“Your entourage has arrived.” Eleanor announced.
Chapter 28
At exactly 0400, The Black Hawk carrying the Core Team hovered over the Merca Compound. Preacher, Doc, Runner, Goose, D-blast, Stryker, Runt, and Popeye fast roped to the ground.
Three armed guards who were standing watch at the gate opened fire. Runt and Popeye lifted their weapons and fired three double-tap shots that landed with precision—two of the guards got hit between their eyes and the third, in the heart. They were dead before they reached the ground.
One minute later the second chopper landed on the northwest corner. The dog, a Belgian Malinois named Opie, his handler, an interpreter, two intelligence collectors, and four more SEALs emerged. The SEALs secured the grounds while the others headed to the main building to support the Core Team.
The Chinook carrying T Rex and his Breach Team landed outside the main gate of the compound. The SEALs disembarked: Half ran into the building while the rest used plate charges to blast open the gate and a small portion of the cement wall.
Once inside, Opie and his handler led the team down the hall. The dog slowed down by each closed door and sniffed for rigged bombs. As soon as he moved past the doorway, indicating it was all clear, the Breach Team blasted off the hinges so Preacher and his men could rush the room.
“Two on the stairs.” Doc yelled as he lifted his weapon and shot and killed the two armed guards before they could press their triggers.
“Closed door left.” Popeye shouted. T Rex used a ballistic breach gun to blow the hinges off the door.
Preacher and Popeye burst into the room, leading with their weapons. A man in a long white dashiki and skull cap hid behind a large desk.
“Let me see your hands! Let me see your hands!” Popeye shouted. The interpreter repeated it in Arabic. The man timidly emerged from behind the door with both hands raised.
“Secure him.” Preacher commanded. Popeye pulled the man’s hands behind his back and proceeded to tightly bind them with a zip tie. Preacher shined a flashlight on the desk, revealing dozens of files and two laptops. He rifled through the files. “Holy crap. Get the collectors in here, this is some good stuff.” He walked toward the door and shouted “ Movin’ on.”
Back in the hallway, Runt yelled, “Closed door right.” Opie began barking ferociously and abruptly sat in front of the door in an “unassisted sit”, which indicated a bomb.
“It’s rigged. Closed door right is rigged.” Runt shouted and D-blast repeated it for the men bringing up the rear. The team moved forward.
At the end of the hallway they came upon a large corner room with double doors. “Closed door left.” Popeye yelled. T-Rex blasted the door and the SEALs rushed in, Preacher in the lead.
Once inside, they encountered a uniformed guard pointing an AK-47. He stood protectively in front of an older man in a dashiki.
Without hesitation, Preacher lifted his gun and put two bullets in the guard’s heart. As his body collapsed, it revealed that the older man had been holding a pistol at his side.
D-blast shouted, “Drop your gun, drop your gun!” The man slightly lifted his right hand as D-blast knocked him to the ground with two shots to the head.
Preacher looked at the men sprawled out in front of him, pulled two pieces of paper from his pocket, and compared the photos to the two lying in puddles of blood. He spoke into his microphone: “Wild Falcon, this is Creeper One— Big Foot and Ranger E.K.I.A, repeat Big Foot and Ranger E.K.I.A, over.
The agents at mission-control center sat riveted in their seats as they watched the real-time drama play out on the large screens. The action they witnessed was that of Preachers point of view, which came directly from the night-vision camera mounted on his helmet. Even though the picture was bathed in neon green and shook every time Preacher moved, the agents were able to get a good idea, from the video and audio, what was going down.
When they heard Preacher say, “Big Foot and Ranger E.K.I.A, repeat Big Foot and Ranger E.K.I.A.,” a cheer ripped through the room. Confused, Lily turned to one of agents. “What does it mean? Why are they cheering?”
“It means Enemy Killed in Action.” He smiled and shook his head in disbelief. “Those sons of bitches got them both—Mubaarak Abdikarim and Abdulkadir Mohamed!”
“Let’s go up top, get Tex, and bring him home.” Preacher said.
Lily grabbed David’s hand and squeezed hard. He leaned down and whispered in her ear, “This is it! They’re getting Robbie.” Lily sobbed with emotion.
Preacher’s camera went out of focus when the men ran up two flights of stairs. Once they were on the top floor they went directly to the last door on the right.
“Closed door right.” Preacher shouted. T-Rex demolished the door. Once inside, they saw a guard standing behind Robbie, his left arm tightly wrapped around Robbie’s chest. He held a pistol to Robbie’s head.
“Drop the gun and I won’t shoot.” Preacher said.
The guard shook his head and shouted, “I will leave now and take him with me, or I will shoot him. Let me go!”
Preacher looked up at the small window then looked back at Robbie and the guard. He said, “Take the shot, now.”
As he stood on the roof of the adjoining building, Striker shot twice. The bullets pierced the window and caught the guard in the back of his head. He immediately collapsed to the ground. In mid-fall the guard’s gun discharged and the bullet hit Robbie in the chest.
Chapter 29
Lily leaned against the bathroom mirror and cried, releasing the emotions that had gathered within her for so many days. She sighed, leaned back, and stared at her reflection in the mirror. Her eyes were unrecognizable, swollen from hours of crying; there were two bluish-black shadows under them. Her hair was matted with blood and the lump on the back of her head ached. Lily closed her eyes in a futile effort to block out the physical and emotional pain that, in the last two weeks, had become etched into her face.
An extremely pregnant woman waddled into the Ladies Room, looked at Lily and smiled. Lily tried not to make eye contact. She glanced up and saw that the woman standing behind her was staring at Lily through the mirror.
“Excuse me, but has anyone told you that you sorta look a little like that actress Lily Lockwood?”
Lily shook her head and proceeded to splash cold water on her face. She took a paper towel from the holder on the wall and pressed it tightly against her eyes to try to subdue the burning. The woman went into the stall and decided, mid pee, that it was the perfect time to continue the one-sided conversation.
“You know, you look so much like that actress you should do yourself a favor and try out to be her stand in. Or, you know, better yet, you could join one of those companies that hire celebrity look-a-likes. You can make yourself some big bucks.”
“I’ll keep that in mind.” Lily said as she tossed the paper towel into the garbage can. The toilet flushed and Lily quickly exited the bathroom before the woman had time to give out any more career advice.
Lily walked back into the waiting area and saw David asleep on the couch. She sat down in the chair opposite him and thought of the whirlwind of events that had taken place in the past ten hours. Lily sighed and her heart sank when she remembered standing in the conference room, watching the rescue and witnessing Robbie get shot. Lily remembered screaming and then nothing else—-everything went black. David told her that she had fainted and hit her head on the ceramic floor. So much for keeping her promise to Nikos that she would stay out of the way and remain inconspicuous.
When she regained consciousness, she received the glass of water that Eleanor handed to her and she and David were swiftly escorted up to the rooftop to the awaiting military helicopter. The pilot told them that Robbie was still alive, had a medic with him, and was being transported to the U.S. Government Medical Center in Landstuhl Germany.
When David and Lily arrived at the Medical Center the nurse informed them that Robbie had already been wheeled into surge
ry. She instructed them to have a seat in the surgical waiting room and that she would do her best to update them. So far, she hadn’t approached them with any news.
When Lily arrived earlier, she experienced a strong visceral response to the Medical Center and to the smells of the hospital. It was never pleasant to see family members huddled together in their shared worry, their fear like masks on their faces, became impossible to remove.
A young man in a military uniform approached her. “Miss Lockwood?”
“Shh.” She put her finger to her closed lips and gestured to the sleeping David. She stood and they walked over to the other side of the waiting room.
“Ma’am, I’m Sergeant Mark Lewis and I was told to come by and help you with hotel arrangements.” He had a thick New England accent. “There’s a nice one real close by—Pfaelzer Stuben— where most of the families visiting the Medical Center stay. It’s quite comfortable, more of a B & B then a traditional hotel. And it has a fine restaurant.”
Lily sighed. “Great, if you could give me the name and phone number. . .”
The Sergeant heard her deep sigh and noticed the dark circles under eyes. “You must be tired. I can make the arrangements for you and take your luggage over, if you like.”
“Thanks. That would be a great help,” Lily smiled, relieved. “My brother and I will need two rooms.”
“No problem, Ma’am. I’ll check you in and leave the keys with the owners, a real nice couple: Gabby and Gerhardt Mueller. They’ll keep the keys at the desk for you. Anything you need while you’re here, I’m your point person—just call me.” He handed a piece of paper to her.
“I already wrote my number down.” He took out a pen and wrote something else on the paper and handed it to her.
“That’s the phone number and address for the hotel.”
“Thanks so much.” She pointed to the area next to the couch where David was snoring loudly. “The luggage is right over there.”
“Thanks Ma’am. And it is an honor to meet you, I’m a big fan.” He started to walk away, then stopped and turned back.
“Miss Lockwood, I want to tell you: We’re all praying for Dr. Rosen. He’s been through a rough time, that’s for sure.”
Lily sighed and smiled.
“Well don’t you worry, he’s in good hands. Captain Sherman’s the best surgeon there is.”
“Thanks, that makes me feel better. I appreciate it.”
“No problem, you take care.” He picked up the suitcases and walked away.
After the Sergeant had left, Lily walked over to the window and looked out over the patio area. She saw patients and their families as well as the military personnel seated at the picnic tables, eating and laughing. One couple sat at a small table, holding hands and gazing into each other’s eyes. When the man leaned in and kissed the woman, Lily had to look away.
She turned her attention back to the once-empty waiting room and saw that over the past hour it had gotten crowded. One woman walked in carrying an unhappy infant whose screams were ear-piercing. The mother looked exhausted and embarrassed. Lily smiled encouragingly at her. It wasn’t that long ago that Daisy Rose had excelled in selecting the most crowded place to have a temper tantrum.
She missed Daisy Rose so much and couldn’t wait to see her again. Lily took solace in knowing that her daughter was in capable hands.
After Lily had arrived at the hospital, she called Donna and brought her up to speed about all that had transpired from the time of their arrival in Mogadishu. Donna was shocked and cried when she heard that Robbie had been shot.
David opened his eyes, sat up, stretched, and yawned. “Anything happening?”
“No, nothing since the nurse came by. Are you going to call your mother?”
David slumped down, put his head in his hands, and sighed. Lily understood how hard it would be for David to make that phone call. Lily got up from her seat, walked over to the couch, and sat next to him. She put her hand on David’s shoulder to comfort him.
He opened his eyes. “’I’ll wait until Robbie’s out of surgery. This way, we’ll have a better idea of, you know...”
“Sounds right.” Lily agreed.
“How’s your head?” David went to touch Lily’s scalp and she pulled back.
“Don’t. I took a couple of aspirins and it just stopped pounding.”
“You need to get it looked at.” He stood up. “I’m going to the nurse’s station to ask if they could get a doctor to—.” David looked at something behind Lily and the color drained from his face.
Lily turned around and saw what had stolen David’s attention. Walking toward them was a doctor in blue scrubs, wearing an O.R. hat and shoe covers. He removed a surgical mask from his face. The room seemed to spin and Lily grabbed David’s hand to steady herself. He protectively balanced her by putting his arm around her shoulder.
“Mr. Rosen, Ms. Lockwood, I’m Captain Russ Sherman. The surgery was successful and Dr. Rosen is in stable condition. He’s a fighter, no doubt about that.” He smiled warmly. “And one very lucky man.”
Chapter 30
“Yes, Ma, the doctor said they got the bullet out and that Robbie had sustained some minor vascular damage as well as injuries to his lungs.” David became silent, listening to his mother’s concern on the other end of the phone. “No, they said they repaired it all. And that the prognosis is great.” He smiled because he never imagined listening to his mother cry would bring him such relief. David understood far too well that this would have been a much different phone call had Robbie not survived the surgery. His mother’s tears certainly would not have been joyful.
He switched the phone from his right ear to his left as he listened to his mother speak. He winked at Lily, who was seated across the table from him at the hotel’s restaurant.
“Yes, she’s right here, Ma. Yes, I’ll make sure to tell her. So call or email me with your agenda and I’ll pick you up at the airport.” He paused again. “Yes, you’re right, it is a miracle. Goodbye. I love you too.” David clicked off and smiled at Lily as she gulped some German Beer from an oversized, ornate stein.
“I didn’t even know you liked beer.” Before she could reply, David started to laugh.
“What’s so funny?” She asked.
He pointed to her lip. “You have this great big beer mustache.” She laughed and wiped it off with her napkin. She looked around the quaint restaurant with its small square tables and pretty red tablecloths stitched with delicate white lace. Along with the grey brick walls and decorative flower pieces, it gave the restaurant a homey feel.
Lily pushed her chair back from the table to give herself more room. “This food is awesome. I’m stuffed, but I feel so good—better than I’ve felt since, well since you and Hannah first came to see me.”
“Oh, my Mom said to tell you thanks from the very bottom of her heart.”
“It’s my pleasure—really!” She took another swig of beer and wiped her mouth with the back of her hand. “So, since they’re going to keep Robbie in recovery for a few more hours and transfer him after midnight to the I.C.U, I’m going to head up to my room and get a good night sleep so I can see him bright and early in the morning.”
“Sounds good, I’m going back to the hospital for a couple of hours in case he’s awake when they bring him to the I.C.U. They told me that it’s less than a fifteen-minute walk, door to door, from the hotel to the Medical Center.”
“Okay.” Lily didn’t know if it was the beer or the circumstance, but she found herself feeling quite giddy. “I’m so happy, I’m going to burst.” She giggled.
David smiled. Lily appeared ten years younger than she had only twenty-four hours earlier. And tonight, with the combination of her laughter and the way she had tossed her hair back, made her look like Daisy—so much so that it almost hurt to look at her.
“You go upstairs; I’ll sign for the check.” David put his hand up to summon the waitress.
“Do you think I can take my
beer upstairs?”
He chuckled, “I’m sure of it.”
So stein in hand, she kissed her brother good night and all but floated up the stairs to her room.
Lily emerged from the bathroom after a long bubble bath wearing two towels— one wrapped around her body and the other turban-style on her head. She took her ear buds out of her purse, plugged them into her iPod, and turned her favorite playlist on really loud. She danced wildly around the room, moving back and forth, gyrating to the music. At one point she decided there was no better way to express herself than to jump up and down on the bed, trampoline style. After forty-five minutes of dancing, jumping, and twirling, she was completely out of breath and collapsed on the bed.
She removed the ear buds and stared at the ceiling. She was over-the-moon happy and twice as relieved, grateful that Robbie had survived and that in less than nine hours she would finally get to see him She was more than thankful to be away from Mogadishu and the threats that loomed there.
She thought of the conversation she’d had with the woman in MSF who had walked for days so that her young son could receive his vaccinations. She had promised herself there and then, that when she returned home, she would not only donate money but she would also figure out how she could do much more.
She closed her eyes and imagined a time when Robbie was well again. Using her celebrity, they could work side-by-side and truly make a difference, raising awareness and funds for Médecins Sans Frontières.
Her thoughts wandered to the day when she had visited the MSF compound. Then it happened: She traveled full speed ahead, straight to what her mother used to call ‘The Land of What Ifs.’ She had always been a frequent flyer to ‘The Land of What Ifs,’ especially during her teenage years, when she always gravitated to the worst-case scenarios and lived there. It is a gloomy and shadowy realm—one that has no basis in reality. The longer she remained in that negative space, the gloomier it got and the harder it was to leave.
The Silver Cord: The Lily Lockwood Series: Book Two Page 19
