Page 71 of Keeping Laryn
“It’s off again. Shit—no, it’s back.Fuck, what the hell is going on?”
“It’s go or no-go time,” the voice in her head said.
“Go!” Laryn impulsively yelled. She sat down in one of the seats in the back of the chopper and strapped herself in.
“Laryn, get out!” Tate ordered.
“You need me! If it goes out again, I can fix it,” she told him, confidence in every word.
“No! You are not coming with us into a hot zone!”
“We have to go…” Buck urged.
“I’m grounded,” Edge said.
“Fuck!” Tate swore again.
“Either take off now or you’re grounded too,” the voice said in her ear.
“Buck needs backup,” Pyro said, looking over at Tate.
“Fuck,” Tate growled one more time—then Laryn felt the chopper lurch as he began to rise in the air.
What the hell was she doing? Laryn wasn’t sure, but there was no way Tate and Pyro could fly without the FLIR working properly. And if it went out again when they were in the air, they were in big trouble. She couldn’t do a complete workup while the machine was in use, but if it was something as simple as a loose connection, or even a blown fuse,thatshe could easily deal with while on the move.
The man who’d been yelling at them to “go go go!” was giving coordinates through the headset and updating both teams of pilots—and her at the same time—on the condition of the SEALs on the ground.
It didn’t sound good. They’d been ambushed and were running low on ammunition. It was going to be extremely dangerous to pick them up and not get shot down in the process. Laryn understood that, but strangely, because she was watching Pyro and Tate work together to fly the MH-60 she’d spent so much time on, and hearing them communicate with Buck and Obi-Wan on how to approach the area, she felt much calmer than if she’d still been on the ship, waiting and hoping everything went all right.
From what she understood, Tate and Pyro were going to provide cover for Buck and Obi-Wan. The other chopper would land and pick up the SEALs. They’d hopefully be in the air before anyone on the ground could get close…or could use an RPG to disable either chopper.
The plan was risky, but the firepower from the MH-60 would hopefully convince the operatives on the ground to back off, that they were outgunned.
There was no chance to talk to Tate without anyone and everyone on the headset hearing, but he did turn around and gave her a long, intense stare Laryn couldn’t interpret. She thought she saw anger, but she also saw a hell of a lot of concern in his blue eyes.
She nodded at him, trying to tell him that she would remain right where she was. That she would stay out of the way and only get up if something happened to the chopper. But she wasn’t sure she was successful in conveying everything she wanted to say with a simple look. She had a feeling Tate was going to have lots of words for her when they arrived back at the ship.
The back of the chopper was pitch black as they flew as fast as they could toward the coordinates where the SEALs would be waiting for extraction. Laryn couldn’t see anything out the front of the chopper, and it wasn’t as if there was a window she could roll down. Not that she’d be able to see anything anyway, as she doubted the mountains had many lights.
She trained her gaze on the instrument panel instead. She couldn’t see all of the dash from where she was sitting, but she could see that damn FLIR indicator light. And when it started flickering again, she saw the moment it happened. She didn’t need Pyro’s tense “Casper” to bring her attention to it.
Laryn immediately unstrapped herself and went to her knees, inching forward once again to get to that damn panel. This time she was going to check the fuses. She hoped like hell one was simply loose.
“Hold on,” Tate called out just before he banked left.
Laryn’s hand flew out and landed on his thigh as she held herself up.
As soon as they turned left, the chopper went back to the right. They were weaving all over the sky. It was exciting, but also scary as hell, and Laryn had a momentary pang of regret. What the hell was she doing here again? Oh yeah, if she didn’t make sure the night-vision technology worked, they were all doomed. As were the brave men on the ground.
Determination welled inside her, and Laryn focused on what she was doing. Leaning closer, she took out the small penlight she always carried. Being careful to cover most of the beam so it didn’t blind the two pilots using their headsets with night-vision, she used it to examine the small fuses.
Bingo. There was one that was barely attached. Reaching forward, Laryn pushed it in, satisfaction settling in her gut as it sank home. Looking up, she saw the light that had been flickering was now once more shining steadily.
Slamming the panel door back on for the second time, she scooted backward toward the seat she’d vacated.
The sound of gunfire was extremely loud all around her, despite the headphones.
The entire chopper vibrated as Tate and Pyro fought the ISIS operatives on the ground.
