“What about your boyfriend, Tom?” Doug asked with a slight grin on his face.
“Huh, what? Tom? Fuck Tom! He was an asshole.” Everyone in the helicopter turned to Allison with shocked expressions. “Well, he was, and he treated me like shit.”
“Do you hear the nastiness coming out of her mouth?” Doc chided.
“I do and it ruins my image of you, Miss Reeves,” Priest jokes as a smile came across his face.
“Yep, safest choice… you all will be better off sticking with us… it’s safer that way,” Shaw added, stuttering. Priest struggled to hold back a snicker.
“What, safer? Are you serious? You two have been getting cozy over there and…” Doc started to say.
Shaw cut Doc off by reaching over, grabbing his plate carrier and pulling him around Allison until their faces were an inch apart. “Let me tell you something, Hoss. You are this close to me snapping you in two and having the halves facing in opposite directions.” Allison reached and patted Shaw on his arm and he let Doc go and leaned back in his seat.
Allison took his hand and put it on her lap between her two hands. She gave Doc a look that said, “I just saved your life, so back if off some.” Doc raised his eyebrows and then looked out the window.
“Spider, this is Father.”
“Copy Father.”
“The two civilians are coming with us to HQ.”
“Sarge, I will need to get fuel soon, Doug said
Priest nodded at him, “Spider, how are you set for fuel? We are low and will need to make a pit stop.”
“Copy that. We are low as well. Stand by for refuel location coordinates.”
They planned two fuel stops because the aircraft wouldn’t make the 467 miles back to Fort Campbell. Webb chose Toledo, Ohio, and Louisville, Kentucky for the two fuel stops.
The shock of Myles and Abarra’s deaths were weighing heavily on the team. Some of them had been together for three or more years. They could measure the life of a soldier in dog years to represent the bond that brothers make in an account of time that others may take ten years or more to achieve. That they had been a team for at least three years, some longer, was a testament to the connection of his brotherhood.
Priest’s group turned around based on the orders from Captain Webb. They had made the preparations to change course to Toledo Express Air Guard Station Airport. They would make it there sooner than Webb’s team, so he and Webb discussed the mission and tactical protocols as far as providing security while fueling.
After a considerable amount of flight time, Doug glanced down at his GPS and made a face like he smelled something bad. Priest looked over and saw the confusion. “Hey Doug, what’s up?”
“Not sure, but I think something is wrong with my navigation controls, specifically my GPS. I’ve flown this area many times and we should come up on Toledo Airport right about now, but I see nothing resembling an airport. The GPS says it’s 5 miles northwest from our target location, but I’m looking at what looks like Marble Lake, which means we are way off course.”
Priest asked, “Doug, can we monitor Webb and Eagle One?”
“Negative. We can communicate with them, but not track them. This bird can only monitor aircraft in its general vicinity. They are too far for us to track.”
“All right. Spider, this is Father. Do you copy?”
“Go ahead, Father.”
“What are your coordinates? We are having trouble with our navigation equipment and our GPS has us off course.”
Webb relayed his coordinates and his trajectory flight path. “Shit,” Priest said to Doug. “We are approximately eighty miles off course.”
“What, that can’t be.” Doug checked his instruments again and according to them; he was right on course.
“Spider, our GPS has us eighty miles off course. Be advised, we may have to set down in an unfriendly area to refuel.”
“Damn, Father. I don’t like it, but we don’t have enough fuel to come to where you are.”
“Understood. We will refuel and meet you in Louisville.”
“Copy that. Keep your damn head on a swivel and get to Louisville ASAP, Spider out.”