“Roger that, Arielle. Keep your heads down.”
“Ahh! Jeez, that hurts!” Stonewall howled.
“Hold still! I need to get a tourniquet on you. Your leg’s a bloody mess! It looks like you’ve either taken several rounds to the calf or one nasty one that completely shredded your leg. This is going to hurt like hell but I need to try and bandage it,” she added as she gave him a dose of ketamine.
“Moose, we’ve got more strafing runs coming just above us,” Arielle hollered as the SEAL began backing the truck away from the building.
“Roger that. I’ll try to dodge anything that falls our way!”
“Viking, Arielle. Chaos is down. We ran into a buzz saw. We’ve got more people hurt than people to tend to them. Have your medic ready when we get there — we’re going to need some help. We’re back on the street,” she continued as Ghostrider’s thirty millimeter Gatling gun unleashed a steady barrage interrupting her transmission, “and should be there in a minute or two. Be prepared for a hot evac.”
“Roger that, Arielle. We’ll be standing by.”
“How ya doin’?” Arielle asked Stonewall, her concern very obvious.
“Hurts like hell. This really hurts. How’s everyone else?”
“We’ve got multiple wounded. I think half a dozen of us got hit with that last barrage but we’re almost out of here.”
“The Secretary?”
“She’s fine. Looks like that round you took might have hit her had you not been covering her. Hold still. Your leg’s been shattered so we need to splint it,” Arielle added as she prepared the SAM splint.
“Falcon, I’m going to need some help here,” Arielle ordered. “When I lift his leg, I need you to set the splints.”
“Okay, Stonewall, ready on three, two… now!”
“Ahh!!!!” Stonewall hollered.
“Moose, how we doing?” Arielle asked.
“The plane’s in sight and looks ready to go.”
“Viking, we have you in sight,” Arielle radioed. “We’re going to need some help with our wounded and casualties.”
“I see you. We’re ready when you get here.”
“Archangel, Arielle.”
“Arielle, Archangel here, go ahead.”
“Archangel, we’re at the evac site and have several wounded needing immediate medical attention. Requesting immediate divergence to Al-Asad air base.”
“Understood, Arielle. What’s the status of Secretary Johnson and Colonel Marshall? Any idea as to the number of wounded?”
“The Secretary’s got a broken leg. Colonel Marshall’s relatively fine, though she took a beating before we got to her. She’s got a broken nose and probably some broken ribs but nothing too severe. We have about a dozen others needing attention with a couple critical.”
“Understood… and Chaos?
“He’s taken at least one round in the knee, possibly a couple more in the lower leg. It’s hard to tell. His leg is pretty mangled and he’s lost a lot of blood.”
“Roger that. Proceed to Al-Asad. We’ll have medical standing by.”
“Mahdi flight. I’m picking up an airborne tracking radar,” the ISIS flight leader said to his command. “We need to assume we’ve been discovered. Light ‘em up!”
“Archangel, Desert Hawk Two-Six.”
“Desert Hawk Two-Six, Archangel, go ahead.”
“Archangel, we’ve located Raid One. Forty-two aircraft located at twenty-nine degrees thirty-eight minutes north, forty-two degrees six minutes east. Angels forty-three, course two-nine-five degrees at 770 knots and increasing. They’re moving!”
“Desert Hawk, if I’m hearing you right, they’re currently about 430 miles east, southeast of Jerusalem.”
“That’s affirmative, Archangel.”
“Stay with them as best you can, two six. They’ll outrun you soon, I know but hopefully, we’ll have someone else on them at that point.”
‘Roger that.”
“Gamecock Two-Six, Archangel,” Admiral Fischer called to the Raptor squadron commander.
“Archangel, Gamecock Two-Six, go ahead.”
“Gamecock Two-Six, what’s your current status and position?”
“Archangel, we’re at about fifty miles due north of Al-Qa’im. Four of us in this flight.”
“Gamecock Two-Six, come to course two-three-zero degrees. We have an in-bound ISIS raid consisting of forty-two aircraft, currently 420 miles east, southeast of Jerusalem, angels forty-three supersonic at 770 knots and accelerating. It is believed this is a nuclear strike. Firewall it Two-Six. We’ll have tanker support standing by. Weapons are free.”
“Lancer Three-Six, Archangel.”
“Archangel, Lancer Three-Six. Go ahead.”
“Lancer Three-Six, what’s your current position and status?”
“Archangel, we’re about halfway between Raqqa and Palmyra, six of us in flight, air-to-air config, eight Slammers each. I got wind that some of the Turkish Vipers might try to intervene and I figured we had enough close air support so I told my guys to go with the Slammers.”
“Excellent. We’re tracking an inbound ISIS raid of forty-two aircraft, now roughly four hundred miles east, southeast of Jerusalem on a heading of two-nine-one degrees at roughly 790 knots. This is believed to be a nuclear strike. I need your flight down there to intercept them just as fast as you can get there. I’ve also dispatched the Gamecocks as well but not sure who’ll get there first. Tanker support will follow behind you. Firewall it Three-Six. Weapons are free.”
“General Kaufman, Admiral Fischer at Centcom. We’re tracking an inbound ISIS raid currently about four hundred miles southeast of Jerusalem. We believe this is a nuclear strike. I’ve dispatched a Raptor and an Eagle flight to intercept them. ETA is about fifteen minutes.”
“Good Lord. Are you sure of this?”
“Yes, sir. We’ve also recovered all of the hostages. Secretary Johnson and Colonel Marshall were the last to be rescued. We don’t have all of the details but the Secretary sustained a broken leg in the rescue. We don’t have any word on wounded and casualties, and this was bloodier than we expected. At some point, Lieutenant Colonel Yaniv assumed command of the rescue operation.”
“Bloody hell. Okay, I’ll let the President know. Go ahead and brief the Israelis.”
“Will do.”
“General Eitan, this is Admiral Jack Fischer of US Central Command. We’re currently tracking an ISIS raid that’s roughly four hundred miles southeast of Jerusalem. We believe this is a nuclear strike aimed at Israel.”
“My God!”
“We currently have an Eagle and a Raptor flight in bound to intercept them and I fully believe we’ll take out the entire strike force before it even gets within a hundred miles of Israel. However, if any of them manage to get through, we expect them to be on a heading of two-nine-one degrees and well within range of David’s Sling.”
“Thank you, Admiral. We’ll be watching.”
“How’s everyone doing?” Stonewall asked Arielle as they approached Al Asad Airbase.