The Commuter by Liam Saville

Author:Liam Saville
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: free ebook, short, free, free download, short crime story
Publisher: Liam Saville

Tuesday, 3 May, 2011

Role 3 Medical Facility—Kandahar Airfield, Afghanistan

(thirty-six hours after the reported death of Osama bin Laden)

Griffith woke with a blinding headache. He was disorientated and had no idea where he was or how he had gotten there. All he could manage before passing out again was to turn to the person next to him and ask, “Did we get the bastard?”

“Yeah, we got him.” The response came in a crisp, American accent. It was all Griffith heard before passing out again with a smile on his face. It would be another twenty-four hours before he came around again, and when he did his head was a lot clearer.

“Afternoon, soldier,” a familiar voice said beside him.

“Hey, Skipper,” Griffith replied, turning to face Lieutenant White, who was standing beside his bed. “Where am I?”

“You were evacuated back to Tarin Kot, then on to Kandahar,” White said. “The fucking Yanks cocked up. You and Rankin took a hit from a drone a couple of days ago. Sorry to tell you, but Rankin didn’t make it.”

“I remember,” Griffith said solemnly, “but did we get bin Laden?”

“Yeah, a lot’s happened since you’ve been out of it. The SEALs got him in Pakistan a couple of days ago. How’d you know? The doc said you’ve been unconscious almost the whole time.”

“Pakistan? That doesn’t make any sense,” Griffith said, trying to sit up but stopping when he felt a sharp pain in his ribs. “We saw him with a couple of US grunts out in the desert just before we got hit. They were getting into a Humvee.”

“What are you talking about? There weren’t any friendlies out there, just that lone insurgent gunner Rankin took out.”

“Skipper, I’m telling you it was him. I even got a photo through the scope. Pass me the camera from my webbing and I’ll show you.”

“I’ve got all your gear here, Private, or at least what’s left of it.” White held up a large bag and said, “It’s what I came up to collect. I just went through it, and there’s no camera.”

“There has to be. I was using it with the spotting scope.”

“Well, it’s not there now. When you got hit, your shit went everywhere. We tried to get what we could while waiting for the chopper but could have missed it. Don’t worry though; bin Laden is dead. There’s no way you could have seen him in the desert a couple of days ago. You probably just heard it on the TV while you were passed out, and your mind is messing with you.”

“Maybe,” Griffith said, not entirely convinced.

“Just get some rest. You’ll be staying in The Ghan, so you can come back out and join us in a while when you're mended.”

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