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Nope Not going to go there in his mind

He stepped into the open hatchway, assumed the position Pitch-black void waited

Clear-cut Absolutes His dependable life He could already feel the exact ti of ould happen next, a precise replica of tinaled with the traditional slap on the ass

Jump out the door and count to fourthree two one

Whoomp

The chute deployed Streaked Filled Jerked

Drew pule the cords Even though visibility was next to nil, he watched for others in the air, checked the chute for a line strea a Dolly Parton or a Mae West as they used to call it Hell, the new recruits were probably calling it a Pa time

And in the middle of all the familiarity he was always stunned anew by the silence, the peace after the roar of the airplane With a sneak attack, it wasn’t like being dropped into a hot zone rife with gunfire below

Just opaque, silent sky The calm before the storm to come He could lose himself in that sensation

Just like he’d lost hiht before

Hell He wanted the sky back He owned it And now she was even here He could al to him on the horizon

Thank God, his body worked on instinct She hadn’t stolen everything

Fifty feet to go He pulled release straps on his rucksack and grabbed his risers, pulled toward his chest, changed the drift of his parachute Listened for the reassuring thuround, his eyes on the horizon Pulled in harder Harder Ar his fists ht, M-16 strapped to his left leg

He hit the release straps on his chest, cutting the top half free to deflate the chute Lightning-fast, he outrigged from the harness He whipped out his 9Repeated function check

Troops ditched chutes and converged in preplanned groupings, spreading And even as he hooked up with his RTO for radio transmissions, threw hihts Asmore than a mistake in his past, he couldn’t stop the soul-deep relief over knowing she was safe at the airbase

Plaster raining fro her knees to her chest and praying the roof wouldn’t collapse in on her Gunfire stuttered outside An explosion Light splashed through theBrighter

Closer this tiainst hie for them both under the desk, but the safest place in the roouarded outside the door as the first line of defense, Blake keeping her secured inside while the fight for the compound unfolded

She tried not to tense in his ar her Breathe In Out Relax

Plaster and dust froh She coughed At least she didn’t have to look at the dead man Amhtened "Hang in there This will be over fast I swear"

She wanted to believe hiine how a compound that held at least a couple hundred trained terrorists could fall so soon

Although the US military had certainly started the operation quickly and silently enough With A to move the camp, she’d been terrified Blake would be too late

And then there he’d stood Taking down her interrogator--A after A If Blake had been just an hour earlier

But there would have been two men with her then, both Ammar and his second in command So do you think it will take?"

"Twenty minutes at the most, and they’ll have the coather up, sos or escape routes to secure, but we’ll be on the watch for them It’ll be over"

God, she wanted to believe this horror would soon be past, but knew an end to the nighter for her "I still can’t believe you’re here"

"I should have counfire, another explosion

"You shouldn’t have had to cos

"You don’t have anything to apologize for" His chin rested on the top of her head to fit under the desk, his hands fir "Your sister’s here, too Well, not right here, but close by She’ll be landing in a medivac C-17 once the initial hostilities have passed"

Tears prickled, joy a welcome emotion after months without it "Monica? Oh, lad she’s in the middle of all this?"

"Once she found out thecould stop her"

Me her hard "Sounds like ht it was important to be here for you, that maybe all of this would be easier if she was the one to check you over rather than a doctor you’ve neversomeone else" She sed down acid Monica would be devastated when the medical exam revealed the full impact of what had happened in this place

Rat, tat, tat Gunfire Shouts Running feet and a screaer in Blake’s heartbeat, his labored breaths Would he blausted by her? She waited, wondered what he would say

"Do you want to talk about it, being taken andafter? he asked with a calm contradicted by his tensed muscles

"Not yet, if that’s okay"

His arms relaxed a notch, if not totally "Probably better we hold off on that until we’re both leveled out"

"I think so, too" Details would trigger his tightly leashed rage She knew this as well as she knew hi flooded at least a trickle of peace His rage was directed at those responsible Not her Thisdefense of anyone attacked, would help hiainst her, his hand falling away fro touched, oh, God, she couldn’t bear to be left She gripped his arms, jolted, buoing?"