2-15

 

15.

My job at Delhi was similar to the one I’d had at Dwyer. Only the hours were different. Constant.

At Delhi I was on call, day and night.

The ops room was a former classroom. Like seemingly everything else in Afghanistan, theschool that housed Delhi had been bombed—dangling wood beams, tipped-over desks, floorsscattered with spilled papers and books—but the ops room looked as if it had been ground zero. Adisaster area. On the plus side, during night shifts, the many holes in the walls gave a stunningview of the stars.

I recall one shift, around one a.m. I asked a pilot overhead for his code, so I could key it intomy Rover and see his feed.

The pilot answered sourly that I was doing it wrong.

Doing what wrong?

It’s not the Rover, it’s the Longhorn.

The Long what?

You’re new, huh?

He described the Longhorn, a machine no one had bothered to tell me about. I looked around,found it. Big black briefcase¹ covered with dust. I brushed it off, turned it on. The pilot talked methrough getting it operational. I didn’t know why the Longhorn was required for him instead of theRover, but I wasn’t about to ask and irritate him even more.

Especially since the experience had been bonding. Thereafter he and I were mates.

His call sign was Magic.

I’d often pass an entire night chatting to Magic. He and his crew liked to talk, to laugh, eat. (Idimly recall them feasting one night on fresh crabs².) Above all they loved practical jokes. Afterone sortie, Magic zoomed³ out his camera, told me to look. I leaned into my screen. From twentythousand feet his view of the curvature of Earth was astonishing.

Slowly, he turned his camera.

My screen filled with breasts.

Porn magazine.

Ah, you got me, Magic.

Some pilots were women. Exchanges with them went very differently. One night I foundmyself speaking to a British pilot who mentioned how gorgeous the moon was.

It’s full, she said. You should see it, Widow Six Seven.

I see it. Through one of the holes in my wall. Lovely.

Suddenly the radio burst to life: a shrill⁴ chorus. The guys back at Dwyer told us to “get aroom.” I felt myself blushing. I hoped the pilot hadn’t thought I was flirting⁵. I hoped she wouldn’tthink so now. Above all, I hoped she, and all other pilots, wouldn’t work out who I was, and tellthe British press that I was using the war as a way to meet women. I hoped the press wouldn’t thentreat her as they’d treated every other girl I’d ever had anything to do with.

Before that shift ended, however, the pilot and I overcame this brief awkwardness and didsome solid work together. She helped me monitor a Taliban bunker, right in the heart of no-man’s-land, not far beyond Delhi’s walls. There were thermals⁶ around the bunker…human forms. Adozen, I guessed. Maybe fifteen.

Taliban, for sure, we said. Who else would be moving in those trenches⁸?

I went through the Checklist to make sure. Pattern of life, the Army called it. Can you seewomen? Can you see children? Can you see dogs? Cats? Is there anything to indicate that thistarget might be next door to a hospital? A school?

Any civvies (civilians) whatsoever⁹?

No. All no.

It added up to Taliban, and nothing but Taliban.

I planned a strike for the next day. I was assigned to work it out with two American pilots.

Dude Zero One and Dude Zero Two. I briefed them on the target, told them I wanted a 2,000-pound JDAM (Joint Direct Attack Munition). I wondered why we used that clunky name. Why notjust call it a bomb? Maybe because this was no ordinary bomb; it had radar-controlled guidancesystems. And it was heavy. It weighed as much as a black rhino¹⁰.

Typically, with a smattering of Taliban fighters, the standard request would be a 500-pounder.

But I didn’t think that would be enough force to penetrate¹¹ the fortified¹² bunkers I was seeing on myscreen.

Granted, FACs never thought 500 pounds was enough. We always wanted 2,000-pounders. Gobig or go home, we always said. But in this case I felt strongly that only big would do the job. Thebunker system would withstand anything less. Not only did I want a 2,000-pound JDAM on top ofthe bunker, I wanted the second aircraft to follow up with a 20-mm, strafe the trenches runningfrom the bunker, pick off guys as they “ex-filled.”

Negative, said Dude Zero One.

The Americans saw no need for a 2,000-pound bomb.

We prefer to drop two 500-pound bombs, Widow Six Seven.

How very un-American.

I felt strongly that I was right, and I wanted to argue, but I was new and lacked self-confidence. This was my first airstrike. So I just said:

Roger that.

New Year’s Eve. I held the F-15s at bay, about eight kilometers, so the noise of their engineswouldn’t spook the targets. When conditions looked to be just right, all calm, I summoned them.

Widow Six Seven, we’re in hot.

Dude Zero One, Dude Zero Two, you’re cleared hot.

Cleared hot.

They went streaking¹³ towards the target.

On my screen I watched the pilot’s crosshair settle over the bunker.

One second.

Two.

White flash. Loud bang. The wall of the ops room shuddered¹⁴. Dust and pieces of stone raineddown from the ceiling.

I heard Dude Zero One’s voice: Delta¹⁵ Hotel (direct hit). Stand by for BDA (battle damageassessment).

Plumes¹⁶ of smoke rose from the desert.

Moments later…just as I’d feared, Taliban came running out of the trench⁷. I groaned¹⁷ at myRover, then stomped¹⁸ outside.

The air was cold, the sky pulsing blue. I could hear Dude Zero One and Dude Zero Two wayabove, tailing off. I could hear the echo of their bombs. Then all was silent.

Not all of them got away, I consoled myself. Ten, at least, didn’t make it out of that trench.

Still—a bigger bomb would’ve really done the trick.

Next time, I told myself. Next time, I’ll trust my gut¹⁹.

 

1 briefcase   

n.手提箱，公事皮包

参考例句：

• He packed a briefcase with what might be required.他把所有可能需要的东西都装进公文包。
• He requested the old man to look after the briefcase.他请求那位老人照看这个公事包。

2 crabs   

n.蟹( crab的名词复数 )；阴虱寄生病；蟹肉v.捕蟹( crab的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• As we walked along the seashore we saw lots of tiny crabs. 我们在海岸上散步时看到很多小蟹。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The fish and crabs scavenge for decaying tissue. 鱼和蟹搜寻腐烂的组织为食。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 zoomed   

v.（飞机、汽车等）急速移动( zoom的过去式 )；（价格、费用等）急升，猛涨

参考例句：

• Traffic zoomed past us. 车辆从我们身边疾驰而过。
• Cars zoomed helter-skelter, honking belligerently. 大街上来往车辆穿梭不停，喇叭声刺耳。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 shrill   

adj.尖声的；刺耳的；v尖叫

参考例句：

• Whistles began to shrill outside the barn.哨声开始在谷仓外面尖叫。
• The shrill ringing of a bell broke up the card game on the cutter.刺耳的铃声打散了小汽艇的牌局。

5 flirting   

v.调情，打情骂俏( flirt的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• Don't take her too seriously; she's only flirting with you. 别把她太当真，她只不过是在和你调情罢了。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• 'she's always flirting with that new fellow Tseng!" “她还同新来厂里那个姓曾的吊膀子！ 来自子夜部分

6 thermals   

热裂法炭黑； 上升的热气流，温暖内衣裤( thermal的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Are the thermals picking up any signs of life? 热量探测器有没有检测到生命迹象？
• Thermals are rising air currents caused by heat. 上升暖气流是由于受热而上升的气流。

7 trench   

n./v.(挖)沟，(挖)战壕

参考例句：

• The soldiers recaptured their trench.兵士夺回了战壕。
• The troops received orders to trench the outpost.部队接到命令在前哨周围筑壕加强防卫。

8 trenches   

深沟，地沟( trench的名词复数 )； 战壕

参考例句：

• life in the trenches 第一次世界大战期间的战壕生活
• The troops stormed the enemy's trenches and fanned out across the fields. 部队猛攻敌人的战壕，并在田野上呈扇形散开。

9 whatsoever   

adv.（用于否定句中以加强语气）任何；pron.无论什么

参考例句：

• There's no reason whatsoever to turn down this suggestion.没有任何理由拒绝这个建议。
• All things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you,do ye even so to them.你想别人对你怎样，你就怎样对人。

10 rhino   

n.犀牛，钱, 现金

参考例句：

• The rhino charged headlong towards us.犀牛急速地向我们冲来。
• They have driven the rhino to the edge of extinction.他们已经令犀牛濒临灭绝。

11 penetrate   

v.透(渗)入；刺入，刺穿；洞察，了解

参考例句：

• Western ideas penetrate slowly through the East.西方观念逐渐传入东方。
• The sunshine could not penetrate where the trees were thickest.阳光不能透入树木最浓密的地方。

12 fortified   

adj. 加强的

参考例句：

• He fortified himself against the cold with a hot drink. 他喝了一杯热饮御寒。
• The enemy drew back into a few fortified points. 敌人收缩到几个据点里。

13 streaking   

n.裸奔（指在公共场所裸体飞跑）v.快速移动( streak的现在分词 )；使布满条纹

参考例句：

• Their only thought was of the fiery harbingers of death streaking through the sky above them. 那个不断地在空中飞翔的死的恐怖把一切别的感觉都赶走了。 来自汉英文学 - 家（1-26） - 家（1-26）
• Streaking is one of the oldest tricks in the book. 裸奔是有书面记载的最古老的玩笑之一。 来自互联网

14 shuddered   

v.战栗( shudder的过去式和过去分词 )；发抖；（机器、车辆等）突然震动；颤动

参考例句：

• He slammed on the brakes and the car shuddered to a halt. 他猛踩刹车，车颤抖着停住了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• I shuddered at the sight of the dead body. 我一看见那尸体就战栗。 来自《简明英汉词典》

15 delta   

n.（流的）角洲

参考例句：

• He has been to the delta of the Nile.他曾去过尼罗河三角洲。
• The Nile divides at its mouth and forms a delta.尼罗河在河口分岔，形成了一个三角洲。

16 plumes   

羽毛( plume的名词复数 )； 羽毛饰； 羽毛状物； 升上空中的羽状物

参考例句：

• The dancer wore a headdress of pink ostrich plumes. 那位舞蹈演员戴着粉色鸵鸟毛制作的头饰。
• The plumes on her bonnet barely moved as she nodded. 她点点头，那帽子的羽毛在一个劲儿颤动。

17 groaned   

v.呻吟( groan的过去式和过去分词 )；发牢骚；抱怨；受苦

参考例句：

• He groaned in anguish. 他痛苦地呻吟。
• The cart groaned under the weight of the piano. 大车在钢琴的重压下嘎吱作响。 来自《简明英汉词典》

18 stomped   

v.跺脚，践踏，重踏( stomp的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• She stomped angrily out of the office. 她怒气冲冲，重步走出办公室。
• She slammed the door and stomped (off) out of the house. 她砰的一声关上了门，暮暮地走出了屋了。 来自辞典例句

19 gut   

n.[pl.]胆量；内脏；adj.本能的；vt.取出内脏

参考例句：

• It is not always necessary to gut the fish prior to freezing.冷冻鱼之前并不总是需要先把内脏掏空。
• My immediate gut feeling was to refuse.我本能的直接反应是拒绝。