Re: Ch. 8: Tarnobrzeg
Friday, October 6th, 2000
0630 hrs.
Vistula river, approx. 0.5 km upriver from the damaged road bridge west of Szczucin, Poland
40 F
Scattered Clouds
The night passes uneventfully. It is cold, however- the coldest it's been so far this season- and when the team musters in the morning, they are surprised not to find glimmering icicles dangling from the tug's superstructure in the pale dawn light.
On Snowy and Milk's advice, Konrad decides to postpone the barge repairs until daylight. The respite proves especially welcome to the Krolowa's crew. Everyone on the tug's security team, apart from Tucker and Yazzie, are able to get some much needed- albeit fitful- sleep. Last evening's almost overwhelming feelings of exhaustion have been replaced by the less unwelcome and more familiar feeling of being just-plain-tired.
Yazzie and Tucker make their circuit of the past day's battlefield, first working backwards two kilometers south, along the east bank, to where Dawid remembered liberally dosing the enemy sniper with 82mm WP. After poking around for nearly an hour, they find him, seared back hunched over a damaged Dragunov SVD sniper rifle. Phosphorous particles have played havoc on the rifle's sights and, in the ghostly green half-light of the Soviet NVGs, the gun looks like nothing worth humping back to the Krolowa. Four full mags of rounds for the weapon, however, are recovered. Satisfied, Yazzie and Tucker head back downstream, rousing the tug crew for a ferry ride over to the western shore, and proceed towards the helicopter crash sight. It's easier to find- a tangled mess of blackened metal. Nothing of any use is left. At least two carbonized corpses- maybe three- are identified among the charred wreckage. Having seen all there is to see, the pair head back and set up an night OP near the western end of the bridge.
On board the Krolowa, the security team stand to in the dim light of dawn, fog issuing from their shivering lips with each exhaled breath.
Actions?