Chapter 47

Apache Down (1)

Tap, tap, tap—

"···Ahem."

Tap, tap, tap— Tap, tap, tap, tap—

"···."

Bong-tae's leg bounced up and down incessantly in the passenger seat. Nam Gi-baek, who was driving the two-and-a-half-ton truck, finally tapped Bong-tae's knee with the back of his hand.

"Platoon Leader. I can't concentrate."

"···Fuck."

Bong-tae sighed and stopped bouncing his leg. But this time, he began moving the fire selector of his K2C1 up and down, making it click repeatedly. Nam Gi-baek simply gave up.

Click. Click. Click.

At some point, Nam Gi-baek had taken over all the driving duties for 2nd Platoon's vehicles.

The two-and-a-half-ton truck was a medium-sized military vehicle. Even if someone had obtained a driver's license as a civilian, they couldn't drive military vehicles. They needed a military driver's license issued by the Transportation Training Regiment.

Strictly speaking, Nam Gi-baek, who held an ordinary Class 2 driver's license, was violating regulations simply by getting behind the wheel. But nobody cared about such things now. Besides, Nam Gi-baek was quite good at driving the truck.

Nam Gi-baek glanced at Bong-tae.

"Didn't you say you weren't nervous?"

"I'm not. My mind is as calm as a lake right now."

"I'm sure it is."

The three two-and-a-half-ton trucks sped toward northwestern Namyangju.

The roads were a mess. Abandoned vehicles and chunks of concrete were scattered haphazardly across the roadway.

Whenever he encountered an obstacle, Nam Gi-baek cursed and roughly turned the steering wheel.

"Fuck! Goddammit!"

"···."

"Wh-what?"

"Just thinking you've got quite a way with words."

Bong-tae looked at Nam Gi-baek with fascination. He had been one of the quieter soldiers in Headquarters Company. Bong-tae couldn't even remember hearing him swear before.

He vaguely recalled hearing that some people's personalities changed when they got behind the wheel, but he'd never imagined Nam Gi-baek would be one of them.

Exactly two minutes after they set off toward the operational area, dull explosions from every direction began rattling the truck's windows.

It was the sound of the 8th Division's main force clashing with the North Korean main force in western Namyangju. The thunder of tank main guns, shells falling and smashing things apart, and the shouts of friendly and enemy soldiers mingled chaotically, filling the world.

The 33rd Battalion's destination was slightly removed from the center of that battle. The helicopter had crashed about four or five kilometers north of the main battlefront.

The possibility of encountering the North Korean mechanized units positioned around Taereung head-on was extremely low.

Instead, additional enemy forces moving south from Uijeongbu and remnants of North Korean troops hiding throughout Namyangju were attempting to surround the downed helicopter.

The first unit to reach the helicopter was the 113th Infantry Battalion, subordinate to the 61st Mechanized Infantry Brigade.

They had succeeded in reaching the vicinity of the helicopter, but North Korean soldiers emerging from buildings in every direction and intense enemy fire from the front had pinned them down before they could even begin a proper rescue operation.

Staff Sergeant Kim Hong-je and Lieutenant Colonel Choi Pil continued exchanging radio transmissions, updating their operational information. It was crucial for the 33rd Battalion to reach the crash site before the friendly infantry battalion and the pilots were completely surrounded.

RATATATAT! RATATAT!

BANG! BANG! BANG!

"We're close."

"···Yes."

Continuous gunfire rang out. Not far away, someone was engaged in a fierce exchange of fire. Bong-tae swallowed hard.

The two-and-a-half-ton truck carrying 1st Platoon at the front accelerated further. Staff Sergeant Kim Hong-je issued orders to 2nd Platoon over the radio.

- Take the alley on the left, then turn right! It'll be straight ahead!

- Yes!

- We'll circle around from the right and enter! I can't designate your deployment positions in detail! Find somewhere safe and deploy your men!

- Yes! Understood!

Nam Gi-baek, who had been listening to Bong-tae's radio, bit his lip.

"W-where should I stop?"

"What do you mean, stop? Keep pushing forward!"

"···What?"

"Get us as close to the helicopter as possible!"

"···I knew you'd say that."

Nam Gi-baek glanced at Bong-tae. His eyes were darting around wildly again. His leg had stopped trembling. His breathing had grown so rough that even Nam Gi-baek could hear it.

Nam Gi-baek had seen that expression on Bong-tae's face several times already. Here we go again. The Bong-tae virus was acting up.

Nam Gi-baek pressed the accelerator hard. A fragment flying from somewhere struck the roof of the driver's cab.

Clang!

"Fuck!"

Nam Gi-baek was so startled that his backside nearly left the seat, but the truck swiftly slid into the alley on the left.

The soldiers riding in the cargo bed let out small screams. Shouts came from behind.

"Hey! Nam Gi-baek! Drive properly!"

"Do you even have a license?"

A thick vein bulged on Nam Gi-baek's forehead. He shouted so fiercely that spittle flew onto the window.

"Shut your fucking mouths! If you don't like it, drive yourselves!"

"Hey···. I'm still your senior, you know···."

"I need to concentrate!"

SCREEEEEECH!

The truck swayed violently from side to side again.

#

The alley was extremely narrow. Nam Gi-baek was driving at more than seventy kilometers per hour through a passage barely wide enough for the two-and-a-half-ton truck to fit. Bong-tae swallowed hard. He gripped the handle above the door tightly with both hands.

THUD! THUD!

Trash cans placed along the alley were struck by the truck and sent flying in every direction. Bong-tae shouted loudly toward the soldiers in the cargo bed.

"Hey! Got any smoke grenades?"

"Yes! How many?"

"How many do we have altogether?"

Hwang Gi-tae began counting the platoon members' smoke grenades while the truck was moving.

"Six!"

"Set them all off as soon as we arrive!"

"Where should we throw them?"

"Just throw them anywhere!"

Nam Gi-baek turned the steering wheel to the right. The truck rocked like a ship caught in a violent storm.

SCREEEEEEEECH!

The friction between the tires and the road produced a horrible sound that made them want to cover their ears. Second Platoon's truck shot out of the alley.

Ahead of the truck stretched a two-lane road, wide enough for the vehicle to travel along without difficulty.

Two-story detached houses and three- or four-story commercial buildings stood densely packed on either side. At the far end of the road, the enormous silhouette of an Apache helicopter was visible.

"Hey! Over there!"

"Yes!"

BANG-BANG! BANG-BANG! BANG-BANG!

Gunfire began striking 2nd Platoon's truck as well. Sparks flew from various parts of its thick steel body.

"Fuck!"

"Hey! They're shooting at us!"

"Keep your heads down!"

Just then, a North Korean soldier suddenly emerged onto the road from behind the wall of a gas station. Holding a Type 88 assault rifle, he began spraying bullets toward the driver's cab.

RATATATATAT! RATATAT!

CRASH!

The window shattered instantly, and bullets poured into the cab. Bong-tae let out a short scream and ducked.

"F-fuck! That son of a bitch! N-Nam Gi-baek! Keep your head down!"

"How am I supposed to duck while driving?"

But Nam Gi-baek didn't take his foot off the accelerator. Instead, he pressed it harder. He turned the steering wheel toward the path of the North Korean soldier, who was trying to retreat behind the wall after firing, and drove the truck straight at him.

SCREEEEEECH!

THUD!

The North Korean soldier's body disappeared beneath the truck. They felt the enormous vehicle lift ever so slightly. The soldier was crushed beneath the truck's wheels and died instantly without even managing to scream.

CRUNCH! CRACK!

"AAAAAGH!"

Nam Gi-baek screamed as though having a seizure. The sensation of a soft human body being crushed beneath the heavy wheels had traveled directly into the driver's cab.

"Fuck! Goddammit! Motherfucker! That felt fucking horrible!"

"Hey! Hey! G-good job! Just keep going!"

"Ugh···. Fuck!"

The crash site came into view before Nam Gi-baek and Bong-tae. A half-destroyed helicopter had come down against the corner of a large two-story country house with a garden.

Beneath the aircraft, one pilot had barely managed to escape and was hiding behind the helicopter for cover. He appeared to be injured somewhere, as the front of his flight suit was soaked in blood.

The problem was the other pilot. He was still inside the aircraft. His head hung forward, his face buried against the instrument panel. He was clearly unconscious.

They could also see the infantry battalion that had been deployed earlier. Its soldiers were scattered and pinned down in residential alleys several dozen meters from the helicopter. The North Korean soldiers had occupied rooftops and windows overlooking the crash site and were pouring down gunfire.

Although the North Koreans didn't have an overwhelming numerical advantage over the infantry battalion, their positions were vastly superior. Anyone attempting to move from the alleys toward the helicopter would immediately come under concentrated fire.

Inside the two-and-a-half-ton truck, Staff Sergeant Kim Hong-je's eyebrows drew together into a V. This was a mission the 33rd Battalion had never undertaken before. Their highest priority wasn't defeating a defending enemy force, but rescuing the pilots.

With a fixed position they absolutely had to protect, the 33rd Battalion, which had primarily relied on superior mobility to surround and annihilate enemies until now, would undoubtedly find itself in an unfamiliar combat environment.

Staff Sergeant Kim Hong-je was worried about whether the 33rd Battalion, especially the members of 2nd Platoon, could handle it.

BANG! BANG! BANG!

RATATATAT! RATATATAT!

The North Korean soldiers resumed their concentrated fire. Gunshots came from so many locations that it was impossible to identify individual firing positions.

This time, their concentrated fire wasn't directed at the infantry battalion but at the helicopter. Dozens of bullets struck the helicopter's fuselage, throwing off sparks.

"Fuck! The helicopter's getting torn apart!"

"Can you get us right beside it?"

"I'll try!"

Bong-tae pointed toward the area directly in front of the house.

"Yeah! Stop right in front of that wall—"

"I'll just ram through it!"

"What···?"

VROOOOOOM!

The truck raced toward the front of the country house. A small redbrick wall stood in front of the property.

Bong-tae had thought the wall wouldn't provide sufficient cover against bullets, but he intended to use it to dismount the troops first. Afterward, his plan was to use smoke to approach the helicopter.

VROOOOOOOM!

Apparently, Nam Gi-baek had something else in mind. He shouted toward Bong-tae and the soldiers.

"Hey! Hold on tight! I'm not responsible if anyone falls off!"

"···What? Hey, hey!"

CRASH!

The two-and-a-half-ton truck slammed straight into the wall. The brick wall collapsed with a roar, sending red fragments flying in every direction. The vehicle continued pushing forward toward the front of the house. Its enormous wheels trampled the grass and flower beds.

"F-fuck!"

"Hold on tight!"

"Hey! Hey! N-Nam Gi-baek!"

CLUNK! CLUNK!

The truck shook violently up, down, left, and right as it charged through the garden. Tree branches that the homeowner had clearly cultivated with great care snapped in every direction as the truck struck them.

"Hey! Hey! Hey! Hey! Stop! I said stop!"

Just as Bong-tae became convinced they were going to crash into the house itself, Nam Gi-baek slammed on the brakes. The entire truck skidded forward.

SCREEEEECH!

"FUUUUUCK!"

Bong-tae squeezed his eyes shut.

"AAAAAAAGH!"

"AAAAAGH!"

The soldiers riding in the cargo bed joined Bong-tae's scream with their own desperate cries.

CRAAAAASH!

The front of the truck plunged through the house's large glass window. Expensive flowerpots and gleaming ornamental stones that had been placed directly in front of the window to receive plenty of sunlight shattered into pieces and scattered across the wooden floor.

Thanks to the passenger seat's seat belt holding him securely, Bong-tae wasn't thrown forward. Instead, the rigid belt scraped mercilessly against his stomach and shoulder. Bong-tae grimaced and rubbed his stomach vigorously.

Nam Gi-baek finally released the steering wheel and glanced at Bong-tae.

"···H-how was that?"

"What do you mean, how was that, you crazy bastard!"

"Nam Gi-baek, you motherfucker! You're dead when this is over!"

"I got us right beside it, didn't I?"

Complaints poured from the cargo bed as well. After barely managing to regain their balance, the soldiers threw smoke grenades around the house as Bong-tae had instructed earlier. Bong-tae opened the passenger door and dropped to the ground.

"Dismount! Dismount! Watch left and right and stay close to the wall!"

"Yes!"

"Kang Min-jun! Check on the pilots!"

"Yes! Understood!"

The soldiers of 2nd Platoon poured out of the truck. They examined the absurd way the vehicle had been parked and let out quiet, disbelieving laughs.

"Fucking hell···. Seriously. Nam Gi-baek, that lunatic···."

"Maybe it's because the platoon leader was sitting beside him?"

"Just keep watch for now!"

Half of the magnificent two-story country house had been demolished by the Apache helicopter, while the other half now had a two-and-a-half-ton truck lodged in it.

Just then, a radio transmission came from Staff Sergeant Kim Hong-je.

- Was that your doing?

- Yes. We're right in front of the helicopter.

- ···We'll cover you. Secure the pilots first.

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