"Abort! Abort! We gotta get the fuck outta here." I yell over the headset. I have Jaz's body in my arms as Amir covers my back. We get into the town car that we arrived in. Amir is taking over the driving, while I have Jaz laid out in the back seat. pulling out the supplies from my medic bags.
"Base. Base. We need an exit route. Dammit, we're being followed." Amir says while trying to lose the other car. I can't look away from Jaz. She is unconscious, bleeding from her thigh and her torso. Her slacked face with blood splatter on her cheeks, the color unnatural. That image will stay with me forever. Her thigh is bleeding worse than her torso. I start cutting away the black pants from her leg. It's a thru and thru. FUCK! It nicked an artery.
"Jaz, Jazzy stay with me. Fight." I whisper-yell at her, trying to get my needle and thread put together. "We need to get her to a hospital. She is losing too much blood." Amir is talking but I can't hear him. All I hear is the thudding of my heart in my ears as I focus on trying to save my teammate's life. After a couple of stressful minutes, the bleeding slows. I was able to repair the artery. Covering her wound, I look at her next injury. The bullet grazed her side It was deep, but nothing major was hit, and I covered that injury. Her blood pressure starts to slowly comes up and her pulse feels better. Her skin is still a sickly pale color but she will live. It's the best I can do at this moment, once we get her to the hospital or on a plane I will be able to clean the wound out, stitch her wounds out, stitch her wound neatly, and bandage her wounds better.
"McG what's Jaz's status?" Hannah is taking over the earpiece.
"She is good for the moment but still needs a hospital. I say, holding my index and middle to the side of her neck. It was then, that the blood dripped from the bottom of my sleeve and on top of my medical bag and pants. The dark red droplets stained the white long-sleeve shirt. Confusion setting in. Hurriedly I look all over Jaz trying to find another injury that I missed. Panic setting in that I missed something. A moment of clarity, it wasn't coming from Jaz, it was coming from my sleeve.
Slowing tracing from the dripping blood up my right arm it wasn't hurting until I touched the wound on my shoulder. Pulling my hand away, completely covered in fresh blood.
My Blood.
The pain only then registered in my mind. I was hit. The deep fiery pain rediating down my arm and into cross my collarbone.
"I'm hit." I say out loud, feeling myself fall into a state of disbelief.
"What?" A mixture of voices echoes over the headsets. My teammates are just as confused as I am.
"I was shot." I repeat, grabbing gauze and applying pressure to the wound. The sounds and voices around me faded out. Not understanding anything, feeling as if I am watching myself from outside the car. My training, experience, and expertise failed me.
"McG? Talk to me. What's happening? Is it a thru and thru? Where are you hit? McG? McG? McGuire? Joseph talk to me!?" Amir is yelling, as I am sitting back against the door in between the driver seat and the bench backseat.
"Please, don't do this to Kate. Talk to me."
Kate's name pulled at a thread, pulling me out of this state of hearing and seeing but not reacting.
Joseph, talk to me? How are you doing? Joseph, dammit talk to me, you have Kate and a baby." Amir is yelling. Kate and our baby. Holding out baby, wanting to be home with her. With them. "Right shoulder." I snapped out of the shock of my injury. "I can't tell if it is through or not."
"McG you have about 5 minutes from getting help. Just hold on for a little longer." Hannah's voice is calm. Jaz. My mind is moving into action. Checking Jaz's pulse again, it's steady. She is doing better. But this whole mission is all fucked.