For a moment, raw pain and fear and doubt crushed Goose as he surveyed the wrecked aircraft and the border such a short distance away where one of the fiercest enemies he’d ever faced waited to kill him and his men.
Holding the young Marine corporal to him, Goose was reminded how Chris had been laid in his arms just after his son had been born. The moment had been overwhelming. Even knowing Megan was pregnant, even feeling the baby kick, it somehow hadn’t seemed real.
Then Chris had been there, lying in his arms, so small, so helpless. And Goose swore then that he had felt the hand of God upon him, felt the blessings of God upon him as well as the burden of responsibility. After years in the military, Goose knew he would never be able to keep Chris safe from everything. Goose knew he would never be strong enough or big enough to completely protect his son.
Only God could do that. And in that moment of feeling that God was with him, he knew a covenant had been made between God and him, that they would do everything possible to save Chris in the imperfect world into which he’d been born.
In that moment of grace while holding his son for the first time, Goose had known the truest peace ever in his life. God, how could I have forgotten that?
Then Goose realized that he couldn’t have forgotten it. God had reminded him of that moment just now, at a time when that memory of faith had been most needed. God is there. God does see this.
The fear quieted. Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth. The passage came from Psalm 46:10. The verse had also been one of those that Bill had always held close to him.
Goose took a deep breath and believed, not because he had no choice, but because believing was the only choice a man with even a glimmer of faith could do. The pain and fatigue remained with him, but those things seemed more distant. He walked forward, and his injured knee remained strong beneath him. For the moment, that was all he needed.
19
United States of America
Columbus, Georgia
Local Time 1:25 A.M.
“Joey!”
Pain filled Joey’s head. The throb exploded along his jaw and made his teeth ache. Deafness filled his left ear. Even though his lids were closed, bright light stabbed through his eyes and deep into his brain.
“Joey! Are you all right?”
Someone grabbed Joey’s arm and shook him. Oh, yeah. That helps so much. Thank you. Fresh agony erupted inside his skull. He groaned and the grip on his arm went away.
“Wake up. We were in a wreck.”
Dim images flickered through Joey’s mind. Then he remembered the camo-colored Suburban that had been on a collision course with his mom’s car. The memory of the crunch and scream of battered and torn metal haunted him. Man, you are never gonna get out of the house again in this lifetime.
Then he remembered that Jenny had been in the car with him. He snapped his eyes open, and the blare of car horns closed in on him. The din sounded like he’d set off a shop full of car alarms or stepped into a Klingon trap in a Star Trek episode.
Jenny sat in the passenger seat. An ashen pallor colored her face and blood leaked from the left corner of her mouth.
“You okay?” Joey asked.
She nodded. “I think so.” She glanced at him. “I was just worried about you. You wouldn’t wake up. Are you sure you’re okay?”
No, Joey thought, I’m definitely not okay. This is my mom’s car, and with my luck tonight, it’s probably totaled. But he said, “Yeah. I’m okay.” He turned his head and gazed into the bright headlights of the Suburban shoved against the side of the car. “This wasn’t my fault. This guy came outta nowhere.”
Checking the right front side of the car, he saw that the impact from the bigger vehicle had shoved his mom’s car over into the stop sign. He hadn’t even gone forward when his foot had slipped off the brake. The front windshield revealed a road map of cracks and fractures.
Anger swept through Joey. Tonight had been a total bust. Lying about his age and going to the club had been his fault. Not being home at curfew had been his fault. But this.man, this was so not his fault. He had just been sitting at the stop sign when this guy had plowed into him. Now he was going to be even later picking up Chris.
Joey unbuckled his seat belt. He felt the bruising across his chest and hip and knew that they had been hit with considerable force.
“What are you doing?” Jenny asked.
“Getting out.”
“We should wait.”
“For what?”
“The police.”
Joey squirmed over the seat. “That jerk hasn’t even gotten out of the truck to come check on us. He’s probably sitting in there wasted or stoned out of his mind. I don’t want him hiding evidence before the police get here.”
“It wasn’t just him, Joey.” Jenny pointed through the cracked windshield.
In the backseat now, Joey paused and looked. Several wrecks sat in the middle of the street. Cars had gone onto the median. Traffic was usually heavy, even at this time of night. Some of his anger melted away as the weirdness of the situation filtered through.
“A whole lot of people wrecked at the same time,” Jenny said. “I saw them. It was like those cars just went out of control. Like the drivers just turned loose of the steering wheel.”
Fear seeped in through the cracks of Joey’s anger, breaking the hot emotion down and filling him with fear. Something’s wrong. He tried to open the right rear door and found it was jammed. Rocking back, he threw his shoulder against the door. A screech filled the car’s interior but the door opened.
Joey stepped out on shaking
