Chapter 36
Without thinking, Kathleen ran ! straight out of her command center and directly into the lone of fire. She reached down to grab a rifle from a downed Cobra trooper and began firing at every trooper that dared get in between herself and the man she called a lover. A man, she hadn't planned to fall in love with, but did nonetheless. She sprayed anything with the Royal blue uniform of a cobra trooper with seemingly endless fire as she ran towards him. As soon as she reached him, she was able to see the extent of his injuries. No blood was visible except for a gash on his head, but his leather artillery jacket had a hole off to the right side. She gasped as she probed the hole and found it had nearly reached his chest, but luckily, it seemed it has not. The most concerning thing was his lack of response when she pressed down on him. He didn't stir a bit, not even a slight moan. Yet, it seemed his breathing was even and normal. No evidence of a problem except for his unconsciousness. As she felt around his head, she realized, she wasn't finding a single reason for his current state. She was becoming nearly frantic, fearful that something serious was wrong. If he hadn't hit his head, why was he unconscious?
Though her head was down, her senses and guard were up and within seconds, she heard the crunching of the grass behind her. The sound has her whirling around with rifle in hand ready to fire at whatever was coming down the way. Her target raised her hands in surrender, begging Kathleen not to fire. As the sight became more visible through the smoke made by the firefight, Kathleen could see it was a friendly. Cover Girl knelt next to Kathleen and looked from the woman to her General in silent question.
"He's alive, but I don't know why he's unconscious. I can't find anything that would cause it." Kathleen explained. "But, we need to get him out of here before something worse happens. Help me get him inside." Cover Girl just nodded and grabbed Hawk's upper body while Kathleen grabbed his lower. As they lifted, they heard a slight moan emanating from the man.
"I think his leg is broken." Kathleen said simply, as she felt a crunching under her fingers.
"But, why is he unconscious? A broken leg shouldn't cause someone to lose consciousness, should it?" Cover Girl asked.
"I don't think so." Kathleen responded with trepidation in her voice. "But then, I've never had a broken leg."
"Great, and we just moved him. We could have done more damage, Ma'am." Cover Girl stated.
"I know, but we have to get him out of the line of fire.". Kathleen yelled over the sound of gunfire and explosions thundering through the compound. "Who do we have taking over for him ?" Kathleen had to ask, since the two field commanders were out of state.
"Probably Beachhead, but, right now, you're the highest ranking officer here." Cover Girl responded.
A surge of momentarily panic shot through her. This was what she wanted, to be the leader and now, she was. She thought sardonically. It was an evil twist of fate. Clay was right, what did she know about tactics She was an Air Force Security Police Officer, she knew security, she knew paperwork, but not combat tactics, let alone special operations tactics.
"Ma'am, are you alright?" Cover Girl asked as she realized the Major had just stopped walking.
"Yes, I'm just trying to figure out our next move." She wasn't about to say she was scared spitless.
"I think our first move is get the General inside." Cover Girl pointed out.
As soon as they reached the safety and sanctity of the building, Kathleen and Cover Girl were met by the team's doctor, Doc who quickly took over care of the General.
Thinking about the situation, Kathleen realized she already had the wherewithal to combat the onslaught of Cobra Troopers. Her own security system.