“We have no idea. They could be looking for military and not care about us at all. There’s no way to know.”
“I’d like to train to work with you someday,” I blurted out.
Nate’s initial reaction was to smile, and I could tell he didn’t think I was being serious. But when he looked me in the eyes, he could tell that I was. My eyes locked onto his; I was one hundred percent serious. I loved the feeling I had at that moment.
Knowing that something I was part of was going to help to save people from dying, that was more powerful than any type of counseling a person could go through. Plus, the adrenaline rush was like a high that I had never felt before. It was better than any drugs that Stephano had forced into my system. Adrenaline was a natural high and much more all-consuming.
“We can talk about it when we get home. It’s very dangerous; I don’t know if I’d want my woman in such danger all the time.”
I knew that Nate was trying to be sweet and show he cared for me, but I didn’t like how he thought he could choose if I put myself into danger or not. No man could always protect their woman and preventing them from going after something they wanted wasn’t a good way of protecting someone anyways.
Sometime in the future, we would have to talk about my plans, but at the moment, our only goal was to get out of Damascus alive. We had a few more hours before the sun would be up, and then it would be impossible to get out without being detected.
Chapter Twenty
NATE
“So, let me play the devil’s advocate,” Ana started to say. “What if we can’t get out by car, what’s our backup plan?”
I had to give it to Ana: she was thinking like a true security detail. I didn’t think the lifestyle was anything appropriate for her, but I knew the appeal of the constant action. As much as I wanted to yell and scream at her for showing up, it wouldn’t have helped a thing.
She was trying to prove something, that was obvious. Ana was a strong woman though and I knew it from the moment I laid eyes on her. She didn’t let the adversity of her past keep her down for long and that was very appealing to me. I was really glad our paths had crossed and even kind of glad she was with me in Damascus, although I obviously didn’t like her being in the middle of a war zone.
“We would need to get everyone to the safe house at least, or the airport. Traveling by foot around here is extremely dangerous though, especially with a group of people. It would draw a lot of attention and the rebels would be after us very quickly.”
“Would we travel in the daylight for safety or at night? I can see the benefits of either way.”
“I think at night would be best. Down side roads and hiding in abandoned buildings during the day. But let’s stop talking about all of this; it’s not going to be necessary. I have a feeling we will be able to get b
oth vehicles loaded up and out of here at 0400. Then we will be on a plane home within a few hours after that. Sometimes these dangerous jobs actually end up being straight forward and easy.”
Ana did not look very convinced at all. She grimaced at my words, and we walked out to the main area to join the few adults who were organizing and cleaning things. Even though they knew we would finally be leaving their building soon, the women insisted on cleaning up and making sure everything looked nice when they left. I couldn’t help but think that they hoped the war would end soon and they would be able to return to their jobs. Unfortunately, I knew that once the building was emptied, it would only be a matter of time before all its contents were pillaged through and the building left uninhabitable.
“You ladies should get some sleep,” I said as we entered the room.
The women all stopped dead in their tracks and looked at me, but they didn’t understand a thing I was saying. Luckily, one of the men came over and translated for me. He spoke to them much more firmly than I had, and the women quickly left the room and headed to the hidden sleeping room.
“Well, you sure know how to clear a room,” Ana joked.
“The women will be ready in the morning,” Roane said.
“Thank you; please have your men get a couple hours of sleep. Ana and I will keep watched until 0345 and wake you to help gather everyone. We might only be able to take one SUV full, but it is possible we could take everyone, so everyone will need to be ready.”
“Thank you sir,” Roane said. “And thank you, ma’am,” he said to Ana.
“You’re welcome,” Ana said with a huge smile on her face.
She seemed really happy to be there with me, and I was surprised at how well she was handling everything. I knew she had it in her and was strong; I just wasn’t so sure that she knew she had it in her. There had been no visible signs of hand shaking at all since I saw her. If she could handle Damascus, then I was sure she would be able to handle anything that was going on back at home.
“Let’s make a round trip from one side to the other and check the windows, I’ll go with you the first time and show you, then we can split up. Does that sound good?”
“Of course,” Ana answered.
She was eager to learn and it reminded me of the new recruits and how much they wanted to learn and do everything when they first arrived on a job site. Their eagerness to learn was always appreciated, but it couldn’t be in spite of education and knowledge. There were a lot of things that new recruits learned in the military, and Ana certainly wasn’t going to join the military to learn those things.
“You look tired,” Ana said as we walked back into the room we had just made love in.
“Oh, no, you’re not getting me back into bed, young lady,” I joked.