Gunslingers

Another IED rattled our vehicle, shaking our Jeep to its very core. I grabbed the chicken shit stick and held on as our driver, Cory, swerved to avoid the wreckage of the IED. Our Jeep nearly tipped on its side as he made a wide turn. Jesus, I suddenly missed Huntington Beach and Johnny's bar. I could really use a shot right now.

"Oi! Earth to Sanders?" My buddy and commanding officer, Dan, shoved my shoulder. "You gonna get back up top and man the gun or are you gonna continue to be a pussy down in the cab?"

I looked at Dan. He was one of my good friends. We'd met in BUD/S all of two years ago. Dan was the reason I made it through. He had been my swim buddy, and now he was my CO.

"Fuck off, Dan. I'm getting back up." I heaved myself up to the gunnery station and took a hold of the machine gun. "We're fucking SEALs, Danny Boy, we're supposed to be quiet."

Dan snorted as our Jeep rolled over something that clanged under our wheels. "Not this time around. Iraq invasion man!"

I spun my turret around to take in the surroundings of... dirt. There just dirt. So much dirt.

"What are we, Marines?"

Cory laughed and swerved again. "Nah man, they get less guns and protection."

Well, wasn't that a comforting thought?
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"Matt, what do you see?" Dan called up to me.

I spun the turret again. We were alone. Now this is what SEALs were used to-- isolation. We were meant to operate alone, in small teams that is. This was the type of environment we trained for.

"Nothing, Captain." I tried not to chuckle by calling him his rank. He was not a captain to me; he was just Dan Abel, my little short shit friend. "We're alone."

"Perfect. Cory, take us to our destination."

I lowered my eyebrows in confusion, "Dan, what in the hell are you talking about?"

"I'll debrief you once we're there. Base said only Cory and me could know."
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Cory parked in more dirt. I had no idea where we were. I was just the sniper of this team, the best marksmen on our team. It just looked like the rest of Iraq we'd driven through.

"Boys, out and dig Ranger holes."

We hopped out of the Jeep and dug our one foot deep holes. This is where we'd be sleeping which was strange because we usually didn't dig holes like the Army Special Forces. This is was going to be an odd excursion.

"Alright team, we're going after Hasssan Akem. He's Bin Laden's fifth in command. High up enough to know where he's staying," Dan said and looked at us. "We just want to apprehend him, not kill him. Sanders, you're on sniper duty just in case he runs though. If he runs, kill him."

I nodded. That was usually my job. Looking over to our new guy, I nodded at him. He was supposed to be my spot. Basically, his job was to ensure I made the kill shot. He had joined the team two months ago, so this was his trial run. The other members of the team had all been serving together for two years. We'd been on tour before 9/11, just not all as Spec Ops. His name was Zachary Baker.

"Hey Baker, you ready to spot for me?"

He nodded, his green eyes flashing. His hands were shaking slightly. Good thing he wasn't the sniper. "Yes. I'm nervous."

A smile crossed my face. "Good."

Notes

Hi! So I've been a writer for a long time now, but this is my first ever fanfiction. I have writer's block on my actual books and figured this might help.

Oh! I recently got published! The book was inspired by the boys song "Gunslinger" so if you have any interest, let me know!
-- Heretic Blood