Forgive & Forget (Love in the Fleet) (27 page)

All she could do was nod her head yes; her chest tight, her jaw clenched, her eyes still averted from the bodies.

“Bravo Zulu! Damn good job. You managed to kill this fucker without setting off the bomb or taking his cuddle buddy with him? We’re going to have to cross deck you to Gunner’s Mate.”

How could they joke about this?

Hallie sucked in a breath, exhaled deeply, and ordered her face not to crumple into tears. She was not going to lose it in front of these men. She was Hallie, “Strong in War.” But the horror of what had just happened hit with a nauseating wave and kept trying to seep out of the tightly closed compartment in her mind.

When the last of the OSs had departed, one of the EOD techs said, “Okay, McCabe. You’re up. Hand me the gun, butt first. Now turn around very slowly and walk out the door.

Hallie was surprised her feet worked as she made her slow approach to the door. Surely this was the longest walk she would ever take in her life.

Just before she exited, she heard an EOD tech talking to Commander Haggman. “Hold on while I cut you loose, sir. Haven’t cut anyone with this para-knife yet today, but wigglers are always at risk.”

Although she felt herself beginning to hyperventilate, Hallie held it together as she walked the passageway lined with Security personnel in full battle gear—including a couple of Navy SEALs if she wasn’t mistaken. All silently cheered her with thumbs-up as they ushered her toward Medical with the rest of the former hostages. Once she arrived, Hallie’s eyes searched through the blue camouflage to find a familiar face, so she could let down her guard.

Finally she saw James and curled into his arms. Relief rushed to every cell in her body. He put his arms around her and patted her back. Closing her eyes, she drew in a slow calming breath and tried unsuccessfully to keep the tears at bay. The hell with the regs. She didn’t care who saw them comforting each other.

“I’m sorry, Hallie, I can’t believe I didn’t think of the audio,” he said.

“It’s okay, James. I’m just glad you’re all right. I was so scared.” Hallie wiped away her tears, sniffled, and tried to maintain her military bearing. But she couldn’t stop shivering.

James wrapped a blanket around her. She was glad he kept his arm around her and discretely stroked her back as they assessed the scene around them.

She realized she was not alone in processing the horror of the past hour. It was reminiscent of a refugee scene. These were not battle-hardened infantrymen. They were Operations Specialists whose job it was to gather and process tactical information. They were analytical types.  None had been trained for close combat. They looked as stricken as she felt, but she had just killed a man. She had every right to cry openly.

But she didn’t. She would suck it up and carry on.

Hallie turned as Commander Haggman joined them. The color was back in his face, but he still appeared quite shaken. She wanted to throw herself into his arms. They had, after all, almost died together.

Instead she reached out her hands to him. “Is Dixon okay? I was so afraid I hit him.”

The CDC Officer squeezed her hands before dropping them. “He’s okay, but, trust me, you don’t want to see him yet.” He exhaled a sigh of relief. “McCabe, that was masterful. I can’t even begin to thank you.” He raised his brick and made a call. “Gun Boss, CDC. Have you got a spare body to shadow McCabe for the time being? Prefer someone big and intimidating, if possible.”

“No problem, Hag,” squawked from the brick. “I have just the guy. I assume she’s in Medical with the rest of the CDC folks.”

“She is. Thank you.”

Hallie’s heart lurched. “Am I in trouble, sir? I didn’t need
permission
to do that, did I?” She would have laughed if she could.

“Permission? Hell, no. The guy was going to kill us. And everyone else on the ship. We all heard it and a very savvy member of the press even recorded it all. You’re not in trouble, McCabe, but you might need some protection against well-wishers mobbing you. You heard the senior chief. You’re a freaking McHero!”

Finally the Klaxon blared. “General Quarters! General Quarters! With the exception of personnel receiving medical attention, all hands man your Battle Stations. I say again, General Quarters! General Quarters! With the exception . . .” It was punctuated with the roar of a jet blast from overhead. Or something else. They didn’t know.

Commander Haggman gave a sharp whistle to get the attention of everyone gathered in Sick Bay. “Okay, listen up. I don’t know much more than you do right now. See a corpsman if you need aid and make sure you get your name on the sign-up sheet that’s being passed around so we know who to talk to later. If you’re not injured and have been cleared by a corpsman, then make your way up to Air Ops. That will be our Battle Station until the EOD guys clear us in CDC. As soon as General Quarters is over, expect to be told to report back to me. Plenty of people are going to want to interview you and get your perspective on what happened. Do not discuss details with anyone until we’ve been debriefed. Petty Officers McCabe, Hall, and Dixon are to remain here in Medical. By the way, great job up there, men—
and woman
!”

This caused an eruption of cheers for Hallie and more than a few shout-outs.

Gesturing with his hands for them to keep it down, Commander Haggman added, “Okay, calm down. Taking out a tango is just another day at the office for a
Blanchard
-trained MC.” He smiled broadly. “Surely you didn’t think she was just a pretty face that read cue cards. Now lay off McCabe, get in the proper Battle Dress, and follow me to Air Ops.”

Again the 1MC boomed. “Attention all hands. This is the XO. We are still at General Quarters. Remain at your Battle Stations until further notice. We have four confirmed kills on suicide dhows. We took one indirect hit, when it exploded in close proximity. We suffered some damage and have a few casualties—mostly from the concussion just below the waterline and from flying debris in the hangar bay. Reactor spaces were not compromised and we are under our own power. We will continue to transit to safer waters. We have aircraft airborne to provide early warning, including a handful of fixed-wing and most of our helicopters. Everyone involved did an outstanding job getting them to the roof and launched. We have the rest of our pilots and aircrews on Alert Five, Alert Fifteen, or Alert Thirty until we know for sure that the threat is over. Damage Control is still assessing damage and casualties in Engineering…”

All of Hallie’s resolve disappeared as she slipped from James’s arms.

Chapter 30

She didn’t know if it was the smelling salts or the 1MC that brought her around, but Hallie was mortified to find herself on the deck, faces hovering over her. The hospital corpsman wielding the smelling salts was a female, flanked by two male corpsmen with genuine looks of concern on their faces, as they gently lifted her to a sitting position. Hallie relaxed knowing she was in their care.

“Attention all hands. This is the Captain. We believe all external threats have been eliminated. However, one of our own was involved in the attack, and that greatly increases the possibility of sabotage. We’re going to relax Battle Dress, but we want everyone to remain at their GQ stations while we do a search. I want every square inch of this ship scoured for possible bombs. Unless you are directly involved in the search, limit your internal phone use and stay off the bricks. That is all.”

Hallie scrambled to stand up and signaled Commander Haggman, telling him she needed to talk with him privately. “Before you go, I need a favor, sir. Please.”

“I owe you my life, McCabe. Shoot.” The word hit both of them at the same time. “Sorry.”

“Sir, this has to be confidential.”

He nodded.

“My fiancé is in Engineering. Can you find out his status?”

“Ah, so you
are
engaged. That was a good story in there, by the way. But we can talk later. I’m headed topside. I’ll check it out and call down here. What’s his name?”

Hallie hesitated. “Um…he’s an officer, sir.”

A flicker of something passed across Haggman’s face and a smile tugged at the corner of his mouth. “Okay, McCabe, like I said, I owe you my life. I promise to be discreet. Who is the lucky son of a bitch?”

“It’s the AUXO, sir. Lieutenant Johnston.”

That threat of a smile gave way to a full-fledged grin. “You and Bill Gates? No way.”

“Please, sir,” she implored him.

“I’m on it, McCabe. I’ll call you here at the Sick Bay desk as soon as I know anything.” He chuckled as he departed. She figured he was probably thrilled to find something humorous in an otherwise traumatic evening.

“Captain wants to see you on the Bridge, McCabe,” said the corpsman holding the phone.

The Captain? Hallie hadn’t seen him since that day in Public Affairs. She was still pretty shaken about the whole Combat experience and didn’t know if she had it in her to face Rick right now. She was glad the female corpsman was going with her and realized the burly petty officer the Gun Boss had sent wasn’t letting her out of his sight either.

When Hallie stepped onto the Bridge, the senior officers present broke into applause. And she knew it wasn’t the same kind of cheering and clapping that had accompanied her first broadcast. After handshakes from the officers and a few words from the CO, Captain Amerson announced he needed to talk with McCabe in his cabin for a few minutes. In private.

The corpsman offered to go with her, but Hallie said she’d be fine. She was unafraid and followed Captain Amerson off the Bridge. She needed to find out about Philip and was prepared to bargain.

“Sit down, McCabe.” He indicated the chair. He sat and looked at her seriously from across his desk. The first thing she noticed was the twinkle was gone from his eyes. Something had taken its place, but she couldn’t quite put her finger on it.

“I have a few things to say here, so bear with me. First of all, thank you for saving the lives of so many of our shipmates tonight and possibly the entire ship. I am indebted to you. And I want you to know if you ever need anything from this man’s Navy—or this woman’s Navy—for the rest of my life, I’m there for you. And I mean that.”

Hallie’s spine relaxed a few notches. This was about thanking her. She decided to take him up on his offer by discreetly asking about Philip. She’d subdued the terrorist and alerted the ship. He owed her big. She might even push the limits and ask him to allow Philip to come up and be with her for a few minutes. Certainly she deserved that after what she’d been through. And after what she’d done.

Unless Philip was dead. She shivered.

“And secondly, I want to say I’m sorry. About everything.”

“Sorry, sir?” Hallie’s voice quavered.

“I’m sorry if I ever made you feel uncomfortable. And I’m sorry about hurting your mother.”

A fist slammed into her chest. “My mother!”

He knew Suzanne was her mother?

“I didn’t know about you. I’m sorry. I had no idea. How is your mother?”

Surely her heart was going to burst right through her jacket. “She…she…” He was being way too matter of fact about this. “She died several years ago from breast cancer, sir.”

“I’m sorry to hear that. But I can tell she did a bang-up job of raising you. She’d be very proud of you tonight. As I am.” He paused and looked at her intensely. “I never knew I had a daughter. Suzanne told me that she…” He cleared his throat and looked away before continuing. “And then she stopped answering my letters and was discharged from the Navy and disappeared. I would have helped, if I had known…about you. Look, I hope we can discuss this another time. We only have a few minutes here.”

“How long have you known about this, sir? About me? That I’m your daughter?” The words sounded foreign coming from her mouth.

“Your knight in shining armor came to see me a couple of weeks ago. To defend your honor. He told me everything.” Captain Amerson looked down at her left hand. “Johnston’s a good man.”

This time the fist slammed Hallie in the gut, forcing her mouth to pop open. Philip had put his career in jeopardy to defend her?

“I promised him I wouldn’t say anything about that meeting, but I think under the circumstances, he would approve.”

Circumstances? Was he…? Oh, God! Tendrils of fear crept into her body and wrapped around her soul, choking it. She hadn’t even processed that she’d narrowly escaped death and killed a man tonight. But the thought of something happening to Philip on top of all of that was too much.

“Circumstances, sir?”

“Your quick thinking helped us avert everything except for the repercussions from one of the dhows exploding. There’s damage to some of the engineering spaces. I’m afraid we have casualties down there.”

She forgot how to breathe. Terror enveloped her. Squeezed. Hard. “Is he okay?”

“Lieutenant Johnston was wounded, McCabe.”

Hallie took a shot to the ribs.

“He’s unconscious. He has a head injury.”

“Noooo!” A traumatic brain injury could mean anything. And none of it good.

“We’re not equipped to deal with a TBI here. I’ve arranged for a Med-Evac to take him off the ship immediately. We’ll fly him off via one of our own helicopters to Bahrain, and from there he’ll be transported by military airlift to Germany.”

“Oh, God!” Hallie’s hands flew over her open mouth to keep herself from keening. She rocked, trying to counter what he’d said with one word: No! No! No! No. No!

“McCabe!”

Rick had to get her back. As much as he wanted to reach out and touch her in some form of comfort, he didn’t dare. If this was all he’d had to tell her, he would have brought the corpsman in with her, but he’d needed to be alone with her to discuss Philip, and Suzanne.

“He’s going to be okay. I promise you.” Rick had no idea where those words had come from, but he knew he needed to say them to get her back. “A corpsman will accompany him in the helicopter to Bahrain and the Air Force Cargo plane there has a fully staffed Med-Evac team to monitor him all the way to Germany. The Army hospital in Landstuhl will have the right specialists to ensure nothing’s overlooked.”

Hallie continued to rock, her hands covering her mouth.

“The good news is I’m sending you with him, if that’s what you want. I think you should be on that helicopter, holding his hand, and talking to him all the way.”

This could be a win/win situation if she’d accept his offer. Maybe she’d forgive him for the paternity snafu if he allowed her to go with lover boy. And he’d get her off his ship before any photographers got “father/daughter” pictures out to the media.

“I have every confidence that you’re the one to bring him back to us, McCabe.”

“Yes! I want to go.” Hallie stood and headed for the door.

“You’ve got a few minutes. Make sure you have your ID and some money,” he said as he pulled bills from his wallet and handed them to her.

“Sir?

“You’ll need cash in Germany. Just in case. Don’t worry about anything else. I’ll see you’re taken care of there and we’ll send all your things once you arrive.”

“My things?”

“McCabe, who knows how long this will take. He’ll probably be sent home to the States after everything’s okay. I want you to stay by his side as long as he needs you. It’s the least I can do.”

“I’m not coming back to the ship?”

“Let’s not go there yet. Let’s get Lieutenant Johnston the right medical care and we can talk later. Just take care of him. And, McCabe, I would very much like to talk with you at another time about…you know.” This was his daughter. “I’m afraid this is not the time or place to discuss it, but I hope it will be okay to contact you after this is all over. I’ll make sure your things are sent. I’ll see to it personally.”

“Yes, sir. I’m sure that would be all right. To meet with you sometime later. I’d like that. About my things, there are some personal letters.” She dug out her locker key. “I’ll just give this to my cameraman and he’ll make sure my bunkmate sends my things. And, sir? I’d like to ask that Lieutenant Sky Crawford be allowed to process Lieutenant Johnston’s things if you’re sending those too.”

“No problem.” He jotted down the name.

“Actually, sir. Can I ask a favor?”

“I told you ‘anything you need.’”

“If he’s not out on patrol or something, could Lieutenant Crawford accompany us to Bahrain? He’s a pilot with HSM-23. I really could use his support right now, if he’s available.”

“Consider it done.” He continued taking notes.

“And, sir? Just so you know. There isn’t anybody else on this ship that knows about you, that you’re my…you know. Not even Lieutenant Crawford. Lieutenant Johnston and I are the only ones who know. We didn’t feel it would serve any purpose to say anything. We thought it best that it stayed between us.”

Rick looked up at her with visible relief. He couldn’t have said it better himself. “I appreciate that. Let’s get through this crisis first.”

They were interrupted by the 1MC. “Attention all hands. This is the XO. All personnel who witnessed the crisis in CDC are to report to the Officer’s Wardroom for debrief. That is all.”

Hallie looked at the Captain for answers. “I’ll take care of it,” he said. “It’s all on tape and there were plenty of witnesses. Since you’re ‘suffering from severe shock and PTSD,’ we’d really better get you on that Med-Evac plane to Germany for further evaluation.” He winked at her.

As Hallie rose, he stood and walked around the desk. “I look forward to talking with you about other things another time. When all of these crises have resolved themselves. Go now and God bless. Get on that helo and do whatever you need to do for Lieutenant Johnston for as long as it takes. I’ll keep tabs on both of you. Email me directly if you need anything.”

Captain Amerson was filled with mixed emotions. On the one hand he truly was indebted to them. On the other, he wanted them gone. Far away from his ship. He walked her to the door, sincerely wanting to reach out and touch her. Not only was she his
daughter
, but she had saved his ship. No way was he going to touch her though. Except maybe to extend his hand for her to shake it. Hallie looked down at it and then reached out with her own. He took her hand in both of his and held it for a heartbeat longer than necessary, looking into her cornflower blue eyes with his own. Eyes that he hoped reflected admiration, respect, and regret.

“Good luck, McCabe.” He paused. “Hallie.” Letting go of her hand, he added, “I wish you both the best. Godspeed.”

She focused on his identical blue eyes. “Thank you, sir.” Then she turned and departed.

Rick knew he needed to get back to the Bridge, but he gave himself ten more seconds to regain his composure.

His daughter.

Whoever would have guessed that the seed he’d literally planted twenty-five years earlier would grow to come back and save his ship, his crew, and his ass?