Finding Dani (Once a Marine, Always a Marine Book 3) (2 page)

Grinning at the finger he was being given and the scowl on Gunner’s face, he turned and followed Hicks to the communications tent. They were stationed in a remote part of Liberia and the satellite phone was the only way to reach the outside world.
 

“Dupree.”

“Good to hear your voice, son.”

Damon felt his back straighten and something he didn’t want to name crawl through his guts. He knew that voice, even if he hadn’t heard it for at least eight years. “Sir.”

“I need your help, Damon. It’s urgent,” said Captain Nathanial Bordeaux.

Every time the Chief Scientist Officer of the U.S. Public Health Service called, Damon’s life changed. Last time, it devastated him. But he was up for just about anything, which was why he was flying Gunner all over the world and into some of the worst hell-holes he’d ever seen. When he’d been discharged from the Marine Corps, he began to freelance his skills. Flying was one he enjoyed.

“What can I do for you, sir?”

“The CDC has a team in Guinea and they no longer have their government escort. Rebels are marching into the area and they’re cut off from the other teams by the river. I need them flown out, son.”

“You have some members of the Health Service there?”

“One, but I’ve worked with most of these people before, and I don’t want to lose more doctors.”

“How long do I have?”
“They evacuated the village, but the rebels will have them surrounded within the hour.”

“I’m five hours away by air.”

“Word is, this rebel leader from Sierra Leone is looking to make a name for himself by killing off anyone interfering in their culture. He’s young and ignorant enough to believe that Western medicine is bad for them.”

Damon dragged his palm down his face. Nathan’s voice was thick with concern. A night extraction wasn’t his favorite, but this was desperate. Desperate enough for Nathan to call him directly because he happened to be closer than anyone else.

“You have contact with them?”

“Some. I’ve got the coordinates of the location they’re headed to for pickup.”

Damon wrote them down. “I’m on it.”

“Copy that. And, Damon?”

“Sir?”

“Watch out for Copperheads. I hear they’re deadly.”

Damon felt his whole body snap to attention. Damn, it had been a long time since he’d heard that code name. “I’ll make it in three.”
 

Chapter 2

Gunfire erupted as Travis hit the gas. The truck bucked and threw Dani into Claire. Even Graham grimaced. The truck was a repurposed military transport vehicle and wasn’t the smoothest ride.

“That was close,” Travis said.

“We’re not out of danger yet,” Claire muttered. She looked at Dani. “Do you think the villagers made it out?”

Dani could feel the adrenaline in her system spiking her heart rate and making her take deep breaths. “I don’t think they all left.”

“But Travis warned the elders,” Claire argued. Her face registered the horror they all felt.

All Dani could do was shake her head and pray they listened. So many of the villagers were too weak to move far. Having survived the Ebola virus, Dani was nauseous at the thought of misguided rebels now taking those lives. Her eyes met Martin’s. His expression matched hers. There was nothing more anyone could do. It was no longer in their hands. Getting out of that village was the best way to save them. But the guilt by association was eating her up inside. It might not matter that they’d left; they still might punish the villagers for accepting help.

“Where are we going?” Claire asked.

“South toward the river. It’s the flattest terrain I’ve seen to be able to land a plane or a chopper. Anuma agreed,” Travis said.

“But that’s toward Sierra Leone; isn’t that too dangerous?”

Hailey Walsh had been quiet until that moment, eyes squeezed closed. But her voice had taken on a shrill tone that wobbled as she shook. Dani grabbed her hand and squeezed, pulling her focus and hoping to calm the woman. “It’s too late to worry about it now. Travis and Anuma know what they’re doing. Trust them.”

Their normally silent guide, Anuma, reached back and patted Hailey as well. “It will be well.” His accent was French, even through clenched teeth. He’d been the best guide they’d ever worked with and knew the country, as well as the social landscape of the villages.

He was from Ghana, but believed in Western medicine.

Then conversation stopped as the echoes of now distant gunfire reached their ears. Dani squeezed Hailey’s hand harder. Even Graham’s dour expression seemed more pronounced. Dani’s world travels included time in the Peace Corps as well as the CDC, and she’d been in some fairly dangerous situations—this was worse than any of the other times.

This was the first time that she and her team were the specific targets.

“How many rebels, Travis?”

Dani could see the tendons in his neck standing out as he struggled to hold onto the wheel. They’d left the road and were blazing a path on the outskirts of the jungle. “At least twenty soldiers. But only one Jeep, so that is in our favor.”

“Will they track us at night?” she asked.

It was Anuma who answered. “Yes. And we’re leaving a trail big enough for a blind man to follow.”

“It can’t be helped, man,” Travis said.

“What do you suggest, Anuma?” Dani asked.

Trekking through dense jungle at night wasn’t just an unpleasant thought; it could be deadly. Night predators, snakes, and even insects would be teeming in the inky blackness. But against men with guns, the jungle
was
the only alternative. Even with all the evil bugs. She shuddered at the thought.

“We will have to leave the truck and hide in the trees.”

She was afraid he was going to say that. “Can we put more distance between us first?”

Both he and Travis nodded. “We can hide the truck by the river and track backwards to the rendezvous spot.”

“How long before they catch up with us?”

Travis shrugged. “Guess it depends on what happens in the village and how determined they are.”

“I will hide us well,” Anuma said.

Dani nodded. She believed he would try, but as she looked around at everyone in the truck, she knew it would be difficult. Four pale faces looked back. She knew her face echoed the terror they all felt. Her stomach was in knots and every bump threatened to release the panic she was carefully keeping in check. She was the leader and needed to keep calm.

But that didn’t mean she couldn’t worry about everything. Claire was in a stark white T-shirt that was a beacon in the light of the rising full moon. And Hailey’s pale blonde hair would stand out like neon in the moonlight.

They were all in light colors, to stay cooler in the oppressive heat. But now those colors could alert the enemy to their location.

Only Anuma was in darker clothes, and with his obsidian hair and mocha skin, he would blend into the shadows flawlessly. He’d be able to disappear into safety on his own, but Dani was more than grateful that he was with them. And willing to help.

She reached out and laid her hand on his darker one. “Thank you, Anuma.”

There was nothing more to say, no reassurance that she could give her team that they were going to make it out alive. There were no guarantees in this world. And they all knew it, even accepted it.

But that didn’t mean she couldn’t hope.

***

“I’m not actually sure a helicopter is supposed to make that kind of noise,” Gunner said.

To his credit, his voice was steady and his posture was relaxed, but Damon wasn’t fooled. Gunner was freaked out. Even with the headsets, they had to almost yell. “This baby will make it. Besides, I told you to stay at the base.”

“But this is so much more exciting. I love flying,” he said. “And maybe one of the lady doctors will think I’m handsome and heroic enough to reward me with a kiss, or a full night together.”

Damon grinned. When Gunner wasn’t lost in one of his inventions, he focused all his attention on women. All women. He loved everything about women and they loved him. Tall, blond, with deep brown eyes, he wasn’t ever lacking in companions. Being rich and brilliant wasn’t a bad asset either.

“What makes you think any of the docs are women?”

“Are you kidding? The CDC specializes in women who want to make a difference in the world. Tough, but tender women, who aren’t looking for a permanent man in their lives because they work for ‘the cause’.”

Damon checked his instrument panel with the coordinates he’d been given before he answered. “And you aren’t a permanent kind of guy.”

Gunner shrugged. “There are too many adventures and women in the world to settle down with only one. Besides, you’re one to talk. When was the last time you had anything but a fling?”

Damon ignored that. It was true, but made him sound cold. “Well, you’re in luck. There are three on this team. I’m sure at least one of them will be eternally grateful.”

“Then hurry up and get there.”

Damon handed Gunner a pair of night vision goggles. “We should be coming up to the clearing now. See if you can spot them.”

“Got it.”

He began to circle. No way was he landing if the team wasn’t close. Gunner had been unable to reach the SAT phone the doctors were using, so he figured the battery must be dead or the phone damaged.

“Movement in the trees. Four—no, six bodies.”

Then they both saw the bright red of a flare spring to life. Damon saw the tip moving and then another one was lit. Both bounced along as they were carried to the clearing. He circled the open space as more flares were lit and placed on the ground, illuminating his landing area.

“Shit. Land now,” Gunner said. He pointed toward the river. Headlights jumped up and down in the distance. “That’s muzzle flash. They’re shooting at us.”

“Copy that.”

Damon pushed the stick down and used his pedals to make the landing as smooth as possible, but going down that fast made his stomach drop. The blades above them whined at the abrupt movement, then they settled down into the normal thump, thump noise they usually made. He set them down with a hard thud. Gunner was cussing steadily under his breath, so Damon was only catching every other word. He made sure his door faced the headlights angling toward them.

“Get everyone inside, Gun.”

He heard Gunner acknowledge him as he moved. His M-40A3 sniper rifle felt comfortable in his hands. Flying was the second best thing he did; killing was the first. He’d been one of the best Marine snipers in the Corps. And it was time to slow down the rebels. He couldn’t see anyone in the pitch black, but they couldn’t drive fast without headlights. Those, he could see. And if he happened to wing a couple, then so be it.

When he had a rifle in his hands, he didn’t miss.

***

Dani had Claire and Hailey by the hands as one of the pilots jumped out of the chopper and slid open the door to the passenger area. It looked like a Vietnam era Huey, minus the gun turrets. And it wasn’t until she was almost inside that she saw the name scrawled on the side.

Archangel.

That’s when she stumbled.

Dani hadn’t thought about who was coming for them; she assumed it would be someone from the military. She never dreamed it would be a civilian. She never dreamed it would be him.

Damon Dupree.

“Oh, God, the rebels,” Claire yelled over the noise of the copter blades. Dani saw the headlights in the distance, just as one went black and the noise of a large caliber weapon sounded from the other side of the helicopter.

“Everyone in, now,” yelled the big man waving them over.

Gunfire erupted in the distance as the second headlight was extinguished suddenly. Everyone was running, but the wind from the rotating blades pushed against them. Hurry, hurry, her mind screamed. She wasn’t about to get inside until her whole team was safe, but it was a battle against the adrenaline surging through her, demanding she jump inside and be done with it. Once everyone had climbed in, she threw herself inside as the door was sliding closed. Both the pilots jumped back into the front and they were up off the ground in a move that caused everyone to give a startled gasp.

Damon didn’t have a single light on inside or out, probably to make them an impossible target. With no lights, the rebels could only guess at their location in the sky by the sound. And they were moving so fast, Dani was sure they were out of range. Her breathing was so ragged that she had to lean forward, elbows on knees to catch a breath. While it was still loud inside, she was able to pick out other noises, such as Hailey’s crying. Everyone else was in the same condition Dani was, breathing fast, but trying to get it under control.

Small lights flickered to life in the back after a while. There was only enough light to see everyone’s relieved faces. The big man in the co-pilot chair turned and grinned at them and gave them a thumb’s up. Then, he pointed above their heads.

Dani reached up, already knowing what was there. Headsets. Slipping hers over her ears, she helped Claire with hers and showed the rest of them the switch they could hit to talk.