Sheriff Dobbs held his hand over his hat to keep it from blowing away. Dirt and debris spun around and into the air as the Black Hawk helicopter set down in the road in the center of the village. "What the hell is this about?" he muttered to himself since no one would hear him anyway over the noise being created by a helicopter landing in the middle of town cause. A man in a camouflage uniform exited the copter and jogged over with his head slightly down. Two other men in uniform also got out and followed him over.
"Good morning, Sheriff," the soldier greeted Dobbs over the heavy fluttering of the roters.
Dobbs nodded and returned the greeting. "Captain."
"Lieutenant Colonel," the soldier corrected.
"Alright then," Dobbs nodded yet again. He then pointed to the Black Hawk. "Could you shut that thing off for a minute?"
"I'm sorry, but no. I don't plan on being here long."
"Well, that brings up a good point. Why are you here?"
The Lt. Col. paused for a bit. "We monitored some of you radio chatter while in the area. I understand that there's a situation here that I feel I need to look into."
"You're saying that you set down a helicopter in the middle of my village because you heard us talking about a burglary on the CB?"
"Is this the building?" the Lt. Col. asked, even though he could guess and didn't really wait for an answer. He and his two men stepped past the sheriff and into the general store.
"Goddamn Army," Dobbs shook his head before following them in. He closed the door behind him to cut out the sound of the Black Hawk outside. The interior of the store was a bit messy. Displays had been knocked over and a few items lay on the floor. But it wasn't a sign of vandalism. It looked more like things had just been in the way of whatever had come through here.
The Lt. Col. examined the scene. "What's missing?"
"Excuse me?" Dobbs asked in a mildly pissed off tone.
Looking out the back door, the Lt. Col. noticed the impressions in the ground outside. Considering the freezing conditions at night, he knew it would have taken a great deal of weight to create them. "You said it was a burglary. What was stolen?"
"Now wait just a damn minute here," Dobbs had had enough. "I'm the law around here. You can just climb back into your Whirlybird or Huey or whatever the hell you're calling a damn helicopter these days and fly you and your men's sorry asses out of my investigation. Honestly, what could the Army give a damn about a simple theft?"
Still calm and collected, the Lt. Col. turned to fact the sheriff. "First off, the UH 60 has been designated the Black Hawk by the U.S. Army. There's this whole movie that centers around one. I suggest you watch it. It is quite good. Secondly, unless you want me to land three more Black Hawks in your street and surround the village with about eight tanks all before sundown, you'd better find contentment with the answer of 'national security'." He looked at his watch. "Lastly, Second Lieutenants Simmons and Walters here will stay behind. When you have a complete list of the missing items, you give it to them. Transportation should come for them in no less than two and one half hours. In that time they are your guests. I expect you to treat them with the utmost respect and hospitality. If I find out that for any reason you have not extended them every possible courtesy, I will personally return to your tranquil little village, tie your balls to the highest branch of the tallest tree, and watch you bounce up and down like a fucking yo-yo underneath it. Is that clear?"
"Crystal," Dobbs said in a mousey voice.
"Good." The Lt. Col. turned to his two men and nodded. They nodded in appliance, and he began back towards the front door. Shaking a little, Dobbs opened up the door before he got there. "Thank you," he said with a smile as he exited.
Once back into the helicopter, he began to bark orders. "Hand me the map." A young man quickly reached for a small booklet. "Get me Col. Myers," he commanded another. He took the booklet and opened it up. He traced his finger from the crash site to the village he was now in. With only a short pause, his finger continued to glide across the map in the same direction. "Sweep the quandrants southwest of here," called out to the pilot. The Black Hawk lifted off the ground and spun to face its new direction.
"Col. Myers, sir."
"Patch him through..... Col., this is Lt. Col. Holmes. I have some news. Looks like our lost dog is coming home."
