“Yawl?” Talbot echoed. “Thank God you're alive. I didn't want to be the one going back home and telling your mother that you weren't coming back.”
They exchanged stories of their time apart while driving to a hotel in the center of town. When they arrived, Ron saw the rest of his team lined up on one side of a long red carpet leading into a fancy, modern hotel lobby, decorated for a wedding reception, with festive lights and paintings lining the entrance way. He did not recognize the line of soldiers wearing different uniforms on the other side of the carpet.
Ron got out of the vehicle with more assistance while both sides of the reception cheered. Noise from the American side contained raucous yelling. Hal Redman held up a sign that read:
Here comes Prince Charming and Sleeping Beauty, Cinderella, Snow White, and Damsel in Distress.
Sleeping Beauty, Cinderella, and Snow White had a big red line through each.
Jack Davidson yelled, “Lucy, you got some 'splainin' to do.”
After greeting his team, one by one, another limo pulled up to the carpet. This caused everyone to stop whatever they were doing, since the soldiers on the other side snapped to attention.
Sergei jumped out of the passenger seat and opened the door for General Tamarov who sprung out of the vehicle in his best dress uniform displaying a large row of ribbons across the chest.
Next, Sarah emerged with her father helping her out of the vehicle, dressed in an elaborate Russian wedding dress. As the two stood together, General Tamarov broke the existing trance by announcing, “Guests of honor! Please welcome my beautiful daughter, Mrs. Sarah Rajiv–Tamarov Hawkins!”
Both sides of the carpet erupted with rambunctious cheering, cheering that continued while General Tamarov walked arm-in-arm with Sarah up to SSG Ron Hawkins.
“My son, I present to you … my daughter.”
Ron saluted to the general and replied, “With great honor, sir!”
Ron and Sarah stood staring at each other, both smiling.
“Well, go on! You may kiss the bride!” somebody yelled from the crowd.
“He wasn't wrong about her being one of the most beautiful girls that he's ever seen!” Chris said to Master Sergeant Talbot.
“Nope. His mama even loves her.”
Everybody followed the newlywed couple into the reserved room and took their assigned places. Ron and Sarah were front and center. The two generals on either side of them.
“Before we begin, I have a surprise for my daughter,” Tamarov announced.
Dr. Rajiv appeared at the door dressed in his traditional clothing that he had on in Golbahar. Sarah looked at Tamarov and gave him a big hug. “Thank you, Papa!” Then she ran over to embrace Dr. Rajiv who held out his arms toward her. “Papa!”
“You see,” Tamarov began, “one can have two fathers. And now, I believe General Summers has a surprise for SSG Hawkins. General?”
General Summers stood up. Before the wedding feast begins, I'd like to propose a toast.”
Everybody stood up.
“To mothers.”
That was the cue for Ron's mother, Charlene Hawkins to emerge in a beautiful winter gown. Ron was so stunned he dropped his champagne glass.
“Mama!” he yelled as he half ran and half limped towards her. He embraced her and she returned it with tears. “I am glad you are still here!”
“May the wedding feast commence and may there be many more unions between our two peoples, our two countries!” Tamarov interrupted.
Everybody cheered, the music blared, and the toasting with vodka continued throughout the night.
27
1 March 2002
The apartment complex provided simple comfort for the young couple as they waited to move into a house on post. Located just outside Fort Campbell in Clarksville, Tennessee, he wanted Sarah to be close enough to use the Post Exchange and commissary.
Still not one-hundred percent healthy, Ron's wounds were nonetheless healing under a doctor's watchful eye, along with Sarah's skillful eyes as a nurse. His convalescent leave coincided with his honeymoon and General Tamarov had escorted them to the Ukraine for two days before he sent them to Nice, France as a wedding gift.
It was there in Nice when Ron made good on his promise of giving her the nicest wedding ring she ever saw. At Cartier's jewelry shop in Nice, he told her to select any one she desired. Her eyes lit up like a little girl in a candy store. Thanks to monetary contributions from General Tamarov, and General Summers, Sarah chose the most sparkling diamond cluster featured in the store.
Since the one she selected was not that expensive, Ron still had money left over, so he surprised her with a beautiful emerald necklace, telling her, “Something to match your eyes, princess.”
Sarah also got along well with the team members' wives who welcomed her as one of their own. Carol, Chris Short's wife, was her closest friend. When the four of them were together one evening, Carol told the story about the time she took Sarah to lunch at Rafferty's Restaurant & Bar in Nashville earlier in the week.
“I got up to go to the restroom and asked if Sarah wanted to join me. She seemed confused by the question, so I asked if she would be okay here by herself. When she nodded, I assumed she would be okay by herself at the table.
“But, in my absence,” Carol continued, “a big football player type spotted her sitting alone and flirted with her, offering to buy her some drinks. Sarah must have thought that it was a customary gesture so she—”
Sarah interrupted Carol with a giggle. “I said, 'Okay, thank you.' I didn't know.”
Ron and Chris exchanged concerned glances.
Carole continued. “So when I came back to the table, she told me about the guy and pointed to him. I said, 'Honey, he wants to hit on you.”
The girls and Chris laughed but Ron was not finding the humor.
Sarah spoke. “And I said, 'Why does he want to hit me?”
Carol continued, “Yeah, so I explained to her what he wanted and then she got upset.”
“Well, he was no different than the Taliban. He should not have tried to take what did not belong to him,” Sarah interrupted again.
“Wait until you hear the hilarious part! I laughed so hard I thought I would choke!”
Ron looked surprised. “What?”
“Well, the guy comes back with two drinks, looks at me like, 'Why are you here?' And before anything more can be said or explained, Sarah jumps up, stands in front of him, takes the drink he held out to her, and splashes it in his face, yelling, 'How dare you? I am a married woman!' while holding her hand with that gorgeous ring on her finger in front of his face.”
Chris erupted in laughter. Ron's eyes widened. “You did what?”
Sarah's cheeks reddened with embarrassment. She held her head down and looked up at Ron with her eyes. “Well, he could see I was wearing your ring, but he did not respect my marriage.”
Ron got up, walked towards her, leaned over, gave her a big, gentle hug, and said, “I'm very proud of you, princess, but he could have hurt you.”
“Never! I wouldn't have let him,” Carol said.
“Sarah, you are a brave and loyal woman. I love you so much.”
She raised her head, and said, “I thought you were mad at me.”
“Nope.”
Sarah reached for his face with both hands, planted a kiss on his forehead, and said, “Thank you, my love.”
* * *
When Ron arrived home one afternoon, Sarah greeted him at the door with a wide jubilant smile. “Sit down, hurry!”
He tried to get his boots off at the door but she persisted. “Not now, that can wait! Come, sit!” Sarah pulled him to the couch and patted the cushion next to her.
Ron half stumbled onto the couch next to her and the moment he did, she jumped up, spun around, and knelt in front of him at his knees.
“Is everything all right, princess?” Ron asked alarmed. Sarah rested her hands on his legs and stared into his eyes. Smiling, her teeth glea
ming with delight, she exclaimed, “We will have a baby!”
Ron froze with his mouth still open, his eyes widening as if he had seen a ghost. “Wha-what?”
“A baby! You and me! We will have the most beautiful baby in the world!”
Ron sat motionless as if still in shock. Sarah's look changed from total joy to one of deep concern until Ron, in one leaping motion, jumped up as high as he could, careful not to hit his wife in the process, and yelled, as if at a football game, “YES!” Sarah expressed confusion when Ron pumped his fist up and down in the air. Then he leaped high into the air, wincing when he landed. Before Sarah could respond, he grabbed her by both hands and danced with a slight limp.
Sarah danced with joy, squeezing Ron's hands. Swept in the moment, she was living her dream that came true. She could not think of no finer moment.
PART TWO
Prologue
Fallujah 2006
The rotor blades roared, drowning the clinking, pinging sounds hitting metal. Hovering approximately four to five feet above the tattered two-story brick-and-mortar rooftop, the door gunner aimed carefully with covering fire, ensuring none of the 7.62-mm rounds from his M60 machine gun hit any of the four Special Forces soldiers running or limping toward the evacuation chopper.
Ron Hawkins and Chris Short were on both sides of Dave Sutherland, dragging him with his mangled leg toward the craft. A trail of red blood smeared across the brown surface like a giant paintbrush, adding to the array of colors mixed on the rooftop palette. John Banks stayed behind the three, firing his weapon at the doorway in an effort to keep the insurgents from reaching them.
The jihad martyrs had swarmed the school building like ants, chasing the last four Special Forces soldiers from the original twelve-man group who were holding what was left of the structure for two hours. When John reached the Black Hawk helicopter, it lifted with a jerk. Two enemy rounds crashed into his body, one in the chest and the other his left leg, just below the knee.
“AAAHHH!”
Dangling over the skid, the impact caused him to slump backward, nearly falling twenty feet back into the swarming enemy. Ron quickly grabbed his ammo vest and held on until he was able to gain a better grip as the chopper pulled abruptly away.
“HOLD ON!”
One of the insurgents aimed a rocket-propelled grenade toward them. The Black Hawk made a rapid U-turn and flew directly at him, causing the insurgent to fall backward before he could pull the trigger. As they flew by, Chris Short tossed a twenty-pound satchel charge of C-4 explosive down into the crowd, still standing on the roof firing skyward. They had no time to react before the explosion sent a pink mushroom cloud into the sky, leaving the building in rubble.
The bird continued on its way back to Baghdad, straight to the Combat Support Hospital in the Green Zone, where other medevac's had previously landed. Ron Hawkins tended to Dave while Chris worked on John. The chopper descended onto the concrete pad where three bright-green gators waited, IV poles with filled bags hooked to the back.
“That last shot knocked the wind out of me,” John shouted.
“At least it didn't knock you out!”
Ron and Chris helped transfer SFC Sutherland onto a waiting stretcher while other medics placed SFC Banks on a different litter.
Chris glanced at Ron. “Do you think we're finished there?”
Looking back, Ron answered, “Only God knows. But if so now, we'll be back another day—you can count on it.”
1
August 29, 2014
Ron could not sleep. Tossing and turning throughout the night, he laid staring at the dark ceiling above him, thoughts weighing heavily on his mind. Sarah's warm body was snuggled up against his, the bottom of her feet pressed against his calf as she lay curled up facing the opposite end of the bed.
He loved her touch, so rather than moving away from her body heat, he removed the sheets to receive the full blast of air from the ceiling fan. Earlier, before going to bed, Ron revealed to Sarah about the previous day's events, how he was asked to put his new plans on hold so he could lead a new team into northern Iraq to link with the Peshmerga forces who were defending the oil fields in Kirkuk against the throng of ISIS forces.
Recalling the classified reports containing horrific photos coming out of Mosul, images graphic enough to disturb him deeply for days, he felt an obligation to once again, save the worlds oppressed. The evil hordes of ISIS executed human beings in mass along their path anywhere they went, including women and children.
Women—brutally raped, along with children, slaughtered like animals in front of their parents. Ron firmly believed that the ISIS forces were satanic in nature and that their whole purpose was a perverse way of imposing its brand of Islam worldwide with a devilish caliphate. Despicable violence came to anybody not embracing their faith.
Colonel Carter had pulled Ron aside after he arrived to work, thinking it would be another uneventful day of closing out operations and breaking in the “new guy.” He remembered the moment too vividly.
“Hawk, a minute?”
“Sure sir, what's up?”
“You've been requested to take a team into Irbil next week. Before you say anything, I will try to find out more. I know you have one foot out the door already.”
“Yes sir, this is definitely a surprise. I'll wait for further instructions.”
“Do what you planned to do today, I'll let you know.”
“Roger, sir.”
Startled by the timing, Ron began to speculate on the various scenarios and the reasons for his selection. If anybody was going to give him the straight scoop, it would be Colonel Carter, an officer he highly respected and who he had teamed with since 2001 while in Afghanistan.
They had also worked together on missions in Iraq in 2006 and 2007 during a very successful campaign in the Anbar Province. Their team successfully diffused a volatile nation-building project by immersing themselves among prominent Sunni tribal leaders and uniting them together against Al-Qaeda insurgents in much the same way they did in Afghanistan against the Taliban forces.
Finally, around two in the morning, he lifted his feet over the edge of the bed to slip away, lumbering toward the stairs, tripping over his boots, causing a minor ruckus.
“Where are you going?” Sarah asked him in quiet voice, breaking the silence.
“I was just going to the bathroom and then maybe downstairs a bit. I can't sleep.”
Sarah rolled over to face Ron, who sat back down at the edge of the bed. “I can't sleep either. I've been thinking about what you told me.”
Turning to face her, Ron said, “I'm sorry, princess. I did not mean to upset you so much. I was not sure how or when I was going to tell you about it, but Carter wanted a decision within twenty-four hours. I know it's quick.”
“Yes, I know. I have been thinking about this too. Ron, I am so sorry for acting a bit selfish. I think you should go,” Sarah said softly.
He detected some uncertainty in her voice.
“You need to help those people the way you helped me.”
“Oh, baby, it's okay. I have decided to turn down the mission and accept the move to Tampa. At the end of the day, Carter gave me a choice and said he would understand if I did not want to go back this time. I won't leave you and the kids alone again.”
Sarah suddenly grabbed the top of his T-shirt with both hands and stared into his eyes. “Go! You must not let me stop you from helping those people. It is in your heart to help! You saved me the same way, remember? I know what it is like to be a victim of such terror.” Sarah stabbed her finger at his chest, as she so often did when making a point. “You know right here you must go.”
Ron studied her, trying to predict her present emotional state by looking into her eyes. She did not flinch. “I found a verse in the Bible that describes you well. It is from Psalm 72. I highlighted verses 12 and 13, writing your name beside them.”
“What did they say?”
“He will rescue the po
or when they cry to him; he will help the oppressed, who have no one to defend them. He feels pity for the weak and the needy, and he will rescue them.”
“So, you think this is me?”
“Of course it is you!” Before he could answer, Sarah tightened her grip on Ron's shirt and whispered, “You promise to come back to me, First Sergeant Ron Hawkins. Promise me!”
Ron stared back into her pleading eyes. “Princess, there is nothing on this planet that could keep me from coming back to the prettiest woman God created.”
Her lips spread apart slightly, revealing a mischievous smile. “What time do you have to go in today?” She asked, still holding Ron's shirt in both of her hands.
Glancing at the glowing numbers on the alarm clock, he smiled back at her. “Not for another six hours or so. And you're off today, right?”
Sarah's grin grew wider and before Ron could blink, she jerked hard on his shirt, pulling him in a heap on top of her. Grabbing the back of his head with her hand, she planted her lips onto his mouth without any intention of removing them.
Ron's despondent emotions quickly disappeared, replaced by an energized passion that took over his complete senses. He responded to Sarah's spontaneous affection with “full battle rattle” and renewed vigor.
* * *
Wearing tanned uniform trousers and T-shirt, Ron was busy in the kitchen when Asha, their nearly twelve-year-old daughter, walked to the cabinet for a box of cereal. “Good morning, honey. I'm fixing eggs and sausage if you want some.”
Without saying anything, a sleepy Asha put the cereal box back in the closet and walked to the kitchen table to sit down.
“Are you okay?” Ron asked.
“I'm fine.”
“How's school going?”
“It's okay.”
“You're off today, huh?”
“Yep! I mean, yes sir!” she answered, finally breaking into a smile.
Ron smiled and quickly added, “Hey, I work for a living, so stop…”
“I know, I know, stop calling you sir. Mom tells me I should though.”
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