Never Surrender

“A SEAL, sir. Chief Gabe Griffin.”

He nodded, assimilating the intel. “Yeah, I ran into his team just before they left to rotate out of Camp Bravo last year. Good man. He’s lucky to get you. Congratulations.”

Bay felt his sincerity. “Thank you, sir.”

“Well,” he said, a slight grin on his face, “SEALs are known to be damned protective of their women. I don’t suppose he’s any different?”

She chuckled a little. “No, sir, he’s the same.”

“I guess I’d better treat you right then, or he’ll be climbing my ass. SEALs don’t really see officers any different than enlisted people.”

“That’s true, the rank and ratings blur in the SEAL community, sir.”

He sighed. “Let me give you the lowdown, Doc. My sergeants have gotten you a small, abandoned mud home about two blocks down from our HQ. The Taliban is trying to put new rat lines through this valley. For the last year, the Shinwari tribe people have been absolutely terrorized by the Taliban. They don’t want them going through here, and neither do we. But, as you know, the Taliban doesn’t take no for an answer. Our medi, Brokelman, was seriously wounded in a hot firefight three weeks ago. The enemy keeps probing us. They hide in the mountains, strike at night and then disappear before dawn. We’ve put an SF team in all three villages, and we’re trying to stabilize the area and help the people, who are frantic with fear, to give them some security. They hate the Taliban as much as we do.

“A number of them have gotten night letters. And you know when a family finds one tacked on their door, it’s a death card. The Taliban utilize hit-and-run raids, and they’ve got some damned good snipers among them. They shoot mostly children as a way to warn the villages that if they continue to support Americans, they’ll continue killing them.” His mouth grew grim.

“That’s terrible,” Bay whispered, her heart breaking over the thought of children arbitrarily being murdered. She knew the Taliban was ruthless and used stone-age tactics against anyone who was their enemy. And in Afghanistan, it usually worked. Few villages had the weaponry and manpower to fight them off. They had to rely entirely on American support and help.

“It’s sickening,” he growled, shaking his head. “You’re going to have to watch your step, Doc. I’m not going to take you out on patrols. I want you here, in this village. I know you’re combat trained, but I cannot afford to lose another medic. This village is far from safe. You’re going to have to watch yourself all the time. Don’t get distracted. The Taliban have sent men in, and they’ve kidnapped some of the elders, demanding money or they decapitate them. Just stay alert, okay?”

“Yes, sir,” Bay murmured, actually happy she wasn’t going to be patrolling. She wanted to get home safe and sound to Gabe, to get on with the rest of their life. Maybe she had a short-timer’s attitude, but she didn’t care. Fewer bullets would be thrown at her, less chance of being killed or injured.

“You’re going to be a genuine asset. You know Pashto and you’re a female medic, so you can start tomorrow morning by finding a place to set up a clinic to help the women and children. I’m sure some of the men will drop by, too.”

“Yes, sir, they bend the rules when necessary. I’ve come equipped to handle both genders.”

“Good.” He finished off his coffee. “You know Reza?”

“Yes, sir, he and I have worked together before. He’s a trusted ally, sir.”

“Good to hear. He’s going to be leading us up into these mountains to the east of us for the next month, teaching us the trail systems and pointing out new rat lines to us. In the next few weeks, we’ve got to get a handle on these damned raids and stop them cold in their tracks.”

“What about drones, sir?”

He snorted. “The CIA has authority over all the drones and flies them out of Camp Bravo. I’ve been on their ass every day by radio, begging them to give us one over the valley. They keep stonewalling me.”

Bay frowned. “Sir, have you contacted Chief Phillips? He’s running the new SEAL platoon that just rotated into Camp Bravo. I worked with the SEALs over there last year. Different platoon, but I think if you can fly in and see the chief, he might be able to swing a drone your way.” She shrugged. “It’s worth a shot, sir.”

He smiled, rising and rubbing the back of his neck. “I guess I can go lower myself to the SEAL Chief, get down on my knees and grovel for mercy,” he grumbled.

Bay realized Anderson was teasing her. “They’re good guys, sir. Kept my butt out of a sling a number of times last summer.”

“Yeah, they always take the fight to the enemy. They don’t blink when there’s gunfire. Anyone else who has any brains is running away from it. But those guys get a gleam in their eye, grab their M-4s and they’re running as fast as they can toward the damn fight.”

“They wouldn’t have it any other way,” she said with a smile, feeling pride for them and for Gabe. “They’re very brave warriors in my book, sir.”

He sighed and studied the map across the planning board. “No disagreement, Doc. We might be Army and they are Navy, but we’re Americans and that’s what really counts. We’re over here doing the same job.”

“Sir?”

“Yes?”

“About a sniper? You said the Taliban are hitting the villages in this valley?”

“They are. I don’t have a sniper on my team.”

“Well, sir, why not ask the SEAL Chief if he’s got any guys who might want a little extra hunting challenge over here? They like doing sniper work.”

“Any chance your fiancé, Griffin, was one?”

She laughed. “Yes, sir, he is. I learned a lot from him.”

“It’s not a bad idea, Doc. I’ll give the Chief my sad song, and maybe he’ll feel sorry for an Army son of a bitch and lend me some SEAL help, since I can’t get a drone assigned to us.” He regarded her and said, “Glad you’re here, Doc. Go get situated. Any one of my sergeants will be more than happy to help you adjust to your new digs here. Any problems, see me directly. Okay?”

Bay stood up. “Yes, sir.”

“Dismissed, Doc.”

Bay turned, set her cup on the planning board and shrugged the heavy ruck over her shoulder. She exited the stifling confines of the windowless house.

Reza stepped from between the houses, grinning like a fox. “Well, did you like Captain Anderson?”

“Very much,” she said, walking with him. “Do you know where my house is?” Reza knew everything. She’d come to rely on his almost photographic mind.

His face brightened. “I do! This way!”

* * *

GABE WAS EXHAUSTED as he sat down at his computer in his condo. Bay had been gone a week, and he was worried because she hadn’t checked in with him. She’d promised to try and Skype him. He knew she could only do that at Camp Bravo, not in the valley where she was located.

His fingers itched to type an email to Chief Phillips to see if Bay had gotten to Bravo yet. He’d called Phillips shortly after Bay had flown out of Lindbergh Field. Phillips had rule over the entire platoon and was the man who could make anything happen by coordinating with the three officers above him. When Gabe had told him Bay was his fiancée and that she was in the area, he promised to keep an eye on her. He slept a little better knowing that. SEALs took care of their own.

His computer beeped. His heart raced. It was a Skype call from Bay.

“Hey,” Bay said, smiling happily, “how are you?”

His heart crashed in his chest, powerful emotions nearly choking off his reply. Staring hard at Bay, he noticed how her cheeks were flushed pink, her soft, curly hair pulled back in a ponytail. She wore SF cammies.

“I’m good. Good. How are you?” All calls and emails were run through SEAL HQ back in Coronado. Gabe couldn’t say much and had to keep their communication bland. Hell, he wanted to reach through that screen and haul Bay into his arms and kiss her senseless. Just seeing the light dancing in her blue eyes made him feel an avalanche of relief. She looked good. And happy.

“I’m getting acclimated to my new digs over in the valley. Got a really squared-away SF captain over there. His team could care less whether I’m a woman or not.”

Gabe chuckled. “Right on. You’re an 18 Delta, so they don’t care if you have two heads and sprout horns.” He heard her laughter, husky and sweet. His euphoria deepened as he saw her wrinkle her nose, her beautiful lips pulling up into a huge smile over his comment. He loved her. His lower body ached, needed relief. Gabe couldn’t think two thoughts on any given day without thinking of Bay, remembering the times they’d hotly loved one another until they were utterly exhausted.

“Did you get with Chief?” he demanded.

“Oh, yeah, I did.” Bay hooked her thumb over her shoulder. “He’s been wonderful, Gabe. When I can manage to get a helo hop over here, he lets me use the team computer. Really sweet of him.”