Chapter Two #3
Grant took his Sig from his holster and held it down by his thigh. “Get ready, Christopher. Noah’s going to stop by the jet stairs, and we’ll have to bail and run. Think you can do it?”
“Yes, sir.” He paused. “What about Andre? Is he coming too?”
“I’m going to keep the bad guys from coming too close. Once you’re safely on board, the rest of us will follow.”
“Promise you’ll come?” Christopher’s voice quivered.
“I promise, buddy. Do what Grant tells you to do and everything will be fine.”
“Here we go.” Noah’s fingers gripped the wheel tighter and he slammed on the breaks. “Get ready. Three, two, one. Go, go, go!”
Grant threw open the door, hauled Christopher out of the SUV, and together they raced across the few feet to the jet stairs as Seth’s team laid down cover fire.
Riley and the rest of her teammates bailed from their SUV and added to the barrage of bullets. Through her earpiece, she heard Noah say, “The package is on board. Violet and Rayne, go.”
Once the two women were safely on board, Noah said, “Andre and Riley, go. Cover us at the entrance.”
“Copy that, sir.” Andre pivoted. “Go, baby.”
Riley spun and sprinted for the stairs, trusting her teammates to keep the enemy off her long enough for her to climb on board the jet. She didn’t have to turn around to know Andre was right behind her, covering her back.
She raced up the stairs and into the cabin and aimed her rifle at the terrorists surging onto the tarmac. Riley and Andre fired round after round, picking off the enemy and laying down cover fire so their teammates could board the jet.
Seth and Noah were the last operatives to race up the stairs. “Secure the door.” Seth called out to the pilot. “Jordan, go, go, go.”
Once Andre secured the door, he and Riley hurried to the nearest seats and strapped in as the jet raced faster and faster down the airstrip. Seconds later, the jet was airborne.
When the jet leveled off, Seth unbuckled his safety belt and stood. “Anybody hurt?”
Andre raised a hand, and so did Noah.
“Violet, you’re up.”
She grabbed her mike bag. “With me.”
“Need help?” Riley asked.
“I could use another pair of hands.”
Riley followed Andre down the aisle to the back bedroom, where Violet set up a triage area.
“Let me see your injury, Andre.”
He turned his left side toward her so she could see the bullet wound in his arm. “Just a scratch.”
Even Riley could see the injury was far worse than a scratch. “I don’t think a Band-Aid will take care of this.” Although she didn’t have as much training as Violet, even she could see a bullet might be lodged in his arm because there was no exit wound.
Violet turned to her husband. “Let’s see it, babe.”
Noah stripped off his shirt so Violet could examine the wound on his right side.
The medic sighed. “Well, congratulations, Andre. You won the prize for the worst injury again on this mission.”
“What’s my reward, Doc?”
“A delightful visit with Dr. Sorenson.”
He grimaced. “Pass.”
“Sorry. That’s the price of admission, my friend.
Riley, get some alcohol wipes and clean around the wound.
I need to see how bad this is.” When Riley did as ordered, Violet inspected the wound.
“Buddy, I think the bullet is still in there. I’ll have to talk to Sorenson and see what he wants me to do. ”
The medic pulled out her phone and placed her call on video.
“Sorenson. This better be good.”
“It’s Violet. I have two injured operatives. A bullet kissed one operative on the side. The second injury is more problematic. He has a bullet lodged in his arm.”
“Show me.”
Violet turned the camera toward the wound in Andre’s arm.
“Other side, please.” Once Sorenson was satisfied, he said, “Give him a local. If you can see or feel the bullet, take it out. Otherwise, start antibiotics and fluids.”
“Copy that, sir.”
“How far out are you?”
“At least six hours, sir.”
He nodded. “I’ll be ready for you. Contact me if anything changes.”
“Yes, sir.”
After dictating a list of medications he wanted Andre and Noah to have, Violet ended the call.
She turned to Riley. “I think you can handle Noah’s injury.
Once you’ve cleaned the area, use butterfly stitches to close the wound, then we’ll start him on antibiotics.
While you work on Noah, I’ll focus on Andre.
I prefer not to leave the bullet in his arm, but I’d rather do that than damage nerves. ”
Violet handed Riley the medical supplies she needed to treat Noah’s wound, then turned to Andre. “I need to examine your arm more closely. It might hurt.”
“Won’t be the first time. Just do it, Vi. I can handle it.”
Taking him at his word, Violet tugged on a fresh pair of gloves and poked and prodded the wound. After a few minutes, she sat back. “I think I can get the bullet out, Andre. Will you let me try?”
“Go for it.”
“Good.” She removed a syringe and a vial of Lidocaine from the supply cabinet. After cleaning his arm again with an alcohol wipe, Violet injected the medicine near his wound. “We’ll give that a few minutes, then get to work.”
She glanced at Riley. “How’s it going over there?”
“I think I’m finished. Want to check it?”
The medic examined her husband’s side. “This looks great, Riley. Very nice work.”
“I owe it all to my trainer.” She smiled at the woman who had been cross-training her for the past few months, all part of the Fortress program. Brent Maddox, Fortress CEO, wanted every operative cross-trained.
Violet brushed her lips over her husband’s. “Get something to eat and drink.”
“What can I bring you?”
“Water.”
“Food?”
“Whatever is available. No hurry. I’ll eat after I take care of Andre.”
Noah headed toward the door. “I’ll return soon.”
“What about you, Andre?” Riley turned toward him. “Do you need food or drink?”
“I’d kill for some water. The food can wait until Violet is finished with my arm.” He gave her a pointed look. “While you’re getting water for me, load up a plate and grab water for yourself.”
Once again, Andre was more concerned about her than about himself. “I’ll be back in a minute.” Riley left the bedroom and walked up the aisle toward the galley.
“Riley?”
She stopped and turned toward Christopher. “What do you need, buddy?”
“Is Andre okay?”
“He will be. Violet is taking care of him. He’ll be back in his seat before you know it.”
Relief flooded Christopher’s facial expression. “I was afraid the injury was bad.”
Figuring the boy deserved the truth and could handle it, Riley said, “He took a bullet in the arm. Violet is working on it right now.” She studied him for a beat. “Do you want to help me?”
Christopher sat up straighter. “Sure. What do I need to do?”
“Come to the galley with me. You can help me put together a plate of food for Andre. He’ll eat after Violet finishes working on his arm.”
The boy hopped up and followed Riley down the aisle. Within minutes, they had prepared two plates of food and grabbed two bottles of water. Christopher carried the water and trailed Riley to the bedroom.
She paused at the door. “Leave the bottles at the door.”
The boy raised his chin. “I don’t mind seeing blood and stuff.”
Although that was unexpected, she had to take him at his word. “All right. Let’s deliver the food.
Andre looked at them when they entered the bedroom. He smiled. “Hey, Chris. Did Grant get you something to eat?”
He nodded. “He and Rayne got me food and a soft drink.”
“Good.”
“Can I stay in here with you?”
“Are you sure you want to stick around? My arm is a mess.”
“It’s okay. I don’t mind a little blood.”
Riley set the plates on the table positioned against the wall. “Chris made your food.”
Andre ruffled the boy’s hair. “Thanks, buddy. I appreciate that.”
Christopher beamed.
“Since Violet’s working on me at the moment, why don’t you sit at the table with Riley and make sure she eats.”
“I can do that. Come on, Riley. Andre says you should eat.”
Andre chuckled as Christopher grabbed Riley’s hand and led her to the table. “Good job, Chris.”
Amused, Riley took a bite of her sandwich to satisfy both males in the room.
Noah returned with plates heaped high with food and two water bottles shoved into cargo pockets. “Looks like I’m just in time for the party. Did you forget to invite me, Chris?”
The boy laughed.
Between them, Riley and Noah kept Christopher busy while Violet worked on Andre. Although she longed to sit beside Andre so she could see for herself the progress Violet was making, she made herself stay in place. Christopher had been traumatized enough. The boy needed nothing else to remember.
Finally, Violet sat back, dropped the bullet into a plastic container, and closed the lid.
She stripped off her gloves. “You need antibiotics and pain medicine, Andre.” When he opened his mouth to reply, she waggled her pointer finger at him.
“No. Don’t argue. You need both, so suck it up and deal. ”
The operative sighed. “Yes, ma’am. Thanks for patching me up.”
“No problem.”
Andre glanced at Christopher, then turned back to Violet with a twinkle in his eyes. “Is this a significant enough injury to merit two suckers?”
Violet grinned. “You know, I think it is.” She dug into her Go bag, grabbed two suckers, and handed the treats to Andre.
He handed one sucker to Christopher. “Thanks for fixing my plate, buddy.”
“You’re welcome.” The boy ripped the paper covering off the sucker and stuck the treat in his mouth.
Riley’s heart melted a little at their interaction. Andre was so good with kids. Every time Echo unit encountered children on their missions, those kids inevitably gravitated to Andre. He loved children, and they knew it.
She dumped her empty plate in the trash can and sat on the bed beside Andre so Violet could sit with her husband.
“Are you sure you’re okay?” Andre’s gaze locked on hers.
“Why wouldn’t I be? I’m not injured.”
“Not talking about physical injuries. You had to work hard to protect Christopher.”
“And I would do it again in a heartbeat. I don’t regret my actions. They were necessary.”
After a brief knock, Seth stepped into the room. His gaze connected with Riley’s. “Maddox needs to talk to you. He’s requesting a video call.”
She stilled. “Did he say what he wanted?”
“No, and I asked. The boss told me it wasn’t my business, that I’d find out when you talked to him.”
All right, then. Looked like she was doing a video chat instead of taking a much-needed nap.
Andre polished off the last of his sandwich, stood, and held out his hand to Riley. “Come on. We shouldn’t keep him waiting.”
He wasn’t wrong. Nothing good came of making the boss wait.
She and Andre followed Seth to the conference table. Riley booted up the laptop. A moment later, Brent Maddox appeared on the wall screen, his expression grim.
The rest of their teammates except for Violet gathered around the conference table. “What’s going on, sir?” Seth asked.
“Zane’s bots uncovered a threat to Riley.”