Page 77 of Keeping Laryn
The advantage of this part of the country was that it was sparsely populated, there wouldn’t be many trucks on the back roads…if they could even be called roads. He had no idea if it was Edge and Chaos coming in, or if Buck and Obi-Wan had dropped off the other SEALs and returned. Either way, they’d be up for combing the area for whoever had taken Laryn. They couldn’t use their firepower on the vehicles for fear of hurting the woman he was desperate to find, but they could use the chopper at the very least as intimidation, and at best as a road block to make the vehicle stop.
A shoot-out hadn’t exactly been on Casper’s plans for the day, but he’d do whatever it took to get Laryn back safe and sound.
It hit him hard yet again, as he watched the MH-60 bank around, probably checking out the area for unfriendlies before it landed, that he’d failed to protect her. He’d talked a big game, asking to stay at her apartment just in case evil found its way to her door, claiming he’d keep her safe. And yet she’d been taken right out from under his nose.
He never should’ve left her alone in the chopper. He should’ve insisted she come with them to extract the SEALs.
It was a mistake he’d spend the rest of his life mentally berating himself for.
As he watched Edge land his MH-60, Casper’s hands clenched into fists as determination filled him. He wasn’t leaving the area until he had her back. They had too much to lose for him to give up. Night Stalkers Don’t Quit. It was their motto. And he would never stop looking for Laryn.
As if Mustang could read his mind, the SEAL put his hand on Casper’s arm. “You’ll get her back. And if you need assistance, you’ve got my team. You didn’t have to come for Pid and me, but you did. We won’t forget it. We owe you.”
“You don’t owe me dick,” Casper told him honestly. “You know as well as I do that we were just doing our jobs. But rest assured, if I need your help, I’ll ask for it. I’m going to do whatever it takes, break whatever rules and laws I have to, in order to get her back. I didn’t realize how much she means to me, only to lose her now.”
Mustang nodded. “I understand that more than you know.”
Talk became difficult as the dirt kicked up all around them from the rotor blades of Edge’s chopper. Without a word, he hauled Mustang to his feet and put his arm around his waist. Pyro picked up the still-unconscious Pid—who was no longer bleeding—and they made their way toward the chopper.
Chaos immediately handed him a headset, and when it was settled over Casper’s ears, he heard his friend ask, “Are we blowing it up or using a missile?”
It wasn’t as if they were authorized to use the very expensive weapons onboard the helicopters in any old situation. It would be hard to use explosives to destroy yet another machine that Laryn had worked so hard to bring up to her demanding standards. It literally hurt his heart to destroy it, but they couldn’t let the technology onboard get into the wrong hands.
His ass was going to be chewed for losing another helicopter so soon after the first, but it couldn’t be helped.
“Missile,” he said. “It’s faster. We need to find a truck. It left the area not too long ago. It has to still be around here somewhere. Laryn’s inside. They took her.”
“Tex called. I’ll update you later, but we figured she’d been taken. We looked around for any signs of life as we came in. Casper…there’s nothing.”
“How can that be?” he demanded, as Pyro closed the door and got Pid settled. “Your FLIR is working, right? It should pick up any heat sources, and people and a warm engine would definitely show up.”
“I know, but I’m telling you, there’s nothing out there.”
Casper stared at his friend in disbelief. He’d been so sure all it would take was getting in the air and they’d find Laryn. But now Chaos was telling him that, somehow, she’d disappeared into thin air?
Whoever took her had to be hiding out in a large cave or something. It was the only possible reason for not spotting the vehicle. And her captors obviously knew the area like the back of their hand.
Like he’d told Mustang. They’d planned this kidnapping carefully.
Despair threatened to overwhelm Casper.
“We aren’t giving up,” Pyro said over the headset as he put his hand on Casper’s shoulder. “But we need to get Pid and Mustang to the ship so they can get medical attention. I’ve stabilized Pid, but he needs a doctor.”
His copilot was right, but that didn’t mean everything within Casper wasn’t rebelling. He couldn’t leave Laryn. She was out there somewhere. Counting on him to ride in on a white horse and save her. He wanted to do that for her, just as she’d done that for him when he’d been at his most vulnerable.
But he could hear her in the back of his head, telling him to take care of the SEALs first. That she’d hold on until he could find her. That she’d be all right. That she was tougher thaneveryone thought, because her dad had taught her how to make the best of a bad situation.
Closing his eyes, Casper nodded.
He felt the chopper immediately lift off the ground. They banked around, and the sound of a missile being fired was loud in the small space, making the entire chopper vibrate. It felt different being in the back while the firepower was used, and Casper refused to watch the link he had with Laryn go up in smoke, literally. Blowing up the chopper that she’d put so much blood, sweat, and tears into …and time and love…felt awful.
Now that he knew Laryn better, he understood her love language was making sure he was as safe as possible while he was flying. She’d always done just that, the entire time she’d been working with him. She’d made sure everything on his chopper was in the best shape it could be…so he’d come back after every mission.
And he had.
But she hadn’t. When push came to shove, he hadn’t done his part in keeping her safe. It was a mistake he’d rectify or die trying. And it might come to that. It wasn’t as if the Turkish government was going to admit one of their own had a hand in the elaborate scheme to kidnap one of the best and brightest minds the US military had working for them.
No, they were going to resist any attempts to get Laryn back.
