Page 7 of A Gathering Storm

The panic in the younger man’s tone was evident when he answered the call.

“Kevin, what’s going on? We lost Abby and Brookes.”

“We heard vehicles approaching. Abby had stepped away to speak with you. Brookes told me to get the president and First Lady in the air. He was going after Abby. I wanted to go with him, but he told me to protect the president.” Kevin sounded rattled. Cole couldn’t imagine how hair-raising it was to fly the chopper that he’d only had a few lessons in. “I didn’t want to leave him.”

“You did the right thing. I’ve no doubt Kirkpatrick sent those men to take out President Lancaster.”

“We took on heavy gunfire, but we got out of the area. I had to leave Abby and Brookes behind. I didn’t have a choice.” Kevin pulled in a breath. “I tried circling so that I could engage the vehicles, but they opened fire on us.”

“Listen to me, Kevin.” He had to make the young man see what happened wasn’t his fault. “James is tracking Abby and Brookes. We’ll find them. You have to take the president and his wife to a safe location and out of the air before Kirkpatrick sends more fighters after you. Get on the ground. We’ll dispatch people your way to escort you to the new compound.” The words had barely cleared his lips when shots lobbed at the chopper drowned out the conversation.

“Oh, geez,” Kevin exclaimed into the phone. “We’re taking fire.”

Someone touched Cole’s arm. He turned. Eva stood beside him. The concern on her face assured him she’d heard everything.

“We’re under attack. Multiple fighters,” Kevin’s frantic tone screamed through the speaker. The young man was ill-equipped to handle this type of combat.

“Stay as low as you can and get out of the area. Leave the line open.”

“I’m handing the phone to the president.”

Tinging sounds filled the space as multiple shots struck the chopper.

“Seth, are you there?” Cole hated not being able to do anything but listen as the battle continued.

“I’m here.” President Seth Lancaster’s less frantic voice filled the space. “Kevin is doing a great job, but those fighters aren’t letting up. If they make a direct hit, we’re in trouble, but we can’t afford to land. I have a feeling there are more troops on the ground. Don’t know how they found us.” An audible breath filled the air. “Pray. We need your prayers.”

“You’ve got them.” Every head bowed. Eyes closed as the room filled with pleas to God.

Cole slipped his arm around Eva, and they both prayed as the drama continued to come through the phone.

“We’re hit!” Kevin’s yelled. “We’re going down.”

“How bad is it?” Cole’s heart rate accelerated as the chaos in the cockpit filled the war room.

“Bad. Kevin’s right. We’re going down.”

Someone screamed. Chopper blades cut through something dense, perhaps trees. Then the crash seemed to go on forever.

“Seth, are you there? Seth?” Nothing but silence filled the space, and Cole’s worst fears raced through his mind. “We need a rescue team on their way there now. We don’t have hours; we have minutes to rescue our people from the crash site. Get Michael Hurt on the phone. There’s no longer a choice. We have to trust him.”

The horrible truth settled over Cole. He’d had a choice to make between the vetted contact in Denver and one they weren’t sure of, and he’d made the wrong decision. A fissure of uneasiness slipped into his brain. Had their Denver contact set up Abby?

“Calling Hurt now.” Jordyn dialed the number.

While she placed the call, Cole turned to James. “What about Abby and Brookes?” He was terrified for his people.

“They both appear to be heading in the same direction, only they aren’t in the same vehicle.”

“There was more than one car,” Cole concluded the obvious.

James glanced his way. “It would appear so.”

“Guys, I have Michael Hurt on the phone.” Jordyn put the call on speaker. “Michael, tell the team what you told me.”

A deep male voice came on the line. “Thanks for reaching out to me. I’m a ham radio fanatic, and I’ve been monitoring some unusual messages coming through. They’re cryptic, but it sounds as if something is being planned. I caught the name of a location. A regional airfield outside of Hinton, Iowa.”

Cole couldn’t believe what he was hearing. “Michael, Cole Hernandez here. We have people down near that location.”

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