CHAPTER 10
Sloan was a mass of emotions on the flight back to Port Sudan that afternoon. Thankfully, Dan gave her room to be with her thoughts, staying away from anything personal. She appreciated that he flew the coastline, the turquoise and marine blue colors of the Red Sea beautiful. He flew at about three-thousand feet so that she could get a good look at other reef areas. He pointed each one out, suggested where they might like to go next time, and shared stories with her of scuba diving in them.
They landed at the airport, taxiing the helo near the rented hangar. Sloan saw Malusi and Rauf emerge from the shadows within the building to meet them.
“We’re home,” Dan said, glancing at her as he removed the earphones and placed them on the cockpit console.
Home. Did he realize that word triggered an avalanche of buried dreams that Sloan had thought were dead? How many times had she dreamed of marrying him, settling down in a real home and having a life with him? All of that had been tucked deep within Sloan, never given a voice, or shared with him because Dan, at that time, did not want to be tied down in any kind of emotional relationship with a woman. Looking back, she wondered why she’d agreed to his rules. Her answer was that the attraction to Dan was so overwhelming back then that she felt she could deal with it just to be around him. Dan had upset her entire world. Again. She wasn’t angry. But she was afraid of any kind of future with him. Sloan sensed there was a lot more to his mother’s influence on him as a child that she didn’t know about. Grimly, she decided that was where she needed to start with him. The more she could understand that dynamic, the more it would help her see the patterns in his life.
Her Glock pistol was in her knapsack. She took it out before leaving the helicopter and tucked it into the back of her waistband, beneath the white T-shirt she wore. Dan gave her a sharpened look but said nothing. He took her job seriously. Sloan went first off the ramp and onto the tarmac, the westerly sun bright. She quickly perused the area, noting the few places a terrorist could hide, and scoping them out carefully. There was a white Toyota truck parked near the barn that housed the tires for the large helicopters, but no one was around it. Dan followed her. He wasn’t an operator like her in some respects. He flew in the sky. She had been a ground pounder, and her experience made her alert.
Ahead, she could see Samiah in the office, working, the door closed to keep the cool air within it. Behind her, she heard the two flight mechanics bringing the creaking ramp up on the Chinook. Dan remained behind and to her left. She was right-handed, and if she had to use her firearm, he wanted to stay out of the line of fire. Walking through the empty hangar, she noticed that the loose, flapping aluminum panels were repaired. A carpenter crew had been hired to fix those this morning, and it looked like they’d done a good job.
Malusi brought the engine cart and attached the front wheel of the Chinook to it. Rauf stood back, giving him directions on where to drive and place the helo back into the hangar. Sloan watched the two men work. They were hard workers, responsible, and took pride in what they did as mechanics. They worked quickly and in no time, had the chocks around each of the tires.
“I’m going to the office,” Dan called, pointing in that direction.
“Go ahead,” she said, turning and looking around.
Sloan moved her fingers over each of the repaired panels, finding them solid. Now, no one could sneak into the building unless they used a crowbar to pop out the screws holding those panels in place. It was possible to do that, but Sloan recognized it for what it was. She turned slowly, looking for any other potential weaknesses in the hangar. There were so many. This was not a place that would ever be truly secure. That meant her focus had to be on the helo, too. She walked out from beneath the shadows of the hangar, focused on the slow-moving traffic—mostly white trucks—driving here and there around the facility.
As Sloan re-entered the hangar, she saw Dan give her a wave, motioning for her to join him in the office. Sloan gave Samiah a smile of hello as she entered. The young woman’s eyes grew radiant with welcome. Dan was perched on the corner of her desk, several papers in hand.
“What’s up?” she asked, halting a few feet away from him.
“This is the complete list of medical volunteers coming in next Monday. We’ll be taking them to a village about a hundred miles south of Port Sudan.” He handed her a set of the papers.
Sloan rapidly went through the names, their medical skills, and the cargo coming with them for such a journey. Looking up, she said, “I want Samiah to send Wyatt this list of names. I’d like him to run a background check on every one of them.”
Dan raised his brows. “We’ve never done that before.”
Sloan shrugged. “You’ve never been targeted by a terrorist before now. Who’s to say that someone in that group isn’t a wolf in sheep’s clothing? Terrorist groups today are always recruiting bystanders to do their bidding. What if this person unknowingly packs something into their luggage or in the medical cargo we’ll be flying out to that village? We need to know the players from now on, Dan.” He scowled and seemed unhappy about her request. Sloan figured he had a pretty loose management style and that Samiah was really the person in charge of making things happen.
“Okay,” he said, frowning, “you’re right.”
“I also want all the information in this report sent to Wyatt. He needs the whole picture. He might pick up on something we haven’t. We need eyes on all personnel and their equipment from now on before we initiate such a charity flight.”
He grinned a little. “You’re a tough gal when you want to be.”
“My Special Forces A-team facet is coming out,” she assured him, giving him a faint smile. Sloan took the papers to Samiah, explaining what she wanted to be done. Samiah eagerly nodded and assured her she’d get it out today.
Sloan caught movement from the corner of her eye. She saw a short, wiry man in a tan mechanic suit, walk into the hangar with an AK-47 in his hand.
“Down!” Sloan yelled, pushing past Dan, jamming her hand into his shoulder, knocking him sideways. As she did that, she yanked the Glock from her waistband.
The man raised the AK-47 right at them.
Sloan snarled a curse, crouching, both hands on the Glock, firing it through the plate glass of the door. The boom of the pistol sounded like thunder crashing through the entire hangar. Glass exploded outward, a silvery shower.
The man fired directly at them.
Dan hit the concrete floor, rolled, and grabbed Samiah, who sat frozen in fear, yanking her down beside him. Sloan kicked open the door with her boot as he sprang to his feet. He reached for the drawer where he kept his Glock, grabbing the firearm from inside.
*
Fahd Ansari pulled the trigger on the AK-47. The selector was on automatic, and he sprayed a veil of bullets at the woman advancing upon him, her hand steady on the Glock. The first of her bullets hit his thigh. He screamed, the arc of the AK-47 going skyward, still firing. He hit the deck hard, with an oomph, rolled over, and aimed at her again. This time, he hit her, and he hit the man running toward him with a pistol. They both went down.
The woman fell and rolled. She came back up on her stomach, firing at him. Ansari felt a red-hot sensation in his gut. He staggered. The third bullet hit him in the neck, and he crumpled, his finger loosening from the trigger.
*
Sloan bit back a moan, bleeding from a left calf wound. She pushed to her feet, weaving, holding the Glock steady. She heard the mechanics crying out for help but kept her focus on the bastard who was trying to kill all of them. As she drew up on the man, she recognized him instantly. It was Fahd Ansari. He remained unmoving as she kicked the AK-47 away from him. His eyes were wide and staring. Breathing harshly, trying to ignore her pain, Sloan limped forward and placed two shaky fingers against the carotid artery of Ansari’s neck. There was no pulse. He was dead.
Staggering a little, feeling dizzy, Sloan turned. What she saw made her cry out. Dan lay unmoving on the concrete floor. Samiah had flown out of the office and was kneeling by him, screaming his name.
Trying to think through the haze, Sloan turned, checking both the front and back hangar doors to make sure Ansari didn’t have friends. Malusi ran over to her.
“Malusi,” she rasped, tucking the gun into her waistband, “call for an ambulance. Call airport security. Hurry.”
Sloan’s mind was clear as she limped heavily toward Dan and a weeping Samiah. She saw a pool of blood quickly growing beneath his body. Where was he hit? How bad?
“Samiah!” she said sharply, “get me towels from the bathroom! Hurry!”
Her face wet with tears, she quickly leaped to her feet and ran across the hangar toward the restroom.
No…no…don’t you die on me! Sloan saw an exit wound through Dan’s back near his left kidney. Her heart thudded in her chest as she carefully turned him over. The bloom of red blood covered his torso. Jerking open the shirt, buttons flying, Sloan saw the entrance wound. The round had hit his kidney; there was no doubt.
Samiah raced back, sobbing, holding the towels out to her.
Quickly, Sloan placed one beneath him and the second one on top of the bullet wound. She vaguely heard an ambulance screaming in the background. How close was the nearest hospital? Was there a surgeon there that could operate on Dan and save his life? Her heart shredded as she worked to stabilize him and lower the shock she knew he was in. His eyes were closed, and he was unconscious. Damn him! He should have remained down on the floor in the office! And yet, he’d grabbed his pistol and was running up to defend her. Sloan groaned inwardly.
“Dan? Stay with me. Do you hear me? Stay with me,” she whispered near his ear. “Don’t you dare leave me! Fight, dammit. You aren’t leaving me now!” She felt tears spilling down her taut cheeks.
It seemed like hours before they got Dan into an ambulance, two paramedics working with her. The ambulance careened down the airport road, siren blaring, racing past cars on its way to the University Medical Center in downtown Port Sudan. Sloan demanded in Arabic that an IV be put into Dan’s arm, and they agreed, quickly following her order. With shaky hands, she wrapped the blood pressure cuff around his arm. The reading she got made her go cold with fear. She loved him. She didn’t want this to happen. She wanted to have time with Dan. Time to see if he could make the changes she needed to trust him once again.
Angrily, Sloan swiped at her eyes, getting rid of the tears. The other paramedic was tending her leg wound. She’d lost blood but wasn’t sure how much. She sat on the bench, her gaze riveted to Dan’s pale features.
*
Back in Alexandria, Virginia, Tal listened intently in one of the mission planning rooms to Sloan describe the attack on the Delos Charity office in the Port Sudan airport hangar. She sat with Wyatt, her younger brother, Matt, and Cav Jordan. Two hours ago, Sloan had called from the hospital, telling them that Dan was in surgery. He’d been shot, and his left kidney was destroyed. She had left him as soon as he went into the operating room to talk with the police. She’d just arrived back at the hospital, and Dan was still in surgery. Tal could hear the exhaustion, the slurring of words in Sloan’s weary voice.
“What do you want to do, Tal?”
“We sent one of our jets to you two hours ago when we heard what happened. We have a security team on board to assist and protect both of you. We also have a medical team on board. Until it arrives, stay with Dan at the hospital. Once you’re on board the aircraft, the security team will remain behind. We have a new helicopter pilot to replace Dan. We have no idea if Ansari had a team there, or if he was acting alone.”
“That’s what I was wondering,” Sloan said. “I’m not leaving the hospital again. I’ll be with Dan at all times after he gets out of surgery.”
Wyatt spoke up. “I doubt Ansari had an accomplice, Sloan. Sudan doesn’t like Al-Qaeda or terrorists in general, so he probably came in alone. But do keep watch?”
“I’ve got two policemen here with me, and they’re armed. I’ve told them what happened and they’re here to help all of us.”
“That’s good,” Tal said, a little relief in her voice.
“Sloan, you’re a combat corpsman,” Wyatt said. “How serious is Dan’s wound?”
Tears burned in her eyes, her voice a wobble. “He could die from it. I don’t know the extent of his internal injuries, Wyatt. At the very least, he’ll lose his kidney. A person can live with one kidney, no problem. But it’s the collateral damage around that organ that could complicate things. I just don’t know and neither will the surgeon until he opens Dan up to look at the extent of this.”
“Well,” Wyatt said, “we’ve got a surgeon and nurse on board that plane coming your way. He’s going to get the best medical help possible.”
“Then you’re taking him to a hospital near you?”
“Yes, we’re getting things underway for Dan when he lands at Joint Base Andrews outside of D.C.,” Tal said. “We have a special ambulance waiting to take him over there. He’ll remain there until the surgeon and his primary care doctor, give the okay to move him.”
“Move him where?” Sloan said, wiping her face wearily. “He’s going to need around-the-clock care the first four weeks, minimum, Tal. He can’t be left alone at his condo.”
“We’ll figure something out,” Wyatt said.
“We’ll handle that,” Tal promised. “We’re all praying for him here at Artemis. And you need to get your own wound taken care of.”
Grimacing, Sloan said, “I will. It’s a through-and-through on my calf. It missed the major artery, so I’ll get it taken care of here at the hospital.”
“Are you ambulatory?” Wyatt asked.
“Completely. I limp, but I’m on my feet.” She heard Wyatt chuckle.
“Spoken like a true operator,” he drawled.
That drew a pained half-smile out of Sloan. “Yeah. As long as we can walk, that’s all that counts. Listen, I have to go. I’ll be in touch about Dan and his condition as soon as I hear something.”
“You take care of yourself too,” Tal said, her voice thick with emotion. “We’re here for you, Sloan. Be alert. Don’t take chances. We want you and Dan back here with us, ASAP. Help is on its way.”
*
Distraught, fighting back a sob that wanted to wrench out of her tightened throat, Sloan went to the surgery floor where Dan was being cared for. There was nothing else she could do but wait—and pray. There were two policemen on the floor, standing next to the operating theater where Dan and the surgery team were located. Sloan let them know she was nearby in the visitor’s lounge. Once the doctors had hopefully repaired him, they would come and talk with her.
She sat down on the squeaky plastic sofa and buried her face in her hands. It was impossible to separate protecting Dan and loving him. She was so afraid she would lose him. Why did he come out of that office? She knew the answer. He was an ex-Night Stalker pilot, an operator just like her. Dan would never allow her to fight a battle if he could be armed and fighting alongside her. He’d wanted to protect her.
Her lower lip quivered, hot tears streaming down her cheeks. It felt like her heart was being ripped apart, the pain so real. Her mind was in turmoil, but she kept seeing the wonderful day they’d spent scuba diving. The joy of being with Dan in those clear waters made her heart explode with happiness and hope once more. Sloan knew Dan loved her even if he wasn’t in touch with it yet. He’d had so much happen to him as a child; he just didn’t get what love was about. But he could learn.
I want a second chance. I need that chance with Dan. Please…God…give me that opportunity. Don’t let Dan die. I love him…I’ve never stopped loving him. Give us one more chance together…please…
She was sure the two policemen heard her weeping, but she didn’t care. If only Dan would survive. How badly Sloan wanted to kiss him again, touch him, smile and laugh with him. She knew that people often changed after being shot and almost dying. It changed them forever. There was no guarantee that Dan would still love her. He might see their relationship entirely different after this. Sloan felt unsettled about their future if he survived.
It hurt to think in that direction. Dan had already walked away from her once when things became high pressure and dicey. He could do it again.
But regardless of the outcome, Sloan would be there to support, love and help him recover from this life-changing event. She expected no love in return. He was the biggest risk in her life, but she didn’t care—even if Dan didn’t love her—even if he walked away one last time. She was throwing her heart into this fight.