by Gemma Hart
Mr. Listrom’s mouth opened and shut ineptly, unable to stop Mr. Carew from accepting Doc Jones’s offer. He instead turned and glared at Edward, who had the grace to bow his head sheepishly.
Now Mr. Listrom would have the more arduous task of finding a new Head of ER and that would be no easy task indeed. As casual and sarcastic as Doc Jones was, he was an incredible doctor with unmatched stamina and skill. I highly doubted Mr. Listrom would find an equal.
I looked over at Doc Jones and whispered, “You didn’t have to do that.”
Doc Jones shook his head. “He didn’t have to do that,” he said contemptuously, referring to Edward and his dirty move.
I sighed. I couldn’t argue there.
Doc Jones suddenly leaned back in his seat and looked at me, a wry smile tugging at his lips. “I always imagined taking a vacation some day near some sand in a sunny place with a coconut drink in my hand.” He shrugged. “I guess I should’ve been more specific.”
I couldn’t help but grin at his humor. “Coconut drinks don’t sound too bad.”
***
I slid down the wall in the corner of one of the empty staff break rooms. I pulled out a crinkled piece of paper from my scrub pocked and looked at the number I had carefully transcribed from my arm.
With my heart thudding near my ears, I pulled out my cellphone and dialed the number.
The deed was done and I was put on the roster for the Unchartered Relief Aid mission to Qunar. But even still, I wanted to meet this mystery man once more before I left if for nothing else, just to see him when I was sober.
But perhaps if I saw him before I left…and the sparks flew again….Well, three months wasn’t too terrible a wait. Perhaps if I set things up now, we could pick up again when I returned.
The line rang. I swallowed nervously.
Then suddenly I heard a click.
“Hello? Hi. Um. This is—”
But my nervous greeting was cut off by a recorded message.
“This line is no longer in service. We are unable to connect you. Please check the number again.”
I sighed and threw my head back.
Figures.
Well, at least now I could head to Qunar without any loose ends. Without any ends. All my beginnings and endings were about to start again but this time, half way across the world.
Chapter Four
Cooper
Bear sighed as he leaned back in his chair and crossed his feet in front of him. “I gotta say, Cap,” he said, his eyes closed in relaxation, “this is a lot easier than most of our missions.”
I snorted as I took a sip from my canteen. I looked out at the barren wasteland. A few hundred meters from us was one of the smaller refugee camps of Qunar. Although it was a relatively peaceful camp, a few days ago there had been a man who had just grown too weary of camp life and had lashed out at people with a makeshift shiv, cutting three people.
But Bear wasn’t wrong.
“Compared to terrorist cells, hostage crises, or drug deal busts, yeah, I guess this is a fucking vacation,” I said dryly.
Bear nodded, ignoring my tone. “Exactly,” he said.
I leaned back in my own chair.
Bear was my second in command and had been with me since our days in the U.S. Army Rangers. He was familiar with my sarcasm and knew when to just fucking ignore it.
The other members of Easy Team were scattered around camp, cleaning up or taking a break in the midday heat.
As part of an exclusive and highly trained mercenary team, we usually took part in small but very, very crucial missions. We were only tapped when large number companies from Armies couldn’t be used. We were only tapped when regulation and rules of conduct couldn’t be applied to the situation.
Easy Team did anything and everything to accomplish a mission.
And I hadn’t been exaggerating my list with Bear either. We had done everything from tracking down small terrorist cells to rescuing hostages to busting up drug cartels.
And as Captain of Easy Team, I took pride in knowing that though our numbers were small, our men were capable of anything.
We were all former Special Forces soldiers who realized that our skills and training weren’t something to waste once we put down the uniform. And in our own ways, we had been contacted by the commander of Easy Team, Commander Wolffe.
And under Commander Wolffe’s leadership, we had been sent all over the world, doing our best to maintain peace where we could.
So I had been a little surprised when I had been called into Commander Wolffe’s office four weeks ago for out latest assignment.
“Qunar, sir?” I asked, surprised.
“Consider it a vacation for all the hard work you and your men have done,” he said, completely serious.
And it was a break. We had been tapped to guard a smaller, more remote refugee camp in a border town of Qunar. UN forces were having a hard time reaching all the camps and not enough foreign aid was being sent. So Commander Wolffe had been contacted for help from Easy Team.
Essentially, we’d just be babysitting. Watch the camp, make sure nothing gets too out of hand, and take it easy for about four months till reinforcements for the UN forces come to relieve us.
“After that messy mission in Venezuela, you boys deserve it,” Commander Wolffe said.
“Thank you, sir,” I said. This is what passed as vacation in my world. And I felt completely at ease with it. So the vacation would be in a Middle Eastern desert with several hundred refugees.
It could be worse.
Normally, we’d be patrolling the camp perimeters but at the moment there were UN inspectors present who were inspecting the camp to see just how much reinforcement would be needed.
And although they had contacted us for help, generally speaking, they didn’t like to see us when they were around. Easy Team was the stealth force that Armies and governments hated having to admit they needed. We were the Special Forces’ Special Forces.
So we took advantage of their visit by making ourselves scarce and enjoying some time off to cool down at our base camp.
“Man, when they said ‘remote,’ I figured we’d be several hundred clicks from the border but they weren’t kidding,” Bear said, eyes still closed. “We are in bumfuck nowhere. It’s amazing these folks even made it out here.”
“It goes to show you how bad it must’ve been where they came from,” I said.
Bear was about to reply when Dozer appeared. “Hawk,” he said, “Commander Wolffe is on the sat phone for you.”
I immediately got up and headed towards the main tent we used for briefings.
I found the satellite phone waiting for me on the meeting table.
“Commander?”
“Captain, there’s a new mission for you,” Commander Wolffe said, immediately getting down to business. “We’ve been contacted by a non-profit that needs protection and guiding while they provide medical services to the refugees.”
My brow furrowed. “Does that mean we move Easy Team to another camp?”
“No, they’re coming to your camp,” Commander Wolffe replied.
“Here?” I asked in surprise. This was such a remote camp. There were other refugee camps that were literally ten times our size. Why would some charity medical team come here instead?
“Apparently this is a small medical aid team not associated with the UN. They felt they would be better applied in smaller camps that were further away from all the help the UN and Red Cross were providing.”
That made sense. Only the bigger camps were getting the majority of the aid. The three people that had been cut by the shiv a few days back had been tended to and bandaged by members of Easy Team since we had no medic present.
A medical team here would be a big help to the refugees and to us since we wouldn’t have to be stretched so thin providing guard duty and medical duty at the same time.
“When do they arrive?” I asked.
“They’ll be arriving at a temporar
y military Air Force base north of you in three days. Their Qunar liaison will pick them up and drive them and their supplies the rest of the way to camp. Because they are a volunteer mission team, they will need any protection and guidance you can give them. For some of them, I hear, it’ll be their first crisis mission.”
Oh great, a bunch of cherries coming to camp.
“Understood, sir. We’ll make sure to take good care of them,” I said.
“I’m counting on it,” Commander Wolffe said before hanging up.
I sighed as I lowered the sat phone. It wasn’t that I didn’t appreciate or admire the countless doctors that were risking their lives to come to Qunar to help those who were so very much in need.
But usually, first time crisis mission doctors were easily squeamish. They had a hard time adjusting to the fact that they weren’t at their home hospital anymore. Here, electricity was spotty, running water sometimes impossible, and danger always present.
I imagined a bunch of Ivy League graduate doctors coming in with pink hands and green ears. I could hear my men groaning at the thought of having to babysit a bunch of cushy doctors while also patrolling the camp.
Oh well. As long as these medics followed our orders and helped where they could, I was pretty sure I could get them back home in one piece.
So much for that vacation.
Chapter Five
Emilia
“Oh my god, this is like stepping into Satan’s anus,” Doc Jones groaned as he stepped out of the small airport.
“God, you’re not kidding,” Margie said, taking in the small and desolate little airstrip we had landed at. “It has to be at least a 110 degrees right now.”
“150,” Doc Jones corrected, mopping his already beading forehead. “500, maybe even.”
I couldn’t argue with either of them.
We were huddled around our suitcases and large medic supply trunks, waiting for out escort. I could feel beads of sweat trickling down my back. Holy crap, this heat was no joke. We’d have to be careful not to get heat stroke while we worked here.
My lips tightened as I imagined Edward enjoying a nice breezy California day with his fiancée while I was sweating my ass off in the middle of nowhere.
No. I had to stop thinking about him!
I looked around the group. “Well, hopefully our base camp will have some fans,” I said, trying to inject as much optimism as I could into my voice.
The group just grunted in acknowledgement, too exhausted from the heat to say much more.
But I smiled at their grunt, touched to just see them here in this heat with me. After the morning meeting, Doc Jones had quickly filled in Margie with what had happened. Immediately, Margie volunteered for the mission. Immediately, she was told she was too valuable a floor nurse to lose. But she argued that there was a greater need for efficient nurses in a place like Qunar than in L.A.
And along with Margie, Tammy had joined as well. She had huffed and puffed at hearing about Edward’s gall to suggest me for the trip. “That slimy little weasel!” she had said, her blue eyes narrowing. She stamped her foot and looked up at me. “You should know that I never liked his nose! It’s too skinny and weak. Like the man himself.”
With three more nurses, our staff was complete. When I had mentioned to Doc Jones how we had essentially stolen the entire ER staff, he had simply shrugged and said, “That’s Listrom’s problem. He brought the mission to our table anyway.” And that was that.
Soon we were packed and on a long flight to half way across the world.
“Oh look! There’s Mr. Carew!” Tammy said, pointing to a large olive Humvee coming in from the distance.
A familiar weather beaten face stuck his head out from the side of the vehicle and smiled at us. “Hello, hello!” he called out.
The large vehicle stopped right in front of us. Mr. Carew stepped out and surveyed us with beaming eyes. “I’m so glad you are here! So glad! There’s so much work to be done and your help will be such a blessing.”
Seeing the sincerity in his gaze and the bags of exhaustion lining his eyes, I suddenly felt a small spark of satisfaction in coming. No matter what brought me here, I was here now. And maybe I could do so measure of good.
This was a place where I could throw myself into work and be far removed from the drama and heartache of men. I could focus on just the work at hand and maybe through time and distraction, I could begin to heal. Maybe, by the time I returned to California, I’d be a whole new woman.
“Why don’t you all climb in and we can head over to base camp,” he said, opening the car doors. “I know you all must be exhausted from your flight!”
“What about our trunks?” I asked. There was no way we could fit into the Humvee with our suitcases and our medical supply trunks.
Mr. Carew clapped his hands and then waved them at me in comfort. “No worries! No worries! Another vehicle is coming to pick these up. They will be following us back to base camp. I came on ahead since I figured the heat might be a bit of a surprise for you.”
I saw the twinkle of humor in his eyes. I couldn’t help but laugh.
Doc Jones huffed a laugh. “I think Satan’s shits are cooler than this weather.”
Mr. Carew chuckled ruefully. “You’ll get used to it. Just give it a few weeks.” He got into the driver’s seat. “Now, let’s go, shall we?”
***
“This is quite the set up, Mr. Carew,” Doc Jones said as we drove into base camp. “Much larger than I had expected.”
Mr. Carew nodded. “Same here. But I have to say, Easy Team soldiers are amazing men. They can find resources and connections anywhere. And once they were notified about our arrival, they helped set up additional space for medical usage.”
“Easy Team?” I asked, confused.
“They’re a patrol team for the refugee camp here,” Mr. Carew explained. “Former soldiers. They work independently now.”
“Mercenaries,” Doc Jones said, a brow raised in curiosity.
Mercenaries? I looked back at Mr. Carew in surprise. Really? That sounded…dangerous.
Mr. Carew shifted uneasily in his seat as he kept his eye on the road. “Well…yes,” he admitted. “But that word usually has such a negative connotation. Easy Team works with more of a moral compass than most mercenaries. They were the ones who set up your workspace here. You’ll see. They are good men. And they’ll make good guides for you here.”
“Wait,” I said, confused. “Are you saying that we’re going to be working with them?”
Mr. Carew nodded, looking at me in surprise. “Why, of course. Even though this is a small camp, it’d be dangerous for you to be working out there without at least some protection. Easy Team will be on hand to guide you and to protect you as you work.”
I looked around the camp. No wonder it was so big. It wouldn’t be just us staying here.
“I thought you were going to be our liaison here, Mr. Carew,” Doc Jones said from the back.
Mr. Carew shook his head. “No, I’m afraid not. My role is more foundational. I help recruit and set up teams. I’m constantly moving around to the next location to help them find the services they need.” He shook his head. “And there are so many camps in need so I’m afraid I’ll always be on the road.”
Despite this surprising new information, I looked around, impressed. There was an abandoned building that looked like it might have been a restaurant at one point. That was now used as temporary barracks. Behind it was a small but neatly built structure that looked like a storehouse. Around these two main buildings were several tents of varying sizes.
The largest one stood at the far center of camp and looked to be some kind of meeting space. The second largest stood close by. Judging by the neat stack of pots and pans outside of it, I could guess it to be some kind of mess hall. There were several smaller tents set up around the larger ones, all serving some kind of purpose. It was quite impressive. It almost looked like a little town.
But the gr
and finale was saved for last.
At the far end of camp was a large, heavy canvas medical tent that was propped up, looking to be about almost twenty by twenty feet. Under the heavy canvas tent flaps, I could see a thick protective plastic flap, protecting the entrance. That was good. It would help keep the space clean and sterile. Or at least as clean and sterile as we could get it here.
Outside were some of the trunks we had sent on ahead, neatly stacked by the tent front.
“Wow,” I said.
Mr. Carew beamed with pride. “I know,” he said. “Unchartered Relief Aid recently invested in some newer tents that are a little better designed for the modern medic in mind. Come inside! You must see the inside!”
Parking the Humvee outside the tent, we all stepped down eagerly. With a grand flourish, Mr. Carew pushed back the heavy tent flap and let us all in. It was cool inside although no fan was turned on. The canvas tent must’ve been lined with some kind of heat repelling fabric.
Inside were four hospital beds, each with a clean curtain waiting by its side. There were several portable medical sets, equipped with several drawers filled with the essentials like bandages, syringes, gauze, etc.
We slowly took in our surroundings, amazed and impressed. None of us had expected to see anything so nice here. I know I had personally been picturing a hot open tent with flies buzzing in our faces as we tried to treat patients in a dirty, sandy environment.
There was even a little storeroom inside the tent that carried some basic medications and vaccinations.
“This…might not be so bad,” Margie said. It was hard to impress an experienced nurse like Margie. But this tent was doing it.
“Right?” I said, opening one of the medical chests and finding neat rows of packaged scalpels and scissors. “Whoever this Easy Team is, they did a good job of setting up the place.” Especially if none of them had any medical background. They had placed everything in a very logical order. We wouldn’t have to change anything at all. We could just get straight to work.
