"Scary" Barry Rodriguez Productions (BRP): RUFFBO DOG COMMANDO

By Scary Barry Rodriguez February 26, 2015

Rihanna , Scottish Terrier

It was another idyllic tropical day on the beach near the Hilton Hawaiian Village hotel in Honolulu. The heat of the afternoon was made bearable by a gentle breeze. Ruffbo , Seal Team Six dog commando , his squeeze Rihanna , that beautiful black Scottish Terrier and Frank , Ruffbo's best team bud , were chilling on the Waikiki sand , soaking up the sun .

The Team had the week off , a very rare situation for them. Yesterday , they had visited the U.S. Navy Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, at Pearl harbor and were given a tour of the USS Michael Murphy DDG-112 , named after a fallen Navy Seal hero , Michael Murphy. The whole team was booked into the Hilton Hawaiian Village hotel for a much deserved R&R break.

Ruffbo was hiding behind his Oakley shades , stretched out on the sand with one of his paws resting on Rihanna's cheek. He was in dreamland and couldn't help but say as much to her. " Baby , it don't get much better than this ! " It was the third day of their vocation and things were shaping up in a real good way. Could it last ?

Ruffbo wasn't really paying attention when Frank , stood up and took a stroll, with his cell phone ,pressed up to his ear. Rihanna had just started to cuddle up to Ruffbo , when Frank returned , with a look on his face that spelled trouble. " Ruff , somethings come up ! The Boss man wants the Team to muster ASAP ! "

Rihanna had to be consoled . It was hard on her handling the unpredictability of Ruff's work situation. The Seals always talk about the "only easy day being yesterday ! " This also applies to their loved ones. There was just no way out of this. They returned to the hotel immediately. Rihanna , went up to their room . Ruffbo , hung out in the main lobby and was met by Team leader Ringo , Boss man Zeke and another team member Tiko. Frank was rustling up transportation for the group to go to a briefing location.

U.S. Ambassador J. Christopher Stevens

Thousands of miles away on the small island nation Malta , William Treadway , the regional CIA chief was having a conversation over drinks with Salim Hassan , an intelligence source. Hassan was a well connected Libyan business man , with relatives working with the terrorist group Ansar al-Sharia . This same group was involved in the attack on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi, on September 11, 2012 , that resulted in the death of U.S. Ambassador J. Christopher Stevens.

A deep cover CIA agent working for the Arabian Gulf Oil company had been kidnapped in Benghazi . It was thought that Ansar al- Sharia were the responsible parties and intended to sell the agent to ISIS. Considering this , Treadway was exhibiting great sangfroid in the situation. He couldn't give away the extreme urgency that he felt. The deep cover agent was only a concern of the U.S. government because he was an American. That was the cover story.

Hassan , promised to make immediate inquires for a mutually agreed price. Treadway knew that the amount had to take into account whatever kick back the relatives expected. It was just business for the other parties. It wasn't about religion or political ideology , that was just for the public consumption of the ignorant masses. Without hard intelligence on the ground , the Global Hawk surveillance drones couldn't be properly positioned . A rescue mission was in the cards.

In an undisclosed location , Ruffbo's Seal team was given a classified briefing of all the available information in regards to the kidnapping ! The CIA asset was a naturalized American citizen of Iranian descent named Ahmed Kadash. He was the head site engineer for the Arabian Gulf Oil company in Libya. He was snatched by Ansar al-Sharia on the way to the Benina International airport. He was just a target of opportunity for Ansar al- Sharia, picked at random. They really didn't know what they had ! Not yet ! The available information at this time was sketchy at best.

Boss man Zeke scratched his carrot topped head with concern. The suits from the CIA needed to deliver more intelligence before he would commit his team to any operation ! The U.S. had Naval assets off the coast of Libya , patrolling the Mediterranean sea. The eyes in the sky were providing some satellite imagery and they had just started deploying the Global Hawk drones for coverage of the suspected location of the hostage.

After two hours that seemed like an eternity , it was determined that Ahmed Kadash was being held in the residential area of Qanfuda , part of the suburbs of Al-Quwarsha , in the Central district of Benghazi.t The NSA was working on intercepts of cell phone talk to and from the targeted beach front house. Time was a critical factor. The hostage could be moved at any time and it was possible that Hassan's relatives would tip off the kidnappers and get paid by both sides. Treachery was part of the landscape in Libya.

Ruffbo and his team scanned the incoming satellite pictures and video feed from the Global Hawk surveillance drones. It was concluded that an approach from the sea was the way to go. It would be a night insertion due to the many armed Jihadist groups roaming nearby. The use of helicopters was ruled out because of the noise factor. The Team would make a Halo parachute jump into the sea in close proximity to a Naval vessel, the USS Boxer. They would use the ship as a staging area for the operation.

Back in their hotel room Rihanna was beside herself with worry. Ruffbo briefly returned but he couldn't provide her with any information. He did his best to allay any fears she had. " Look Babe , I'll be back in forty eight hours and we'll pick up where we left off ! Just go to the beach some more , catch some more rays and before you can get totally bored I'll be back and give you good love ! " He couldn't be sure that Rihanna was buying what he was selling but he had to go.

Even though Ruffbo's team was on R&R they always brought a full load of equipment with them for any contingencies. It didn't take long for their Master Chief and other team members to load the pallets with their gear onto a C-17 Globe Master III air transport. Team leader Ringo conversed with Frank while Ruffbo sent a text message to Rihanna . Tiko passed by and patted him on the shoulder before going up the ramp into the belly of the huge plane.

Once the entire team was on board it was wings up and they were off. After stowing his kit Ruffbo cracked open a Fighto beer and guzzled it down. All the heightened activity made him thirsty ! Frank just looked at him and laughed. Good old Ruffbo had nerves of steel ! After a couple of brews he was ready take on an army of tangos ! Tiko exchanged an amused look with Frank and shook his head. The team was a group of hard chargers.

The noise in the interior of the huge plane was deafening . Everyone just put on headsets , tuxned out and listened to their favorite beats , while catching some sack time. While the others were sacked out Team leader Zeke was receiving real time updates about the situation on the ground in Benghazi. It was going to be touch and go. From the cell phone intercepts provided by the NSA it seemed that the Ansar al Sharia kidnappers were on edge. They made contact with ISIS but a deal hadn't been done yet. There were other interested parties.

Joint Special Operations Command Admiral Stone Hall

Back stateside the Command Authority ( the President ) and his advisors were meeting with the head of the Joint Special Operations Command Admiral Stone Hall. The last thing anyone wanted was seeing a video of Ahmed Kadash's execution on the Six O' Clock news ! Admiral Hall remained stoic , confident that Team Six could pull off the rescue.

After a long flight over the Mediterranean sea , Ruffbo and his team made the drop into the ocean just as the sun was setting. They regrouped as the waves tossed around their large Zodiac inflatable rafts. Minutes later they were on the deck of the USS Boxer , a Wasp class , Amphibious assault ship, that carried vertical take off Harrier jets and helicopters. The Team broke out their equipment. Boss man Zeke retired to the Captain's stateroom and conferred with his overall Commander for the operation.

In the confines of the targeted beach front house , a terrified Ahmed Kadash cowered in a dark corner of the room where he was held captive. He could hear the terrorist discussing his fate. Ansar al- Sharia had made the deal with ISIS. In a break with their usual method of operation they were going to conduct the execution right in the house. The executioner , an ISIS thug , seen in many previous executions videos and dubbed by the Press as " Jihadi Tom " was on site . A room in the house had been set aside as a studio. Complete with a black ISIS backdrop, professional lighting and the latest video camera , it awaited the final act of another brutal video play for the worldwide internet crowd !

Thirty heavily armed fighters were posted around the house. Medusa, a doberman pinscher wardog and the leader of the Red Scare terrorist group was inside the house . She was an old nemisis of Ruffbo and his Team. She had narrowly escaped the clutches of Team Six in Botswanna , after her group attempted to assassinate that nation's leader. ( See The Wrath of Medusa , story of September 29, 2011 ) Now , years later the Red Scare group had joined up with ISIS.

On board the USS Boxer the news wasn't good. The latest cell phone intercept of calls between Ansar al Sharia and local contacts indicated that the execution was only four hours away. The rescue operation would have to go forward quickly without the best intelligence. Originally planned as a seaborne assault , the operation now would require a stealth helicopter insertion. Boss man Zeke and his Commander worked to put together a support package that included air support from Marine Harrier jets , Cobra attack helicopters and missile carrying drones.

At 2200 hours , the assault team lifted off. Three stealth configured Seahawk helicopters carrying thirty Team Six operators headed towards the targeted house. Ruffbo, Frank , Tiko, Team leader Ringo , Boss man Zeke and the rest of element were in the first helicopter. Ruffbo sniffed at the humid night air through the open side door of the chopper. Alongside him was a member of the flight crew hunched over a Dillion M134D Mini-gun , with rate of fire of 6,000 rounds per minute. Death delivered from above !

At higher altitude six Harrier jets were homing in on the target. The armed Reaper drones were laid on to take out any vehicles approaching the area. Electronic counter measures were employed to jam any radar and disrupt communications. It was going to be a hot insertion and extraction despite all the air power.

The terrorist fighters posted outside the house didn't know what hit them. The chopper min-guns hosed them down , reducing the tangos to a pile of bloody body parts. Ruffbo's element was fast roping to the ground amid the chaos of the assault. Three Team Six elements converged on the house from different directions. Entry was made from three sides of the house.

Inside , Medusa and her fighters were in the process of taking Ahmed Kadash to room where his executioner awaited. The front door was blasted open. The house was instantly filled with the smoke from flash bang grenades. The Seals fanned out going from room to room to clear. Clad in a black jumpsuit , Jihadi Tom didn't make it to his AK 47 before he was cut down. Frank's suppressed HK 416 delivered a double tap to the thug's head ! It was a shame that the bloody mess wasn't captured on video ! Ruffbo , crashed through the window of the room , clamped his jaws on the orange jumpsuit worn by Ahmed Kadash , while Frank and the rest of his element was mowing down Medusa's fighters.

Then Ruffbo by instinct sensed that something was approaching him from behind. He shoved the hostage down to the floor , turned around and using his dog kung Fu , dodged a strike from the now enraged Medusa. Now Ruffbo and Medusa engaged in paw to paw combat that made a Bruce Lee movie seem tame ! Everything around them became non existent . Medusa , had escaped once before and now Ruffbo couldn't allow it to happen again.

Medusa slashed out with the blades attached to her front paws , using Northern dog Kung Fu techniques , long quick movements , deceptively dangerous. Ruffbo took a glancing blow on his armored vest and side steped. He did a dog roll , came up and double kicked Medusa with his back legs , sending her sprawling. He was on her like a cheap suit , preventing her from using the special MP7 machine gun that was on a sling. They grappled on the floor, exchanging blows.

Before Ruffbo could administer the coup de grace , the fight was interrupted by three Anshar al Sharia tangos busting into the room blasting away with their AK 47's. Medusa took advantage of this and leaped through the broken out window into the night. Ruffbo used his paw guns to rip the tangos apart ! Another team member had spirited Ahmed Kadash from the house to a waiting chopper. The other Team Six operators were now just involved in a mopping up operation. Tango bodies were stacked up in and outside the house.

Ruffbo stumbled outside , sweating in the hot night air , disappointed. Then Team leader Ringo approached with a big shit eating grin plastered on his face. " Hey Ruff , I took out the trash for you ! " It took a few minutes for the meaning of these words to penetrate the haze of Ruffbo's confused mind. Twenty feet away from where they standing rested the motionless body of Medusa or the pieces of it ! She had jumped out the window and right into Ringo's front sights , his HK rocking on full auto tore her to shreds , her blood like scarlet graffiti on a dirt canvas !

Ruffbo collected himself and as was his custom pissed on Medusa's body in victory ! It had been a close call for the hostage and there was no doubt that Ahmed Kadash would require a change of underwear. He had felt the breath of the reaper and had survived ! All the Team Six operators were tired but the job wasn't complete yet. All the dead tangos were photographed , documents from the house collected and everyone organized for the extraction.

While the assault had been going on the air assets had been busy . For a mile around the perimeter of the house the smoking burned out carcasses of numerous terrorist vehicles on fire now lit up the night ! This wasn't going to provide good video for ISIS recruiting purposes. Strewn about were the bodies of many foreign fighters , petty criminals , losers who couldn't cut it in the real world. Their death had no profound meaning ! They didn't make it to Paradise !

On the chopper ride back to the USS Boxer Ruffbo had his best bud Frank busting up. " Yo Frank , its going to take more than a case of Fighto beer to cool this bad wardog down ! I feel like jumping out and swimming back to the ship ! Rihanna will think I have cabin fever when we get back to Honolulu ! " Boss man Zeke jokingly put his two cents in. " Hey Ruff , keep your shirt on we still have a debrief to go . Put your dog in heat act on hold for now . That is an order ! " Ruff could only bark aye aye sir in response.

Back in Honolulu , at the Hilton Hawaiian Village hotel , in a dark the hotel room , Rihanna had been crying in her sleep. Then her cell phone lit up as an incoming text was received. Fearing the worst , Rihanna read " C U in 24 Luv U ! Ruff ". Outside a gentle breeze cooled the night air and rustled the palm trees. Somewhere across the sea was her man helping to make world safe for one special Scottish terrier and everyone else !