Over 16,545,968 people are on fubar.
What are you waiting for?

tjtoaster's blog: "Ranger Down"

created on 09/02/2007  |  http://fubar.com/ranger-down/b123513

Ranger Down #5

He is one of the many nameless, faceless homeless that exist in any major city. However in the few blocks around Harborview he is known as Cardboard. He is dirty, smelly and drug addicted. He is a regular customer in the ER, usually trying to get out of the cold or dry off on a wet night when the rain destroys his house. He got his name from the well thought out cardboard structure that he fashions every night on the stoop of a storefront that doesn’t open until later in the morning, long after he is gone on his daily search for cans. Once again he was turned away for trying to fake symptoms and score some drugs. This day he isn’t trying to get high, he just wants to take the edge off. How can they not understand that? Tonight he is going to teach someone a lesson. There is always a nurse or orderly who sneaks out the back for a cigarette and he is waiting. Raelene is getting off a double shift and just doesn’t have the time or energy to track down or wait for a security person to walk her out to her car. However there is usually a guy out smoking that will be happy to walk her to her car. As she exits the building she sees that there isn’t anyone around. Despite the fact they work in healthcare, nurses and doctors smoke like chimneys. So it is a mild surprise that there isn’t a group gathered. She is just too tired to find someone and heads toward the parking garage, which is where she runs into Cardboard. His primal scream freezes her in midstep, instinctively she pulls her arms up to protect herself and curls her upper body down in anticipation for the impact that never comes. They know they are not supposed to leave their position. They know that they are not supposed to expose themselves, but that bum was acting suspicious. With tours to Iraq and Afghanistan under their belt, they can recognize the look of someone who is going to bring violence upon others. Each one of them joined the Rangers because they wanted to be the best. They joined the Army because they wanted to protect their country. It says right in the oath of service, to defend the country against all enemies, foreign and domestic. And this guy is without a doubt a domestic enemy. They see him sit in ambush and wait for someone to exit the door, as soon as the young nurse walks out he starts to rush forward. At first she is so weary that she doesn’t see the threat, it isn’t until he starts screaming that she knows that she is in trouble. The Rangers are in motion, long before that. Cardboard is rushing forward, ready to take his anger out on an easy target. Then men in dark clothing don’t appear out of nowhere, thye appear out of everywhere. One shields Raelen with his own body, not that he needs to, because before Cardboard can get within striking distance his vision is clouded with a rifle butt to the face. His body doesn’t even hit the ground before there are hands on him. Honestly he isn’t sure what is more frightening, the five men standing over him, the one sitting him, the three barrels in his face, or the knife at his throat. “Are you okay ma’am?” Shaken, she looks around and sees three men standing around her, they all have rifles slung over their back so as to not appear threatening to her, and while none of them look over 22, their eyes are filled with an ageless compassion. She has seen the same look in police and firefighters, it is the look that heroes give to the people they live to safeguard. When she turns to look at Cardboard, one takes her arm and guides her away. “Can we escort you somewhere,” he asks in a kind voice. All she can do is shake her keys and they lead her towards the employee parking area. As soon as they start off two of the men break off, one ahead one behind. They swing their rifles around and pull security as the third leads her away, making sure she doesn’t look back at what his comrades are doing to her would be attacker. The last thing he will remember is a fist coming at him as he hears, “We do NOT hit women.” With all their bravado the members of the Ranger Battalion follow some very specific rules. Abuse of women is something not allowed. The strong protect the weak, and the Rangers are some of the strongest. Not just in body, but in heart and mind. Cardboard will wake up miles away and will be instructed not to go anywhere near the hospital. They will be watching and checking up. “What if I am dying?” “You die.” The man steps into a humvee and drives off. He did not appear to be someone you could negotiate with or who has a better nature you can appeal to. For the rest of his travels, Cardboard never again has line of sight with Harborview Hospital. No one misses him, his absence is noticed, but never missed. He is not the only one who suffers from the Ranger presence. Clint absolutely loves the hospital. The long hours, the shortage of staff, especially security, and the egos of the surgeons which gives them exclusive parking spots and the need to fill them with expensive cars. Clint is making his usual rounds of the hospital parking areas when he sees the new Jag of the Chief of Surgery. This is going to be sweet. While it is a rare car and harder to sell, once he finds a buyer, it will be worth big bucks. The act of trying not to look suspicious is itself very suspicious. Especially when you have people monitoring your actions from the shadows. And while walking from one garage level to the next isn’t unusual, walking up every level and back and forth among the rows can be. Most people would take the elevator if they were going more than one floor in a parking structure. Clint has no idea that not only is he being watched, but that his movements are being reported from one level to the next. This isn’t his first car prowl as the police call it. So he knows what to look for before starting his crime. Once he is sure that there is no one around he pulls out of his pants the tricks of his trade. The lock is popped without incident. Why people have car alarms anymore is still a wonder to him. He can deactivate it in seconds and no one really pays attention to them anyway. But every time one goes off in the car he is breaking into, it makes him smile. Unfortunately that sounds also masks the footfalls of the men rushing up on him. As soon as he gets the alarm silenced he stands up to see if anyone was around to hear. Once he had a staffer asleep in a car nearby and he had to ditch his prize. This time it is much, much worse. Men dressed in the grey, black and white urban camouflage are all around him with guns drawn. Through the face paint he can see them smiling. One slips his rifle behind him and approaches with a gloved hand out. Wordlessly Clint hands him the slimjim and other tools. “You are having a really bad night,” he says as the bag slips over Clint’s head. In addition to chopper pilots, Rangers really like medical personnel. The pilots fly them out of trouble, and the docs patch them up so they can live to fight another day. Stealing from the man who patched up the reason they are all here just isn’t okay. Tonight Clint will see the errors in his way. And tomorrow he will be reformed. It will not be pleasant, but it will be permanent. The security guards, however, love the addition of more bodies to make their lives easier. Some people are difficult to deal with and more people who have your back is always a good thing. In the ER, people can be especially difficult. Screaming at the nurse will not make things go faster, and it forces the security to remain in the area when they could be doing other things, like escorting some of the female staff to their cars. For some reason some people don’t understand that hostility is not the way to communicate with someone who is already overworked, understaffed, and greatly underappreciated. Not only is he not the first person to yell at this nurse, he isn’t the first to yell at her this hour. And if she gives in it will send a message that yelling is the way to get things done and then all hell will break loose. Specialist Bell isn’t happy. His Ranger Buddy is still upstairs recovering. They had gone through Basic Training together, Infantry AIT, and even Airborne School at the same time. It was Bell that talked him into going into the Ranger Indoctrinate Program. Brown had gotten Bell through RIP, and now he is upstairs fighting for his life. Command Sergeant Major Roc had said that Bell can’t suit up until his head is in the right place. So he has been waiting for news. He was talking to one of the injured Rangers disguised in the ER waiting room, but for the last few minutes he has been sitting there with his head in his hands. Most warriors do not like to show weakness and do not respect weakness in others. However, there are times it is okay for a man to break down, and this is one of those times. Out of respect, the other soldiers ignore him. It isn’t a lack of compassion, but this way he doesn’t lose face. If he really needs to break down someone will pull him aside, but as long as he holds it together, he is fine. Tomorrow everyone will act like nothing happened. He may be in the Ranger Battalion, but he is still human. Once again he stands up and goes toward the nurse at the desk. His mannerism is that of a man broken. His posture is slumped and he barely shuffles up to get information on the status of his friend. Since there has been no radio call saying a change of status, his friend is still unconscious. In this case, no news isn’t good news. He stands behind Jake still looking at the floor as Jake continues his tirade. “This is not productive,” he mutters. Through his screaming Jake hears a voice behind him and he turns. Looking down, because he must look down he sees a boy that is just breaking five foot six. Compared to Jake’s six two, he isn’t what one would call intimidating. It isn’t even worth the trouble so Jake turns around, and starts yelling anew. “Stop yelling,” Bell says to the floor. “Or what,” Jake spurts quickly turning and moving close enough for Bell to bump into his chest. “Or I’ll stop you.” There is no malice, there is no emotion, it is just a calm statement. By now he has the full attention of the Rangers in the area. While none of them move, they are very interesting in the outcome. This also sparks the attention of Jakes two brothers-in-law who previously had been tending to their sister. They are comparable in size to Jake, and both know from personal experience that Jake can handle himself. Jake figures he can use the stress relief, so he uses his chest to bump the kid back a step and then cocks back to throw a punch, that is as far as he gets before he can’t breathe. The Rangers are trained in jujitsu in the Gracie system, but the Gracies themselves. All, if any, hand to hand in the military will be down and dirty. You will fight to win, and win quick, or you will die. As soon as Jake opens himself up to hit him, Bell lunges in which will prevent any real damage from a punch, then shoves his hand into Jake’s throat. Jake’s body wants to break the chokehold, and that is its main concern, so he is not ready to for the leg sweep that puts them both on the ground. With one hand Jake tries to open the grip of the young Ranger to provide his body with much needed oxygen, the other is flailing around trying to hit the body on top of him. That arm is quickly locked up and his world is filled with pain. The two brothers stand up and before they can get three steps a man with his leg in a cast impedes their path. “You don’t want to do that,” he warns in a sincere voice. “You want a piece too?” With that Jordan steps aside. He gave them a chance, if they don’t want to listen, at least his conscious is clear. Various men stand up throughout the ER, all wanting to join the fray, but he stops them with a hand. Bell needs this. The only help he gives is to alert his fellow grunt by singing in a high pitched voice, “Belly.” Bell hears his name and turns to see two large men bearing down on him. Instinctively he reaches back and pulls his pistol from his waistband behind him. That stops them in their tracks. Jake is losing consciousness, so Bell finishes him off with a pistol whip to the temple and stands up. Kevin really wasn’t ready for getting a gun pulled on him when he left the party to take his sister to the emergency room. Of course they also thought she had another week before she went into labor. He did what most honest men would do and had to back up his sister’s husband. Jake can be a little abrasive, but he didn’t deserve to have the life choked out of him by some guy. As soon as he sees that they have reconsidered, Bell puts the gun back in his waistband and addresses the two behemoths. “You don’t want this, pick up your friend and leave now.” Once the gun is not in their faces they start to relax. Then Kevin does the math, he knows the distance he has to cover, subtract the distance of his outstretched arms, divide by his top speed and the amount of time he has to accelerate to that speed and Bell has “X” amount of time to pull out that gun to shoot him. If the number is a deficit, Kevin will have his hands on the guy before he can pull the trigger, if the number is a surplus Bell will kill Kevin before he can reach him. That thought takes a split second and Kevin figures he knows the answer. The slight dip in his shoulders before he takes off telegraphs his intention. Bell is of course ready. Unfortunately Kevin’s brother is not, so when he sees his big bro surge forward he is taken by surprise and is a couple steps off. Bell doesn’t go for the gun which is what most are expecting, he slips low and sidesteps Kevin. Kevin’s large body was blocking his brother’s view of the events. So he is startled to see Bell in front of him. Bell knows that he has to end this hard, and fast. While Kevin recovers, his brother gets a kick to knee as he passes. As he drops to the ground Bell is already heading back and drives his forearm into the back of the screaming man’s head. Since he is out of the fight Bell turns his attention to Kevin. “Last chance.” Kevin isn’t one to give up easily, but once again his path is blocked, this time by a very large black security guard. “You are going to have to leave.” The mountain says. “But that guy has a gun,” Kevin pleads defensively. “Do you have a gun,” the man asks without turning. “Nope,” Bell states pulling the pistol from his waistband. “There you have it.” Bell bends down to the slowly recovering Jake and puts the gun in his moth. “You will unfuck yourself or I will unfuck you for you.” No one doubts the truth in his words. “I will not deny any of you treatment if any of you are injured,” the security guard continues, “now can I expect you to play nice with each other?” That is when Jordan circles a finger in the air giving the rally signal. All of a sudden, most of the young men in the vicinity stand up and stand behind Bell. “I think we are okay,” Kevin states as he picks up his brother who is holding his shattered knee and moaning in pain. Jake nods over and over chattering his teeth on the barrel. In movies they like to uncock a pistol by pulling the trigger and using your thumb to slow the travel of the hammer. That is just asking for it to discharge. The safest way to put the Beretta 92 series 9mm pistol into a non-firing mode is to click the safely. In truth it isn’t a safety, it is a decocking lever. And the “click” of the hammer going forward on safe is almost deafening when the gun is still in your mouth. Plus is it some intimidating than the Hollywood way. It does not take long for Jake to collect his wife in the middle of a contraction and help his in laws out the door. “As a trauma hospital Harborview is the best, but I recommend Swedish for the birth of your child,” the security guard calls after them. “Thanks,” Bell says waling back to his seat. “Airborne,” the guard answers. For those close it sounds like Air-born, but for those who know it sounded more like Err-bone. The way that only a true paratrooper says it. “Rangers lead the way,” Bell says smiling. “Hooah.” He was never a Ranger, it wasn’t the life he wanted, but he did spend his first couple tours with the 82nd Airborne. And those that wear the silver wings are all one big family. Just as Bell sits down, Chong goes running past, and taps him on the arm urging him up, “Payback time,” is all he says without slowing. A few short miles away in a dark room the only sound is a young voice reciting: “Gallantly will I show the world that I am a specially selected and well trained soldier. My courtesy to superior officers, neatness of dress and care of equipment shall set the example for others to follow.”
Leave a comment!
html comments NOT enabled!
NOTE: If you post content that is offensive, adult, or NSFW (Not Safe For Work), your account will be deleted.[?]

giphy icon
last post
16 years ago
posts
12
views
3,030
can view
everyone
can comment
everyone
atom/rss

recent posts

16 years ago
Story Update
16 years ago
Ranger Down #7
16 years ago
Ranger Down #6
16 years ago
Ranger Down #5
16 years ago
Ranger Down #4
16 years ago
Ranger Down #3
16 years ago
Ranger Down #2

other blogs by this author

 15 years ago
2009 Random thoughts
 15 years ago
Losing my religion
 15 years ago
Journalism stories
 16 years ago
War on Terror
 16 years ago
Videos
 16 years ago
Recipes
 16 years ago
Stoopid science
 17 years ago
I hate ninjas
official fubar blogs
 8 years ago
fubar news by babyjesus  
 14 years ago
fubar.com ideas! by babyjesus  
 10 years ago
fubar'd Official Wishli... by SCRAPPER  
 11 years ago
Word of Esix by esixfiddy  

discover blogs on fubar

blog.php' rendered in 0.0498 seconds on machine '110'.