New Beginnings, page 10
They all answered back. Surprisingly, they’d made it without anyone getting hit by the array of bullets.
“Eagle, Bravo One. Do you copy?” she radioed. When she got nothing in return, she tried again. Then, one more time.
“There’s a helo in the distance,” Hoffman radioed.
“That has to be Outlaw,” Tristan said. “Perry, see if you can raise them on the radio. I’ve lost control with command.”
“Roger that,” she replied, pulling the higher frequency radio from Nigel’s ruck, and turning it on. She tried three different channels with no response. Then, she flipped to the fourth known channel and heard Outlaw radioing for them before she could say anything.
“Lima Charlie, Outlaw! This is Bravo Four. Boy, are we glad to hear your voice!” she radioed back before handing the radio up to Tristan.
“Likewise, Bravo Four. What’s your location?” she asked.
Tristan relayed their coordinates, which matched with the helo overhead. Then, she had Fowler flash the lights three times.
“We have eyes on you, Bravo,” Courtney radioed. “I don’t see anything but mountains. I’m going to have to put it down on the road using the instruments.”
“Are you good with that?” Maguire asked, after switching to their private channel.
“If I wasn’t, I wouldn’t be doing it,” she replied, then switched back over. “Bravo One, we’re going to set down a hundred yards ahead of you in the road.”
It was risky, but Tristan knew there wasn’t much of a choice. They were in the middle of a mountain range, in the middle of a nearly moonless night. “Stop here. When the helo is on the ground, we’ll drive closer. Hoffman, you and Tucker get out and help their crew chief keep a look out. Perry and Nigel, you get in the helo. Fowler, you and I will send this truck over the side. Everyone copy?”
“Roger,” they all said.
“Outlaw One, we’re pulling back here. You’re clear to set it down. We’ll come to you.”
“Roger that!” Courtney replied as she began scanning the ground with her night vision goggles for the flattest spot she could find. Then, she worked the controls, slowing lowering the helo until the skids hit the dirt. Howie slid the side door open and jumped out, flashing a light so they knew it was all clear before taking position to guard the aircraft.
Fowler drove the truck quickly towards the helo, then skidded to a stop. Everyone jumped out the back, following their orders while Fowler and Tristan put the truck in neutral and began pushing it towards the edge of the road. He tossed a grenade inside before they shoved the truck over the side of the cliff. The bottom was only about fifty yards away, but the grenade went off halfway down, exploding the truck into a fireball as it tumbled.
Chapter 14
The debriefing lasted four hours, pushing everyone into the early hours of the next day, before they were finally dismissed. Tristan’s team had to sit and listen to Judd explain why they weren’t in position to come to their assistance when called upon, and instead halfway back to the base after completing the mission they’d been sent on. They were told by command to return to base, but Tristan wasn’t buying it. Anger fueled her hungry, exhausted body and was the only thing keeping her awake at that moment. She’d dismissed her own team after a few quick words expressing her gratitude and pride towards their actions, and was waiting alone in the stairwell when Judd walked in.
“Where the fuck was your team?” she demanded, pushing off the wall.
“You heard me in the meeting. We were told to go back to the base,” he said.
“You think this is a game, walking around calling us stupid names and making snide comments! My team could’ve died out there tonight!” she growled and turned to walk away.
“You’re tired, get some rack time,” he said.
Tristan spun around so fast, he jerked back towards the wall thinking she was going to hit him. The look on his face made her laugh. She shook her head and left him standing there against the wall.
Too amped up to sleep, Tristan headed towards the hangar to store the gear she was still wearing. Once inside, she removed her patrol cap and stowed it back in the pocket she kept it in before heading over to the locker room. Courtney was standing inside when she pulled the door open.
“What are you still doing here?” she asked, setting her helmet down on the bench while she opened her locker.
“The same thing you’re doing,” Courtney answered. She’d been in there for a few minutes, talking with her crew members before Tristan’s team came and went, leaving her alone with her thoughts as she finished her flight log and stowed her gear.
Tristan removed her tactical vest and shoved it into the locker under the shelf her helmet was sitting on. She removed the insignia tapes from both arms of her long-sleeved combat shirt and unzipped the ¼ zipper before pulling it over her head and tossing it in the laundry bin. This left her in the tan T-shirt she wore underneath. She had the option of putting her ACU jacket on, or another combat shirt, but she chose neither as she slammed the door closed. Technically, she was still in uniform from the waist down and it was against regulations to wear a partial uniform at any time. You were required to be in full uniform, or PT gear when deployed, unless you were in your barracks room.
“You’re out of regs,” Courtney stated as Tristan turned to leave the room.
She stopped walking and turned around. “Are you going to report me…Chief?” she said with a raised brow.
Courtney’s eyes locked with hers.
“There’s no one around. I’ve been up for almost twenty-four hours and spent the last four hours explaining in detail how my team and I narrowly avoided the bullets strafing at our heads. So, forgive me for not giving a shit about regs right now.”
“Easy,” Courtney said softly. “I’m not the enemy here. As soon as I heard your team was under attack, I demanded the location. Command wasn’t telling me, so I had already started heading towards your last known RP without authorization. When they finally gave me the coordinates, I got to you as quickly as I could.” She shook her head and sighed. “You can walk out of here naked for all I care. I’m just glad you’re okay.”
Tristan crossed the room and pinned her to the lockers with a searing kiss. Her hands worked to unzip the ACU jacket Courtney was wearing, then moved to the belt and closure of her pants. Once they were open, she pulled them down low on her hips, allowing enough room for her hand to slip inside.
Courtney wrapped her arms around Tristan’s neck, holding her close as their lips and tongues devoured one another. Her gut tensed and wetness dripped between her legs as Tristan’s fingers slipped beneath her panties.
Tristan’s mouth moved from Courtney’s lips to her neck. “Tell me to stop,” she whispered, grazing her teeth over the edge of her ear as her fingers inched lower. Her free hand was under Courtney’s shirt with her palm flat against the smooth skin of her back.
“No…” Courtney panted as her hips moved involuntarily.
Tristan’s fingers moved within the folds, circling her clit a few times before sliding softly inside of her. Courtney gasped and smacked her head back against the metal lockers. Her heart pounded wildly in her chest and her breath heaved with every stroke. She moaned in protest as Tristan’s fingers slid out and circled her throbbing clit.
Tristan dragged her mouth along the pulse vein in Courtney’s neck, then back up to her lips, assuaging her with another long, languid kiss as she pushed her fingers back inside. Courtney’s legs opened wider, nearly ripping her pants as the smoldering muscles deep inside of her tightened around Tristan’s fingers, squeezing them in place as she thrust down hard. A guttural whimper escaped her lips as she shuddered against Tristan.
Once her breathing evened out, Tristan delicately pulled her fingers free and rubbed them along Courtney’s torso under her T-shirt to the bottom of her bra. Their eyes met before Tristan backed away and sighed.
“What’s wrong?” Courtney asked as she closed her pants and zipped her jacket back up since she was still in full uniform.
“We shouldn’t be doing this, for starters.”
“We’re both consenting adults. Plus, we’re pretty good at it.” Courtney half smiled.
Tristan shook her head. “I’m serious.”
“Are you married?”
“What? No. I certainly wouldn’t have done anything with you if I were. I’m not a piece of shit,” she growled.
“Whoa. Why are you angry?”
Tristan ran her clean hand through her short hair. “I’m sorry. I’m just tired and frustrated.” She looked over at Courtney. “I don’t want to hurt you, but a relationship and everything that goes with it just isn’t what I need or want right now.”
“I never said I wanted anything. What’s happened between us happened because we’re attracted to each other. We don’t have to label anything or make any promises.”
Tristan nodded.
*
Courtney wasn’t privy to the closed-door discussions about what had happened. All she knew was everyone had been eerily quiet for the past two days. The entire base had been grounded until the internal investigation was over. With nothing else to do, she went for a short jog and wound up at the helo hangar. The last person she expected to run into when she walked inside, was sitting on a bench, cleaning her gun.
“Fancy meeting you here,” Courtney said as she grabbed the clipboard and began scanning the helo maintenance log.
“Yeah, well there’s not much to do since those who are higher up the food chain than I am, are busy trying to untie this cluster with Alpha team.” She shrugged.
“You don’t think they purposely turned back…do you?”
“I don’t know what to believe anymore,” Tristan replied, thinking back to the deep lies she uncovered about her family. As far as she was concerned, everyone was capable of lying to save their own ass. She finally looked up, catching a glimpse of Courtney in a pair of black shorts and an Army green tank top. Her hair was pulled back in a ponytail and a pair of aviator sunglasses were up on her head. She looked young. Too young to be doing what they’d been doing.
“What?” Courtney said, seeing the questioning look in her eyes.
“How old are you?”
Courtney laughed. “That’s an odd thing to ask.”
Tristan shrugged.
“Twenty-six.”
Tristan nodded.
“How old did you think I was?”
“You look about nineteen at the moment.”
Courtney chuckled. “Thanks…I think.” Her face scrunched into an awkward smile.
Tristan shrugged once more as she began putting her freshly cleaned rifle back together.
“Do you have any siblings?” Courtney asked nonchalantly as she went back to the log.
“No. Yes…I don’t know. It’s complicated.” Tristan shook her head. “I thought we weren’t doing this.”
“Doing what?” she called over her shoulder.
“Having a relationship. Getting to know more about each other.”
Courtney sighed. “You started it.”
“Well, I don’t want to finish it,” Tristan said as she grabbed her rifle and headed towards the door.
“I’ve been looking all over for you,” Fowler said as he rushed into the hangar, almost knocking directly into her.
“Slow down. What’s wrong?”
“Everything okay?” Courtney asked.
“Chief,” he said with a nod in her direction. “You might want to hear this, too.”
Courtney set the clipboard down and walked over to them.
“The investigation is over. We’ve been called into a mandatory meeting in one hour, along with Alpha team.”
“This ought to be good,” Tristan mumbled.
“I need to see if we were called back as well. Excuse me,” Courtney said, stepping around them.
Fowler noticed Tristan watching her walk away.
“Anything I need to know about?” he said.
“Nah, just chitchatting during off hours,” Tristan muttered as they headed off in the opposite direction.
*
Tristan sat in full uniform in the front row of the conference room, along with the rest of her team. Alpha team was directly behind them in the second row, and Maj. Irving, Capt. Warren, and the captain of the comms center were all sitting up front to the side of the podium as Lt. Col. Powers led the meeting.
“What happen two days ago was the biggest cluster fuck I have ever been privy to, and I was in Desert Storm, Desert Shield, Kosovo for a half second, and Iraqi Freedom. The short of it is, we fucked up in the command center. Alpha Team got the blame and Bravo Team was nearly turned into Swiss Cheese.”
He shook his head before continuing. “The long of it is, a direct order was miscommunicated, sort of like the game of telephone. By the time it got down to the low men on the totem pole, or the end of the phone line, the order had not only done a complete 360, but it had also gone several miles off course. Upon further investigation, we have concluded that Alpha Team was following an order from their direct command and by no means intentionally left their position as backup for Bravo Team. Also, we discovered Helo 12, crewed by the Outlaws, was struck with technical difficulties and lost communication with Bravo Team for nearly the entire duration of the mission. This morning, affirmative action was taken to see to it that a simple fuck up of this magnitude never happens again under my command. Also, I received word from General Thorpe that the members of Bravo Team will receive the Army Valorous Unit Award for their extraordinary heroism while in action against an armed enemy. You all have already been awarded this decoration, so you’ll be given an oak leaf cluster to signal the number of subsequent times. Now, if there are no questions, I’m going to cut you loose so we can get back to the reason we were all sent here in the first place.”
Everyone stood at attention as he left the room.
“Bravo Team, you’ll receive your commendations at a formal ceremony during your next garrison,” Maj. Irving stated. “Dismissed.”
“Well, isn’t that some shit. Another leaf to wear on a ribbon once in a fucking blue moon,” Hoffman grumbled. “How about a hazard pay bonus?”
“Stand down, soldier. You know how this works. They fucked up so they give us more pretty decorations to make up for it. At the end of the day, you guys keep re-enlisting and I keep adding more service time, so it’s our faults. Take the rest of the day off to regroup. I’m sure we’ll be back on mission sooner rather than later,” Tristan said.
Fowler patted her on the back before walking off with the rest of them. She went back into the building and headed for the computer room referred to as the call center and sat down behind a laptop. It took her less than thirty seconds to login and a minute later, her mother’s face filled the screen.
“Tristan!” she gasped, holding her hand to her chest. “I was beginning to worry. You deployed again without saying goodbye. You’ve never done that.”
“Things didn’t exactly go so well the last time I was home, so…”
“I knew you would take it extremely hard, which was why I never wanted you to know in the first place. You idolized your father and now you hate the man.”
“Mother, I didn’t call you to talk about all of that.”
“Oh…Is everything okay there?”
“I’m good.” She nodded. “Getting another commendation actually.”
“Oh my! That’s wonderful. What is this one for?”
“Surviving.”
“Excuse me?”
“My unit came under attack a couple of days ago. We got ourselves out of it without harm, so we’re getting a heroism award called the Valorous Unit Award. This is my fourth time getting it, so I’ll just get another tiny bronze cluster leaf to pin to the actual ribbon that only comes out during ceremonies or other formal dress events.”
“Honey, I don’t know why you do it. Why not come home and—”
“Have a regular job?” Tristan shook her head. “Because I’m in the Army, Mother. This is what I do. This is my job.”
“Either way, you know I’m very proud of you and thankful you didn’t get hurt. I worry so much about you.”
“I know. I’ll be fine. I should get going though. The signal is horrible, so I need to let someone else get on here while it’s working.”
“Okay. All my love.”
Tristan waved just before the screen went black.
Chapter 15
“Hand me a crescent wrench,” Courtney said, blindly reaching for the tool. She was up on top of the helo with the engine housing open. When the metal tool touched her palm, she grasped it and pulled, but the tool didn’t release. “What the hell, Howie!” she grumbled, turning her head.
Tristan was standing on the ground, holding the other end of the tool. She looked freshly showered and comfortable in her PT gear. Courtney’s chest tightened, squeezing the air from her lungs. She hadn’t seen Tristan since the investigation ended two days earlier.
Tristan’s eyes held Courtney’s. It didn’t matter that she was in uniform and probably on duty. She hadn’t bothered looking around the hangar to see if anyone was nearby.
“Where’s your uniform?” Courtney said, when Tristan finally let go of the wrench.
“On the floor of my barracks room.”
“What?” Courtney muttered, sliding the engine cowling back into place and tightening it with the wrench.
“You heard me.”
Courtney’s throat was dry, and her knees knocked together as she climbed down. “Aren’t you supposed to be working?”
Tristan shook her head. “Aren’t you done for the day?”
Courtney checked her watch, surprised to see the time. “Yeah, about two hours ago.”
“Then, why the hell are you still here?”
Because if I’m not flying, I’m going stir crazy and when I have time to sit and think, all I want to do is feel your hands on me. She turned around and began putting the tools away. “I lost track of time,” she lied.
