by Leila Haven
Corporal Rafter was just a few men down from our position. He had a deep wound to his left cheek. He was going to have a big scar if he survived this, but that was probably the least of his problems.
All the soldiers around me looked weary and tired. They’d been fighting for a couple of hours now and it looked like they couldn’t continue on for much longer. Every man we had was out there. We were all fighting to the end now.
We would either win or lose.
There were no other options.
Rafter leaned forward and spoke to his men. “Anyone have any ideas? Because all I’ve got is going out with a bang.”
He was talking about giving up.
That didn’t sound like a very good idea.
“There’s too many of them. They’re attacking from everywhere,” Private Samson replied. Everyone else gave their agreement. I remained quiet, there was nothing for me to do except go with the crowd.
“I’m not letting the fucking Taliban get me,” Shaun said through gritted teeth. “Or anyone else.” He looked at me and I could tell he was thinking of what they would do when they caught me. I wouldn’t be killed straight away, they would surely have their way with me first.
“Retreat to Zone Charlie. There’s nothing more we can do here,” Corporal Rafter directed. Our makeshift barriers weren’t going to last much longer. The Taliban were going to get through the broken fence, we weren’t able to close it.
As soon as they dared, the soldiers started to change positions and move further into the base. Apparently Zone Charlie was near the main gate as that’s where we all went.
“Keep your head down,” Shaun warned me. “Make sure to hide behind anything you can.”
“Shaun, your shoulder.” Blood was still oozing from his wound, he needed medical treatment.
“It’s fine. Be careful.” I could read the goodbye in between the words. He didn’t accept that we were going to survive the next round of onslaughts. I wasn’t naïve enough to believe otherwise.
We were going to die today. Evil was going to take out all the good the base had been doing. There would be news reports and images of crying families but life would still go on for everyone else. Nobody would ever know the horrors we lived just before our deaths.
“Shaun, I love you,” I said quickly. He had to know how I felt before we took our last breaths. “I’m sorry about what happened, but it was a misunderstanding. I never believed the traitor was you. Not for one minute.”
“I know,” he replied. “And I love you too.”
He reached out and linked his hand with mine. At least we were going to go out together. Neither one of us would have to live without the other. Maybe we’d catch up on the other side, where there was no war or death.
“Run!”
I’m not sure who yelled that single word, but everyone followed the direction without question.
Chapter 18:
Private Simon
҉ ҉ ҉ ҉ ҉ ҉
I held onto Jenny, shielding her with my body and pressing her against the wall. If the fuckers wanted to put a bullet in her, they would have to go through me first. She was shaking against me and I wished everything had been different.
If our plane hadn’t been delayed in Chicago, if she wasn’t assigned to our base, if I hadn’t given her every piece of me, maybe this situation would have been more tolerable. Yet here we were, about to lose to the enemy and hand our lives over to them.
All I wanted to do was protect her. I’d left her in the supply closet so she had a chance to stay safe. But the strong-headed woman hadn’t listened. A part of me was glad, because I got to say goodbye.
We were moments away from being overrun. I could see the fear and fatigue in the eyes of my comrades. This was it. We’d all vowed to give up our lives for our country and now it was time to make good on that oath.
My family was going to be pissed.
We would all be called heroes.
Our bodies would probably be burned.
Ashes to ashes.
Dust to dust.
The fire raged in my belly but we all knew the fight was over. It wasn’t in our nature to surrender so we weren’t going to go down without taking some more with us.
I turned around to face them down, making sure to keep Jenny at my back. We formed a small wall, my comrades fighting beside me. I waited for the fatal bullet to come.
A loud noise started in the distance and seemed to be approaching. We all spared a second to look around for the source. It quickly registered in my mind what exactly it was.
Dust kicked up everywhere as the constant whomp whomp of the helicopter blades cut through the air. My eyes were filled with the red particles of the earth, blurring my vision momentarily.
The helicopter landed in the middle of our vehicle bay. All our trucks and tanks were ensconced in their rightful place, giving the machine plenty of room to land.
It wasn’t alone.
More and more helicopters landed around the base, planes flew overhead, all laden with soldiers as they joined our fight.
With the backup came renewed hope. From somewhere deep inside me, I conjured up energy I didn’t have only moments ago. We could actually win this now, we had enough soldiers to pull through.
Before I could stop her, Jenny moved from behind me to stand at my side. I had to fight the instincts to protect her and accept that she was another person we needed in the fight.
She was good with a gun, aiming and firing with accuracy that I wouldn’t have expected from an officer. We stood shoulder to shoulder, taking down the enemy and fighting on the side of good instead of evil. We would make sure they would regret taking us on that day and make them pay for the lives they had already taken.
The fuckers were pushed back. Instead of fleeing when they realized they were severely outnumbered, they chose to shoot themselves or force our hand to do it for them. They would never let us take them as a prisoner under any circumstances.
They were trying to be martyrs but we wouldn’t let them. This would be a story of triumph on the news, it wasn’t going to be made into propaganda by the Taliban. We would all make sure of it.
I didn’t think Jenny could get any sexier than she already was, but seeing her in combat mode took it to a whole new level.
God, she was hot.
She was also making it difficult to focus so I had to concentrate on not looking at her. Otherwise I was going to get myself shot.
We pushed the bastards back until there were no more left to fight. We reclaimed our base and gathered the dead.
We had won the battle.
But the war was far from over. There would be many more fights just like this one.
Roars of cheers sang through the base as Major Atoll declared it over. We all thanked our lucky stars for still being able to stand. There were plenty of wounded amongst us but our death count was still in single digits.
I wanted to cry with relief.
None of us would do that, but we would give a silent prayer for still being alive. We were the lucky ones. If help didn’t arrive when it did, our stories would have been very different.
I pulled Jenny away from the crowds and found a quiet corner with her. She was the one person I really needed to talk to right now.
“You need to see a medic,” she said.
“I need to say this first,” I replied gruffly. “I’m not the traitor and I never was. I’m not responsible for any of this, Salinger is.”
“I never believed it was you. Major Atoll was pressing me to make an arrest, he wanted it to be you. I only went along with it so I could have more time to find the real traitor.” Her words all tumbled from her mouth like a waterfall.
I believed her.
She wouldn’t have fought next to me like she did if she thought anything else.
She wouldn’t have come looking for me.
She wouldn’t have said she loved me.
“I get it,” I replied, finally able to smile for t
he first time that day. The time for words was over, I leaned down for a kiss, keeping my lips just shy of hers to keep her waiting.
She leaned upwards, unwilling to wait for the kiss. I pressed my lips on hers, kissing her deeply and thoroughly. I didn’t even care who saw or what the consequences would be.
We were alive.
We were together.
That was all that mattered. If I’d learned anything being in the military, it was that life was a gift and not a right. It was up to us to live every day fully and to experience everything that really mattered.
Love mattered.
I would kiss her a thousand times over, even if I lost my job. I would never deny her or myself of that simple pleasure.
When we pulled away, I’d never seen Jenny look so beautiful. Her face was smudged with dust, her hair a complete mess, and her eyes watering. She looked like my dream woman. She was my dream woman.
“We need to help the others,” she whispered. I knew she was right, I just wanted this one moment before getting back to it.
I nodded and we rejoined the others. The celebrations had been short-lived; there was still work to be done. We had wounds to tend, fences to fix, and death to respect.
“Ramirez! Simon!” Atoll barked at us. “My office, now!”
The last thing I wanted to do was get another lecture – or maybe get arrested for a second time. Still, we obeyed the order and followed the major all the way back to what was left of his office.
The window had shattered and lying in a million pieces on the desk and floor. Major Atoll still stood as if nothing was wrong.
Jenny and I still stood side by side, ready to fight another battle. Atoll took a deep breath before starting. “It was hell out there today.” We weren’t going to argue with that. “The Taliban had a coordinated and thoroughly-planned attack on our base. They could only accomplish what they did today by having information provided by someone in the U.S. Military.”
Here we go again. I waited for his accusation to come tumbling out of his mouth. Jenny must have been too. “Sir, we have information about who that soldier is.”
Atoll looked at me pointedly. “I know who it is.” Those words made me want to punch him in the face. After everything I – we went through today, he was still pointing the finger at me.
“Sir, I don’t—”
“Silence, Ramirez. I know it wasn’t Simon. I am trying to apologize for the accusation.” Atoll eyed me carefully. “Private Salinger was killed in the attack today, trying to flee. There were several witnesses to his confession before he was shot. I have officers searching his room now and I expect they’ll find physical proof there also. That’s the soldier you were going to name, correct?”
“Yes, sir,” I said.
“Return to duty, private. No hard feelings, okay?”
It wasn’t okay. It was far from okay, but I’d already had all the fight ripped from me for one day. There was one more thing I needed to do before I left the office. “Sir, I am tendering my resignation. I wish to apply for a discharge.”
“Why on earth would you do that?” he asked. I didn’t dare look at Jenny to see her expression.
“Personal reasons, sir.”
Atoll eyed me, expecting to draw out an answer but I wasn’t going to give it to him. He wasn’t going to hear me say that I no longer believed in my duty. A part of me still did, especially after the attack, but not all of me. Which made me a liability to my comrades.
“I’ll see what I can do,” Atoll finally muttered.
Hopefully Jenny would understand too.
Chapter 19:
Officer Jennifer Ramirez
҉ ҉ ҉ ҉ ҉ ҉
I couldn’t believe what I was hearing.
Shaun was giving up his entire future in just a few words. He was a good soldier, one of the best I’ve had the privilege of seeing in action. His career could have been long and esteemed. He could have retired one day with a chest full of medals for his service to the country.
He wasn’t looking at me when he left. I wasn’t sure if that meant he didn’t want to speak with me or that he didn’t want to tip off Major Atoll to the feelings we shared.
With Shaun, it could have been either.
The major turned his attention to me now we were alone. “I take it you have enough to complete your report?”
“Yes, sir.”
“I expect you’ll be leaving us now?”
“Yes, I will make the arrangements with my office,” I replied formally. It was clear he was ready to have me sent home. Maybe he was embarrassed about being so wrong about Shaun. Perhaps he just didn’t like me.
“Then I guess we’re done here.”
“Yes, sir. I’ll make sure you have a copy of my report on your desk by morning.”
“Take the night off, Ramirez. We all need a break after today.” He looked older than his age, tired and weary.
It had been one hell of a day.
I left the major’s office as he slumped on his chair and pulled out a flask of whiskey. He’d earned it out there today, it took a lot of courage doing what he did and leading the base to victory.
Everyone would be sleeping well tonight.
Everyone except me.
It was far easier to type up my report than have to close my eyes and relive the horrors I’d seen. Every quiet moment made them pop back into my memory and replay until I couldn’t take it anymore.
A part of me kept hoping that Shaun would drop by my dorm. He would have been a welcome distraction. But the later it grew, the less likely it was going to happen. He wasn’t being surveilled any longer, he could have slipped in without being noticed.
But I didn’t see him all night.
Or the next day.
***
The day after it was time to leave and I still hadn’t seen him anywhere. He was either hiding from me, or his duties were taking him away to other parts of the base. All missions had been cancelled until further notice so he had to be around somewhere.
There was only an hour left before my transport would arrive and take me on the long journey home. I was going to be taking a helicopter to a bigger base and then catch a plane from there. The whole journey would take more than a couple days.
Home.
The word sounded like a relief on my lips. I couldn’t wait to be somewhere familiar and safe. I wanted to snuggle up in my cozy dressing gown and sit in front of the television for a week with nothing but ice cream and chocolate.
Unfortunately, the reality was probably more like I would be assigned a new case straight away and be shipped off somewhere new, destined to live out of a suitcase for the rest of my days.
I did love my job.
I just had to keep remembering that.
Shaun was a loose end that I wasn’t ready to leave hanging just yet. I did a lap around the base, trying to find him. There was plenty of activity as the soldiers tended to the repairs around the place. Some of the fences had to be replaced in full while the worst parts of the building had to be demolished and rebuilt.
The Taliban had made an impact on the base, that was for sure. The repairs were probably going to last for a few weeks, setting the missions back too. Nobody back home would be told that, it would be reported that we’d triumphed in an attack.
Propaganda worked on both sides.
I spotted Corporal Rafter with Private Kincaid, tying wire to a fence to patch it up temporarily. “Excuse me, have either of you seen Private Simon?”
Kincaid shrugged but Rafter shook his head. “He’s not on my duty anymore, I have no idea where he is.”
“Okay, thanks anyway.”
They went back to work, moving in perfect harmony together. It was public knowledge on the base that they were together and they seemed happy. It was good that they’d found love in such a desolate place. I’m sure their future would be very interesting, if not exciting.
I continued on around the base until I ran out of time. Shaun wasn’t an
ywhere and it looked like his bunk had been cleaned out.
He’d vanished.
Did he really leave without saying goodbye to me?
I grabbed my things and went to stand out near the helicopter pad. I didn’t want to lose my ride home by being late – even though my stomach was clenched with sadness that I didn’t get to see Shaun before leaving.
