“What the hell is up with you today Ace? You seem off your game,” Deadeye observed when the training session was over.
“I’m not sure, Deadeye. I had a dream last night and I can’t seem to shake the feeling it left behind,” Ace said as he shook his head, still trying to clear the bad feeling from him.
“What was the dream about?” Deadeye inquired. “It might help if you talk about it.”
“It was Daisy. The doctor that took care of Elise in Afghanistan. We’ve been emailing and Skyping ever since we returned,” Ace informed Deadeye. “I dreamed about her last night. She was hurt and scared, but I couldn’t reach her. She called out to me. I searched and searched through the desert, but I couldn’t find her.” Ace was breathing hard by the time he finished telling his nightmare. It was almost like he was reliving it.
“Man, that’s a rough dream,” Deadeye commented. “Have you tried to contact her?”
“Yes, I emailed her last night when I woke up and again this morning. She usually responds within a couple of hours, but it’s been over twelve hours and nothing,” Ace sighed heavily. “Perhaps I am over reacting. She could be in surgery all day, but I feel it in my gut, something is wrong with her.”
“I will call Hawk and see if command can find out anything, okay? I know you well enough that if you say something is wrong, then it is,” Deadeye replied.
“Thanks, Deadeye. She needs me. I just know it,” Ace said with conviction. He began to pace while Deadeye placed the call. The other team members were hanging around to see if they could help in some way.
“Hawk, this is Deadeye. We may have a situation,” Deadeye paused as he gathered his thoughts. “Ace met a Navy doctor on our mission to rescue Elise. They have gotten close and talk every day. Ace had a bad dream about her and hasn’t been able to reach her today. I was hoping you might be able to check up on her. You know, just make sure everything is okay. She is currently stationed at Camp Leatherneck in Afghanistan. Dr. Daisy Robertson.”
“Have the team come by my house in an hour. I will put my feelers out and see what I can stir up. Tell Ace not to worry, I’m sure she is fine, but if not, we will find her. Whatever the problem, we will take care of her,” Hawk told Deadeye. Hawk had been their team leader before he met the love of his life, Charlotte. They had gotten married and had twin boys. Hawk had wanted to stop traveling the globe and putting his life in danger all the time. So, when the opportunity arose, he applied for a position in headquarters. Captain Mark Olson, their former commanding officer had retired. Hawk had left the field and took Olson’s position in headquarters. He didn’t want Charlotte to be worrying if he would make it back home or not. They seemed to be a very happy family. They were even going to have another child in a few months.
An hour later, the team was gathered at Hawk and Charlotte’s large home. Brian, Hawk’s son from a previous marriage greeted the men as they arrived and he led them to the dining room. Charlotte and Elise had prepared a huge spread of food. They were busy setting it out for them on the table. Brian told everyone to get some food while his dad finished a conference call in his home office. He would be in shortly to update the team on what he had learned.
When Hawk entered the dining room, Charlotte, Elise, and Brian immediately got up and moved to leave the room. Charlotte and Brian were each carrying one of the very entertaining twin boys. Hawk gave Charlotte a hard kiss then gave each of his sons, including Brian and kiss on the head. Once they had left the room and closed the doors to the dining room. Hawk relayed everything he had learned.
“From what I have gathered from the General in charge at Camp Leatherneck, Dr. Robertson left camp roughly 24 hours ago on a rescue mission to the Syrian border. A chopper loaded with a group of SEALs that we all know, Wolf’s team, and their pilots had crashed and needed medical attention. Dr. Robertson’s chopper arrived on scene without incident. They radioed back they were bringing in 2 critically wounded soldiers, the pilot and co-pilot of the downed craft. A second Helio picked up Wolf’s SEAL team. The craft Dr Robertson was on sent out a mayday and disappeared from radar a few minutes after leaving the scene of the crash. All attempts at radio contact since have gone unanswered. They have been searching the area and are preparing to send out more choppers to look for them, but so far they haven’t had any luck finding them,” Hawk told the men gathered in his dining room. His expression was grim.
“We need to get going. We have to help find her,” Ace said with urgency. He moved to stand but Deadeye reached out to stop him. Ace glared at his friend, but remained seated.
“I am working on getting you transport over there as we speak,” Hawk continued. “The General was more than willing to have additional troops come in to help in the search. Wolf’s SEAL team has asked to stay and to assist and aid in the search as well,” Hawk informed them. His cell phone rang at that moment.
“Hawk here,” He paused as he listened to someone on the other end. “Good. They will be there within 30 minutes. And thanks again for making this so quick. Time is of the essence in this situation.” Hawk clicked off his phone. “That was the flight commander at base. He has you a transport. It will be wheels up in thirty. Good luck, guys. Be safe and bring her home.”
The men all rose at the same time and moved toward the door. Charlotte was in the living room with Elise and the twins. The women rose and headed to greet the men as they filed out of the dining room. Elise hurried into Deadeye’s arms and they shared a quiet moment together as the rest of the team said their goodbyes to Charlotte and the boys.
“I know you all can’t tell us anything about where you are going or what is wrong, but I hope you know that you all are in my prayers while you are out there. I pray for your safety and your success,” Charlotte told the men as they all placed a quick kiss on her and the boys’ cheeks. Hawk came up to put his arm around Charlotte’s waist as he took a twin in his other arm. They stood there as a family and watched as their friends headed off to once again save the world, or at least someone’s world.
* * *
Once they were airborne, the team assembled to go over the intelligence they had been given. They ran through various scenarios and strategies to formulate plans on finding and extracting Daisy and the other soldiers that had disappeared. They looked over maps of the area and worked out a grid search. They would adjust their plans as soon as they landed and got an update on the most recent intelligence. Ace was tense. The longer it took to get started on the search the more agitated he became. Daisy needed him, now. He could feel it in his bones. He needed to find her quickly and make sure she was okay.
Chapter 8
Somewhere in the Syrian mountains…
Daisy was the most tired she had ever been. With taking her turn on watch, caring for the injured soldiers, and the lack of adequate food or water her body was weakening. She wasn’t sure how much longer their luck would hold out. It had been two days since they had crashed. They had fought off two more attacks by insurgents since the initial attack when they had gone for more supplies.
So far, they had been very lucky, only encountering a few of them at a time. If they were attacked by a large group, they wouldn’t stand a chance. With only the four of them able to fire a weapon, they were seriously outnumbered, and out gunned. Ammunition was getting low as were the medical and essential supplies. Daisy began to pray for divine intervention.
Daisy was sitting near the entrance to their cave taking her turn at watch. Her mind drifted to Ace again for the millionth time since she had found herself in this nightmare. She knew that if he was aware of her situation, he would move Heaven and Earth to find her and bring her home. He was just that kind of man. But he wouldn’t have any idea what had happened to her. She hadn’t taken time to email him before she left on this insane trip into enemy territory to rescue the injured men.
It was beginning to look like her insatiable need for atonement had finally caught up with her. She had risked her life more times than any sane person would. Now her luck had run out. She mused to herself fate had finally decided to end her torture. This was how her life would end. Basically, alone in the mountains of a foreign country and to be murdered by terrorists. She only hoped that death came quickly and not after hours of rape and torture first. While she put on a good façade in front of others, Daisy knew she wasn’t that strong. She would never recover from torture if she lived to make it back to the States.
The hours drug by so slowly. The co-pilot from the first crash was not doing well. He had been fevered and pus was coming from his wounds. Daisy was giving him what antibiotics she had on hand, but he wasn’t improving. If anything, he was slowly slipping away. They needed out of here yesterday. The other patient was stable, but due to his injuries, he would not be much help if the enemy came to their door. The pilots from the second chopper both had head injuries and were suffering from vision disturbances and bouts of nausea. Water was getting low and soon either Daryl or herself would have to leave in search of a water source. They could go a long time without food if necessary, but only 2-3 days at most without water before they perished.
“Dr. Robertson. Our water supply is getting low,” Daryl informed her as he came to relieve her from watch on the third morning. “I am going to need to go look for water, soon.”
“Daryl, I can’t ask you to go out and look for water,” Daisy replied. “You could be ambushed. Insurgents are all over this place. It’s too dangerous.”
“We don’t have a choice, Dr. Robertson. We need water,” Daryl returned. He lowered himself down onto the ground next to her.
