“Well, that essentially set the course of events. Eric slipped away and ambushed the convoy a few minutes later with a satchel of dynamite. We lost three men there, with nine others seriously injured, and, of course, one of the trucks. Eric then joined the others at the bridge and told them what was happening. That ended all hopes of a peaceful meeting. They were waiting in ambush for the column, and we lost six more in the first volley. Lieutenant Carter, who had taken over from Byers, returned fire, and the battle was on. We lost four more men in the next two hours, with several others wounded. We also lost another truck when they blew the bridge out from under it.”

The Major slammed his fist against the table. “Thirteen dead, nearly two dozen wounded. And all because of sloppy execution of orders. This is intolerable!”

“How many villagers were killed?” Nicole broke in, watching the weariness etch deeper in Travis’s face.

“Six. Some of the best men in the village.”

“But how?” Nicole asked. “Strict orders were issued to put the weapons on stun capacity only.”

“Both Byers and Carter swear they never rescinded that order. But evidently, some of the men took it upon themselves to open up to full power.” Travis’s eyes were dark. “And who can blame them when they were under fire like that? Remember, they lost six, but we lost thirteen!”

“And for nothing!” the Major snapped. “That’s the tragedy.”

Travis took a deep breath and then looked up. “As you know, I was in radio contact with the group the chopper let off about twenty miles south of the valley. That was two days before Byers was spotted, and I had led them into position in the foothills overlooking the village. Once the others left, we took the village easily. That was when Eric returned and told me what was happening at the river. I took immediate action, but it was too late to do much except end it quickly.”

“You did well, Travis,” the Major said, leaning forward in his chair. “I should have had you take over the column from the first. Byers is obviously getting too old for a field command.” He shrugged off the thought, his irritation slowly fading. “So tell me about the village,” he added gently, sensing Travis’s discouragement. “They seem to have been quite well off compared to others we’ve found.”

“Yes. Eric’s father, Karl Lloyd, was in the Army, in the—”

“Colonel Karl Lloyd?”

“Yes, sir, did you know him?”

“Knew of him. He had a brilliant reputation among all the services. Perhaps the best chemist we had. And he was killed?”

“Yes, sir.”

“Ah,” the Major sighed. “That is a tragedy.”