"I will not leave my troops General! I don't care about your damn high profile meeting!" Lt. General Moore yelled into a receiver. Bullets flew past his head and exploded into the dirt around his feet.
'I will be the first one on the battlefield, and the last one off.'
It rang through his head like a fever. He was a man of his word, and also under enemy fire.
Moore threw the receiver to the ground,
"Come on move, move!!"
~
Silence.
The air was thick with tension.
"Operation Killjoy is a myth." One commanding officer said. Westmoreland held his hands tightly in fists on the table as he looked around at the men sitting at the round table. The room was dim, comically so. A single chair remained empty. A few were smoking as the general's jaw clenched with aggravation.
"How are we going to alert Colonel Moore? He refused to leave his post." Another said, slightly annoyed.
"Agent Killjoy is as real as this war men. She's been there for five years, she's the reason we know everything that goes on in Vietnam. President Johnson has ordered her to help the seventh cavalry."
Everyone sat in silence.
"We'll alert Colonel Moore when we can. As of now, Operation Killjoy is ready to engage." The General finished and stood, everyone else stood at attention.
"Let's get to work."
Westmoreland turned and everyone gathered their papers and files and hurried out of the room.
He hesitated again, looking down at the files open on the circle table.
TOP SECRET:
Name: Classified
Race: Classified
Height: 5'7
Gender: Female
Age: 26
Status: Agent
Training: Classified
Description:
Code named Killjoy. Age 21 as of mission deploy. Name and race remain classified. Training remains classified. Priority subject of the United States of America military as of August, 1955.
Mission Details: Live among the Vietnamese, get as close to the Vietminh as possible, report back to President of the United States of America directly.
An empty photo box was set to the top right of the paper.
Westmoreland sighed through his nose. He didn't trust this.
He remembered Killjoy vividly, a girl just old enough to drink with short jet black hair that curled along her hair line, dark green eyes stared straight ahead, hard and cold. Walking like a seasoned marine, long strong strides and chin held up straight. She looked like a clown heading to the circus to General Westmoreland. She was a mystery to him, and a myth to the rest of the military.
"We have Agent Killjoy on frequency 3." An IT communication commander stood at attention in the door way, breaking Westmoreland's thoughts. He waved the commander off as his eyes flicked up to the phone sitting in the middle of the table.
He reached forward and picked up the receiver, hesitantly holding it to his ear.
Silence.
"Agent Killjoy, do you copy, over."
"..What's the situation General." A sly voice with a slight vocal fry came through the receiver, static interference cutting in and out.
Westmoreland's jaw dropped, his lips parted slightly as he gasped. He wasn't sure what he was expecting, but she surprised him regardless. Her voice was higher than he expected, it was soft. He was so used to hearing men that a women's voice threw him off despite knowing Killjoy was a woman.
"Operation Killjoy is a go, over."
A long pause followed before static burst through.
"Status report on the seventh cavalry, sir, over."
She said automatically, no emotion in her voice now.
"The seventh cavalry called broken-arrow. Lieutenant Colonel Moore was unable to be contacted. Location at coordinates 13.5835° north,107.7169° east. Troops are reportedly stable and on defense. You're clear to engage. Over."
A short pause and then static burst,
"Copy. Over and out."
The receiver cut to a monotone buzz. Westmoreland stood in shock as he listened to the blaring tone in his ear.
Once more he was hesitating.
"General, sir." The communications officer stood in the door of the conference room. Westmoreland looked up, expecting him to continue.
"Operation Killjoy has been engaged. We have eyes on the ground."
(AN: If you've made it this far, cool! My writing isn't all that good, but I hope the concept keeps you going, thanks!)
YOU ARE READING
Operation Killjoy
Historical FictionOperation Killjoy is set in Vietnam with the 7th Cavalry Regiment, at the Battle of Ia Drang in 1965, during the Vietnam War. As the 7th cavalry is pushed into a corner, the president himself calls in a weapon of his own.
