Page 3 of The Long Walk Back

Hours later, the tent was quieter, calmer. The gunfire in the far distance had abated; the silence almost eerie in comparison. Kate was exhausted, covered in dirt and grime that had mixed with the sweat of her frantic exertion to save lives in the middle of a warzone. They needed to be rested, ever ready at a moment’s notice, but the adrenaline of the last few hours had kicked in now. She knew if she went to bed, she would just lay awake staring at the ceiling of the tent, so she stayed. Sarah Fielding, a combat medic assigned to this unit, was at a nearby desk sorting through personal effects ready to bag and tag. They tried to save what they could, to either give back to the soldiers, or send back to their families should the worst happen. Kate went to the small kitchen area and grabbed a strong coffee, sitting down on a chair near the desk.

‘Hi Sarah, you okay?’ Kate asked tentatively, sipping at the strong hot drink. She felt the jolt of caffeine lick through her limbs.

‘Yeah, I just hate this job,’ Sarah replied, frowning. Kate noticed a familiar piece of clothing.

‘That the captain’s trousers? Mind if I look?’

Sarah shrugged, attempting to stifle a yawn and failing. ‘No, bag it up for me would you, when you’re done? I still have a pile to get through but I need to get my head down.’ Sarah looked across at her, smiling weakly. ‘You should too, you look done in.’

Kate shrugged, taking the possessions from her colleague. ‘I will, I can’t settle yet. You go.’

Sarah placed a hand on her shoulder as she passed, squeezing it in appreciation. ‘Night, Kate.’

‘Night, Sarah,’ Kate said over her shoulder. The captain was still unconscious, whether from the sedation or his injuries remained to be seen. They had stopped the bleeding and he was stable. For now. Glugging at her coffee, she set it down on the desk and started to go through her patient’s belongings. He had the usual field stuff in his pockets, along with a wallet. It had escaped the blast intact. His mobile phone was shattered, so she itemised it and put it into the bag. Opening the wallet, she looked through the contents, feeling guilty for going through his personal possessions, but it needed to be done. Sometimes, all families got back were the contents of their loved one’s pockets and bags, and even a half-eaten packet of mints was a comfort to a grieving mother. Photos and letters were the gold though. Looking through the wallet, she found amongst the cards and money a little stack of snaps. She frowned as she thumbed through them. They were all of him and his friends, in various barracks and war zones. No family pictures, no smiling mother and father, no rosy-cheeked children cuddled by a proud wife. She observed how handsome he was, those penetrating green eyes she couldn’t help but notice. Smiling into the camera, laughing into another. His playful side showed, a man goofing around with his buddies in a rare peaceful moment. She wondered whether anyone would be trying to ring his phone. Worrying about why he didn’t answer.

Trevor came into the room, unnoticed by Kate till he took a sip of her now lukewarm coffee.

‘Hey,’ she said teasingly. ‘Get your own!’

Trevor winked and drained the cup. ‘You should be in bed. Want a fresh one?’

Kate nodded, already back to being absorbed in the images in her hands. ‘Do you know the captain?’

‘Thomas Cooper, one of the good ones,’ Trevor replied. ‘How’s he doing?’

Kate looked at Trevor, a frown on her tired face. ‘Stable. For now. His leg doesn’t look good. We’re watching him for signs of sepsis. The child he saved is doing well. Shaken but unharmed.’

‘Difficult call to make,’ Trevor murmured, his voice quiet. ‘Hightower was in agreement that he did the right thing. The soldier who died was in bad shape, I don’t think he’d have made it either way. Sounds like he was a sitting duck. Cooper would have lost more men if he hadn’t strode in himself.’ He finished off the mug. ‘Fucking IEDs. They got him here quick, but…’ His lips pursed. ‘He won’t be happy if he can’t go back into full service. Has he woken up yet?’

Kate shook her head. Trevor’s gaze dropped.

‘Has he got any family?’ Kate asked. ‘There are only his army buddies in these photos.’

Trevor shook his head. ‘Nope, Cooper is army born and bred. No family to speak of, as far as I know. He keeps his cards pretty close to his chest.’

Kate put the photos back, finishing her task and tying the bag up to go with the others. He was alone then, like her. His team were his family, his brothers. He’d strode right into danger to pull them out. Made the call to save a child even when the safer, quicker action would be to neutralise the threat no matter what. That little boy would get to live, to recover, thanks to the man in the bed nearby. A man from the other side of the world had given him a future, a chance. A man like that should have someone in his corner back home, eager to see him come back. Thinking of those green eyes in the photos, she wondered why this man had gotten under her skin. She’d seen dozens of soldiers here, and never pondered their back stories. It bothered her, for some reason, that he might not have anything to return to. Maybe it was because the boy he’d saved had made her think of her own son, safe and sound back home. Shielded from the horrors of here. Maybe it was thinking of what she had to face when her plane landed. Being alone herself, even as she yearned for her marriage to finally be over in every sense. Except she did have people, Jamie. Waiting for her, counting on her to return to them. From peeking into Cooper’s life, she knew in her bones that his comrades were all he had. If he returned home, and couldn’t be a soldier any more, what would be left for him back home? Who would be there to make those green eyes lose the haunting look she’d spied when he’d looked at her, eyelids flickering as they tried to focus? To soothe that deep frown he had, even in sleep? She looked at the ward entrance, partitioned off by canvas doors.

Trevor went off to get more coffee, but when he came back, Kate was nowhere to be seen. He carried the cups through to the main ward tent, sure that a nurse would be grateful for the hot drink. Walking through, something made him slow his heavy step. At the end of the ward, next to Captain Cooper’s bed, Kate lay in a chair, one hand over his. ‘Kate?’

She didn’t move, her eyes still fixed on the sleeping Captain. ‘Kate? You should try to sleep.’

She turned to look at her boss, her hand still holding Cooper’s. ‘Do you think he has anyone, back home I mean? His wallet didn’t show any personal life?’

Trevor frowned. ‘Not sure, I only know him by reputation. Why? You don’t usually ask.’

She gave a slow shrug. ‘I know. I think it’s the kid. You know, he didn’t ask about himself once. He was only concerned for everyone else.’

Trevor didn’t say anything at first. ‘Don’t stay up too long,’ were his parting words as he pushed the coffee cup into her free hand. She drank it slowly, watching his vitals and wishing they looked better. He was in bad shape. The cup was almost empty when she felt his fingers tighten around hers.

‘The… kid,’ he croaked out as she dumped the cup to one side. Checked the monitors for any disturbing flickers.

‘Safe, unharmed,’ she told him. ‘Your team got out too.’ The crease in his brows abated a little, and she squeezed his fingers. ‘You did good, Captain.’ His green eyes opened a little wider. ‘Do you have anyone at home? I mean, anyone I could call?’ The resounding shake of his head was unmistakable. ‘Rest now,’ she told him, looking at the monitor, not sure what else she could tell him. I’m alone, like you? Married to the job? No. Their circumstances weren’t the same. ‘I have a little boy,’ she said instead. ‘If he were on a rooftop, I would hope for someone like you to be there, too.’ She turned back, but he was asleep once more.

2

FOUR MONTHS EARLIER

‘And what about Jamie, Kate? Have you thought about him in all this? I have a job too, you know,’ Neil said, ripping off his tie and slamming it down on the table that sat in their large open-plan kitchen. Kate continued to stir the pasta, giving herself a minute before acknowledging her husband’s rant. These days, it was the only way they communicated at all.

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