Word came down – take out the target before lunch.

I concealed myself behind a large yellow and red dump truck. My team, the best infiltration unit in the Army, was staged all around the hideout. Five minutes until operation execution.

I looked at the compound through my binoculars. It consisted of large logs and poles, tied together with rope. It didn't look too difficult for my team. I called in a two-man minesweeping unit to check the little path leading to the compound. They swept the area quickly, finding nothing dangerous except for a thirty-foot bear. It kept still, so the men retreated and called in the 'no mines detected' secret code.

Still watching the area with my binoculars, I called in ten prone snipers, who quietly slid up to the miniature cars dotting the yard outside the fence. Luck was still on our side; nobody was spotted.

Ten seconds before it was go-time, we got the word to hold. Damn! Lunch was early today. I kept my teams in place, ready to respond in a moment's notice. If this was going to be a waiting game, we could stand here indefinitely until called upon. We were professionals.

The thirty-foot bear seemed to be leaning slightly. I swept the area in front of the monstrosity, and told my radioman to call Watkins and have him withdraw. Neither man was fast enough – the bear toppled, crushing my best sniper with his grotesque fuzzy brown body.

Was this a trick? Did Watkins get caught in a trap? I scanned the compound with my binoculars, and finally saw someone. A blue gentleman, dressed in a cowboy hat and holding up two six-guns, peered over one of the logs. Luckily, I had binoculars and decades of Army training; he didn't stand a chance once we got the word.

Things started getting dark. I looked up and saw incoming air support. Damn that cowboy! He set us up! Before I could shout to the team to run for their lives, I felt the full weight of the Nike aircraft landing on top of me, breaking my ankles and my neck. My team stayed focused on the target, never moving from their positions. Damn, I am proud of my guys. The aircraft lifted off, and I heard a woman's voice calling me to oblivion.


"Billy! I told you not to put your toys in the hallway! I just stepped on one of your stupid army guys and broke him. When you're done with lunch, pick up your crap. I'll throw out the broken army guy holding binoculars."