El Grapadura II - The Right Flank

9:03 AM

As the left and center wings of the 1st US engaged their targets, the right wing, commanded by Major Atlas, was moving into position. Atlas only had two companies, H and I, with K Company having been left back in camp. He was to link up with Lieutenant Emma and her insurrecto contingent, lurking somewhere in these woods.

A radio dispatch from Groggy's wing had revealed the heavy presence of snipers, and Atlas's men were warned to watch out for an ambush. H Company, which included Sergeant Beck and his buddies Bunsher, Mike and Steven, was in the lead, led by Captain Elliot, a tough, macho rodeo star, horse rider, pilot, and Western movie actor-turned-soldier. Behind them crept Captain Schultz and his I Company, which included Beck's archnemesis, Sergeant Adnan.

As Elliot's men march across a ridge, they saw and heard movement in the bushes to their left. Their Captain instinctively turned to initiate fighting.

"HOSTILES TO THE LEFT, FIRE AT WILL!" he shouted. His nervous, trigger-happy troopers opened fire, sending a barrage of M-16 bullets into the bush across the way. But Elliot's men suffered too; two soliders were killed, and a third wounded in the skirmish, before Lieutenant Emma rushed out of the woods, frantically waving her arms. "CEASE FIRE!" she shouted, and Elliot repeated the command.

"These are insurrectos, and I'm Lieutenant Emma!" she cried angrily, rushing over to the Captain. "You killed some of my men!"

"Lieutenant!" Elliot shouted, commanding her attention. They looked down and saw a young American private, bleeding from a head wound.

"I can't take it back," the Captain said, spitting. "We're all going to hell, now let's go there together!"

As if nothing at all had happened, the two forces joined together, stepping over their dead, and pushed on through the woods, hoping to encounter a mutual enemy soon. Sergeant Beck was ordered to take a small detachment of men forward as skirmishers, and soon Atlas's battalion was on the move again.

* * *

9:08 AM

General Jenkins marched behind the front line on foot, accompanied by General Ale and a few staffers. He could hear the now-steady patter of gunfire at the front, but had little idea of what was going on; only scattered. But he could assume that Groggy was responsible, and he smiled at the thought.

Captain O'Brien ran up. "Sir, just got a report, Groggy's main wing has driven a wedge into the center of the Russian line."

"A wedge?" Jenkins' eyes lit up at this information.

"Yes, sir. They've driven their way into the Russian center, but they don't seem in touch with the rest of the regiment-"

"Hot damn, we got that bastard Groggy on the run!" Jenkins shouted, much to the consternation of the Captain and General Ale. He then drew his pistol and fired several shots wildly into the bushes, shouting with glee.

The stupidity of this action soon caught up to the Gneral. For skirmishers from the 1st Florida regiment were advancing nearby, and as the shots flew over their heads, they let fly several volleys of M-16 fire in the direction.

"Cease fire!" a voice called to them. "Cease fire!"

The commander of the platoon, Sergeant Hendrix, cautiously advanced and saw the officers huddling around the stricken General.

"You shot General Jenkins!" General Ale shouted. "You shot General Jenkins!"

The General lay on his right side. His left arm was completely shattered, oozing blood from four bullet wounds. He grimaced in pain, his hand still gripping his pistol.

"Who's the son of a bitch who gave the order to fire?" Jenkins demanded. He rose himself up and aimed his pistol at the Florida lieutenant, but Captain O'Brien rushed forward to restrain him.

"General Ale, you take command," Jenkins gasped. "Direct more troops to the front. Lieutenant, you get back to your fucking post and call a medic."

Captain O'Brien held the General in his arms. "How fucking embarrassing," Jenkins muttered, "being shot by my own troops."

"Stonewall Jackson got shot by his own troops," Captain O'Brien noted.

"Try again, boy!" Jenkins cried as two soldiers helped him to his feet. Blood oozed down his shattered arm. "Stonewall Jackson was on the LOSING side!"

* * *

9:11 AM

General Ale quickly came across Colonel Ackatsis, who had driven up to the sound of the firing with his staff.

"What the hell's going on, General?" Ackatsis said, with a mixture of shock and anger.

"Colonel Dundee was ordered to make a reconassiance of El Grapadura this morning, and he's met with heavy resistance."

"Not that fucking upstart again!" Ackatsis screamed angrily.

"He did it on General's orders, Colonel! And now the General's wounded and I'm in charge." This shut the Colonel up.

"Now," Ale continued, "These Russians and Cubans know this area, they're fighting behind every bush, every tree, every goddamned rock, they're making it harder than hell to find 'em. But we ARE finding 'em, we are KILLING 'em, and as your brigade and now DIVISION commander I order you to tie into Dundee's right and flank those Russo-Cuban bastards!"

With a hint of shock, Colonel Ackatsis saluted. "Yes, sir!" He then ordered his driver to return to regimental headquarters and prepare his troops to join the action.

* * *

9:16 AM

Sergeant Beck slapped at a mosquito as he and his skirmishers advanced. They were moving through an area of seemingly endless forest, but Beck could swear he heard the trickle of a stream up ahead.

Just then, one of his privates shouted, "Get down, Sergeant!" Beck ducked and heard the THWACK of a bullet striking the leafy forest floor. He turned and fired, hitting a Russian sniper in the tree over his head. However, another shooter fired simultaneously, from somewhere to his left, dropping the man next to him.

Beck and his men moved on, unable to locate the second shooter. But then he heard a shrill whizzing noise, and ducked. Unfortunately, the rest of his men weren't so smart.

Beck heard the explosion and shieled his head. He looked beside him and saw nothing but a sheet of smoke and fire. He staggered to his feet, and heard another explosion, and a muted yelp of pain. The rest of his men were gone, either killed or hidden behind a shroud of smoke and fire.

Beck knew what was going on - Russian or Cuban mortars were along the road, or possibly RPG men. He stood and began inching forward, but flinched as he heard another sharpshooter firing from the trees. However, he either missed or was aiming elsewhere, as no bullet smashed into Beck, and he kept moving forward.

Beck crawled on top of a large rock, and looked down below. He saw a small stream, and on the other side of it -

A whole battery of Russian mortars. He watched two shots explode from their barrels, and heard the shrill whiz and the dull thud to his rear. Behind them was a small detachment of infantry, maybe a platoon's worth.

However, Beck was quickly spotted by one of the Russians. Though he tried to duck down, the Russians were soon firing pot shots and taunts at him. Several of the mortar men even threw shells and grenades at his position. All of them missed, but if Beck moved he knew he'd be riddled with bullets.

Beck crawled away from the rocks and began running back in the other directions. He heard another explosion somewhere in the jungle ahead. Before he got far at all, however, he came across an American Sergeant. He squinted and saw that it was Adnan, an impassive look on his face.

At first, Beck was relieved. But then, the man's identity registered in his mind, and he stood still, seemingly at the Canadian's mercy.

Adnan raised his M-16, pointing it in his direction. Beck flinched, sure the Canadian would take his revenge.

But instead, Adnan fired a burst across the river, striking one of the Russian mortar men. He advanced, firing rapidly, and soon Adnan's entire platoon moved forward, rifles blazing. They took up positions along the bushes and rocks, raining fire down upon the Russians.

The mortar men were quickly driven away, but the infantry moved forward. Armed with Kalashnikovs and light machine guns, they inflicted several casualties on Adnan's troops.

Beck crawled forward and joined the firing line. Shooting carefully, he picked off at least four of the Russian infantrymen with his carbine.

Then came an order being shouted behind them, and soon Captain Elliot emerged with the bulk of H Company. They joined in the firing line, inflicting heavy casualties on the Russians. Soon after came Major Atlas and Captain Schultz with the rest of I Company.

Now heavily outnumbered, the Russians scattered into the woods. Without waiting for orders, Captain Elliot and the insurrectos plunged down the ravine, crossing the stream. Mike Prankster, one of Beck's old compatriots, was killed in this action, along with two other soldiers, but the Russians were put to rout, fleeing in all directions. A few mortar men remained behind and tried to spike their weapons, but Emma's insurrectos shot them down.

The attack gained a momentum of its own. I Company and the insurrectos poured through the forest, past more sharpshooters and snipers. They then came across a new line of Russian troops, and prepared to engage.

This defensive line, however, was made up of Palacian militia. About 200 men, organized by the Russians and led by Russian officers, stood uneasily in line. They had little will to fight, but they might be persuaded to fight Gringos. But the sight of Lieutenant Emma and her white-clad insurrectos changed their mind immediately.

With a shout of "PALACIO LIBRE!", the soldiers turned and shot down all of their officers. They then threw up their arms, cheering as Emma and her men rushed forward. The shock of this pleasant surprise momentarily stopped the advance, but they were immediately snapped back to attention when a burst of rifle fired errupted from the tree line, killing three of their number, along with one of Emma's men.

The Palacians dropped to the grass and saw a detachment of Cubans, at least Company strength, set up in the tree lines. They opened fire with rifles, machine guns, and several mortars. Captain Elliot rushed men to the line, while I Troop, finally catching up, lugged the captured Russian mortars and the regiment's machine guns forward.

After several minutes of inconclusive firefighting between the two sides, Atlas requested artillery support. Sure enough, within moments several explosions burst into the tree line before them. After less than a minute, the Cubans withdrew further back, their lines rocked by explosions and shrapnel, leaving thirty bodies and several shattered guns and mortars behind.

"Battalion, prepare to advance. I Company, dispatch skirmishers," Major Atlas shouted.

"You did it, Beck!" Bunsher said, patting his old friend on the back.

"I did?" Beck showed some degree of surprise.

"You turned their flank!" Steven said, shaking his hand. Somewhat dazed, Beck rose to his feet, smiling. However, he turned and inevitably saw Sergeant Adnan, manning a machine gun. Adnan shot him an icey glare, and Beck realized their reckoning was far from over.