Page 4 of Trusting the Team

They waiteduntil she was cried out. Asleep in his arms now, Gumby picked her up and they took her back to the b-hut. He settled her into her bunk. “What was that,” Bubba asked as they moved to the end of the b-hut.

“Her dad died. Her family sold her. She was brutalized. We’re soldiers, just like her dad. We're leaving her,” Phantom answered succinctly.

“Tex found his parents. That's got to be the best option of what's available, right?” Bubba responded.

“Phantom don't make this a failure,” Rocco started, “she's not ours! None of us can take on a kid.”

“That's not what I’m saying,” Phantom answered. “He asked,” Phantom motioning at Bubba, “why are you in my face?”

“I’m sure Tex checked these folks out. He wouldn't any sooner put someone in danger then we would,” Gumby added.

“Who gave her my clothes?” Ace asked. Three fingers pointed at Rocco.

“Let’s get going,”Rocco announced, “not miss manifest.” Phantom and Bubba double rucked, Rocco and Gumby had their own as they headed out of the b-hut. Ace went to get Rex. Dari walked with Gumby, her hand gripping the hem of his uniform jacket. She had slept until Rocco woke her to get ready. She had helped take apart the bed, Ace had taken her to the bathroom while the rest finished packing.

They got onto the flight, a team of six with their charge. The flight crew tried to separate the group to fill as many seats as possible. Phantom they allowed to take a side seat immediately, at 6’5” he was able to look down on them and he was double rucked. He dropped a ruck on the seat next to him and waited. Rex sat in the next seat, his crutches settling that point. They hesitated on Bubba, but the double ruck gave him the edge; he also secured a seat with the extra ruck. They tried to stop Ace and motioned to the middle pallet. Rocco was right behind him and instead stepped to the side, stopping Ace, and directing him to the seat next to his own ruck. Rocco sat down next to him. Gumby came up the ramp, the spare seats adjusted. Ace ‘s ruck moved under his seat. Bubba and Rex both slid a seat down. The Airmen contemplated and started waving Gumby across the aisle. “They have our seats,” Gumby stopped them short. Dari came around Gumby's right side. Gumby turned his body to block the Airmen from Dari, his back to his team.

“We'll all be sitting together, I think,” Rocco stood to Gumby's left as Phantom sidled up on the other side. The Airmen were sufficiently cowed and stood down. Gumby guided Dari to the seat next to Phantom.

The second leg of the trip was on a contract aircraft. The guys stretched out on this flight, resting now that they were back stateside. They would be landing about lunchtime at home and wanted some sleep before they landed.

Dari looked at the middle rows, the team was racked out. She curled into the pink sweatshirt the team had bought her before they left Afghanistan. She looked out the window, all their sleep patterns were messed up; she had slept before the first flight and during the first flight. Rex had rebraided her hair while they waited for the second flight, she did not want to mess it up. She was not sure what to expect, she did not remember her dad’s parents and hoped they would like her. What would happen if they did not want her? Would it be worse than what had already happened after visiting her uncle? Why did these guys do anything to protect her when her mom had just let her uncle get rid of her? The pain was going away, and she could nearly maintain her normal gait, which would be good coming off the plane.

The plane landed; Gumby gently woke Dari. She had fallen asleep, head against the window, curled up in the row. A flight attendant had draped a blanket over her legs, she was wearing the team's sweatshirt. She jerked naturally, dropping her feet to the floor, and sitting up. “Ready?” Gumby asked. She rattled off something too fast in Pashto for him to understand. “That'll be a handy trick if you can continue practicing.” Dari’s eyes filled with tears. “Don't cry. It'll make this so much harder. Be brave, little one. If something happens you call any of us, do you hear me?” Dari nodded half-heartedly. “I'm serious. We'll get a contact number for you from our Commander. We'll either hear from you or you'll hear from us.” Dari nodded more convincingly this time. She wiped her eyes on the sleeves of her sweatshirt as she stepped into the aisle of the airplane to walk out. The team was waiting, even Rex on his crutches.

They started across the taxiway toward their Commander. Dari walked closest to Gumby while Rocco and Bubba watched over their injured teammates. As usual, Phantom brought up the rear. Commander North greeted them, “Glad you all madeit back. Tex investigated Stephens; he was intelligence with last assignment at SOAR. His parents seem good.”

“She's been through a lot,” Rocco followed his Commander toward the hangar.

“I think they'll be up for it. They’re waiting inside. We figured they might want something more intimate. They haven’t seen her since she was a baby. I like the sweatshirt.”

“Yes, Sir.”

Commander North directed them toward the lounge where Dari's grandparents were waiting. It had a view of the taxiway so they could see Dari and the team coming off the plane, headed in their direction. “Mr. and Mrs. Stephens,” Commander North started as he came in, the group filing in behind him. “This is the team that found your granddaughter. This is Blake (Rocco), Beckett (Ace), Mark (Bubba), Cole (Rex), and Forest (Phantom).”

“I'm Chris, this is my wife, Chloe. We couldn't be more grateful that you brought Andy's daughter home.”

“Where is Dari and Gumby?” Commander North asked.

“She needed to use the restroom, Gumby's waiting for her,” Phantom answered.

“Sir,” Rocco addressed Chris, “I don’t know what you know of what happened in Afghanistan. Dari is an amazing little girl. She even helped Decker with some of his Pashto.” Gumby walked in with Dari in tow.

“And here is Decker, the final member of the team,” Commander North finished the introduction.

Chris smiled at Dari's sweatshirt, “And you are Dari. We haven’t seen you since you were born.” Dari swallowed and she inched toward Gumby. “I'm your dad’s dad, Dari. This is your grandmother.” Dari looked up at Gumby, he mouthed Its okay.

Commander North interjected, “we should go so you can spend a little time catching up. You are free to stay here as long as you'd like.”

“Commander North,” Chris stalled, “maybe the team could stay for a little while?” “Alright,” he responded, “I'll take my leave.”

“Sir,” Rocco answered. They were more than willing to stay.

“Can I show you some pictures of your dad?” Chloe asked Dari. Dari nodded and stepped toward her; confidence gained that the team stayed. Chloe moved toward the back of the room by a large couch. There was a box sitting on an end table, that she reached for and sat down on the couch. Chris watched the team; their eyes did not leave her as she sat down near Chloe.

“Her dad was intelligence. He had a knack for languages. He met Dari's mom on a mission. He loved Dari. His location made it hard for us to visit. When he was killed my wife was devastated. Then Dari disappeared. We assumed her mother went home, assuming she was also heartbroken and wanted the safety of family. Never would I have assumed...” Chris trailed off.

“Do you know how we happened upon her?” Rocco asked.

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