was a brief conversation and greetings between the two groups. As soon as it was clear there would be no problems, the helicopter lowered to ground and a large bag, that Shawn guessed was the purified opium he had been told to expect, was loaded on board the helicopter. Shortly afterward, the helicopter lifted into the air and headed back in the direction it came from.
After the exchange, the US soldiers got into their Humvee and drove off back to the base. The Afghans loaded their weapons on the trucks shouting their excitement as they held up their favorite gun to shoot into the air. Bryant had done his job, but he would have to wait until later to make his exit.
At sunset, he pulled back his tarp, brushed it off and rolled it up. He put the tarp, camera gear, and any leftover trash into his pack. He hefted it onto his back and adjusted his helmet. The setting sun was in his eyes when he walked into the desert. As before, he heard the copter coming before he saw it. Soon he was hoisting his gear behind the cockpit and jumping in behind the pilot. He strapped himself in but waited until he could see the lights of Bagram Airfield before breathing a sigh of relief.
Chapter 7
Mission Complete
As soon as he disembarked from the helicopter, Bryant strode toward the barracks, bearing a smile. The mission was successful, not exactly as planned, but it was done. All that remained was to debrief with the commanding officer. Usually, that was left for the mission leader; but in this case, Shawn was the entire mission.
He dropped his backpack by his assigned cot and collapsed on top of the covers. He fell asleep immediately. His sleep was filled with dreams. He was running in a dust storm, and in the distance was a Humvee. The harder he ran, the farther away the Humvee seemed. Finally, there was only sand.
Bryant awoke. Too soon, as far as he was concerned. He had been sleep-deprived for over a week, and reality was beginning to get strange. It had been typical for him to slip into a dream or what seemed like a hallucination. Then he could go on without sleep for a while afterward.
He walked to the head and began to clean some of the dust from his time in the desert. As he splashed water onto his face, he contemplated how he would explain what happened on his mission. He had two compact flash cards full of images of the exchange in Helmand Province. The three men involved had a crate of M4 rifles, and Shawn started taking photos from his hiding place with a 400 mm lens with a 2× tele extender and high-speed camera. He didn’t stop to evaluate what he was photographing. During the mission, he was intent on getting clear photos of the men involved and any identifying information on the vehicles and the helicopter, but he believed he had a detailed documentation of the suspected guns-for-opium exchange.
The walk to Captain Fredericks’s office was short but had seemed too long to Bryant. Despite sitting in a straight-back chair in the waiting area, Shawn nearly fell into a dreamlike state. He nodded and shook himself awake. Soon, soon, he thought, I can get some sleep. I just have to get through this…
There was dust everywhere, blowing into his eyes and uniform—
“Petty Officer Bryant!”
Shawn jerked to the present, feeling totally alien. Third Class Petty Officer Tracy Gibbons announced that Captain Fredericks was ready for him. Slowly and unsteadily, he got up and entered through the open door into the captain’s office.
“Sir!” Shawn acknowledged Captain Fredericks.
“Petty Officer, if you think you can stay awake, you can sit in that chair,” Fredericks said, motioning to the chair on the other side of his desk.
Shawn sat down but remained on the edge of the chair, hoping that this discomfort would keep him awake. He studied the captain, who was moving some papers to the side.
Finally, Fredericks looked at Bryant with calm steel-gray eyes. Shawn took in the familiar visage of the officer. He was heavyset, but it seemed that most of his body was thick with muscles. Shawn guessed correctly that Captain Fredericks did his best to keep his fitness at a high level despite the sedentary nature of his job.
“So fill me in,” Fredericks said. “Tell me first how you think the mission went. Then tell me what information you have for me.”
Bryant described in brief how he had been able to get into position before the exchange and that he had been successful in obtaining photos of the unauthorized drugs-for-guns activity. He pulled out the two memory cards and placed them on the captain’s desk.
“That’s all the photos I took. There’s about a thousand photos per card. I just kept shooting. I didn’t have to change out the cards, so there is no interruption,” he explained. Bryant added that the second card was used for video, as well as still photos.
“That’s perfect, Corporal,” Fredericks said. “So tell me what you saw,” he continued.
Bryant described the scene. He noted that the exchange was between three Afghans in tribal clothing and two white men in civilian clothing. He added that the two men appearing to be civilians moved like military men. He thought they wore bulletproof vests. Each carried a pistol at their hips. He explained that the “civilians” seemed familiar with the Afghan tribal men, but he thought that would be clear in the photos and videos.
Captain Fredericks called Petty Officer Gibbons into his office and instructed her to set up the photos on a laptop. A few minutes later, she returned and set it up for Bryant and Fredericks to view the photos. They spent nearly an hour going over the photos, and several times, Fredericks nodded as though it was what he expected.
Eventually, Captain Fredericks stopped the process and closed the laptop.
“I will get some people in communications to look at these and do some enhancements.” He studied Shawn for a moment then said, “Sailor, you need some sleep. So get yourself back to the Marine barracks and get some shut-eye. I want you here by 0800 tomorrow.”
Shawn’s head had barely hit the pillow before he was snoring. The dream returned.
The closer he got to the Humvee, the deeper it was engulfed by the desert. When it disappeared into the sand, he felt a tug, and he began to sink into the sand too.
It was 1400 hours when Shawn crashed on his cot. At 0435 hours, he awoke with a start. It was dark out. Some distant security light shone through the small window of the K-Span structure. At first, he thought he was back in his cell, but then the events of the past week came rushing back into his mind. Despite sleeping for over fourteen hours, he felt a rush of exhaustion. He remained in his bunk for nearly two hours, running through his time in the desert and occasionally reflecting on his time in the brig.
Finally, he arose and prepared for the day. He didn’t have a clean uniform but was able to shower. He arrived at Captain Fredericks’s office a few minutes before he was expected but had to wait for about twenty minutes before being escorted into his office.
“I have a few things to go over with you,” Fredericks said as he pointed to the chair from the day before.
Fredericks moved around to the same side of the desk and rotated the laptop to face them. He questioned Shawn on a few particulars, then stopped the process and closed the computer.
“Let me change the conversation, Petty Officer Bryant.”
Captain Fredericks paused to reflect the change in focus. “I have information that you have at least one important email for you to read today. I have arranged
