Page 125 of Wrecked
“I fucked up,” Hawk replied. “He’s gotta hear it from me.”
“How’dyoufuck up?” Stryker asked.
“I should’ve kept Tommy with me. I’m his mentor.”
“There’s risk with every mission,” Stryker said.
Hawk shook his head. “This is on me.”
“We’ve got to go,” Addison said.
“No, I can save him.” Tommy stared administering CPR again. “Five more minutes.”
“Make the call,” Stryker said. “I got this.”
“There’s a fugitive on the loose,” Hawk said. “We’ve got to gonow.” The urgency in his voice grabbed their attention.
“Stryker and Tommy, carry Barry out,” Hawk said. “Addison, Emerson, and I will cover you.”
Once at the chopper, Hawk made the call.
“How’d it go?” Cooper answered, his voice groggy.
“Thirteen taken out, one escaped,” Hawk said. “Barry got ambushed.”
“Are you taking him to the black site?” Cooper asked.
“He’s gone,” Hawk replied, his voice barely above a whisper.
“Jesus, no. What happened?”
Hawk relayed what Tommy had reported.
“Where were you?” Cooper asked.
“Addison and I covered the upper level. Stryker and Emerson the lower one. Barry and Tommy stayed on the first floor.”
“I’ll have a vehicle waiting to take Barry’s body for autopsy,” Cooper explained.
“I’m sorry. It’s my fault. I fucked up.”
“Don’t go there,” Cooper said. “Just get back here safely.”
Hawk was not okay. Death messes with everyone, but he took responsibility for his team. They all went in and they all got out. He never once believed someone wouldn’t make it out alive.
* * *
Addison hurt. Her chest ached from where the Kevlar vest had stopped the bullet. But that was nothing compared to how broken she was over Barry’s death. Was it her fault? She’d talked to Tommy. Maybe he hadn’t been up to the mission. Maybe he should have been paired with Hawk.
They flew home in a heavy silence. Barry’s body lay beneath a blanket in the center of the craft. Hawk didn’t utter a word the entire flight back, save for clearing their flight with ATC.
When they arrived back at HQ, Cooper was waiting in the parking lot. The men transported Barry’s covered body to a waiting van. Everyone traipsed inside to remove their SWAT gear and collect their things.
In the locker room, tears filled in Addison’s eyes. Who would Cooper give Barry’s belongings to? She had only chatted with Barry a few times. Didn’t know anything about him personally. Did he have someone special in his life? Who did he leave behind? Besides his ALPHA family, who would mourn the loss?
Emerson swung by, her face still covered in camouflage paint. “Stryker and I are taking off. If you want to talk, I’m a call away.”
The two women hugged.
