by KaLyn Cooper
As a newly promoted Army captain, the military didn’t have any problem sending her half a world away to deal with emergency medicine in Iraq. Nita had recovered her sanity and found her purpose amidst the blood and guts and gore close to the front line. She’d also discovered the endorphins created by working out hard. When she wasn’t in the makeshift medical center, she could often be found pumping iron with the men in Special Forces or running in full gear and a heavy pack.
Compared to what she’d put herself through in the Middle Eastern desert, the Joint All-Female Special Operations School was easy. So was the subsequent SEAL, Special Forces, and Marine SpecOps training. She’d loved every minute of it.
Nita had always loved the thrill and breakneck pace of the emergency room but didn’t understand that she was an adrenaline junkie until she’d completed JAFSOS. It was how she dealt with life when she didn’t want to deal with life.
She backed up to the self-contained breathing apparatus and shrugged into the shoulder straps. Hopefully, they would have the specialized air system set soon so all she had to do was plug into one of the tubes in the clean room. But until then, everyone working on Ebola had to carry their own fresh and recycled air.
Facing the final door, she was ready to throw her mind into her work and shoved Daniel Callahan into a box and lock it. At least for a little while.
Six hours later, Nita was cross-eyed from looking at slides under the microscope. Nothing seemed to be killing this fucking virus. She stretched her back.
Chyna with a y brought over another drawer of vials and set them down on the metal table. Instead of leaving, though, she leaned against the edge and folded her hands in front of her settling in for a talk.
Fucking great. The intern’s posture didn’t speak of a scientific discussion.
“What can I do for you, Chyna?” Nita was never one to beat around the bush, nor did she feel like exchanging niceties. She felt hungry. If stripping out of this clean suit wasn’t such a pain in the ass, Nita would seriously consider lunch.
“Can I ask you a question?”
“Do I have a choice?” Nita volleyed back.
Chyna simply smiled and pushed on. “Have you and Daniel been together long?”
“We’re not together.” Damn it. “His sister is one of my best friends and my team leader. I’ve known Daniel for years.” Nita had only met Katlin’s older brother two years earlier, but she made it sound longer on purpose.
“Oh.” Chyna smiled. “So, you are just friends? Back in Managua, in the clean room, you seemed…very friendly.”
Nita refused to answer. “Are these the last of the slides for today?” There was no way in hell she was going to discuss the kiss Daniel had given her that night.
As though surprised, Chyna looked down at the tray. It was her turn to ignore the question. “Since that was just a friendly kiss, that means Daniel is free and available?”
“I wouldn’t know what his current status is.” Then she told Chyna the truth, at least one version of it. “He just lost the mother of his children to this virus, and their baby girl is fighting for her life next-door. Fortunately, their son isn’t showing symptoms yet.”
Excitement oozed through Chyna’s suit. “Daniel is here? Is he staying at the hotel?”
Nita rolled her eyes. Out of everything she’d just said, Chyna’s take away was that Daniel was nearby. What a twit.
“No, he is not at the hotel.” Nita hesitated for just a moment then decided to make things clear to the young student. “Daniel lives in the compound next door where we all stay every time we come to Costa Rica. He brought his three-year-old son and sick baby to me.” Guilt washed over her because she was not the one who had cared for his child all night. Kira had taken on that duty. There was no reason to tell Chyna those facts.
“Is he still over there?” Chyna looked in that direction as though she could see the compound through the double-walled windowless clean room. “Does he come over to the hotel dining room to eat?”
“No. He doesn’t take meals at the hotel. We have an excellent cook staff at the compound.” Nita’s tolerance of this questioning was about at an end. How dense could this girl be? She looked at the fresh innocent face inside the shield. “How old are you?”
“Twenty-five,” she proudly announced.
“You have any idea how old Daniel is?” Nita had to take a mental step back and do some math. Katlin had just turned thirty and Daniel was eight years older. “He’s thirteen years older than you.”
“I like…prefer older men.” Pink tinged the younger woman’s cheeks. “They know what they’re doing…” She glanced around the room, leaned in closer, and said just above a whisper, “In bed, you know.”
Oh, Nita was well aware of the expertise older men brought to sex. She also knew how well inexperienced men took orders. She’d enjoyed more than her share of both. She wondered what sex with Daniel would be like. If the way he’d kissed her in the bathroom that morning was any indication, he’d be slow and gentle, tender and caring, assuring that she came first. Maybe he’d give her multiple orgasms before he slid into her. He was in great shape. He’d probably be able to go several times in the span of the night. Would he go balls to the wall, literally, taking her against a wall, a door? How about doggy style? She didn’t mind helping out with her fingers if the man wasn’t adept enough to reach around and work her clit. Then there was her favorite—
“Do you think Daniel would come over to the hotel if I invited him to have supper with me?” Chyna was certainly persistent. “I could offer him room service.”
“You know what, Chyna, all this talk of food has made me hungry.” Nita rose from the stool. “Sit here. Why don’t you check this tray of slides and report your findings back to Dr. Johnson? I think I’m going to go next door and get some lunch, and then I’ll check on Daniel’s sick baby daughter.” She slowly enunciated the last three words hoping the ditz would buy a clue.
An hour later, Nita shoved back from the dining room table after consuming her second bowl of fish and vegetable stew. Damn, Rosita could cook.
“So where is everyone?” she asked her teammate.
Tori ran a laundry list of everyone who went on the helicopter flight to Managua and San Miguelito. Nita was a little pissed that she hadn’t gotten the opportunity to even ride in the Black Swan team two experimental helicopter, say nothing about fly it, yet Katlin was sitting second seat today. “Grace is upstairs babysitting. Lei Lu and Santiago took Simon for a ride in the jet boat, but they should be back any minute.”
She had no sooner gotten the words out of her mouth and the front door blew open. Forty pounds of whirlwind ran toward her.
“Mith Nita. I thaw a turtle thith big.” Simon tried to throw his arms wide, but the sling and cast only let one side work properly. Then, to her amazement, the child flung his good arm around her and crawled up into her lap. “Want to go thee the turtle?” His expression changed to one of complete seriousness. “You know how to drive a boat?”
Bursting out laughing, she wrapped her arms around the child and gave him a gentle hug. She couldn’t help herself. She liked this kid. “Yes, Simon. I know how to drive the boat, but perhaps we should save that for another day. Did you have lunch?”
Santiago lifted the picnic basket as he walked by the dining table toward the kitchen. “That boy must have a hollow leg given how much food he ate. Thank Christ Mom packed a lot.”
Rosita shot out of the kitchen. “I raised three boys, not counting Daniel. I know how much food kids eat.” She patted her son’s face. “Especially big boys.”
He leaned down and planted a smacking kiss on her cheek. “Food was great, Momma. And thanks for the idea. Simon is kind of limited with his arm in a sling.”
The woman who mothered everyone in the house stared at Simon for a long minute. “That boy needs a nap. He doesn’t look like he slept on the boat.”
Santiago looked at Lei Lu, and they both laughed.
; “That child moves at a hundred miles an hour,” Lei Lu claimed. “After the morning we’ve had, I think I need a nap.”
“I’m going to go for a swim,” Santiago announced and headed out the door toward the beach.
Lei Lu turned for the stairs, then looked over her shoulder at Tori and Nita. “Tag, you’re it. You’re on Simon duty.”
Nita waited for the panic to start. She took inventory of her body, expecting the clinch of her esophagus right behind her heart. Nothing. There was no tightness in her stomach nor rising bile. Maybe it was because he was older and was capable of speech. If Simon were sick, he could tell her what hurt, what didn’t feel good. She glanced up the stairway then down toward Daniel’s room. Baby Bella couldn’t tell her anything.
“Mith Nita, Rothita thay I need a nap. You read me a book and tuck me in?” He looked at her with those big blue eyes. Daniel’s eyes set in such an innocent face. She couldn’t say no. To the child or the father.
“Go grab a book, and I’ll read it to you in your room.” When Simon sprinted off toward the box that had suddenly appeared this morning, overflowing with age-appropriate toys, Nita stood and stretched once again. She hadn’t slept well last night so a nap might be in her immediate future as well.
The child didn’t find sleep until two books later. Nita stepped into the hall and left the door cracked open. Simon had been assigned one room down from Daniel’s. Glancing two doors down to her own room, she turned to stare at the double doors to Daniel’s suite.
She really should go in and check on baby Bella. Kira had left on the flight that morning with the others and might not be back for hours. Grace probably needed to take a break, too. Had somebody brought her lunch? She really should go check on the doses of medication that were being given to the baby.
Nita took one step, and her whole body revolted. Her stomach flipped. Shivering, sweat dripped down her temples. She couldn’t seem to gasp in enough fresh air. She could hear every heartbeat pulse through her ears.
Her physician’s brain kicked in to analyze her symptoms. Even though she’d taken every precaution, had she contracted Ebola? Taking two steps backward, she leaned against the wall.
Instantly, her body calmed. Within ten beats, her heart rate was back to normal. She no longer shook nor sweated. Gathering her wits, and her fortitude, she pushed off the wall and headed toward Daniel’s suite and the baby.
She hadn’t taken two steps and darkness closed in. The door that was only five feet away, seemed to be at the end of a long, darkening tube. She was panting so hard she almost passed out.
She was having a fucking panic attack.
One of the double doors opened and Grace quietly slid out. Shutting the door with barely a snick, she looked almost as surprised as Nita was when their eyes met. “Are you okay?” Her friend rushed to her. “You don’t look so well.”
“I’m not feeling very great either.” Nita was not about to share the fact that she couldn’t force her body to walk into that bedroom to care for that baby. Turning her back to the doors, and the situation, Nita made her way to her bedroom. “I think I’m just going to lie down for a while.” Realization dawned on her. “Who’s in with baby Bella?”
Grace smiled. “Tori came up to relieve me for lunch and brought up a fresh bottle. I never would’ve guessed she had such mothering instincts, but she snatched the baby up and plopped down in that rocker as if she’d done it a thousand times.”
“Who’d-a thunk it?” Nita stepped into her room closing the door behind her, stripped out of every stitch of clothing, and crawled naked into her bed. The thousand-count sheets felt like silk on her nipples that instantly hardened. The thought of sliding into bed with Daniel beside her made her go wet at her core. She closed her eyes. Her last regret was that she was alone.
Chapter 11
“From the pictures you sent us, it looks as though streets are paved with dead bodies.” Tom’s grim face filled the left half of the large flat screen above the dining room table. “Please tell me these weren’t random shots, but were designated sites for disposal.”
“I wish I could, sir, but we just snapped pictures as we walked through both Managua and San Miguelito.” Daniel couldn’t explain the assault on his other senses as they had talked to the sick and dying. The stench of vomit, shit, and decaying bodies weakened even his cast-iron stomach.
“Lieutenant Commander Callahan, did you see much looting, destruction of private property, or any roving gangs?” General Lyon, Commanding Officer of USSOCOM, asked from the right half of the screen. “Do I need to send in special operators?”
“No, sir, to all your questions,” Katlin answered from across the table. Sometimes Daniel forgot that his sister was still on active duty serving in the Navy. “I think they’re too sick to do much of anything. Now, that’s not to say that when they start recovering and feeling better that we’re not going to see illegal activity.”
“Agent Callahan, I understand that you had a front row view of the EMP release. Give me your reactions.” When the general leaned back in his chair the squeal was so loud Daniel barely withheld a wince.
There was silence for a long moment as he stared at his sister. He hadn’t been aware she’d been close to the explosion.
“Daniel, you are Agent Callahan.” His sister pointed a finger at him.
Fuck. No one had addressed him as agent since his original CIA training over fifteen years ago.
“Sorry, General Lyon, after being undercover for so many years I’m not used to anyone using that kind of formality.” Daniel proceeded to give his impressions of the event. “Sir, I’m still not sure of the delivery system. I listened very carefully for helicopter blades, a rocket, or something to indicate incoming. There was nothing that I can identify.”
General Lyon smiled. “Excellent. We used highflying drones. Most EMPs are delivered on a nuclear warhead which doesn’t go over real big with most of our allies. Thanks to the military’s extensive development of drones, we now have an entire fleet that can fly in at sixty-thousand-feet, drop-down almost vertically and hover over the intended target. Then boom. We get greater coverage by releasing above the ground. We don’t care that the pulse takes out the delivery system. Drones are cheap compared to rockets and helicopters.”
It was no wonder Daniel hadn’t heard anything that night.
“I’m just glad we were far enough away not to be affected,” Katlin interjected.
The general stared for five long seconds before he spoke. “We waited until you were two deviations beyond the maximum range before sending the drones toward their targets. The Ladies of Black Swan, both teams, are far too-valuable assets to even take that chance.”
“Thank you, sir.” The relief on Katlin’s face couldn’t be ignored.
“If you’ll excuse me, I need to report to POTUS.” Tom didn’t look excited about talking to the President of the United States about the recent findings. “The new Nicaraguan government is in crisis, and they are asking us for help. By the looks of the information you two have sent us, we need to act immediately.”
“Don’t send anyone down here unless they’ve had that magic shot,” Daniel reminded them.
“Good point. I’ll get some more CDC scientists on their way down to the Costa Rican lab.” Tom typed for a moment. “They will need to use local subjects to start synthesizing the antiviral serum. General, we might need some of your teams to accompany the scientists into infected areas looking for recovered and healthy subjects.”
“I think Marines are better suited for that job.” The squeal of the chair was deafening as the general leaned forward. “Tom, you’re going to have to make that suggestion to the president. I really can’t be any part of it. I’d rather hold my men back for when they’re truly needed.”
“Agreed.” Tom nodded. “I need to make that call, now. DD CIA out.”
The uniformed man with stars on his shoulders filled the screen. “Lieutenant Commander Callahan, Agent Callahan, go
od work out there today. Katlin, all teams need rest tonight. I’m sending you both back out tomorrow. CO SOCOM out.”
“Well, that—” Daniel started to say.
Katlin put her index finger over her lips and tilted her head slightly toward Lei Lu who was typing so fast her hands seemed to blur.
Daniel glanced up at the screen where a Black Swan logo grew out of a distant point.
“And…we’re clear.” Lei Lu raised her hands into the air and stretched flexing her fingers several times. “Looks like we’re not going anywhere for a couple of days. You want me to go over to the hotel and tell team two to hang tight?”
“Sure, I’d appreciate that.” Katlin stood and peeled off the top to her black flight suit. “Part of me wants to burn these clothes, and the other part just wants a long hot shower.”
“Uhm, Katlin, you do remember that flight suits don’t burn. That’s why we wear them.” Lei Lu stood and closed her laptop before she started disconnecting wires.
“Sorry, sis, but I don’t think any amount of soap and water and scrubbing, is going to get rid of the heebie-jeebies that were crawling under my skin all day, but good luck with that.” But a shower was next on Daniel’s agenda, too.
He’d felt so dirty that as soon as they’d pulled into the compound, he’d stripped down to the board shorts he’d worn under coveralls as he sprinted across the beach and dove into the warm Caribbean Sea. The salt water felt cleansing as he cleared his mind of the devastation he’d seen all day.
While Lei Lu had set up for the videoconference, he’d run upstairs to check on his kids and grab a T-shirt. Since Simon was still asleep and Bella was in Tori’s competent hands, he was confident leaving them while he talked to the brass. He was damn glad the deep mahogany dining table hid his colorful shorts and bare legs. Caribbean casual could never be construed as professional dress.
With his duties over for the day, he had a little free time on his hands before supper.
