Charlie Mike

On the route. Sporadic gunfire. The 'Pop! Pop! Pop!' of AK rounds going off to the east near a gun buy back program in an abandoned stadium. No calls for support. Charlie Mike until then. Hackles are up. More aware of everything. Then they cross our path. Weapon. He has a weapon. The trucks screech to a halt. Jump to the gun and just start screaming. A push on the buttstock of the 240 and it's up. Click. The safety is off. Tight grip and a finger on the trigger with just a light pressure. Screams. "Drop the fucking weapon!" There's no thinking now. Just a mess of instinct and adrenaline. A heartbeat in your ears moment. Do what your being told to right now. Don't lift the gun. Don't fucking do it. You stupid fucking moron just drop the god damned gun. Or this ends poorly for you and the two people you're with. The terp is yelling alongside. What feels like minutes is seconds. Tense and angry commands still screaming from the convoy. And then it's down. They're on their bellies. And it's over. Weapons still trained on them. Disarmed and in custody. Terp gets the story. They're claiming to be trying to sell the weapon at the buy back. Platoon sergeant believes them and tells them to get on their way. Charlie Mike.