Apocalypse unleashed

43

Downtown Sanliurfa

Sanliurfa Province, Turkey

Local Time 0006 Hours

Remington strode up to the hotel door and kicked it open. The hinges shrieked as they ripped free of the wood.

Cody lay on the king-size bed smoking a cigar. He had a glass of liquor in one hand and a pistol in the other.

Remington looked at the man. “Put that away or I’m going to make you eat it.”

Cody didn’t look convinced at first; then Remington stepped toward him. The CIA agent laid the pistol aside.

“What are you doing here?” Cody demanded.

“I came to let you know I killed two more of your playmates outside the city. They were planning on ambushing Goose. I couldn’t let that happen.”

“You could have.”

“I didn’t want it to.”

“Where’s Icarus?”

“Gone. Disappeared while we were swapping lead with the Syrians.”

Cody cursed.

“I wanted to clear up the situation between us regarding Goose,” Remington said, venting some of the rage he felt roaring around inside him. “So I thought I’d come here and deliver the message in person.”

Cody stared at him without saying a word.

“Goose is mine,” Remington said. “He lives or dies by my decision. On my time. In my way. If you try to touch a hair on his head before I say otherwise, I’m going to kill you. Do you read me?”

“You’re making a mistake.”

With blinding speed, Remington drew the pistol from his hip and pointed it at Cody. He fired. Cody closed his eyes as the sound filled the room. Then he opened them, obviously surprised to find that he wasn’t dead. Instead, the pillow next to his head bore a smoking hole.

“I’m not going to tell you again,” Remington said. “This is your one pass. Do you read me?”

Cody nodded.

Barely able to restrain himself from killing the man anyway, Remington backed out of the room, then turned and walked down the hall. Letting Cody live was a mistake. He felt it in his bones. But he didn’t know how much Carpathia cared about the CIA section chief. Yet. Once Remington had a better idea, once he knew Cody could disappear without Carpathia becoming too upset, he was going to make that happen.

In the meantime, he needed to speak with Goose as soon as the first sergeant was up and around.

Local Time 0643 Hours

When Goose woke, he was exactly where he thought he would be: in a hospital bed. His leg was elevated on blankets in front of him. Pain, wrapped in cotton by painkillers, nevertheless throbbed at his temples.

He pulled his leg from the supports, tried to get up, and couldn’t. His knee lacked the strength. The pain was so unbearable that he was on the verge of losing consciousness again.

“You need to get back into that bed.”

Goose looked up at the nurse who entered his room. “I got men I need to be looking after.”

The nurse shook her head. “You’re going to need to spend all your time looking after yourself for a while, First Sergeant.” She paused. “I would wait until the doctor got here, but he’s dealing with so many wounded right now that I don’t know when he’ll be in here to tell you.”

“Tell me what?”

“That your knee is gone. You’re going to be lucky if you can walk with a cane after you heal up. They might be able to outfit you with an artificial knee at some point, but we can’t do it here. And with the extent of the damage, you’re not going to be able to stay in the military.” Her voice softened. “I’m sorry.”

Goose nodded. “Thank you, ma’am.” He lay back on the bed and tried to think about what he was going to do, then realized there was nothing he could do, so he tried desperately not to think about anything at all.

The painkillers helped. He let them drag him down into the darkness.

Local Time 1612 Hours

Goose dozed, surprised at how tired he was. Despite the erratic artillery fire, with the narcotic in his veins, sleep came a lot more easily than he’d thought it would.

One of the nurses walked into the room carrying a cell phone. She looked tired and disheveled, but she flashed him a warm smile. “First Sergeant Gander?”

“Yes, ma’am.”

The woman’s smile grew bigger. “I didn’t know if you’d be awake.”

“You caught me napping, but I’m awake now.”

“If you weren’t awake, I was going to wake you. The woman on the other end of this line sounds like she needs a reassuring word.”

Goose said thanks and took the handset. “Hello.”

“Goose,” Megan said, “it’s me.”

“Hey,” Goose said, feeling his voice suddenly get so thick that he couldn’t force any more words through his mouth.

“Cal called and let me know you were still alive. He told me you were wounded.”

“Not wounded. A few scratches and bruises, maybe. But my knee went out on me. I’m glad the captain gave you the update. I’ll have to thank him.” Goose stared at his immobilized knee. He wanted to talk things over with Megan, but he didn’t. From everything he’d heard, she’d been staying busy as well. She didn’t need to worry about him on top of everything else she was handling. And there was nothing she could do.

“How are you?” she asked.

“I’m fine.”

“You sound tired.”

“I am tired.”

“But you’re going to be all right?”

“Yes, ma’am. I’m fit as a fiddle.”

“Goose…”

He waited. After all those years of marriage, he knew not to hurry her. She’d say what she wanted to when she got good and ready.

“I’ve asked for permission to bring civilians over there in support positions. Families here are going crazy with the need to do something for the soldiers stationed there. After reviewing the offer from those civilians, the general has agreed.”

“There’s no call to involve civilians in this situation. A lot of people have already gotten hurt. A lot more are gonna be. This isn’t a good place for civilians to be, Megan.”

“It’s not a good place for you, either.”

“No, it’s not.” Goose gazed unhappily at his injured leg. He’d never before felt so helpless. “ You’re going to be lucky if you can walk with a cane.” The words had cycled endlessly through his head and haunted his dreams.

“I’m coming too, Goose,” Megan told him. “Over there. As soon as we can set up a schedule.”

Fierce pride filled Goose as he heard her. From the time he’d known her, Megan had never backed down from a challenge. She’d never cut and run.

“Nothing to say?” she asked.

“I know when to steer clear of trouble,” Goose replied. “But I don’t like the thought of you being in this mess.”

“I don’t like the thought of you being over there. I guess we’re at a stalemate, First Sergeant. So if you can’t come to me, I guess I’m going to come to you.”

“Yes, ma’am.” But Goose hoped it wouldn’t be anytime soon or that the commanding officers would reconsider. He understood the sense of what Megan was proposing, and God knew they needed the help, but he didn’t want families on the firing line.

Megan interrupted his thoughts. “They’re telling me I have to keep this call short.”

“I understand.” Goose squeezed the phone more tightly than he’d intended. He didn’t want to surrender the contact he had with her. He wanted to feel her close to him. He wanted her to understand that he was going to walk again. More than that, he was going to soldier again. The doctor was wrong. He had to be wrong.

“I love you, Goose,” Megan said.

“I love you too.”

“God willing, I’ll see you soon.”

The broken connection clicked in Goose’s ear. He swallowed hard and struggled to keep his emotions in check. Then he folded the cell phone and handed it back to the waiting nurse.

“Sounds like you’ve got yourself a good woman, First Sergeant.”

“Yes, ma’am. One of the finest women I’ve ever met.”

“Excluding present company.”

Despite the fear that gripped him from the debilitating effects of his knee injury and the thought of Megan being anywhere on the ground in Turkey, Goose summoned a smile. “Of course, ma’am. Excluding present company.”

“You see if you can get some more rest, First Sergeant. If you need anything, just let me know.”

“Yes, ma’am.” Goose lay back and closed his eyes. Even though he felt certain sleep wouldn’t come, it took him under its wing so softly and suddenly he wasn’t even aware of it.