It was maddening.
And this was the best lead the military had on the source of the arms influx into Afghanistan.
It was my team's job to gather as much intelligence as possible before destroying the facility with a minimum number of civilian casualties.
I folded the chart and tucked it in my right cargo pocket. The GPS affixed to my arm would guide us to the compound, but old habits die hard and I always liked to check the map.
"The men are ready." It was Mike Jones' voice, but despite myself I still jumped. Very few men could sneak up on me, but Mike Jones was one of them.
I turned to face the hulking black form of Jones. In the darkness, I could see him smile in my NVGs. He knew he'd gotten the drop on me, and was allowing himself a moment of satisfaction. I returned the grin and slapped him on the back, turning towards the men who knelt in a small semicircle around us.
"You gentlemen know the mission, and the risks." I said in nearly a whisper. "Lets get a move out. It'll take about an hour and a half to the outskirts of town. I'll take point first."
I shrugged my pack higher on my back and stepped through the field towards the darkened shrubbery which defined the start of our trek.
I could hear the creaking of weapons and men behind me as we walked single file, shadows in the darkness of the Afghan mountains.
The planners had chosen an apt name for this mission, I thought as I peered through the pitch black night ahead through my NVGs, sweeping the horizon with my silenced M4 carbine.
Afghan Sunset.
Chapter 2:
I shook my head as we rounded the last bend on the goat trail that led West towards the nearest valley and our targeted weapons depot.
My estimate for timing of our march had been almost spot on.
The terrain had slowed us down slightly, but the march to the compound had taken around an hour and forty-two minutes, leaving us with approximately six hours remaining before sunrise.
Per the intelligence, six hours should be plenty of time overcome the security forces which were deemed minimal, gather intelligence, and demolish the facility before returning to our extraction point a kilometer North of the compound.
I scanned the horizon.
The compound itself looked much as it did from the satellite pictures I'd seen.
Chief Jones and I were crouched behind a large rock on the outskirts of town, surveying the black building through our NVGs.
Sentries were said to walk a standard pattern, clockwise around the exterior wall, which stood twelve feet tall and ringed the compound. Tall minarets of a small mosque stood starkly against the night sky, illuminated in the green glow of our goggles.
"What do you think, Chief?" I asked, glancing at Jones.
"Intel states that we could expect sentries and some electronic surveillance near the entry point. I see neither."
I nodded. "Could they have relocated the weapons?"
The Chief shook his head. "Our latest satellite photos were from yesterday. Didn't show anything out of the ordinary in the compound. Normal operations."
"Doesn't seem right." I said softly.
The Chief let out a low groan in response.
I turned back to the SEALs who stood in a small semicircle awaiting our direction.
"Saddle up. All entry points have been assigned. Execute the plan as briefed. We meet at the rendezvous point."
"Turner," I said, turning to the young demolition expert to my left, "you are on the demolition of the facility. Wait for the call and get to the main store immediately. Intel puts it in the large building near the center of the complex."
"Yes, sir." Turner said, nodding his blonde head as he shifted his pack and glanced towards the complex.
I slung my pack higher on my back and crouched low behind the rock as Chief Jones shifted his weight on his heels behind me.
I could hear him quietly checking his weapon and tightening his gear. He was always been very careful to check his gear before entering a facility, a habit he encouraged in his men.
"Lets go." I said quietly to no one in particular through our encrypted headset radio.
I could see the silhouettes of my men in the cool darkness of the mountains as they branched out into four teams of two and began advancing steadily through the pitch black night, each man covering the next as we moved in staggered formation towards our assigned entry points.
The facility was quiet and dark in the cool night air.
We covered the hard ground of the mountain valley quickly and judiciously, Mike Jones and I taking turns on point, each careful to provide cover for the next as he jogged slowly forward.
When we finally reached the gray concrete of the twelve foot security wall we still had not seen any signs of resistance or observation.
We were both crouched low. The Chief was on point now as we moved towards the heavy wooden door of the South entrance.
The Chief pulled a metal breacher bar from his pack when we reached the door.
He gripped the cold aluminum in his strong hands before realizing that he didn't need it.
The door to the tall concrete walls of the facility was hanging slightly off its top hinge.
Chief Jones nodded to me and signaled our entrance to the facility.
I clutched my silenced M4 lightly in my hands, sweeping the horizon as I nodded back.
I glanced at my watch and gave him the signal.
"Entering the South door." He said into our encrypted radio as he kicked the door in and burst through the exterior wall.
I was close behind him.
From my head set, I could hear the other teams entering the facility.
"Shit." Mike said as I continued to crouch low, sweeping for hostile action through my goggles.
My eyes followed Mike's gaze to the ground.
Two men lay at our feet in a congealing puddle of blood, stacked on top of one another, their AK-47 assault rifles laying neatly beside them.
"Be advised," I spoke into the radio. "South door guards are dead."
The reports from the other three teams were the same. At each entry point, the guards were dead, laid neatly on top of one another near their assigned security checkpoints.
Our instincts had been right. Something was definitely wrong here.
Chapter 3:
It wasn't long before we realized that we were surrounded.
In the distance, through the dusty alleyways of the compound we could make out forms moving through the blackness.
The shadows danced in the eerie green light of our NVGs as we crouched low, scanning the horizon.
Chief Jones moved judiciously, stepping over the corpses of the former security guards as we moved to the rendezvous point.
I made the call. "Rendezvous point Delta. Five minutes." The radio crackled to silence.
The other teams offered subdued affirmations.
I followed Mike's dark form as he crept through darkened compound North towards the central plaza.
Mike stopped and turned to me, raising a fist as he signaled me to hold position.
I crouched low, sweeping the alley with my silenced M4 as he drew a long and sinister looking black Ka-Bar bayonet from his belt holster.
A dark form stepped around the corner moments later, and Mike wrapped him in a powerful bear hug before running the razor sharp edge of the black blade full force across the man's throat.
Chief Jones turned to me and nodded, his hand simultaneously waving me in his direction.
We continued through the darkened alleyways of the small compound towards rendezvous point Delta. In the distance, the NVGs illuminated the darkened minarets of the compound's mosque, backlit against a starry sky.
It seemed like it took an eternity to reach the stairwell on the West side of the mosque.
As the tallest building in the compound, it provided the greatest tactical advantage when plans went awry, as they already had.