Kovacs had his lascarbine primed. He kept the safety on, but he was ready to shoot at half a second's notice, as they walked through the woods. He was near Hasenkamp, who sounded a bit nervous. Kovacs examined the grounds. He feared that there might be booby traps left behind. Grenades without pins, claymores ready to explode and mines just below the ground, all primed to explode with simple tripwires or pronged beneath equipment. If he had destroyed an unit in a remote location and had time to prepare, he would have left "surprises" behind. The enemy clearly had had time - they had clearly taken the corpses of the fallen.

"Be careful what you touch. Anything can be booby trapped", he reminded the squad. "Evacuation from here would be a bitch."