Degree of Risk

by Lindsay McKenna

  Reza smiled a little, catching Ethan’s anxious glance. “There is a beautiful pool at the end of it. Perhaps ankle to knee deep. It is there year-round. My mother would walk into the other end of the cave, walk nearly a mile through the tunnel to reach the pool cave. We would slide down and have a delightful time. She carried a kerosene lamp and we had enough light to play in the pool until we were tired and hungry. Then, she would bring out food for us to eat. I remember this cave well.”

  Ethan’s heart thundered in his chest. “C-could Sarah have fallen down through it?”

  Reza nodded. “A man such as yourself would be too large, but Master Chief Hunter gave me a sense of Sarah’s size. She would fit.”

  “So,” Ethan rasped, his hope rising, “she could have fallen out into that cave?”

  “She could. I was at the pool cave last year and it is the same as ever. She’d have gotten wet, but that is all.”

  Ethan almost shouted for joy and struggled to remain serious. “Then we can go to that cave and find her?”

  Reza lifted his hand. “My young friend, Khogani is in that area. Very close to it. We need to prepare well and be patient.”

  Patience wasn’t what Ethan wanted to hear about.

  Hunter saw the emotions in Ethan’s face and held up his hand. “I’m convinced Sarah made it out of that helo. There’s plenty of evidence to suggest she found that cave and went down that tunnel. We don’t know if she’s injured.”

  “Well,” Ox put in belligerently, “she has a damned good ruck with her. Everything we put in there last night for her will guarantee her getting out of this alive.”

  “That’s going to go a long way toward helping her survive,” Hunter agreed. “You men did her a favor.”

  Reza studied the map for a number of minutes. The silence thickened in the room. Ethan could barely stand still, feeling he needed to do something…anything…to get to Sarah. He wanted more proof she was in that valley. Reza knew the cave, but he also knew Hunter’s warning about the Taliban was real. His heart sheared between joy and anguish.

  “Reza?” Hunter asked, tracing the topography from the cave to FOB Thunder, “is it possible, if Sarah is ambulatory, that she could walk that distance?”

  Reza nodded. He traced a line on the map. “There are caves for eighteen of those miles toward FOB Thunder. If she’s smart and walks at night, slipping in and out of the caves to avoid detection, she could be successful. It’s the last two miles that are worrisome. It is nothing but scree slopes of rocks, big and little. There are two hills she would have to climb to reach safety. Those hills have some scrub bushes, but I’m afraid she could easily be spotted by the Taliban.”

  “If it was you, Reza,” Ethan asked, “what would you do?”

  He gave a small shrug. “I would use the caves as sanctuary. I would walk at night. I would use every bit of natural cover to go undetected and safely reach FOB Thunder.”

  “Why can’t we get a drone up?” Ethan demanded.

  “High winds in the valley and CAT above,” Hunter told him. “I checked with meteorology and they said the next three days we are having monsoon weather. That means thunderstorms, rain, flooding, lightning—and a drone can be torn apart in those circumstances.” Hunter watched Ethan’s eyes darken with despair. “What I have done,” he said patiently, “is get a satellite parked above that valley.” He glanced at his watch. “It should be here in about thirty minutes.”

  All the SEALs gave their master chief a shocked look. Not many people could tell the Air Force to park a satellite somewhere in particular. Ethan gawked at him, stunned. “You did?”

  Hunter said humbly, “I’ve got friends in the satellite department.”

  Ethan felt hope. Real hope. “I—I didn’t expect—”

  “I know you’re terrified, Ethan, but just know I have your back. And I have Sarah’s, too. We just can’t go galloping into Dodge with our guns blazing like gun fighters. We’re going to have to seriously think about how we can find her and then surgically extract her from that Taliban hotbed. This isn’t going to be easy. She has no way to communicate with us or vice-versa. I’m hoping that satellite will make the difference. If the cloud cover lifts. If it doesn’t, we’re on our own. I’ve got an intelligence team at Bagram going online with the satellite shortly. If they see anything, they will be calling me pronto. Okay?”

  “Yes, Master Chief,” Ethan said, as some of the anxiety bled out of him. “Thank you…” Tears burned in his eyes. Ethan knew satellites were in high demand. Much higher than drones. And he never, honestly, realized the power and reach of Gil Hunter until just then. Master chiefs were the bones that held the SEAL platoons and community together. He managed a silly grin. “I don’t suppose you can pick up a phone and call the President?”

  The room burst into laughter, the tension broken.

  Hunter eyed him thoughtfully. “You never know, Hawk. You just never know….”

  “Then what do we do?” Ethan asked after the laughter died down.

  “We create a direct-action mission. But you need to eat, Hawk. Have you drunk enough water today? You need to get your act together. You can’t let your feelings interfere here from now on. Okay?’

  Ethan nodded, guilty on all accounts. “I will, Master Chief.”

  “Now, I’m going to work up the mission on my laptop with Reza’s input here this evening. Then I’ll make my presentation and pull the men I want for the mission.”

  Instantly, Hunter was drowned out by all the SEALs volunteering to be chosen for the mission. He grimaced and held up his hands. “You can’t all go. I know you want to, but that’s not reality. Just to make this easier on me, because I don’t want you frogs sneaking into my office while I’m trying to put this mission together, begging to be the one on the DA team, here’s who I want: Hawk, Trace, Dagger and Dusty.”

  There was a lot of moaning, bitching and griping by the other SEALs. Ethan felt relieved, like a ton of bricks had just sloughed off his shoulders. He didn’t know what he’d have done if Hunter had made him stay behind on that mission. And his mind whirled with the men chosen. If they were going in by stealth, trying to locate Sarah, they’d need two good snipers with them. He was the comms man. And Trace was an excellent combat medic. It was a good call by the master chief. Hunter’s vast years of experience gave Ethan relief. Creating a mission was a hell of a lot of work and a man’s experience either made it good or bad. With the master chief creating it along with the three officers, Ethan knew Sarah stood the best chance possible. He was grateful for all the support from everyone.

  “All right,” Hunter growled, “all of you leave me alone. Go to evening chow. Reza and I have work to do. You’ll all be called when the presentation is ready. Dismissed.”

  Ethan gave Reza a grateful look, shaking the thin, short Afghan’s hand. Reza had a kind face, deeply lined and darkened by weather and sun. His hands were rough, a man who worked hard for a living. A lump grew in Ethan’s throat as he rasped, “Thank you for being here. We couldn’t do this without you. I know Sarah will never forget what you’re doing to help her and I won’t, either….”

  Patting Ethan’s hand, the Afghan smiled gently. “We are all in the hands of Allah. We will find your Sarah—that I’m sure of. Be at peace, young friend.”

  His words soothed him as nothing else could. Ethan managed a broken smile and nodded, words of gratitude sticking in his throat. Reza was probably in his forties, but the ageless wisdom in his eyes, his calm demeanor, was helping Ethan untangle his emotions. He squeezed the Afghan’s hand and then released it.

  “Come on,” Trace urged, slapping Ethan on the back. “We’re going to be working our asses off shortly, so let’s tank up on the carbs and protein over at the chow hall.”

  Ethan’s stomach was tied in painful knots. He knew Trace was right and followed him out of the big room. The big SEAL clapped him on the back one more time, as if to try to comfort him. Right now his heart and soul focused on Sarah. Was she
hurt? God, his mind was looking at all the worst-case scenarios.

  They walked toward the chow hall under rain-swollen clouds. He couldn’t lose Sarah. Ethan didn’t know how he could survive her dying. He just couldn’t.

  Chapter 8

  The buzzing of flies and bites of gnats around her ears and neck woke Sarah up. Blinking, she brushed her ear, cursing softly. It was dusk, the cave almost dark. She rubbed her eyes, and every bone in her body ached. It was the crash and tumbling off that cliff. Slowly dragging herself upright, Sarah leaned against the rock wall, trying to wake up. Feeling drugged, Sarah noticed she heard a bird chirping outside the cave. The ringing in her ears had lowered tremendously. Only the stabbing pain in her left ear bothered her.

  She looked at her watch. It was nearly 2000, 8:00 p.m. Listening for a length of time, she heard no voices, no horses, that would indicate nearby Taliban activity. She opened the ruck, pulled out the water and drank deeply. Finally, she lowered the jug and capped it. Digging into the outer pocket, she found another protein bar and thought of Dagger. There was just enough light left and she needed to look at the map of this valley to plan how she was going to reach FOB Thunder. As she ate, she took the four laminated and waterproofed maps Dagger had given her. She chose the valley she was in, lifted it up and studied the topography map for some minutes.

  Sarah estimated twenty miles to the FOB. To avoid detection by the Taliban, she could hide in the caves, which reminded her of a bunch of pearls strung together on a necklace. There was a certain amount of distance between them, but it appeared on the map to look doable. She would travel at night, sleep during the day. Sarah glanced toward the SEAL Kevlar helmet in the ruck. There was a pair of NVGs, night vision goggles, that fit on a rail system on the top of the helmet. It had been Dusty, another SEAL sniper, who had insisted on fresh batteries for the goggles and also putting in enough for a five-day E and E, escape and evasion. Now she was more grateful than ever to all the SEALs. Without these items, she’d be in deep, deep trouble.

  Sarah drank more water and then pulled out the helmet and the goggles. Touching her right pocket, she felt Ethan’s poem. She knew it by heart.

  Wherever you go, I protect you from harm,

  No matter where you felt securely hidden,

  I am pledged to connect with you, to adore you,

  And your aura is bidden to merge with mine,

  Love lifts you like a heat-seeking laser to my arms.

  Her heart swelled with warmth, with hope. Right now she felt abandoned, but Sarah understood the circumstances. Alone. Again. Somehow, she knew Ethan would be looking for her. But she couldn’t rely on that. She had to escape and evade on her own.

  Sarah thought that those dark years, which had taught her to be strong, to be alone and fight back where and when she could, would aid her now. She never gave up as a child; something deep and primal in her pushed her to never surrender. Looking around the darkening cave, she heard thunder rolling through the valley. Wind was picking up and gusting. A thunderstorm was coming.

  That wasn’t all bad. As Sarah stood, she settled the helmet on her head, strapped it beneath her chin and slipped the NVGs into the rail slot. Rain, wind and thunder could hide her from the Taliban. They’d be taking cover in some cave for the night. She had to be very careful and cautious. She made sure there were rounds in her .45 pistol. Her Kevlar vest was in place. Her penlight was in her upper arm pocket.

  Rain began to sweep through the area. Sarah inhaled the wonderful fragrance of water striking dry, hard earth. The scent was like perfume to her. She moved to the edge of the cave, studying the sky and surroundings. Lightning was dancing around, loud cracks with growling thunder following it. Pushing out of the cave, she followed the path that paralleled the cave system. The rain struck harder and faster. Sarah bowed her head, watching where she was walking. There was a thin path to follow. Probably goats had made it. Or horses, which meant Taliban.

  The wind tore at her soaked uniform. The water felt wonderful to Sarah, cooling the heated air trapped within the valley. Her hearing started to improve. The ground was soaked with rain after half an hour, and she began to slip on the clay that had turned muddy. Approaching the next cave, Sarah crouched behind some brush. A flash of lightning revealed that the path across it was clear. She waited maybe ten minutes, listening for men’s voices, the snort of horses or some kind of movement. Her heart rate accelerated as she slipped back on the path.

  As she hurried past the massive cavern, the wind gusted and whipped around. She had to hold her hand over her eyes to protect them. Finally, it was too dark and she pulled the NVGs down in place in front of her eyes and flicked them on. Relieved, Sarah could see the flat, grainy green landscape and path in front of her. She tried to stay focused and alert, but her heart kept moving back to Ethan.

  How was he doing? Did he believe she was dead? Pain scored through Sarah as she thought of him suffering. She wanted to be there to hold him, comfort him. If she had traded places with him, and he was the one missing—Sarah couldn’t even breathe, knowing how much she’d be torn up. Ethan had shown her a man could be tender and gentle. To give and share with her, not rob her of the beauty of loving another person. Her emotions roiled and it simply made her resolve that much more to make it to FOB Thunder.

  *

  “All right,” Master Chief Hunter said, putting the presentation up on a large white dry-erase board hanging on one wall, “this is the mission.” Every SEAL in the platoon was present. Usually only the SEALs involved would be at a mission briefing, but Hunter didn’t have the heart to send the rest of them away. They all cared about Sarah, wanted to feel as if they contributed in some small way in trying to locate and rescue her. The four SEALs sitting on the lowest bench, notebooks and pens in hand, were the four going on the mission.

  “Reza has been very helpful,” Hunter said and motioned to the Afghan who sat at the long table. “We’re going in for a 0400 fast-rope drop by a Night Stalker Chinook. Your objective will be here,” he said, taking a laser, the thin red line pointing to a specific location on the topo map of the area. “You’ll fast rope down about a quarter of a mile from this cave. Reza calls it the Pool Cave, the one we think Sarah fell into. Once you’ve cleared the cave, Reza is going to jog back to the pool area and see what he finds. You’re going to look for boot prints or anything else near the mouth of that cave. Then, Reza will return and you’ll then try to pick up Sarah’s tracks on the path. Reza says there’s an ancient goat path for eighteen miles along that cave area. It’s usually hard packed dirt, so maybe, if we get lucky and it’s raining, you may be able to pick up a solid boot print on her. If you do—” and he turned and studied the men “—the minute you get any proof that Sarah has been there, call it in. Tomorrow, our call sign is Shepherd Main and Shepherd Actual. For the next four days, you’ll find the daily call signs on the mission briefing in your hands.”

  Ethan raised his hand. “What if we find Sarah?”

  “If she’s ambulatory, I want the team to take her back to where you were dropped and then climb up on this hill.” He pointed to it on the topo map. “After making sure there’s no Taliban nearby, we’ll bring in a Night Stalker Black Hawk to exfil everyone. It can land on that flat spot on top. And if she is nonambulatory, we’ll deal with that as soon as we know her condition.”

  Ethan nodded. He knew the radio and channel info to the Black Hawk would be provided to him.

  “We expect Sarah to sleep during the day and move at night. If we get lucky and you can track her, you may be able to follow her into the cave where she’s laid up for the night. If not, you’re going to have to clear every cave along that route. It’s not going to be easy. If we can get rid of this cloud cover, the satellite will be invaluable. It has thermal imaging capability and if she’s out there on a cloudless night, it will pick up her body heat signature. Otherwise, I anticipate this to be a five-day recovery mission. Reza and I feel she can make it to FOB Thunder within that time
frame.”

  Ethan felt scared. Sarah would be out walking right now. It was dark. And dangerous. A thunderstorm was coming toward Bravo right now. He ached to hold her in his arms, keep her safe. What must she be thinking right now? She’d have noticed no search-and-rescue was looking for her. She would think everyone thought she was dead and there was no one coming to help her. Damn.

  Hunter was met by silence. It was a very straightforward mission. “You men get some sleep. You’ll be expected over at Ops at 0300. Lift-off is at 0330 and you’ll arrive at the infil point at 0400. Oh, and don’t worry, Reza knows how to fast rope.” He grinned over at the Afghan.

  Reza nodded and said nothing.

  *

  Ethan couldn’t sleep. He was on a cot, comfortable and safe compared to Sarah. His arm was draped across his eyes and he swore he could feel her. It was a sense that she was alive and she was on the move. Ethan didn’t know if it was his mind wanting her to be alive, wanting her to be working her way toward FOB Thunder or not. His imagination was running wild. God, he loved her so much his chest ached. What must she be going through emotionally?

  He sat up, rubbing his face with his hands, elbows resting on his knees. He wanted to cry out of frustration since Sarah had to be feeling like someone had thrown her back into that damn Dumpster and walked away from her just as her mother had so long ago.

  Lifting his head, he gritted his teeth and then looked for the hundredth time down at the Rolex on his right wrist. It was only midnight. Three hours to go before they could gear up and head out toward that valley.

  He lay back down, his stomach churning violently. His mind moved from the memories they had created, the times he’d loved Sarah, the trust she had given him. If she survived that crash, at the very least she was stiff, bruised and sore. He’d been in helicopter crashes before and remembered how hurt he’d been for weeks afterward. She had to be in constant pain when she moved.