Chapter 7- Escape and Evasion

Chapter 7

Escape and Evasion

A mountainside, Venezuela

Captain Barrow dropped down for a moment to catch his breath.  He had done long distance before; ten mile long night marches with full gear certainly pushed a human being to the edge of their endurance.  But this chase was beginning to wear him down.

            It had been easy enough to slink away without causing too much of a fuss.  He’d waited for the others to become distracted and begun to move away as quickly as possible.  He had thought about it, it had been a fairly reckless thing to do.  It certainly would result in him getting chewed out when he got back to base.  But Barrow was not prepared to leave a man behind, especially when it turned out that man was a survivor of a crash that had been caused from the inside.

            Barrow caught up with himself and drew his canteen.  He unscrewed it quietly and drank some water.  It was warming up fast here but it wasn’t like desert heat, this was a much easier heat to deal with.  Barrow took out his binoculars and looked down at the small village that was getting closer to him.  Maybe two dozen buildings, concentrated around a small church.  It was a nothing town but the footsteps he’d been following were leading him there.

            What Barrow couldn’t understand was how the guy was able to keep moving so fast.  It seemed like he didn’t need rest or water.  It also seemed like whatever injury he’d taken wasn’t slowing him up at all.  Barrow began to suspect that the guy, whoever he was, was trying very hard to avoid being found.

           

A few years before, Henry had a run in with the “brass.”  A general officer by the name of Stenham had given him a briefing over a “simple mission.”  It had turned out to be anything but simple.

            Then a simple Lieutenant, albeit one with a very good reputation, Henry had stood to attention as Major General Stenham and his aide had taken him through the operation.

“It’s a simple snatch and grab.  Run into the village here and grab the Hadji that has the intel.  Drag him back to base camp and hand him over to the I and R platoon leader.”

“Yes sir.” Said Barrow.

“I’d recommend a covering unit here at the phase-line.  We’ve not received any fire from the village but you can never be too sure about these people.  Why take a risk?” Said the aide, a colonel.

“Yes sir.” Said Barrow.  ‘Easy for you’ thought Barrow ‘you just ride a general’s coattails up the ranks while people like me take the bullets.  You ever been in combat colonel?’

“Of course if you do receive any fire, then light them up.  But try not to hit the guy you’re trying to bring back to us?” said General Stenham.

“Yes sir.” Said Barrow.  ‘Of course we’ll try not to hit the guy.  We’re not totally stupid.’

“Questions Lieutenant?” asked Stenham

“Is it possible we can leave the vehicles behind and just do this operation on foot?” he asked.

“Why?” asked the aide.

“Because the hummers you’re giving us will draw attention and possible small arms fire.  I’d rather just do this quietly.”

“No.” Said the general.

“No” repeated the aide.  “You need to demonstrate force.  That means hummers.  This is desert warfare. That means vehicles.  Armor when we’ve got it.”

“Yes sir.” Said Barrow.

“Good man.  Get it done and get back here.  You’ll be a Captain by the end of the year.” Said General Stenham.  As it turned out, he was right about that.

            He hadn’t been right about much else.  The firefight had only lasted twelve minutes but two men had been killed and another, Corporal Andrew McLane, had been badly wounded and would have been left behind if Barrow hadn’t personally gone back for him.

            No, he wasn’t going to leave someone behind, not even if they were determined to be left behind.  Dead or alive, they all went home together.

Another look through the binoculars revealed the name of the little town, “Villa Cyranno.”

Barrow mulled it over, Cyranno.  It was a poetic name allright.  He took another quick drink and began the approach.  He was stopped in his tracks by a chime on radio mic.

“Barrow.” He said, gritting his teeth for the chewing out that he was overdue.

“Captain, where the hell are you?” asked Dalton.

“In pursuit of the survivor.”

“Belay that Captain.  Hold your position.  We got a rescue bird and we’ll be with you soon enough.  No need to take an unnecessary risk.” Came Dalton’s reply.

“Sorry sir but I’ve got this far, I’m going to find him.”

“Captain, does it occur to you that this guy may be avoiding you?  That he may well be involved in the crash?”
“Yes of course it does.” Said Barrow.

“Then for God’s sake be careful.  Don’t take any more needless risks and if you can, wait for us before you get involved down there.”

“Yes sir.  Sorry sir.” Said Barrow, genuinely feeling bad now.

“No, you’re not sorry yet.  But you will be later I assure you.” Came the grim reply.

“No doubt sir.” Said Barrow ruefully.

“Dalton out.” The radio went dead and Barrow drew his pistol, checked the magazine and chambered a round.

“Ok, let’s see if we can’t find where you’re hiding then.” He said to himself.

Villa Cyranno, Venezuela.  Population: 215

Captain Barrow moved up quickly to a rough stone wall around a plot of earth.  There were beans or some other crop growing in loose rows.  He took cover behind the wall and listened out for a moment.

            He could hear someone singing softly from nearby.  He also heard the familiar sound of pigs snuffling, his father had owned a few.  Barrow looked around the edge of the wall and saw the first human walking around.

            A stocky man of around forty was carrying a basket of some kind of fruit across the way.  Barrow waited for him to walk past.  Barrow moved around the edge of the building and kept his eyes open.  A new sound hit his ears, an engine, a heavy and old engine was beating into life.  “Tractor.” Said Barrow under his breath.

            Barrow moved around the edge of the village, trying to get an idea of where the better hiding places might be.  There was the church, there was a decent sized barn and then there were the villager’s houses.  He’d never be able to search them all without being observed.

            He decided that the barn was the obvious place to go and look.  It would be large, covered and there may even be some food.  If his quarry was trying not to be discovered, then that was probably the best place to look for him.

            Captain Barrow was about to head around the edge of another building when he collided with a man.  A young man with dark hair and startled eyes fell back.  Barrow pounced on him, placing his hands over the young man’s mouth.

“Listen, listen.  Do you speak English?”
The terrified eyes nodded.

“That’s a stroke of luck.  Listen, I’m a US army soldier.  If I let go, are you going to scream or anything?”

He shook his head, eye still huge with fear.

“Ok, it’s important that you don’t.” Said Barrow.  He let go of the boy.

“I’m Captain Henry Barrow, US army.”

“Oscar, Oscar Martinez Cordoba.” Said the boy.  This close, Barrow figured that the boy was maybe twenty years old.  Rake thin and dark eyed, he looked every bit the peasant farmer.  But he spoke English, that was a good start.

“Oscar, I need your help.  An army man is missing and I think he may well be in this village. It’s really important that you help me find him.”

“Si. I mean, yes.  Sure.  What is this man?”
“He’s hurt from a helicopter crash.” Said Barrow.  “We need to find him.  But he might be confused, loco.  He may fight us rather then let us help him.  So we’d need to be very careful.”

“We should go to Don Brazzo.  He’s the boss around here.  He’d help you find the man.”

“I need to keep this quiet.  You understand?” said Barrow.

“Si.  Si, we can keep this quiet.” Said Oscar.

“I’m not going to hurt you Oscar, we need to be quiet that’s all.” Said Barrow.

“Si.  Thank you.” Said Oscar.

“It’s important that I find this man.  It’s important to me. If you can help me out, I’ll be very grateful.”  Oscar nodded at this.  Barrow hoped he’d done enough to explain the situation to the kid.

“I was going to check the barn.  What’s an easy way to get there without being seen?” asked Barrow.  Oscar thought about it for a moment.

“Follow me.” He said.

            The two of them skirted around some buildings until they were behind the barn.  There was a series of washing lines, clothes blocking the view. 
“Great stuff kid.  You’d make a decent ranger.  Ok, you can leave me to it now.”
“I should go get Don Brazzo?”
“No kid, he’ll make too much noise, too much trouble.  I need to try and keep this quiet.  If you see my man, if you see this army man, you call for help.  Don’t try to deal with him alone.” Said Barrow.

“If you say so.” Said Oscar.

Henry offered a hand and Oscar, after a brief pause, shook it.

“I come with you” Said Oscar.

“No kid, I move faster alone.” Said Barrow.  He moved away fast, keeping low.  He drew his side-arm anyway, just to be safe.  The barn door was open; he could hear the low sound of horses inside.  Barrow entered the barn and continued his search.