GOTU - A Robin Marlette Novel (25 page)

“Lie down on your side, Sarge,” Rocky yelled. Seconds later, Rocky's voice screamed, “Three Twenty-Four, Nora Six is down hard! We are all wounded!”

Robin turned and saw a man lying at the bottom of the depression with Burke's knife in his chest. Burke was lying on the north side, holding his bleeding left side. Robin shook off Rocky. He struggled to his position. Having dropped his Galil, he drew his .45. He kept gasping for air. His vision blurred. A man appeared in front of him, screaming “Allah Akbar!” Robin fired two quick rounds into the man's chest by sheer muscle memory. He tried to stand up, to keep fighting, but his legs were rubber and he fell to the ground again. He just could not breathe. The air around him roared and dust swirled.

Gunfire increased, and men shouted in English. Strong hands grabbed him. He struggled. A gruff, gentle voice said, “It's all right. We're going home.” Karen's face appeared in a swirling mist. Her face rose into the air and he reached for her.
I have always loved you!
The swirl carried him up as he strained to touch her, and then her face melted way in a blinding light.

The words “Nora Six is down hard; we are all wounded,” put a hard lump in Jack's throat. Enraged, he made repeated runs on the compound, spewing fiery death and destruction all over. The gunners fired until they were out of ammunition and their barrels glowed red hot. The Blackhawk departed, leaving the compound in flames with nothing left standing.

Robin struggled for consciousness. He gulped refreshing cool air. As he started to rise, a gentle, firm hand held him down.

“Try not to move, sir. You have multiple wounds—I think you have some broken ribs. You've lost a lot of blood.” Robin opened his eyes and saw an Air Force Pararescue Jumper. “I gave you some morphine to help with the pain. You have an oxygen mask on your face. We will be at Davis-Monthan shortly.”

Robin worked at focusing his eyes, realizing he was lying on a stretcher in a Blackhawk helicopter. Burke lay on a stretcher across from him. Robin hoped Burke was only sleeping. On a lower stretcher, two people worked on Marv. Robin moved his head and saw Rocky in a seat, his leg being splinted and bandaged. Their eyes met, and Rocky raised his hand to his forehead in a solemn salute. For some reason, Robin knew the salute meant they were all going to make it. He slipped off into sleep as Karen's lovely vision beckoned him.

TWENTY EIGHT

Robin only had brief moments of consciousness, at times aware of being moved. He saw Bill Grassley's fleeting face and heard Grassley gasp, “My God!” He could feel medical personnel working on him from time to time and heard them talking with concerned voices. There were vehicles, then an aircraft. He tried to wake up, but a soothing female voice said, “Night, night.” Echoing voices seemed to go on and on.

Robin felt like he could wake up. His eyes opened, but they would not focus. He felt dull pain all over his body and with each breath. His throat ached with thirst. He heard Karen's voice calling for a nurse, and then her warm hand on his.

“Rob, it's me, Karen.” Robin squeezed her hand. “It's okay, now. You're safe.” Her voice cracked. “Oh, Rob, I love you. I love you so very much.” He squeezed her hand again.

“I love you, Karen,” Robin said in a croaking whisper. Then he felt less gentle hands on him. The hands probed and moved his body. He grunted with pain.

“Sorry, Sergeant. I have to inspect your wounds. Your body has taken a real beating and you will be hurting for while.”

Robin started to get focus. He saw Karen and smiled at her. She leaned over and kissed his cheek. He realized he was lying braced up on his right side. A woman in a military nurse's uniform appeared in front of him. She had the bars of an Army Captain on her collar.

“We want you to be awake now. You have to start working with us to heal your wounds. You are on your right side because you have three cracked ribs in your back. That's why it hurts to breathe. You also have damage to your back muscles. You were hit by three bullets there, but your ballistic vest stopped them from penetrating too far—although the last one did get close to your lung. We have you in a new type of torso cast to minimize movement of those ribs.” The nurse looked for understanding from him.

Robin nodded his head.

“You also have a wound to your left hip. The tissue damage is significant, but no bones were hit. It's a good thing, because it looks like an AK round hit you. You had a slight wound to your left heel. The paperwork that came with you said your left boot had a bullet hole in it.”

Robin nodded again.

“The most serious wounds are to the right side of your neck and head. You had a lot of glass and metal shrapnel there. Your prior wounds made the penetration of the shrapnel easier this time. Some of the shrapnel came very close to some vital areas. You had extensive surgery in that area, including taking out shrapnel that went through your skull. That's why you have been out so long. Luckily, you apparently have a hard head and the shrapnel didn't penetrate too far. “

Robin cleared his throat. “Water.”

“Oh, honey,” Karen cried. She reached over and poured water from a pitcher into a glass. She took a straw off of a tray and put it in the glass. Karen held the glass so Robin could sip water. After a few sips, his throat felt better.

“Cathy?”

“She's fine, Rob. She has been alternating between you and Andy.”

“Where am I?”

The nurse spoke. “You are at Walter Reed Hospital, in the custody of the United States Army Military Police. As soon as we can, we will be moving you to Fort Bragg.”

That's interesting.

“I'll be back in a while,” the nurse continued. “We're going to have to get you as close to a sitting position as we can. We need to get you well enough to move.” Without further comment, the nurse left.

“How are the rest of the kids handling all of this?” Robin asked.

“The first couple of days were rough for them, but the Marine guards took Casey and Eddie under their wings and they keep them busy. Laurie is doing okay. She's been moody. She is doing much better since Cathy came.”

“How about you?”

“I've been miserable. Rob, I am so sor…” Robin gently put his fingers on her mouth.

“No apologies. I screwed up. We need to just think ahead and love each other.” Karen leaned over and kissed him.

“How are the guys? I know some were badly hurt.”

“Everyone got back, but almost everyone was wounded except for Ernie and Gary. Marv and Jamie are still here with you. Both will recover, but I guess Jamie will take a while. They have everyone else at Quantico.”

“How are the other families?”

“They're doing better now that you guys are here.” Karen looked pensive.

“What's up, Babe?” Robin could feel sleep starting to come over him again.

“Rob, we've been forbidden to talk to anyone. They tell us if we do, you will all go to prison. Bill Grassley has told us to be patient—that all of this will be worked out, but we need to be quiet. The press is going crazy with stories of an official complaint by the Mexican government about a military incursion by the U.S. that resulted in the death of over sixty Mexican citizens. Our government is denying any knowledge of it, but everyone believes the U.S. did it.”

“Don't worry, honey. The most important thing is that we got Cathy back.” Sleep overtook Robin. “I'll deal with it as soon as I can stay awake.”

For the next seven days, Robin fought pain, minimizing the pain medicine the doctor ordered him to take. He pushed the limits, trying to get back on his feet. Karen stayed with him day and night; Robin noticed she looked haggard. On the morning of the fourth day, the doctor came in to the room.

“How are you doing today?”

“Doc, I want to stop the pain medicine.”

“I don't advise that. You still have a lot of pain.”

“I don't care about the pain. I want to get my brain out of this fog. All the pain medicine is doing is interfering with my brain trying to heal me. As long as I know why I am hurting, I'll be fine. I also want to get out of here. I need to see my kids and my men.”

The doctor looked at Robin, sizing him up. He turned to Karen. “Well, Mrs. Marlette, you certainly know your husband.” Robin looked at Karen.

“What's that supposed to mean?”

Karen smiled. “I told the good doctor that as soon as you started feeling a little better you would start giving orders.”

Robin sighed. “Sorry, Doc, I'm not trying to be demanding. I am just stating my preferences.”

“Well, Sergeant, if you think you're ready, I won't stand in your way. There is some basis to your assessment about the pain medicine and environment being better at Fort Bragg. You will have to continue your physical therapy there. If you can stand the pain, I will release you with a prescription for pain medicine you can take at night so you can sleep.”

“I'm ready to go, Doc, as soon as I visit my men who are still here.”

TWENTY NINE

By the time the plane ride to Fort Bragg ended, Robin's pain medicine had worn off. Robin hid his agony as the children greeted him and Karen, but they could see the bandages and the torso cast. He saw the concern in their eyes.

Eddie held on to Robin's hand and would not let go. He put Robin's arm across his shoulder. “Here, Dad, lean on me. I'll help you.” Robin hesitated, but looking into his son's eyes, he couldn't say no. “Thanks, Eddie, I could use the help.”

Two MPs helped Robin into the back seat of a van and drove the family to their quarters, located in a section of Randolf Pointe, cordoned off by MPs. All of the men and their families were housed here. As they walked through the makeshift entry, two MPs came to attention. One of them winked at Eddie.

“I'm not a military officer, gentlemen. No need to come to attention for me.”

“On the contrary, sir,” said a sergeant whose name tag read “McManus.” “We don't know all the details, but we have general idea of what you and your men did and why security is needed. We are honored to be here, sir.”

“Thank you, Sergeant.”

As they passed through the gate, Robin saw Burke Jameson standing with the help of a crutch near a door that turned out to be the entrance to Robin's family quarters. Robin walked up to Burke. They painfully embraced in a bear hug.

“We made it, Boss,” Burke said, the mischievous sparkle in his eyes brighter than ever. “According to the news, we caused a helluva lot of trouble.” Burke's face broke out in a broad grin, cut short as he reached to hold the bandage on his right cheek.

“Well, I think that fits our style just fine,” Robin replied. He stepped into the quarters and saw almost the entire team and their families were there. Two things he saw gave him pause. First, all of them, save Ernie Jackson and Gary Perkins, were bandaged in various places. Second, Marv Allen and Jamie Slater were not there at all. Pain filled his heart. Each one of these men had done this for Cathy, for him.

Robin looked about him for a minute. “As you all know, I'm not a man of few words on most occasions.” Knowing chuckles rippled through the group. “Today is different. I simply cannot tell you how thankful Karen and I are for the sacrifice all of you gave to get Cathy back. I thought I could go it alone. I had a plan.” More chuckles; Robin smiled. “I guess I always have a plan. It's just sometimes they don't work out too well. As our various wounds testify, I probably would not have made it, which means Cathy would not have made it.” Robin's head bowed.

“Hey, Rob, do you know how long I have been waiting for a free fire zone?” Emmett piped up. “In 'Nam, we had fucked up rules of engagement that wouldn't let us kill the bad guys. When we hit that compound, I felt liberated. We knew these were righteous bad guys; we knew they were out-and-out dangerous, and most importantly, you taught us that we were more dangerous than them—and by God, we proved it. We love you and Karen and the kids. So shut up. We're burning daylight.”

A roar of laughter erupted from the group. Robin stiffly walked amongst the team and their families, thanking them and answering their questions about the future as best he could. During the reunion, Bill Grassley called Robin.

“Rob, two vehicles will be by to pick up the team at 1300 tomorrow to take you to another location on the Fort. We'll settle the team's situation then.”

“Okay, we'll be ready.”

“No questions?”

“Not now. We trust you, Bill.”

“I'm glad to hear that. Both our futures depend on it. We'll see you tomorrow.”

“Okay, bye.” Robin rejoined Karen and went back to talking with his men and their families.

Soon just the team remained, and Robin sat down with his men. Pain and exhaustion were haunting him, but he needed to find out some things.

“I'd like to get filled in on what happened to everybody during the raid. Rick and Mark, how did the perimeter fight go?”

“Actually, Sarge, if the original intelligence had been good, our plan would have worked,” Rick said. “The Arabs threw us off. There had to be thirty to fifty of them.”

“That's a fact,” Mark chimed in. Those charges and grenades you gave us were the reason we all got out alive. They took care of a lot of assholes, but there were still a lot of them left.”

“How did you two get wounded?”

“We both got wounded getting everyone into the extraction vehicles, as did Mr. Young over there,” Rick explained.

“Having those two vehicles in the same place was a mistake,” Rick continued. They became the targets of most of the enemy firepower.”

“I agree,” Mike said. “That's also where Carlos and I were both wounded.”

“Me too,” Emmett said.

“There is a lesson learned. Where is Carlos?”

“The Feds have him and Jorge under wraps more than us,” Burke said. “And, by the way, the Feds got Jorge's family out of Mexico. They are here with him now.”

“I'm glad to hear that, since we promised him.”

“Well, Mr. Santos over there jumped on ol' Grassley's back and wouldn't get off until he took care of it.”

“Who got us out?”

“The Air Force got us out,” Mark said. “Another one of their choppers got you out too.”