by Wade, Maddie
“Stay inside, Skye. I don’t want you going out on your own until we have this sorted out. Zin and Zack have cleared Reg and his cohorts to provide protection for the outside of the building.”
“Don’t worry about us, we`ll be fine you just get you and Noah home safe.” Skye answered. He dropped one more kiss on her lush mouth and left.
He met with Zack and the team out the front. They piled into two bullet proof SUV’s and rolled out. As soon as he had his comms up and working, the first thing he did was tell Drew that if things went south, then Reg was to get Skye out of the tech room. The helmets they were wearing had cameras in them, that way, any information was fed back to Fortis and recorded. It would help with evidence and the feed would allow Drew or Will to do an instant facial recognition.
Unfortunately, it meant they would see what the helmet cams saw. He didn’t want her hearing or seeing any of that shit. It was bad enough that she would hear the rest, but if he or Noah got hurt, he didn’t want her listening in, or worse, watching.
He was in the front with Zack driving, and Kanan behind him. Dane and Daniel were in the other vehicle with Zin and Lucy. Kanan had said very little as they geared up. Nate was still trying to control the desire to punch him into next week, but he had enough control to wait until after this was over before he did that.
He was interested to know what the history was with him and Zack. They had a relaxed, yet familiar, body language around each other that belied the obvious animosity. Zack had obviously known him a long time if the fact that Zack, who trusted no one, was willing to trust this man and care for his sister.
It was an odd dynamic, and one Nate fervently hoped would work. Zack had promised to explain the details of Kanan’s involvement after the op was successful. Nate agreed that he didn’t need the man’s history to know he was highly trained, probably with a special forces background. He could work with that; he just didn’t plan on being his new best buddy.
It was nearly four in the morning when they made the approach to Lockwood Manor. Jack Granger had checked in and said everything was quiet and were in position. They had eye-balled eight more men spread out in the woods, and their best sniper was in position to take them out, at will.
Eidolon had even more impressive contacts than Zack, and his went to the top. So the fact that Eidolon had been given authorisation for all of them to use kill shots did not surprise Nate. The order had come down from up high that they would preferred it if the men could be detained for questioning, though.
Luckily for them, Will was Jack’s brother and Sly’s cousin, so, the Eidolon guys were always more than willing and able to help in sticky situations. Zack had also served with Jack at some point, although, Nate didn’t know the details of that. He wasn’t sure who gave Eidolon the authorisation, but it wasn’t the government or SIS, because they had been compromised.
Nate could feel his pulse pick up in the familiar rush he got before a mission. Everything was riding on this one and that made the rush feel different. More intense somehow–like his whole future was riding on this one mission.
He thought of Noah for the first time since they had planned the rescue. He hadn’t allowed himself to think of him before for fear of it interfering with his objectivity. Now, he thought of him and wondered what state he was in. Kanan had indicated that he was very sick, and Nate was scared they would be too late. No, he couldn’t go there. Noah was a fighter and he would hold on until Nate came for him.
He was Noah’s superhero after all.
They parked a mile from the Manor, hiding the vehicles in the woods. Zin and Lucy hoofed it to the front gate to wait for the go-signal from Zack. Dane and Daniel disappeared into the night like apparitions. The way those two worked together never ceased to amaze Nate. It was as if they were of one mind.
This was Daniel’s first mission since losing Claire. He had said he wouldn’t do any more missions like this, but when it had come down to it, he had insisted that he be in on this one. Nate was relieved. Daniel was one of the finest and calmest operators Nate knew, and he knew many fine men. The fact that he was the team medic was a big plus in case Noah needed him.
Trudging through the sodden undergrowth, at a fast clip, was tough, but they made it to the back edge of the Lockwood Manor estate in record time. Hunching down in position, he waited for Zack to give the green light. His body was thrumming with adrenalin, and the need to get in there was strong.
Zack hunkered beside him, with Kanan to Zack’s left.
“When we have confirmation that the perimeter and gate are down, we need to move fast. Eidolon will do the breach and we’ll go in behind. You and K will head for the upstairs, and I’ll cover your six.”
“Copy,” Nate and Kanan both whispered.
Nate listened as Zack gave the order to go. A minute later, he could hear the pops of gunfire as Dane and Daniel took out the perimeter guards. They were too far away to hear what was happening at the gate, but it soon became apparent that Zin and Lucy had things under control. Through the comms came confirmation, from Lucy, that the gate was secure.
“Go,” said Zack, and they ran for the door, just seconds behind a five-man Eidolon team who had breached the door. Weapon up and at his shoulder, night vision goggles in place, Nate was ready when the electricity was cut by Dane.
Following Kanan towards the stairs, he could hear Eidolon exchanging fire with the tangoes downstairs. He caught a flash of light to his left as he reached the top and turned, firing and taking the man out at the leg. He rushed to secure him, but the man reached for his secondary weapon, giving Nate no choice but to go for the kill shot.
Quickly moving behind Kanan, who was taking out two men near the attic door, Nate fired a head shot at a man who was about to come behind Kanan from the opposite door.
“Ground floor secure,” came Jack over the comms.
“Copy,” confirmed Zack.
Nate moved in front of Kanan and opened the attic door, carefully. He threw in a flash bang and followed. Two men rushed the stairs and Nate took out one as Kanan took out the other. Stepping over the men, Nate ascended the stairs. The room was dark, but Nate could clearly make out the hospital type bed through his NVG’s.
He could hear Kanan and Zack behind him as he cautiously approached the bed.
“Tell Dane to get some lights on so I can see properly,” Nate yelled. He heard Zack shout to someone.
Nate’s eyes were glued to the small lifeless body in the middle of the bed.
Chapter Sixteen
His heart stopped, as he got closer, the lights came on, blinding him for a second, before he tore his NVG‘s off. As if propelling him out of his fog, he ran for the bed. Noah was pale and listless, his tiny body looking grey against the white sheets. Nate reached out to gently touch his fingers to Noah’s neck.
His skin was clammy to touch and Nate fought the fear that threatened to overwhelm him. His hand shook slightly as he searched for a pulse. Please, God, don’t let them be too late.
He heard an almighty, animalistic roar as Kanan came to stand beside him. The grief on the other man’s face was harrowing. Nate stood there for a second. Noah’s face cradled in his big hand and then he felt it.
A very faint thread of a pulse. The relief almost took his legs from under him.
“Daniel! Up here now, I have a pulse,” Nate roared at over the comms. He quickly stripped the sheet off Noah and wrapped him in his arms. Cradling the boy’s face to his chest as he rocked him and willed him to live, he whispered reassuring words in his ear
Kanan was slumped against the wall and was now sucking in deep breathes. Zack had gone down to the bottom of the stairs and was waiting for Daniel.
“Come on, Noah. Fight, son. We still have to teach you how to play rugby. And you have to give me a chance to redeem myself at Lego Batman.” He kissed Noah’s forehead and wiped away the wetness that was forming on his little face, not realising it was coming from him.
So engrossed was h
e, he never saw the threat that came from behind the boxes at his six. But Kanan had, and he jumped in front of the bullet and shot the tango in the head. Nate watched as Kanan fell to the ground, a bullet taking him down. He saved Nate’s life.
Nate gently laid Noah down on the bed and rushed to Kanan.
He was passed out, bullet wound to the left side of his neck. It looked like he also hit his head on the metal bed as he fell. Stupid idiot had taken off his helmet. He applied pressure to the wound and radioed down.
“Zack. K is down–repeat K is down.”
“Copy,” Zack replied.
Daniel came running up the stairs, Zack on his heels, and went straight to Noah. Kanan was coming round now, starting to talk. The wound looked more superficial than life threatening. Nate left Kanan with Zack and went back to Noah. Daniel was putting a line in his arm, administering some saline.
“We need an air ambulance now,” Daniel said. “I’m not sure what they have given him, so all I can give him right now is IV fluids and oxygen. His pulse is weak and he is hypotensive. I need to get his blood pressure up but we can’t push the fluids too fast, otherwise, we send him into shock.”
“An air ambulance is en-route. Nate, can you carry him down and Daniel will stay with you and carry the IV. Dane and I will help K.” said Zack
“I don’t need help, for fuck’s sake. It’s just a scratch, so stop harping on like you’re my mother. Just get the kid sorted,” grouched a grumpy Kanan.
Nate zoned out the bellyaching going on between Zack and Kanan and concentrated on Noah. He looked so pale–paler than normal. He lifted him gently in his arms and accepted the blanket Daniel was tucking in around Noah as he stood. Starting down the stairs, he was relieved to see the house had been cleared. The Eidolon guys were handling clean up. Fortis was concentrating on Noah.
This little boy had managed to steal everyone’s hearts with his bravery and resilience. He was always happy and content. Adults could learn a lot from him, like how to appreciate what you had not what you didn’t. Following Zin and Lucy through the door to the massive lawn at the back, he was surprised to see the air ambulance was already there.
Rushing over to the ambulance’s door, he held Noah close to shield him from the cold. He was hesitant to hand Noah over to the paramedics, but knew they could do what he couldn’t. They quickly transferred him into the helicopter and got him ready for transport. The paramedic had noticed Kanan off to one side and decided his injury was worrying enough to get him aboard the flight, too.
Kanan had put a bit of a fight, but he was looking pretty shitty now. He gave in, quickly, under the pretence that they were wasting time for Noah.
Once aboard, Nate sat next to Noah and held his hand while the paramedic checked Noah’s eyes, his reflexes, and his vital signs. His eyes were dilating as they should be and his pulse and blood pressure had improved slightly. His temperature was through the roof, again, though. So the paramedic administered junior paracetamol and ibuprofen.
“Thank you,” Nate said suddenly, turning to Kanan, “for saving my life.”
“No thanks necessary. You wouldn’t have been there if it wasn’t for me,” Kanan said in a dejected voice. Nate could see by his tight expression, and hear in the man’s voice, that he was taking this hard and his anger thaw a little. Maybe this man did have a shred of humanity left in him. Nate didn’t say more. What could he say anyway? Kanan was right, but it wasn’t Nate’s nature to be cruel.
They arrived at the hospital minutes later, touching down on the roof. The paramedics unloaded Noah as the hospital trauma and paediatric team ran towards them with a stretcher. Nate turned to thank the crew and was shocked as shit to see who was flying the aircraft.
His Royal Highness the Duke of Cambridge, gave Nate, and a now smiling Kanan, a jaunty salute and went back to his control panel.
Nate shook his head. Noah would be gutted to have missed that. Kanan insisted on walking himself inside and shrugged off the nurses who tried to get him into a wheelchairl. Following Noah as he was taken straight to the Paediatric ICU unit, he watched as Kanan went the other way towards accident and emergency The nurses patiently told him he had to wait outside while they stabilised Noah and ran some blood tests to determine what he had been given.
He rang Skye, his heart hammering as he waited for her to pick up.
“Nate,” he heard the fear in her voice. She sounded terrified. “What’s happening? Drew made me leave. Is he okay? Have you got Noah?” Her voice broke then, and he heard Lizzie in the back ground telling her to sit down before she fell down. He would do anything to be able to hold her right now.
He realised, in that moment, what she was feeling earlier had been guilt because right now, he felt the same. He had been enjoying the time with Skye while Noah was fighting for his life. He couldn’t tell her over the phone, he couldn’t seem to get the words out to tell her how poorly he was.
“Skye, mi cielo, It’s okay. We have him…” He didn’t get any further because she must have dropped the phone. All he could hear was her broken sobs. He heard Reg talking to her and the Lizzie was on the line.
“Nate, it’s Liz,” she sounded tentative. “What’s happened?”
“We have Noah, but Liz, he’s really sick. It’s going to be touch-and-go. You need to get Skye here, asap. Don’t let on how bad it is if you can. Just get her here quickly.”
“Is he in Hereford?”
“Yes. They have him in the paediatric ICU.”
“Okay, we will get her there. See you soon”
“Thanks, Liz.”
Nate went back to pacing the corridor outside the ICU and was still doing it when Dane and Daniel came rushing through the door.
“How is he, man?” Daniel asked, laying a hand on Nate’s shoulder. He had a young daughter so he knew how Nate was feeling, come to think of it, so would Dane–his fiancé was expecting twins.
“Don’t know. They took him back there and I haven’t seen anyone.” He was trying everything to control the fear clawing at his gut.
“They are probably just getting him stable and comfortable. They will come and talk when they can,” Daniel said.
Nate bent and put his hands on his knees, pulling in some oxygen as his head spun. Daniel and Dane led him to a chair and pushed him into it.
“Put your head between your knees, Nate,” said Daniel, “That’s it, deep breaths.”
“What am I going to tell her?” Nate asked, “How do I tell her? He looked so sick.”
“Nate, Skye is strong. Look what she has already been through with Noah. She’s still the beautiful, strong woman you know.” Daniel said as he sat next to Nate.
“You should’ve heard her, though. She just collapsed when I told her we had him; Lizzie had to talk to me. All I could hear was her sobbing like her world was ending.”
Daniel nodded and was silent for second. Nate instantly felt like a bastard. He was putting all this on Daniel who had lost his wife just five short months ago.
“Man, I’m sorry. I didn’t think. I shouldn’t be dumping this on you.”
“No, it’s all right. It feels good to be useful again. You’re wrong, though. What you heard was relief. Skye knows that while he’s alive and with you, he has a chance. And as a parent…that’s good enough for her to work with. Everything else she can deal with, somehow. He’s alive and getting the treatment he needs.”
Nate nodded his head in affirmation, finally understanding. “I suppose that makes sense. It’s tricky, this parenting thing.”
Daniel laughed, “Oh, man, is it. I’d rather face a Taliban fighter than Paige when I’ve cut her toast into squares instead of triangles.” Nate laughed then, and he felt some of the tension ease.
“Uncle Dane never makes that mistake,” Dane joked.
“But uncles never do. Daddies, however, can and you won’t be so smug when you have two screaming at you for cutting the toast the wrong way.” Daniel laughed and Dane groaned. The men fell into
a comfortable, but anxious, silence while they waited.
What seemed like forever, but was actually only ten minutes later, Skye came running through the doors, closely followed by Lizzie. Nate jumped up and met her. She grabbed his hands tightly and her eyes moved over him quickly, trying to ascertain if he was okay.
“Where is he?” she demanded.
“He is with the doctors; they wouldn’t let me in. I will get Dane to let the Doctors know you are here. Skye, come and sit down.” Dane got up, having heard and headed for the nurses station. Nate grasped her arm and gently pulled her over to the chairs. She was reluctant and kept looking at the door, as if she could, somehow, see through it to see if he was okay.
“Skye, listen to me,” he made her face him before he continued. “It`s bad Skye, he is very poorly.” His heart broke as her breath hitched and she fought back a sob. “He was unconscious when we found him and has been unresponsive. His vitals did pick up on the way here, but I want you to be prepared. He doesn’t look well.” Skye nodded her eyes looking glassy with tears.
“It`s fine, Nate. I’ve seen Noah look poorly and I can handle it,” she said, and she looked determined and strong and he fell just a little bit more in love with her. “He’s here and he is going to be fine. I refuse to believe that, after everything he has been through, that now, when hope is in sight, he would be taken from me.” Her posture straightened with every word, and Nate knew that he was done for. He looked into her big brown eyes, shining with strength and love, and knew he was a goner.
His mother had always said he was a sensitive soul and would fall hard when he eventually met the one for him. It was just the way he was built. It was that sensitive soul that had gotten him hurt in the past, but he knew with a certainty he had never felt before, that Skye would never hurt him. He’d make it his life’s mission to make sure nobody hurt her or Noah ever again.
When he was growing up, he’d been shy and often times would find himself stepping in to defend those weaker than him, or even sometimes those that weren’t.