CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

Tom was standing on the bridge watching through binoculars as the ship neared St. Louis. He was taking every precaution as they had not gotten word from the president in some time. He blamed himself for the delays. As the city came into view Tom reached for the mic to send a message to the crew.

"This is the captain speaking. Set General Quarters. All hands man your battle stations. Transit up and forward starboard side, down portside. This is not a drill," he said calmly and then repeated the order. He hung up the mic and turned back towards the bridge window. He glanced at Mike and Mike gave him a nod.

Tom couldn't help but think the worse had already happened. He just hoped they would be able to help restore the presidency.

"O.O.D bring us down to ten knots," Tom said.

"Aye, Captain," Lt. Granderson replied and then turned to the helmsman. "Helm, reduce speed to ten knots."

"Aye, Aye, reducing speed to ten knots."

They all felt the ship slow. Tom blew out a breath slowly and looked through the binoculars again, trying to see if he could tell anything. The city was barely visible, and he couldn't tell if anything was waiting for them. He didn't know if anyone besides the president knew they were coming.

He was confident in his crew's ability to do their jobs, so he stood and waited. CIC was on full alert watching the screens in front of them, waiting for any sign of danger. Mike turned and left the bridge, and Tom figured he was heading down to CIC.

"Everyone stay alert," Tom said just to cut some of the tension in the room. He hated coming in without knowing the situation. Tom kept an open channel between the bridge and CIC.

"CIC, Bridge. Anything yet?"

"Nothing yet, Sir," Lt. Foster's voice.

Tom fought down the nerves. The silence was deafening as he could hear the blood pulsing through his body. They inched their way towards the city waiting for whatever was waiting for them.

"Bridge, CIC, Contact, Bearing 0-5-9."

"Identification," Tom barked

"Ship, commercial, moving approximately five knots. Appears to be a barge, Sir."

"Weapons on the ready. Harpoons on ready, five-inch, CIWS," Tom said.

"Contact, contact, contact!" Blared over the speakers. "Three harpoon missiles in the air heading straight towards us! Fourth contact in the air."

"O.O.D. evasive maneuvers!" Tom shouted. "CIC fire harpoons engage CIWS! Launch chaff!" Tom yelled orders in rapid fire. His crew sprang to life as people shouted the commands over and acknowledged they were doing as he ordered. He felt the ship move, saw the weapons deploy, and he held his breath waiting for word.

They watched as their countermeasures did their jobs. "Three contacts destroyed!" Tom heard yelled out, then he heard the CIWS fire rapidly. "Fourth contact destroyed! All contacts destroyed."

"Where did they come from?" Tom barked.

"The commercial ship, Sir," Lt. Foster's voice answered him.

"Are we in range with the five inch?" Tom asked. He only wanted to disable their weapons, not sink the ship if possible.

"Yes, Sir!" Lt. Foster replied.

"Lock onto the weapons, fire when ready. Disable them." Tom ordered.

"Aye, Sir," Foster replied. Tom felt the ship right itself and continue in a course towards the barge ship.

"Picking up radar locking onto the ship, Sir!"

"Deploy countermeasures, when necessary," Tom ordered. Tom heard the and saw the five-inch gun on the deck fire multiple times. He pulled the binoculars to his face and watched as the shells hit their mark and the makeshift missile system on the commercial ship exploded.

"Contact in the air! They got one off before we hit them!"

"Shoot it down," Tom ordered. His ship responded to his crews' manipulations and they watched as the final missile coming at them was destroyed. "Stay vigilant. They may have more weapons out there," Tom informed his crew.

He thought about his next move. He was still watching the commercial ship through his binoculars. He then scanned the rest of the river looking for anything else that may be out there. He didn't see anything on the river, so he scanned the banks looking for trouble. He decided they needed to launch two teams to go ashore and see what was going on.

He picked up the phone in front of him and connected to CIC. "CIC, Bridge," Tom said.

"Yes, sir," Mike's voice replied in his ear.

"Report to the bridge Commander Slattery, we need to deploy Vulture and Cobra teams."

"Aye, Sir," Mike replied. Tom hung up the phone and switched the ship wide system. After the tones he spoke into the mic. "Nathan James this is your captain speaking. Vulture team and Cobra team report for shore deployment."

Tom hung up the mic and scanned the area again for dangers. He turned towards Lt. Granderson on the bridge. He really needed to hear from the president.

"Lt. Granderson, do whatever you have to, but I need to speak with the president."

"Aye, sir, I'll see what I can do."

Tom turned and saw Mike coming onto the bridge. As Slattery walked up to him Tom turned to stand at the table, as Gator was studying the demographics of the river.

"How are we on depth here?"

"So far, we are good. We can sit here, or we can try to dock over here," Mejia said pointing to the St. Louis port.

"Let's stay mobile for now," Tom replied.

"I agree. We need to know what the hell is going on," Mike ground out and Tom could hear the frustration in his voice. "Have we heard from the president?"

"No. I'm trying to make contact now. No luck so far," Tom replied. "For now, we deploy Vulture and Cobra teams on shore. Lt. Green leads Vulture and I'll take Cobra."

"You take all the fun," Mike said sarcastically, and Tom glanced at him.

"Privilege of being captain."

"You should stay on the ship," Mike said in a low voice. Mejia turned and walked away. Tom glared at his friend.

"Not the time. We'll go ashore, here and here," Tom said pointing to two spots along the shoreline. Vulture will work this way and approach the president's hotel from the north. Cobra will work this way, and approach from the south. Nathan James can give weapons support if we need it."

"I agree," Mike said with a shake of his head.

"Good. You'll have the bridge."

"Aye, Captain," Mike said with a sigh. Tom gave him another look and Mike shook his head slightly and shrugged. Tom stared at him for a moment longer then turned to face Lt. Granderson.

"Anything from the president yet?" he asked. She shook her head quickly and Tom felt dread in the pit of his stomach. Hopefully they weren't too late. He turned back to Mike. "Keep trying to reach the president."

"Yes, Sir," Mike replied. "I have the bridge."

Tom nodded and left to get ready to deploy with Cobra team. He headed for his stateroom first as he wanted to let Rachel know what was going on and that he would be leaving the ship. He paused outside the door and took a deep breath, before pushing through the door. He found her sitting on the couch, looking scared. When she saw him come in, she sprang to her feet and came to him, tears slipping down her cheeks.

"Hey, hey," he said softly as he wrapped her in his arm. She clung tightly to him, as he held her to his chest. "It's okay," he whispered. He kissed her temple and held her for a moment.

"It's bad?"

"We don't know the situation yet," Tom replied as he pulled her back and walked them to the couch. They sat down and Tom could see the tension in her. "We're sending two teams onshore to better assess the situation. We neutralized a threat on the river."

"Who's leading the teams?" Rachel asked and he could hear the fear in her voice. He waited a beat, knowing she was not going to like him going off the ship.

"Lt. Green is leading Vulture team, and I'll be leading Cobra team."

"Why?" she asked quickly. Tom watched the emotion flash across her eyes.

"Because it's my job," Tom said softly.

"Your job is captain," Rachel started. Tom held up a hand and gently touched her mouth. All he needed was two of them telling him what he shouldn't do.

"Rachel," Tom said softly. "It'll be okay."

"You can't promise that," she whispered as more tears slipped. He sighed. He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her in tightly to his chest.

"No, I guess I can't. But it is my job and I have to get going."

She pulled away from his chest and leaned up and kissed him. He cupped both sides of her face as he kissed her back. When they broke away and stood from the couch, Rachel locked eyes with him and he saw her unguarded emotion. He saw the love and fear. He nodded slowly and started for the door. When he had a hand on the knob he looked back at her and smiled. He felt the pull on his heart and for the first time felt the doubt of going ashore. He pushed the feelings down and left his stateroom.

He met up with the teams in the second helo bay and proceeded to gear up. He slipped his Kevlar vest on and strapped it to himself. He grabbed the weapons he would need. Tom glanced around and saw that everyone was there, and ready to go.

"Listen up," Tom barked. Everyone stopped what they were doing and turned towards him. "Vulture team will approach from the north, and Cobra team will approach from the south. Only engage with people if you are engaged first. Our primary objective is to find the president. Do you understand?"

"Yes, Sir!" each member yelled out in unison. Tom nodded. They broke into their two teams and headed towards the RHIBs. Vulture team departed first, and Tom climbed aboard. Cobra team deployed and they made their way across the river to the shore. Once ashore they moved inland in formation. So far, they had not encountered any people.

They moved quietly and quickly through the abandoned streets near the river and moved inland towards the hotel the president was using as a base of operations. As they got further inland, they started to notice signs of life, but the people were staying out of sight. Tom was a little weary as he expected to meet resistance on the ground after being fired on by the commercial barge. He pulled up and decided to take a minute, as his men fanned out and covered all directions.

"Seems to quiet, Sir," Taylor said. Tom looked at the Australian and nodded.

"Yeah. I don't like it," Tom answered.

"Could be the ground forces are more concentrated closer to the hotel," Burk replied. Tom looked at him and slowly nodded.

"I thought of that too," Tom replied. He grabbed his mic. "Nathan James this is Cobra one, do you copy."

"Copy Cobra one, this is the Nathan James."

"Update on attempting to contact the president?" Tom asked.

"Negative, Cobra one, no word from the president."

"Damn it. I wish we knew what we were walking into," Tom said. He looked around. "Let's move forward. Continue to original objective. Stay frosty," Tom said to his men as the formed up and moved forward again. He pushed his mic again. "Nathan James, Cobra one, moving into town and proceeding to hotel as originally planned."

"Copy, Cobra one."

They were two blocks from the hotel. They had noticed people, but no one came out to confront or greet them. Cobra team continued to move in formation, keeping an eye on the people but not engaging either. They rounded a corner and Tom could see the hotel down the street. He held up a hand and his team fanned out and took cover.

"There's the hotel," he said. He handled the mic again. "Vulture team this is Cobra one, do you copy?"

"Copy, Cobra one, this is Vulture one," Lt. Green's voice said in his ear.

"We are in position, ready to descend on objective."

"Affirmative, Cobra one. Vulture team is in position and ready to descend on the objective."

"No hostiles in sight, remain vigilant," Tom replied.

"Aye, Captain," Green replied and then the radio went silent. Tom raised his hand and motioned the team move forward. As they got closer to the hotel Tom felt his heart drop a little. There was a group of people positioned around the hotel, dug in behind makeshift barricades. Tom motioned to his team what he was seeing, and they fanned out and took up a combat formation as they moved closer.

"Looks like, combatants. Keep your cool. Watch for Vulture team. Only engage if fired upon first," Tom replied as he moved them forward towards the hotel.

They moved quickly and with ease as they closed the final block between them and their objective. As they neared Tom watched as the men behind the barricades slowly realized their approach and brought their weapons up. Cobra team was at a slight disadvantage as they had less coverage heading up to the barricades, but they kept moving in a tight formation. When they were nearly to the men, Tom was grateful that no one had fired a shot yet.

"U.S. Navy," Tom boomed as loud as he could. "Here on orders from President Michener." He just hoped the men here were on the same side as him.

"Stop where you are," a voice boomed back. Tom held up a hand and fanned his team out. They all moved behind cover and took up a combat stance. Tom stayed in the open where he could be clearly seen.

"I'm Commander Tom Chandler. Captain of the US Navy Destroyer Nathan James. We were ordered by the President of the United States to report to St. Louis."

"Must have been a while ago, Captain Chandler," the man smirked.

"Who's in charge here," Tom asked. He looked at each of the nervous men behind the barricades with an assortment of weapons aimed at him. His team was ready. He hoped the Vulture team was in position on the north side.

"I am," the man smirked again.

"And who are you," Tom asked growing impatient.

"Adam Mankin. I run the Militia of the Free States," he said authoritatively.

"Well Mr. Mankin. I'd like to see President Michener."

"Well, you see, Captain, that's not really an ideal thing right now. You see, he's in…negotiations, with my Commanding officer at the moment."

"Negotiations for what?" Tom asked growing tired of the man in front of him.

"Control," the man deadpanned. Tom sucked in a deep breath. He scanned the men in front of him and wondered how many were scattered around the outside of the hotel.

"You the ones with a barge on the river?" Tom asked. The man's face flashed concern for a moment then hardened again.

"We have a few ships," the man said. That news registered with Tom but there was no way to warn the Nathan James right now.

"Well, your barge is disabled. I'd like to speak with your commanding officer," Tom said.

"Like I said, he's busy," Mankin replied with a smirk. "Now back off and take your people back to wherever you came from before we start shooting you."

Tom bristled at the threat. From the looks on their faces the majority of Mankin's men had little to no training. He doubted if any of them had seen actual combat. He was trying to decide what to do when gunfire erupted from somewhere to their north. More than one gun was firing. Before Tom could react, gunfire erupted from behind the barricade in front of him and he felt the searing pain as bullets hit him. He dropped to the ground and rolled as best he could with the pain.

He came to a stop under a car and maneuvered himself to the far side as his men returned the gunfire. Tom tried to regain control over his breathing and assess his injuries. He felt his leg growing wet and there was definitely pain in his chest and shoulder area.

"Damn it," he mumbled. He looked down at his leg and saw the blood spot growing on his upper thigh. The bullet was on the inside, and he flexed his leg and grimaced at the pain, but he was relatively certain the bullet had only damaged muscle. He checked under his vest, but there was no blood behind the chest wound, only bruised or maybe even cracked rib. He touched his shoulder and found blood. Suddenly someone was next to him.

"You're hit, Sir," Burk said calmly.

"Yeah," Tom mumbled as he winced in pain again. "What the fuck happened?"

"I think Vulture team was engaged on the other side. One of Mankin's man panicked and fired on us," Burk spoke, loud enough to be heard over the gunfire erupting around them.

"Damn it," Tom mumbled again. He grunted in pain as Burk applied a field dressing to the bullet wound in his leg and applied pressure.

"Sorry, Sir," he said as he tightened it ever more. Tom gripped Burk's arm as he felt the pain ripple through his leg. Then he relaxed. "Should take care of that one until we can get you proper medical attention. Let me see your shoulder."

Tom shifted to give Burk better access to his shoulder and felt the man peal the vest apart. He winced again and pain skittered down his arm. Tom felt Burk touch the wound and he grunted in pain again.

"Superficial here, Sir, you got lucky."

"Not lucky enough," Tom mumbled. Burk nodded but then went to work putting a dressing on his shoulder wound. As soon as he was done, Burk readjusted Tom's vest back into place and picked up his weapon. Tom grabbed his own gun and thought a moment. Gunfire was still erupting all around them. He stuck his head up and looked through the broken-out windows of the car he and Burk were behind.

His men had taken out over half of Mankin's men at this point. He could still hear the gunfire from the other side and saw men moving from the side of the hotel to join forces in front of him. He looked around and saw his people firing from strategic places. They needed to end the standoff though and take the hotel. He looked at Burk.

"Burk," Tom said as he scanned the area again.

"Yes, Sir," Burk answered as he raised his weapon and fired on the enemy.

"We need to take the hotel. Form up the team and let's put pressure on them and push forward," Tom replied.

"Sir, you're in no condition to move forward in a combat formation," Burk said with a little hesitation.

"I'll manage," Tom said slightly annoyed. A little annoyed at Burk for stating the obvious and a lot annoyed that he had let his guard down enough to get shot. "Let's move," he said as he motioned to get his team's attention. One by one they acknowledged Tom's hand signals and made ready to push forward.

Tom gave the order and his crew flawlessly moved forward firing on the stronghold. They moved with precision and picked off more of Mankin's men. A few of Mankin's men turned and ran and the crew of the Nathan James' let them go. Finally, Mankin and his men held up their guns and surrendered. The secured them with zip ties quickly and then moved to take the other side from the rear, as they could still hear a gun battle going on. Tom limped along and could feel the pain and fatigue gripping him. As they came around the corner Tom barked at the backs of the man dug in.

"Cease fire and raise your weapons!" he ordered loudly. Most of the men, who were taken by surprise, complied. Two of them turned and attempted to fire on Tom and his team. Burk and Taylor both took shots taking them out. Vulture team ceased fire and advanced forward. "Secure these men," Tom ordered as he slumped against the hotel wall. Burk and Taylor made short work of the militia as Green and his team came into help. Green walked up to Tom.

"You, okay, Sir?" Green asked.

"Yes. Just a few wounds. How is your team?"

"Two injuries, neither life threatening," Green replied. Tom nodded. He turned and looked at Burk.

"Any injuries?"

"Besides you, Taylor has a non-life-threatening wound. Otherwise, we are clear."

"Good. Let's go find the president," Tom ordered once the militia men were secured. Cobra and Vulture teams moved into the hotel and made their way methodically through the halls. They found the conference room that had guards posted outside it. The man had laxed and were not paying attention and the crew of the Nathan James easily subdued them.

Tom then pushed the conference doors open and entered with Green and Burk just behind him. The rest of the teams came in next. There were armed men around the table that raised their weapons. Burk fired one shot and crippled a man who cried out and dropped his weapon.

"Drop your weapons, Gentlemen," Tom barked harshly at the remaining men. He spotted Michener at the table and saw the relief spread on the man's face.

"Easy, Boys," another man said as he looked at his fallen man, then up at Tom. "Nobody needs to get hurt here."

"Tell your men to drop their weapons and I won't give the order to kill them," Tom said back. The man studied Tom's face for a moment before he smirked, nodded, and then turned to his men.

"Put your guns down," the man said gently. His men followed the order and one of them dropped to check on the man crying in pain on the floor. "Welcome to the peace talks."

"Peace talks," Tom said with a scoff. "Doesn't look to friendly or peaceful to me."

"You're the ones came in with guns blazing," the man snapped back.

"No, Sir, we did not. We were fired upon first by your men outside," Tom replied before he looked at Michener. "Mr. President, the Nathan James reporting as ordered."

"It's about time you got here," Michener breathed out. Tom could feel the anxiety roll off the man.

"Sorry, Sir, had some electrical issues which caused some major engine trouble on our way here."

"Just glad you finally made it."

"Yes, sir," Tom replied as he relaxed slightly. His men fanned out and covered the room. "How can we be of assistance?"

"First off, I'd like to end these so-called peace talks with Mr. Randroni. And I'd like to have him arrested."

"You'll need the local police for that, Mr. President."

"Unfortunately, he is the local police," Michener sneered. Randroni smirked and shrugged.

"Power was up for grabs. Can't blame a guy for trying," Randroni replied with a smirk. Tom disliked him immediately.

"The rest of your forces are subdued around the hotel. Those not dead that is. Mr. President, what can we do to restore order?"

"I need to be able to communicate with the outside world," Michener replied. Tom nodded and let the President get up and move from the conference room. "I'm heading back to my office. Find where he's holding my secret service guards, expect Cauldon. He's the traitor that let Randroni in."

"Aye, Sir," Tom replied as he pushed himself up straight again. His leg was hurting and the fatigue of the day plus his blood loss was getting to him. Tom gave orders to Vulture and Cobra teams to secure the rest of the hotel and then Tom went with Michener to his office. On the way to the office Tom grabbed the mic on his chest.

"Nathan James, this is Cobra One, do you copy?"

"Copy Cobra One, this is Nathan James."

"President is secure, I repeat president is secure. We have taken back the hotel."

"Copy, Cobra one. Any injuries?"

"Affirmative, no life threatening. Injuries have been battle dressed and will be reassessed when teams return to the ship."

"Aye, Captain. Further orders?"

"The militia mentioned several ships, be on the lookout."

"Aye, Captain. Already had a run in with one. Will stay vigilant."

"Damage report?"

"No hits, Sir. Saw it with plenty of time."

"Copy that," Tom said with relief. "I'll be returning to the ship soon."

"Copy that, Cobra one."

Tom dropped the mic and breathed a sigh of relief. Once in Michener's office the president went to work letting his network know that the threat had been neutralized and he was back in control. Tom waited for a little while, but his leg was uncomfortable and he was feeling tired. When Burk and Green rejoined him and took them out of the office into another room to talk to them.

"All secure, Sir," Green said once it was just the three of them.

"Good. All injured crew will return to the ship. I'm leaving the rest of you to guard the president."

"Yes, Sir," Green replied as Burk nodded. Tom closed his eyes and tried to refocus his brain. "Sir, what do we do with the captured militia?" Tom sighed.

"Keep them contained. Michener will want then punished. If no local law enforcement exists, we'll need to deal with it, and get a local law enforcement agency up and running."

"Aye, Sir," both men said in unison. Tom dismissed the two with orders to gather the wounded men to return to the ship. Tom went back in with Michener.

"Captain Chandler," Michener greeted him as he came in. Tom nodded to the man. He was struggling with the pain and fatigue. He wanted to go lay down somewhere, but he pushed himself forward. "I want your men to…"

"They have orders to secure the militia, seek a local law enforcement out, and if they can't find an established one to help establish one. The injured crew and I will be returning to the ship. I will send another team out once I return to the ship," Tom cut him off. He didn't want to waste time arguing with Michener. Michener stared at him for a long moment before he slowly nodded.

"Okay, that sounds reasonable."

"My men have also been instructed to guard you," Tom replied.

"Excellent," Michener replied, and it was then that he seemed to notice the blood all over Tom's uniform. "You're injured."

"Yes, sir," Tom replied. "Hence my return to the ship for medical care."

"I understand," Michener said, sounding a little disappointed Tom would be leaving.

"My men can handle their assignments. You are in good hands."

"I couldn't agree more. Once you are patched up, I'd like to talk to you more in depth."

"Yes, Sir," Tom said with a nod. His leg was aching fiercely.

"Dismissed," Michener finally said. "Go get patched up, Sailor."

"Yes, Sir," Tom replied and gingerly walked from the man's office. He met up with the other injured members of his crew. He saw Burk come up to him.

"Sir," Burk said. Tom looked at him and nodded. "We have secured a vehicle to transport you back to the RHIB."

"Thank you, Lt. Burk," Tom replied relieved they wouldn't have to walk all the way back to the river. The ride was short, and Tom let himself relax once they were on the RHIB and on their way back to the ship. When they got there, they were greeted by Rios and the medical staff. Tom climbed off the RHIB and just wanted to collapse. Rios saw him and came up beside him. Tom looked around and cringed when he saw Rachel was with the team assisting.

"Sir, over here. Let's look at that leg."

"Shoulder too, Rios," Tom replied quietly. Rios nodded and slipped under Tom's armpit to help him walk. Tom was grateful and limped his way to the stretcher set up in the helo bay. He looked around and watched as the other injured members were helped into the helo bay as well. He laid down and sighed in relief as some of the pain ebbed away. It was short lived when Rios cut the dressing Burk had applied, then most of his pant leg, and started probing around his wound. He cringed and winced. Rios glanced at him.

"Looks like the bullet when through, Sir. Doesn't appear to have hit the bone, and no artery was nicked. I can suture this up. You'll need to stay off it for a week." Tom grumbled but agree. "Sit forward and let's remove your vest."

Tom complied and pushed himself forward grimacing with pain. Rios and Lt. Foster, who had showed up at his side at some point, undid the straps and peeled the Kevlar vest off him. Tom managed to keep any sound from escaping but his shoulder screamed, and his ribs protested. Rios glanced at the vest and noticed the bullet still lodged in the chest area. He looked back at the captain. Tom undid his uniform top and slid it open exposing the t-shirt under neath. He slid his arm out of the sleeve and winced as his shoulder protested in pain. Foster grabbed the top shirt and slid it off his good arm dropping it to the floor. Rios came up with a pair of scissors and cut the Tom's t-shirt away. Tom glanced over and caught Rachel looking at him, her eyes filled with worry. He gave her a reassuring smile then winced as Rios removed the dressing on his shoulder. Tom looked down and frowned at the angry bruising on his torso.

"Shoulder looks superficial. Glancing blow that caught part of the vest," Rios said as he touched the wound and Tom grunted. "This one just needs stitched as well." Rios then probed his chest around the bruised area and Tom winced, his eyes looking up at the ceiling of the helo bay.

"Damn it," he mumbled as Rios prodded him some more.

"Sorry, Sir," Rios replied as he finished his exam. "Looks like just contusions on the chest. I don't think you've broken any ribs. You need rest to recover," the doc said pointedly. Tom made eye contact with him for a long moment before simply nodding. Rios stepped away to get a suture kit while Foster gave him a shot of lidocaine in his shoulder and his leg to numb the areas. She stepped away as well as they waited for the anesthetic to take affect enough to be able to stitch. Tom settled back against the stretcher and closed his eyes. He was slightly startled when a hand touched his uninjured shoulder, and he opened his eyes.

Rachel was standing there looking down at his torso. He reached up with his hand and touched the side of her face, garnering her attention. She slowly brought her eyes up to him.

"I'm, okay," he whispered to her. She nodded slowly and he could see unshed tears in her eyes.

"What happened?" she asked as she took in his injuries.

"The president was being held hostage. I was talking to the guards stationed out front, trying to resolve the issue. Vulture team was engaged on the other side of the hotel and the gunfire erupting spooked the men on our side of the hotel. I didn't have time to take cover before I was hit."

"You could have been killed," she whispered to him, her hand cupping his jaw, the unshed tears slipping down her face. Tom reached up and wiped them away.

"But I wasn't," he replied softly. Rachel looked away and Tom knew what she was feeling. His mind went back to that being tired, and ready to walk away. She slowly brought her eyes back to him and nodded at him. He smiled up at her.

"I'm tired of stitching you up," she said softly. Tom chuckled then winced as his chest rippled with pain. He absently ran his fingers over the scar above his eye. The stitches had just come out a day ago.

"I promise to try to not make this a habit," he said softly as Rios reapproached with a suture kit. He paused a moment then approached. Rachel reached down and touch the skin around his shoulder wound, and he didn't feel a thing. She then reached down to his leg and touched there. He didn't react and she nodded.

"Want to do the honors again?" Rios asked Rachel. She hesitated a moment then nodded and took the suture kit from him. Rios walked away and Rachel prepared the needle. Tom settled back against the stretcher and closed his eyes. He felt the fatigue of the day wash over him and let himself drift into the darkness.

To Be Continued…