Free Operation Date With Destiny by Karlene Blakemore-Mowle Page B

blinding rage course through her veins. He was just a kid!
    “ Lieutenant! ” Maloney said snapping her from her stupor, the tone and address catching her attention. Damn it—focus! You ’ re not out of this yet...not by a long shot, she told herself firmly. Carefully poking her head around the corner of the doorway, she waved Maloney forward , moving ahead of him, gun at the ready and eyes darting ahead of their position steadily.
    Pressing her fingers to the throat mic around her neck she quickly and quietly warned the others they were on their way out.
    “ Roger that, ” Tate ’ s deep voice came back in her earpiece.
    Every now and then she threw a glance back at Maloney and checked on his progress. The extra weight wasn ’ t slowing him down too much, and she admired his calm, composure that only a true professional could achieve under pressure. Speaking of professional, she thought as she scanned the courtyard they were about to emerge from. She ’ d heard Johnny a few times over the mic as they ’ d searched for Jackson—but then he ’ d become quiet. “ You Okay Tupperoni ? ”
    For a minute there was only silence , then in her ear she heard that soft drawl that even under fire—managed to curl her toes. Damn him. “ Is that concern I hear , Ma ’ am? ”
    Destiny grit ted her teeth and wished she ’ d kept her mouth shut now that she knew he was alright. “ Just making sure you ’ re doing your job, Gunnery S ergeant. Don ’ t shoot us on the way out—we ’ re coming through, ” she all but barked and ignored his overly polite, Aye Aye.
    God damn cocky Marines , she thought irritated that he could fill her with such conflicting emotions with a simple word or two.
    She waited until Maloney had stopped behind her, tapping her shoulder so she knew when he was ready, and they broke cover, hunched low and ran for the archway leading out of the compound.
    Suddenly all hell broke loose around them. In her ear , orders were being yelled above the noise of gun fire and Maloney and Destiny hunkered down behind the nearest vehicle to reassess what the next step would be .
    Over her earpiece she heard Del and Tate piece together their own situation as a sudden influx of armed men were moving in from the rear of the compound cutting them off .
    “ Where the hell are Ponleu and his men? ” She heard Del snap out , sounding controlled, but understandably tense.
    Destiny frowned as she did a quick scan of the immediate area she could see and found no sign of Pon or any of his men. “ They were supposed to be watching the rear, ” she heard Johnny say and by the sound of his heavy breathing he was making his way—fast , from another position to help out his now trapped friends. Damn it, she thought angrily , Pon was supposed to be getting that evidence!
    “ Maloney, we ’ ve got a clear path to the tree line —you take Jackson out of here and see what you can do for him—I ’ m going to go back and help the others, ” she said, then without giving him time to object, sprinted off, making her way to the next wall and slipping around it to take up a position where she could cut a path out for Tate and Del.
    In her ear she heard Maloney swearing, soon followed by Tupper yelling at her. “ Get your ass back to the tree line, woman and let Maloney take care of t his. ”
    “ Negative. I can ’ t carry Jackson that far and it ’ s too late—I ’ m already in position. So quit your bitchin ’ and let ’ s get this done, shall we gentlemen? ”
    “ I can ’ t get a good visual on what we ’ ve got—but there ’ s a shit load of them out there, ” Del said.
    “ I can move to a better spot—hang tight till I get into position. ” She made herself as small a target as possible and ran across to the corner of the house, pulling her gun up as she took a careful look before slipping around. The gunfire was louder here and she could see the two Marines more or less trapped behind a low stone wall in