Page 72 of Keeping Laryn
Laryn was glad now that she couldn’t see what was happening. This was freaking scary. And even though she was glad she was there to help fix the FLIR, she wished she could wiggle her nose and be back on the ship, safe and sound, even if she’d be worrying about the fate of her pilots. Especially Tate.
“Three o’clock!” Pyro exclaimed.
“I see ’em!” Tate said as he banked hard to the right.
The vibrations and noise from the missiles they were firing made Laryn hunker down next to the nearest seat. She hadn’t been able to get back into hers with the way Tate was flying. Itwas all she could do to hold on and not go flying across the wide empty space behind the pilot’s seats.
“Going in for extraction.” Laryn heard Buck say.
“We’ve got your six,” Pyro assured him.
Several tense moments went by as Tate and Pyro continued to fly around the area and shoot at what she could only assume were enemy forces on the ground.
“Problem,” Obi-Wan said. “We’ve got two SEALs missing. They were injured and weren’t able to make the pickup. They’re almost a klick to the east.”
“We’ve got ’em,” Tate said immediately.
“We can’t stay. Got two men bleeding out,” Buck informed them.
“Go! We’ll get ’em and be on your heels,” Tate ordered, turning the chopper toward what Laryn assumed was the east.
She held her breath. This was almost done. All they had to do was pick up the last two injured men and they’d be headed back to the ship. She had a feeling this little jaunt wasn’t exactly going to make waiting on the ship during future missions any easier. Having firsthand experience about what they went through, what they did, would make her stress levels soar even higher.
“You see anything?” Tate asked Pyro.
“Nothing. Wait, there’s a few heat signatures to the north of the LZ.”
“We’ll make a pass, see what kind of firepower they have.”
Laryn held her breath as the chopper flew in what she presumed was a circle.
“Nothing. They’re not firing.”
“I don’t like this,” Tate said. “But we have to get those men.”
“When we land, I’ll get out and provide cover,” Pyro said.
Get out? Laryn didn’t like the sound of that…but it made sense. If the SEALs were injured and there were men nearby, probably hostiles,someonewould have to make sure they kepttheir distance as the SEALs made their way toward the chopper.
But what if they couldn’t walk? How would they get there?
Worry ate at her gut, but she kept her mouth shut. She wasn’t the expert here. Yes, she’d gone through basic training, but that wasn’t going to help in this situation. The best thing she could do was stay out of the way, let Pyro and Tate do their thing. They were trained for this.
“Here we go,” Tate said as the chopper began to descend. Fast.
Just when Laryn thought they were going to slam into the ground, Tate pulled up slightly and she barely felt a bump as they landed.
“Go!” Tate said.
Pyro took off his headset and flew past where Laryn was huddled on the floor of the chopper. He slid the large side door back and disappeared into the darkness.
What seemed like minutes went by, but it was probably only seconds before she heard Pyro yelling.
Tate obviously heard him too, because he swore, then he was out of his seat. He didn’t take time to explain what he was doing. He didn’t need to; it was more than obvious he was going to help his friend and fellow pilot.
Before he left, he paused, taking time he most certainly didn’t have to reach into the holster strapped to his thigh. He pulled out the firearm he kept there and handed it to Laryn without a word.
There were so many things she wanted to say, but there was no time for any of them.
