Chapter Twenty-Six
Rylee
Tuesday
.
“Dakota, are you with Bravo?” Rylee asked over the phone. She was in military mode. All the emotions that wanted to spark were set aside. She’d deal with them later. Right now, she was riding on intuition and the sense of danger that rippled the air.
“Affirmative.”
“Is Ares available for me to go on speaker phone and give some information?”
“Yeah, give me … Yes … Yo, Ares,” she heard Dakota shout.
“Ares here.”
“Dakota here.”
“Rylee here. I need to let you know a couple of logistical details that might have a bearing on your mission. First, the Egyptian medical team is at the Mediterranean port. They are approximating their arrival to be tomorrow morning. Second, the last tremor triggered a rockslide to our west, blocking the train tracks. They have a work crew clearing it. But most of the equipment they would need is already in service. The supplies that WorldCares was bringing in to support the village are on the train on the other side of the slide. That includes our heavy equipment. Ares, Hailey was coordinating with my team to bring in anything that you requested. I’m not sure if you were depending on that equipment to get your people out.
I have no ETA. Push comes to shove, we might be able to arrange for an overland expedition to pick up specific items, but it would be a difficult expedition. ”
“Thank you,” Ares said.
“Uhm.” Rylee scraped her teeth over her lips to stop their buzzing, nerves, not MS.
“Go on, Rylee,” Dakota said.
“When we arrived, I told you all about the Syrian group that is in dire straits when their compound collapsed on the other side of the border. I offered them support from that supply.”
“Listening,” Ares said.
“I told them to come back on Tuesday afternoon. I’m expecting them soon.
On my team, George is aware. He’s sending one of the crew that needs a scheduled rest back to the tent, and I’m going to the tower to watch for their approach.
I’m the only one from WorldCares who speaks enough Arabic to effectively communicate.
But I have nothing to offer them, even less than I had when we got here. Our supplies are very low.”
“You’re concerned,” Ares said.
“I am. They were armed with semi-automatic rifles. I’m not suggesting anything other than that they are trying to survive.
And survival often means doing what’s necessary.
As you know, we are not armed. My understanding is that you are not armed either.
I thought you should be aware so that contingency plans could go into place.
For us, all we can do is press on with our rescues. ”
“You’re heading to the tower now?” Ares said.
“I am.”
“Keep me in the loop,” Ares said.
“Wilco,” Rylee said, clamping down on her training. She could sweat all she wanted, but she’d still do her duty.
“Ares out.”
“Rylee, are you able to walk?” Dakota asked.
“Yes. Much better. Tingling, no numbness. I’m good.”
“Here’s the plan. I want you to make the tower your spot for now. If you’re okay with it, I’m going to leave Tank with you. That way, I can focus on getting the last of the students out. We’re close. We have one more section to dig through. Are you down with that?”
“Of course.”
“Tank and I are coming to you there. Quickly gather food and water for two or three days, a first-aid kit, our sleeping bags, and your backpack. If you’re sentry, you need to be in the eagle’s nest.”
“Two or three days? For you, right? My logistics team is arranging transportation. I have a flight to London tomorrow.”
“It’s the basics that I always have with me. You’ll be on your flight tomorrow if you’re not on the Iniquus flight tonight.”
“What’s my time frame?” she asked, glad to have a task and a destination. Sitting in the damned tent, unable to see anything, cut off from being of service, had been miserable.
“I’m ten minutes out,” Dakota said.
The gathering was seamless. She had everything neat and organized because, honestly, what else did she have to do with her time? Rylee figured Tank’s crate would be important, and that had taken a minute to collapse.
Dakota called out. “It’s me,” and Tank offered up a bark, so Rylee knew he was there, too. The zipper scratched as it slid up the flap. And there he was, Dakota in full combat mode, latent strength, fierce concentration. He must feel it in the wind the way she did.
Rylee pointed at her pile of their things.
Dakota handed Tank’s lead and their pillows to her. “Food and water?” he asked as he slung the bags over his shoulders.
“Seventy-two hours of MREs, water pouches for hydration, baby wipes for sanitation.”
“Good.” He bent and pressed a kiss onto her lips. It was the kind of kiss that assured her that she wasn’t alone. That they were a team. “Let’s roll.” After moving through the tent flap, Dakota put Tank’s crate on his head and heaved the duffle onto his free shoulder.
“What’s in your backpack?” Dakota asked as they hustled away fast enough to make time, but not so fast that they’d stir fear amongst the refugees.
“An e-reader, a solar power bank with a backup crank. A shit ton of cash. A flask of rum and four diet colas.”
“Good planning.”
“Did you find McLeod?”
“No, but I did find his backpack. Guess what he’s got hidden between the leaves of his journal.”
“It was him, then. Well done, Secret Service.”
“Group effort,” Dakota said, his head on a swivel.
“But you can’t find him?”
“Iniquus has him on their roster. They’ll do a thorough search job. If he were in his guest house, though, that last tremor collapsed it.”
“Shit.”
“You okay?” Dakota asked. “Hanging in? Is this too fast?”
“Why do I feel like I should be running?”
“There’s a lot of fear and desperation riding the air,” Dakota said.
“Anyone in a desperate situation with firearms is a risk factor. It makes sense that our warning systems are pinging. Not just us. After Ares got off the phone with you, Bravo heard the news and went into turbo mode. They weren’t exactly lollygagging before. So it’s a significant push.”
“How should I handle this? I think you being there puffed up like GI Joe would be a mistake.”
“You might be right about that. We don’t need any mano a mano shit, and my Arabic isn’t great.
I speak Pashto and Dari.” They’d made it to the hangar.
Quebec had done a good job of setting up a clean, efficient space to provide care for the injured until Egypt could get there.
Villagers were staffing it, and apart from the sounds of human distress, it was as good as one could hope for under the circumstances.
Dakota walked through the door, peeked into the shower room, the toilets, then stood and listened at the stairs. “Rylee, release Tank. Tank, forward,”
Tank clattered up the stairs.
“As soon as Bravo has their count, they can take off and get their people out. I think that’s their plan. When they go, you go. You have a date in London.”
“You?” she said.
“I’m going to work with Bravo. So for right now, we need you to be our oversight. If there were a satellite, Iniquus would have it up and be advising. That is not what was happening when I came back to the camp.”
“I looked earlier, we’re in the wrong location right now, it’s north of us. Time should change that and another satellite will come in line.”
At the top of the stairs, Dakota dropped the bags and nodded at the man sitting by the radio.
The controller looked from Dakota to Rylee to Tank to the bags.
In Arabic, Rylee said, “The train isn’t able to get through today.”
The controller’s face hardened.
“Are you expecting a plane?” she asked.
“No.”
“Perhaps you’d like to go home?” she asked. “I can manage here.”
Again, he looked from her to Tank to Dakota, then nodded and hustled down the stairs.
“You have money, Rylee.”
She patted the strap of her backpack.
“Leave the pack here, put a strap of money in your hoodie pocket. Take Tank with you if you go and talk to their leader. Trust Tank, he’ll do the right thing.
Okay? So if the men come, you apologize.
You explain. You tell them the new timetable.
You give them the money and say that perhaps this would help them find resources already in the area.
That’s the only thing of value that you have right now. ”
“I agree that’s a good plan. And you’re going to go and help get the students. Then, our duties here will be complete.”
“What did George say?” Dakota asked. “What does Quebec want to do?”
“He said this is nothing new. They’ll just keep at their job. It was a village of thirteen hundred, so it’s a monumental job for a team of fifteen. But the villagers have been exceptional.”
“Agreed.” He pressed a kiss into her forehead and held it there. “I am so damned impressed by every damned facet of you. I’m the luckiest guy in the world to have met you.”
She laughed, and the stress eased.
She had this.
She did. She had it.
“It’s hard to hear him walk away, Tank. For now, it’s just you and me all alone in the tower. Shall we take a look to see what we can see?” She picked up the binoculars, and there it was, the cloud of dust coming over the horizon.
She picked up her phone to tell Dakota, “Company’s coming.”