Jet Blue (WeHo Book 5) Page 14

  Skyler heard the clatter of the magazine clip hitting the deck of the helicopter. As she called, “Coming right,” the aircraft bucked a bit. “Hold on!”

  The hail of gunfire seemed to light up the sky. Skyler automatically pulled back on the stick climbing, putting the belly of the aircraft up to protect the rotors.

  “Skyler, come left thirty degrees, I can see the greasy little bastard, get me in there and I can take him out.”

  “I’m not getting you too close to that, I can take him out with a Hellfire,” Skyler yelled back.

  “And let the military know we were playing with a Blackhawk. Do you want to hand them your commission?! Just get me down there, Sky, I’ll take him out!”

  “Goddamn it!” Skyler yelled. “Coming left thirty degrees, you be careful and keep your damned head down!”

  The Blackhawk swung left, suddenly.

  “Now just tip it about five degrees, on my mark” Jet said calmly into the mike. “Mark… coming down, coming down… right… there!” she said, letting go a burst of fire from the M16.

  There was an explosion to Skyler’s right, and she heard Jet let lose a yell. Skyler laughed, giving a sigh of relief. Jet reappeared in the cockpit a minute later, grinning.

  “You’re crazy, you do know that, right?” Skyler said her blue-green eyes sparkling in the setting sun.

  Jet shrugged. “Sometimes,” she replied with a sardonic grin.

  As the Blackhawk lifted off the ground, Jet got the same old thrill. There was something exhilarating about the sights, sounds and smell of being in an Army aircraft. She knew the mission they were on was dangerous, but somehow it felt really good to be here again, in uniform and looking across the cockpit at Skyler.

  “Remember our trip to the beach?” Jet asked grinning.

  “I do,” Skyler said, grinning back at her.

  They exchanged a look, at that moment it was all about being a soldier and doing a job.

  “Thank you for coming with me on this,” Jet said, her tone sincere.

  A soft smile crossed Skyler’s lips. “Wouldn’t have wanted it any other way.”

  Jet nodded, feeling the warmth of the friendship she’d shared with Skyler years before and holding on to it tightly. Glancing back she winked at Sebastian who was sitting in the back.

  The sun was setting when the team touched down at the Balad Air Base five hours later. The base was an Iraqi Air Force base, but fortunately had enough American military traffic to make their arrival uninteresting to any prying eyes. Skyler put the Blackhawk down at the far edge of the field, purposely partially hidden by the older, less used hangars. Powering down the rotors, Skyler did her post-flight check as Jet got up and moved to the back of the aircraft.

  “How’s it going back here?” Jet asked, grinning at Sebastian.

  “Got a good nap,” Sebastian said, winking at her.

  “Like sleepin’ in a cradle, huh?” Jet asked him.

  “Oh yeah,” Sebastian said, the look on his face telling Jet he was feeling the same way she had earlier: good to be back.

  “Comin’ up on the right!” Skyler called from the cockpit.

  Jet moved to her M16 looking out the sliding door window. She relaxed instantly as she recognized the man who drove the Jeep. He was their contact at the air base.

  Abrahem Hairi got out of the Jeep. Holding his arm up to Jet, she opened the sliding door to the helicopter and got out.

  “We have everything you requested in this hangar here,” Abrahem said, nodding to Skyler and Sebastian as they climbed out of the helicopter.

  “Thank you, we’ll take it from here,” Jet said to Abrahem, not wanting to involve him anymore than necessary.

  Abrahem nodded, turned and got back into the Jeep and drove away.

  They intended to make the short drive to Raqqa at midnight. They spent the next four hours going over the plan, and mentally gearing up for the mission. Jet found a quiet spot in the corner. She leaned against the wall with her headphones on, she cranked her music, and smoked. Sebastian and Skyler played cards, smoked and talked.

  “How do you think she’s doing?” Sebastian asked, looking over at Jet.

  Skyler looked over at the girl too, her look measuring. Jet’s head was moving to the music she was listening to, mouthing the words of the song with vehemence as she smoked.

  “I think she’s doin’ alright,” Skyler said. “That’s kind of her pre-game warm up.”

  Sebastian grinned. “I get the music, I’m big into it myself,” he said, nodding.

  “Well, Jet has ADHD, so she needs to be able to focus that brain of hers. The music does that for her,” Skyler said, her look fond as she looked back over Jet.

  “So you two were a thing, huh?”

  Skyler nodded, taking a deep drag off her cigarette.

  “What happened?” Sebastian asked casually.

  “My copter went down.”

  “What did you fly?” Sebastian asked, never having heard Skyler’s story.

  Skyler canted her head at the Blackhawk that could be seen through the doors of the hangar.

  “What happened?” Sebastian asked. “If you don’t mind me asking.”

  Skyler looked back at him, she would have minded a year before, but now she was used to telling the story. Her therapist said it was good for her to do so, that it desensitized it for her.

  “RPG took out our tail rotor,” Skyler said. “We spun out and went down hard,” she said, her eyes narrowing slightly. “One of my crew was killed instantly, another one was wounded badly. We were all hurt.”

  Sebastian nodded, his look pained.

  “Insurgents moved in, shot me, shot Jams my copilot twice, took all three of us prisoner.”

  “Fuck…” Sebastian breathed, knowing she was lucky to be alive.

  Skyler nodded, looking grave. “Ended up almost being raped. Benny, one of my crew, tried to defend me and they killed him for it. I used the knife they used to kill him to take them all out.” She said the last with her tone low.

  “Ooah,” Sebastian said, nodding.

  “Ooah,” Skyler answered.

  “When we got back they sent us home,” Skyler said, looking over at Jet again.

  “And she stayed,” Sebastian said, understanding now.

  Skyler nodded.

  “And that’s why you’re here now?” Sebastian said.

  “Wouldn’t you be here if Kashena was?”

  “You know it.”

  “I owe her,” Skyler said, her eyes serious.

  Sebastian nodded.

  “So why are you here?” Skyler asked him.

  Sebastian grinned, shrugging. “’Cause my little Jet Fire needed the back up and Rangers always lead the way.”

  Skyler gave him a narrowed look. “You really feel protective over her, don’t you?”

  Sebastian nodded.

  “Why?” Skyler asked.

  Sebastian looked considering. “Lost a kid like her on my platoon a year into my time as a Captain. I guess I just want to make sure it doesn’t happen again.”

  “I’m just hoping we don’t lose her if she finds out they’re all dead,” Skyler said, looking over at Jet again.

  “Lose her?” Sebastian queried, his look worried.

  Skyler shrugged, “She’s been holding on to this for a year now, Baz. Holding on to hope, thinking if she could just get back here… Now she’s here… If they’re dead I don’t know how she’ll take it.”

  “Well, she’s going back in one piece, whether she likes it or not. I promised Ashley I’d bring her back.”

  “Ashley, huh?” Skyler asked, grinning.

  “She’s worried about her.”

  “Uh-huh…” Skyler said, grinning.

  “Hey, she’s Jet’s girl,” Sebastian said, holding up his hands.

  “She’s not Jet’s girl. Jet doesn’t have girls,” Skyler said. “It’s not her style anymore.”

  “Anymore?” Sebastian asked.

  “Not si
nce I’ve known her this time,” Skyler said. “She flits from one woman to the next, never sticking around long enough for them to get their hooks into her.”

  “Sounds familiar,” Sebastian said, grinning.

  “Like you?” Skyler asked.

  “Yeah…” Sebastian said, his look proud as he looked over at Jet.

  “Yeah, well, it’s not a fulfilling life,” Skyler said, giving him a dirty look.

  “Like getting married?” Sebastian asked.

  “Yeah,” Skyler said, grinning. “Actually, if anyone would have told me two years ago that I’d be getting married, I’d have turned them out.”

  “But you found the right one,” Sebastian said.

  “Yeah, I did,” Skyler said, her eyes shining.

  “Hopefully that’s in the cards for all of us,” Sebastian said. “Speaking of which, I call.”

  Skyler laid her cards down and she had a Royal Flush.

  “Son of a mother…” Sebastian breathed, grinning.

  “I’ll take that,” Skyler said, pulling the pot in with a rakish grin.

  At midnight they drove out of the air base in a blacked out Humvee. They were all heavily armed, Sebastian was driving. It took them thirty-five minutes to reach the outskirts of the villages that ringed Raqqa. Sebastian pulled the vehicle over, looking back at Jet who sat behind Skyler. She was looking at the burned out houses at the edge of the village. It was beginning to occur to her that they really could have done all of this for nothing.

  “Ready?” Sebastian asked, glancing at Skyler, then back at Jet again.

  Jet closed her eyes, taking a slow deep breath and blowing it out slowly, then nodding as she opened her eyes. They got out of the Humvee and started jogging deeper into the village to where the Antar household resided. Sebastian stayed behind Skyler and Jet his eyes ever watchful. They were within a block of the house when Jet heard gunfire and a woman’s scream split the night.

  “Son of a bitch!” she growled, and took off toward the house.

  “Damnit!” Skyler exclaimed as she sprinted to try and catch up with Jet.

  She knew what Jet was thinking and also knew that Jet was as impulsive as a person could be. Sebastian caught up to her, with his longer stride, and snatched her up by the back of her vest, shoving her up against a house wall nearby.

  “Hold on,” he whispered furiously as she struggled against his hold.

  He motioned for Skyler to take a look, pointing with two fingers. Skyler nodded, grateful to Sebastian for stopping Jet’s headlong run. Dropping to a knee, Skyler peered carefully around the corner, she saw the Antar house and she also saw two insurgents outside of it. Pulling back she leaned against the wall, glancing up at Sebastian and nodding, an unhappy look on her face. She held up two fingers.

  He dragged Jet down as he dropped to a kneeling position.

  “You aren’t going to do any of them any good if you get yourself killed, charging in,” be told Jet.

  Jet gritted her teeth, nodding.

  “Okay, I’ll take the one on the left,” he said, peaking around the corner, then looking back at them. “Sky, you take the one on the right, on my mark. Quick shot, we don’t need the rest of their friends heading this way. Jet, you hit the house, got it?”

  Jet nodded, moving to stand. The three of them turned, their weapons at the ready. Sebastian held up three fingers, pulling each of them down, one at a time, then gave the move sign with his hand sideways. As one unit they moved. Skyler and Sebastian shot at the same time, taking down both of the men outside. They moved off, to secure the perimeter of the house, and Jet moved to the door.

  She did a quick look inside, seeing Fahrshad lying on the floor dead. Leaning against the wall again, she steeled herself, then she heard Fadiyah scream again. She moved quickly, her M16 at her shoulder in the ready position. Moving to the backroom she was horrified to see a man trying to force himself on Fadiyah, she was fighting him mightily.

  Jet stuck the muzzle of the M16 against the back of his head.

  “Get off of her now…” Jet growled through gritted teeth.

  The man froze.

  “Move!” Jet roared, jamming the muzzle into his head, dying to shoot the man, but afraid she could hit Fadiyah in the process. She wouldn’t take that chance.

  The man slowly moved backwards, and Jet backed up to ensure she could cover him.

  “Get your fucking hands up!” Jet yelled, then repeated it in Arabic, just I case he didn’t get it.

  He put his hands up, muttering in Arabic. Jet shoved the muzzle of the M16 into his face. “I don’t think you want to talk shit about women right now, pal,” she said, her eyes blazing with fury.

  Jet refused to look over at Fadiyah until she knew the man was no longer a danger.

  “Jet,” Skyler said from the door to the sleeping quarters.

  “Cover me,” Jet told Skyler, Skyler nodded.

  Jet turned then, striding to the bed, seeing Fadiyah lying there, her abaya pushed up to her waist. She moved to pull the robe-like clothing down, as she leaned over Fadiyah. The young woman’s eyes were squeezed shut.

  “Fadi?” she queried softly.

  Fadiyah opened her eyes, shock very clear in them. “Jet?” she queried, as if she were seeing a ghost.

  “Hi,” Jet said, smiling down at her.

  “Jet!” Fadiyah exclaimed, bursting into tears and throwing her arms around Jet’s neck.

  Jet quickly gathered the girl in her arms, holding her as she lifted her off the bed, the girl weighed almost nothing. Fadiyah buried her face in Jet’s neck, crying hysterically.

  “It’s okay, it’s okay, I have you, honey, I have you…” Jet soothed, looking around her. “Fadi, what about Abdul?” she asked, her tone gentle.

  Fadiyah shook her head sadly.

  Jet closed her eyes, wincing. “I’m so sorry, honey…”

  “Jet, we gotta go,” Skyler said from the door.

  Jet nodded, and holding Fadiyah in her arms, she carried her toward the door. At the door she stopped, turning to whisper to Skyler, nodding toward the small dresser in the room. Skyler nodded and moved past her. Jet carried Fadiyah through the house, purposely keeping her turned away from the body of her father. Sebastian was outside, with the insurgent who’d been intent on assaulting Fadiyah, on his knees. He nodded to Jet, who nodded in response.

  She handed Fadiyah to him, then turned to the man who was now sneering up at her. Taking out her Kaybar, she shoved it into his chest without hesitation, and using her booted foot, she kicked him over viciously. She wiped the Kaybar off on his clothing and put it back in its sheath. Sebastian had stood and watched. Even Skyler had emerged to see what Jet had done. Neither of them commented, simply nodding. None of them realized that Fadiyah had watched as well.

  Walking back over to Sebastian, Jet took Fadiyah back into her arms, unwilling to let anyone else touch the girl at the moment. They turned, with Sebastian in the rear, and Skyler in the lead. They started back toward the Humvee.

  They were a few blocks down and Skyler had peeled off to check the side buildings they were passing when a man jumped out of the shadows with a handgun. He fired and Jet spun to protect Fadiyah. Feeling the burning impact of the bullet striking the outer edge of her vest, she hissed in pain. The man was dead a moment later, shot by Sebastian.

  “Jet!” Sebastian exclaimed, as Skyler ran up.

  “Jet?” Fadiyah said her tone faint.

  “I’m okay, I’m okay,” Jet chanted. “Let’s go.”

  They began to run and made it to the Humvee a couple of minutes later. Sebastian took Fadiyah out of Jet’s arms, so she could climb into the vehicle. He saw the blood trickling down her arm, but didn’t comment. He handed her Fadiyah who was shaking. Jet gathered the girl close, wincing as she moved the arm that had been hit, but refusing to acknowledge the pain.

  “Go, go, go,” Jet chanted to Sebastian, as he got into the vehicle.

  They took off into the night then, headed
back to Balad. Jet sat with Fadiyah on her lap. It was obvious that Fadiyah was going into shock, so Jet pulled her abaya around her closer, doing her best to keep her close. Fadiyah had her head against Jet’s shoulder, her eyes were closed, but she was shaking and her breathing was shallow.

  “Fadi…” Jet said, trying to get the girl to respond. “Honey, I need you to look at me, okay?”

  Fadiyah opened her eyes slowly, looking dazed.

  “Are you hurt?” Jet asked, her eyes searching.

  Fadiyah shook her head, blinking a couple of times. “Are you really here?” she asked, sounding breathless.

  “Yes, I’m really here,” Jet said. “I’m here.”

  Fadiyah just looked back at her, like she was seeing a ghost.

  Skyler looked back at Jet, their eyes connecting.

  “She’s going into shock,” Skyler told Jet.

  Jet nodded, knowing she was right. “Call ahead and see if they can give her a shot or something when we get to Balad. She needs a sedative.”

  Skyler nodded, getting on the radio.

  Chapter 7

  When they reached Balad, a medic met them at the helicopter. Jet held Fadiyah as the medic gave her a shot. Fadiyah was asleep minutes later as the Blackhawk lifted off. When they reached Tehran, Skyler landed the Blackhawk at the far end of Mehrabad airport, at the location they’d been given. A lot of strings had been pulled by Jericho to make this particular part of the plan happen. Her father, the former Iranian Ambassador, had called in favors.

  They were met by a car that took them to Tehran Grand Hotel. Sebastian climbed out of the vehicle, turning to take the still-sleeping Fadiyah out of Jet’s arms. He noticed Jet looked pale.

  He leaned over to Skyler. “Get the hotel doctor up to Jet’s room, she’s losing too much blood.”

  Skyler nodded, heading into the hotel. Jet climbed out of the vehicle, moving to take Fadiyah from Sebastian.

  “I’ve got her,” Sebastian said. “Go.” He said it with just enough authority that Jet nodded her head tiredly.

  It would have caused a stir walking into the hotel in military uniforms, especially with Jet bleeding and Sebastian carrying an unconscious Iraqi woman. Fortunately, Jericho had arranged for them to use the back entrance and go straight up to their rooms having been met by hotel security.