Parkers Island Ch. 04

The rebuke didn't go unnoticed by Steven Chadwick. The man talked from the heart and with a great deal of conviction, in fact Sarah did as well, Steven put his attitude down to the lack of sleep his had over the last few days and with a feeling he couldn't win this one if he tried, he nodded to Hank before looking at Sarah.

"If you're coming we leave now, hug your husband on the way out."

Sarah ran across the space between them and leapt into the arms of Hank who had to take a step back such was the momentum she carried when she clung to him.

*******

General Fitzpatrick placed the phone back on its cradle, he was still unsure if it was good or bad news. The seal teams were now in position and watching the building that Aiden was in, his men were tasked to wait for a surgeon already in flight and select twelve men plus a corpsman to assist the surgeon if needed. His only thought as he once again reached for the phone to get everything ready was, 'just what kind of shape was Aiden in'.

Sarah took a sleeping pill the second she set foot on the plane for the first leg of the journey. She slept as best she could for the second leg, she needed to be on the top of her game and jet lag wasn't going to be an issue when she got there. Two Marines came on board when they landed and shook her awake, both men grabbed a large med-pack each as she stood between them and they left the plane before anyone else was allowed. Those that left after the Marines saw the women get into a Hummer and drive across the runway to a waiting helicopter.

Things were moving swiftly for Sarah, when the helicopter landed after a twenty minute flight and landing alongside a hanger both her escorts got out and she followed them into the hanger. Beds were scattered in a wide arc either side of two very large tables. A fridge sat in the corner, all the Marines were busy stripping down and testing weapons and equipment. A Lieutenant stood in front of her and held out his hand.

"Ma'am we have been waiting for you, please check your equipment the Corpsman has your service weapon, my sergeant has checked it but please do so as well."

"Has the blood I asked for arrived?"

The lieutenant pointed towards the fridge in the corner.

"Ma'am I will ask you one more time, please check your service weapon."

"At ease Lieutenant."

The Lieutenant swiftly turned to see three men standing by the door of the hanger, his own sergeant spotted them at the same time. His voice bellowed over the entire hanger.

"Atten Hut."

Like one the entire team stood ramrod straight as General Fitzpatrick walked into the middle of the hanger, he shook Sarah's hand and asked her to please check that the blood she requested is the correct type. She had been in the military long enough to know that meant 'get out of the way' so she and the Corpsman walked over to the fridge and made themselves look busy.

The General looked at the face of every Marine stood there before he spoke.

"At least two of you served with Marine Corporal Carol Burnett, I know of three of you who whore dress uniform at her funeral. She died protecting a man we all called an asset. From that day on he was also given the name 'dead man walking'. Five of my Marines and six people from Bingham Securities died trying to keep that man out of enemy hands less than six days ago."

The General's eyes swept the entire team once again, every man picked for a reason.

"Gentlemen, we failed. That doesn't sit right with me and it's time we wipe that mark off of our record."

To a man they all yelled, "Hoo-Rah."

General Fitzpatrick then turned to the lieutenant, his face unreadable as he said.

"Lieutenant, a word."

The Lieutenant walked with the General to one corner of the hanger before the General stopped and stared once again at the lieutenant.

"Did your daddy ever tell you about a man named Sergeant Henry Michelson?"

"Yes sir, he was my father's sergeant in the Rangers when my father served his first tour in Vietnam."

The lieutenant followed the Generals gaze.

"That's his wife."

The Lieutenant looked closer at the women he only knew as Sarah.

"A lot of this operation is still on a need to know Lieutenant but that is Lieutenant Colonel Sarah Michelson. Her job is centered around keeping 'dead man walking' alive and if she has to cut a vein open in her arm to feed it to him she would do it as well."

For just a second the lieutenant let his mouth go before his brain got a chance to stop what came out.

"Is he really that important Sir?"

He quickly looked at the General his mouth open ready to apologize, General Fitzpatrick spoke first.

"Did you ever stop to read what's painted on all those Police cars back home Lieutenant?"

"To protect and to serve, Sir."

The General smiled before turning and heading towards the open hanger door, both stopped and waited as a Hummer came closer to the door.

"Your final briefing will be in an hour Lieutenant."

With salutes made both were left to their own thoughts. As the lieutenant walked back inside the hanger he watched as Sarah stripped, checked and put together her side arm before sliding the magazine into it and placing it in her hip-holster. Both she and the corpsman emptied one of the Med-Packs on the table and inspected the seals on each of the packets. Both then divided the load between Sarah and the corpsman.

The lieutenant felt a presence next to him, his sergeant spoke in quiet tones that only he could hear.

"Johnson recognized her the second she came through the door sir, remember when he took that shoulder wound and we dragged him into the forward medical unit that last tour? Well she was there, scuttlebutt says she don't take no shit from anyone and actually had a reputation for volunteering for the worst places."

"Great, a doctor with a death wish."

"That's not the impression I got from Johnson sir. He says she's a firecracker and someone we could need on this mission."

*******

I could only see out of one eye now, the pain in my chest felt like my whole chest was in a body stocking, I had to take short breaths just to breathe at all. As soon as they noticed I was awake the door opened and I was helped once again to the interrogation room. He was sat waiting for me this time, I just knew I couldn't resist.

"I'm sorry I kept you waiting, I was busy fucking those seventy-two virgins that are earmarked for you."

With a roar he leapt from his seat and got the first punch in, his friends didn't understand why but joined in anyway. It was early evening when I woke again; the sun had all but lost interest in this day and had almost sunk behind the mountains in the distance. When my hands did their own body inspection I found I had to do that now with one arm.

"You know the next one is going to kill you?"

"I sure hope so; this is getting old on a monumental scale."

Judging by the look on Carols face I don't think she was expecting my answer. I had only been in the compound for two weeks before I felt I was being watched and then Ahmed came into my life, he was a translator and at first it was just when I went to the canteen I met him, then more often. After a while it felt like he could figure out where I was going and be there before me.

Ahmed was polite but something about him always put me on edge, and regardless of how much we talked I felt he was hiding something. I understood that in a country that no one trusted anyone he shouldn't have stuck out as much as he did but my gut instinct just wouldn't get past my mistrust.

After a month I asked the base commander to either keep him away from me or do a recheck of his security clearance. Two days later he came into my office without knocking and pulled a gun on me, we both heard the gunfire in the distance and the grin on his face let me know I was in trouble.

"My only regret Carol is that I took so long killing that scumbag who sold me out that I didn't realize how big a hit Bingham and the Marine boys were taking."

"There coming for you, you know."

I coughed and had to grab my chest to do it, the blood landed on my chest. It was easier just to wipe my mouth than clean up after me. When I had finished coughing the guard came in and threw a bucket of water over me, I gave him the thumbs up and he gave me a kick in the stomach in return.

*******

Shelby thought she was the last to enter the boardroom, the door closed and everyone just waited. Mitchell Carter came in five minutes later making sure the door was closed behind him. He once again dropped a file on the table a sigh followed as he opened it and looked at the one sheet of paper inside.

"I received this less than an hour ago, I have just got off the phone with the president and after reading him the contents he agreed to give the go ahead to what's already in progress."

Mitchell Carter lifted the letter from the table and held it close so he could read it.

"MI6 sent this to the CIA and it has filtered down to us, its just two lines from their own agent, it reads. 'In two days Dead Man Walking will be handed over to members of the family of Ben Abdul Aziz. He won't last long enough to be handed over alive."

The sheet of paper was once again placed into the file and closed. This time Mitchell sat down.

"I don't pretend to know the full details of what's going to happen now, that's up to those out there. When I started the Department I never in my wildest dreams envisioned anything like this, ladies and gentleman I suggest you all pray to whatever God you're comfortable with because what happens to the Department is in the hands of others right now."

*******

The two Blackhawk's followed the night sky, those inside kept to their own thoughts as the terrain changed underneath them. Sarah was in one transport along with five Marines and the lieutenant. The Corpsman along with the other five Marines and the Sergeant were in the other. Once they landed the Blackhawk's would travel on for a further mile before returning to the forward base, reload and wait.

Both Seal teams hit the house from either side, thanks to the agent inside it was a cakewalk since he had drugged the guard's tea. As instructed he was on his knees with his hands behind his neck when they came through the door, quickly searched as a matter of routine and escorted outside. What the leader of the team found when they got to the cell almost made the him want to go in search of the agent.

The medic amongst them checked and found a pulse, he just didn't know were to start after that, his team leader had known Brody since his team was formed and thought that nothing could faze him. When Brody shook his head they all felt they were just going through the motions on this one. But they all knew this was important, yet looking at the body on the floor they all truly believed this was a dead man who was no longer walking.

Four of the team placed the body onto a stretcher and headed out, they pulled one other guard out and up against the wall of the house. The agent was released since he already had his own exit ready, the team leader ex-filtrated to safe cover and sent a short radio message.

"Send in the drone."

He watched from the hillside as his team continued along the trail with their cargo, seconds later instinct made him duck as the whistle over his head stopped to explode against the house, forming a mushroom cloud from the detonation of high explosive and sending the now dead Afghan up into the air and on fire.

The second whistle enlarged the expanding cloud and the hole that was once a house, the fire ragged on the few parts of the house that were still connected together.

The lieutenant stopped the Marine team, they all instantly knelt looking out into the dark through night scopes. He listened to the coded message and whispered into his sergeant's ear before giving the signal to proceed. For the next two hours they walked changing the lead man every half an hour before the lieutenant stuck his hand up once again and stopped everyone.

He made a circle with his hand and everyone moved outwards as Sarah and the Corpsman sat in the middle. With everyone looking out and within eye sight of the man beside them they waited. They heard an explosion way off in the distance but no one moved, after an hour the lieutenant heard a click on his radio he answered with a return click and then signaled his sergeant who went from man to man telling them that the Seal team was imminent and to not fire on them.

The Seals lead man came first and knelt waiting for a signal, the Marine Sergeant stood and signaled him in, out of the darkness came the rest of them. Once the portable stretcher was put down the two seal teams joined the Marines and the circle expanded outwards as Sarah got her first look at Aiden and almost cried.

*******

General Fitzpatrick hoped against hope that the retrieval signal would come soon. He watched from the ops room at the circle of men and the small group of five people in the middle, no one moved as one hour ticked over to the next. Dawn was two hours away and everyone in that room still watched the small circle of men on the ground.

Finally the signal came and the mood in the room changed dramatically. Four Blackhawk's were now inbound, four Apache helicopters were used as protection. The scene on the screen also changed, the circle broke up and formed a protective moving shield with the stretcher, Sarah and the corpsman always in the middle. The men protecting them adjusting their formation almost every minute too give those in the middle the best possible cover.

One of the radio operators came up to the General and handed him a sheet of paper, he read it twice before handing it to his adjutant, who in turn took off to make arrangements.

'Patched up to travel, he's hanging on but not sure how. Direct transport to nearest field hospital and have surgery waiting.'

The march to the pick up point still seemed to take a lifetime, they made it just as the helicopters landed, both the Seal leader and the Lieutenant decided to move the men around and give Sarah and the corpsman a Blackhawk to themselves plus two Marine bodyguards. Once off the ground the helicopter carrying Sarah was moved to the middle and protected by the rest on a rotating basis to keep any ground fire that may come, away from Sarah's.

Once safely over the line Sarah's Helicopter and two Apache's peeled off and headed for the field hospital.

*******

Martha was with Tessa, at Amelia's home, the door to the office wedged open and Lauren hovered and offered reassurance as best she could, her new friend from Bingham had taken up position on the porch. Martha had asked Hank to stay with them, he had told them he couldn't, that was his wife out there and although he knew she could take care of herself it didn't stop him worrying. He told them he would be at home working and to give him a call when they had some news.

The computer beeped and the screen wrote out the same message that the General had in his hands less than forty minutes ago. Amelia read it and crumpled to the floor. Lauren picked her up as though she weighed nothing and gently placed her on the couch and into the arms of Martha. It was Tessa that phoned Hank and told him Sarah was safe, when Hank asked about Aiden, Tessa went real quiet.

It took Amelia a few moments to compose herself and slowly stand, she looked towards Martha and told her that Abby and Hannah needed to know before walking out of her house and across the road. None of the girls saw Amelia again for the rest of the afternoon.

Shelby's face appeared on the screen and Tessa rushed into the room ready to hear any news. Tessa had known Shelby for over two years now and the woman looking back at her at the moment wasn't the one everyone saw within the Department.

"Sarah has Aiden at the field hospital, we are already making preparations for his move to Germany and we are using Sarah's requests so far and what she will need when he gets there. We are also adjusting one of the rooms in our clinic. Once Sarah believes he's strong enough to travel we are bringing him here. Get Amelia ready for travel I will co-ordinate with Bingham to bring you both here tomorrow."

"Make it late, tomorrow is Sunday, I know Em and she's going to want to go to church before we leave."

Shelby simply nodded and the screen once again went blank.

*******

Mitchell Carter sat across from Shelby listening to the whole conversation he waited for Shelby's acknowledgment and signing off before he spoke.

"Construction at the clinic begins tomorrow, Sarah says at least two weeks before she wants to move him again especially that sort of distance."

Shelby then added her own thoughts.

"Amelia can stay with Tessa at her apartment for now until Aiden is back. I'm taking her off of all projects until Aiden is on the mend. Lets face it she's going to be useless to us until then."

As Mitchell Carter lifted himself off his seat and headed towards the door he said, "The whole dammed Department has taken a hit on this one, not much of anything is being done anywhere."

*******

Sarah phoned Hank at home, both tried so hard to speak yet all they could do was listen to each other breathing down the phone.

"I knew it was going to be hard but even I wasn't prepared for what I saw."

"Is he going to be alright?"

"That dear husband is the million Dollar question. I have had to place him in a medically induced coma. No one should have to deal with the damage he has sustained."

"Take your time."

He heard Sarah cry and all Hank wanted to do was hug his wife, she sobbed an 'I love you' and hung up.

*******

Ten days later...

The board decided to feed as much information as they dare back into the Department. One of the notice boards on the main corridor was cleared and soon became known as 'Aiden's updates' the construction at the clinic was quickly noticed and the reason why was posted as was daily updates on Aiden's condition. Get well cards started being pinned to the board, so many that they had to add another board alongside to keep up.

When Tessa came crashing into the apartment she grabbed Amelia's hand and practically dragged her out of her seat.

"You have got to see this."

Tessa wouldn't talk, much to Amelia's annoyance but continued to be pulled along the corridor. When Tessa stood in front of the board Amelia had to take a step back to see everything, her eyes lost there sight as moisture filled them, the cards covered both boards and a workman was already measuring up the wall for another board to cope with the influx of cards.

Her hand went from one to another trying to read the short message as best she could, she gasped when one caught her eye. The seal of the Presidents office and his signature made her read the card twice so she could memorize it.

"It seems you found our little corner of hope."

Amelia spun around and Shelby stood looking at her.

"It's beautiful, thank you."

Shelby smiled and nodded her head.

"I was going to look for you so you saved me the task, I have some more news for you, Aiden is inbound and will be here in five hours. The President ordered a medical transport to get him back here and Sarah agreed."

*******

Word came down from the board that Aiden would arrive within the hour, his condition was still listed as critical and that visitors were restricted to his wife and medical personnel. Even that small amount of information was treated with great cheer.

Tessa got a call from Shelby to meet her in her office as soon as she could, Mary showed her straight in and Shelby pointed to a seat while she finished a phone call. When she placed the receiver down she stood.

"I hope you didn't get too comfortable, come with me please."