CHAPTER SEVEN

"How is she?" asked Baptiste, walking into the waiting room with Rose.

"What are you guys doing here? I thought you were going to D.C.," said Joseph.

"We're leaving in the morning but heard the commotion on comms. Is she okay?" he asked again.

"Broken wrist, but they're checking everything else just to be safe," said Liffey.

"Cam and Luke are in touch with her old command about the last op. Apparently, the men they arrested all made some pretty severe threats to her and her team, as well as the DEA agents," said Baptiste.

"If they were arrested, why are they out there?" asked Joseph.

"Released on bail," frowned Baptiste. "No one seemed to have their wits about them when they were all able to post two hundred and fifty grand. Each."

"Are you kidding me?" frowned Joseph. Baptiste shook his head as Alistair walked down the hallway.

"How is she?" asked Liffey.

"Other than the wrist, she's damn lucky. We had to lie about the crash. We don't want anyone trying to find the wreckage. We told them she fell while hiking."

"When can we get her out of here?" asked Sor.

"Now. They're writing a script for pain meds, and then we can leave. I want to get her back and then head back up here and find those men. They had a fucking rocket launcher. What drug dealers do you know with a rocket launcher?" frowned Alistair.

"They have a connection to someone," said Baptiste. "We'll be in D.C. but let me know if you need my help."

"She's ready to go," said the nurse, handing the prescriptions to Alistair. "She's a lucky girl to have this entourage with her."

"We're the lucky ones," said Joseph. The nurse just smiled and walked away as an orderly brought her toward them in a wheelchair.

"She's all yours," smiled the young man. "Just an fyi, she does not like the wheelchair."

"I have a broken wrist, not a broken leg!"

"It's policy, ma'am."

"We've got her," smiled Alistair. "Babe, they're just trying to take care of you. Come on. We're going home."

"No," she said, shaking her head. "No way. I want to get those guys. They shot me down! They destroyed the bird, and I'm going to get that asshole!"

"Hey, I need you to dial it down," said Joseph, staring at her. "We told them it was a hiking accident. No one needs to know what really happened. You can't help us with that wrist. We're going home."

Clark wanted to argue, but something in his eyes told her she should just count her blessings and walk away from this one. Once on the Osprey, they gathered around the table.

"Clark, tell us about the last mission," said Dalton.

"I was dropping Marines, DEA, and FBI near the camp, or at least that's what I was supposed to do. There wasn't a clearing anywhere except where they were cooking that shit up. I hovered while the teams fired and then finally had clearance to land."

"That means they didn't have the rocket launcher then," said Liffey, frowning at the group. Clark shrugged.

"I guess not. They didn't use it. That's for sure. We killed a lot of them, but a Marine brought two over to me and had them cuffed to the floor of the bird. One of the men was making sexist, snarky remarks, trying to get under my skin. He said, ‘I never forget a face, girly.' I know he was one of the men chasing me because I heard him say that again.

"The weird thing is that when I left the convention center to head to the airport, I felt this weird sensation like someone was watching me. But it couldn't have been him. He would have never made it from there to West Virginia in that time."

"No, but it could have been someone else," said Alistair. Clark stared at him, unsure of what to make of the statement.

"What do you mean? Someone else who was arrested?"

"Maybe. Or someone that you thought were the good guys. If they were at the convention center, they could have been with one of the agencies," said Alistair.

"My fellow Marines wouldn't have done that to me," she said defensively. Sor looked at her, then at Alistair.

"I don't think he was accusing anyone," said Sor. "We're just trying to lay out all possibilities. Who would have anything to gain by this? You're right. It doesn't make sense for a Marine to have done this, but if a member of the DEA was involved, maybe they're getting a cut of the drugs."

Clark stood from the seat, rubbing her temples. She was getting a headache, the adrenaline finally bottoming out. She just wanted to sleep.

"I-I don't know. All I know is that was the same man that was on my bird." Alistair stood, and she shook her head. "I have a headache. I think I need to lie down."

"Okay, babe. Get some rest, and I'll wake you when we land." She disappeared into the small bedroom and closed the door.

"She's struggling with the idea of someone betraying her and potentially her team. We need to notify her command to see if anyone has been attacked."

" Already done," said AJ. "Two of her team were involved in a bar fight the other night. Three guys, half the size of the Marines, started the fight. When they suggested to take it outside, they found themselves in the midst of eleven men waiting for them. They were beaten but not dead. Another was involved in a hit-and-run accident. Someone is picking off that team."

"Thanks, AJ," said Alistair. "We need to find out who is involved in that opioid ring. They know someone or someone is involved with them and protecting them." Joseph nodded at his friend.

"First, let's get your girl home."