Breathe
Ray felt his grip on the man's hand loosening, and fought to keep it in place. He heard Clay yelling in one of the native languages again, and the voice next to his ear yelled back. He gasped for air against the fire burning in his chest, his thoughts turning to putty, his body trying to focus on staying alive…
Two days earlier…
"I told you my parents are coming for a visit right? They haven't seen the baby yet." Naima said, handing Ray a basket of laundry to fold and put away. He chewed on the inside of his lip, choosing his next words carefully.
"You didn't tell me that. Hopefully I'm home for it." He said carefully. Conversations about the in-laws on either side was always a touchy subject, seeing as her dad still wasn't to fond of Ray.
"He's does like you Ray. He's just a tough man, that's all. He knows you love me and do everything you can for this family." She said.
"He sure has an odd way of showing it. At any rate, we're supposed to have tomorrow off. Don't want Dad thinking I'm avoiding him again." Ray said lightly.
"Come on, you gotta let that go!" Naima said, sighing.
"Yea, for sure. That's my son! Saving daddy from an awkward conversation!" Ray said when he heard the baby rolling around in his crib, trying to get out. Naima rolled her eyes, but couldn't help but laugh at his antics. She looked to where the laundry basket set, everything perfectly folded.
/
Ray sat on the living room floor playing with his daughter when he heard his phone ring. He laid his head back onto the couch behind him, trying not to let his frustration show. He had programmed a special ringtone into his phone for the important numbers, so he knew exactly who it was.
"Hello." He said.
"Hey. I know this is your day off and all, but we just got an urgent call. We need everyone here immediately." Commander Blackburn said, hearing the hint of annoyance in Ray's voice.
"I'll be there in 15." Ray said, and hung up. He looked up to see Naima watching him with a look of resignation on her face, masking the disappointment underneath.
"Babe…." He started.
"I know. I know how much you wanted to be here, but if their calling you on your day off, it must be important." She said.
"It sounded like it." He answered as he stood up and walked into the bedroom to grab his things. He walked back out minutes later to find her standing in the same spot. He could practically see the thoughts racing through her mind. He knew she was trying to plan what she would say to her father, and calculating his response. He walked over and gave his daughter a kiss, then the baby. After laying him down on his mat, he hugged her tightly.
"I'm really sorry. I love you." He said.
"I love you to. Come back quick." She said, and kissed him goodbye.
When he got outside, he started his truck and sighed deeply. He loved his job more than anything, but when it messed with family plans, he couldn't help but hate it a little.
Hours later…
Ray raised his eyebrow questioningly at Jason as they walked into the base and were ushered immediately towards the air strip and onto a plane. Jason shrugged, looking just as confused as the rest of them.
"Sorry to call you all away from your families today, but this is an urgent mission. This is General of Armies John Weston, and this is Muhammad Oaz, the man who is holding him hostage. He was enroute to the base when his convoy was attacked by insurgets. Three soldiers were injured, and are in critical condition. He has been held for six days, and we just received intel he is being held in this building in the center of the city." Commander Blackburn said, pointing to the pictures. Everyone got a bad taste in their mouth from the name Oaz. He was known for his drug and human trafficking, along with the multiple times he had abducted and murdered high ranking officials from his country and soldiers from nations like the U.S., Britain, France, and many more.
"So we're doing hostage extraction in the middle of a city that's known for hating us more than anything in life. Why do I get the feeling that there's more to it than just that?" Jason asked, sensing something from the sound of Eric's voice.
"Because there is. You'll be doing this in the daylight." He answered. The room was filled with annoyed looks and sighs.
"Look, I trust your judgement and all, but if you forget what happened the last time we did a daylight hit, I've got a few scars as evidence." Sonny said with a skeptical look.
"Even more than that, it'll be hard enough to get ourselves out, let alone a guy that's probably had the living daylights beat out of him every day. How exactly are we supposed to do this?" Ray added.
"I understand your concern, and you all know I wouldn't be doing it this way unless we didn't have another choice, and we don't. Oaz posted this on a known terrorist website this morning." Blackburn said, motioning towards a video on the screen in front of them. The team watched as the general was drug into the frame, then lots of shouting and threats were made before the camera shut off.
"Well the cocky SOB certainly ain't afraid of having his face shown on camera." Sonny said with a huff after watching the video.
"So, my Arabic is a little uh…non-existent, so help me out here." Jason said, looking at Clay.
"Basically, we have 16 hours to pay them or the chop his head off and mail it to us." Clay answered.
"So now you can see why this is so urgent. From his history, we know this guy doesn't mess around. If he said he's gonna kill him, he will. From the airstrip, you'll take two vans into the city. Once you get to the target building, you will make entry through the alley door. Based off of satellite images, we know that Weston is being held in one of the first rooms. We will have a chopper waiting for you on the outskirts of the town. Be careful, these guys are ruthless. Everyone comes home tonight." Blackburn said.
Present time…
"Hey! Stay with me Ray! Keep your eyes open!" Ray heard a voice yelling to him, and finally placed it as that of Jason. It was getting harder and harder to focus as the lack of oxygen slowly cut of his senses. Then he thought about Naima, and the look on her face when he had left days before. Her words played in his mind as he hung there, his hands grasping at the metal chain that was tightening around his neck. Come back quick….
"Spenser! We're running out time here!" Jason yelled to the young soldier who was desperately searching his mind for the right combination of words that the man would understand. He saw Rays face turning shades of red it was never supposed to, and knew they had to act fast. Ray saw the poorly hidden panic on the faces of his team members, and knew he had to help them save him. He looked at Jason, hoping he would catch onto his thoughts, then made up his mind as to what he would do, even though he knew it would hurt, and likely knock him out. He waited until the man was off his guard, then dropped all his weight onto his knees, bending them and sending him towards the ground. Luckily, Jason had caught on, and quickly fired a single bullet, taking out Rays attacker.
"Ray! Ray can you hear me?! Come on man, breathe! Breathe!" Jason said, dropping to his knees at Rays side.
Minutes earlier…
Ray looked out the windshield as he drove the lead van through the town towards their target. Though none of them really did, he was the one from the group who blended in the best. He looked around them at the stares from nearly every passerby.
"You think they do this to every car that comes through here or do they know what's up?" Clay asked as he peeked through the curtains hanging over the windows to hide them, even though he partially already knew the answer.
"How many cars do you think come through here that have their back windows covered? Our best bet is hoping they get us mixed up with all the other cars coming through here." Jason answered. Everyone readied themselves as the vans pulled off into a narrow alley, and slowed to a stop. The all jumped out at once, blew the door off, and quickly entered the building through the cloud of smoke. They were immediately thrown into a gun fight.
"Bravo one this TOC, We need a status report." Commander Blackburn said, watching the screen nervously. This was an important mission. The media had gotten wind of the Generals abduction, and they knew how dangerous Oaz was. Washington was impatiently waiting for progress report on the mission.
"TOC this is Bravo one, we have made entry. We are moving towards Rockford." Jason replied. Ray was in the front of the group, as he had been the first one in the building. Their progress had been slower than usual, on account of the building be heavily guarded, even though they had expected nothing less from this man. They moved further down the hall when suddenly, a man jumped out from behind a wall, surprising Ray with a punch to the temple. Before anyone could react, Ray felt a chain wrap around his neck, and pulled tight. He instinctively reached for it, but the man's grip was strong. Ray saw the internal crisis as it flashed through each team member. They had to get into the room and get to the General, and if they made even the slightest noise, everything could go downhill from there. But they also had a policy that every man comes home from a mission, and they couldn't leave Ray. He was struggling against the man as much as he could, but with every move the chain dug deeper into his throat. He could feel it tearing his skin, and felt as if it went any deeper, it would surely cut jugular open.
"Sonny, Trent and Brock, go get the General. Clay, what's he saying?!" Jason yelled. The three reluctantly broke from Jason and Clay, not wanting to leave their comrade. Jason heard them blow the door off, and soon there was a call over the radio. "Bravo three to Bravo one, we have the General. He's in pretty bad shape. How's Bravo two?" Sonny asked.
"Affirmative Bravo three. We're still working on Bravo two." Jason said, looking down the scope of his rifle. Then he saw Ray look at him, and he knew what he was about to do. This is a bad idea! This is such a bad idea! Come on Ray, think of something else! Before his thoughts could go any further, he watched Ray throw all his weight towards the ground, catching his captor off guard, and leaving the perfect open window. Jason quickly pulled the trigger and watched Ray drop to the ground, free from the chain around his neck.
Present time…
Ray gasped and coughed, his entire body convulsing as his lungs fought to start pumping oxygen again. Jason and Clay looked at the cuts around his neck that the rusty chain had left. Clay quickly unclipped his helmet so it wouldn't restrict the movement of his jaw.
"Ray, you with us man? Don't try to talk, just nod." Clay asked. Ray shook his head in reply, squeezing his eyes shut against the burning in his chest.
"Bravo one to TOC, how we looking outside? Anyone get wind that we're here?" Jason asked, looking around the building.
"TOC to Bravo one your clear to move, but you better do it soon. I can't guarantee it'll stay that way for very long." Davis said.
"Alright, let's roll. You ready?" Jason asked Ray, who had sat up, his head still pounding. He nodded, and strapped his helmet back on just in case he would need if. He was pulled to his feet, and started to sway from the quick change in altitude. Sonny caught him, and held onto the back of his vest. Although he tried to act like he was fine, the look on his face said that he could fall over at any moment. The team made their exit, and scrambled into the vans, Brock and Trent immediately handing the General off to the docs that were waiting for him in the second van. Ray walked towards the driver's seat and opened the door, but was quickly stopped.
"I'm driving, your gonna sit back there and catch your breath." Jason said. Ray tried to argue until Sonny piped in.
"We ain't gonna have you pass out behind the wheel. Not sure if you know, but nothing looks more suspicious than that. Hop in." Sonny added. Ray sighed and reluctantly listened, getting into the back. He sat back against the seat and ran his tongue over the spot in his mouth where his teeth had drawn blood when the chain clamped his mouth shut. Then he thought about Naima, and how much she would fuss over him when he got home.
Later…
"How's the General?" Ray asked as Eric walked across the aircraft.
"They roughed him up pretty good. He's got burn marks all over his body. Doc said he'll be ok though. What about you?" He asked, looking at the line of deep red and purple bruises under his chin, with a few scrapes and brush burns around the sides.
"Still a little lightheaded, but I'll be fine. I'm just glad we got rid of that Oaz lunatic." Ray answered.
"We all are. Washington just called to congratulate on a job well done. No doubt this story will be all over the news." Blackburn said.
"Better hope that scratch clears up before we get home! Everyone's going to want a play-by-play." Trent said with a smirk.
"Here, this might help!" Sonny said, and held a beer out for him.
"It might not help, but it might knock me out, and I'm not opposed to that." He said with a laugh. He took the bottle and hoisted himself into his hammock. He looked up when Jason walked over.
"How're you feeling?" Jason asked, doing his usual check up on his team. He did it habitually after every mission, but when one of them got hurt, it was a bit more intensive.
"Same as when I told Blackburn like two minutes ago. A little lightheaded, but I'm fine." He replied.
"Did the doc check you over?" he asked.
"Yea. He said it looks like I have some minor damage to the inside of my throat, but that'll heal in a few days. The cuts are all shallow, so it's nothing major." Ray said.
"You sure that's all?" Jason pressed. He could tell when Ray's mind was somewhere else, and this was one of those times.
"Naima's parents are coming in for a few days. They'll be at the house in about an hour, and just like my father-in-law expects, I won't be there." Ray said with a sigh.
"He knows your a soldier though, right. Hasn't he got it through his head that our schedules are unpredictable yet?" Jason said.
"He has, but that's the thing. He always had strict rules for who Naima could marry, and one of the top ones was that they shouldn't be a soldier. He said there not around enough to raise a family like a man should." Ray said, hearing his voice in his mind.
"Wow. Well Naima is amazing, I'm sure she'll be able to handle him." Jason said, trying to reassure him. Ray nodded in agreement, and the silence fell over the plane as sleep took each of them one at a time.
Later…
Ray took a deep breath as he pulled into his driveway and turned off the ignition. He knew he shouldn't feel like this when it was family, but he couldn't help it. He grabbed his bag and walked towards the house, already hearing the commotion going on inside that happened every time his daughter heard his truck pull in after a mission.
"Daddy!" she yelled joyously as she ran towards him. He picked her up and spun her around before giving her a hug.
"Hey little lady! Did you grow while I was gone? You look taller!" He said happily. He set her down and walked into the living room. He greeted his in-laws, ignoring the comment from his father-in-law about how late he was, then turned to Naima, who he knew was studying him and had surely already found the wound on his neck.
"Hey honey." He said, kissing her on the cheek while she continued to stare at it.
"What happened?" she asked.
"It's nothing, I'm ok." He said.
"That's not what I asked. It looks like…. like someone tried to choke you." she said, lightly pushing his chin up and brushing his beard to the side so she could get a better look. He could see her mom standing close behind, looking over her shoulder. He let it go for a moment, then flinched away when she touched one of the deeper cuts.
"Ok, ok! Your right. The guy jumped out from behind a wall. It was smoky, and I didn't see him coming. He wrapped a chain around my neck." He said, watching her process what he was saying.
"Did you pass out? Did they give you oxygen on the way home?" she asked nervously.
"No. It all happened really fast, I got away from the guy. Really, I'm ok, it's not a big deal." Ray reassured her.
"Is it true you were saving General Weston?" Ray looked up towards the sound of her father's voice, and then towards the tv. They had been told that the news would travel fast, but he didn't know it would go this fast.
"Yea, that was us." He answered, sitting on the couch. They talked for awhile longer, Ray surprised to see his father-in-law subtly attempting to make peace with him. As he settled back in with his son on his lap, he glanced up and saw the look of pride on the man's face. Either Naima worked her magic on him, or he's actually starting to change his mind about me he thought, a smile stretching across his face. He wouldn't be surprised if it were the first option. He had, after all, married a pretty amazing woman.
