The Amulets of Power III the Kennedy Wars Part 2Chapter 14
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Soon the only ones left there in the mess hall were the CO, Sawyer, Barlow, Morris and me. We all had a second beer.
“What the hell is causing these ‘Ammunition Malfunctions’, as everyone is calling them?” the CO asked of no one in particular.
“Sir, it has to be sabotage. That much explosive just doesn’t go off by itself. Even if someone were careless, it wouldn’t set off everything like that and apparently at the same time. Although how a saboteur could arrange it all to go off at the same time is beyond me,” Sgt. Morris said.
“And what killed all of those people in the 7th Battalion?” Sawyer asked.
“It could have been lightning, but it would have had to have been the granddaddy of all lightning storms. That column was a good 500 meters long,” Sgt. Barlow told him.
“Any idea where they were headed?” the CO asked.
“HERE!” both Morris and Barlow answered immediately.
“There were maps in the papers we recovered from the 7th Battalion Command Group. They showed the artillery positions, the route the sappers were to take and the infantry attacking up both saddles while the sappers came up the side slopes,” Barlow said.
“Just damn,” the CO said in wonder. That was when I had to put my big foot in my mouth.
“Sir, remember what Suenee told you shortly after she arrived, ‘the Amulets are the ones that stopped the mortar attacks and have eliminated the threat that was coming here to assault your camp. Your people will report tonight just how thoroughly that threat was eliminated’, “ I quoted.
“Are you into spirits and ghosts like the local people, Baker?” the CO demanded.
“No, sir, but everything that Suenee has told me since we met has come true. There has to be something behind that,” I said.
By now it was 2400 hrs. and we all began the moved over to the commo bunker. I checked that the generator had enough fuel for at least another hour and went in and turned the radio on. It immediately started spitting out code. I grabbed a pencil and pad of paper, and started recording what was coming through. I was on my second sheet of paper when the CO came in. I passed the first sheet to him and continued to copy down the message. I handed off each sheet as I finished it. It was almost 0030 hrs before I was done. The CO hadn’t said anything while I was working, but had handed the pages to Sawyer as he finished reading them.
“Just damn,” was all he said, as I handed him the last sheet.
“Shit!” was all Sawyer said as he finished reading them. “It must have been the same thing all along the border. The NVA must have started a major offensive and from this it doesn’t look like they got very far with it.”
“Yes,” the CO replied. “That’s from the Navy to the 46th in Lop Buri. How the hell did we get it, Baker?”
“It just started coming through when I turned the radio on, sir,” I answered.
“Were you set up for code on SSB?” he asked.
“No, sir. When I turned it off before, it was set for FM voice,”
“Then how the hell did we get this?” he demanded, confused.
“I have absolutely no idea, sir,” I answered, just before my amulet warmed up.
“Well, at least you didn’t try to blame it on jungle spirits,” the CO answered with a bit of a smile. By now it was 0030 and I re-tuned the radio to the correct FM band, which was clear.
“Tasty Rabbit, Tasty Rabbit, this is Golden Badger 3 Zulu, over.”
“Golden Badger 3 Zulu, this is Tasty Rabbit 3, go.”
“Tasty Rabbit 3 this is Golden Badger 6,” the CO transmitted and gave a short concise report on the activities of the two patrols.
“Badger 6 this is Rabbit 3. There will be a flight in thirty-six hours that will pick up reports from all of our border posts. Have your reports ready when he lands. Include the film and all of the intelligence data that was found for analysis here. Do you copy, over?”
“Roger, Rabbit 3, we’ll have everything ready when they arrive. Anything else for us, over?”
“Badger 6, don’t repeat this but it looks like the NVA have launched a major push to clear the border of all obstructions, and so far it hasn’t gone very well for them. We are still waiting for reports from 5th Group in Da Nang, but it appears that it started at pretty much the same time all along the border with pretty much the same results as yours, and we don’t have a clue how it went wrong, over.”
“Rabbit 3, my people are blaming it on ‘Ammunition Malfunctions’, but have no idea how they occur, over.”
“Badger 6, that’s better than some of the reports that we have received that blame it on the jungle spirits. Rabbit 3 out.”
The CO looked startled on hearing that and just stood there for a few seconds.
“Maybe I should have a talk with your girlfriend, Baker. But let’s make it tomorrow. It’s much too late tonight for that,” the CO said, as he looked around the bunker. “Where is Sgt. Meadows?”
“I believe he is over in Tweed’s bunker, sir. He said commo was going to be too noisy tonight to get any sleep,” Sawyer informed the CO.
“Yes, I can believe that. Well, no one is out on patrol and we aren’t expecting anyone for a while, at least not until daylight. Go ahead and close it down until the morning,” the CO advised.
I turned off all of the radios and then the generator. I ran into Tweed on guard on the way to my bunker.
“You finally get done?” he asked.
“Yes,” I answered.
“Meadows is over in our old bunker. He said it was too busy in commo to sleep.”
“Yes, we’re off the air now until the morning. I’m going to try to get some sleep before I go on guard,” I told him.
I found Suenee asleep when I got to the bunker and crashed on my own cot without waking her. There had just been too many things going on today for us to have any time together. Hopefully tomorrow would be better. I was asleep about two seconds after hitting the air mattress.
It seemed like I had just lain down when Sawyer was shaking my shoulder.
“Come on young Troop, it’s time for guard,” he was saying as I came to. God, I felt like shit. Oh well, I had felt worse. Not in a long time but definitely worse - it had been in Ranger School.
I got up, tightened my belt, put on my shirt, grabbed my rifle and followed Sawyer out.
“This hasn’t been any fun for the girls,” Sawyer confided to me as we started our inspection. He took the perimeter on our right side and I took the left side. We started at the rear gate and met later at the front gate.
Things were very quiet and had been all night. Many of the men greeted me as I passed their positions and they seemed genially happy to see me. The sun finally came up at 0600 hrs. and guard was over. I went to the bunker and woke Suenee for breakfast.
“Did you get any sleep, my Bill?” she asked, “You look very tired.”
“I got a couple of hours,” I told her. “After breakfast, I’ll get some more.”
After breakfast, I went to shave and shower. Suenee joined me and was delighted with the heated water, even though there wasn’t a lot of it. She had put on a sarong when we stopped at the bunker to get soap, towels and other things. She had a bucket and a small bowl that one of the women had given her and took a shower from it with out removing her sarong. She used the towel to dry off and wrapped it around herself. She then helped me to shower. I had shaved while she showered.
By the time we got back to the bunker, I was wasted and hit the cot for some much needed sleep. Suenee woke me just before noon. I felt a lot better and was ready to face the new day now.
“We should go to eat. Your Captain will want to talk to me shortly,” Suenee told me.
“How... ?” I started, but stopped as I realized the answer. “Your amulet told you,” I stated.
“Yes, of course. They tell me everything,” she said with a smile. Sure enough during lunch Sawyer came over to where we were eating.
“Yes, I know,” Suenee told him before he could say anything. “I will go to meet with him in Operations as soon as we finish eating.”
“How does she do that?” Sawyer asked, puzzled. I had no answer, and Sophie came over to drag him over to another table to eat.
“He’s so cute when he’s upset,” Suenee said with a giggle. ‘Cute?’ - Sawyer!! She had to be kidding.
We were soon finished eating and headed over to Operations. I didn’t have a good feeling about this, but noticed that my amulet was warm again. It had only done that when things were OK. I stopped worrying then - some anyway. The CO was waiting for us when we came in.
“Good day, Miss Suenee. The reason I asked you to come here... !!” he started.
“Was to ask me how I know about things that happened before I came here and also before they happen,” Suenee finished.
“Yes!!” the CO answered, obviously surprised.
“The answer is simple. My amulet tells me,” Suenee stated.
She then went into an explanation of the Amulets of Power and the role they had played in Thai history. How they had influenced Thai rulers and helped to defeat Thailand’s enemies. She also told us that the Amulets didn’t like the North Vietnamese Communists at all and were the ones that were causing them so much trouble on the borders. Not just here but all along the Thai border with Laos and the South, the Amulets were helping in the fight against the North.
Similarly, they also guarded Thailand’s northern border with China, who was in league with the North Vietnamese and the rest of the border with Laos in the north. They also guarded the southern border with Malaysia and the one with Cambodia. It was apparent that the CO had a very hard time believing this. That was when Suenee put her latest prediction on the table.
“Tonight at 2100 hrs. there will be a very large explosion visible. The North Vietnamese have a large supply base at Attapu in Laos. There will be an ‘Ammunition Malfunction’, as your people call it there tonight.” She then gave the exact compass bearing that we were to watch.
To say that the CO was skeptical would be putting it mildly. He was sure that Suenee was putting him on.
“We’ll see,” was all that he said, however, and we were dismissed after that. I went over to commo from Operations. Meadows was there.
“There isn’t anything going on,” he told me. “Take some time with your girlfriend and relieve me after chow tonight.”
“Your Captain, he doesn’t believe me,” Suenee told me on the way to our bunker. “He will learn tonight.”
“Were you serious about that explosion?” I asked.
“Yes, the North Vietnamese have a very large base there. It is where things are sent to the South from to be used in the war. There are many warehouses and other facilities located there. Also there are many soldiers. I feel sorry for the soldiers, but their leaders should not oppose the Amulets.
“Their leaders have been warned, but have paid no attention. They threw the one that brought the warning in prison. She was there for less than a minute after they closed the cell door before the Amulets returned her to their Wat near Bangkok. The authorities in Hanoi were greatly disturbed by that. That is why they have launched these attacks. They cannot fight the Amulets, however. They are everywhere and know their plans as soon as they are made. The Amulets can do many things that men cannot,” Suenee assured me.
As soon as we entered the bunker, Suenee came into my arms.
“Oh Bill, I feel so badly about all of the people that have died already and those that will die soon. Love me to help me forget them for a little while at least,” she pleaded.
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Characters introduced in Chapter 5 “The A Team”: SFC Meadows -Senior radio man SFC Morris and SSG Hadley - Heavy and light weapons SSG Tweed -Engineer and demolitions SFC Walls and SSG Johnson - Medics SFC Barlow and SSG Engles - Intelligence Captain Warren and 1st Lieutenant Sykes - Commander and XO MSG Sawyer - Operations and Team Sergeant The Thai Special Forces (TSF) Team: 1st Lieutenant Tamusarit - Commander Sergeants Mon and Thu - TSF NCOs The airfield was still on a...
It was 1300 hrs before the chopper was ready to go. “Funny,” the Operations Sergeant told us, “that bird came limping in early this morning, but maintenance couldn’t find anything wrong with it, and they went over it with a fine tooth comb. They even took it for a test flight. Nothing - not a glitch to be seen, behaved like a perfect lady. Anyway, you’re ready to go. They’ll be on the pad out front in five minutes. They’re refueling now.” The CH-47 that landed a short time later was painted...
At the bunker, I found Suenee already in a discussion with a group of the local women. I didn't know what work she kept referring to, but it apparently involved a lot of discussions with the other women. I tried to get my shaving gear as quietly as possible so as not to disturb them and went to shave before the hot water was used up. After shaving and putting my things up, I went in search of something to do as Suenee was still talking to the group of the local women. Actually, preaching...
The following characters are seen in the first two chapters: Sgt. Bill Baker Radio Operator, 5’-10” tall, 170 pounds, 24 years old, Auburn hair, Hazel eyes MSG Sawyer Team Sergeant, 6’-6” tall, 265 pounds, 42 years old, black hair, brown eyes Suenee Sa Bill’s girlfriend, 5’-2” tall, 108 pounds, 34C-23-35, 21 years old, brown eyes, long black hair, oval face, very cute Sophie MSG Sawyer’s girlfriend, 5’-10” tall, 140 pounds, 38C-25-37, 25 years old, brown eyes, long black hair The...
The following new character appears in this chapter: Prince Krom Luang Wongsa Dhiraj Snid Thai Physician and Diplomat, 49th son of King Rama II, 5’-7’’ tall, 165 pounds, 47 years old in 1855, a receding hair line going gray and brown eyes As we neared the camp headquarters building, we could see a very impressive looking coach parked outside of it along with a number of horses that were larger than the normal Thai horses. We also saw that their tack appeared to be of very expensive...
At home that evening, I gave Tweed a general outline of what went on during our meeting with Colonel Page. I didn't disclose what was in the letter or who it was from, as the Major had asked me not to. "So what did you do all day besides wait for us to get back?" I asked, as I finished my explanation. "Oh, I spent some very informative time with Sergeant Daniels. I originally went to see him to find out what he might have of local interest. I got more than I bargained for," Tweed told...
The following new characters appears in this the last chapter: Sisuda Captain Prawit's future wife, 5'-2'' tall, about 100 pounds, 32B-21-30, 20 years old, long black hair, brown eyes Master Sergeant Sunsarn Master Sergeant 1st Class, Custodian of the Ranger Museum, 5'-7'' tall, 140 pounds, 48 years old, black hair going gray, brown eyes Ratana Sunsarn's wife, a descedant of the original Ratana, 5'-2'' tall, 112 pounds, 34C-24-34, 42 years old, long black hair, brown...
"Sergeant Baker, you and Sergeant Tweed see me immediately after we all check in!" the Major said in a strained voice when he had recovered from the sight of Suenee and Phesila standing outside the hotel with our children. Captain Tamusarit had already walked over to Suenee and greeted her and Phesila with a traditional Thai greeting. "Sawat Dee krup," he said with a smile, as he waied. "Sawat Dee ka," both women replied with a wai and a smile. "It is good to see you again, Suenee...
The following new named character appears in this and other chapters: Sergeant Chuang The Sergeant from Sonsri's guard detail, 5'-6'' tall, 125 pounds, 30 years old, brown eyes, black hair I led the horses back to the open shed-like structure where the water buffalo had previously been kept. One glance inside convinced me that it was not ready for the horses to occupy it. I unsaddled them and took the saddles to the area under the house where they would be dry and reasonable cool...
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Starling had left Operations when I returned, but was soon back with the pieces of his Army Green Class A uniform. Suenee took them and placed them on the chair that she had been sitting on. "I will have these ready when you come on payday for your wedding," she told him. As quietly as she had spoken, the Major had picked up on it, and turned to look at both of them. "What wedding?" he asked. "Sergeant Starling and my student, Noon, will be married on payday when he returns to Chiang...
The following new characters appears in this and other chapters: Ronnaring Corporal, Clerk, Ranger Trainee, 5'-4'' tall, 120 pounds, 24 years old, black hair, brown eyes Kwaikai Lance Corporal, Clerk, Ranger Trainee, 5'-3'' tall, 117 pounds, 22 years old, black hair, brown eyes Jatuporn Sergeant, Ranger Trainee, 5'-6'' tall, 130 pounds, 31 years old, black hair, brown eyes Prawit Wongsuwan Captain, Ranger Trainee, 5'-4'' tall, 140 pounds, 32 years old, black hair, brown...
The following new characters appears in this and other chapters: Kampon Sukondhapatipak Senior Colonel, Royal Siam Army, 5'-8'' tall, 175 pounds, 48 years old, black hair with a touch of gray, brown eyes Werachon Adireksombat Major, Royal Siam Army, 5'-9'' tall, 165 pounds, 34 years old, black hair, brown eyes "What have you done NOW?" the Governor roared rising from his seat upon seeing us in the doorway, again without so much as a Sawat Dee or a wai. "Several of the...
The following character appears in this chapter and the remainder of the story: Chatchai Sarikalya Lieutenant, a tall thin young Officer, 23 years of age, one of the Platoon Leaders The roosters were very vocal again this morning, and we were up early. On arriving at our area on the camp, I found far fewer men there today than yesterday. Still there were a number of them there and the Sergeants already had them in groups of ten, but hadn't started any processing yet since I had all of...
We continued until about noon. The cart only made three or four miles an hour where the road was in good condition, which wasn't always the case. There were a few places where it was so bad that we had to get out, and push the cart from the back while Ute encouraged the buffalo from the front. Thankfully those places were few, but less bad spots than that were frequent. Around noon, Ute pulled the cart off the road, and under the shade provided by some tall trees and stopped. "We stop...
On returning home on Saturday afternoon after the briefing and the meeting in the backroom of the club, Suenee announced that she, Phesila, and the children would be leaving on Tuesday, the 14th, for Chiang Rai by train. "By train!?" I asked, shocked. "Yes, there is a train to Chiang Mai that we can take from here in the afternoon. We will go as far as Lampang on it. It will be morning when we arrive there. There is a local train that goes from Lampang to Chiang Rai on Monday, Wednesday...
We left the hotel following that for a restaurant which turned out to be the largest and most expensive one in Pak Chong. It was certainly more impressive than the places where we had eaten previously. The building was masonry with a wooden second story. There were many types of meat on display such as roast chicken and duck, there was red barbecued pork cooking over coals still. Just the smells were delicious. There was also the smell of freshly cooked rice and the other items being...
Mr. Giles had asked Kennedy if she would drive; what started out as a favor became the thing to do as they drove across the US. Day and night seemed meaningless. Mr. Giles wanted to stop for gas only; Kennedy was amused that he had no problem with her using her debit card to pay for it. If you needed something to eat or a comfort stop, you rushed inside and did whatever business it was that you had to do. The two other girls were English and half the time their conversation seemed...
Kennedy tried not to let her chest stick out. It was, she thought, just a small embarrassment, but it was an embarrassment nonetheless. At barely thirteen she looked only slightly more like a woman than she had at ten or twelve. She'd grown a foot, true enough. Her breasts were now visible -- at least to her mother, who'd insisted on dragging Kennedy to Macy's to buy bras. Afterwards, Kennedy was struggling with the changes to her body and the only advice in her universe was coming from...
Kennedy trailed her oars in the water. Behind her Marian was still breathing hard after their latest run. "That was nice," Marian said, catching her breath. "It was," Kennedy agreed. They'd worked out signals so that Marian could be ready when Kennedy changed pace. The coaches were still having cat fits about Marian not matching Kennedy stroke for stroke, but the "slow it down" admonishment was never going to fly as good coaching advice. "Kennedy," Marian started to say. Kennedy...
Kennedy straightened out from the curve and set her car in line for the next corner. That another car, drifting along behind her, had to make the choice between hitting her or backing off made no mind to her. She set up easily for the corner, drifted around it, then accelerated away, now far ahead of the next nearest car. A few seconds later she took the checkered flag. Only two laps, but hey, a race is a race! Winning wasn't just anything, it was everything! She loved driving these...
The next morning Kennedy was waiting for Mr. Glastonbury when he came into the practice room. "Sir," Kennedy asked diffidently, "did a Slayer die last night?" He looked at her curiously. "Yes. The Watchers Council let me know early this morning. Why?" "I felt her die. It was like I was her. Then I was in this other place..." "They would have told me if you'd been Chosen," Mr. Glastonbury mused aloud. "I think I was only half-chosen, sir. Some black woman, I mean, she was...
Kennedy finally let go of Ruby's cold hand and stood up. Pipes was crouched next to his wife, doing what Kennedy had been doing -- crying and holding her hand. She looked around the room. Victoria was being sick in a corner, heaving over and over again, uncontrollably. Harriet was pale and trembling, sitting next to her mother, who must have fainted, as she was lying on the ground. Mr. Glastonbury was standing with a phone in his hand, talking into it. She curled her lip in distaste....
The next morning seemed to dawn unusually early, and it was only because Kennedy hadn't done anything strenuous that she was awake when Amy knocked on the door to their room. The two of them joined a half dozen others, including Cindy. Kennedy laughed at Cindy's backpack. "Is it still full of rocks?" "Five more pounds than last year." Several of the girls hefted Cindy's pack and shook their heads in wonder. It was a good workout and Kennedy and Amy were back in the cabin before any...
Kennedy kept busy during the summer, trying not to think about the camp she couldn't attend or the friends she couldn't see. Twice she went to play poker in Manhattan with Pipes and the others, each time using a different route, a different way to get there. It was a little like being grounded, but this was by her own choice. Instead of doing what she truly wanted, she buried herself. She worked out, she studied, she read books for pleasure, and she watched TV more than she ever had...
Kennedy got another hour of sleep before it was time to get up, but she was awake when Amy came to wake her. They showered again, both holding each other's eyes. "I was scared the other night," Amy told Kennedy. "Scared for you. I saw you stagger. I thought you were shot." "It was a dart from a tranquilizer gun. It didn't work." "I don't pretend to understand what went on, after that. I saw you standing there, so brave... but so alone. I wanted to run out and grab you and drag...
Kennedy stood in line for the busses once again. Deja vu, right? She smiled to herself. Last year she had tried to show herself as brimming over with self-confidence, while in reality she was terribly shy and nervous. Well, summer camp had fixed all of that. To make her day perfect, she saw Ferinc with a girl in tow. The girl was supposed to be twelve now, but she looked more like eight or nine. Ferinc didn't hesitate about cutting in the line. He went right up to Kennedy and presented the...