Chapter 1
Dog had always been the one who patched things up when the world fell apart.
As the team’s medic, he was the quiet fixer, the guy who stemmed the bleeding and kept hearts beating when everything else went to hell.
Tonight, strapped into the Black Hawk with the desert night swallowing them whole, he felt that familiar weight on his shoulders.
They were hauling a family out of Syria, kids included, heading to Jordan, and Dog’s mind was already racing through potential injuries, contingencies for the flight.
But missions had a way of turning on you fast.
He sat wedged between Blast and Spider on the second bird, his medical kit at his feet like a loyal shadow.
Sammy, Link’s adopted son, was just a few seats away, his contributions already invaluable to the mission.
Dog had kept an eye on him, understanding Link’s reliance on Sammy’s unique insights, but the raw reality of a hot zone was still a harsh place for a kid, no matter how much grit he possessed.
Up front, Warden coordinated with the pilots, while the first Black Hawk, Noor’s ride, pulled ahead, a dark silhouette against the stars.
Dog hoped they’d make it clean; his bird was the backup, loaded with the heavy hitters.
The night erupted in a fury of light and sound.
Tracers streaked from the Syrian desert below, red lines cutting through the darkness like predatory strikes.
Dog spotted them first, his stomach tightening with that primal warning.
“Incoming!” he shouted, but the words were swallowed by the chatter of machine guns and the whistle of rockets.
This wasn’t just a lucky shot; this was an ambush, sprung with chilling precision.
Someone knew. The air thickened with the metallic bite of danger, and his mind snapped into medic mode: assess, protect, treat.
The second Black Hawk swerved hard, the pilot yelling evasive maneuvers.
G-forces crushed Dog into his seat, his vision tunneling as the helicopter banked sharply.
He glanced at Sammy, who was braced against the bulkhead, eyes wide.
“Stay down, kid!” Dog barked, his own hands gripping the straps.
Through the window, he saw the first bird pull away successfully, banking toward the Jordanian border.
They were clear, but his team wasn’t so lucky.
A rocket screamed in, exploding against their tail rotor in a blinding flash.
The Black Hawk shuddered violently, engines wailing in protest as black smoke billowed from the rear.
“Hold on!” Warden roared, but it was futile.
The bird plummeted, twisting in the air like a wounded beast. Dog’s head snapped back on impact, pain flaring across his face from debris: cuts and bruises that he’d deal with later.
The crash was a thunderous roar: metal screeching, sand exploding in a choking cloud, and the horrific grind of rotors shearing off.
For a heartbeat, everything was chaos. Dog unbuckled, his body moving on autopilot despite the ringing in his ears and the blood trickling down his forehead.
The cabin was a twisted wreck: seats ripped loose, equipment scattered.
Blast lay nearby, his leg shattered at an unnatural angle, bone protruding through his fatigues.
Dog’s eyes zeroed in: compound fracture, risk of shock.
He had to act fast. Dropping to Blast’s side, Dog applied a tourniquet and began splinting the leg, his hands steady amid the groans of metal and distant shouts.
“Sammy!” Dog called, scanning the dim interior.
The boy was alive, pinned under a chunk of fuselage, but holding on.
“I’m okay,” Sammy gasped, his voice weak.
Dog nodded, prioritizing: stabilize the immediate threats.
Spider groaned, his arm trapped under bent metal.
Dog strained to pull at the wreckage, his muscles screaming.
“Hang in there, Spider,” he grunted, face contorted with effort. “I’ll get you out.”
Warden slumped nearby, a deep gash on his temple leaking blood, unconscious against the ruptured bulk.
Tank…Dog’s gut twisted as he glanced over.
Tank was trapped beneath collapsed debris, his head at an impossible angle.
No life there. Dog forced himself to focus, compartmentalizing the loss as gunfire rattled in the distance. Faisal’s men were approaching.
Then, through the haze of smoke and sand, Dog spotted movement: figures racing toward them from the direction of the border.
Reinforcements from their own team. Link!
Jax! Shadow! he realized, recognizing their silhouettes in the flickering light.
They must have landed safely and run back, covering the half-mile across the treacherous desert.
Jax was first on the scene, dropping to his knees beside Blast, medkit spilling open as he took over the stabilization.
Shadow moved with Link, the two of them pulling at sections of fused metal to clear the path.
Link’s voice cut through the roar: “Dog! Nova!” He was scrambling deeper into the cabin, his face a mask of determination and terror.
Dog looked up, still straining to free Spider, his own body a bloody mess of cuts and bruises.
“Spider’s pinned!” he called back, gesturing to the wreckage.
Nearby, Nova pushed herself up slowly, her hand pressed to a bleeding gash on her temple, her arm hanging at an odd angle.
She met Link’s eyes, her gaze wide and glassy with pain, but she nodded faintly, acknowledging him.
Link’s tactical mind was in overdrive, Dog could see it: cataloging injuries, threats, the whole scene. But Link’s focus shifted, his voice cracking as he roared, “SAMMY! ANSWER ME!” He dove into the shadows, scanning the heaps of twisted steel, desperation etched on his face.
A volley of machine-gun fire stitched across the wreckage, forcing everyone to duck.
Faisal’s men were closing in, bullets whining off the metal.
Link hit the ground behind a piece of fuselage, Jax and Shadow returning fire with precise bursts, pinning down the attackers.
Dog used the cover to finish freeing Spider, his heart pounding as he checked the man’s vitals.
In the midst of it, Link’s eyes locked on something in the debris: a small sneaker, half-buried under a jagged piece of the tail rotor.
“Sammy!” Link gasped, lunging forward despite the danger.
Dog watched, a mix of relief and tension washing over him; the kid was found, but the fight wasn’t over yet.
The night shattered again with the thunder of incoming helicopters, searchlights cutting through the dust. SEALs fast-roped down, securing the site as suppressed fire drove back the enemy.
Dog slumped against the wreckage, his work far from done, but a spark of hope ignited.
He’d keep patching them up, no matter what. That’s what he did.