Blaze of Glory (5 page)

He yanked the belt hard. Brian screamed. Zinsser cinched the belt tight. A moment later he saw another bullet wound in Brian’s left leg. It wasn’t bleeding and Zinsser assumed it missed the artery. He also assumed the bullet had shattered the upper leg bone.

“Watch it!” Brian raised the 9mm and began firing. Hot casings spewed from the chamber, hitting Zinsser in the face. He recoiled and raised his M4. A Somali with a grenade launcher pointed through the window stood unmoving for a moment as if taking aim, but Brian’s shot had put an end to that. No one could aim with half his head missing. The standing corpse dropped.

“How long before they rush us?” Brian asked.

Zinsser returned to his spot by the side wall. “I don’t know why they haven’t yet. They have enough bodies. I saw at least twenty-five men.”

As if taking their cue from the discussion, the doorknob began to turn. Zinsser aimed his weapon at a head-high spot above the doorknob. He pressed the trigger and three rounds pierced the wood. “I hate people who don’t knock.”

Brian chuckled. “Only you would crack-wise at a time like this.”

“Can’t help it, buddy. I’m getting bored—”

The door exploded open, and several men poured into the room. Brian emptied his 9mm at them. Zinsser flipped the switch on his weapon back to automatic and released a burst of fire.

Men fell.

Several more followed. Movement to the side caught his attention. “Window!”

Something hot hit his shoulder. Fire raced into his chest. He had no time to cry out; no time to complain. Since his arm still moved he assumed the round had passed through his arm. He fingered the trigger again. Five shots spewed from the barrel.

He heard Brian drop the handgun and pick up the one Zinsser had given him before. The familiar sounds of handguns shredded the air.

The next time Zinsser pulled his trigger nothing happened. “Reloading.”

The thirty-round clip fell from the belly of the weapon as Zinsser reached for another in his vest. Something punched him twice, driving his body armor into his chest. The air in his lungs fled. He stumbled back into the wall but didn’t fall.

A thin man stepped his way, a large revolver in his hand. Zinsser could see down the barrel. The attacker grimaced as he stepped closer. Apparently he didn’t want to hit body armor with his next shot.

Zinsser sprang forward, seized the gun and the man’s hand, and twisted. The pain in his shoulder peaked. He could feel blood run from the wound, but it didn’t matter—he and Brian were moments from death. Zinsser would not wait for it.

Snapping the man’s arm behind him, Zinsser continued to twist his wrist until he felt the attacker’s tendons give way. The man screamed, and Zinsser pulled the gun free. Using the man as a shield, Zinsser raised the revolver and fired at two other men coming through the door.

The men outside scattered for a moment. Zinsser pushed his captive forward. He ran for the door. Zinsser shot him in the spine.

The room seemed to tilt. His ears, pummeled by gunfire in a confined space, roared. A second later the roaring was joined with a distant pounding. He swayed. The room stopped tilting and began to spin. Seconds slowed to hours.

His weapon.

His M4.

He reached for it then rammed in his spare clip. “Come on! I’m ready for you! BRING IT.” Vomit tried to rise in his throat.

Three Somali pirates appeared at the door.

Zinsser raised his weapon.

Brian pulled the trigger of his sidearm, but it only clicked.

The roaring in his ears lessened, but the pounding increased. Not pounding. Thumping.

The Somalis looked up and fled. A half-second later, bullets rained from the sky.

“Hey, pal, you all right?”

Zinsser turned to Brian, but he wasn’t talking to anyone. Where had the voice come from?

“Open your eyes, Zinsser.”

Zinsser looked up. A voice from heaven?

“WHAT?”

“Open your eyes, man. You’re freaking me out.”

Zinsser blinked several times. He was back in the hospital room. The voice wasn’t from heaven; it was from the man on the hospital bed. Zinsser looked at his hands; they shook like leaves on a tree. He squeezed them into fists and took a ragged breath.

“Did I wake you?”

“Yeah. Screaming, ‘Bring it’ kinda got my attention.” Brian smiled.

“Sorry. I must have been having a nightmare.”

Brian chuckled. “Nightmares, is that what they call it? Night-terrors is a better description.”

“It was just a dream.”

Brian swore. “Sure, that’s all they are: dreams. Just little dreams that make us wet ourselves and soak the sheets with sweat.” He paused and studied Zinsser. “You told me you were over the dreams; that the doc made them go away.”

“I am. It’s just . . .”

“Don’t sweat it, man. I knew you were lying.”

“How?”

“Because I’m not over my dreams, and I’m a better man than you.”

“That a fact, is it?”

“Watch what you say, Zinsser. You don’t want me to get out of this bed and smack you around.”

It took a moment for the words to come. “Yeah, yeah I do.”

“We’ve been over this, Zinsser. My condition is not your fault. You saved my life.”

“I know.”

“You know it in your head but not in your heart.” Brian pulled his one arm from beneath the covers and scratched his forehead.

Zinsser decided to change the subject. “When is your surgery?”

“Same as it was yesterday when you stopped by. Two days. One more time under the knife to get my plumbing realigned, then a couple of months of rest. After that they’re going to torture me with prosthetic legs. They’ve been working on some new technology. Still, I won’t be doing disco soon.”

“Any word from Juliet?”

Brian frowned. “No. She’s gone for good, Zinsser. I told her to leave. She married a whole man.”

“That’s just wrong on so many levels.” A hot spear of emotion pierced Zinsser.

“It was hard on her. I’ve asked for divorce papers. She needs to be free to live her life.”

“And she agreed to it?”

“No, but she will. It will take time for me to wear her down, but she’ll leave because I tell her too.”

“She loves you.”

“Jerry, we’ve been through this. In this situation, love doesn’t matter. She’s only twenty-seven, just like me. This is as good as it’s gonna get for me. I don’t want to hold her back.”

Zinsser tried to find words to change his friend’s mind, but he came up empty.

“You don’t have to come by every day, you know.”

“What? You don’t like my conversation skills?”

“What I don’t like is you coming here to make yourself feel bad.”

“I come here because you’re my friend.”

Brian sighed. “We made good teammates, but let’s face it, we never hung out much.”

“What we’ve been through creates a bond. You can’t deny that.”

Brian pursed his lips. “That’s true, I guess.”

“Well, you’re going to get your wish. I won’t be around for awhile. I’ve been reassigned.”

“The docs really said you’re fit for duty?”

“Since I am fit for duty, they had to.” Zinsser’s words carried an edge.

“Who did they assign you to? Another special ops team?”

“Yeah. I requested it. I’m on Eric Moyer’s team now.”

Brian thought for a moment. “I’ve heard of him. I hear he’s a good man and a great soldier.”

“I’ll try not to hold him back too much.”

“When do you deploy.”

“Tomorrow. Early.”

Brian looked thoughtful for a moment. Zinsser knew he wanted to ask about the mission but was too much of soldier to do so.

“Are you sure you’re ready?”

“I’m ready, Brian. I’m more than ready.”

CHAPTER 5

“I ALMOST FAINTED WHEN I walked in,” Tess Rand said as she slipped into the corner booth of Tio Leo’s Mexican restaurant, one of Columbia, South Carolina’s upper-end eateries. She and J. J. had come here on their first date. He’d been trying to impress her, and she’d been willing to let him do it.

“It took me aback a little too.” J. J. slipped into the booth beside her. “At first I thought the guys were pulling a joke and got you to go along.” He paused. “They weren’t, were they?”

“Sorry, I’ve been sworn to secrecy.”

“So that’s how it’s going to be.”

“Of course. It’s part of the sneaky woman’s code of conduct: Keep the men in your life guessing.”

“Men? Plural?”

“Relax, soldier, you’re the only guy for me.”

A waiter approached and offered to take their drink order, but only after he suggested several types of margaritas. Tess and J. J. both ordered Dr. Pepper.

“Do you think we offended him by not ordering something with alcohol?”

“I’m sure he’ll survive.” He took her hand. It felt good.

“This is awkward.”

J. J.’s eyebrows rose. “Holding hands is awkward? We’re going to be married six months from now. I’m pretty sure we’re going to be moving beyond the hand-holding stage.”

“Not that, you goof. The work situation.”

“Ah. You know, you’re the only significant other that has an idea of our mission.”

“Actually, I don’t know that much. You know how compartmentalized this stuff is. I advised Colonel Mac and a few other of the brass, but they never discussed the mission with me. I’m still pretty much in the dark.”

“That makes two of us. Moyer will give us the details tomorrow.”

Tess stared at J. J. “He’ll give
you
the details. I’m out of the loop until they call me in.”

“It’s better that way.”

The comment irritated Tess. “How is it better?”

“What you don’t know—”

She raised a hand. “Don’t even go there. Not knowing means my imagination can take over, and I can imagine some pretty horrible things.”

J. J. gave her hand a squeeze. “Do you remember when I proposed to you?”

She scratched her chin. “Can’t say that I do. Was it recent?”

“Very funny.”

“Of course I remember. I was there.”

“I almost didn’t propose.”

Tess straightened. “Really? Well, I certainly feel loved now.”

He moved closer and ran a finger through her hair. “You should. I wasn’t going to back out because I don’t love you. I do. More than I can say.”

“Then why the cold feet?”

“Because of what is happening right now. We’re lucky. We have the evening together. Most of the time, I get called up and have to race to the base. I’ve watched Moyer, Rich, and Jose when we get called up. There’s a thrill about a new mission, but you can read the concern they have for their families. They wonder if they’ll see them again. It’s the thing these guys fear the most. I’ve seen them face impossible odds without blinking, but when it comes to family, well, it’s very different.”

“It must be hard.”

“Hard isn’t a strong enough word, but I don’t have another to use in its place. It’s like some living thing burrows into their gut and eats them from the inside out.”

“Oh, gross. Can you be a little less poetic?”

“Sorry. Don’t get me wrong. They would never step away from the mission, but this work takes its toll.”

Tess narrowed her eyes. “And that made you reluctant to propose.”

Before J. J. could answer, the waiter returned with a basket of chips, a bowl of salsa, and two sodas. They gave their order and the waiter disappeared again.

Tess waited for J. J. to continue. “I know you already know this. You can’t do the work you do without some idea of what happens to couples at a call-up. I hesitated in proposing because I don’t want to bring any pain to your life.”

Tess picked up a chip, dipped it in the salsa, but never removed it. “I have an idea what it must be like, but I’ll admit, I didn’t truly understand until today. J. J., I’m scared for you.”

“I’m not foolish enough to tell you not to be. It’s the way of life. As long as I’m”—he looked around—“As long as I do what I do, these call-ups are going to be a part of our lives. It is what I do, and I’m good at it.”

“I don’t have to like it to live with it, do I?”

“No one likes it; we all live with it.”

She forced a smile. “What I do is so different from what you do. We fight the same kind of battles, but all of mine is done on paper. I read, I research, I form opinions, then I go home to a warm bed.”

“Don’t sell yourself short, honey. You intel people make our job possible.”

“I hope I don’t come to regret that.”

“We trust in God at all times.”

“What’s it like being the only Christian on your team?”

J. J. thought for a moment. “I’ve never thought about it. The team gives me a bad time about it, but they still show me a lot of respect. There’s been a couple of times when they’ve turned to me for advice, but not many. Most of the time they just tolerate the fact.”

“Do you witness to them; tell them about your faith?”