Tactical Strike (20 page)

His pager went off.

Grabbing it from his belt, he checked the message. Found a
nine-line. As he read it, his heart rate kicked up. Oh, hell, this wasn’t good.
“I gotta go.”

Her gaze sharpened on him. “You being called out?”

He turned away, clipping the pager back into place. “Looks
like.”

Maya followed. “Is it them? Ace’s crew?”

Could
be
. “Dunno.”

“Dammit, just tell me—” She grabbed his arm, hard, and twisted
around to confront him. “Do you think it’s them?”

“I just told you, I don’t know.” He carefully pulled free of
her grip, ignoring the warning leap of anger in her eyes.

“And even if you did, you wouldn’t tell me anyway,” she
retorted.

He shrugged, unsure what she expected him to say. She knew how
this worked. “If I hear something I’ll try to let you know, but right now I
can’t do anything more to help.”

For a moment it looked like she would argue, but then she
stepped back, swearing viciously under her breath in Spanish. At him, at the
whole situation. Jackson stopped abruptly and reined in the quick snap of
temper, telling himself it didn’t matter what she called him.

Except it did. He was sick of her throwing attitude his way,
this time calling him a horse’s ass in another language because she assumed he
didn’t have a clue what she was saying. While part of him wanted to blast her
for it right here and now, it wasn’t the time or place. She was an officer, and
she was understandably upset about her friend.

Surprised she got to him so easily, he took a deep breath and
searched for something to say that would diffuse the situation. “Look, if it’s
her, I’ll get word to you when I can. That’s the best I can do.”

She stopped muttering and met his eyes, her stiff posture
radiating an almost palpable frustration. The naked worry in her gaze pulled at
him but then she masked it and drew herself up to her full height, once again
giving that impression of total strength and control as she flicked a dismissive
wave at him. “Fine, thanks. But if you see her, tell her...” She inhaled deeply,
her lingering anxiety clear. “Tell her I...”

The glimpse of vulnerability beneath all that steel tugged at
his heartstrings because he already knew it was rare. Feeling helpless sucked.
He couldn’t leave without at least trying to reassure her. “If she’s out there,
we’ll find her. And one way or another, we’ll bring her back. I promise.”

It was like his words flipped some magic switch inside her. Her
irritated expression went blank for a moment. Then a startled, grateful smile
broke over her face, softening everything about her and erasing every trace of
his annoyance in an instant, as though she’d never tweaked his fuse. But it was
her quiet response that affected him the most.

“I know you will. Thanks.”

She meant it. The sincerity in her voice, her absolute
confidence in his ability as a Pararescueman, stirred him deep inside. That
unexpected smile held him rooted to the spot, unable to look away from what he
saw in her eyes. Something warm expanded deep in his chest. A little startled by
his reaction, he nodded once then stepped away, breaking the spell.

The image of her smile stayed in his head the rest of the way
across the base.

Chapter Fifteen

Almost an hour had passed since the ANA team
disappeared down the trail and out of sight. Ryan had caught glimpses of the
skeletal enemy force following them amongst the rocks, no more than a dozen or
so as far as he could tell. Diamond Dave and the others were still another
twenty to thirty minutes away, and Ryan was getting antsy. The distant shots had
grown sporadic and fainter, then petered out completely. He didn’t know if it
meant the firefight was over—because the ANA team had been wiped out—or whether
they’d just moved out of earshot.

He eyed the leaden gray sky and the thick, fast-moving clouds.
No more snow, and with the storm over, the enemy would be on the move. He’d try
to contact the Combined Air Operations Center again in a while, see if they
could get another gunship out here on station. Considering the intel he had,
Ryan knew the small group he’d seen was merely a fraction of what was possibly
waiting out there for them.

Sitting around wasn’t helping his cold tolerance, either.
Blowing on his hands, he rubbed them together and glanced over at Candace, who
was guarding the opposite side of the entrance to their rock shelter. She held
his sidearm at the ready, her gaze sweeping continuously over the terrain
despite the shivers that wracked her every few seconds. He wished he had
something to wrap around her, would have held her close to soothe her if they
didn’t need to stay so vigilant. “How you doing?”

Her head swung around, those dark eyes clear and alert as they
locked with his. “Okay. How much l-longer?” She changed position, shifting her
weight onto her other knee. He was glad to see her movements weren’t stiff or
uncoordinated. Her grip on the pistol looked solid.

God, when this was over he was going to find a way to steal
some alone time with her, baby her within an inch of her life. He still couldn’t
believe how well she’d held up through all of this. She continued to impress
him, and he didn’t impress easily. “The others’ll catch up soon and we’ll get
moving. Your head better?”

“Much. Like to get g-going, though.”

“Yeah.”
I’m
so
fucking
proud
of
you
. And he wanted to hold her so badly he ached
inside. He promised to find a way to make it up to her later somehow. For now he
was too on edge to relax his watchfulness. He had to get her back to base safely
and was still prepared to protect her with his life if need be. Sitting holed up
here in broad daylight made him feel way too vulnerable, and he knew she was
feeling the stress of constantly being on guard for danger. In another couple of
minutes he had to relieve Kawaleski from his watch.

He checked his pack radio again, pulling the spare batteries
from inside his clothing where he’d placed them against his skin to keep them
warm and prolong their life. Out here, especially since they were cut off from
everyone, a working radio could make the difference between life and death. “I’m
gonna try to get through and get us an evac again.”

With that he moved just outside the entrance of their little
shelter and tried the proper frequency one more time, praying someone could hear
him. “This is Jackal seven, requesting emergency medevac and resupply, over.”
He’d worry about the LZ location later. For now, all he cared about was getting
through to Bagram.

Thankfully, this time someone answered him, though the reply
was faint beneath the heavy static on the radio. “We copy, Jackal seven. What’s
your status, over.”

God, where the hell did he start? He gave a brief rundown of
the situation. “We’ve got multiple critically wounded and others from the air
crew needing to be treated for altitude sickness and exposure. Ground team’s
running low on supplies and batteries. Over.”

“Understood. Is Captain Bradford alive?”

The question startled him into silence for a split second
before he could form a reply. “Roger, that’s A-firm. She showed symptoms of HACE
earlier and we have evacuated her to a lower altitude. Her symptoms have
improved now and she seems mostly recovered. We’re waiting in position for
Jackal-actual and the remainder of the group. Be advised, the Spooky aircraft
commander was KIA, along with three of ours. CSAR will need to retrieve the KIA
from our previous position, over.”

“Copy. Stand by, Jackal seven.”

Yeah
,
easy
for
you
to
say
.
You’re
not
the
one
freezing
your
ass
off
with
the
enemy
swarming
somewhere
around
you
. He looked up when Candace edged around the
corner, her dark gaze fixed on him.

“Combat Search and Rescue has to retrieve Dover and the
others?”

He almost flinched at the pain in her eyes. “There weren’t
enough hands to carry them out and the wounded. The team had to leave them
behind for now, to get everyone else down the mountain as quickly as possible.
But you know we’ll bring them all home. No one gets left behind, I promise.”

Looking away, she nodded. “So, are they coming to get us?”

“Soon.” It was so damn hard to keep his distance.

His other radio crackled to life, followed by a sharp voice.
“Contact.”

That single, accented word made every muscle in his body tense.
“Go ahead.”

“Overwhelming enemy force ahead. We’re pinned down, taking fire
from three sides.” As he rattled off the coordinates of his position, the ANA
interpreter’s voice grew more frantic with each word, rising to a shrill pitch
that made Ryan’s hair stand on end. Hearing that kind of stress over the radio
told him just what kind of deep shit the team was in. An instant flood of
adrenaline kicked in.

Come
on
,
buddy
,
hold
it
together
, he urged the man silently. “Copy.
Requesting air support to your position now.”

The man broke into a litany of Pashto, none of which Ryan
understood. The panic, however, was loud and clear. “Falling back,” he finally
managed over the rattle of gunfire. “Send help immediately.”

“Roger that.” Immediately Ryan got back on the radio to Bagram,
requesting any and all air assets in the area for CAS. The response he got made
him grind his back teeth together.

“All aircraft on base were grounded during the storm. Crews are
readying for launch now. Will advise once airborne, over.”

Shit, they’d never get here in time to be of any use to the
Afghans. “What about bombers?”

“Vectoring a B-1 to that location now. ETA unknown.”

He relayed the information to the ANA interpreter but wasn’t
sure if it was received. No reply came back. Damn, he needed to get in there
now
.

Grabbing his ruck, Ryan hefted it onto his back, motioning for
Candace to follow him as he contacted Diamond Dave. “Change of plans. ANA boys
are in deep shit and requesting immediate CAS. They’ve run into the main body of
the enemy force and are trapped on three sides. I need to get close enough to
get eyes on scene and direct the fire. CAOC is vectoring in a B-1 and fast
movers now.”

“Copy that. Give me the RV coordinates.”

Ryan checked the coordinates on his GPS, relayed them and
waited for Diamond Dave to confirm. That done, he faced Candace and Kawaleski,
who watched him closely, awaiting instructions. Though he didn’t want to put
Candace in harm’s way again, he couldn’t spare leaving Kawaleski behind to guard
her. She’d have to come with them. “Let’s go,” he said at last. “Those boys
won’t last long without air support, so we gotta haul ass.” He pointed at
Candace, made his voice stern. “You can’t fall behind. You have to stay right on
my ass, understand me?”

Her chin lifted. She nodded once and scrambled after him,
Kawaleski right on her heels.

* * *

Candace wasn’t sure how her body was still holding out
at this point. The debilitating headache and dizziness were gone, but the sheer
fatigue was taking its toll. She followed Ryan as closely as she could. When she
slipped on a snow-slick rock, she caught herself just in time to keep from
falling down the mountainside. For a moment fear paralyzed her, sapping the
remaining strength from her muscles.

“Come on, Ace, move it!”

I’m
trying
! Panting, she found her footing and raced
after him on rubbery legs, her lungs and heart laboring under the strain. Ryan
was moving them to the right and slightly downhill, around the edge of the
mountainside. Kawaleski stayed right behind her, so close she could almost feel
him breathing down the back of her neck, but she couldn’t go any faster. If she
tried she’d either fall headlong down the hill or risk having her heart
explode.

Eventually they reached the bottom of an incline and began
climbing up a narrow but deep wadi, their feet leaving deep impressions in the
half foot of snow covering the ground. She understood Ryan’s urgency. They were
totally exposed out here, moving in broad daylight against a white backdrop. The
perfect target for a sniper or some asshole looking to get lucky with a rifle or
RPG.

Candace struggled to clamber up the last steep bit of the wadi.
Kawaleski helped shove her up the final few feet until she was able to drag
herself over the edge onto the lip. Up the trail a few yards, she ran smack into
Ryan. Stumbling back, she threw a hand out to catch herself and leaned over to
suck in shallow gasps of air. What was up? Why had he stopped?

Ryan was poised ahead of her, unmoving. Without looking back he
held up a closed fist to signal a halt. He dropped to one knee in a defensive
position and raised his rifle. She did the same, bringing her pistol up. That’s
when she heard it. An echo of distant gunfire, coming from somewhere below them.
More concentrated than before. Bursts, rather than individual rounds. Candace
crouched down lower behind him, waiting.

After a moment Ryan took out his binoculars to survey the
scene. She stayed frozen in place, fighting the restless urge to fidget as the
stress built.

“How’s our six?” Ryan asked Kawaleski quietly.

“Clear.”

“Well it’s a hell of a mess down
there
.”

From the sounds of the escalating firefight, it seemed like the
Afghans were completely outnumbered. Ryan remained completely composed, totally
in control. His continued strength awed her.

He got on the radio to someone, gave his call sign. “What’s the
status on those fast movers, over?” She didn’t quite make out the reply, but
whatever it was, judging by Ryan’s expression it wasn’t good news. He set that
radio down, picked up another when it squawked. This time she recognized the
A-Team leader’s voice.

“Six of us are in position,” the leader announced, sounding out
of breath. God, they must have sprinted down the freaking mountain to get there
so fast. “Have a visual on the ANA boys. Looks like two are wounded. They’re
falling back to the east, but there’s another group moving toward them from
above.”

Oh
,
damn
. How close was the enemy right now?

“I’ll advise them. Stand by.” He managed to get through to the
Afghans, and all she could hear from the other end of the radio were the shots
and the frantic response that they were retreating and needing
reinforcements.

Ryan looked over his shoulder at her. “We’re going to move to
link up with the others down there a little ways.” He pointed in a direction
down the hill and to their right. “I need to be on the radio, but I’d feel
better moving with another shooter. Can you handle this?” He lifted the sling of
his M4 over his head and offered it to her.

“Yes.” She grabbed it and secured the sling around her neck,
grateful for the weight of a decent weapon in her hands. Even she should be able
to do some damage with this if it came down to it. She hated to leave Ryan
unarmed though. “Want your sidearm back?”

“Later.” He looked behind her at Kawaleski. “Ready?”

The other man must have nodded because Ryan suddenly pivoted
and bolted from position. Candace pushed to her feet on a burst of raw
adrenaline and chased after him. With every step she felt more exposed, a
walking bull’s eye outlined against the snow.

They ran down the hillside at an angle for about ten minutes.
When they reached the others she hung back with Kawaleski to catch her breath,
while Ryan spoke with the ground team leader. “The others are fifteen minutes
behind us,” she heard the man say.

Crouching next to a large rock for cover, Candace carefully
peered over the edge. From this vantage point they had a view of the entire
valley below the low-hanging cloud deck. More shots echoed from somewhere below
them near or on the valley floor, but she couldn’t see the combatants. Though
the wind had died down and the snow had stopped falling, visibility was still
shitty out there. Ryan had to know the fast-mover pilots would have trouble
here. If he was going to clear some of the enemy off he’d have to rely on an
aircraft carrying GPS-guided munitions or wait for another gunship with advanced
avionics to arrive on station.

And God only knew how long that would take.

Voices from behind her made her swivel around, rifle up before
she realized the others had finally reached them. Bertoni appeared in the middle
of the group, carrying Gillespie on a stretcher with the help of one of the SF
soldiers. Smiling in relief, she rose and helped him settle their patient, who
was miraculously still holding on.

Bertoni went down on both knees with an exhausted groan, took a
long moment to gather himself before speaking. “You look good, Cap. We were
worried.”