"Viper Two, come in."
The frequency cracked open.
"...still up…" Hale’s voice was strained. "Say again, Sierra Ops… still up… I've got—" Static. "I've got all four on board. Tail rotor is hit. I need a landing zone. Now."
Elliot exhaled one breath and pulled himself back together in the same motion.
"Echo-Six. Two klicks south. It's clear."
"Copy. Echo-Six—" A jarring sound, something grinding. "She's not doing well. Talk me through it."
"Bearing one-seven-zero. Two klicks. There's a flat stretch east of the ridge, you'll see it."
"Copy." Breathing on the line. Controlled, but only just. "How long?"
"Three minutes at your speed."
"Copy, three minutes."
Major Okafor was already on another frequency, mobilizing extraction, coordinates relayed. The room operated around Elliot at full speed but he registered none of it. He kept his eyes on the grid, the small marker that was Viper Two moving south, slower than it should, trajectory uneven.
"Viper Two, bearing check."
"One-seven-two. Correcting." A pause. "She's fighting me."
"You're doing fine. One point five klicks."
"Personnel status?" Okafor said behind him.
Elliot keyed the mic. "Viper Two, ground team status."
"All four conscious. One injured, not critical."
The marker moved. The room watched. Nobody spoke.
"I see it." Hale’s voice was fully focused. "I see the ridge."
"Five hundred meters," Elliot said.
Static.
"I've got it." Muffled cheers mixed with Hale’s voice. “I've got it."
The marker descended.
Elliot watched it touch the grid point and stop.
"Viper Two is on the ground," someone called from the far workstation.
The room exhaled in one collective breath.
Elliot stayed there with his hand still on the headset. He didn't move. Couldn’t. He was still holding his breath.
Then Hale’s voice came through—the effort of the last ten minutes audible in every word. "Sierra Ops, Viper Two. We’re down safe. All personnel accounted for."
Elliot closed his eyes.
"Copy, Viper Two." His voice came out calm. He had no idea how. "Extraction is four minutes out. Stay on the ground."
