by Tamika Brown
She was ready to begin.
“Ms. Blackwell, I won’t lie or omit any information from you or to you. We have a more tempting offer than what we originally discussed for this merger. We are sincerely considering taking the offer. But since this meeting was already scheduled, we will hear you out.” Shayla nodded, appreciative Mr. Riley and his colleagues were giving her the opportunity
Shayla didn’t let on she knew about Connor International. She went on with her presentation as planned. “Thank you so much for letting me know, Mr. Riley, and I assure you that you will be satisfied with what we have to show you.” She began to go through her presentation. “Now, if each of you would turn to page fifteen in the packet my secretary handed you,” she waited until everyone turned to the correct page and scanned the material. “As you can see on the bottom line, projected numbers of what the merger will be able to yield, both companies will be saving millions of dollars. Not only that, both companies will make a considerable amount as well.”
When realization hit of what this may mean, there was an outburst from Martin Freeman, which echoed through the room. His outburst was unexpected by the majority in the room; however, she and Brian knew exactly what it pertained to. He had worked with Shayla on projects before and had worked on this one with her.
In fact, he volunteered to help her with the merger.
He protested, “What is this? Those aren’t the projected numbers. Conner International’s offer was the better deal.”
He turned and scanned the executives around the table.
“How did you know the offer came from Connor International, Martin?” Shayla scrutinized him, waiting for her answer
This bit of information astonished the other members in the meeting.
Mr. Riley stood. “Yes, Martin. How did you know Connor International made us an offer?” Shayla watched as Martin squirmed, his eyes bounced from her to Mr. Riley, then back again.
“I’ll tell you how.” Brian stood. “I did some calling around. To hear tell it, you have been rubbing noses with the big wigs there for months. They got their information from you, which was why you volunteered to help Shayla on this project.”
Just then, security entered the conference room.
“Gentlemen, can you please escort Mr. Freeman to my office while we get the police here. Don’t let him out of your sight.”
To Martin’s credit, he didn’t try to argue or fight. He knew he was caught.
Mr. Riley turned to Shayla. “In light of what just happened and, of course, your perspective numbers, we’ll take your offer instead.” He and his executives rose to leave the room. “I’ll be back in the morning with our lawyers to sign the paperwork.”
“Thank you, Mr. Riley, and I’m sorry about Martin. I’ll see you in the morning.” She shook his hand and ushered him out of the room to call the police.
It was from that point on Janice’s opinion about Shayla changed. She witnessed how hard she worked to get to where she was, and she would do what it took to get the job done. Since that moment, they considered themselves friends.
Shayla even encouraged her to address the feelings she still harbored for Brian. It took some work, but eventually, they worked it out. She and Brian were stronger for it. They were getting married in the summer.
Shayla finally stepped out of the bathroom.
Janice couldn’t wait to hear this story. “Okay spill,” she said with more enthusiasm than she should.
“You remember the guy in my office the other day?” she asked.
“You mean the one you argued with and I almost called security about? Yeah, I remember him. You guys were so loud. All of that scared me.”
“I’m sorry, Janice. We didn’t mean to scare you. Well, anyway, I met him while on vacation in North Carolina, at the Outer Banks. His name is Robert Calen, and he’s a US Marine. To make a long story short, we really hit it off, and we got a little close and a little careless. He was called back to active duty while there, recuperating from a gunshot wound.” She moved behind her desk while Janice took the couch. “When he left, I texted him all my information so he would be able to get in contact with me. But when I got back home, I found out I was pregnant.”
Janice sat on the edge of the cushion enthralled in Shayla’s story. “And what did he say when you told him you were pregnant?”
“Afterward, I broke contact with him. I didn’t want him to know about the baby because I wasn’t sure he loved me or not.”
Janice gasped. “You didn’t tell him? You hid it from him.” There was no fault or judgment in the statement, just facts.
“Months went by, and he continued to call, and I didn’t reply. So, he figured it would be a good idea to come to Denver to search for me. During the argument you overheard, he’d just found out about the pregnancy. And there you have what happened in a nutshell.” She took a deep breath and waited for her friend and colleague to ask her questions.
“So, that’s what all the commotion was about? Regardless, Shay, I’m happy for you. I had no clue. No one did. How far along are you?” she asked.
“Six months, give or take a few days.”
“Seriously? Well, I will tell you this you hid it well. You didn’t seem pregnant, but you do, now.” She laughed.
“I know. I didn’t want anyone to know. I didn’t want to deal with all the gossip. People wondering the father is and all, so my best friend and I came up with a way to make it look as if I was putting on weight instead of being pregnant. I wore regular clothing instead of maternity clothes, only a bigger size.”
“Well, like I said, it worked. So how are you and the father? Robert, you said his name was?” her friend asked quizzically.
“We’ve reconciled. But, last night, he was called to duty. I haven’t talked to him since.” She walked over to the window to stare at the busy street below.
“You’re worried about him.” It an observation rather than a question. “I’m sure he’ll be fine. You have to believe he will,” she reassured Shayla.
“I just hope he’s okay. I don’t know what I’d do if something happened to him.”
“He will be. Don’t worry.”
“I’ll try not to. Now, what’s on the agenda for today?” she asked with a bright smile.
27
Calen
Calen and Bryce stepped off the plane in Raleigh. The place always reminded Calen of an airplane hangar with panoramic windows. After fighting through the crowd to baggage claim, where it seemed they waited for hours, he and Bryce headed to the parking lot where he left his car. He pulled his cell out to call Shayla.
He dialed her number. He listened as he hoped she would pick up soon.
“She must be asleep,” he said. “I’ll leave a message.”
“Hey, lady, it’s me. Just wanted to let you know that we’ve reached Raleigh safely. We just got here. I wanted to thank you for making me a father. I’m very excited about the baby. I’ll call you again as soon as I can. I don’t know when that will be. Shay, I do love you and miss you. Talk to you soon. Bye.”
He hung up, disappointed she didn’t answer his call. He wanted to hear her voice so badly but understood that it was late and she had to work.
Calen handed Bryce his bags so he could stuff them in the back of the car.
“Did you call her?” he asked.
“Yeah, but I got voicemail.”
“Yeah, the same with Tela. I got her voicemail, too.”
Calen detected a tinged of disappointment in his friend’s voice but didn’t call him on it.
The drive to Fort Bragg was filled with tension and unusual silence.
Neither man in the mood for talking; they both believed they left the best thing that ever happened to them back in Colorado.
Bryce broke the silence right before they entered Fort Bragg. “What do you guess all this is about?”
Calen shook his head. “I have no idea, but whatever it is, it’s gotta be heavy for us to be called off leave. So
mething’s happening. First, my recovery is cut short and now this.”
“You’re right though, it must be serious.”
“Have you called anyone else on the team?” Bryce asked.
“No, but I’m pretty sure they got the same call we did. I’m not going in anywhere without my whole team. Russell knows that.”
They pulled into the base, and Calen dropped Bryce off at his assigned apartment.
Briefing would be within forty-five minutes.
Calen drove to his apartment, dropped his bags inside the door, then headed for the briefing room where he would get the jump on his men about what this was about.
He walked into the briefing room and made a beeline to the commander. Russell paced back and forth in front of frosted windows, something Calen had the privilege of watching Russell do many times in the past. He was surprised there wasn’t a permanent path in the plush burgundy carpet which muffled his approach. “What’s going on, sir?”
“Calen, I’m sorry to call you off leave. We’ve got a situation in Fallujah.”
“Fallujah, sir? What’s happening?” Calen asked concerned.
“Reports came in right before I called you. We’ve had some casualties. Almost a whole team wiped out.”
“Oh, God, how?” He took a seat slowly, too shocked to remain on his feet lest he fall flat on the floor.
“Recon. Very routine. We’d got some reports in about Al-Qaeda receiving a shipment of guns that made their way to Fallujah. We didn’t know how reliable the information was, so we sent a team. When they entered Fallujah, they didn’t even get to ask any questions. They took heavy fire. We have reports there are some survivors. We’re sending your team in to recover our men.” Russell sat beside Calen and massaged his temples. Calen couldn’t blame him, he was getting a headache himself.
Calen could tell he had been frantic trying to come to terms with what happened in Fallujah. The stress would easily kill him one day if he weren’t careful. He took everything that happened with his men personally. “What are you not telling me, sir?”
“Calen, it was supposed to be your team in Fallujah. I was going to send you, but I’d given you guys leave. I felt as though you deserved it in light of what happened. Your team’s being targeted.”
Calen gawked at Russell, stunned. He couldn’t say anything. He just sat there and imagined the ramifications of what his commander just said. It was supposed to be his team that went to Fallujah. He couldn’t believe it.
Just then, his unit came into the room.
“Men, have a seat. We have much to discuss.” Calen stood in front of them ready to break the news they were going on a mission.
“You need to be ready within the hour. Is that enough time for you all?” Russell asked.
“Plenty.”
“Then, I’ll leave you to it. Good luck.” Then Russell was gone, leaving Calen to explain to his men what happened in Fallujah.
They boarded the plane that would take them to Fallujah halfway across the world. Calen wrestled with revealing to his men the truth about the mission.
He didn’t know if it would rally them or demoralize them.
He watched his men, each of them tense and prepared for the situation at hand, their eyes attentive. He didn’t recognize fear in them, only determination to get the job done. Bryce locked eyes with him, smirked and nodded his understanding. Somehow speaking for them all. All focused, ready to go. He decided the information Russel divulged to him would rally them. It put this mission in perspective and gave them a new outlook on what they were commissioned to do.
Calen stood to address his men. “Men, we’ll be landing in Fallujah in another two hours. I know we’ve been in situations like this before. Backing up other teams. But this time’s different.”
Calen took a deep breath before he went on. He had to gain control of his emotions. He couldn’t let it affect him, and they couldn’t recognize it did.
He continued, “The mission those men took in Fallujah,” he pointed toward the city, “was supposed to be our mission. We were supposed to run recon on the reports coming in about Al Qaeda.”
He let the realization of his words soak in as he locked eyes with around at his men before he continued.
“It wasn’t us”—he took a deep breath—“because of everything happening with the team, why we were on leave. I know it may be a bit of a shock, but this should give us an even bigger reason to go in a do our jobs and recover those men. Semper Fi!” he yelled.
“Semper Fi!” his men responded.
Calen pleased he was right. Revealing to the team those men went instead of them was the right thing to do. There was a fortified strength palpable among them now. Nothing was going to stop them from recovering their brothers. They would get them home.
Calen leaned his head back and closed his eyes for the duration of the flight.
His sleep wasn’t as peaceful as he would have liked it. This wasn’t Calen’s first trip to Fallujah. The first time he went to Fallujah, it didn’t end well for him. They’d taken heavy fire then too. The difference, he’d come home, but his team wasn’t intact. He had lost two men.
And he came away with a bullet in his shoulder.
He definitely wasn’t looking forward to going back. That place held bad memories for him.
They finally made it.
They landed at the point, which was about thirty minutes away, just to make sure they would not take on any unwanted guests when they got there. Waiting for them in the desert was an envoy of vehicles. They waited in the trampled brush to accompany them into Fallujah. There was no sign of civilization, but he knew it was on the horizon. He knew the men were waiting for them.
Calen was grateful because he felt as though they would need the backup. Calen and Bryce would be traveling at the head of the pack.
“Everyone, keep your eyes open. Your finger on the trigger. Expect a melee of bullets coming at you. Let’s gear up!” The pack pulled out, headed for Fallujah.
They could hear the gunfire before they reached the city with a smoke-filled sky, a dark blanket pulled over the head to keep out the bright lights.
They would enter the city in the armored vehicles, then depart from them before continuing to retrieve their brothers.
On this end of the city, Calen couldn’t help but notice how quiet it was. There was no gunfire here, no sign of what happened earlier. All the buildings looked abandon and untouched by the scorch marks or bullet holes associated with a war zone. Windows were boarded up. There was no way to see inside them, but Calen was sure whoever was left was able to see out. The buildings, stores, and houses sat side-by-side alongside the empty streets.
“Stop here,” he said to the driver. “We’ll go the rest of the way on foot.” He and his men exited the vehicles. “You all,” he pointed to the group of men in the final two Hummers, “stay and watch the vehicles. We may need you later.”
Calen took his group forward.
“You guys notice anything strange about this place?” Bryce asked.
“No people on the street. Everything looks empty. Look at the windows,” said Evan Hodge.
Evan was one of the three men on Calen’s team who could speak Arabic. Many times, he acted as the team’s liaison to the people in the Arabic countries they visited.
“Keep your eyes peeled,” Calen said.
The closer they got to the gunfire, the more anxious the men got.
Calen could see the absence of people on the streets was getting to them. His men were more vigilant, more cautious, vision sweeping from one side of the street to the other. Taking extra time to linger at the occasional alleyways between the buildings. Something else was up.
“Do you want us to go door to door, see what we can find out?” Bryce asked.
Calen nodded. “Just you and Hodge do a sweep, but just a couple of feet ahead of us. I want to keep you in our sight in case something happens.”
Bryce and Hodge broke off from the group and
headed to a shop to the right of the group. They knocked several times, but there was no one inside. They moved on to the next.
The pattern continued, the two men putting more and more distance between themselves and the team. Calen kept the two men in his sight, but all the doors stayed shut.
Calen’s radio crackled with Hodge’s voice. “No one is manning these shops.”
“You should be approaching the residential section now,” Calen responded. “Be careful. No tellin’ what’s waitin’ for us behind those doors. Stay in contact.”
“Right,” Hodge responded.
Bryce edged on carefully with Hodge following him. They came up on a housing unit and knocked twice. Someone answered the door.
From this distance, Calen couldn’t make anything out about the person who’d answered. He motioned for his team to hold while Bryce spoke to him, Hodge translating.
After only a brief back and forth, the door slammed shut, and Calen’s radio crackled with Bryce’s voice. “He says the bombing sirens went off, and most everyone has taken cover, or they left as quickly as possible.”
“Wait for us. We’re right behind you. Watch your back,” Calen said.
Hodge and Bryce did as told, and soon, the rest of the team joined them.
They were getting closer to the fighting now. They could smell the smoke in the air.
Suddenly, a shot rang out from above them.
The men took cover to seek out where the shot came from.
Page spotted the shooter and pointed. “There he is, about fifty feet up. Three stories high.”
Another shot.
It hit the car Bryce ducked behind.
“I’ve got a clear shot,” Page yelled.
A shot rang out. The sniper was down.