Free Anvil by Dirk Patton

It’s going to be chaos.”
    “What about
Katie?”  Irina asked.
    “I’ll come
back for her,” I said, then we arrived at the Black Hawk.
    The
Lieutenant was just climbing down, arms loaded with the equipment the Colonel
had told him to give me.  Blanchard waved him back inside the aircraft,
leaping up after him.  I came to a stop, helping Rachel and Irina board,
then jumped in and slid my legs out of the way as one of the Rangers slammed
the door closed.
    We were in
the air immediately, the pilot transitioning to forward flight only yards above
the ground before quickly gaining altitude.  Reaching towards the
Lieutenant, I collected the weapons and quickly checked them over.  He
held out a field radio for me, Blanchard telling him to put it away. 
Instead, I was outfitted with a small unit that slipped into a pouch on my vest
and had a tough, thin wire leading to a throat mic and earpiece. 
    Getting
myself outfitted, I looked around, meeting the eyes of the other men. 
Each of them had the look I expected.  The look of a blooded warrior who
is heading back into battle.  Irina and Rachel huddled against the rear
bulkhead, looking out of sorts from the sudden turn of events.
    “How do we
have enough forces to engage the Russians?”  I shouted to Blanchard over
the roar of the engines.
    “The USS
Reagan Carrier Strike Group put into Nassau after we arrived.  They had
been hanging around in the Gulf, but were in the Persian Gulf when this all
started and had a full MEU on board.  There was nearly a full Infantry
Division they pulled out of Iraq.  Over 10,000 Soldiers.  They were
stuffed on those ships like sardines.”
    “How did
they bring armor?”  I had to lean close to the Colonel and shout in his
ear.
    “They
didn’t,” he shouted back, shaking his head.  “That was one of several
stops we had to make on the way.”
    I nodded,
wanting to ask more questions but it was too hard to communicate without a
headset.
    “What the
hell are we doing?”  Rachel shouted in my ear.
    She was
squeezed in next to me, shoulder and hip pressed tight against mine.
    “We’re in a
battle with the Russians a little way northwest of Boise,” I said, my mouth
pressed close to her ear. 
    “What about
Katie?  You’re coming back?”
    “With help,”
I said.  “I can’t handle her by myself without hurting her.  And it’s
still a very long way to Seattle.  If I’ve got help, just maybe there’s
some hope.”
    “How are you
going to find her?”  Rachel asked, placing her hand on top of mine.
    “I have a
couple of ideas,” I said, turning to look at Blanchard when I remembered
something that had been bugging me.
    He was busy
on the radio, a rugged laptop open on the vibrating deck next to him.  Not
wanting to interrupt, I waved the Lieutenant over.  I explained what I
needed and he set to work on a communications set that was connected to the
helicopter’s satellite radio.  A couple of minutes later he passed me a
headset.
    When I put
it on the built in noise canceling silenced most of the roar of the Black Hawk
in flight and I could hear sounds of someone breathing over the clarity of a
digital circuit.  I identified myself, happy to hear Petty Officer Simmons
respond.
    “It’s great
to hear your voice, sir!”
    “You too,
Jessica,” I responded, intentionally using her given name instead of her
rank.  “I don’t have much time and I need to ask you something.”
    “Anything,
sir,” she replied, curiosity clear in her tone.
    “How do you
think the Russians found me in Twin Falls?  How did they know where to
start looking?  And again, just today, they were able to start searching
the exact area where I wound up south of Mountain Home.”
    I didn’t say
anything else and there was complete silence for several heartbeats before she
spoke.
    “You think…”
    “Yes, I do,”
I said when she didn’t finish her thought.  “One coincidence, no matter
how unlikely, can be passed off