Elise

by Angela Rush

  “What have we got here?” The grey-haired woman inquires as she approaches.

  What’s your name young man?” The policeman sitting beside him asks. Warren sits quietly refusing to answer. “Boy I asked your name!” The policeman demands.

  “Warren, just Warren.” comes the quiet reply. The adults stand around talking over him and about him and his mother. A car pulls up and a man in a suit gets out and joins the others.

  “We found the boy’s mother.” The newcomer interjects while glancing at Warren. “She was found at the Star Motel. She’s on her way to the morgue. Looks like an OD.”

  From that night on he was put into the foster system. He tries not to dwell on that time in his life, but sometimes the memories flood in when he least expects it. Like tonight, sitting at home alone after spending the day with his team eating good food and horsing around. Taking a break from the madness that is the life they lead as Marine Raiders, traveling the globe and saving the world. Everyone knows about Navy SEALs and the Army’s Delta Force Teams, how they do secret missions all over the globe. Marine Special Ops teams don’t get press coverage or have movies made about them. The work they do is done in secret and that’s just fine with Deadeye. He prefers their team be kept on the down low.

  Deadeye’s thoughts return to this childhood. Being shuffled from one placement to another had been difficult and he had acted out. He was often in trouble both in school and in the homes, he was placed into. However, his luck improved when he was 13 years old. He was placed in a new home after being tracked down when he had run away for the 9th time. His case worker was over trying to help him. She picked him up at the police station and let him know in no uncertain terms that this was his very last chance at staying out of juvenile detention. When they pulled up in front of a large 2-story colonial house, she gave him a final warning.

  “Warren, this is the last time I can try to keep you out of juvenile lockup. If you run from here, you will be locked up until you are 18. Don’t screw this up. I have worked really hard to make this happen. These people will help you if you will let them.” After her admonishment, she climbed out of the car and met him on the other side and escorted him to the large front door.

  The door swung open wide after the case worker had rapped on the door. A tall man with salt-n-pepper hair leaning hard on the salt side, looked down at Warren as he stepped toward the door. Warren didn’t know if the man was coming outside on purpose or just trying to intimidate him. Warren’s knee-jerk reaction was to scowl at the man and put his fists up. Luckily, he was able to catch himself and keep his fighting instincts to himself. It was the first step toward changing his life for the better. The man, William turned out to be a retired Marine. His wife, Mira was retired Navy. With both having a military background they ran their home very similar to boot camp. They were never mean or unjust, but they had certain standards and they expected them to be followed.

  “Warren, your principal called this morning.” Mrs. Vickers informs him one afternoon while picking him up from football practice. “He said your grades are greatly improving. We are very proud of you.” Warren smiles at Mrs. Vickers. He had been working really hard to get caught up in his studies. It was the best praise he had ever gotten in his 16 years. That night at supper he got another surprise.

  “Warren. There is something we would like to discuss with you.” Mr. Vickers begins. “You have been with us for three years. Mira and I have been thinking that we should officially make you our son.” He pauses for a time. “I’m talking about adoption. What do you think about that Warren?”

  Warren’s chest felt tight, tears welled in his eyes. He had not felt such emotion since the fire that changed his life ever. He had never imagined they would want to adopt him as their son. He sat quietly for a while trying to get his thoughts together. Finally, he gives an answer.

  “Sir, I would very much like that.” Warren chocks out around his tears.

  Warren became a Vickers a short time later. He was forever grateful to the Vickers. They helped Deadeye become the responsible person he is to this day. Encouraging him to do well in school and eventually join the Marines when he finished high school. They supported him through basic training and beyond. They stood proudly with him and were over joyed when he passed Special Ops training.

  Becoming a Marine was the best thing that ever happened to Deadeye. He was able to provide for himself and he no longer needed to be dependent on anyone ever again. Over the years he worked hard to be the best at what he does. When he passed the Marine Special Ops training and became a Marine Raider, he felt like he had finally made something of himself. He was thankful that the Vickers had lived long enough to see him achieve such a high goal. Sadly, within a couple of years after his graduation from Special Ops training, he was once again an orphan. Thankfully he met his best and closest friends during the training. For once in his life he has brothers. They are the best men he has ever known, and he would gladly lay down his life for them as they would him.

  Deadeye decides it’s time to stop his musings and get to bed. PT comes early in the morning. They had been given a couple days off after their last mission and now it was time to hit it hard again. They never knew when their next mission would come up. Sometimes they were given a couple of weeks to prepare and others they had less than a couple of hours to prepare before heading off to the other side of the world. He wants to be at his best what ever the situation calls for.

  Chapter 3

  Elise Sommers gathers the supplies she will need to take with her. She places a small doll into the pack. She smiles as she thinks about the little girl, Lakia that has caught Elise’s eye. Lakia lives in the section they are heading to today. Elise is hoping to give her the doll. The child always watches Elise intently. Elise cares for the little girl. The last couple of times Elise was in the area the little girl would stay close to Elise and give her small smiles. Elise looks forward to seeing the little girl whenever they are out and is hoping to bring just a little joy to the child.

  Elise has been feeling even more uneasy lately when she goes to that section of the refugee camp. The men stare at her like she is a piece of meat. One man in particular follows her every move. It’s like he is learning her movements around the camp. He had been one of the men that stopped them a few days ago while they were going to deliver supplies. Elise mentioned it to the interrupter and the contract security officer, but they dismissed her concerns. Elise has one more month left before she returns to the states. She is seriously reconsidering her choices; expect for the smiles and thanks she receives from those she is helping; she wishes she hadn’t come to this camp.

  As she is helping to load the truck with supplies, Elise thinks about how upset her mother was with her when she told her mother what she had volunteered to do. While her mother is sympathetic to the plight of the refugees, she doesn’t want her daughter in the thick of the danger. Elise is beginning to understand her mother’s concerns better now that she is here and sees how close danger really can be, but Elise has strong convictions about helping those in need. These poor women and children need help, and someone has to do it. Elise tries to put her concerns aside and focus on the task at hand. Packing the supplies to hand out.

  Elise was blessed enough to have grown up in the lap of luxury. Both of her parents came from money, and she never had to want for anything. Despite that, she was raised to be very down to earth and never view herself to be superior to others because of their wealth. Her parents wanted their children to realize just how fortunate they were to have the things they had. They taught them to value a hard day’s work and to help those in need.

  Elise’s older brother, Edward had joined the Army to serve his country and was stationed in Germany at present time. She is hoping to be able to have a short layover in Germany on her way home to spend some time with her brother. He had told her he would have a weekend leave around the time she was scheduled to head back to the states. She had wished more than once since
arriving in camp that her big brother was here with her.

  Edward is ten years older than Elise and was always overprotective of her. Despite their age difference, they were very close as they grew up. She had really missed her big brother when he left for the Army. In today’s modern age of technology, they were able to SKYPE and email daily. It had helped them to maintain their close relationship. While at the camp, she had only been able to get out a couple of emails and only been able to SKYPE once with her brother and parents. She is so proud of her brother and his service to their great country. Most Americans are completely clueless to how lucky we are to live in America to have the freedoms we have. Especially after meeting the refugees, she knows just how lucky she really is to live in the USA.

  Once everything is packed, Elise heads out to the cargo truck that would take her to the far side of the refugee camp. Helen the coordinator of the volunteers meets her at the truck to inform her that the other volunteer, Sara was sick and would not be along to help today. The section they were headed toward today was in the roughest part of the camp that they were allowed to enter. Rumors that ISIS had members embedded among the refugees were hard to overlook, but there were still women, children, elderly, and disabled people that needed relief supplies. Elise feels confident in the contract security officers that escort them around the camp. They were constantly on alert, scanning their surroundings and keeping their guns at the ready. Some of them had be in the military before becoming private contractors. If she didn’t have confidence in them, she would never go out with them.

  The security officers were all much older than Elise. She had always been much more comfortable with people much older than she was. When she is out and about with the security team, it was like being surrounded by her dad and brother. The men stayed close to her side. She was impressed at the way they were constantly scanning their surroundings. They would move through crowds as one. It seemed they could communicate without words. She knew they were all wired, wearing earpieces and microphones they could communicate with one another, but it seemed they rarely used them.

  The truck rumbled along the rutted-out trail through the camp. A recent rainstorm had wreaked havoc on the dirt roads. Elise held on to the oh-shit bar to steady herself as they bounced along the rough road. Elise’s thoughts were on Lakia. She was hoping the little girl had been eating well and had stayed dry during the rainstorms. Suddenly everything erupted into chaos. The truck swerved to the right at a sharp angle causing the top-heavy vehicle to topple over and slide to a stop. Elise could hear gun fire and shouting, both English and some other language she couldn’t understand. She quickly assessed herself and realized other than a few scrapes she was relatively unharmed.

  Elise looked to see the driver of the truck was lying motionless and had a large round circle of blood on his chest with what looked like a bullet hole in the center. He must have been shot. That is why they had wrecked. A sob escapes her lips. She has never seen anything like it in her life. She watches him closely, but he isn’t breathing. Fear for her own life floods her mind. Elise begins to try and climb out of her window without stepping on the poor man that was obviously dead. She tried not to think about it. She would mourn later, right now she had to get out of the truck and figure out what was happening and where her guards were. As she cleared the edge of the window, one of her guards, Mike noticed her and motioned for her to get back inside the truck. She immediately complied. Elise had been instructed to follow the guard’s directions without question. She knew he was trying to protect her from the gun fire that continued to pepper the truck.

  Elise wasn’t sure how long she was pinned in the truck under the hail of bullets. It seemed like an eternity but was probably only about 10-15 minutes. It was suddenly very quiet. Elise remained sheltered down inside the cab of the overturned truck. She was waiting for Mike to peek his head over the door and tell her it was safe to emerge. As the silence dragged on, she became increasingly worried. Something wasn’t right. She began to wonder if Mike had been hurt, or God forbid, killed. Just when she was about to risk peeking out to assess the situation, she heard movement outside.

  A man dressed in traditional desert attire appeared at the open window of the truck. He motioned for her to come out of the vehicle. When she didn’t move immediately, he began shouting at her in Arabic and reached inside. He grabbed hold of her hair and pulled until she was forced to stand and climb out of the cab. He shoved her to the ground as soon as she cleared the truck. Pain shot through her hands and knees with the rough contact of hitting the hard, dusty ground.

  The man was shouting again, but she had no idea what he was saying. Elise looked up and was suddenly sick at the sight before her. The bodies of her entourage were laying scattered around the truck with blood pooling around them. Elise turned to her right as she felt bile rising in her throat and was face to face with the unfocused eyes of Mike. Elise couldn’t stop the vomit from shooting from her body. He is laying on the ground. His arms thrown out to each side. His gun was thrown a few feet from his body. He is staring at the sky unseeing. A hole was visible in the center of his forehead, blood was pooling on the ground behind his head.

  Elise is hit with the realization that she was in serious trouble. Once she has emptied the contents of her stomach, she is jerked to her feet by the man that had forced her from the truck. She quickly removes an earring and drops it in the sand near Mike’s body. The man drags her off toward the open desert and a group of men with camels. Elise has the thought that she should try to fight the man and get away, but she knows there is no way she can escape. It was futile so she docilely allows him to lead her into captivity.

  Deadeye’s phone ringing wakes him from sleep. He sees that Hawk is calling and it’s 3am. Not a good sign. “Hello?” Deadeye answers. He listens to Hawk as he instructs him to come into base in one hour. An aide worker has been kidnapped overseas and brass is determined that she will be brought home sooner rather than later. Apparently, the woman is the daughter of some very influential people in Annapolis, Maryland. They have high connections and the Marine Raiders ordinarily would not have been called in for weeks had it been someone else. This woman’s family had power. She had only been missing about 12 hours. Deadeye rises and heads to the shower. He quickly packs a bag. He knows that he will only have a short amount of time to get ready before they are heading off to parts unknown to save some rich, pompous princess.

  An hour later, they are gathered in the conference room to get the information on the upcoming mission. Several high-ranking Navy and Army officials are standing at the front of the room with Hawk and his superior. Deadeye wants to roll his eyes. Whomever this woman is she has some serious friends in high places. Hawk calls the meeting to order.

  “Alright, we have had an incident in the refugee camp on the Turkish border of Syria near Iraq. Several contract guards, a driver, and an interrupter were murdered and an aide worker, Elise Sommers is believed to be kidnapped. The truck they were traveling in was found overturned the supplies were gone and there was no sign of the woman. We have very little to go on. We haven’t been able to find out who was behind the ambush. Of course, the investigation is still in the early stages. We are hoping to have more information by the time you are on the ground.” Hawk pauses in his briefing to load some images on his laptop that would appear on the whiteboard behind them.

  The picture of a beautiful smiling brown-headed woman appears on the screen. Deadeye’s heart skips a beat and his breath hitches. He is shocked at the visceral reaction he is having to the image of the female on the screen. He is suddenly semi-hard and images of the woman before him naked, squirming under him as he made love to her flashed into his mind. He shakes his head to clear his mind. He can’t be thinking like that about a target. He has to keep his head in the game, or someone could be hurt or killed, namely the beautiful woman. Deadeye focuses back on what Hawk is saying.

  “Elise has been in country for about a month. She had another month
to go before she was to return back to the States. We have no information whatsoever. The only witnesses said she was taken into the desert toward Syria.” Hawk was interrupted by a knock on the door. At Hawk’s signal, Straw jumps up and opens the door. A tall brown-haired man and a nearly as tall brunette woman enter the room. They immediately head to the group of officials in the front of the room.

  Once all the men have shaken hands with the man and the woman, Hawk makes the introductions to the rest of the room. “Gentlemen, this is Ms. Sommers’ parents. Mr. Jackson Sommers and his wife Ellen Sommers.” Deadeye and the rest of the team stand and nod at the couple. He is shocked they have allowed her parents to be in on the planning session for the rescue of their daughter. Civilians are rarely if ever allowed in on the inner workings of Special Operations Teams. Once everyone has settled back down, Hawk continues the planning meeting.

  “Alright, I know we have very little to go on, but we need to develop a plan of action once you guys land in Turkey.” Hawk announces to the room. Deadeye is running scenarios through is mind trying to come up with something when Wallace speaks up.

  “Once we get there, we need to scope out the site of the kidnapping, interview any witnesses, and see if we can track them through the desert. That is if there are any tracts left.” Wallace pauses as he contemplates his next statement. Mr. Sommers takes the opportunity to add his two cents to the mix.

  “Gentlemen, I know you are professionals and have much more experience in these types of situations, but I know Elise. She is young and inexperienced, but smart. She will try her best to leave you a trail or something to give us clues. We begged her not to go over there, but she had so much sympathy for the women, children, and elderly refugees. She just wanted to help them in their time of need. We have raised our children to help those less fortunate and to be thankful for how blessed we are to live in America and have all the conveniences most take for granted.” Mr. Sommers pauses, and his wife jumps into the conversation.