Chapter 4
CHAPTER
FOUR
NOAH
I left her tent walking like I’d lost a fight with gravity. It wasn’t just the ankle. It was her.
Major Jessica Stevens didn’t flinch. Didn’t soften. But damn if she didn’t see right through me.
"Just because someone has to, doesn’t mean it always has to be you."
She said it like it was fact. Like it wasn’t the only thing keeping me standing some days.
I didn’t take the crutches. Pride? Probably. Habit? Definitely.
By the time I reach the barracks, the adrenaline has burned off and left me hollow. I sit on the edge of my cot, staring at the floor for a while.
My ankle throbs. But her words pulse louder.
She sees too much, and part of me doesn’t mind. Part of me wants her to see more, which makes no damn sense. I’ve done my best to keep people at an arm’s length, never allowing anyone to get too close to see the real me, but now I want her to.
I shake my head from these thoughts. Outside, I can hear the distant chatter of soldiers drift in, as they clean up the mess left by the mortar. I can hear fear in some, while others try to sound distant and unaffected.
I remember how Jessica knelt in front of me, clinical, direct. Not a trace of hesitation, except when she spoke.
That sentence. That look.
She wrapped my ankle like she was holding me together, and maybe she was. Maybe that tent was the only place I could afford to find refuge.
I’ll go back tomorrow, not because I have to, but because part of me wants to hear her call my bluff again.
And maybe next time, I won’t have to be strong.
Sleep doesn’t come easily. Memories of the past from earlier blur with flashes of war. Her voice echoes in both. I’m finally able to get an hour and a half of sleep before being shaken awake by Sergeant Mitchell.
“Sir, they need you in the Command tent.”
I nod as I wipe the sleep from my eyes, knowing I need to get myself together. The only reason I would be needed in the Command tent is for another mission.
I look at my ankle, still wrapped. I put my socks and boots back on and when I stand, the pain from the weight is unbearable, but I know I need to push through it. I grab the bottle of ibuprofen and shake a couple of pills out, hoping this will help with the swelling and dull the pain down.
I limp to the Command tent and walk in.
“Captain Reyes.” The Command Chief of Staff looks over as I walk in.
“Sir, what’s going on?” I ask, my expression stoic.
“Take a seat, we are waiting on one more person before we start the brief,” Colonel Marsh tells me, looking back over the map in front of him.
Just then the tent flap opens and in steps Major Jessica Stevens.
“Welcome, Major Stevens. Take a seat next to Captain Reyes,” Colonel Marsh directs.
She nods and does as she’s told.
“We’ve learned that our supply convoy has been ambushed with a possible IED and are currently taking gunfire.
I need a team to go out there and bring them back.
Major Stevens, you will ride with Captain Reyes and his team in case there are any wounded that you can treat before bringing them all back,” Colonel Marsh states and I watch her nod.
Her eyes are calculating, but she asks nothing.
“Captain Reyes, the terrain is open, not much cover, so you will need to go in heavy and hard.”
“Roger, Sir.”
“Any questions?”
“No, Sir,” we both say at the same time.
“You leave in ten minutes. Dismissed,” Colonel Marsh directs.
We walk out of the tent and she looks over at me, “Are you going to be able to function on that ankle?”
“I’ll be fine,” I mutter defensively.
I hear her sigh, but she doesn’t say anything as we continue walking.
“Meet me at the vehicle in five minutes and only bring what is necessary,” I tell her, not bothering with arguments.
“I know my job, Captain,” she says curtly before turning toward the medical tent.
I shake my head, walking back to my tent to grab a few soldiers for this mission. Unfortunately I can’t take Mitchell or Torres as they are out of commission right now, so I grab another Sergeant and Private to fill in my squad's voids.
When I get to the Humvees, I see Jessica and another female standing by the vehicle, waiting for us. I’ve seen the Captain in the medical tent with her before so I know she’s part of the medical team.
“Major Stevens, who is this?”
“Captain Rachel Kim, she will be going with us,” she tells me as a matter of fact.
“Captain,” I acknowledge her and she acknowledges me with a nod.
We load up in the Humvees, Jessica rides with me and Rachel rides in the Humvee with the other crew.
The Humvee jerks hard over broken asphalt. The tension is thick. Our team rides in silence, staring out at the open desert, looking for anything that can put us in danger.
I glance over at Jessica and notice her focus. “We might hit contact before the ridge,” I state.
She nods. “I’m ready.”
I can see she is indeed ready and calculating. I internally admire and respect her resolve and tenacity, but I also fear it. That kind of tenacity could also cause miscalculations or mistakes when it comes to soldiers' lives.
Once we reach the ridge, I can see smoke pluming into the sky. The convoy is probably about a quarter mile ahead. Then, through the static on comms, we can hear gunfire.
“Shit,” I mutter as I pull back behind some boulders, and bark orders to the team.
“We are going to have to run in and cover the ground with our own fire. We won’t be able to take the vehicles in. Can you two keep up?” I look over at Jessica and Rachel.
They both roll their eyes, and Jessica says, “The question is will you be able to keep up?”
I stare at her as she levels me with her eyes and I can see the challenge in them. I look around at the soldiers and state, “Group B take Captain Kim with you and flank left. Major Stevens stays with me and Group A and we will flank right.”
Everyone nods, takes up their weapons and we move out fast. I take the lead in Group A and clear cover while laying suppressive fire.
Jessica stays close, her eyes taking in our surroundings with the precision of a seasoned soldier, as she fires her weapon at the enemies.
We reach the convoy and I see one truck overturned. There looks to be three wounded soldiers with one pinned underneath the Humvee from our side.
Jessica runs ahead, not acknowledging the danger she is running into.
“What the hell is wrong with you?” I call out to her as I’m seething in anger.
I watch as she drops to her knees without hesitation, checking vitals while under fire.
My men and I continue covering her and the team. Every shot, every breath, carved from instinct.
She looks at the soldier who is pinned under the Humvee, checking him over.
“The soldier's pulse is weak. He’s been pinned under the wreckage too long,” she calls out.
“What do you need from us?” I call back as I continue shooting at the enemy.
“We are going to need a med flight. We can’t move him without stabilizing,” she calls out.
I kneel beside her, taking in what she sees. The soldier's legs are pinned beneath the top of the Humvee, probably broken in several places. His face is pale and there is blood streaking across his cheek from a potential head wound.
“We need to get this Humvee off his legs,” she states as she continues to assess the situation.
“I’ve got you,” I tell her as I call some of the soldiers over to help me roll the vehicle up enough to get the soldier out from underneath it.
“Slow and steady,” she calls out as she places her arms underneath the soldier’s, ready to extract him as quickly as possible.
The soldiers and I push the vehicle up as slowly as we can, though the weight of this massive contraption is straining. I don’t know how much longer we can hold this, so I grunt out, “Hurry up.”
“You can let it down,” she calls out and when I turn around, I see her assessing the young soldier.
I look over her shoulder as my team continues to cover us in gunfire. The soldier's legs have been crushed. I can see bones in his legs cutting through the skin. I watch as Jessica ties tourniquets around his upper thighs, while quietly talking to the soldier.
She looks over her shoulder at me and states, “He needs a helicopter. We won’t be able to transport him in a vehicle.”
I nod as I get on the radio to request the ETA on our chopper for med flight, while I continue to watch over her and the wounded soldiers.
She places an IV in the wounded soldier, and talks directly to him. Though I can’t make out everything she says, I do hear her tell him everything is going to be okay.
I shake my head as I continue firing against the enemy as they try to close in on us.
After what feels like hours, but probably only minutes more, the gunfire stops, everything is silent. I radio for Team B’s status.
“We’re good here Captain. Four with minor injuries, per Captain Kim’s assessment.”
“Good. If they can travel back to base in the Humvee, get them loaded up and head back. We’re waiting on a med chopper here.”
“Roger, Sir.”
I look over at Jessica and watch as she assesses the other two wounded soldiers.
“How are they?” I ask while still watching the area for another ambush.
“Injured, but they will live,” she says bluntly.
The chopper lands a few feet from us and Jessica calls for me to carefully lift the wounded soldier to the helicopter.
She looks at me and says, “Get the other wounded soldiers back to base. I’ll meet you there,” before she climbs into the helicopter with the severely wounded soldier.
All I can do is nod and watch the helicopter lift in the air.
My men and I grab the other two soldiers and head back to our Humvee.
Once we get back to base, I take the two wounded to the triage tent where I find Rachel and Jessica working on the severely wounded soldier who had to be brought back by helicopter.
“He’ll have to go to Landstuhl,” I hear Jessica say.
“I’ll let the med flight know to prepare for transport,” Rachel responds, before walking my way and nodding as she leaves the tent.
“You were calm out there, but reckless,” I tell her.
“It’s my job to be calm. As for being reckless, there is no such thing when it comes to saving soldiers,” she replies, while looking over the soldiers I brought in.
I leave her to tend to the wounded as I go back to the Command tent to debrief.