Lean on Me (2 page)

“
The Secret Service and US
Army have this covered. They don’t need a cartographer and won’t
need a hostage specialist. Thank you for calling.”

In response, she had arranged for a week’s
leave for the team in places within a days travel of Afghanistan.
She and her family had selected Corfu. Other team members spent
time in Greece, Italy or other parts of Europe. When the President
was being moved toward Paktika Province, they flew to FOB Sharana.
She again offered her assistance and was again told, “Thanks but no
thanks. Leave this to the boys.”

If nothing happened and the President
arrived safely, the team would spend their time familiarizing
themselves with the most dangerous region of Afghanistan. They’d
brought plenty of vaccine drops to immunize kids. They also had
enough rice and lentils to pave the way for friendly conversations.
If something happened, they were close enough to help.

Something happened.

“
Here’s your feed,” Raz
said. “But I have to tell you, it’s slow. I guess everyone’s
watching.”

Alex and Raz looked at the computer
screen.

“
Do you see what I see?”
Alex asked. “I thought I saw it before the drone went
down.”

“
I see the President and
his detail pinned down at the bottom of this canyon by at least
four shooters scattered on mountain tops on both sides of the
canyon,” Raz said. “The shooters seem to be in some kind of rock
blind. They can’t see the shooters from the canyon
floor.”

“
Matthew? Joseph?” Alex
passed the computer to her seconds in command. “What do you
see?”

“
Same thing,” Joseph
said.

Alex passed the computer around.

“
Does anyone see anything
else?” Alex asked.

“
What is the Lieutenant
Colonel’s concern?” Matthew asked.

“
Let’s just see if anyone
else sees what I think I’m seeing,” Alex said.

Person after person peered at the computer
until the laptop ended up on Troy’s lap. He glanced at the screen
and looked at Alex.

“
I see what Raz sees,” Troy
said. “And… They aren’t shooting at the convoy. Look, this
guy…”

Troy pointed to a man standing outside the
convoy. He raised a long range rifle and fired a few shots.

“
I could get him, easy,”
Troy said. “He’s not even wearing a helmet. Easy kill shot through
the eyes.”

Troy passed the computer to Alex’s younger
brother, Homeland Security Agent and medic Agent Colin
Hargreaves.

“
The shooters in the blind
aren’t even trying,” Colin said. He passed the laptop to US Marine
Sergeant Margaret Peaches and pointed to the man.

“
Hell, I think even Scully
could make that shot,” Margaret laughed.

Her partner, US Marine and medic Sergeant
Michael “MJ” Scully Jr., peered into the computer.

“
You know, I think I
could,” he laughed.

“
Hey, check this,” Petty
Officer Leena Carmichael said. “They’re shooting the
dirt.”

“
Let me see that,” Raz held
his hands out and Leena passed the laptop across the aisle to him.
“Now that you say it…”

“
People only see what they
expect to see,” Alex repeated one of her father, General turned
Senator Patrick Hargreaves’ sayings. “The trick is to
see…”

“
What’s actually there,”
her team responded.

“
Exactly,” she smiled. “Can
we pull back to see if the guys in the blinds
could
hit the convoy?”

Raz tapped a few buttons on the computer and
they waited. Their view slowly widened. Troy crossed over to look
at the computer.

“
That guy could hit them,”
Troy said. “Who
are
those guys? They’re lucky they aren’t dead.”

“
Trece? White Boy? Do you
know any of these guys?” Alex asked.

Part of a Black Ops team that provided
security and solved problems, Trece and White Boy had more access
to a variety of soldiers and soldiers for hire. The laptop was
passed along to them.

“
The Afghans?” Trece
said.

“
The people guarding the
convoy,” Alex said.

“
They look like private
soldiers, contractors,” White Boy said. “We’ve run into that guy.
Didn’t you go to training with him, Mattie?”

The laptop moved to Matthew. He peered at
the computer.

“
Hank Zutterberg,” Matthew
said. “Remember him Alex?”

“
I remember him,” Alex
curled her lip. “I wonder if they could shoot him…”

“
Zutterberg knows better
than to go out of cover like that,” Troy said.

“
What the hell’s going on?”
Vince said.

“
What exactly,” Alex said.
“Here’s what we’re going to do. We’re going to drop in just behind
these blinds. The shooters are so far forward that they won’t see
us. We’re going to have a chat with the men in the blinds. Matthew,
we need four teams. Joseph, determine what we need to bring. I’ll
tell Zack.”

Alex unhooked herself from her headset and
her seat. She walked up the small hallway to just behind the
cockpit. Zack had been a constant in her life through Catholic
school, as a pilot for the Fey Special Forces Team, and now as the
pilot for her Fey team. He clicked on the speaker when she
approached.

“
How’s it going, Lieutenant
Colonel?” Zack asked.

Alex pointed overhead and he nodded. He was
connected to the Air Force feed.

“
What’s our ETA?” Alex
asked.

“
Fifteen minutes,” Zack
gestured for her to return to the compartment.

“
We’ve decided to go where
you suggested,” Alex said.

“
That’s smart,” Zack said.
“Parachute?”

“
Map?” Alex
nodded.

Zack’s navigator turned around and took the
map Alex handed him. They spoke quietly for a moment and he nodded.
He put the coordinates into the GPS system and shook his head. Alex
pointed to the redrawn area which showed some of the changes in the
region. He glanced at Zack and nodded. Alex smiled her thanks and
returned to the compartment.

“
What did Zack say?” Raz
asked.

“
He couldn’t,” Alex said.
“Too many people on the line. We’re now at the center of a lot of
attention.”

“
I don’t like it,” Joseph
said.

“
I don’t like it either,”
Alex said. “But it’s not like we can’t go. The President of the
United States is down there!”

“
Nearing target,” Zack’s
co-pilot, US Air Force Clifford Mauer said over the
intercom.

“
They’re going to drop half
the team near an opening in the ridge,” Alex said. “They’ll fly
around to the other side and drop the rest. If we see anything
coming, we’ll see it there.”

“
Anything coming?” Raz
asked.

“
They could be waiting for
someone or something,” Joseph said.

“
We are all going,” Matthew
instructed the team. “No one stays behind. You’ll jump with your
partner. You may be asked to split up on the ground. We will have
the flexibility to respond to whatever happens. We’re being
monitored, so we’ll keep radio silence unless necessary. Defensive
force only. Why?”

“
We’re the Fey team,” the
team called.

“
Exactly,” Matthew said.
“We should be able to communicate with each other via our old style
walkie-talkies. Test yours before you’re in the air. Zack and Cliff
will act as our connection to base via our feed.”

“
Get ready,” Joseph said.
“Check your partner.”

In quick, practiced motions, they strapped
into parachutes. Each partner checked the other for body armor,
loaded weapons, and parachutes.

They wore thick black
parkas with “FEY” stenciled on the back in white. Under “FEY” was
the Vivaldi “F” that served as the “Fey” team mark and
“
جنية
”
(Jinniyah) Arabic for fairy. Their last names and service were
printed in white on the left front with another “FEY” on the right
front. The jackets were designed by Helene’s fashion designer
mother, Claire Martins. They had gorgeous details and were tailored
to fit each of them.

Under their black helmets,
they each wore individualized scarves of white and a color by which
they could be identified in the field. Alex’s color matched the
bright blue of the blue fairy tattoo under her left bicep. Their
eyes were shielded by dark Ray-Ban sunglasses.
Alex gave them each a Snickers bar as a gift from her boss,
Captain Gordon, to ensure a successful mission. He’d sent a case
with them for good luck.

Zack slipped the helicopter behind the
mountains.

“
Sir?” Alex’s assistant,
Sergeant Dusty appeared on her laptop. “You’re expecting a priority
phone call.”

“
I’m about to jump,” Alex
said.

“
Remember we practiced with
the wireless headset?” Sergeant Dusty asked. “The satellite phone
and wireless headset are in the middle pocket of your
backpack.”

Alex dug around in her backpack until she
found them. She stuck the phone in her back pocket and the wireless
headset in her ear.

“
Got it,” Alex
said.

“
Let’s test it,” Sergeant
Dusty said.

“
Go!” Joseph
yelled.

Alex looked up to see MJ, followed by
Margaret, jump from the helicopter. The wireless headset rang and
she tried to switch it on but she hit her helmet.

“
Answer, sir,” Sergeant
Dusty said. “Remember we set it up so you could say…”

“
Answer,” Alex said and the
phone clicked through.

“
Good job,” Sergeant Dusty
said into her ear.

“
Go!” Joseph yelled. Trece
and White Boy jumped from the helicopter.

“
Got to go,” Alex
said.

“
Yes, go save the
President,” Sergeant Dusty laughed and clicked off.

“
Go!” Joseph
yelled.

Raz jumped from the helicopter and Alex
followed. Raz had learned to jump from a helicopter in the last six
months. She followed closely to make sure he didn’t get caught up
in the helicopters draft. He jumped like a pro. They heard the Pave
Hawk take off toward the other side of the ridge.

Alex’s wireless headset rang.

“
Answer,” Alex
said.

“
Alex!” Helene’s voice came
through the phone’s wireless headset. “I’ve been trying you all
day!”

“
Hey, I’m in the air,” Alex
said. “Can I call you back?”

“
Where are you flying
to?”

“
I’m parachuting into
Pakistan,” Alex said.

“
Oh.” Helene’s voice
lowered with embarrassment. “Sorry.”

“
It’s okay, honey,” Alex
said.

“
You told me to call if I
didn’t hear from him.” Hurrying, Helene’s voice came in a flurry of
Parisian French. “He hasn’t called. Alex, that’s just weird. He
always calls me. He hasn’t missed a call in almost two years. He
was going to go out for a week and… now nothing. You told me to
tell you.”

“
Thanks. I’ll see if I can
find him,” Alex smiled at Helene’s worry for Alex’s ex-intern,
Helene’s boyfriend Sergeant Larry Flagg. “I’ll call
tonight.”

“
Au
revoir
,” Helene clicked off the
phone.

Shaking her head at Helene, Alex pulled her
chute and began a slow, controlled decent to the ridge in Pakistan.
Her phone rang just as she landed. She grabbed her parachute and
answered.

“
Hargreaves!” Colonel
Gordon’s voice came over her wireless headset.

“
Sir?” Alex
asked.

“
What the hell is going
on?” His voice was artificially gruff. He had an audience
too.

“
I just touched down in
Pakistan,” Alex said.

“
You’ve invaded Pakistan?”
he asked.

“
As you know, we have
approval to cross any border in the course of our duty,” Alex said.
“We are not required to give notification. We are only required to
wear gear that identifies us as the Fey Team.”

“
And what exactly are you
doing?”

“
We are following the
course of our duty,” Alex said. “A US convoy is being detained in
Paktika Province. Rather than wait a month or so to free the
hostages, we were in the area and thought we’d intervene
early.”

“
So noted,” he said. “And
you’re looking for the missing US Army PFC?”

Raz signaled Alex to let her know that the
other teams had jumped on the other side of the canyon in
Afghanistan.

“
Working on that, sir,”
Alex said. “As you know, he was picked up here but is no longer in
Paktika Province.”

“
So noted,” he said. “Get
to work.”

Raz nodded. The other half of the team had
landed in Afghanistan.

“
Let’s go!” Alex
yelled.

MJ, Margaret, and White Boy took off toward
the back of the southern ridge. She, Raz, and Trece took the trail
toward the northern ridge. They jogged up the hill until they were
close enough for the shooter to see them. They crouched and then
belly crawled the rest of the way to a small stone wall surrounding
the blind at the top of the mountain.