“Yes, sir.” Goose replaced his canteen on his hip.
Mkchian took off his sunglasses and wiped them free of dust. He put them back on and looked at the stream. “It’s an amazing thing, isn’t it?”
“What’s that, sir?”
“Belief, Sergeant. Belief.”
“Yes, sir.”
Mkchian looked at him. “I’m surprised to see you here. I’d heard you were here earlier.”
“I was.”
“And you’re back now.” The statement came across as a question.
“Yes, sir.” Goose wasn’t going to tell the man that Remington had ordered him to be there or that the captain intended to put an end to the baptisms.
“I’ve also been told Captain Remington is en route,” Mkchian said.
Goose said nothing.
“My spies, you see,” Mkchian said, “are everywhere.” He grinned as he said it.
Goose knew that the statement was offered in jest, but he also knew that the Turkish captain would have been a fool not to monitor the activities of the Rangers.
“So I had to ask myself,” Mkchian said, “what Captain Remington would be doing out here. He has been very adroit at managing intelligence, supply, reinforcements, and renegotiating satellite reconnaissance even though it involved the introduction of the OneWorld NewsNet people among my men.”
Goose shifted uncomfortably on his injured knee. Neither sitting nor standing helped with the pain. Only being in motion to some degree helped alleviate the gnawing sensation and the throbbing.
“The only answer I came up with,” Mkchian continued, “was that Captain Remington wasn’t happy with the events that are currently taking place here.”
Goose didn’t comment.
“I, on the other hand,” the Turkish captain said, “was raised Christian. That’s surprising in a country that is 98 percent Islamic. However, many people don’t know that Christianity was the chief religion in this country before Islam came in with the Seljuks when they took Jerusalem in 1071.”
“Their taking Jerusalem precipitated the Crusades,” Goose said. Mkchian smiled as if in pleasant surprise. “A student of history, Sergeant?”
“My dad was a Sunday school teacher back home, and after the Korean War, he got his doctorate in history and taught college for a while.” The university job didn’t keep Wes Gander from being a simple man, though. “My dad showed me how Bible history intersects what they teach in public schools.”
Mkchian nodded. “My family—according to my father, who takes great pride in these things—insists that we can trace our Christianity back to the early people who first lived in these lands.” He looked toward the stream. “This event is an unexpected thing, Sergeant, but I believe it is a good thing.”
“Yes, sir.”
“But your captain doesn’t think so?”
“You’d have to ask him, sir.”
“I’ll do that, Sergeant.” Mkchian looked at Goose. “In the meantime, I’ve noticed that your leg is troubling you.”
“I’m getting by.”
“Nonsense. You’re in pain. I noticed that earlier and took the liberty of getting a medical kit. Have you ever had a cortisone shot before?”
“Yes.” In the past, he’d needed a few cortisone shots to keep that knee functioning.
“I have cortisone. If you’ll allow my aide to treat you. I assure you that he’s trained to deliver shots like this.” Mkchian smiled. “I took a round through my left shoulder a few years ago. The shoulder had to be reconstructed. It still troubles me from time to time, and I have found cortisone to be a good thing.” He gestured to the Jeep driver. “Tonight, when we pull back from this border, I would like knowing that you are as able as you can be. To me, such a course of action makes sense because I will in part be relying on you. What do you think?”
Goose hesitated only a moment. “Yes, sir.” He knelt with difficulty and unlaced his boot. He pulled his pant leg up and bared his swollen knee.
Mkchian frowned as Goose hoisted himself up on the Hummer’s rear deck so his leg would dangle freely. “That knee is in horrible shape, Sergeant.”
“Yes, sir. It’s not the first time I’ve damaged it.” Goose breathed out and then took slow breaths, pushing his mind past the pain that felt like a rusty bear trap had seized hold of his knee when the corporal gently worked his leg. He continued breathing through the pain of the shots as the man stabbed the needle deep into his knee. Thankfully, the cortisone was mixed with a local anesthetic and the pain relief was immediate.
“You realize that the cortisone will take the pain away,” Mkchian said, “but does not reduce the damage or the amount of damage you can unknowingly do to it.”
Goose lowered his pant leg, tucked it back into his boot, and pulled the laces tight. “I know that from past experience, Captain. Thank you.”
“It is my pleasure. When we get to Diyarbakir, you should have that knee looked at.”
“I will, sir.” Goose stood on the leg and tested it. The knee felt numb, like it was a long way away, but he felt his foot just fine.
An engine sounded over the ridgeline. A handful of seconds later, Cal Remington arrived in an RSOV with a full complement of Rangers.
Goose stood ramrod still and saluted. “Sir,” he barked.
Seeing Remington in captain’s dress still somehow seemed odd after all these years. Goose could remember when they were both coming up through the ranks, both of them breaking in one second lieutenant after another, only to see them go or transfer. But the recognition of the chain of command was immediate.
“Sergeant,” Remington said gruffly and fired off a salute while on the move. He looked over Goose’s shoulder, and Goose knew exactly what the captain was looking at. “I didn’t know we were hosting a revival.”
“No, sir,” Goose replied. Ever since Remington had gotten hold of him, told him he was coming out, Goose had known what the captain was going to want to discuss.
“If we’re not,” Remington snapped, “then tell me why I’ve got a Ranger corporal and three army chaplains hip deep in water handing out baptisms like there was a fire sale.”
“Things got out of control, sir,” Goose responded.
“Out of control?
