’ ft.5in,and 300 pounds of solid muscle.”What did they get from you,”the man asked.”Just my coat,” Jack replied,regaining his composure!
They had their attention dirverted by the sound of an approaching train. They both looked down the tunnel and saw the light from the “A” train. It stopped at the platform and opened its doors as the man pulled up his shirt and revealed a handgun in the man’s waistband, “Give me your billfold,” the man demanded! Jack looked dumbfounded as he handed it over. The man looked at the subway ticket that Jack was still holding and took that to! Without another word, the man stepped onto the train and the doors closed. Jack stood there a moment as it sunk in, and then ran for the steps. Back on the street, he made his way toward his office. Walking into his office, he sat on his desk and cried! Looking down he noticed that he’d wet himself. Jack sat in the dark until his co-workers showed up. He borrowed cab fare and said nothing about the night before! He went home, and called in sick the next day. Using his sick day, he stopped by a pawn shop and bought a 9mm and a box of shells. Later that night Jack went riding the subway. Jack was a changed man! For better or worse? But that’s a different story!
The Subway—-by Terry LaBreck
Jack Callahan had just left the office,as he had so many other afternoons.He made his way to the stairwell as hastily,and inconspicuously as possible. He dropped his fare into the collection tray and took the ticket that popped out. Standing at the bottom of the platform,he stood behind a wall of people and glanced at his watch.He’d missed the “A” train.It would be another hour,and he pondered how dark it was getting. Soon winter would be here! Jack watched quietly and patiently as the trains stopped and carried away the sea of people. Soon,he was alone on the platform!
Jack glanced down at his watch,it was 7:00pm.He had another half hour to wait and was contemplating going to street level and catching a taxi,but he”d already bought a ticket. He walked to the edge of the platform and looked down the track,as he steadied his nerve! As he turned to walk back to the rear of the platform,he was surprised by two thugs standing right behind him.”What we looking for, man,”asked the guy? Before Jack could reply,the second man shouted,”He missed his train,man.And now he’s gotta wait for the next.” Without waiting for a reply the first man taunted,”You don’t mind if we wait with you,do you,”he asked, stepping closer to Jack? Jack could smell the alcohol on the man’s breath,he saw the scars from needle marks that potmarked the guys arms.”No,” Jack stuttered!
Jacks eyes searched the platform for an escape or any sign of help. He was jarred back to reality by the junkie yelling at him.”Hey,I’m cold! You don’t mind me wearing your coat till your train comes,do you,”he demanded? Jack just nodded and took off the coat. Jack was on the verge of total submission driven by his fear.The second man had moved behind Jack again,and his eyes had the glazed look of a madman.”Please,don’t hurt me,”Jack heard himself pleading!
Searching for the Taliban—Chapter Seven–Epilog
It was 24:00 hrs. and the fire was dying down.They had posted a guard at the entrance to the cave,and he sat wrapped in blankets,smoking a cigarette.The sargeant pulled a silencer out of his pack,and svrewed it to the barrel of his weapon.He laid in the prone position and steadied the barrel.”Don’t you know that smoking can be hazardious to your health?”he murmered.He centered the man’s chest in his sights and slowly squeezed the trigger.A slight thumping sound was masked by the wind,as the round hit the terrorist center mass.Terry quickly lifted his sights higher and put a second bullet in the man’s head.The man slumped back,and dropped his cigarette,without making a sound.The light from the charred embers lit the interior of the cave in his scope,and he saw a man’s face sticking out of a bedroll,he aimed center mass and squeezed off three rapid shots,spaced six inches apart.The man sat up,gasping for air,and the sniper put a bullet between his eyes,and he quickly laid back down.Sgt.Anders shouldered his M-40A1,grabbed the LAW’s rocket ,a pound of C-4,and one detonator,and hurried down the wall over to the entrance.Terry examined the guard by the entrance,he’d been killed instantly by the first bullet. He moved silently into the opening of the cave,looking thriugh the Starscope he saw the bedroll of the third man.Standing over the bedroll,he examined the man’s face,this was not Moustaffia,and pointing the weapon at the terrorist head,pulled the trigger. Three down,two to go!Terry Anders stood motionless against the cave wall,and listened!Only the wind howling past the entrance of the cave,could be heard. Something was wrong,this was too easy!! The sniper dug in his pockets and pulled out the C-4 plastic explosive and broke off a small piece.He worked his way close to the fire,and pulled out his throwing knife and bending over scrapped a burning ember from the fire.Terry placed the hot ember on the plastic and lightly blew,the plastic started to burn.Angling his way around a curve in the cave,he tossed the burning plastic to the rear of the cave.Several shots rang out from the rear of the cave,”I can see you,”the sargeant called out.As he expected,a man came out firing his weapon wildly,and stomped on the burning plastic. And as expected the C-4 plastic explosive blew up like a land mine. The man’s boot came flying across the cave,and landed against the wall next to Terry.The sargeant looked at the boot,and it still had the man’s foot in it.The man screamed obsenities across the cave,and Terry zeroed in on the screams and bounced rounds off the wall,into the screaming terrorist.On the third shot,the footless man shut up in mid sentence.”They want you alive,Moustaffia!”he called out!”They think you know where bin Laden is?Do you?” “I wouldn’t tell you,if I did know!”Moustaffia replied back.”That’s what I thought you’d say,”the sniper replied.He placed the detonator in the C-4 and dropped it on the floor,as he backed out of the cave door.Terry ran down the hillside pulling the transmitter out of his pocket.Just before he pushed the button,he heard Moustaffia yell”I’ll negotate,I’ll negotate!” The dust settled,as the sargeant opened the LAW and aimed the light artillitary weapon at the cave entrance.The rocket flew and hit the back of the cave and brought the walls down on Moustaffia El Azar.”That’s for the people in the World Trade Center,”the sniper yelled. The sargeant raised command on the sat.phone and typed this message.”unable to capture primary target alive,—five targets eliminated—mission complete (PZ) at thermal site.Question—Does sniper school have a class in negotations? SEND. Several minutes passed and the sat.phone started a humming sound.Message—Too bad about primary target,but he probably wouldn’t tell us anything,even if he knew.Acknowleded 5 targets eliminated –Did not understand question?Official responce is America Does Not Negotiate With Terrorists! Estimated pickup time 20 mins.END. Terry folded up the sat.phone and stretched out on the rocks. He pulled his pack of Marlboro’s from his pocket and lit up a cigarette.Taking a deep drag off the smoke,he laid back and stared at the sky.’That’s what I thought,”he said!!
Searching for the Taliban—Chapter Six.
It was obvious to the sargeant that he had less than a week’s supplies.Moustaffia was smart,and must have planned for this in advance.He could have a month’s worth of provisions hidden in a cave.He typed in a message to the sat.phone that he wanted base to monitor the thermal image and notify him of anyone approaching this valley.Also that he was moving inland,closing the area for the terrorists.He would communicate with base in two hours.With this done,he folded up the sat.phone,packed his gear and prepared to leave.Terry slung the pack over his shoulders.He advanced his way to the footpath that the drug smugglers had been on and headed east.He rounded the curve,and using his day scope,scoured the mountainside for movement and cave openings.Moustaffia now had the upper hand,he was the bait out in the open. It was 13:00 hrs.and he needed to contact base as he had indicated. He saw a spot ahead that provided cover and moved slowly,while looking up the mountainside.Unfolding the satellite phone he caught a slight movement out of the corner of his eye.without turning around,he unbuckled his throwing knife,and with a flick of his wrist,he tossed the knife and caught the object above the shoulders,in the neck area.Turning to his right to see what had snuck up on him,Terry came face to face with a goat.Someone’s goat had gotten loose,and been living wild in the mountains.The knife had struck the goat directly in the carotid artery.It had run a short distance and collapsed.”Maybe this is the break I needed,” he muttered out loud.This goat is at least two weeks rations,he thought to himself.Terry Anders smiled—He had just gained the advantage back!He skinned the goat and quartered the meat.Digging through his Alice pack he pulled out a Zip-lock bag,that he kept matches,flares, and an extra pair of dry socks in.He emptied these into the pack,and stuffed the meat into the plastic bag.When he was finished,he unfolded the sat.phone and called command.He needed to find shelter soon,so he headed east,keeping a close eye on the mountain walls as he moved into a different section of the valley.He finally spotted what might be a small cave opening.It was 17:30 hrs and daylight was turning to dusk,he was suddenly aware that he hadn’t eaten since this morning.In cold weather environments the body burns carbohydrates and fats at a faster rate,to keep the body warm.To offset frostbite and hypothermia,the body needs plenty of water and fatty foods.Terry shook the first of his canteens,it was empty.He had one left,he needed to melt snow.He was starting to feel the effects of the cold. He approached the opening with caution,keeping the barrel of the M-40A1 held waist high,and his finger on the trigger.He checked out the interior of the cave and could tell it had been used before.There was an old campfire mound to the rear of the cave.The fire would not be visible to the outside.He quickly set his gear down and headed back to the entrance of the cave.Scouting the area,he saw pine trees farther down the wall face.Secure in the fact that he was alone,he headed down the rock face and started gathering pine cones.He also stripped off some of the lower branches that would fashion a makeshift spit.Loaded with pine cones and branches he turned back to the cave.Dusk gave way to night.Terry had started a fire with the matches and pine cones,and had set up a spit over the fire.He cut strip of meat and draped them over the spit.He’d have beef jerky from the meat and use the MRE,s when the goat meat was gone.He filled the canteen cups with snow and set them by the fire.After eating the beef jerky,he washed it down with warm water and filled his canteens.He opened his sat.phone and cranked the battery up to full charge.The sargeant switched the screen to monitor and surveyed the valley.Nothing moved outside.Unpacking his sleeping bag,he put another pine cone on the fire and slid into the bag.Before zipping the bag closed,he checked his .45 cal.sidearm and slid the M-40A1 in with him.Checking the sat.phone one last time ,Terry Anders zipped the bag shut and closed his eyes. It was 05:00 hrs.and time to move.He cranked the battery on the sat.phone,checked the thermal,and packed his gear.He headed east before the sun came up,he’d already notified command of this,and they knew he’d be the only image on the thermal screen. Moving quickly to gain ground,he covered probably two miles of rough terrain.As the last shadows of night faded from the valley walls.Terry kept his eyes peeled to the slopes.Then as he rounded a small curve in the valley,he saw the faint flicker of firelight coming from a cave entrance.A small plume of smoke exited the mouth of the cave and was whisked away by the breeze.Someone was definately living in that cave!He uncapped the lens of the scope and surveyed the entrance to the cave.Someone exited the cave and stood in the entrance.He pulled a hand rolled cigarette from under his robes,and lit it with a desposable lighter.The man walked a few steps away from the entrance,pulled his robe to one side and began urinating.The sargeant focused the scope on the man’s face,and it was one of the men that had ridden with Moustaffia in the Mercedes.The disposable lighter was another sign of western influence that a local would not have.He had found Moustaffia!! The sargeant waited!Directly at dusk,they called for Kadif and placed their mats facing the cave entrance.They knelt down and prostrated themselves to the last glow of sunlight.They mumbled prayers to themselves,as Terry scanned the interior for Moustaffia.As the day progressed,night fell and Terry Anders switched to the Starscope.One of the occupants had put another pine cone on the fire,and it lit up the interior of the cave.Then as he was watching,Terry saw Moustaffia walk to the entrance of the cave and hand the man there a loaf of hard bread.”Bingo”said the sargeant.”I see you!”
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Searching for the Taliban—Chapter Five
The sky had changed from pink,fluffy clouds to purple,to dark royal blues,and finally to black velvet dotted by stars.Terry laid in the sleeping bag and slept lightly.The valley was quiet as a graveyard,except for the wind that whistled softly over the rocky ridge.Slowly a humming sound stirred Sgt.Anders from his sleep.He opened his eyes and glanced at the sat.phone by his head.A message was coming in.He switched on the mini-screen and read the message. It was 04:00 in the morning!The message read-5 pack animals w/5 personell approaching your position. Sgt.Anders had landed at this LZ at 08:30. Not quite twenty hours had passed since Moustaffia had dumped the car and he and his thugs had fled into the valley.The pack animals would have helped make up some time moving this far,but Terry was suspicious. If this was Moustaffia,then he was being supplied with pack animals.He had run into the valley,knowing that he’d be followed or have someone waiting.This was probably a ploy to draw him out in the open.Sgt.Anders typed in the thermal image on the monitor screen and listed grid coordinates.They were coming into the curve of the valley.He reached in his pack and pulled out his JP-4 Starscope.He clicked the latch off the 10x daylight scope off the M-40A1,and placed it in his pack,and clipped the Starscope on his weapon.Taking the cap off the Starscope,,he pressed his eye against the rubber eyelet,and leaned into it.This opened the eyelet,and turned the scope on.A Starscope works by taking any available light,no matter how faint and magnifing it,to almost daylight vision. However,instead of sunlight,the images come out with a green tint.The sargeant searched the curve of the valley with the scope,and saw the figures enter the valley.They were approaching low,a path had been cut in the valley bottom by countless years of melting snow and water washing the stone smooth. In this positioned,he could take them at any time,but what if they were decoys,or innocent tribesmen.He didn’t want to give away the fact that he was here,or kill the wrong men.He searched the faces of the men through the scope again,but couldn’t be sure.He was gonna have to get closer.Terry Anders moved closer to the bottom of the valley!The men got closer to his position,until they within a rock’s throw.Terry could hear them softly speaking Afgani. He wasn’t fluent in Afgani,but could speak and understand enough to get the meaning of their conversation.He heard them mention the $300 hundred dollars they would make for the opium when they got to Islamibad.Each member of the smuggling team had been promised a sum of money,if they made it to the drop off point.Most of the teams were promised about a years salary of $300 to split.Only to get to the destination and be given $50 or $100 dollars,and be told that the guy on the other end wasn’t authorized to offer that much.But Terry knew that the opium would be used to produce Herion,and sold to junkies around the world.The money from the sales of Herion would fund the Taliban,and Al Queda.He couldn’t allow this to pass him. He laid adjacent to the path,and looked like a patch of snow.As they passed him,he crouched ,walking on the opposite side of the mules,and timing his steps to the mules.He slipped a half pound of C-4 plastic emplosive into the sacks that were slung over the mules backs.Wedged inside the C-4 were radio signal detonators,that were set to the frequency of a small transmitter Terry had in his pocket.Once he had planted charges on all five cargos,he matched his footsteps to the mules,and laid down adjacent to the path again. They never knew he was there! Laying down on the path, he watched the smugglers walk off into the night.Once he was sure they couldn’t spot him if they looked back,he stood up.He made his way back to the overhang,where he spent the night and left his gear.From the higher vantage point,he focused his Starscope on the men as they traversed the valley floor.They had gone quite a distance and were starting to clear the valley.Once they dropped down out of the valley,they would be in Pakistan.Eliminating them in Pakistan could cause an incident,so he’d have to take them out before then.Terry watched them on the thermal screen of the sat.phone,and saw the imaginary line of the Pakistani border,and they were getting close.Sgt.Anders pressed the button on the transmitter and closed his eyes.The blast echoed down the valley!The sargeant was a professional soldier,most rookies would have watched the blast,and lost their night vision.Terry opened his eyesand looked at the subdued screen of the thermal image. The dark red of the heat signature was gone or scattered over the landscape.His target was eliminated! The sun broke across the mountain peak,lust above him.He squinted as the night faded,and streams of light flooded into the valley.Soon it would be time for Moustaffia and his henchmen to come strolling around the bend,where he could shoot them and call for a ride home,and be the hero for a grateful nation.But the professional knew it was never that easy.Moustaffia was a smart cookie,and the sargeant would just have to sit and wait for his next move.He was playing chess with the terrorists,and the stakes were their lives.It was approaching 11:00 hrs, and the sun was high in the sky.The bitter cold from the night before was retreating and Terry was getting warm in the cold weather gear,and he was getting impatient!He cranked the battery back to full charge on the sat.phone,and switched to the thermal screen.Looking down the valley on the screen,he should have been able to see a thermal signature somewhere.It was almost a foregone conclusion at this point.Moustaffia had holed up somewhere in one of the many caves that lined these mountains.He was pulling an Osama trick.Terry would have to wait him out or go and find him.
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terrylabreck
About terrorism and the demise of Osama bin Laden
About terrorism and the demise of Osama bin Laden.