Chapter Thirty-Seven

We catch a break. The clouds overhead are thick and in the distance I can hear the rumble of thunder. The storm's coming, but we still have a little time. We'd carefully moved through the open fields that surround the compound, drifting from pocket of shadow to pocket of shadow. We're all equipped with night-vision goggles, which makes it easier to see where we're going – as well as see any potential threats in the darkness.

We finally reach Mike's man who's been positioned on a small hill overlooking the compound since the night before. He's camouflaged so well that I didn't see him until we walked up on him. He'd simply risen up from the ground like some zombie bursting up and through his grave.

“Sit rep,” Mike says as we kneel down next to him.

“They've been busy,” he says. “They're still setting up like they're planning on a party tonight. The girl is still locked in that outbuilding. But the security seems to have loosened a bit. From the chatter I've picked up, they think Galloway is in California still. They've also put in a call to somebody – obviously a friend – at the Bureau, asking to stall the team coming out to the compound. At least until tomorrow – though, Raymond said dismissing the case altogether would be the ideal situation.”

I check my watch and see that it's eight-forty-five. Almost go time.

“Loosened security is a good thing,” I say.

Mike nods. “Very good,” he replies.

“What's the plan, boss?” Manny asks.

“Simple,” Mike says. “Four in the front, two in the back. The three of us will hit the front with some explosive charges. Draw their attention and gunfire to the front gates. Eric and Manny, I want you both going through that gate in the south wall. It's closest to the outbuilding. While these assholes are busy with us at the front, you two sneak in the back, grab his girl, and get the hell out of there. Give me the signal when you're getting away so we can disengage and get the hell out ourselves.”

I exchange looks with the other men, suddenly feeling like I'm right back in the Shit. Except this time, I'm carrying a gun. And instead of patching people up, I'm going to be putting people down.

“Any questions?” Mike asks.

We all look at each other and then back at Mike, shaking our heads. Like he said, it's a simple plan.

“Okay then, ladies,” Mike says. “Let's go take our places. The curtain is about to go up. And you two in back – wait for my signal.”

“What's the signal?” I ask.

“You'll know it as soon as you see it.”

“Let's go, Galloway.”

I follow Manny's lead, and stepping in his footprints, follow him to the south wall of the compound. We hunker down in a bush, obscured by the inky gloom of the darkness around us.

“This is all for your girl, huh?” Manny asks.

I nod. “Yeah.”

“Mike told me you were part of a kick-ass unit over in the Shit. Says you saved his life. More than once,” he says.

“Yeah. I was the medic,” I reply.

He laughs softly and shakes his head. “You're not a fighter?”

“I went through basic,” I say. “Same as everybody else.”

“Hey, as long as you can point and shoot, and don't freeze up with the shit starts hitting the fan, it's all good,” he says. “And I doubt Mike would've let you tag along if he thought you'd be a liability out here in the field. No matter how much you paid him.”

“You don't need to worry about me.”

“I don't,” he replies. “If there's one thing that can turn any man into a warrior, it's love. Seeing your girl in danger is gonna make you ten times more fierce and deadly than any clown they got in there.”

I give him a nod. “Thanks for the vote of confidence.”

“Just experience talking, my friend.”

We fall silent and wait. It's so perfectly quiet out there that it's almost eerie. It almost feels like being in a vacuum. It's more than a little unsettling.

“What's the signal?” I ask.

“You'll know it when you see it, brother.”

As if on cue, a fireball lights up the nighttime sky and a split-second later, the thundering sound of the explosion echoes out across the landscape. In the immediate aftermath, I hear the chattering of gunfire and the sound of men screaming and yelling, trying to organize themselves.

“I guess that's the signal,” I say.

“That would be it.”

We rise from our spot in the shadows and head straight for the gate in front of us. We cross the hundred-yard distance in a flash and huddle around the gate. Manny pulls a small block of clay out of his belt and fastens it to the lock.

“Stand back,” he says.

I do as he says and he removes a small device from his pocket.

“Fire in the hole,” he says and pushes the button.

There's a small popping sound followed by a quick puff of smoke and the gate creaks open. He looks at me and smiles.

“Small shape charge,” he says. “Awesome shit.”

I grab the gate and hold it open as he brings his AR-15 to bear and hunkers down before stepping through the gate. I bring my own weapon up and quickly follow him through. The sound of the gun battle at the front of the compound sounds like it's intensifying. Mike is providing perfect cover for us.

The adrenaline is flowing freely through me and I can't help but feel – giddy. I don't know why, but the rush of charging into battle like this is a high unlike anything else. It strikes me as more than odd since I hadn't been all that big on fighting when I was in-country. But something about this fight feels righteous. It feels good. And that fuels me.

We head for the outbuilding, come around the corner, and find ourselves face-to-face with two of Raymond's people. They're both carrying AK's and look surprised as hell to see us. Manny and I both squeeze off a couple of quick shots, dropping them both before they can even bring their weapons up.

“Survivalists,” Manny chuckles. “What a bunch of poorly trained, inbred rednecks.”

We come around to the front of the outbuilding and I cover Manny while he puts another shape charge on the lock.

“Fire in the hole,” Manny says.

I hear the pop and smell the cordite in the air. Taking a quick glance behind me, I see him dropping the lock and opening the door. I turn back just in time to see three men coming our way – all armed with AK's.

“Incoming,” I say to Manny and start to squeeze off shots.

Manny drops to a knee beside me and brings his weapon up. He fires off a quick succession of shots and before I know it, all three of the cultists are on the ground dead.

“I think I got one of them,” I say weakly.

“Yeah, you keep thinking that,” he says with a grin on his face. “Now get in there and get your girl. I got your back out here.”

I turn and rush into the building, my heart swelling to the point of bursting when I come through the door. Calee is huddled in a corner with another girl. A small electric lantern provides the only illumination, but it's enough to show me the stark terror on her face. But when she sees me, her eyes grow wide and she leaps to her feet, rushing over to me.

I catch her and hold her tight to my body as she buries her face into my neck and sobs. Her entire body is trembling and the sound of her sobbing echoes around the room. She pulls back and looks up at me.

“I knew you'd come for me,” she says. “I just knew you'd come.”

I give her a small smile. “Of course I did,” I say. “I love you, Calee. And there was no way I was going to let you die. I was going to die trying to save you if it came to it.”

Her eyes grow so wide, I fear they might pop out of her head. “Y – you love me?”

“Very, very much so.”

She kisses me and pulls me into another embrace.

“Galloway,” Manny calls from the front of the building. “Incoming. Get your ass movin', man!”

Calee steps back and holds her hand out to the other girl. “Rachel, come on.”

The girl gets to her feet and crosses the room, taking Calee's hand.

“Stay behind me,” I say.

I move to the doorway and find Manny taking shots at a group of men coming our way. I recognize one of them as the big cowboy who'd chased us through Colorado.

“Stay inside,” I tell them.

Bounding out into the yard, I drop to a knee beside Manny and bring my weapon up. Immediately, I take aim at the big cowboy who's trying to shelter behind a couple of boxes. Unfortunately for him, he's just too big. My shot catches him in the head and he drops instantly.

“Damn, boy,” Manny said. “I didn't know medics were sharpshooters.”

I say nothing, not wanting him to know that I was aiming at his midsection.

“Dr. Galloway,” I hear a familiar voice call to me from across the yard.

A man steps out with his hands raised in the air and starts to approach us. I've never met him, but I know without a doubt that I'm looking at Raymond. He stops about twenty yards from us, a greasy smile on his face.

“I have to commend you,” he says. “You got us. We didn't see this coming.”

“You weren't supposed to.”

“Obviously,” he says. “Your men out there – they're incredibly good. Former military friends, I assume.”

“You assume correctly,” I snap. “Now get down on your knees or I'll drop you right there.”

He shrugs. “Your men killed all of my best fighters,” he says. “This battle is over.”

“Then what do you want?”

“I want what I've always wanted,” he says. “To see Calee dead.”

I feel her presence in the doorway behind me and know what's about to happen. I don't even have time to shout a warning to her before Raymond starts to move. His hand is a blur, dropping to the holster on his belt and drawing his gun. Another of his men steps out from behind a stack of boxes and opens fire. I hear the bullets chewing into the wood behind me and can only hope Calee was smart enough to get down.

I bring my weapon up just as Raymond begins to raise his arm. Everything seems to slow down as I squeeze the trigger. I see his body twitch and jerk as my bullets tear through his torso. But then I see the muzzle flash from his pistol and feel something hammer into my shoulder, hard enough to knock the wind out of me while driving me backward. I fall on my back and the pain that blooms within me is intense. I feel the warm liquid seeping across my skin and know it's my blood.

Darkness creeps in at the edges of my vision, but the sound of Calee screaming brings me back to the here and now. I try to get up, fearing the worst, and roar in pain – but then she's beside me. With her arm wrapped around me, she helps me into a sitting position, her face twisted with worry.

“You've been shot,” she says, though her voice sounds muffled. Distant.

Manny is beside me and I see him checking my wound. Grabbing some bandages from his pack, he quickly wraps the wound as best as he can and then flashes me a smile and shakes his head.

“You're gonna have one hell of a scar, my friend,” he says. “We'll tend to this better once we get out of here. And we do need to get out of here.”

“Raymond?”

“He's dead, Eric,” Calee says. “You killed him.”

In the distance, I hear the sound of sirens as well as the low chopping noise of a helicopter. Obviously, our little war hadn't gone unnoticed.

“Get up, brother,” Manny says, helping me to my feet. “We need to get back to the rally point ASAP.”

Leaning heavily on Manny, we run through the back gate and move quickly across the open field, using the cover of darkness to shield us. The pain is intense and my shoulder is throbbing. It's pure agony to move, but I have to keep going. We can't be found anywhere near the site of that gun battle. Having shot my mouth off to that Detective, I am relatively sure there are going to be enough questions for me to answer.

Which means I need to be as far away from here and get home as quickly as possible. I somehow need to create some plausible deniability. Not that I know how I'm going to do that.

But hey, if they can't prove I was here, they can't touch me – isn't that how it works? Isn't that how Raymond got away with abducting Calee in the first place?

Calee is holding on to Rachel's hand and they both look at me with gratitude on their faces. I do my best to give her a smile, but I'm sure it comes off looking like a grimace instead. The pain is excruciating, but at least I can tell it's likely not fatal. Judging by what I can feel, it's probably a through and through, it's not near any major organs, and it doesn't seem to have hit any major nerves, arteries, or anything like that. It's just going to need a quick patch job and some time to heal – which takes me back to my time in the Shit again.

“Thank you,” Calee says to me and then surprises me when she adds, “I love you too.”

Hearing those words come from her mouth makes the pain tolerable. It fills something inside of me and lifts me up. Even though I've been shot and I'm bleeding like the proverbial stuck pig, I couldn't possibly be happier. My heart swells and I can't keep the smile off my face.

As we run into the darkness, heading for the rally point and the plane that will ferry us home, I know that the final puzzle piece inside of me has been snapped into place and that well of darkness within me has finally subsided.