by Margaret Kay
“Elizabeth, it’s for the best,” he said to her back.
Elizabeth shook her head without turning back to look at him. She opened the door and stepped through, rejoining the others in the hangar. Her eyes met Cooper’s, who smiled at her pleasantly.
“Madison will lend you fatigues, Sister. The lift is from regular Air Force, so everyone has to appear to be active duty. Civilians are prohibited under most circumstances,” Cooper said.
Elisabeth nodded. She didn’t like the idea of lying about her identity, but this was the fastest and easiest way to get her back to the United States. She didn’t correct him addressing her as Sister. It really didn’t matter. She followed Madison to where her bag was across the room. She glanced back and saw that Alexander was watching her. He was going through a bag and pulling clothing out too.
“Are you okay?” Madison asked her quietly.
Her eyes came back to Madison. “Just very tired, thank you.”
Madison handed her a large stack of clothes. “It gets cold with altitude. These base layers will help to keep you warm.” She smiled. “You’ll sweat like you’re in hell as we walk to the plane, but you’ll be thankful for them when we reach twenty-eight thousand feet.”
“Thank you.” Elizabeth said with a small smile as she took the clothing.
“There are bunks for the pilots behind the cockpit. After we take off, you should be able to lay down. The seats we’ll be sitting in are not very comfortable.”
“That would be appreciated, if no one else needs one. Whenever someone does, I will gladly move,” Elizabeth volunteered.
Madison motioned her into the bathroom. Elizabeth put the borrowed clothes on. Madison was six inches taller and her body was more muscular. The clothes were baggy. She cuffed the extra length at the bottom of the pants and at the wrists. Then she rejoined the others. They were all picking up their gear. Madison handed a bag with food and water bottles in it to her, to carry. The eight men and two women walked the short distance across the tarmac to the awaiting C-17.
“After you, Sister,” Doc said, pausing at the stairs leading up to the plane. He motioned her forward.
“I’m not a Sister any longer. You know that better than anyone, Alexander.”
A pain shot into Doc’s heart. Yeah, he did know, and he was partially to blame for that. He merely nodded.
They took the first ten sidewall seats along the fuselage. The cargo area was fully loaded with crates, boxes, and a Humvee. They would be the only passengers on this flight. As far as the crew knew, they were all regular military. Elizabeth’s boots would be the only thing to give them away, if anyone noticed. So far, no one had.
Doc was forced by boarding order to take a seat beside Elizabeth. She looked nervous and he assumed she felt out of place as well as hurt by his rejection. The sidewall seats were physically uncomfortable to sit in, but he knew she wouldn’t complain. He wished the accommodations were more comfortable for her. She’d been through enough.
Madison sat on the other side of her, Cooper beside Madison. Doc envied Cooper. He had his career, his woman, his life, just as he wanted it. Jackson did too for that matter, as did Garcia. Doc had that once, fucked it up, and would never have it again.
The engines revved, and the plane began to roll forward. Once airborne it would get cold. He would give his insulated blanket to Elizabeth. The rattling of the plane and its cargo got louder as the C-17 thundered down the runway. It lifted, nose in the air and then banked sharply to the left.
Elizabeth gripped the seat beneath her, the very uncomfortable seat. After the plane leveled off, she let it go, and clasped her hands in her lap. She stared straight ahead and concentrated on quieting her thoughts. Sixteen hours and one quick stop to refuel in Germany and she’d be home. She still wasn’t sure how she’d get home to Seattle from either Maryland or Chicago, but she’d be back in the United States at least. She could always get a job waiting tables or something wherever she was until she had enough money for a bus or a train ticket.
Doc closed his eyes and pretended to sleep to avoid eye contact with Cooper, who watched him with an alarming focus. He knew Cooper would have Lassiter on alert, who would meet them at the office the moment they arrived. He understood the protocol of having the team shrink clear the team after an Op, but he could honestly say this time, he wasn’t up for it. He needed time alone to process everything that had happened and all the memories that had flooded his mind.
He felt movement beside him. Elizabeth was getting up. He cracked his eyes open and watched Madison lead her up the ladder to the flight crew bunks. She was exhausted, and she’d be more comfortable there. He was glad Madison thought of it as he sure as hell had not.
Elizabeth followed Madison. They climbed the steep and narrow staircase. She appreciated Madison thinking of this for her. The air was getting cool. She’d been warned it would be a cold flight. She hoped there would be a blanket she could use. When they reached the bunk area, disappointment washed over her. The crew bunks were two small metal shelves, each with a thin mattress. A curtain for privacy hung open. The inside wall, the head and foot panels were the same metal. The worse part of it was that the height of each bunk was so low it resembled a coffin. Tears filled her eyes.
“What’s the matter?” Madison asked.
“I’m sorry. I’m not sure I can lay here.” She offered no more of an explanation.
Madison wasn’t sure what the issue was, and Elizabeth said no more. She waited a moment, while Elizabeth eyed the bunks. “Wait here.” Madison left her and returned to the others. She approached Doc, who appeared to be sleeping. She laid a hand to his shoulder and shook him. “Doc!”
Doc felt Madison’s hand on his shoulder and heard her voice muffled by the earplugs and the noise within the aircraft. He contemplated ignoring her, hoping she’d go away, but he knew he couldn’t do that. He opened his eyes and gazed into hers.
“Something is up with Elizabeth. I think you need to come.”
His eyes flickered to the stairs, debating it.
“Doc, now,” Madison repeated forcefully after a few seconds.
He unbuckled his restraint and came to his feet. He mounted the ladder, without looking behind himself to see if Madison followed or not. She didn’t. When he reached the two-bunk area, Elizabeth stood in front of him, her back to him.
“Elizabeth, what’s wrong?” He asked.
She didn’t turn to face him, she just shook her head no. When he spun her around, he saw tears in her eyes.
“Elizabeth, what is it?”
“It’s so small. It’s like a metal coffin and it looks like it would be cold. I don’t mean to be ungrateful.”
“Wait here,” he said and then returned to the main cargo floor of the aircraft.
He pulled his thermal blanket from his bag and brought it back to the bunk area. He spread the blanket over the bunk. Then he rolled in and under the blanket. He laid on his side, his back to the metal wall. He tucked the blanket behind him because yes, the metal was cold.
He patted the mattress beside him. “Lay down with me.”
Elizabeth felt foolish, and she worried Alexander would think she was being manipulative or deceptive. He had pulled away from her since they were back with his team. She wasn’t sure why he acted so differently now, except that she knew he regretted the sexual act they shared. She didn’t. It had been incredible, and she was glad that it had been with him. She would always remember him and her first time, and it wouldn’t be tainted with the circumstances, just the emotions she still felt when she thought about it.
“Elizabeth, lay down,” he repeated.
She rolled into the space, her back pressed against his chest. He pulled the blanket over her and wrapped an arm around her waist. How he held her, was comforting. Very quickly, she warmed and relaxed. Exhaustion overtook her, and she fell asleep.
Doc lay awake long after he was sure Elizabeth was asleep. Her small form was nestled against him. He fought
the urge to enjoy how it felt. Even though she obviously needed comforting, it was wrong of him to get something out of it. And he surely didn’t want to encourage her that there was any hope of a relationship between them. That would not be in her best interest. Period.
At some point, Doc fell asleep. It was a shallow and restless sleep. Even with the ear plugs, and the noise of the plane, he heard when the curtain was pulled open. He opened his eyes and was staring into Cooper’s.
“We’ll be descending into Ramstein to refuel in a few minutes.”
Doc nodded. Cooper’s eyes flickered to Elizabeth’s face and then back to his. He saw the condemnation across Cooper’s features. Yeah, he shouldn’t be here with her this way. Tell him something he didn’t know. Without another word, Cooper turned around and left.
Cooper descended the ladder and walked up to Garcia, who sat with his eyes closed, earbuds in. He kicked Garcia’s foot, instantly causing his eyes to snap open. “I want to know everything about Sister Elizabeth Shaw that you can find.”
Garcia got a WTF look on his face.
“Just do it and get a report to me before we land at Andrews.”
Elizabeth rolled over, so she faced Alexander. “What time is it?”
Doc brought his wrist up to his eyes to view his watch. “Nearly twenty-two hundred. We need to retake our seats for our landing into Ramstein.”
“I slept great. Thank you for staying with me.” She pulled herself from the bunk and waited for him.
He motioned her to the steep stepladder. “Can you make it down, or do you want me to go first and spot you?”
She glanced down it. It was so steep. “Can you go first?”
He nodded and climbed down. He waited and watched her. She did fine by herself.
She pointed to the door to the lavatory. “Do I have time to use it?”
“Yeah, it should be fine.”
When she reopened the door and stepped back into the body of the plane, Doc was already fastened into his seat. She took her seat beside him. She wondered if there was anything she could say to him to make this less awkward. The truth was, she enjoyed waking beside him and she would miss him when they parted. The marriage vows she had taken meant something to her. She could grow to love him, she was sure. But she did what Alexander wanted her to do. She released him from the ones he had made.
She retook her very uncomfortable seat and fastened herself in, just as the nose dipped and the steep descent began. Doc produced another blanket and draped it over her. She noticed the others were all covered in blankets as well. Most appeared to be sleeping. The craft shuddered and shook violently as it landed. The strapped in cargo, clanked and banged, threatening to break free from their lashings.
The refueling didn’t take long, less than an hour. Before Elizabeth knew it, the aircraft was thundering back down the runway. She swallowed hard to clear her ears as it climbed straight up, noticing that most of the others still appeared to be sleeping. How could that be? Even Madison’s eyes had remained closed the entire time. The one exception was the man named Garcia. He was on his laptop, clicking the keys and reading whatever was on his screen with a sharp focus.
After the aircraft leveled off, Garcia unfastened his restraint. He approached Cooper and kicked his foot, returning the favor. He’d been in a deep sleep when Cooper woke him earlier. Cooper’s eyes snapped open. Garcia nodded towards the galley closet. Cooper followed him to it.
“Elizabeth Shaw declined to take her final vows and become a Sister of Mercy and has been a novitiate for several years longer than normal. The paperwork to process her out of the order was on hold. Angel’s mom is the nun in charge of the group in that village and Sister Bernice John thought it possible Elizabeth would change her mind.”
“What’s in Seattle?” Cooper asked.
“That’s where Elizabeth is from, but from what I found, there isn’t much there waiting for her. Her mother died when she was twelve. She has a brother, Robert Shaw, four years older than she is. He’s in the state pen, serving a ten-year sentence for B and E. He had a long juvie record, and multiple arrests as an adult. There is no father listed on her birth certificate, her brother’s either. When her mom died, she was taken into the Sisters of Mercy Orphanage.”
“Does she have any kind of bank account?”
“I found a savings account opened when she was a child. She has two-hundred-fifty dollars in it.”
“Education?” Cooper asked.
“She’s a smart cookie, graduated top five percent of her class from the Seattle Public School System, then went to a community college’s CNA vocational program on a scholarship and earned top grades, graduated and passed the state’s licensing. She was already pledged to the Sisters at that point and worked at their free clinic in one of the worst areas of the city. Then they sent her to Africa. She was only twenty-one years old when she went over.”
Cooper shook his head disapprovingly, sending a twenty-one-year-old to a war-torn hell-hole. “Anything else?”
Garcia shrugged. “There’s nothing else, no social media presence.”
“No other assets?”
Garcia shook his head no. “Nothing. She barely exists in any records.”
“Okay, thanks,” Cooper said. He pulled his phone from his pocket and tapped out a text message to Shepherd as Garcia retook his seat.
The flight landed at Edwards Airforce Base, pulled into a hangar, and they all deplaned. Elizabeth watched the others numbly. She was exhausted. She had slept for a few hours in the uncomfortable seat, but it hadn’t been a restful sleep.
“Sister Elizabeth,” Cooper said. “This airman will escort you from here. My team is transferring to our ride home.”
Elizabeth’s eyes flickered to Doc for a moment. His face was impassive. Would he even say goodbye to her? “Thank you for everything, Mr. Cooper.” She presented her right hand.
Cooper pulled the money he had collected from all the others from his pocket and placed it into her hand, instead of shaking it. “For you, for expenses while you travel home to Seattle and to get settled.”
She looked at the bills. “It’s not necessary and far too generous of you.” Embarrassed feelings she recognized from her childhood surged through her as she realized there had to be more than five hundred dollars in her hand.
“The entire team pitched in.” His eyes went to Madison. “We know you don’t have any money on you.”
“I can find my way to a shelter and get a job to earn what I need to get to Seattle,” Elizabeth insisted.
“Or you can take the money, say thank you, and let this Airman escort you to the airport where a plane ticket to Seattle in your name waits for you,” Madison said.
“This is too much,” she murmured, shaking her head. She couldn’t even make eye contact with anyone, least of all Alexander. The shame of needing their money was too much.
“Elizabeth,” she heard Alexander’s voice. She still didn’t look at him. “We don’t operate that way, letting someone off in a strange city with no money. Your ride home with us is all the way to your home in Seattle.”
“Thank you, all.” She gazed back into Cooper’s eyes. “I will earn this amount and repay you at some point in the future. I promise.” She shoved the bills into a pocket of the borrowed pants she wore.
“That isn’t necessary,” she heard Doc’s voice say.
She nodded just to end this.
“Airman, swing by the base’s Exchange on the way please. Her bag got misplaced during our mission and she has no civvies,” Madison said.
“Yes, ma’am.”
“You have enough there to buy whatever you need,” Madison said. Then she stepped forward and hugged Elizabeth. “Take care of yourself.”
“Thank you, Madison. You have been most kind.”
When they parted, Cooper stepped into her and gave her a brief squeeze. “Safe travels home, Sister.”
“Thank you for everything,” she murmured.
The Rever
end folded his large arms around her next. “God be with you, Sister.”
“And also, with you,” she said robotically.
One by one each of the men said their goodbyes and then walked across the hangar to another plane. Her eyes met Alexander’s. He was the only one left. “Goodbye, Alexander,” she murmured.
“You’ll be fine, Elizabeth. You’re a strong woman.” He wrapped his arms around her and held her for a brief moment. Then he stepped away, followed the others, and didn’t look back.
Hotel
Doc dropped his gear in the Team Room and then took the stairs to the fourth floor, to his office. He stowed his secondary pack of medical gear and personal articles that had been left at the base in Djibouti when they went into Somalia. He was not looking forward to the paperwork he would have to fill out on all the equipment that he ‘donated’ to the General’s group. He heard Sloan doing the same in his office across the hall. He took his time, not in a hurry to see Lassiter. He was dreading it. Way too many memories had forced their way into his consciousness, memories he thought he had banished, memories he didn’t want to discuss with Lassiter.
