Baily Iverison was enjoying the mild fall weather in his dusty little hometown of Clyde, Texas. It was mid October and a comfortable seventy-four degrees outside, perfect weather to take the top off his jeep and cruise around. The wind blew through his close cropped hair as the bright sun reflected off of his sunglasses, nothing could describe this day short of perfect.
"Hey! Mr. Davison!" he shouted in his southwestern accent, waving at the older man who was out painting the poles that supported his porch roof.
"Howdy there Baily! Good to see you're back in town alive and well!"
The dust brown jeep bumped over the small curb and into a short paved lot of the local convenience store. He twisted the key cutting power to the vehicle and sat for a moment listening to the engine tick as the parts cooled off. The old jeep had gotten him through alot when he was younger, and she still had alot of life left in her because he took good care of her.
Slowly he pulled himself from the side of the jeep and hopped down onto the pavement. The shopkeeper, David Konowski or more commonly known as Davey smiled a warm welcome to Baily. To say this town was small wasn't entirely far from accurate. with only a little over a few thousand people in it, most of the neighborhoods were pretty tight knit.
The chime buzzed as he entered the store "BAILY! HOW THE HELL ARE YA!" Davey shouted happily as he rounded the counter.
"Davey. Doin' good. How's the wife and kid?"
"Still naggin' me to quit drinkin' and still growin' like a weed."
"Hard to believe it's been almost two whole years since I've seen my godson. I'll definately have to stop by and have a couple cold ones with you, catch up on things and see Cheryl and Andy."
"Well dont let me keep ya none,' he said as he returned to the cash register 'can I getcha anything? I'm sure yur wantin' to be gettin' home and relaxin' after that long trip back. Speakin'a which, how long ya'here for?"
"I'll be in town for about a week, I just came to pop in on and say hi before i got settled in, but I guess I will take one of these before I go" he said, grabbing a candy bar.
Just then a loud beeping and buzzing filled the small store, startling the two men. Mumbling under his breath about how he just got here and it being too damn soon Baily silenced his pager and slid out his cellphone, quickly dialing the number he knew by heart.
"Get back to Base. Your team is being deployed alongside Six as Recon/Fire Support. The plane leaves in half an hour, be on it." then the line went dead.
"Take it, on the house. AND COME BACK TO US IN ONE PIECE YA HEAR!?" Davey shouted as Baily sprinted out the door.
You see, Baily isn't your average man, he risks his life so many others can sleep peacefully at night in the comfort of their homes. Baily is a United States Navy SEAL.
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Now herein lies the problem. The airbase that his C-130 was waiting at was about a fifty minute drive at the speed limit from the town. Needless to say he was making good time as the poor jeep cranked out its rpms to hold its pace just under a hundred. This also earned him a few rude gestures and honks as he flew down the interstate, but he paid them no mind. That was until he heard the telltale sound of a siren blare behind him.
Groaning in frustration he pulled the jeep to the shoulder and patiently waited for the officer to take his god damn sweet time to sidle up to the door of the jeep.
"Do you know how fa-"
"Can't say that I do officer. As you see, with all the wind in my face, I was havin' a hard time keepin my eyes from squintin' and I can't right see the spedometer when that happens. Exactly how fast was I goin'?"
"Why you little-"
"Now if you don't mind. I need to be on a plane in the next fifteen minutes, as I have someplace to be, people to kill. now if you'll excuse me-" he said handing a small envelope sized paper over to the officer.
He briefly glanced over the paper that was stamped with the seal of the Department of Defence then looked at the tanned face smiling back at him as the jeep sped off leaving the officer in a cloud of dust and confusion on the side of the desert highway.
Ten minutes later his jeep was rocketing down the side road that went straight to a small gate in an immense expanse of fence. Sliding to a stop he flashed his paperwork at the guards who then lowered the spikes and opened the gates allowing him to speed through.
Making it on the plane with five minutes to spare, he strapped himself in and signaled to the Loadmaster that he was green. The Loadmaster in turn closed the ramp on the back of the behemoth plane and gave the all clear to the pilot to begin to taxi for takeoff once cleared. A few moments later and they were airborne.
Baily always felt strange being the only passenger on such a large plane. Normally there were at least three other men with him, sometimes as many as fifteen but that was rare. He decided now would be a good a time as any to enjoy his candy bar, even if it was half melted from his pocket. After all, it was an hour flight, and he hadn't eaten yet today.
After enjoying the candy bar and licking his fingers clean he let his head rest against the metal behind him, letting the hum and vibrations of the massive turboprop engines lull him to sleep.
