Carlie Simmons (Book 4): The Gathering Darkness Read Online Free PDF Page A

was hoisted back into the cabin and then Matias set down
fifty yards away near the bleachers.
    Shane looked himself over for any wounds
and then went down the line to check his team, noticing Jared, whose bare legs
were showing through his shredded pants along with one boot missing from his
left foot. His pants had been shredded along the treetops and the tattered
remains resembled a camouflage hula skirt.
    Shane just patted him on the shoulder and
tried to contain his smile.
    “This ain’t funny, dude. Is this why you
put me last?” said Jared.
    “Actually, I didn’t know that was going to
happen. You went last because most people who don’t like heights end up pissing
themselves and I didn’t want to get rained on.”
    “This fuckin’ guy,” said Jared with a
frown while he shook his head.
    The rest of the group broke out in
laughter, encircling Jared as they pointed at his grubby legs. Amy tousled his
hair and then grabbed his arm, leading him off as the rest of the weary but
grateful team walked along the artificial turf to the helicopter.

 
    Chapter 5
    Upon landing at Gray Airfield at Fort
Lewis, they were met by a ten-ton army truck and two young soldiers who helped
them unload the helicopter. They stowed the salvaged booty from the medical
center and made their way along the half-mile stretch of fenced-in airfield, driving
past six Blackhawks and two Chinooks.
    As the truck headed towards a massive helo
repair bay near B-Wing, Carlie sat at the back, opposite Shane, while the green
canvas flaps on the sides fluttered in the wind. She was eager to debrief and
take advantage of their three-day furlough. Carlie was exhausted and just
wanted to curl up alone in her bed. Even though she had her material needs met
at the base, she still felt like a castaway trapped on an island. With only a
handful of intact military bases left around the world and just over a dozen in
the U.S., there wasn’t any place to escape to except another base. She looked
down at her weathered hands resting on her mud-encrusted M4 then back up at the
members of the two exhausted teams. Eliza was asleep already, her head pressed
against Matias’s shoulder, who only stared ahead at the canvas canopy. Jared was
sitting beside Amy with his hand resting on her knee while she chuckled at
something he was whispering in her ear. The rest of the men were either silent
or talking about dinner.
    “Hey,” said Shane, who was sitting
directly across from her. “You did good back there, kid.” He said with a wink,
knowing his joking condescension would grate on her.
    “Yeah, I did actually,” she said with a
serious face then let a grin creep out.
    He leaned forward just out of earshot of
the others. “You and I should get together and debrief later. I’d like to
compare notes and also give you a few pointers on your tactics.”
    She only smiled and leaned back. “On my tactics—really?”
    “I think you could learn a few things from
a seasoned operator like me.”
    “Seasoned is right,” she said, brushing
some mud off his forehead. “You’re more like well-done, Tarzan.”
    The truck came to a halt and they followed
the rest of the group out of the truck. Carlie slung her pack, turning towards
Shane as she walked away. “I’ll see ya around, caballero,” she said with a
smile.
    Shane watched her drift into the hallway
as he rested his arm on the edge of the tailgate. Matias moved alongside him,
his hands on his hips. “I’m tellin’ ya, amigo, that nut is a hard one to crack,”
said Shane.
    “It’s like we’ve always said on the
battlefield, ‘No plan survives first contact intact.’ Maybe you gotta change up
your tactics—go in for a ground assault instead of trying all this
surreptitious crap with the hints.”
    Shane rolled his eyes and slowly swung his
head to his friend but was cut off before he could respond.
    “Yeah, I heard you in the truck with all
that, ‘I’m a seasoned operator’ shit. Madre de Dios, women