Page 43 of Unbreakable Connection (Connections Duet)

“You were saying, asshole?” he kicked him in the ribs and tossed him over with his boot to look up into the barrel of my gun.

“Where. Is. She?”

“Go to hell!” he shouted up at me.

“It’s where you’re going to join your brother, Anthony, right?”

“You bastardo! You shot and killed my brother in cold blood.”

“Yeah, I did, but you seem to forget that he would have done the same if given a chance. His job was to take the bullets for Lucas Santoro and protect him at all costs. Instead, you seem to have your signals crossed and making him out to be some fucking saint, which we all know he wasn’t.”

“He was my brother!”

“And a trained killer, don’t you forget that. Now, you sonofabitch! Where is Ellen?”

“I don’t know. I chased her, but she got away from me.”

“Don’t forget shooting at her,” said Patch as he delivered another blow to his ribs.

“Enough!” I shouted and moved away from Paolo, who was writhing in pain on the ground. “We need to find Ellen, and we are wasting time. Patch, I need you to take him back to Oleg and wait for me.”

“You can’t be serious? I’ll make him crawl on the jagged rocks before I help him.”

“You will do as I say because it’s a fucking order. Do you hear me?”

“Yeah, I hear you,boss.” He enunciated angrily, knowing I never treated him less than an equal. He shoved past me and pulled up Paolo from his hair. “Come on, asshole, you have some walking to do,” he kicked him in his ass and began leading him away. I knew he was pissed off, but I couldn’t worry about his bruised ego right now. So, instead, I pulled out the satellite phone and dialed Oleg.

“Did you find her?”

“No, but we have Paolo, and he’s coming your way.”

“Da,” he answered in his thick Russian accent. “I’ll gut him like a fish and enjoy it.”

“Yeah, that was my first thought, but keep him alive and far away from Patch. He’s angry over not finding Ellen, and his target is Paolo.”

“You got it, but why delay what we both know has to happen.”

“I can’t explain it right now, and I have to get moving; just do what I ask, please.”

“Da, comrade, I will respect your request but won’t like it.”

“Good, you can brood with Patch,” I disconnected the call and turned on my goggles spanning the terrain.

“Ellen,” I called out as I continued to search the woods. “Ellen, call out if you can hear me,” I didn’t know how long I was hiking until I came upon some brush with torn clothing. I grabbed it and brought it up to my nose, inhaling the familiar fragrance I knew belonged to Ellen.

“I have to be close,” I said, calling out repeatedly until I finally heard the faintest cry. “Ellen, keep calling out for me,” I shouted again, focusing my goggles on scanning the ridge. I didn’t hear her again but spotted Ellen about ten feet below. Her petite body was wedged between dense bushes. “Baby, hold on, I’m on my way,” I shoved my pack off my back and pulled out the climbing rope and anchors. I secured the rope around a tree and tested the weight before scaling down. I was determined to reach Ellen but had to be careful, not knowing her injuries. I should have radioed the team before doing this.

“Ellen, baby, can you hear me?” I said the minute I reached her and began assessing how badly she was hurt. I was no doctor but medically trained enough in survival to get her safely out of there. I secured the harness on her and again tested the rope. She would be on my back as I pulled us both up. I’ve done it before during missions, but this requires the utmost gentility and patience. I took the steps as quickly as possible without juggling Ellen too much. She weighed next to nothing, but dead weight is something different. She was out cold and limp on myback. I couldn't carry her up the hill without the harness holding her. I was sweating, and feeling exhaustion set in as I continued to climb.

“Okay, baby, hold on just a little longer. We are almost at the top.” I said, pulling us up again. My hand gripped the rope as it dug into my glove. I could feel myself slipping, and that’s when I heard him call out.

“Edric, hang on, I’m here,” it was Patch. I breathed a sigh of relief, knowing he was an incredible climber. “Here, attach the cable, and I’ll pull you both up,” I buckled our harnesses, and a few seconds later, we were safe and on higher ground. Once we were far away from the edge, I placed Ellen down. “Man, she’s out cold. Has she been unconscious the entire time?”

“I don’t know, but we’re running out of time. We must get Ellen to a hospital.”

“I got it covered, and there’s a helicopter on standby courtesy of Valentin.”

“You piloting?”

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