"I hope you don't have to use that in the field" the marine team leader said disgusted, Jess had been topping up on formula all day for extra calories, now they were on the C130 to Jarabulus, and Jess was flushing her line
"Nope" Jess said finishing the flush before recommencing the feed
"How'd it happen" one of the marines asked, his tone was not one of disgust, but curiosity instead
"I was setting an explosive breech when some suicide bombers decided to blow a house, I was caught in the blast zone, boom, short bowel syndrome" Jess said giving the short version of events
"How much you got left" he asked
"62cm of small intestine, 116 cm of my large" Jess said
"Why you asking questions Choi" the marine team leader asked him surprised
"My 13 year old had to have a feeding tube put in 2 months ago, wife said she's been struggling to adapt, Petty Officer Turner doesn't seem to be worried by hers so I was curious" Choi said explaining his curiosity
"It's not easy to deal with to start, I hated having to use mine in the beginning, or even look at it, 2 months means she would still have a PEG in, they're a lot more obvious than the buttons, she'd be flushing a lot more, and probably doesn't have a portable set-up yet, she could still be hooking up to a IV pole, feeling trapped and isolated" Jess said briefly explaining the situation to him
"You had Zah's sorted in a week" Sonny said surprised
"Only because I knew what set-up she was going to have, but Zah didn't get her button for 4 months" Jess said explaining the situation, she wasn't like most parents of kids whose children have just received a feeding tube
"So you reckon it's best to get a button" Choi asked her
"Best thing I ever did, my best advice, contact this guy and speak to him, he's the head of gastrointestinal at Bethesda, he worked with me since the day I got back to the states after I was injured" Jess said handing over Doctor Masterson's name and contact details to him
"Thanks, appreciate it" Choi said folding up the information and putting it in his uniform pocket
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"HAVOC this is 1, we are passing Ruby, beginning Emerald" Jason said confirming that the teams was in position and ready for entry
"Copy 1, passing Ruby and beginning Emerald, sonic boom in T minus 3 mikes" Eric said confirming Jason's call
"Copy, Bravo 1 to all units, prepare for sonic boom in 3 mikes" Jason said, Brock quickly began his preparation to move Pepper to cover and shield her from the boom, her hearing was more sensitive, this was going to hit her the hardest
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"Where is everyone" the marine team leader asked as they burst into the room which was empty
"They escaped" one of the marines said
"How, we were covering both exits" Choi said
"HAVOC this is Bravo 7, need you to confirm IR for targets" Jess said, it was the quickest way to confirm numbers on site
"7 this is HAVOC, IR confirms 13 people on target with 1 hair missile" came Lisa's voice over the radio
"Which means someone is here, we just need to find them" Jess said to the team leader
"Okay Turner, you Gardner and Jones go that way, Choi, King and I will go that way" said the team leader smugly
"Fine" Jess said happy to get away from the man, did he seriously think that because the first room was empty that their target wasn't there"
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"Where's Jess and your other men" Jason asked as Bravo came across the marines 10 minutes later
"We split up to look for the HVT" the team leader said before they were interrupted by gun shots
"That's a MK18 firing" Trent said recognising the sound of the weapon, the team quickly made their way to the location the shots were coming from
"Gardner and Jones" Choi said spotting the two bodies of their comrades
"Trent" Jason said, the team moved out to provide cover for Trent to move in and examine the bodies
"They're dead" Trent said softly
"So's this one, unless you let me go" Abdullah Al-Asiri said stepping out from his hiding spot, dragging Jess with him, he had one hand gripping tightly around her throat and had a baretta pressed against her head
"Don't be stupid, shoot him" Jess said frustrated at the teams hesitation, Abdullah had positioned himself right behind her, using her as a human shield
"Let her go" Jason said indicating for the boys to drop their weapons slightly, none of them had a clear shot
"Once I leave Jarabulus" Abdullah said
"Not going to happen Abdullah, let her go" Jason said to the man
"They'll kill you before you take one step outside the door" Jess said with a smile
"Quiet hoare" Abdullah said tightening his grip on Jess's throat
"Shoot him" Jess croaked as she glanced directly at Clay
"Do you really want to die hoare" Abdullah said tightening his grip even further
"Do you, guarda bene" Jess said still glancing at Clay, before suddenly throwing herself to her right side with all her remaining strength and landed hard on the ground, Clay quickly lifted his weapon as soon as Jess moved and fired 2 rounds into Abdullah's head, Abdullah's body fell on top of Jess
"Positive ID, Abdullah Al-Asiri" Jason said picking Abdullah's body up off Jess, so he could confirm ID
"Jess, you okay, did he hurt you" Trent asked examining Jess who appeared to be distracted, she had her eyes focused on Abdullah's body, not paying attention to Trent, he squeezed her lower arm firmly to get Jess's attention focused on him, Jess shook her head briefly before pulling her body up into a standing position
"Right, lets clean up and get out of here" Jason said, Trent helped Jess slowly start to make her way out of the room so he could examine her easier
"That was some lucky shot Clay, if Jess hadn't moved" Ray said to him
"She was going to though" Clay said with a smile
"Guarda bene, what was it" Ray asked curious
"Italian, Jess felt his focus start to shift to her as she was provoking him, she caught him of guard, so she threw her weight to the right, gave me enough time to get the shot off" Clay said with a smile