The War Cloud

59

It was the 91^st Security Forces Squadron team that reached Sachs first at the Safeguard complex. She was unconscious on the floor under a console, her clothes, hands and hair a bloody mess. But she was breathing, and they stabilized her quickly then moved her outside.

As dawn broke over the 80-foot pyramid radar building, she blinked her eyes open into the cold light of day. It seemed like there were hundreds of soldiers, federal agents and FEMA officials on hand. News crews too, although they had been fenced off beyond the base.

“What’s going on?” she asked.

“You,” said a familiar voice. “You’ll be just fine. But we’ll need to airlift you for surgery to get that bullet out of you. I got lucky. Mine passed clean through.”

She looked over to see Koz, his shoulder in a bandage. “Koz.” She paused. “Captain Li?”

Koz shook his head, clearly broken up. “Last official casualty of the D.C. attack. But it’s over, thanks to you.”

There was a shout, and a soldier ran up with a phone for Koz. “General Block, sir.”

Koz took the phone and said, “Captain Li is dead, sir. So is Marshall.”

Sachs could hear Block’s shocked voice on the other end. “You killed Marshall?”

“No, sir,” Koz said, looking at her. “She did.”

“Sachs?” Block repeated, even louder.

“Yes, sir.”

“Well, I’ll be damned.”

There were more shouts and the snow kicked up. Sachs looked around, bewildered. Suddenly a Black Hawk chopper landed on the missile field. Her body instantly seized up in terror. Then the chopper’s big door slid open and out jumped a tall, thin African-American officer. And right behind her was Jennifer, running toward her.

“Mom!” Jennifer called. “Mom!”

Jennifer ran up to her and embraced her. Sachs cried her eyes out, kissing Jennifer all over, squeezing her until her baby could barely breathe. “Oh, baby.”

Koz had to gingerly pry them apart.

Jennifer straightened and looked over Koz once, then twice, and without disappointment. She must have seen something, because she smiled and saluted him.

Koz returned the salute, and Jennifer gave her mom a big thumbs-up, as if to say that, despite everything that had happened, America was going to be OK.