The Adventures of George Lee: Love, Loyalty and Brotherhood

By Orville Mann

The Adventures of George Lee - Love, Loyalty and Brotherhood is the second in a series about an Army officer who has been instrumental in thwarting the attempt to use a satellite super weapon's controller to fire upon any target on earth. He and hi

• Language: English
• Publisher: Authors' Tranquility Press
• Release date: May 11, 2023
• ISBN: 9781960675088

Orville Mann

Dans sa jeunesse, Orville Mann vivait dans une ferme du sud de l'Indiana avec ses grands-parents et fréquentait l'école primaire, le lycée et l'université. Il est diplômé de l'université avec un baccalauréat en conseil pastoral. Il a fréquenté l'université de Cincinnati, OH, Overland Park, KS, et a obtenu son baccalauréat du Leal College, à St. Ann, MO. Dans l'exercice de ses fonctions pastorales, il a vécu dans l'Ohio, le Kansas, le Wisconsin et le Kentucky. Lui et sa femme Nena ont eu deux enfants, cinq petits-enfants et six arrière-petits-enfants.

Book preview

CHAPTER 1

The Beginning

Once all the troops were aboard the C-130, George informed the pilot that they were ready for takeoff. The pilot pushed a lever forward and the ramp slowly closed and the plane taxied toward the runway. The engines revved, and the airplane sped toward the believed location of their designated target. It sped down the runway, taking paratroopers on a night seek-and-destroy mission.

The target, which was not found in satellite photos or searches by drones posed a threat to the entire free world. That was why George and his men were ordered to get boots on the ground. They were to locate the target, an advanced weapon. They purported it to be so powerful if fired, it could do major damage to any city they targeted. The intelligence reports showed it could take out several city blocks with just one blast. They could fire it repeatedly at five-minute intervals. Therefore, it was a critical, potentially historical mission that would save the world from WWIII.

The plane climbed to 30,000 feet and within two hours, the five-minute jump warning light came on. Team leaders ordered the soldiers to assist one another by turning on their oxygen. They also were to help fit their oxygen masks, and then synchronize their watches.

The cold Pakistani air rushed in as the ramp lowered and every soldier stood facing the rear of the plane. When the green jump light came on, the jump commander ordered, Go! Go! Go! The soldiers ran in two columns toward the dark void and leaped into the black of night.

During the free-fall, the air rushed by their outstretched arms and spread legs. George couldn’t tell if it slowed their descent, so he concentrated on the tiny lights which had come into view in the village below. The twinkling faded as he descended, and he identified the landing zone. It took only a few minutes before his altimeter indicated was time to pull the parachute cord.

George watched the first chute open. Then, chute two and three opened below him. Then ten, until all thirty chutes formed a white cloud below him. From the ground, they would not see the chutes on this cloudy evening because they were dark colored. He breathed a silent prayer as he pulled the cord that released his chute.

Fortunately, villagers were asleep, and the guards standing watch did not observe the three groups make their landing. The mountains loomed high to the east as George landed. He joined his comrades at the rally point as they hurriedly gathered into a tight group. They kneeled together on the far side of the high ground west and south of the enemy tents. Two of George’s teams took that as their position. Two of his teams landed unseen to the east and north of the enemy’s camp near a creek. George and the team leaders were relieved when no alarm sounded. What a relief that neither the villagers nor the guards saw or heard anything of our descent, George thought. He motioned for his radioman to meet with him.

Each team knew silence was of utmost importance. They all had weapons equipped with silencers and flash suppressors. The enemy would have a problem locating their firing positions even if they suspected they were being fired upon. Flash suppressors lessened the chance of seeing where the shots originated.

George used the radio to request situation reports from the teams. ‘A’ team all accounted for and in position; over. In sequence, the remaining four teams reported they were in position, with all team members accounted for.

George received the teams’ reports, and the radioman, Specialist Donavan established a satellite link with Over-watch. Donavan handed the mike to George, who reported, Over-watch, The Eagles have landed safely; over. The reply took about three seconds. Great job, Eagle 1, nice landing. It looks like you are free to advance toward the nest, over!

Three soldiers gathered the oxygen tanks, masks, and parachutes from each team. They wrapped the tanks in bubble wrap so they would not clang together while being carried in duffle bags.

George spoke into his headset and gave the word for his teams to move in. Teams ‘A,’ ‘B’ and ‘E’ moved over the small rise in a low-crawl, advancing inches at a time. Teams ‘C’ and ‘D’ had more cover, so they advanced by simply walking stooped over.

The camp of unsuspecting soldiers was an easy objective. They spotted the guards’ locations easily because they were talking loudly. It appeared they weren’t concerned that anyone would attack in such a remote area. The glow of their cigarettes revealed the exact location of the four guards. The designated shooters had orders to fire simultaneously. Sharpshooters from each team A through D reported, Targets identified. George reluctantly gave the order and synchronized, silent, and instantly, it was done. They dispatched four souls into eternity to meet their Maker. The teams advanced to the outskirts of the compound and awaited the attack order.

They quickly awakened the sleeping soldiers with flashlights shined in their faces. Some of them reacted, but stopped at the captor’s warning. A person from each team, fluent in Arabic, ordered the captured soldiers to remain silent. The Americans rolled them over and they lay face-down to await interrogation.

They moved the heavily guarded prisoners into one tent. One prisoner tried to make a run for it and was shot by one of his captors. They took individually the prisoners from the tent into a tent set up for interrogation. No one revealed anything about the location of the weapon.

Harry’s kit proved useless until finally a soldier, who had become disillusioned with ISIS, cooperated. The cruelty of ISIS and the nonsensical beheading of innocent children at a nearby school contributed to his decision. These beheadings caused him to rethink his loyalty to their cause. He had joined ISIS only because they threatened his family if he did not. In addition, their cruel treatment of followers proved too much for a man with his moral scruples to remain loyal.

The prisoner revealed the location of the entrance to a mine where they hid the primary target. He informed them where they kept the device. They hid it deep inside an old mine tunneled into the mountain, which was no longer in use. He also told them where they posted the guards.

They continued interviewing the remaining soldiers, hiding the fact that the information they received. Hopefully, this would keep the informant from becoming a suspect by his fellows.

As the interrogations continued, George contacted Over-watch and provided the coordinates of the mine’s entrance. Over-watch advised, Roger; we’re zooming in on that area now. There are several roosters guarding the hen house just as you were told. Once again, you will need synchronized firing on these targets in order to gain entrance to the chicken house and fry the egg; over!

Roger! Wilco! Eagle out.

They approached the location of the entrance. George gave the order for teams ‘C’ and ‘D’ to move in. Lieut. Harry Collins led the team ‘C’ forward in the attack. After confirming they identified their targets, he gave the order, Fire. One guard bent over to tie his bootlace as the synchronized firing occurred. Hearing the whiz of the bullet over his head, he forgot about his boot string and began firing wildly. Lieut. Collins lurched forward as he felt a burning sensation in his stomach just below his Kevlar vest. A second projectile struck him on the right side of his chest, spinning him clockwise.

He did not feel the third bullet strike him in the neck. Darkness clouded his consciousness as he fell to the ground. They later discovered a bullet had narrowly missed his carotid artery. He lay there severely wounded; bleeding profusely. His last conscious thought was a prayer, O God, please protect Pam and Tommy. The surrounding skirmish continued as he lay silent, bleeding.

A medic attached to his team saw his comrade fall and rushed to his side. He dragged him by the shoulders behind a boulder, away from the action. He began tending to his wounds. Hurriedly, he bandaged the neck wound. If the bullet which struck him in the chest had penetrated his vest, Harry would have died suddenly. Fortunately, his dog tags, although dented badly enough to obscure some embossed letters and the Kevlar stopped the bullet. The medic thought as he examined Harry, "God was certainly looking out for you today, Lieutenant Collins."

His flashlight blinked as he bound the stomach wound with a compression bandage. In the darkness, the medic continued his work, covering the entrance wound in the front. The gauze wrapping covered the much larger exit wound in the right back.

The medic was busy treating his downed comrade and did not hear the men approach his position. Suddenly, from the darkness, four men rushed in upon them. The medic had no time to yell before they knocked him unconscious with a rifle butt. He lay silent beside Harry. The conflict kept the kidnapping of the two Americans undiscovered by their comrades. Apparently, the captors finally realized it was inadvisable to resist the assaulting soldiers, and the fighting ceased.

The four ISIS captors moved the two unconscious captives to the cave where they were hiding. In the security of a cave a few hundred feet north, they listened as the gunfire continued. It subsided in fifteen minutes as the soldiers inside the mine changed positions and moved to cover further back in the mine.

The attackers flanked the defenders despite the difficulty they had crossing the stream in the darkness. Things quieted when they fired a grenade into the mine entrance. Quiet prevailed except for the commands heard directing team members on the best ways across the stream.

The defending troops finally surrendered. George assigned Team D to escort the captives from the cave to the tents at the landing zone. George placed Guards at the entrance as a search within the mine proved fruitful. They found the superweapon they sought. They hid it in a room several hundred feet inside the mine. Covered by a cameo tarp, it spanned two flat mining trams. The tracks would have made it easy to push it to the entrance, fire it and then return it to the mine.

When the mine was actually being mined, they used the trams for ore removal. It must have been long ago because no bridge or road was clear. ISIS reconditioned the trams so they could easily push them outside.

It troubled George when he learned two of his men were missing. He immediately ordered everyone who was not performing vital tasks to aid in the search for them. In time, he learned one man was his best friend, Lieutenant Harry Collins. The searchers found the spot where the two had lain wounded. Blood stains remained, but there were no noticeable signs of a struggle.

George called for a drone to help with the search. He heard it approaching and listened as it circled the area. After 15 minutes, the drone operator advised he saw nothing that showed the location of the missing men. The drone headed back east, over the mountain to its base.

George busily supervised the placement of explosives on and about the weapon. A soldier back at the landing zone interrupted his work by reporting a vehicle approaching. They spotted the headlights of a truck approaching from a couple of miles down the valley. As the vehicle continued toward their location, George ordered it to stop. Stop it before it reaches the place where the prisoners are being held.

As the vehicle neared an outpost, the guard reported it appeared to be loaded with ISIS soldiers. They are probably relief soldiers. George’s troops tensed in anticipation as the vehicle got nearer.

CHAPTER 2

Home

Afew months earlier, Major George Lee sat in an aisle seat of a 707 jetliner. His dress blues, neatly combed black hair and trimmed mustache made him look quite distinguished and very official. He closed the book he had been reading during the flight. Turning to look at his wife, Laura was sitting beside him. The smell of her golden hair drew his attention. That beautiful blonde hair and those baby blue eyes captivated him. They had done so from the first time he saw her during a chapel service on the Pacific Island. He drew her near and whispered, I love you, Laura; you are so beautiful.

She turned to face him, searching his face, smiled and said, I love you too, you handsome man.

The fasten seat belts sign lit so they fastened in. The flight had been smooth except for minor turbulence near Cincinnati, Ohio.

The Lees entered the terminal happily discussing hopes of a peaceful home life in Camp Whinton. Trenton, New Jersey, was the nearest city to George’s newly assigned command. The camp was to be their home during George’s assignment as commandant there.

Laura waited near the elevator while George went down to pick up their bags. He waited for them to arrive at the baggage carousel. While waiting, he phoned his parents to let them know they safely landed. His mother, Sally, answered with excitement in her voice. Mom told him, We have opened the donut shop we discussed during your visit. If all goes well, we should open it a week from this Friday. Agent Brown, bless his heart, was a tremendous influence on our decision to open it. I don’t know if his CIA bosses would be happy if they found out about all this.

George agreed, but Mom was so excited she interrupted him. She hesitated and then hurried on. She said, Amos and your sister, Charlene, are getting along well. For unknown reasons, Amos returned to Hawaii. Well, I’m glad you got there safely. Oh, there’s Agent Brown and a couple of his men ready to take Dad and me to town. Tell Laura we send our love. Their conversation ended after expressions of mutual love.

George smiled and shook his head as he reviewed the one-sided talk with his mom as the main speaker. He thought, I haven’t seen Mom that excited and happy since Charlene graduated from college.

He started thinking of his sister’s engagement with one of his best friends. His bag’s arrival interrupted his thoughts as they made the circle to where he waited. He picked them up and headed for the elevator.

Laura had finished talking with her family as George exited the elevator with their luggage. They started toward the exit, but stopped and turned at the sound of a familiar voice calling his name. He turned to see Army Lieutenant Harry Collins, along with his family, approaching. They smiled as they greeted the Lees. Welcome to Trenton, Major and Mrs. Lee, Harry greeted.

George smiled as he answered, Hi Harry, I’m so glad you brought Pamela and Tommy along. Hi you guys.

After friendly hugs, Harry made the introductions. Pam, this is Laura Lee, George’s wife. Laura, this is my wife, Pamela. She’s the beautiful lady I told you about. He looked down at his son and said, And this young man is Tommy, our little soldier.

Tommy looked shy as Laura kneeled down and gave him a hug. She looked into his eyes dark brown eyes, Hi Tommy, I’m Laura. Do you remember George? I’m his wife.

Tommy looked at George; puzzled for just a second, brightened and nodded his head, Uh-huh. After another look, he smiled. He then said, You’re the man that played games in the back seat with me when Daddy and Mommy took you somewhere!

That’s right Tommy, Harry said as he beamed.

George walked over and kneeled beside Laura. That’s nice of you to remember me, Tommy. We had fun, didn’t we? Tommy smiled, and nodded his head as he gave George a hug.

Laura smiled as she said, Tommy, you’re so sweet. She glanced at Pam and continued, You must take after your mom’s side of the family. (Harry pretended an indignant look), Just kidding, Harry.

It’s so good to see you again, Laura chuckled as she reached out a hand to Pam, and it’s great to meet you, Mrs. Collins.

Pamela winked at Laura and said, It’s good to meet someone who can see the resemblance between my son and me. Harry excused himself and left to get his vehicle. The rest walked to the passenger pick-up area.

They talked about the flight and a couple of other things. Then Pam said, I know that you two are eager to see your new home. I think you will like it; Harry and I really love our quarters.

Harry soon arrived and got out to help with the baggage. Major Lee, I had your things moved from your BOQ (Bachelor Officers' Quarters) back at Fort Knox.

George thanked Harry as they finished loading. Something dawned on him. Harry, do you have a larger vehicle?

Harry looked at Pam for approval, and then smiled as he answered, Yes, Major Lee.

George stopped Harry. Harry, please call me George.

Harry said, "Yes sir, George. To answer your question, we have a good reason for having a larger vehicle. We purchased it because Pam is