Operation: Unknown Angel

by Margaret Kay

  “Big Bear, can your contact give direction to the harbor master? If that boat has no clearance to dock, we won’t have to deal with those assholes,” Cooper said.

  “I’ll try, but you need a viable Plan B,” Shepherd said.

  “If the harbor master is not within the contact’s scope, maybe the Algerian Military can intercept and slow them down,” Mother suggested. He glanced back into the container. “That ship cannot dock.”

  Several sets of keys were found on the bodies. One by one, each one was checked until finally, the key that unlocked the shackles was found. Mother got busy unlocking shackle after shackle. Madison, Cooper, and the two medics moved the women and girls out into the morning sunlight and sat them on the ground near the warehouse as each was freed. The medics evaluated each. They were all suffering from dehydration, and they reported that they hadn’t eaten anything in days. No one was seriously hurt though.

  Upon examination, the medics discovered that they were all also marked, with large characters in Arabic written with permanent marker written on their forearms. “Xena,” Doc called. “Come take a look at this and translate for us.”

  Madison left the container and went to where the women were gathered. Doc pointed out the writing on each of their arms.

  Madison cursed aloud. “Those are prices. The younger the girl, the higher the price.”

  Mother heard her through his comms. His stomach lurched. He stepped out of the container and threw up to the side of it. He took his water bottle from his pack, drew in a drink and then spit it out. Then he went back inside the container and got back to work with a renewed urgency to release all the women and girls.

  Shepherd notified his contact that water and food was desperately needed for the victims they were rescuing. Cooper completed a headcount as they brought the last woman out of the first container. There were one-hundred two women and girls as young as ten years old in that container.

  Mother got busy releasing the shackles on the ankles of the women and girls in the second container. The chains and locks in this container were more corroded than the locks had been in the first one. He carefully worked the key in the rusty locks. His gloves were saturated with the excrement that was pooled on the floor. His eyes watered from the stench.

  As he released the women and girls, the enormity of the total number of victims hit him. He looked into the eyes of another woman as he moved closer to her. “It’s okay. You're safe now,” he said.

  She forced a grin. She didn’t understand his words, but she heard the compassion in his voice. He helped her up and handed her off to Taco, who now assisted with getting the women out of the containers.

  From high atop the crane, the Birdman gazed out to sea. “I have the target ship in view. She’s about a quarter mile out.”

  “My contact reports the harbor master told them to hold position,” Shepherd said. “Watch her and report if she advances.”

  “Roger that, Big Bear,” the Birdman acknowledged.

  Cooper moved away from the opening of the containers. “Big Bear, do you have an update on the disposition of our freed targets? Or the request for water and food? Once those things are secured, we’ll be ready to pull out.”

  Madison and Garcia came in to take the next freed woman. They thought she was the last but behind her, tucked in the dark corner was a tiny figure. She sat with her head dropped to her knees. Garcia took the woman, carrying her in his arms out of the container.

  “Hey,” Madison said, reaching her hand to the little girl’s shoulder, shaking her. Mother took hold of her tiny, bare foot, moving it so he’d get access to the lock.

  Mother watched the hair that fell over the girl’s knees. She didn’t move. He hoped she was just unconscious or asleep. So far, they had come across no fatalities and damn it, he didn’t want this little girl to be the exception.

  “Hey,” Madison repeated.

  They watched the little girl slowly raise her head. Big brown eyes beamed at them from the face of a child who couldn’t have been any older than five, if that. She pushed her hair back off her face and gazed questioningly at them.

  Mother worked the key in the rusted lock and unchained the little girl. Madison picked her up. The little girl went rigid in Madison’s arms. “I’m a friend. Here to help you,” she said. She repeated it in Arabic and the little girl’s eyes went wide. “My name is Madison,” she said, pointing to herself. “What is your name?” She spoke to the girl in Arabic.

  “Hahna,” a small, squeaky voice spoke.

  Mother knew the child must be thirsty. He removed his gloves and tossed them to the floor. They were trash at this point. He opened his water bottle and handed it to Madison.

  “Water,” Madison said in Arabic.

  The little girl guzzled it. Mother wondered when last she’d had anything to eat or drink. He pulled a protein bar from his pack, opened it, and handed it over too.

  “Taeam,” Madison told the girl. She proceeded to devour the protein bar. Mother gave her another.

  Mother knew that the early morning sunlight would be blinding to the girl when they brought her out of the container. And even though it was sixty-three degrees out, she would probably be cold. The dress she wore didn’t look warm, and she had no shoes or socks on her feet. He took the scarf from around his neck and draped it over the girl’s head, wrapping it around her body. Then he and Madison brought her outside to where the others stood.

  The scarf slipped from her head to reveal her hair, which fell halfway down her back. It was an unusual shade of medium brown with natural highlights of gold. It wasn’t black as they thought in the container. Her skin tone was light compared to the other women they’d removed from the containers, unusually light for the area. She was a beautiful little girl.

  “Jesus Christ, she’s a baby,” Doc swore. He rushed over to do a quick eval on her as he had the others that had been rescued.

  “We gave her some water and a few protein bars,” Mother told Doc.

  “Is your mother one of these women?” Madison asked her in Arabic. She repeated what she’d asked to Doc and Mother.

  The girl answered no. Her mother and father had sent her and her sister away with a man who brought her here.

  “We need to find her sister,” Mother said.

  An hour later, an exhaustive search through the hundreds of women and girls they’d rescued did not find Hahna’s sister. Hahna said they’d been separated several days before. She did not know where her sister, Yasmine, was. Madison and Mother also learned that Hahna was four years old. And she could not describe her home well. From the brief description she gave, they were all sure she was from an impoverished family. She didn’t know what country, town, or village she was from nor did she know her parent’s given names, just her sibling’s.

  Mother could tell this rocked Madison as much as it did him. Not only had none of the women in that container cared for this little girl, none of them would volunteer to watch over her now. Many of them just wanted to get back to their homes, which they had been violently taken from, and they didn’t plan to take anyone extra with them. Several of the women who had nowhere to go apologized to Madison, citing that they didn’t know how they would survive, let alone care for this unknown child.

  Finally, Cooper brought word that an orphanage in Algiers would take any of the women and children with no place to go. “They’ll try to find the families and reunite the children.”

  “No, I’m not leaving her at some orphanage here,” Madison said, surprising both Cooper and Mother.

  Madison still clutched the girl in her arms. She hadn’t put her down once in the two hours since rescuing her. Mother had sat beside her listening to the conversation Madison and the child had for hours. He hadn’t understood a single word as they’d conversed in Arabic, one of four foreign languages that Madison spoke. But he recognized the tone. Madison made a connection with the child. She even got the little girl to laugh a few times. The little girl clung to her with
trust.

  “Her parents sent her away, gave her to these monsters. They’re not getting her back. They don’t deserve her.”

  “Madison, you don’t know the situation. They may not have had a choice,” Cooper said.

  “And we have no way of knowing if that same situation will play out again. I’m not going to leave her in danger.”

  Mother watched the tick in Cooper’s jaw become more prominent.

  “So, what are you going to do, Madison?” Cooper demanded.

  “I’m taking her with us, back to the United States where she’ll be safe.”

  By this time, the Algerian forces were on site. Water and food were brought for the women and girls they’d rescued. They would all have a few minutes to eat something before being transported appropriately, be it to their home villages or to the orphanage. Trucks were lining up in front of the warehouse. The members of Shepherd Security had gathered by the east door, everyone except for Jackson, Sloan, and Sherman. They still held position, watching the area.

  Hearing Madison’s statement, each man’s head snapped to view either Madison or Cooper.

  “Babe, you can’t bring her home with us,” Cooper said.

  “Why not? It’s the only place I know she’ll be safe.”

  Cooper came in close to Madison. Mother stood within earshot. He knew he should move away and give them privacy, but he didn’t want to miss this.

  “Babe, think about this. She doesn’t belong to you. You cannot just bring her home.”

  “She belongs to no one at this point.” Madison paused and her eyes pled with her husband’s. “John, I can’t leave her here. My heart is telling me to do this. We can make room for her in our home and in our hearts. I know it’s the right thing to do.”

  “Madison, our lives do not leave room for a child. That’s why we agreed not to have a baby yet. One of us won’t be able to go on missions or work the hours we do if that’s the case. Are you ready to give this up for her?”

  Mother had never seen Madison cry on a mission. He did in that moment.

  “John, I can’t explain it. My heart is telling me to take her home and make her ours. I can’t risk this will ever happen to her again. We both know what would have happened to her if we didn’t find her. Look at her. How can you risk it? I can’t. I just know this is the right thing to do.”

  “Babe?” Cooper said, his questioning stare darting from Madison to Mother.

  “I’m sure Angel and Elizabeth would help so I can still work like I do. Or maybe my parents will move to the Chicago area to help. I could even see if my sister would move in with us and be her nanny when we’re away. There are options, John. Options that don’t include leaving her here to fend for herself. We both know there are thousands of street children in this city. How long will that orphanage care for her before dumping her onto the streets? And even if they do find a home for her, which is unlikely because the adoption rate in this country is so low, it may not be with good people. She could be put into an even worse situation.”

  Cooper stared at her, dumbfounded. Mother had never seen Cooper left speechless. This was another first. “She’s not our responsibility,” Cooper finally said.

  “I’m making her mine,” Madison said, the tears still falling onto her cheeks. “John, I can’t leave her.”

  Mother knew that international adoptions of orphaned children in Algeria occurred. Madison was not wrong on the low rate of domestic adoptions. More children were dumped onto the streets than adopted. A part of him wanted to speak up and volunteer to help care for the child.

  The chopper that would bring them back aboard the George Bush came in and landed nearby. Cooper motioned the team to it. It would pick all the members up there, and then land on the dock to pick Sloan and Sherman up, who would be the last two aboard.

  Mother picked his gear up and followed the others to the chopper. Once seated inside, he kept his eyes riveted to the door. He wasn’t surprised when Madison boarded with the little girl still in her arms. Cooper followed; his jaw set tightly. He was frowning.

  The flight to the aircraft carrier was quiet. Mother’s eyes darted to the other men. They all snuck peeks at Madison and the child. Yes, this was a first. Mother couldn’t help but wonder if she really was going to bring the little girl home with them. Would Shepherd make this happen for her? Mother was sure that he had the connections and pull to make it happen, if he wanted.

  They disembarked from the chopper on the deck of the Bush and went back to the same room they had occupied before the mission began. This time, though, Madison brought the little girl in with them. Once inside with the door shut, Madison made an announcement, still clutching the child in her arms. “I’m sure many of you don’t understand why I couldn’t leave her.” Her eyes settled on her husband’s. “But I feel called to take care of her, to make her my responsibility. I plan to take her home with us, will plead my case to Shepherd.”

  “Madison,” Doc said. “I don’t think any of us can’t understand. Hell, if you hadn’t, I may have.”

  Several of the others agreed. “Angel and I will help you in any way we can,” Jackson offered.

  “Elizabeth and me too,” Doc seconded.

  “You can probably count us all in,” Garcia remarked, his eyes on Cooper.

  “Thank you,” Madison said. “First off, we need a shower. We’re going to take the bathroom first.” Her voice was firm. There was no room for debate. “Cooper, can you go into my bag? I have a few shirts in there I can put on her, will fit her like a dress. She can’t put this filthy dress back on.”

  “Sure,” Cooper acknowledged.

  Madison nodded at him and then grabbed the desert camo fatigues she’d worn when they boarded the Bush that were neatly folded beside her backpack. She then disappeared into the bathroom.

  After Madison and the girl bathed and left the bathroom, the men went in, taking turns to get a shower. Mother let the hot water cascade over him for longer than normal. He deeply breathed in the fresh scent of the soap to clear the stink from the containers from his nose. When he went back to the bunkroom, the little girl was asleep beneath a blanket on one of the bunks. Madison and Cooper were nowhere in sight.

  “They’re out in the hall someplace talking,” Doc said, guessing that Mother had been searching for Madison.

  His lips tugged into a grin. “Yeah, I bet they need to. I’ve never seen anything like that.”

  Doc’s eyes settled back on the girl. “I understand why Madison felt the need to protect her. I wasn’t joking when I said I had thought about bringing her home too.”

  A few minutes later the little girl woke up. She called for Madison. Doc knelt beside her to comfort her. “I’ll go find Madison,” Mother volunteered.

  He exited the room. The immediate hallway was empty. He heard faint voices coming from down the hall where the corridor ended with halls running to the left and the right. As he neared where the hall ended in the T, he heard Cooper and Madison’s voices clearly coming from the hall to the right.

  “Madison, this is something we should have decided on together,” he heard Cooper say.

  “Or you could trust me that I need to do this, John,” Madison shot back. “We can do this. I know we can.”

  “Oh, blondie, I’m not doubting your ability to take care of her for one second,” Cooper said, his voice softening. “You know I trust you. And I love you. You know that. Are you sure about this?”

  From around the corner, Mother heard the emotion in Madison’s voice. “John, I’ve never been surer of anything. Please contact Shepherd. Ask him to reach out to the State Department to get us some kind of legal custody of Hahna.”

  Mother peeked around the corner. Cooper held Madison in his arms. “I will,” he promised.

  Cooper’s eyes locked with Mother’s. “Sorry to interrupt. Hahna’s awake, calling for Madison,” he said.

  Madison rushed past him. “If you need any help with her, let me know,” he told Cooper. “I�
�m sure Kaylee and Brielle would help too, any of the women would.”

  Cooper looked away. He didn’t look happy. “I’m sure they will, but what kind of life is that for this kid, to be shuttled between all these people who are strangers to her? She deserves a real home.”

  “It’s a better life than being dumped in an Algerian orphanage and from what I’ve seen, you and Madison would give her a real home, with a little help from your friends.”

  Cooper shook his head. Then he ran his fingers over his forehead. “This kid really got to Madison.”

  Mother felt a smirk settle on his face. The kid had gotten to him too. He was glad that Madison wanted to bring her home. “Just let me know what I can do to give you two a hand. I’ll take some of Madison’s shifts in Ops if you need me to when we get back, until my team goes out again.”