The Shift: Book II of the Wildfire Saga (47 page)

Soon
, Admiral Bennet had said.
 
They were working something up to hit the NKors in California.
 
He’d promised Cooper a shot at payback.

Soon isn’t fast enough.
 
It needs to be now.

Footsteps echoed down the spartan hallway behind him.
 
He knew who was coming by the sound of their boots on the commercial-grade tile flooring.
 
He knew what he would have to say.
 

"How's he doing?" asked Charlie as he stepped up next to his CO.
 

Cooper grunted.

"That good?
 
Damn…" muttered Charlie.
 
He folded his arms and stood looking at Mike and the other patients.
 
It was only rated a Level II biohazard containment facility, but under the circumstances it was the best anyone could hope for.

"Look, we did our part…" said Charlie.
 
"There's nothing more we can do for him or the others.
 
We got Boatner here and he’s already working on a cure."

Cooper nodded.
 
They’d been through it all before.
 
“I just hope it'll be enough."

He could see Charlie nod his head out of the corner of his eye.
 
"Me too, brother, me too."

Cooper stood in silence as he watched Mike clinging to life.
 
The nurses had him at a slight incline to make it easier for him to breathe.
 
Cooper closed his eyes and let his forehead touch the cool glass.
 

“So, look, Coop—"

Cooper opened his eyes and stepped back from the window to regard his second-in-command.

Charlie swallowed and took one last look at Mike before plowing ahead.
 
"I heard about the new mission.
 
I got a request."

Here it comes…

"I'd never forgive myself if I didn't at least ask, since our mission is taking us practically back home…"

"Spit it out, sailor."

Charlie stiffened and almost came to attention.
 
"Gotta be within 20 miles of Chula.
 
I want—I
need
to find my family."
 
Charlie clenched his jaw as he waited for Cooper’s answer.

Cooper sighed.
 
He stared at his subordinate for a moment.
 
He’d been dreading this confrontation since they had received word the next op was in southern California.
 
"Look, man, nobody wants to go find your family more than I do, trust me.”
 
He glanced at Mike and thought of his missing wife and daughter,
 
Joan and Hannah.
 
“You know that, right?"

He
knew
Charlie knew it.
 
But it was still hard to say ‘no’ and disappoint his XO.
 

"Yeah, I know it.”
 
Charlie mumbled.
 
“You just don't want to find them as much as I do."

“They’re your family, I’m not saying I’d ever want to find them more than you, but the mission—"

“
Fuck
the mission!" hissed Charlie.
 
The intensity of his voice caught Cooper off-guard.
 
Charlie pointed a finger at Cooper’s throat.
 
“You know as well as I do, the longer it is before somebody gets boots on the ground in that area, the less chance they've got.
 
Goddamn NKors are crawling all over California—you heard the Admiral!
 
If we don't act now, I might never get another chance.”

“Charlie—”

“Yeah, I know, mission first, bro.
 
But there's always another mission—I won’t get another family!”
 
He pointed at the infirmary through the glass.
 
"You think Mike wouldn't give everything he has in the world right now to know Joan and Hannah are safe?
 
You think
they
wouldn't give everything in the world to be with him right now?”

“Don't you think I know that?" replied Cooper,
 
his own anger beginning to bubble to the surface.
 
"You have no idea how hard it is for me to keep telling you ‘no’.
 
If Mike dies in there," Cooper said pointing at the bedridden SEAL, “who's the one that has to break the news to Joan?
 
Who's the one that has to tell Hannah her daddy's never gonna come home and see her again?
 
Think it’s gonna be you?
 
No.”
 
He thumped his own chest.
 
“It's gotta be me, Charlie.
 
I’m LT now.
 
We’re all a family," Cooper said as he put a hand on Charlie's shoulder.
 

Charlie shrugged away angrily.
 
Cooper frowned.
 
His voice changed, taking on the sternness of a commander.
 
"Whether you like it or not, you know the rules.
 
We do
not
get to decide when and where we walk off the reservation.
 
You knew this when you signed up—"

“When I signed up, I knew that I would have to leave my family behind and go off to war.
 
I knew that someday I might get a bullet to the back of my head in some shithole of a country on the other side of the planet.”
 
Charlie stared at Mike.
 
His voice softened.
 
“She understood that, too.
 
But nobody ever said anything about somebody threatening her.
 
Here,” he said, pointing at the ground, “in America.
 
That's
not
how it's supposed to work."

Cooper could only imagine the anger and rage that was roiling through Charlie and wondered how long it would be before Charlie snapped.
 
Shit like that could get somebody—or even a whole team—killed.
 

"My hands are tied in this, Charlie."

Charlie turned away.
 
"Yeah, I know.
 
Mission-fucking-
first
.
 
We’re going to kill some North Korean assholes, then hold down the fort while the Marines come in and take the place out.
 
The Marines will get us out.
 
And I never get a chance to find my family again."
 
Charlie looked over his shoulder.
 
"I got it about right?"

Cooper folded his arms across his chest.
 
"I know it's not fair," he said.

Charlie barked a laugh.
 
It sounded harsh, there was no humor in it at all.
 
"Who the fuck said life is fair?"

"Look, I’m trying to tell you if there's—"

Charlie raised a hand and walked off.
 
"Save it, Coop.
 
I got a
mission
to prep for."

Cooper sighed in frustration and stood there clenching and unclenching his fists at his side as he watched Charlie stalk down the hallway.
 
His XO bumped shoulders with a doctor in a biohazard suit as he walked around the corner.
 
The doc was thrown against the wall and Charlie kept walking.

The doctor said something, but he was too far away for Cooper to hear.

That probably wasn't the best thing in the world to do.

He watched as Charlie froze mid-stride.
 
He turned and glared at the doctor.
 
Cooper braced himself for action.
 
Charlie was reaching the breaking point.
 
He'd have to talk to Bennet about the situation.
 
The team was already down to just a handful of men.
 
He couldn't afford to lose Charlie.

The doctor put his hands up and backed away from Charlie, shaking his head.
 
Charlie shot one dangerous look down the hallway toward Cooper then turned and walked away.

Cooper sighed and leaned his back against the thick window of the infirmary.
 
He tapped the back of his head repeatedly against the thick glass creating a dull, reverberating bass
thump
.

"They told me I could find you down here," whispered Brenda.
 
Cooper opened his eyes and spun to the right.
 
"How long have you been standing there?" he asked as she stepped out of a side hallway and stopped just short of touching him.

She was close enough that Cooper could smell the shampoo she’d used to wash her hair.
 
Without thinking, he reached to see if her auburn hair was as soft as it looked.
 
She froze and her eyes jerked to his in surprise.
 
Cooper found himself leaning in to kiss her.
 
He felt her arms wrap around his neck as he enjoyed the tender touch of her lips on his.
 
Before things went any further, Cooper reluctantly turned his head.
 
She nuzzled into his neck and squeezed.

"Long enough to know, that your friend's a ticking time bomb."
 
She looked up at him.
 

"He'll be alright…" Cooper muttered into Brenda's hair.
 
He knew it was a lie as soon as he said it.
 
“Before you ask—I’m okay.”

She pulled her head back and looked up at him again, her green eyes even with his nose.
 
A crooked smile curled one corner of her lips.
 
"I know," she whispered.
 
"I'm in charge down here, remember?"

Cooper chuckled and stepped back, holding her at arm’s length.
 
"Let me look at you, doctor-in-charge," he said.
 
His eyes roamed up and down her body, memorizing every curve and shape under the light-green scrubs she wore.

He let his hands slide down the length of her slender arms until his fingers intertwined with hers.
 
They stood there, staring at each other for longer than Cooper realized.

"What happens now?" she asked softly.
 
“I heard you have a new mission.”

Without thinking, Cooper frowned.
 
“Word gets around fast.”

“Well, we’re all stuck together down here and people talk.”
 
Cooper loved how her eyes reflected the smile on her face.
 
“So what’s next?”

“I have to go prep for my next mission."

The radiant smile faded.
 
"What do you mean?"
 
She let go of his hands and crossed her arms under her breasts.
 
"You just got back!
 
Don’t they need to give you a rest or something?”

“We’re not truck drivers, Brenda.
 
When we get a mission, we go, tired, wounded, or whatever.
 
We go.”
 
Cooper realized his mistake and tried to take a step forward and reach out a hand, but she swatted it away. “Don't those idiots realize that you just survived one of the most dangerous places in the country—you just brought home Maurice to help us defeat this mess we’re in—"

 
"Trust me, it's not my idea—look, it's not like—wait, ‘Maurice’?
 
Since when are you on first name basis with Boatner?”
 
He shook his head.
 
“Bottom line is, I don’t want to go—but the Brass discovered the NKors have been building a significant Forward Operating Base near San Diego—"

Brenda rolled her eyes and spread her arms wide in exasperation.
 
"Now I understand what Charlie was so mad about.
 
There's always going to be another base.
 
There’s always going to be another fight, another mission, isn't there?"

Cooper's brow creased in confusion.
 
"Am I missing something?
 
Our country has been invaded, millions of Americans are behind enemy lines on the coast.
 
We're. At.
War,
” he said.
 
He slapped his hand against the infirmary window.
 
“People are dying out there.”

A spasm of pain crossed her face.
 
“I know that,” Brenda said quietly.
 
“If anyone knows that, it’s me.”

“That means,” Cooper continued in a softer tone, “that my team and I have to go.
 
It’s who we are—it’s what we do.”
 
He turned to face the infirmary and looked at Mike.
 
“And now they've hit us first and it's our own turf we have to defend, not some sandy, flea-ridden Third World nation nobody gives a fuck about.”
 
He put his hands on his hips.
 
“And I'm getting the opportunity of a lifetime to head out there and deal death to the people that would destroy our country, on our own ground.”
 
Anger rose in his voice: “And all I’m getting is flack from people I care about—"

He stopped when he saw the tears forming in Brenda's eyes and realized he'd made yet another mistake.
 
His anger evaporated—he slumped his shoulders and sighed.
 
"Brenda, I'm sorry…"

She raised a hand to stop him from speaking, shook her head, and turned to leave.
 
Jax appeared around the corner and nearly collided with her.
 

"Hey, Brenda!
 
How you doing?"

Brenda wiped roughly at her eyes and sniffed.
 
"I'm alive," she said.
 
She glanced over her shoulder at Cooper.
 
"Excuse me.”
 
She shuffled past the big SEAL and disappeared around the corner.

"Man, you sure do have a way with the ladies… This is, what, the third time I've seen you standing there as some girl walks away crying?”

Cooper looked up and Jax froze mid-sentence.
 
"Hey, Coop, you know I got your back, right?”
 
He stepped closer, concern written on his face.
 
“Seriously, what's up?"