Lady in Red Pt. 02 Ch. 09

"Ask this man where he got these tags! Try to find out anything he might now about them," insisted Gwen to the young man. Then she stood by silently as the two conversed for a couple minutes. Finally, the old man turned and slowly walked away.

"He says that two men with only three legs staggered into his yard last night. They are very sick and will probably die. He hid them in a small cave in the hillside behind his home. He heard that you were looking for two men, so he walked here to let you know. He brought the tags as proof of his words."

"Do you know where his place is?" demanded Gwen. "Can you tell me how to get there and how to identify it?"

"Sure. Everyone knows his home. It is on the road north, next to a stream and a small waterfall. It's the only stream within a hundred miles. It'll be easy to recognize."

Gwen raced back Jordan. "We're leaving! Tell everyone to get to the helicopters right away! I may know where Steve and Chip are!"

Jordan wasted no time asking questions. "Okay, I'll go tell the guys. They're down at the police station asking questions. You let the rest know. I wish we could use our cell phones!"

Gwen found Kate with Laura as she examined a small child's bruised arm. Gwen waited the two minutes it took for Laura to announce the injury was healing. "I think I've located Steve and Chip. They're in a bad way and need help immediately. Get everyone together and get to the helicopters. Forget about suitcases and clothes. We don't have time!"

Twenty minutes later, the entire group was climbing aboard the two helicopters. Gwen had just explained the situation. "An old man just gave me the dog tags of Chip and Steve. He said that 'two men with three legs', whatever that means staggered into his yard last night. He hid them in a small cave and then walked here to let me know. He said that they're very ill! We need to follow the road north until we find a house by a stream and a waterfall. The guys will be hidden in a small cave in the hillside."

"Here's how this is going to work," interrupted Jason. "Jared, Ted, Charlie, Billie, and Coach will ride with me in the first chopper. We'll go in first to be sure this isn't a trap of some sort. Once we give the 'okay' you guys will land and find Steve and Chip. I can't stress enough that if we do find them, we need to load and run as quickly as we can. There's a shitload of bad guys after their asses. This won't be any picnic. Now let's go!"

Amber had been filming events for the past several days. Tensions were high and she knew it was all coming to a head so she videoed everything she could. The helicopters remained close to the ground as they moved rapidly north. In a surprisingly short time, the lead chopper reduced speed and made a quick circle around the small home by the stream.

"There's a couple of trucks headed toward the stream from the north," shouted the pilot of the ladies' helicopter. "They're going to put down between the vehicles and the home. We're going to land behind the house. You need to find those guys in that cave and get them back here as fast as possible! It looks like there's going to be shooting and we can't afford to lose even one of these birds!"

Gwen and Kate quickly exchanged glances and quick nods. There was no doubt that they were going to lead the search for the cave and the two injured SEALs. As soon as the chopper touched the ground, Gwen threw the door open and jumped out. Kate was on her heels as the two women raced toward the hill. As they ran, they heard shots, a lot of shots, coming from just up the road.

"Gwen! Over by that shrub! There's an opening!" cried Kate as she veered to her left.

Gwen and Kate reached the cave at the same time. "Let me go first!" insisted Gwen as she raised a handgun and stepped inside the dark cave. She waited for her eyes to grow accustomed to the dark. The cave was littered with junk and it took twenty seconds for Gwen to detect boots concealed behind a pile of old pallets. She carefully made her way to the pallets and peeked around them.

"Over here, Kate!" called Gwen as she slid the gun back into a pocket and dropped to her knees by the two men. "They're both alive! They're feverish and unconscious. Is Laura coming?"

"I'm right here," replied Laura calmly as she pointed a flashlight toward them. "These guys are too big for us to carry very easily. I'll examine them while someone gets those stretchers from the chopper. From the sounds of the fighting up the road, we can't waste a minute!"

Naomi and Charlotte returned to get the stretchers that Laura wanted while Amber filmed the scene in the cave. Even through the viewfinder, it was evident that both men were extremely ill. Their breathing was shallow and one of them made a wheezing sound when he breathed. Both men were shirtless and covered in blood. Then Amber noticed that Steve's right leg and Chip's left leg were bound together tightly. Steve's arms were bent back and his hands were out of sight. Chip clutched a gun in his right hand.

"We've got to separate their legs. I don't know why they're bound together, but there must be a good reason, so be very careful when you separate them," cautioned Laura as Gwen produced a strong pair of scissors from Laura's bag and began cutting at the straps around the legs of the two men.

The sharp scissors quickly severed the leather bands and the two legs separated and moved slightly. Chip let out a loud groan, although he failed to regain consciousness.

"There's the answer! Chip's leg's broken, at the very least," declared Laura. "They bound them together so they could walk. These guys have been through hell. Let's get them on the stretchers and if the men aren't here by then, we'll just have to carry them out ourselves."

They had just managed to carefully roll both men on the stretchers when Coach entered the cave. "Laura, Ted and I will try to get these guys out, but you're needed down by the choppers right now. Charlie's been hit pretty bad!"

"Oh, no!" cried Jordan as she rushed from the cave, followed closely by a grim faced Laura.

"I won't be worth a shit!" exclaimed Ted. "My arm's been hit and I can hardly move it. We need the other men."

"Coach, if you take the front, Kate and I can each take one side of the back. We can get them out! Let's just do it now!" urged Gwen as she leaned down by the left side of the stretcher occupied by Chip.

It wasn't easy, but they managed to get Chip down the hill and loaded onto a chopper. As they carried Chip, Gwen saw Jared and Billy carrying a very bloody Charlie down the road, with Jason limping alongside them. They reached the chopper just after Coach and the girls had carefully placed Chip inside.

"Help us get Steve from the cave and we'll get out of here!" yelled Gwen to Jared and Billy. "He's on another stretcher. Follow me!"

Jared and Billy wasted no time transporting Steve to the second chopper and placing him in it. "Everyone get your asses on board right now!" demanded Jason. "There were some more trucks a couple miles up the road and they were headed this way fast!"

Amber was able to video the three pursuing vehicles as they pulled to a stop and began firing at the helicopters as they raced over the countryside. The pilots dropped down over a hill and the shooters were lost from sight. Then she turned her attention, and camera, to Steve as he lay unmoving. She heard Gwen say something and moved the lens up to catch her face as she spoke.

"We're headed straight for the Red Lady. We're going back to the states as fast as we can fly! Dad, how badly are you hit? Let's have a look at that arm. It's bleeding quite a lot."

"You just take care of Steve. I'll be fine if Charlotte will bandage me up a little, so I don't bleed all over. Compared to what Steve and Chip went through, and Charlie, it's hardly a scratch."

"How badly was Charlie hurt?" asked Amber as she turned her attention to Ted.

"It's hard to say. There was a lot of blood. He was hit in the head and dropped like a rock. I want to tell you that Jason and Jared shot the hell out of those bastards. The rest of us helped, but you could tell who was getting the job done. Charlie showed his Army training, too, until he was hit. We took out about ten of them. I hope I never have to do that again," admitted Ted as Charlotte worked on his arm.

"Do you have anything we can use to get these cuffs off Steve?" asked Gwen to the pilot. "He has a broken arm and those damn cuffs have to be painful!"

When they reached Baghdad, they landed very close to where their jet was waiting. They quickly carried Chip, Charlie, and Steve onto the waiting jet. Within half an hour, they were airborne. The Red Lady landed briefly in Germany to refuel before turning its nose toward the United States and stretching out.

As they flew, Laura, with the help of Charlotte and Gwen, examined the three badly injured men. "Gwen and Kate, carefully cut those filthy clothes off your men. They're not much more than rags anyway. I need to examine them more closely to see the extent of their injuries.

"Charlie's been hit pretty hard, but it looks like the bullet made a groove on his head, but didn't penetrate his skull. He probably has a concussion, and he bled a lot, but I'm optimistic that he'll make a full recovery, as long as he didn't suffer any brain damage. That seems unlikely."

"Thanks, Laura," replied Jordan gratefully. "I don't know what I'd do if I lost him, but I'm sure proud of the way he fought to keep us safe. These are the best men I've ever seen, and you're pretty gutsy, too. I'm sure glad that you came along!"

"So am I, Jordan," agreed Laura as she examined Charlie. "Helping these fine young men gives me a great feeling. I've started Chip and Steve on antibiotics and I'm hopeful that their temperatures will begin to drop by the time we land. Make no mistake, these men are very ill. They both require surgery. It looks like Steve has a broken arm and a punctured lung, along with numerous injuries from several beatings. Chip's leg was broken by a bullet and his shoulder has another one lodged in it. They both lost a lot of blood. How they managed to walk at all amazes me. They're two very tough hombres!"

Kate listened to Laura discuss the injuries as she gently cut Chip's pants away from his bloody leg. "They are tough hombres, aren't they? I see now that falling for a real hero has some disadvantages. Gwen's been aware of it for some time. They have to be rescued and nursed back to health a lot, but that's okay. Chip saved Steve's life. I'm sure of it, and I'll always love him for that, and probably a lot of other things as well."

Kate watched Gwen tenderly sponge the blood and dust from Steve's body and soon began doing the same for Chip. She felt no embarrassment as she sponged every inch of Chip's body. Ted stopped by to see how his daughters and the injured men were doing. He found Jordan, Gwen, and Kate, lovingly caring for their men.

"Dad, promise me that you'll give Chip 'The Talk' when he's feeling better. I think I've fallen for the guy. Will you accept him into our family?" asked Kate as she placed a damp cloth on Chip's head.

"Kate, I'll give him the best 'talk' I've ever given. If you think he's the one for you, he'll be welcome with open arms. My three girls sure know how to pick men! Jason was cool under fire and extremely effective this morning. My appreciation of his courage and loyalty has increased greatly on this trip. Steve's proven himself time and again. Now Chip is lying there all shot up because he's Steve's friend. He sure came through for Steve and that goes a long way with your mother and me. If you love the guy, it'll guarantee his place with us."

"Jason told us about what a great job you did today, Dad. He's really proud of how brave you were, especially since you've had no training of any kind," added Gwen. "Now you have a bullet wound, just like all the other men in the family. You're the best father a girl could ever ask for!"

Ted hugged the three girls and went back to his seat. They continued to care for their men as Laura divided her time between the three wounded heroes.

"We're going to take these guys to Sparta. It'll take a little longer than stopping in Washington or some other city, but I want them to have the best possible care and to be safe while they receive it. Right now, I don't trust anyone, except my friends and family," announced Gwen as everyone sat quietly listening. "They had no business asking Steve to trade himself for those kids, but worse was how they abandoned him after he was swapped. The CIA dropped the ball. Jason has me wondering if they wanted Steve to be killed so Congress would have a reason to better fund the CIA.

"Even if it was just incompetence, or stupidity, I still don't trust them. How they let Steve walk into that situation and not do anything to help him is something I won't forget. I don't know how Chip managed it, but he was the difference. One man alone was more help to Steve than the entire U.S. intelligence community. They never even asked for the help of Rangers, or Seals. We're going to see that these guys get well, and then I'm going to stir things up in Washington!" promised Gwen.

Shortly before landing, Charlie regained consciousness. He complained of a bad headache, but Jordan was thrilled beyond words. "You had a bullet bounce off that hard head of yours! You were so brave! We found Steve and Chip and we're almost back home in Sparta. You're my hero!"

Before they landed, Gwen made a very brief speech to her friends. "I can't tell all of you how much I appreciate that all of you'd go with me on what many people would have felt was a fool's errand. It was dangerous, yet you stood by me, risked your lives to help Steve and Chip, and for that, I'll always be grateful!"

Paula and Lisa had put in a very long week. They tried to go about business as usual, but that quickly became impossible. Once word of the terrorists wanting to trade the hostages for Steve became known, reporters were all over Sparta. Then there was the awful video of the terrorists holding Steve on his knees and promising the next video would show his beheading!

Paula's family came to her home to offer their support. Steve's grandparents, Aunt Janice, and cousin Jen returned to Sparta just after the video of the beheading was promised to be aired. When the video never appeared, the group began to dare to hope that Steve might survive.

"It absolutely amazes me that your daughters and their friends flew to Iraq to search for Steve and his friend," stated Steve's grandmother, Beatrice. "The loyalty and courage of that group is unbelievable. But can they possibly do any good? If the military can't find them, and the CIA has no idea where Steve is, how can Gwen and the others hope to find anything?"

"You saw Gwen react when Steve was flown in on that helicopter last week. She knew he was close by. She could feel it. If anyone can find him, it's Gwen," replied Paula with emotion. "She has no faith in the CIA. She said they didn't involve the military in any part of the exchange and have not asked for its help in finding him. She said she's concerned that the CIA may have no intention of getting Steve out alive. She's even worried about them listening to her phone calls and reading her texts and emails. She won't be calling me much because she doesn't want to jeopardize the safety of her friends, or Steve and Chip."

"She thinks the CIA deliberately allowed Steve to be taken and possibly executed by these terrorists?" asked an astounded William Patterson. "That's difficult to believe. If you listen to the press conferences, they claim to be searching every inch of Iraq for him."

It was later that afternoon that the cable news first aired a report that earlier that day, a drone had launched a Hellfire missile at a suspected terrorist stronghold. The resulting huge blast indicated that explosives, and lots of them, had been stored in the building. Teams were trying to find and identify any remains, but it was feared that Steve Hammer had been held in that facility. Talking heads seemed to agree that if he had been there, it was very likely that he had already been murdered when the drone strike occurred.

"I can't believe it! If there was a chance that Steve was alive and in that building when they hit it with a missile, they should be tried for treason!" insisted a very angry William Patterson.

The next two days were the longest Paula ever experienced. She no longer heard from Gwen, Kate, or Ted. Lisa had been told by Jason that they would not call or email until they had something substantial to report. Cable news constantly reported that Steve's remains may soon be identified from the scene of the missile attack. The public was beginning to ask questions about why the government would launch a missile attack on a building when it was possible that an American citizen was being held there.

Friday morning, cable news had a new story to report. Huge numbers of bikers were traveling toward Sparta. They were riding to show their support for Steve. By noon, thousands of bikers were on the interstate. They had gradually joined up and formed a procession. Bikes were traveling two abreast for miles. Estimates ranged from three to five thousand bikers riding toward the Spartan Nation!

Through all of this, speculation was rampant as to the whereabouts of Gwen and her friends after they had left Sparta on the two helicopters. It was known that the group landed at the airport and soon departed in the Red Lady. Flight plans showed that Iraq was their destination, but no one could determine exactly where in Iraq they had gone after landing in Baghdad.

Paula, Lisa, and their extended family were having lunch in a private room at Marsh's Landing when Lisa's phone rang. "It's Jason!" exclaimed Lisa as she answered the call and listened for several minutes, asking only a few questions.

She seemed almost in a daze as she returned her phone to her purse. "They're on their way home! They should be landing at the airport within the hour! They'll be bringing Steve, Chip, and Charlie to the hospital by helicopter as fast as they can get them loaded. The hospital has been alerted.

"Dad was hit in the arm, but he's doing fine. Charlie was wounded in the head, while Steve and Chip have numerous injuries and are still unconscious. Can you believe it? They found Steve and Chip, and they were in a gun battle! Charlie's hurt pretty badly and Dad was wounded!"

"How's Billy and Charlotte?" asked Billy's father excitedly as he approached the table. "I overheard you saying that they're coming home. My wife will be so relieved! Billy was in a gun battle?"

"Everyone else is fine. Jason said they all pulled together and he was extremely proud of the entire group. Gwen and Steve sure have some special family and friends. I'm so proud of Jason, and Dad! He's a great father!"

"My God!" exclaimed a jubilant William Patterson. "Those young people are incredible. They practically went to war to save their friends. They did what the government was either unwilling, or unable to do!"

As soon as The Red Lady came to a stop and shut down its engines, the three injured men were immediately transferred to waiting helicopters. Then the rest of the group piled in, and they took off on the last leg of their journey. They had only gone a dozen miles or so when Naomi pointed to the interstate.

"Look at all of those bikes! They go on for miles! Is there something going on that I haven't heard about?"

"I called the network to let them know I was back and had the story of the century," confessed Amber. "They mentioned a procession of bikers riding to Sparta. It seems that the state department has been suggesting that Steve had died, and drones had killed the terrorists in a missile attack. These riders are headed to Sparta to pay their respects. I was told that there are thousands of them."