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"Tell me."
"You sure?"
"Tell me, damn it!"
"Fine." Gunner took a seat beside the bed. "When you ran back into the building. I ordered Jeff and Dink to bring up the APC to the door. We brought out those four kids, and civilians rushed to take them from us.
"We started taking fire from the roof and the civilians fled. You were still carrying that baby, you forced us to go back for. Gunfire opened from inside the building, so we made a run for the APC. Do you remember that?"
"Yes, I remember all that. The APC was a hundred yards away and it was raining bullets. We stayed as close to the buildings as possible. People were screaming and running, and the APC was almost to us and…". Riggs frowned, trying to remember.
"An explosion. Something… Something… Fuck man, it's blur. The APC was almost there and– Fuck, holy fuck Gun, it blew straight up like it'd been launched. I saw Dink's face, man. Just for a split second then… then… then pain, nothing but pain."
Gunner nodded. "IED."
"In the middle of the village? What kind of crazy shit is that?"
"The kind of crazy shit that says they knew we were coming. When it blew, the APC was propelled like a freaking rocket, and the blast knocked the two of us halfway across the street. It knocked you out. I made it to my feet, grabbed you under the arms, and then it landed on your leg."
"You had a piece of metal," Riggs grimaced, trying to force the memory to be clear. “You were prying it up and yelling at me to drag myself out. There was gunfire and…and I was trying to move back, but only one leg would work, and there was so fucking much pain and…". Riggs closed his eyes. "And I don't know, man, I don't know what's real or not. I just know it was hell."
"Yeah, but you survived it and now you have a choice. Man up and do what you gotta do, or let that fucking IED end your life. Your choice brother. Personally, I'd choose life. But then I'm a selfish bastard. I'm looking at retirement and got nowhere to go unless you give me a job."
"You're gonna pack it in?" Riggs was shocked.
Gunner's phone rang, and he pulled it from his pocket. "Yeah?"
Riggs knew without asking who was on the other end of the call. He'd taken too many of them not to recognize the silence and Gunner's body language. "Yep," Gunner said and slid the phone back into his pocket. "Gotta go."
"You didn't answer. Are you gonna pack it in?"
"That depends. You gonna get a new leg and offer me a job?"
"I am."
"Then I'll see you soon, boss." Gunner clasped Rigg's hand. "You hang tough."
"You come home."
"Yes, sir." Gunner grinned, gave Rigg's hand one last squeeze, then turned and left the room.
Riggs watched him leave, and suddenly it hit him. Fully hit him. He wasn't ever going to be doing that again, getting the call and heading out to meet his squad. That chapter of his life was over.
The question was, did he have the balls to start a new chapter and make his life count for something, or was he going to let this end him?
Despite his bravado to Gunner, he didn't know, but he wished to God he did. Riggs wasn't accustomed to this kind of uncertainty. He'd had a long-term, intimate relationship with fear. That was common for Operators. Those who didn’t know fear were normally the first to die, because they tended to ignore protocol.
Men who recognized fear and knew how to establish control over it were better soldiers, and typically more clear-headed when things got hairy. Right now, Riggs felt things were about as hairy as ever. He knew he could balls up and face this challenge, but also that he plain didn't want to. He wanted his own leg. His own fucking flesh and bone leg.
The door to his room opened, and Georgie Williams was the first to enter. Their gazes locked as she crossed the room to his bedside, and Riggs wondered what she was thinking. She stopped beside the bed.
"Have you ever done yoga, Mr. Walker?"
"I tried, and it's Riggs."
"Okay, Riggs, well as you may know that balance is crucial in yoga. For example, did you know it takes over three hundred muscles to balance yourself in a standing position?"
"No, I didn't, and why is that important?"
