his hip. “You were given orders to remain under house arrest. Men were assigned to keep you there.”
“They tried.”
“Begging the lieutenant’s pardon, but Sergeant Gander didn’t get here on his own.” Theissen stepped forward. “He had help.”
“You did this?”
“Sir, I-several of us-believe Sergeant Gander needs to be out here. With men that are prepared to fight and die in the next few minutes.”
“I hadn’t expected this from you, Sergeant Theissen.”
Theissen grinned but little of the effort was humorous. “Truth to tell, I didn’t expect it from me either. But I gotta admit, I’m a little proud of myself.”
For a moment the tension held. Lieutenant Swindoll was loyal to Remington. That much was immediately obvious. Several other men were as well. All of them were afraid, and most of them were young and inexperienced and still believed that an officer was the only one who could get them out of a bad situation.
“You got the Syrian army headed this way, sir.” Goose worked to sound respectful. “You’re going to need every man you can muster. This
… this is where I belong.”
That simple truth hung on the hot, dry air.
“Goose.” The voice coming through Goose’s headset belonged to Remington. Goose knew the captain had been monitoring his com channel; hearing from him now was no surprise.
“Yes, sir.”
“Go to our private frequency.”
Goose did. As he flicked the headset, he watched surprise widen Swindoll’s bloodshot eyes.
“I’m here, sir.”
“Don’t talk. Just listen. You know the kind of jam we’re in. We can’t hold Harran. We’d never planned on it. Of course, we’d never planned on getting caught with our pants down either.”
Goose took his binoculars from his BDUs and slung the assault rifle. He stepped up onto the nearest Hummer and stood on the rear deck. Training the binoculars due south, he saw the line of dust in the distance that marked the advance of the Syrian army.
“I’ve got helos en route.” Remington’s voice remained calm. “The problem is that they’re going to arrive there probably three to five minutes after the Syrian army does.”
Perspiration trickled down Goose’s stubbled face as he realized what Remington was about to ask the Rangers to do. Three to five minutes wasn’t much of a commute, but it could be a lifetime on a battlefield when forces were engaged.
“You know what I’m going to order you to do, don’t you?”
“Yes, sir.”
“There’s not another way around it.”
Goose knew that a lot of the men with him were probably going to die. Maybe he’d die too. “I know that.”
“If you try to retreat, they’ll roll over you.”
“Yes, sir.”
“What I need you to do, Goose, is to hold that position. For three to five minutes.”
A lifetime.
“Long enough for the helos to arrive.” Remington spoke calmly, as if he were ordering a drink in a bar. “They’re equipped with M139s. When the helos drop their payloads, that should buy you some time to retreat.”
“Yes, sir. But after three to five minutes, there may not be a clear division between us and them.”
“Understood. It’s the best I have to offer. I don’t want to lose those men.”
“Neither do I.” The dust line in the distance grew taller and nearer.
“Then let’s do the best we can to bring them home.”
“Yes, sir. You’ll have to clear this with Lieutenant Swindoll.” Goose was acutely conscious of the lieutenant’s grim stare.
“I will. You just work your magic, Goose. Buy those helos time.”
“Yes, sir.”
16
United States of America
Fort Benning, Georgia
Local Time 2315 Hours
Megan stared at the pile of papers on the desk before her. She felt overwhelmed. No matter how much she did, there still seemed to be an incredible amount yet to be done. She was beginning to believe that every time she took her eyes off of the papers they duplicated themselves.
God, help me, because I’m not going to be able to do this on my own.
She took a deep breath and reached for the top sheet on one of the stacks. The paperwork wasn’t going to do itself.
Someone knocked on the door of her office. Feeling guilty about the relief she felt at the distraction, Megan looked up.
Sue Davis stood in the doorway. She was in her early thirties and married to one of the Rangers currently assigned to Germany. Thanks to the level of technology they both had access to, she was able to talk to him on a regular basis.
Megan waved her into the room and stood to greet her.
“You’re working late. Did I catch you at a bad time?”
“No. Just up to my ears in paperwork. Have a seat.” Megan waved toward one of the chairs in front of the metal desk.
Sue wrinkled her nose. “I guess the military doesn’t really do much in the way of creature comforts. That desk doesn’t exactly scream success.”
Megan sat and smiled. “I don’t think it’s supposed to.”
Sue was a real estate agent in Columbus-a very successful real estate agent. She was also a super mom, somehow managing to handle three rambunctious kids while her husband was out of the country. In addition to the real estate job, she was a homeroom mom and soccer coach. She looked tired and her clothes were a bit rumpled after a long day and a late evening in the office, but her brunette hair was neatly cut, and her business suit looked fitted, though Megan was pretty sure Sue had done the alterations herself.
“When I saw you were still here, I thought I’d come by to check on you.”
“I appreciate that, but there’s no need. I’m handling everything.”
Sue hesitated, started to say something, then stopped. She tried again a moment later. “I still get up every morning thinking about Micah.” Her eyes welled up with tears. “I still… miss him… very much.”
Seeing the woman’s pain brought Megan’s back to the surface as well. She was conscious of Chris’s photograph sitting on the corner of her desk. He was smiling and happy, and he looked so much like Goose with his wheat-colored hair and blue eyes that her heart felt like it was breaking all over again.
“I know.” The words came from Megan’s throat like broken glass. Micah had been- still is, Megan corrected herself-Sue’s youngest child. He was eight years old, and he’d vanished like Chris and every other child younger than thirteen.
Sue blinked away her tears without touching them so she wouldn’t ruin her makeup. “I still catch myself setting out his plate for breakfast. Makes me feel crazy, you know.”
“You’re not. It just means you’re thinking of him.”
“You’d think I’d remember that he’s not here anymore.”
Megan hesitated. “This… isn’t easy to get used to.”
“Not even when you believe in God?”
