And later, as those vehicles finally reached the Afghan assault forces down in the valley -- still holding off hundreds of Taliban soldiers -- the big Afghan victory was complete.
A leisurely, organized retreat of all Afghan forces took place over the next several days, bringing out their four hundred or so POW’s. And, as the U.S. strategists had hoped, that turned the tide. For months afterwards, the news would be about the various cities that were being freed from Taliban control and concerns about the overthrow of any governments gradually ebbed away.
But, for Missy … she was hit by a bullet just as she came out of their last building. She was hit on her right side, on her lower abdomen. The bullet went in but did not go out. She dropped to the ground, momentarily stunned. Then, she blocked out the pain and got back up. Town was behind her and she heard him advising Grimes that all three of their buildings had been cleared but they now were taking some fire. Then, she saw Carter go down twenty-five yards ahead of her. She raced over to where he’d fallen and was relieved to find him still alive, but bleeding heavily from a wound in his chest. They were both exposed in the middle of an alleyway between buildings, and there were bullets flying all around them.
She grabbed Carter by the collar and began dragging him forward, out of the line of fire and towards one of the buildings in the rear, well away from the road. Town was still back at the last building, pinned down. Yeah, there was indeed some resistance in their sector now. She finally managed to get Carter to a position with some cover, around the corner of the rear building and out of sight from any windows. He was conscious but in a great deal of pain. She pressed her hand over his wound and focused, drawing energy from all around. It was time for her to do her sparkly eyes thing. She pushed enough healing energy into Carter to both stop the bleeding and alleviate much of his pain. As he sank back, in obvious relief, she called it in to Grimes and Town.
Up ahead but way off to her right, she saw Harold go down in the middle of a roadway. He was especially exposed, unable to get to safety, and about a hundred and fifty yards away. Team Twenty-Two was fighting hard but the effort was taking its toll. She heard Harold calling out for help. The Taliban had managed to establish some firing positions in a few of these rear buildings and no one could safely get to Harold.
She popped up and took aim at the open windows of two buildings where most of the gunfire seemed to be coming from. After firing a few rounds, she stood up and advanced forward in a crouched position, continuing to fire shots at both windows. She somehow made it most of the way there … pausing to fire after every twenty yards or so and then continuing forward … she was able to move very fast but she was out in the open. Suddenly, she was hit in the left shoulder. Twice. Both bullets went in, somewhere below her collarbone and one of them went through and out, leaving her bleeding heavily from the two entrance wounds in front and the exit wound in back. That knocked her down. She found she no longer could use her left arm.
But, now she was only ten yards away from Harold. She crawled over there, determined to reach him. Just as she climbed up next to him, he was hit in the left leg, high on his thigh. She knew she had to get him out of the exposed position where he’d fallen. He had a head wound where a bullet had grazed him and he was bleeding quite a bit from a stomach wound. Damn! That didn’t look good.
Missy had to really focus, again drawing energy from all around. She placed her right hand over Harold’s stomach wound and pushed as much healing energy into him as she could. Then, she grabbed his collar and began crawling backwards, dragging him behind her. It seemed to take a long time, but she finally reached another building. She could feel herself starting to fade, probably due to all the blood she’d lost, but she blocked out everything and managed to get Harold out of sight of the windows where all those shots had been coming from. Then, she keeled over and collapsed.
-----
July 28, 2019
Missy woke up in a hospital room in Kabul. Marsha was sitting in a chair next to her bed. She looked around and began checking herself out, taking inventory. There was a tube running down to a needle in her right arm, she had bandages on her abdomen and on her shoulder, front and back. And, yeah … there was a lot of pain. She blocked that out and sat up.
“How long have I been out?”
Marsha said, “Welcome back, Missy! It’s only been about twelve hours since they brought you in here but there were several hours before that. It took your team quite a while to get to you and then they had to wait a long time before any Medivac helicopter could safely land out there. You were given blood, the universal type … and the IV you have in you now is for nutrients. But I wouldn’t let them give you anything else. No drugs … I know how your body fights those.”
“Thanks, that’s good. I appreciate that. Did they remove the bullets?”
“Oh, yes! One from your stomach and one from your shoulder. There was a third bullet that went completely through. No vital organs were hit, thank goodness. I think you stayed unconscious because of all the blood you lost.”
Missy nodded. She knew going into a deep sleep was what typically happened when her body needed time to heal and regenerate. She still felt somewhat drained of energy. She really needed to Shift but she wasn’t sure she had enough energy to do that yet.
“What about …?”
“Carter is fine and I hear Harold is going to make it also. Thanks to you. Everyone else from your team is okay. Heimbold was shot in the arm and Hernandez was grazed … a minor head wound, I think.”
“And the mission? Did that convoy ever get through?”
Captain Grimes walked in. He’d been hanging around, checking on everyone there at the hospital. When he heard voices coming from Missy’s room, he came right in. “The mission was a huge success, Private McCrea! The Afghans are now in full control and the Taliban are in complete disarray. Once they failed to stop things at Kandagal, they just couldn’t put together any other strategy that was effective. Many of their key leaders were in that base, of course, and were either killed or else are now POW’s.”
“That’s great news, Sir!” Missy sat back and let this all wash through her. It was really over. And, everyone on her team had made it. “Hey, I didn’t even do any obvious magic, so my secrets are still safe, right?”
Marsha nodded and said, “Yes, but you probably need to take a few days before you let the doctors notice how quickly you’re getting all healed up. Can you manage that?”
“I can and I will … besides, I’m feeling rather drained right now … I think I used quite a bit of my healing energy on the guys, so maybe it’ll take me a bit longer anyways.”
Grimes said, “Sergeant Murphy was wondering why none of you bled out. Especially that stomach wound Sergeant Harold received … that normally would never have stopped bleeding like that. Murphy keeps asking me … about you and whether you did anything … he knows how special you are.”
Missy smiled. “Well, they all do know that about me. They know I’m not a normal girl. But, they’ll keep my secret and keep quiet about that, right?”
-----
July 29, 2019
Missy suddenly woke up. She’d been in a deep sleep but the surge of energy she felt jolted her awake. She knew immediately what she was experiencing and why. Mike, it’s so great to feel you again! They told me you were flying over here … have you landed yet?
Mike was thrilled to once again be getting her mental messages. They continued to communicate back and forth for the rest of his flight, which took two more hours. Les met him at the airport and cleared him through customs and immigration. Then, thirty minutes later, he entered her room and there she was.
Missy was so happy to see him when he walked into her room that she began to cry. She couldn’t remember ever crying like that but the tears of happiness just wouldn’t stop. Once again, she was complete. Her energy level was back, stronger than ever. She knew she’d have no problem Shifting, now that Mike was there. That, of course, would accel
erate her healing and she’d be good as new.
Well, with a few more scars of course. But, the one on her abdomen was low enough … below the belt, actually, almost like she’d had her appendix removed … and since her left shoulder and back were already scarred? She figured all of these new bullet hole scars would hardly even be noticed.
The two of them stayed like that for a long, long time. Just hugging one another, while Missy cried. They both experienced yet another of their Missy and Mike moments. Finally, Mike stretched out beside her on the bed, pulled her back down into his warm embrace and a minute later, she was in a deep sleep once again. Mike remained wide awake, just holding her tight while she slept. As the hours went by, with doctors and nurses coming and going, Les and Marsha kept watch and made sure they weren’t disturbed.
Epilogue
Aug 17, 2019
The Acceptance Day Parade was very meaningful for Missy this year. She was back, having returned from convalescent leave the day before. The Superintendent had been quite happy about accepting her back into West Point. Her “P” Branch buddies had even managed getting her close friend Tracy assigned as her roommate for the first half of the year.
They’d told General Blake how that would maybe help … in case Missy experienced any PTSD. While she was a supernatural and everything, she was also a nineteen year old girl who had just returned home from some recent combat. The General had been very glad to make a few calls. If there was anything else he could do for Missy, just let him know.
Missy had flown home two weeks earlier and had really enjoyed herself ever since. She and Mike had spent a lot of time together and somehow their relationship had gone to yet another whole new level. Their bond, whatever it was … whether a mating bond as she sometimes had believed or else perhaps a supernatural spiritual bond as her enhanced senses and instincts all seemed to be telling her more and more lately … it was now a stronger bond than ever.
As Missy marched with the Corp of Cadets out onto the Plain, one of the thirty three hundred upperclass cadets who were about to welcome the twelve hundred or so new plebes to join them, she was happy. Once again, she was where she was supposed to be and she felt a whole gamut of emotions.
They were all wearing their short-sleeve white shirts, white cross belts with polished brass breastplates, grey trousers, white gloves and white hats. They carried M14 rifles and moved in orderly precision, marching out while the band played. It was an impressive ceremony and one that she was able to appreciate now, much more than she had a year ago when she’d first participated in all this as a plebe.
Ceremonies were an important part of being in the military. Her Special Forces team had insisted on a ceremony, just to say goodbye to her. They’d all come over to the hospital in Kabul, mostly so Sergeants Carter and Harold could be brought outside in their wheelchairs. Hernandez and Heimbold had already been released, as had she. Five wounded out of the nine on her team, but all making full recoveries.
There had been some casualties for the other CAW teams, with over two dozen wounded and three dead. Captain Godfrey from Team Nineteen had been one of those killed. While the loss of these three lives would probably not be considered as very significant in the overall scheme of things and Campaign Angel’s Wing was now over, its objectives fully met, Missy was deeply moved by how great a sacrifice her fellow soldiers had made. They’d saved Afghanistan and probably Pakistan as well … at least for a little while. They’d died serving their country, as so many other soldiers had done in the past.
Colonel Chory had said some nice things about her during the goodbye ceremony and had even talked about the awards she’d eventually be receiving. In addition to the Purple Heart and Afghan Campaign Medal, she had been put in for a Bronze Star with “V” Device. The “V” Device was for valor and her actions in pulling Carter and Harold out of the line of fire had been written up in the citation as the reason why she had earned this medal.
She had been presented with one award which she’d been entitled to receive immediately. Colonel Chory was very pleased to be the one giving this to her. The Combat Infantrymen Badge, or CIB. This had a three inch wide rectangular bar with infantry blue background for a silver musket, all of which was superimposed on an elliptical oak-leaf wreath, also silver. The musket dated back to the War of Independence era. She would now wear this badge just above any of her service medal ribbons, with her Parachutist Badge positioned above that.
In many ways, Missy felt the CIB was her most important award. This award went to all those in combat and assigned to an infantry or Special Forces unit, but until recent years, women had not been assigned to such units. She was wearing it now and she knew it would always have tremendous meaning for her.
Mike had been at the ceremony, along with Les and Marsha. Major Flament had also been there. What she remembered about the ceremony was how difficult it had been to say goodbye. She knew these men would all have been very pleased to have her stay and continue serving with them. But, they’d all assured her how important it was for her to return to West Point. They’d all wanted her to go back and earn her commission as an officer. When they’d told her she was special, she really had laughed at that.
So, today Missy was indeed feeling all sorts of emotions and other things. Love from her Mike, her family and her friends; pride about what she’d accomplished; excitement about being back at the academy; and special. Yeah, the guys on Team Twenty-Two had definitely made her feel special.
From the Author
Thank you for reading Missy’s First Mission, my third book about Missy. I hope you enjoy reading about Missy and her friends as much as I enjoy writing about her. I’ve always loved stories about female characters with special powers along with stories about witches and werewolves. Future books in this series are planned, so keep checking on Amazon.
I hope you will consider leaving a review for Missy’s First Mission on Amazon, letting others know what you think about this book and this series. Word-of-mouth is crucial for any author to succeed. Your kind words, even if only a line or two, will help others decide to read about Missy and inspire me to keep this series going for many more books. That would make all the difference and be hugely appreciated. Thanks in advance!
Table of Contents
Prologue
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-One
Chapter Twenty-Two
Chapter Twenty-Three
Chapter Twenty-Four
Chapter Twenty-Five
Chapter Twenty-Six
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Chapter Thirty
Chapter Thirty-One
Chapter Thirty-Two
Chapter Thirty-Three
Chapter Thirty-Four
Chapter Thirty-Five
Epilogue
From the Author
Missy's First Mission Page 35