As they reached the line of huts, he heard a commotion and gestured for Fisher to sweep around. He and McBride moved forward at a crouch until they got to the hut, then pressed against it. Through the thatch wall, Rick could hear a woman crying and a man yelling in French. He glanced through the window and saw a man holding a Kalashnikov rifle to the head of a teenage girl while her mother cried and begged. A click in his ear told him Fisher was in place. He and McBride silently moved to the front of the hut as Swanson reached the back.

In close quarters, a shot from a suppressed pistol risked collateral damage. A ricochet or a stray round could wound or kill one of the innocent civilians. However, taking on an armed opponent with bare hands came with an even higher personal level of risk. McBride clearly knew this as he dropped his carbine rifle to swing on its sling and swiftly drew his K-BAR fighting knife in the same motion. He sneaked up behind the soldier in three quick steps and neutralized him within seconds.

Rick slid inside the hut and cleared every wall and corner. He held his finger to his lips, begging the women to stay silent. From the hut, he and McBride assessed what they could see of the village. McBride spoke quietly into his microphone, and Fisher and Swanson located and neutralized a man on the brink of assaulting a lone teen girl. Rick could hear her cries in his earpiece and clenched his teeth.

He hated leaving the body of this man in the hut with the mother and daughter, but he had no choice. He whispered to the woman in French, “We’ll be right back.” He gestured with his chin toward the door. He and McBride left the hut, weapons ready, and moved from hut to hut like ghosts, letting the buildings provide visual cover.

They found the last of the three Chukuwereije soldiers at the medicine woman’s hut. Through the window, Rick saw Tadeas lying against the wall. He’d taken a beating, according to his swollen eye and bloody lip. Rick watched him through the window, and when Tadeas saw him, he held up one finger. Tadeas very subtly nodded. Swanson slipped into the building and took the soldier down before he even realized what had happened to him. When Swanson uncovered the man’s mouth, Rick filled it with the business end of his pistol.

In French, Rick said, “Hello, friend. Nod if there are just three of you.” The man glared. Rick cocked the pistol. The man grudgingly nodded. Rick made eye contact with Swanson, who nodded and clapped his hand over the man’s mouth as Rick removed his pistol. To Swanson, he ordered, “Make it quick.”

The man’s muffled scream suddenly and quickly stopped.