“He doesn’t know yet. No one knows. I want to keep it that way until they come home.”
“Oh, you gotta tell him when he calls,” she said as she sat back down.
“No, and don’t you tell Jameson, either. We were supposed to talk first.”
“He’ll be thrilled. I know he will.”
She grabbed Lizzie’s wrist on the wooden tabletop. “Please. Let me do this my way. Will you promise me? It’s really important.”
“You’re not thinking about—”
“No. I’d never do that. It’s just that we agreed to talk. I want to stick to the rules with Patrick. I want to play fair. He expects me to be that way. He likes people who keep their word, and I’m no exception.”
“Oh heck, Steph, babies come when they’re ready. I mean, what were you thinking would happen? You were having sex. What do you think happens when you have sex?”
She winced at the comment about them having sex. “Well, not so much.”
“I don’t understand.”
“Well, we’ve been—busy. We rushed the wedding, which I’m okay with. But it seems like we never get into a routine.”
Lizzie dug into her salad, shaking her head from side to side. “At least you’re married. I didn’t have that. I didn’t want to tie him down, with all his traveling, until I was ready to tell him.”
Stephanie watched her eat. “But how did you deal with it?”
“Your situation is completely different than mine. Jameson hadn’t made up his mind to settle down. Patrick has. He married you.”
“But now I’m throwing another change his way. We’re just now used to all this rapid change around us. We haven’t gotten into a routine.”
“You mean like a lesson plan or something? You need to do a big checkup on yourself, Steph. Remember what I told you? Don’t think so much. It’s going to drive you crazy. Some days, there aren’t any rainbows. Some days there are. Be thankful for little blessings, like this one. It’s all good. Everything depends on your attitude. Otherwise, you’re not all-in. Be careful with that line of thinking.”
“He said the same thing one time.”
“You’re someone who can adjust, bend without breaking, Steph. I see someone who can tend for this big guy with legs like tree trunks who can jump like a kangaroo.”
Stephanie laughed.
“I’m serious! Nothing is ever perfect. Don’t hang on so tight. Don’t be so rigid. Go with what you’re given. That’s what I did, and it paid off. This community will never have a routine to it. They plan and plan and plan. But something always changes, goes wrong. They have to deal with all the chaos and make sense of it, keep each other safe. But you know this isn’t nine-to-five.” She took Stephanie’s hand and squeezed it. “Honey, you’d never like a life like that. You know you wouldn’t.”
“Thanks, coach.”
The two women smiled at each other. Stephanie could tell they’d be friends for decades.
“I’m not your coach, either. If you listened to me, we’d all lose every game. I just know that quitting is not an option. We go forward. Like I said, we celebrate what we can, and we don’t dwell on what we can’t.”
Lizzie had been right, of course. It put everything into perspective, and she was grateful for the advice. Someday, she’d be that rock for some new SEAL wife who would come behind. She’d be able to counsel her wisely.
Back at home, she slipped off her clothes and stood naked, facing the mirror, her hand on her belly. She checked herself from the side view and tried to imagine what she’d look like pregnant, and what it would feel like to have life growing inside her—a tiny life that was parts taken from both of them.
She lit one of the red candles, turned off all the lights, put the jacket back on, and slipped into bed. Patrick’s jacket held her securely until she fell asleep.
Chapter 23
Patrick was introduced to the two special agents assigned to the State Department as part of the Embassy security detail. Kyle and several others on the Team had served with them on previous missions in the Middle East. Coop had filled Patrick in on who they were and what they meant to the Team.
“We were delighted when we heard you’d be riding point on this,” said Mauray Bowen, former sharpshooter who deployed five times with Kyle’s SEAL Team 3.
Kyle also shook Joenelle Washington’s hand, who had come to his team after giving up a lucrative NFL career. Some of Washington’s sprint records were still undefeated fifteen years later. Coop also explained he’d passed up a shot to try out for the Olympics the year he came aboard. He was stationed in Africa because he married a woman from Kenya he met in college.
“So, what’s the news?” Coop asked.
“The ambassador’s real sorry about all this. The President asked that he be recalled to Washington for meetings, but he was instructed to get his family out.” Washington said. “We aren’t looking forward to another Benghazi event.”
“I hear you. So anyone know where she’s at?” Kyle asked.
Mauray spread a map out on a folding table set up as a temporary meeting room before they started their trek to the capital. “We believe they have a rebel training camp here at Deto. Now, we haven’t had any of our guys up north there for nearly twenty years. But the African Union forces have, and they’ve suffered a lot of casualties. They’re ineffective.”
“And corrupt,” Washington interrupted.
“That too. But that’s all we got here. It’s a whole continent of formerly stable African states that are now crumbling. No one’s in control. But the level of violence is on a huge uptick this year, mostly because of what’s going on in this northern region, where we think the rebel camp is.”
Coop shook his head. “How far away are these guys from the Mission?”
“Sixty, sixty-five miles. It’s a two-hour Jeep ride at best,” Maurey said. “Why?”
“Who do you call on when you get into trouble?” asked Kyle.
“We got the AU forces. Some of them are okay. There are some lines they will not cross, some warlords they won’t defend us against. They show up, and then ten minutes later, they just disappear into the countryside, and you’re left exposed.”
Washington offered, “We can get an emergency evac force in about five or six hours from Djibouti.”
“It’s Benghazi all over again.” Patrick could see Kyle was troubled they’d not gotten more information prior to the trip over.
Washington grinned. “And that’s why the Ambassador is not in the house.”
“I know you’re gonna ask, and we don’t have the answers yet, but I’ll give you a guess. We think this Fortune fellow is behind it. We don’t think he knows anything other than she’s an American tourist.”
“Her driver military?” asked T.J.
Washington shook his head. “No, unfortunately, civilian, local guide. So, yeah, it’s only a matter of time before he sells her out trying to save himself or his family.”
“So, we assume he knows he’s holding a valuable U.S. asset.” Kyle was studying the map. “What’s around this camp?”
“Mountainous region, with several factions of farmers, or former farmers. Now they all fight to protect their food and their women and kids. But it’s a race against time. They won’t make it. Fortune has killed or chased out all the Christians in the region. Most of the churches and schools are burned. He relishes burning books too. Anything written in English.” Mauray had his arms crossed, surveying the topography with Kyle. “Eventually, he’ll take over unless the religious clerics stand up to him.”
“And you got Ebola?” asked Coop.
“Not like they do inland farther. But yes, it’s here.”
“How’d this dude get so strong?” Patrick asked.
“I think that’s what we’re here to learn, son,” Washington answered. “Rather, what you’re here to learn. He’s getting his money from somewhere. It’s not oil. He robs the mines, but not enough to make a big difference. Someone well-funded is
helping out. He’s getting some cash somewhere. He owns most the Capitol police as well as their Security Police, who are the worst of the worst.”
“What about that guy whose plane we blew up?” asked Armando.
“Cunanon? You blew up Cunanon’s jet?” Washington was surprised.
“Fireballs from hell,” Jameson whispered and slapped Patrick on the back.
“He’s going to be dangerous, like a wounded bear.” Mauray put his finger on the little town of Deto again. “This is the key, right here. I’m betting she’s here, if she’s still alive.”
“Where is the village of Tengo?” Patrick asked.
Washington abruptly looked up. “How do you know about that place?”
“I played soccer in the U.K. with a kid from there.”
“There aren’t any kids from there. Everyone was slaughtered. They left the burned-out church and installed the cross upside down, leaving it for everyone to see. All the locals stay away. Scariest place on earth. No one to come back to bury the dead, so some are still hanging there after all this time. That was like ten years ago now.”
Maurey asked him how the boy escaped.
“He was with his friend, and I think it was a Muslim family who took him in, and then got him to England.”
“That’s one lucky kid,” someone whispered.
“How far is it between this destroyed village and Deto?” asked Kyle.
“Two miles, maybe three. Easy walk. There’s a lake nearby with heavy brush that would give great cover.”
“Anyone superstitious?” Kyle asked.
“Ah, fuck. You’re not gonna—” Washington’s face was wrinkled in horror.
“Can you get us there? We won’t make you stay.” Kyle grinned back at him.
Maurey leaned forward and surveyed the red wavy lines and circles they’d marked showing current conflicts. It looked like someone had spilled blood all over the northern part of the map. “The problem isn’t getting there. It’s getting back alive.”
The SEALs left the stolen vehicles under heavy cover, and used the two brand new Suburbans with embassy plates Washington and Bowen had provided. They gingerly transferred the soccer balls and the equipment and then followed behind as the security team led the way.
The landscape along the main highway was littered with car and truck hulls, dead cattle, and roadside stands roasted to cinders. But lush green shrubbery was fast retaking the area. All the trees had been cut and used a century ago, judging from the old stumps Patrick saw. He tried to find something about the country he liked, and concluded that the blue sky, unpolluted, was probably the biggest feature.
The capitol city was laid out with a master plan, which was a shock. But even brand new buildings were abandoned before completion, and occasionally, there would be whole city blocks burned. The government buildings sat across the street from what appeared to be the Chinese embassy with its winged roof line and bright blue tiles. The Mission annex was farther down the street in a building that looked more like a prison.
They were shown to a former barracks building where they could rest up until the midnight move to Tengo. The toilet facility consisted of a hole dug into the ground with a bucket of powdered lye next to it. There was one sink but everyone was encouraged not to drink the water. Washington asked for help, and soon Danny and T.J. brought four cases of water and placed them in the back of the Suburban.
Patrick and Jameson volunteered to stay awake while the rest took advantage of the stiff canvas cots and green horsehair blankets. Washington would be monitoring the radio and update them as needed, or when they left at midnight.
At one o’clock, the landscape changed and was actually beautiful. Rocky outcroppings shone in the blue moonlight. They could hear sounds of animals scurrying around in the brush. Patrick watched Fredo constantly search for snakes, something he was deathly afraid of. Washington reported there had been no activity on any of the drone sites, so the mission was on. They traveled a slow five miles an hour in the two shiny black vehicles, without the headlights on. Several of the men rode with Washington in his van. Two walked in front of the vehicles to scout the terrain.
At last, they came upon a clearing just past a fork in the road. Beyond the turnoff, Patrick could barely make out the remnants of several structures. Three leathery, dark black forms, looking like strips of dirty rags, were still hanging from an old tree branch. The church, with its cross buried upside down in the dirt just outside the entrance, was unusable since the roof was gone. But there was what appeared to be an old supply store that had half of its metal roof intact, which would give some shelter from the sun and a little from the wind. Old refrigerated cases, completely stripped bare and with their glass tops missing, littered the place.
It would be light in three hours, so Kyle ordered him and Jameson to bed down, took Cooper and Washington to a corner to study maps again, and asked the rest of the squad to chill until sunrise.
At first, Patrick couldn’t sleep. He stared up at the stars that were twice as bright as those in San Diego and found the second thing he liked about this country. He closed his eyes and heard Stephanie giggling under his arm and felt the way her hand smoothed down over his skin. He could smell the lavender cream she put on her legs every morning. He could smell the hair entangled in her hairbrush sitting idly by the bathroom sink.
He heard the sounds of the ocean as his feet trekked over the warm white sand. Somewhere a seabird was calling. Then everything went dark.
Chapter 24
Stephanie went for an early morning walk on the beach, then stopped by her favorite breakfast coffee shop and read one of her books while drinking herbal tea and having a huge bowl of oatmeal loaded with fresh strawberries. She found a local bookstore and purchased several books on pregnancy and childbirth. She bought a set of tapes on pregnancy for new moms. And lastly, she made an appointment with her doctor.
The blood test confirmed the test was positive. An ultrasound was performed, and the technician guessed she was about eight weeks pregnant.
She walked home with the picture—her first photo to put in the baby book. She embraced everything she had to do, including making plans to search online for baby furniture.
The landlord dropped by later in the week to inform her that they would have to move because she was putting the property on the market. Stephanie suggested that they might be interested in buying it and the owner agreed to wait until Patrick’s return.
She planted flowers in the backyard and along the walkway in front. She purchased some small tomato and pepper plants and a cucumber, planting them all at the side of the fence where it would be warmest and get full sun all day.
Lizzie called her to check in.
“Has anyone from the Team called in?” she asked.
“I don’t think so. It happens all the time.” Lizzie paused. “Things better now?”
“Yes. I’ve confirmed with the doctor and we think I’m about eight weeks. Thanks for the kick in the pants. It got me into gear.”
“You’d have gotten there on your own. Okay, I’m off to a gymnastics tournament.”
“Hey, Lizzie, I’ve still not been told him, so please don’t mention anything to anyone until you check with me, okay?”
“Scout’s honor.”
Stephanie searched color charts and cut out things she wanted to buy for the nursery. She toured the local hospital her doctor used and loved the feel and attitude of staff.
Her parents were thrilled with the news and they swore complete silence. She also called the Rosens and informed them of the news.
She thought of a million ways she could break the news to Patrick when he came home but couldn’t decide. A lot would depend on what his state of mind was when he got here.
She even went car shopping, researching something that would be easier with the baby seat than her small car. She registered for a swim class for pregnant moms and even attended her first class.
But every morning it was the same
. She looked in the mirror, to try to see if anything at all was showing. Some days she saw the swelling in her belly and on others, it was harder to tell. One thing she did notice was that her breasts were getting sensitive and enlarged. Patrick wouldn’t mind that at all.
News reports bothered her less and less. She learned to tune them out instead of running to chase a story flashing across the screen in red. She also found excuses to get together with Kyle’s wife and Shannon, T.J.’s wife. Her world had changed. She hoped Patrick would embrace it the same as she had.
Stephanie bought new sheets for the bed and replaced some tattered curtains with new bright white ones. She placed a call to a company to measure her windows for blackout shades she could have installed behind.
Whatever was going to lie ahead, she was ready.
Chapter 25
Patrick and the Team explored the Village of the Damned, as it was being called. In the early morning light, it didn’t look as ominous as it did the night before. But he didn’t blame any of the locals for staying away. It was a grim reminder of man’s inhumanity to man. It also was a calling card, preparing them for what they might find in the village at Deto.
He helped Coop and T.J. cut down the three bodies and found a broken hoe to dig a shallow grave for all three of them together. A search of the rest of the village remnants didn’t yield anything they could use or any intelligence of value. There were some volunteer corn plants stubbornly attempting to grow in shallow furrows marred by tire tracks and ashes from bonfires.
They opted to leave the vehicles behind and travel through the brush on foot to keep the element of surprise on their side. Fredo sent a radio message about where they were heading and got confirmation they’d be tracked.
Coop sent the drone out, replacing the night vision camera with the one he used for daytime surveillance. He carefully maneuvered it away from any clusters of homes, or buildings, especially if there were vehicles parked outside. After not seeing any trucks packed with troops in the area, they headed towards Deto with the drone as their scout.
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