Cartel Hunter

Cartel HunterA ThrillerRobert GolubaEvertouch Publishing Copyright © 2023 Robert GolubaAll rights reservedThe characters and events portrayed in this book are fictitious. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead, is coincidental and not intended by the author.No part of this book may be reproduced, or stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without express written permission of the publisher.ISBN: 978-1-7330513-7-8 (eBook)Edited by Karen SandersCover Design by MiblartSign up for the new release and promotion notification newsletter at: RobertGoluba.com/newsletter/ This book is dedicated to the courageous men and women who serve in the armed forces and the US Air Force Pararescuemen who answer the call to save lives and aid the injured anytime and anywhere. Contents Title PageCopyrightDedicationChapter 1Chapter 2Chapter 3Chapter 4Chapter 5Chapter 6Chapter 7Chapter 8Chapter 9Chapter 10Chapter 11Chapter 12Chapter 13Chapter 14Chapter 15Chapter 16Chapter 17Chapter 18Chapter 19Chapter 20Chapter 21Chapter 22Chapter 23Chapter 24Chapter 25Chapter 26Chapter 27Chapter 28Chapter 29Chapter 30Chapter 31Chapter 32Chapter 33Chapter 34Chapter 35Chapter 36Chapter 37Chapter 38Chapter 39Chapter 40Chapter 41Chapter 42Chapter 43Chapter 44Chapter 45Chapter 46Chapter 47Chapter 48Chapter 49Chapter 50Chapter 51Chapter 52Chapter 53EpilogueAbout The Author Chapter 1Jason Mulder soared over the hostile Afghan landscape prepared to save more soldiers and civilians, unaware that he’d soon be forced to take lives instead.The US Air Force Pararescueman, or PJ, caught an initial glimpse of the carnage on the ground as the pilot maneuvered the HH-60G Pave Hawk helicopter into the canyon and banked. Through the open helicopter door, Staff Sergeant Mulder observed three groups of US Army medics working to stabilize wounded soldiers."I've got eyes on three," Mulder radioed of the three severely wounded men to the pilot and crew from his wireless headset."Roger," the lead pilot responded. He circled the helicopter landing zone or HLZ for a second time within the narrow canyon in northeastern Afghanistan.The HLZ was outside a small outpost of a dozen civilian structures built at the base of terraced farm steppes descending from the foothills of the towering, beige mountains.First Lieutenant Campbell, the combat rescue officer or CRO leading the team of six US Air Force pararescuemen across two helicopters, radioed the tactical operations center thirty miles west at Bagram Air Base. "Final status report?""Three US military. Two with gunshot wounds. One amputee below the knee from an IED. Four deceased civilians. Two are minor children. Over."This was a challenging mission, even for a deployment in Afghanistan. Wounded brothers were bad enough, but dead children tested the limits of how much war a person can stomach.Lieutenant Campbell turned toward Jason and the other PJs on board. "Y'all going to be cool on this one?"Jason replied with a thumbs up as he tightened his Kevlar vest for the hundredth time since they scrambled twenty minutes earlier."Intel said it was going to be hot. Lead team, maintain air support. We'll load all the wounded and transport them to Bagram," Lieutenant Campbell commanded."HLZ has been swept for IEDs but is hot with small arms fire," came from the pilot.Jason felt his heart pounding while he kept his eyes on the bombed-out buildings through the red dot reflex sight of his M-4 rifle. His body tensed at the orange tracers zipping between their helicopter and the ground two hundred feet below, followed by a Kalashnikov rifle report. Before Jason could turn his body and return fire, the right gunner sent bursts from his .50 caliber machine gun into the source of enemy fire. No more shots came from that area."Get us down now," Campbell barked into the headset. The pilot started his countdown twenty seconds later."Five, four, three, two, one, wheels down."Once the dust settled under the slowing rotors of the helicopter, Jason unhooked his safety harness and jumped from the aircraft. Twenty yards out, he took a knee and scanned the structures and hills while Campbell met the medic from the army unit. Once he had the medical reports, Campbell waved four soldiers carrying a stretcher to load the wounded warrior. The army ranger infantryman suffered from a pair of 7.62-millimeter rounds that tore through his triceps and forearm, shattering his ulna bone. After they secured the soldier in the patient bay of the helicopter, a second stretcher with a combat engineer from the 75th Ranger Regiment arrived. His tan desert-camouflaged pants were soaked with blood, and the medic reported he was still bleeding from the slug in his left calf.Four soldiers shuffled the last wounded man, a fire support specialist who’d been on the receiving end of an IED explosion, toward the waiting helicopter. Jason joined the men loading the specialist and saw the tourniquet and bandages above what remained of the soldier's left leg. They loaded their fellow ranger onto the helicopter, and Jason climbed inside. Turning to shut the helicopter door, he saw the dead civilians huddled together near a wall. Jason surmised by the position of the mangled bodies that the father and mother tried to shelter their children from the incoming rounds and shrapnel. He stared at the bodies and noticed movement in one of the buildings. Jason pulled the M-4 rifle slung across his back to eye level. He looked through his sight and observed an elderly Afghan woman clinging to a young girl, maybe eight years old, inside the bullet-ridden walls of the windowless stone structure. Although they were seventy-five yards away, Jason could see blood spatter on their white garments."Three cat alphas aboard and secure," Jason heard on his headset. That was the signal all three severely injured soldiers were ready for transport and he should shut the helicopter door. Jason grabbed the door handle and looked at the woman and child. He thought the woman looked in his direction with eyes that could penetrate the thickest armor.Is she pleading for help?As Jason assessed the situation, he saw movement in the foothills a hundred yards from the structures in the tiny village. Jason recognized the uniforms of two Taliban soldiers descending from positions higher in the foothills toward the row of homes.