by Maree Green
The call to move out was sharp and pressing. Just like the previous two strikes the week before, it was imperative we follow immediately with ground force while the enemy was still reeling. Lives depended on it.
Over the two weeks we’d been camped out on the remote northern outskirts of the city of Raqqa, our recon runs had managed to locate two separate holding cells where the Islamic State had imprisoned a number of Yazidi families. With the Kurds leading the rescue, we were to assist in their retrieval. Tonight.
I tried to keep my head directly in the task at hand, but after listening to the stories of what they were most likely doing to the young girls and women they had in captivity, it was fucking hard. My mind kept going to Amy, picturing her in the same situation, and it sparked the darkest of black rage inside me I’d ever known.
With focused movements, we filtered into the city like silent shadows. Explosions were still piercing the air around the weapons store point, followed by sporadic bouts of machine-gun fire. The latter made me increasingly nervous. I knew we didn’t have any men that far in the city just yet, so I sincerely hoped they were just shooting out of confusion or as a warning, and not eliminating prisoners.
Following Nelson down a darkened alley, I held my rifle at the ready, scanning the surrounding area through my night-vision goggles as we moved. At the end, Sergeant Cooper gave a signal to halt and crouch, while the Kurds cleared a busted gate for us to proceed.
Shouts and more gunshots came, this time deeper in the city, closer to where I knew we needed to go. The facility the Yazidis were being held in was a strategic one. From the intel we could gather from the most recent satellite images, it was very close to where a large quantity of Jihadists camped out. Extracting the prisoners was going to be dangerous.
Moving down the bomb-torn streets, we edged around the city, quickly and steadily moving closer to our target destination. The hand motions from the Kurds leading the assault told us we were close.
Sergeant Cooper paused, his signal alerting us to hold. Tension rose. The second we heard it, the shouts began.
The fighter jet flew past at lightning speed, loosing another deadly strike, this time the impact so close I felt my bones rattle inside me.
Chaos followed. Panicked and angry Arabic rang out above the crackle of explosions and gunfire, trailed by the telling roar of an RPG detonating. And then another.
Nelson swore quietly under his breath, the sound of the detonations a lot closer to our location than any of us would’ve liked.
I wasn’t sure if their intention was to attempt to shoot the jet down or something else, but when the warheads exploded somewhere on the western bank, and the voices came louder and more aggressive than before, I made the assumption they’d failed whatever it was they were hoping to achieve.
Following Sergeant Cooper’s signal, we surged forward, knowing at this point the chance of conflict was more or less inevitable. With each building we rounded, we did it expecting to come face-to-face with the enemy.
Sudden gunfire from the Kurds at the front told me this was it. Taking cover behind a crumbling wall, I positioned myself at a gap and took aim.
Firing on another human being was a possibility I knew I was likely to encounter the second I’d arrived in Syria. It was something I tried not to think about too much, but occasionally, I’d wondered how I’d feel in the very moment leading up to the first time I was placed in that situation. In the back of my mind, I knew rationality wouldn’t even play a part, but it was something I thought should be considered when all was calm and quiet.
Standing there, rifle aimed and ready, my only thoughts were to protect my family. The one here with me now, and the one waiting for me back home. Other than that, it was the families we were here to rescue. That was it. There were no other thoughts. Anything that was a threat to those things, I would do whatever I could to stop.
I saw the moment the enemy fighters spotted the Kurds. Nelson did too. The instant the first one raised his weapon, Nelson fired. That was all I needed. There were only three of them, but we had them down in less than ten seconds.
Hurrying forward, we reached the target building. I didn’t need an interpreter to know what the Kurds were saying. More fighters would come. We needed to hurry.
McAdams, Nelson, Gardner, and I took position outside, while the rest burst their way inside. Shots erupted, and the screams of women pierced the air.
Time ticked on. Nervous energy pumped harder and faster inside me, amplified by the sounds of approaching voices in the distance. A few minutes later, the Kurds reappeared, followed closely by three cowering women and six children, the urgency in the rebels’ voices revealing just how borderline the success of this mission was.
Sergeant Cooper and Johns appeared at the rear, the intensity etched on the sergeant’s face a clear indicator we needed to get the fuck out.
“Move it!” he barked, frantically swiping his hand, ushering us to follow the Kurds. “Now!”
Falling in behind McAdams and Nelson, we edged around the adjoining building, Gardner, Johns, and Sergeant Cooper covering the team from the rear as we moved.
The only warning we got that the enemy had finally reached us was a round of machine-gun fire that ricocheted off the wall a foot from Nelson’s head.
This was it.
Chapter 43
Amy
Deployed time: 10 weeks
Gently, I ran my thumb over the soft, worn fabric of Daniel’s favorite shirt. Bringing it to my chest, I clutched it harder, trying to suppress the ache that was starting to catch in my heart.
Even though I knew it was unwise to count the days, I just couldn’t seem to stop myself from doing it. It had now been six weeks since I’d spoken to my own husband. Logic was there somewhere. I knew before he’d even left it was more than likely going to be this way.
The lack of communication was definitely no surprise. Neither was the misery I felt not being able to talk to him. What I hadn’t been prepared for was just how much I needed to hear something—anything—just to know he was okay.
Standing in his room, I took a moment to just breathe in the memory of him. Sadness pierced my heart with the realization that the scent of him was slowly fading. It set a kind of panicked undercurrent through my veins.
I wondered where he was right in this moment. Did he feel safe? Was he clean and well fed? Strangely, it mattered.
With a sigh, I forced myself to acknowledge the fact that I would never know these things. Not until I heard from him again.
Bringing his shirt to my face, I held it there. Breathing. Praying. Hoping. I needed him to come home to me. To us. I wanted that final piece of the family puzzle. It had taken me a while to see it, but somehow, Daniel had managed to show me. I was worthy of love. And not just some watered-down version of it. I was worthy of the best kind. The kind fairy tales were made of.
The sound of a door closing downstairs, followed by keys being deposited on a table straight after, told me I’d lingered too long. I wasn’t sure why, but the thought of facing Daniel’s family caused a certain kind of dread to sink into my stomach. It had been enough to make me avoid seeing them for the last month.
I’d tried telling myself it was because seeing Ryan would be too much like seeing Daniel, but deep down, I knew that wasn’t it. I’d been around the both of them long enough now to differentiate. To me, they now looked nothing alike.
Swallowing, I carefully placed Daniel’s shirt back on his bed and pulled my cardigan tighter around my body. Nerves churned low in my stomach. The heavy footsteps on the stairs told me it was Ryan, and I wasn’t sure I was prepared to face him just yet.
Susan’s voice of reason echoed in the back of my mind. She’d been trying to get me to tell Ryan about the baby since I passed the first trimester milestone two weeks ago. I knew he deserved to be told, but the thought of actually doing it terrified me for some reason.
Listening to his footsteps getting closer, I knew I couldn’
t put it off any longer. It was now or never.
He appeared in the doorway slowly, hesitantly, his gaze wary as it met mine.
“Amy . . . ”
I tried for a smile. I think I might have succeeded. Maybe. “Hey.”
He glanced around the room before his gaze came back to me again. “Are you okay?”
My mouth suddenly felt like a desert. I licked my lips, trying to calm the rising nerves in my stomach. Nodding, I drew in a steadying breath. “I’m getting there.”
My mind scrambled, searching for the right words to get this over and done with. I wanted to just blurt it out and move on, but something was stopping me. Shit. Why was this so freaking hard?
Questions flashed in the depth of his eyes. He knew me well enough to know something was up.
I sighed and shifted on my feet. “I . . . uh . . . There’s something you should probably know . . . ”
The little crease between his brows deepened for a brief moment before wariness took over. “Okay. ”
It took longer to form the words than I was hoping. My mouth opened and closed a few times, no sounds coming with the effort at all. I hated that I was having to do this when I hadn’t even had the chance to say it out loud to Daniel. It felt wrong.
Straightening my shoulders, I sifted through everything that was swirling around inside me, drawing on the strength Daniel had shown me I’d always possessed.
“I just thought you should know that I’m pregnant. You’re going to be an uncle.”
Ryan stood there, his gaze searching, shock and disbelief waging a war in plain sight. I swallowed, wishing I could just leave him standing there and run away.
The little crease between his eyes deepened. “Are you sure?”
His question confused me. It seemed like an odd response to me. I answered with a nod.
The knot at this throat bobbed as he swallowed, then his mouth opened like he was going to say something, but, like me earlier, nothing came out. His hands clenched and unclenched at his sides, and his gaze started to move around the room like he was searching for something but couldn’t remember what it was.
“This can’t be right,” he mumbled.
I frowned. “What?”
He turned, his gaze piercing me. “Does Daniel know?”
I didn’t understand his response. Something about it sent little warning signals off inside my head. It just didn’t seem right. “Yes, he does.”
A short, humorless laugh burst from him. “Don’t tell me. He’s ecstatic.” Turning away from me, I watched him rub his forehead. “Fuck.”
“Ryan?”
He spun around to face me, his lips curling up into a bright smile. It unsettled me more than his earlier reaction.
Ryan threw his arms outwards and stepped forward. “Congratulations!”
Instinct told me to step back away from him. I really didn’t want him to touch me while he was acting so weird. But I managed to hold my ground. His arms wrapped around my shoulders, and he gave me a quick soft squeeze before releasing me and stepping away again.
The same plastic smile molded his lips. “When are you due?”
There was no way I was going to be able to play this game. I was way out of my league. “Ryan,” I said, a hint of a warning in my tone.
He sighed, but his exterior was still wrapped in plastic. “It’s fine, Amy. You just caught me off guard. You seem to be doing that a lot lately, but I promise, I’m good with it. I’m happy for you. For both of you.”
Studying him, I tried to find any sign of sincerity in his features, but the signals he was putting out were all over the place. I would’ve liked to believe him, but I knew him too well. He didn’t like it one little bit.
I just hoped, for Daniel’s sake, that Ryan got used to the idea before he made it home again.
Chapter 44
Daniel
Deployed time: 10 weeks
“Fuck!” Nelson grunted, diving forward. Bullets bit at the cement, sending chunks and dust flying.
Without a thought, I dived after him, managing to take cover behind what appeared to be the remains of an old shop front. Just ahead, the Kurds ushered the women through another abandoned building, managing to get them farther away, out of the firing line.
Through a gap in the wall, I checked the situation, ready to provide support for Sergeant Cooper and the others to catch up to our position. The second I saw the open gap between where they were taking cover and us, the world around me went still. To run it would be suicide.
“Dirty motherfucking assholes,” Nelson spat out beside me. “We need to take those fuckers out before Sarge becomes a fucking sitting duck.”
McAdams shifted his position, sliding to lie flat on the ground with his rifle at the ready. “I’m going right. Nelson, you go left. Stephenson, take the roof.”
As they both opened fire, I frantically scanned the rooftops, trying to locate the fucker trying to pick off my buddies. I knew only a few of the enemy would have night-vision capabilities, but right now, it didn’t matter.
“Stephenson! Find that fucker, now!”
Time was against us. My breath, harsh and labored, became my single point of focus. Then I saw him. Sneakily firing from a tiny murder hole-like window. Trying to tame the sudden rage that swept through me, I aimed and fired off half a dozen shots, relieved when I saw the guy fly backwards from the window.
Sergeant Cooper’s crew dug in, firing from their position, but it wasn’t enough. They had minimal cover where they were. If the enemy were to put any more power behind their attack, they were fucked.
Obviously coming to the same conclusion, the extremists let loose with an intense hammering of explosive shots that pierced the darkened blanket that now stifled the night.
“Motherfuckers!” McAdams bit out. “They need more cover! Do whatever you can to get them here without being blown the fuck up!”
Nelson roared. “Fucker’s got a grenade!” Launching himself up onto his knees further, he let loose with a serious barrage of fire.
Following suit, I fired on the first fucker I saw, taking him down with just one shot. Then another. But the attack didn’t let up. The grenade was thrown, and I watched with my heart in my throat as Sergeant Cooper and the guys dug their boots into the dirt and ran.
It wasn’t like any movie I’d seen or any story I’d heard before. Time didn’t slow down, and silence didn’t fall around me. Everything unfolded in very real time, and in a very adrenaline-induced way.
The guys were barely clear of their shelter before the grenade hit, disintegrating it and sending concrete and rock flying twenty feet into the air. The force hurled them forward, the shrapnel pelting their tumbling bodies.
Nelson swore, and McAdams jumped to his feet. Then, with a desperation I had never felt in my entire life, I joined Nelson and McAdams and sprayed those fuckers with enough bullets they’d be eating them for a week.
Adrenaline coursed through me like a tidal wave. I prayed with everything I had that they were still alive, but either way, I needed to bring them in.
Still firing, I rounded the wall, trying to find the rest of my team in the heavy plume of dust. I spotted Johns first, rifle still in hand, crawling over the pile of scattered rubble toward us, then I saw Sergeant Cooper. I watched him shift in the dirt, belly-down, and begin to shoot.
“Gardner!” he shouted, firing off a few shots.
I searched the area, trying to find Gardner in the mess, but I could still only see Johns. Bullets bit at the rocks around him as he frantically tried to crawl over the broken concrete. Fuck this shit. I couldn’t just stand there and watch them be picked off like fucking flies.
Moving out, I tried to focus on my breathing and use the skills I was taught in infantry training. Skills most of these extremists didn’t have.
Locating a number of targets, I concentrated on taking them out, while quickly moving toward Johns. He was still about twenty yards away, but there was large slab of concrete sti
cking out of the ground between us. If I could make it there, I could take cover and hopefully provide enough support to get all of them to safety.
“Stephenson! What the fuck are you doing?”
I heard Nelson’s voice, but I kept moving just the same, my concentration focused and on point. The gunfire never ceased, from them, from us, or from me.
“Lance Corporal Gardner!”
Sergeant Cooper’s voice held an authority to it I’d never heard before, but there was no answering call that I could hear.