Page 75 of Peace Under Fire

Before Mandy had a chance to unleash all her questions, Crusher touched the side of his helmet and paused, obviously listening to something coming from his headset. “The Land Rovers are here. Let’s get our patient loaded.”

Crusher’s gaze shifted to the car dolly beside Gray’s black, tactical boots. After a moment of consideration, he nodded in approval and spoke into his mic. “Brick, head on back. We’ve got the means to haul Grumpy to the rig, but we’ll need to lift him aboard.”

“Try to keep his torso flat.” JoAnn stirred and rose to her feet.”

“The dolly will keep his chest stable. We just need to be careful when we lift him onto it.” Crusher shrugged out of his pack and rummaged through it until he found a coil of rope. He sliced off a generous length and handed it to Gray who bent to thread one end through the dolly’s handle. When he straightened, he tied the two ends together.

“He still alive?” Brick asked as he entered the room.

As though he wanted to double check, Crusher squatted and placed two fingers against Grumpy’s neck before rising to his feet again. “Still has a pulse. Let’s get him onto the cart.” He switched his attention to Mandy. “Once he’s up, slide the dolly beneath him. We’ll lower him onto it.”

Crusher and Jacob took up positions on the right side of Grumpy’s body. Gray and Brick took the left side. They slid their hands beneath their teammate’s shoulders and hips and lifted, trying to keep his chest and torso as straight as possible. Mandy slid the cart beneath Grumpy’s back, positioning it so his head would rest on the cushion when they lowered him down.

Once Grumpy was on the cart—his torso straight and stable—Jacob grabbed the helmet Mandy had discarded and plopped it on her head. The NVDs were already down, so the world was instantly plunged into luminous green again.

It seemed to take forever to get Grumpy across the gym and into the garage. The men took it achingly slow, Crusher at the front guiding and pulling, while Brick and Gray followed along behind, holding Grumpy’s legs up so they wouldn’t drag behind on the ground.

When they reached the front of the garage, Crusher parked the cart in front of the first roll up door. “Let’s get him loaded. We’ll regroup at the ER.”

Mandy cleared her throat. “If you take him to the emergency room, they’re going to ask why you brought him in. He isn’t bleeding anymore. Those outside punctures from the tines are gone. By the time we arrive at the ER, the damage below his skin will probably be completely healed. None of the clinic’s diagnostic tests will show anything wrong. You’ll be presenting them with someone who appears healthy. Right now, his only clinical symptom is that he’s sleeping.” She paused to shrug. “And that’s assuming he isn’t awake by the time we arrive at the ER.”

Crusher scowled, his gaze dropping to Grumpy’s serene face. He crouched to take his teammate’s pulse again before slowly standing. After another moment or two, he shrugged.

“I’m not willing to take chances. We don’t know what’s going on beneath his skin. We’ll take him to the ER and get him checked out. Worse case, we’ll have to deflect.” Crusher turned to the control panel next to the door and pressed the first button.

The first Land Rover was parked directly outside the door with its lower tailgate lying flat and its upper tailgate lifted. The back seat was already folded down, creating a long, wide cargo area. The second SUV was parked behind the first.

There was a brief discussion about how to stuff Grumpy inside without destabilizing his torso and chest and how to brace him against the car’s movement. Finally, five of the men positioned themselves around the orange cart—two on each side and one at the back.

On the count of three, they smoothly lifted their sleeping teammate, cart and all, and carried him to the back of the Land Rover. Ajax and Fabio were already stretched out on opposite sides of the cargo space, and they carefully guided the rolling cart inside. Once the cart was positioned where they apparently wanted it, Ajax and Fabio pressed themselves against the cart to brace it in place. A multitude of backpacks and equipment were wedged in between the two men and the sides of the vehicle to brace everyone in place.

Crusher turned to Jo. “You need to be in there with him.” Crusher nodded to the SUV that contained Grumpy. “There’s enough room in the passenger seat for you and Mandy. The rest of the team will bug out in the second SUV.”

Everyone headed to their assigned SUVs, except for JoAnn, who stiffened and planted her feet.

“I’m not going with you—” she said, her face a mask of stubbornness.

Crusher just rolled right over her refusal. “We’ll need you if he starts bleeding again. You want to vamoose later? Your choice.” His gaze skipped to Mandy, then back. “Though I suspect your sister will have something to say about that. But for now, you’re climbing into the rig.”

JoAnn planted her palms on her hips. “And how are you going to force me to do that?”

“I’m not,” Crusher shot back. “You’re going to do it on your own, out of the kindness of your heart.”

JoAnn snorted.

“Joanie,” Crusher drawled. “I got your number. You’re not nearly as hard-assed as you’d like us to believe.”

Joanie? Mandy’s lips parted in amused surprise. How many nicknames was Crusher going to saddle her sister with?

“How would you know—” JoAnn’s face flushed bright red at the same rate her voice rose.

“You saved Grumpy’s life. Even though you don’t trust him. Even though you think we’re up to no good. You saved his life,” Crusher said quietly. “After going to all that effort to save his life—you’re not going to let him die now.” He paused, shrugged, and offered her a surprisingly sweet grin. “That’s the reason you followed us out here, isn’t it? Checking to make sure we didn’t injure your patient, weren’t you?”

JoAnn scowled; her mouth snapping closed. “Fine. I’ll go with you. But I’m only staying long enough to make sure your stupidity doesn’t kill him.”

Mandy raised her eyebrows. Grumpy was no longer in any danger. Barring a horrible calamity, the healing she’d done on him would hold. He didn’t need her anymore, which Jo knew as well as Mandy.

Her sister was staying for reasons other than protectiveness over her patient—that was crystal clear. It was equally clear that her sister had no intention of sharing her reasons for staying—or whatever plan she was hatching—not even with Mandy.

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