“We’ve got to get in there.” She looked at the five men sitting close to her.
“Any ideas?” Kevin used a stick to draw in the dirt, trying to be casual as he sketched out the placement of the guards.
“Well, I would show some skin, flirt some, try to lead him away from the door, but that won’t work this time.”
“Why not?” Howie looked over at the group huddled on the other side of the clearing before refocusing on Meredith.
“He’s not interested in me.”
It took a minute for them to understand what she meant. Meredith could tell the exact moment when the light bulbs clicked on in their brains.
“Who gets to go then?” Brian looked at his teammates.
“Better question, who can do this without freaking?” AJ looked over the top of his glasses at the people around him
Kevin, AJ, and Howie began a quiet discussion of who should go, with Brian throwing in comments every couple of minutes.
Nick watched the guard for a moment, then turned towards Meredith, his voice barely more than a whisper. “What do I have to do?”
She reached over and tousled his hair. “Unbutton your shirt, but don’t take it off. Get his attention off us and away from the door so I can get behind him.”
He paused in mid movement. “You’re not going to kill him, are you?”
Blue eyes met blue eyes---one pair still so innocent, one pair weary of battle.
“Not if I don’t have to.” They stared at each other for a moment, and he resigned himself to the fact that people might end up dead if they were going to escape.
“Do I have to, you know, do anything?” A tremor of fear could be heard in his voice, but he refused to let it stop him from doing what he needed to do.
“No, just be a little shy and nervous, a little scared.”
“That’s not gonna be a problem.”
Meredith rolled her eyes at his comment, then continued her instructions. “ Ask for some water or something to eat. Flash that famous smile and let the Carter charm work its magic.”
“Right.” Nick stood up and dusted off his shorts, then looked down at Meredith.
She winked at him and gave him a little nod. He ambled towards the guard, holding out his hands to show that he had nothing in them.
“What the hell is Nick doing?” Brian almost stood up before Meredith could stop him.
“He’s distracting the guard.”
“Why Nick?” Kevin looked at Meredith before his gaze returned to his young friend.
“Because Nick realized the guard was interested in him. You, Howie, and AJ are fairly dark, and he’s surround by dark people. Nick’s is this fair-haired, blue-eyed man-child who oozes sex and innocence. No offense, Brian, but Nick is just too tempting to ignore.”
“None taken.” Brian watched his friend.
Meredith moved into a crouch and began to work her way towards the pair talking near the door. When he saw her, Nick slowly angled his body so that the guard was facing away from the group, concentrating only on him. If the man had been taller, she wouldn’t have tried it, but since he was a bit shorter than her, she snuck up behind him and wrapped her arm around his throat, squeezing until his air supply was completely cut off. Nick jerked the AK-47 out of his hands before his finger could tighten on the trigger. The guard lost consciousness, and Meredith lowered him to the ground.
“That’s not a favorite shirt, is it?”
“No, why?”
“Tear it up, and we’ll use it to bind and gag him so he can’t alert the others.”
Clad in a tank top, Nick tore the shirt into long strips, and Meredith secured the guard. They moved him into the room, and began taking stock of their options. She pulled rifles from boxes and made sure they were loaded before passing them to Nick.
“Get the guys over here. Make sure the others stay quiet.”
She armed her team, making sure they had extra magazines for their rifles. Scoping out the buildings and the remaining guards, Meredith headed for the shack she figured held the radio. Slipping up to the other side, she waited until the man was about to pass in front of her and spun out her leg in a roundhouse kick to the chin that knocked him out. He was quickly dragged behind the shack and tied up. Kevin reached out and grabbed another guard, slamming his head against a wall before letting him fall to the ground. He was tied up quickly.
The remaining guard passed on the other side of building, and AJ swung a rifle into his stomach. An uppercut to the jaw ensured that he would be no trouble for the next few minutes. She made sure all of the guards were secured in the weapons room before heading back to find a radio.
“Oh, yeah.” She pulled up chair in front of the radio and quickly tuned in to a military frequency she knew was monitored by U.S. military forces. AJ and Nick knelt close to her, Kevin, Brian, and Howie remained close to the door.
“This is Commander Davenport, serial number 213-54-7689. I am currently engaged with hostile forces at unknown coordinates. Please triangulate and advise of closest assistance.”
{Roger, Commander. Please hold for instructions.}
Meredith clicked the send button twice. She looked at her team “This should be fun.”
They waited several moments as their location was confirmed.
{Commander, you’re at 45 degrees north, nine degrees west. We are approximately 25 klicks from your position, but encountering heavy resistance. We believe the rebels are heading toward you. We need you to hold them off until reinforcements arrive.}
“What the hell do you mean hold them off?” Each of the five men looked at her.
“Are you crazy? I’ve got nine sillies here, what am I supposed to do with them?”
{I thought you were down there with fourteen civilians, Commander.} Meredith recognized Captain Carruthers’ voice.
“I’m not counting my team, sir. I *know* they can do the job.”
The guys smiled at each other when they heard that, glad that she trusted them.
{You’ll just have to use the resources at your disposal.}
“Do you at least have any intel on the target?”
{Believe troops to number approximately 100.}
“Fuck it all.” Meredith closed her eyes and took a deep breath.
{Do you copy, Commander?}
“Copy that. Hard target at approximately 100 bad guys. When can we expect hostiles, and when can we expect reinforcements?”
{At current rate of travel, enemy force should reach you at 2000 hours. Reinforcements approximately 2020 hours.}
Meredith looked at her watch and noted that it was 1730. “Roger that. Don’t stop for refreshments on your way, okay?”
{Roger. Good luck, Commander.}
“Yeah, right, we’re gonna need it.” She turned around to find five confused faces looking at her.
“We’re in deep shit.” Squeezing the bridge of her nose, Meredith thought for a moment.
“Okay, we need to recon whatever supplies they’ve got here. If we can, we’ll set some traps to maintain our defensive position. Richardson, double check our weapons count. McLean, D, go check what we’ve got in the way of any other supplies we might need. Littrell, Carter, go round up the rest of the guys so I can lay everything out to them. We’ll meet in the middle of the clearing in 15 minutes.”
Each man hurried off to complete his task. Meredith dug around in the shack and found a couple of maps that she figured might help. When she looked up, she discovered that it was time to meet. Making her way outside, she found everyone assembled. Crouching on the ground to be eye level, she looked around at the fourteen faces in front of her. She had her doubts that either of the other two groups had been trained for the type of battle that was getting ready to descend upon them.
“Okay, here’s the situation. There are approximately 100 rebels heading this way. They should get here in about two hours. Our troops won’t arrive for another twenty minutes after that. We’ve got to hold those rebels here until reinforcements arrive.”
Eyes had grown wider and wider as she spoke, and Drew shook his head. “We’ve got to do WHAT?!”
“Lachey, right?” Meredith looked at him.
“Yeah, that’s me.” Fear showed clearly in his eyes, but he managed to keep his voice steady.
“Look, there’s no way around this. Those rebels are going to show up, and they will shoot us if we don’t take some sort of stand. They don’t care about your platinum album sales or the millions of adoring fans. *You* are an obstacle, *you* are the enemy, and they won’t hesitate to shoot. Now, how much weapons training did you receive?”
Lance looked at his bandmates. “We got some basic training, and we know how to target a bogey at five thousand feet.”
Meredith grinned at that. “Well, unfortunately, I don’t have a fighter for you to use, so we’ll just have to stick to the AK-47s. Do you know to load and use the rifles?”
They were hesitant in their nods, and she looked at her team. “D, show ‘em what they need to do.”
Nick tossed a rifle to Howie, who quickly ejected the magazine, slid it back in, and cocked the rifle. He passed it to Meredith with a nod. “Locked and loaded.”
“Can you guys handle this without shooting yourselves or each other?” She looked at the nine frightened men in front of her.
They looked at each, uncertainty clearly written on their faces. Jeff spoke up. “I’m not sure if we can, but I don’t think those rebels are going to care, ya know?”
The others nodded, as did Meredith. “Good enough. When it comes down to the time, I’m going to put you with a member of my team. Listen to what they’ve got to say, okay?”
Justin looked up at Meredith, then at the Backstreet Boys. He just stared at the five of them, and Nick returned his gaze with one of his own. She noticed the looks and moved between them. “There is no place for any rivalry here. We’re all on the same team, and if you can’t deal with that, I will lock you up in one of these sheds until it’s all over. Got it?”
Nick tore his gaze away from Justin and looked at Meredith. He nodded at her. “Ma’am, yes, ma’am.”
“Timberlake, am I going to have to put you in timeout?”
He looked at her and shook his head, wisely remaining silent.
“Okay, then let’s get back to it.” Meredith moved back to the map and pointed out their position. “We’re lucky in that we’ve got a pretty good position for defense. We’ll focus our efforts on this western side, since the rest of the directions have a number of natural obstacles that will probably deter them from coming in that direction. The walls of the valley start to rise, so that funnels them toward our western flank. Richardson, what about weapons?”
Kevin looked at Meredith. “Twelve crates of AK-47s. Several hundred rounds of ammunition, a crate of grenades, and some C-4.” He glanced at AJ.
AJ grinned at the group and cackled. Brian shook his head.
“This is not good.”
“What’s not good?” Chris leaned close to Brian, who whispered back.
“AJ enjoys playing with the explosives ever since Meredith let him loose with the stuff. C-4 is his favorite.”
Chris and Drew looked decidedly queasy at the thought. Meredith cleared her throat. “Are you gentlemen finished?”
“Yes, ma’am.” Brian nodded and turned his attention back to the briefing.
She finished outlining possible options. “Okay, McLean, suggestions?”
The man had displayed an almost uncanny knack for handling the heavy explosives, and he had a great eye when it came to causing a lot of damage with just a little bit of explosive. Leaning forward, he stared at the map. “If we place some charges at these trees and rocks, that should slow them up quite a bit.”
“Is it going to hamper our troops getting to us?”
“Actually, it’ll probably drive a lot of the hostiles back towards our troops and cut down the number we have to face.” He looked over at her, his eyes staring intently.
“Good. Who do you need?”
“I’ll take Nicky with me.” AJ slapped his friend’s arm, and the two of them headed off to the shed to collect the explosives and the detonators.
“Richardson, you and Littrell dispense weapons. Make sure the safetys are on, please.” The two men nodded before heading off to the weapons room.
“D, did you find anything good in your search?”
The young man grinned. “Apparently they weren’t lacking in creature comforts. There are several cases of decent munchies and bottled water.”
“Great. Go ahead and dispense some it, but make sure we have enough saved in case we’re here for a bit. Take Chasez with you.”
Once she got everyone occupied with either setting up or sitting down, she looked back at the map. /Damn, he’s good./ She studied the locations AJ had pointed out, realizing that bringing those trees and rocks down would help them a lot.
Howie brought a bottle of water and a couple of candy bars over to her, then crouched beside her to eat his own.
“How bad is it?” His voice was soft, trying to keep others from hearing.
She finished chewing a bite of Baby Ruth and took a swallow of water. “If McLean’s plan works, it’s gonna seriously cut down the number of hostiles we have to face.”
“And if it doesn’t?”
The question hung in the air between them.
“Make sure you’ve made your peace with God.”
He nodded, and they both fell silent. Meredith went back to studying the map. She noticed that Howie stopped eating and was staring out to the west where they were expecting the rebels.
“Something troubling you, D? Besides this whole situation, that is.” She took another bite of her candy bar.
“I’m just wondering if I’m going to be able to pull the trigger.” He kept his head down, afraid to let her see how scared he was.
She reached out, covering the folded hands in his lap with one of her own. “I understand. I’m so scared I’m going to fuck this up and get one of you killed. This is a lot harder than if I were with one of my teams because I know how much they’ve trained. Compared to the other guys here, you five are seasoned vets, but this is more than paper targets on a training range at the beach. These targets bleed, and they shoot back. You do what you can, and I will *not* think any less of you if you can’t shoot any of them.”
She squeezed his hands until she felt them loosen. He turned one hand over so that their fingers entwined. Looking up, he found compassion and understanding in her eyes. “Thank you, Meredith.”
Leaning over, he placed a quick kiss on her cheek before returning to his candy bar. Nick and AJ showed up a few minutes later, and Howie handed them candy bars and water. Nick tore into one, but AJ just stared at his.
“Eat it, McLean.” Meredith didn’t even look up from her map.
“I don’t think I can handle it right now.” He left the candy bar lying in front of him.
“You’re going to need that energy later. Eat the candy bar.”
Sighing, he picked it up and opened it, taking a small bite. Nick sat down on the ground next to the map and watched Meredith trace her finger over the terrain. Brian and Kevin also came up and sat down with them, eating and drinking to keep up their energy and spirits. They waited for whatever Meredith was contemplating to make itself known. In the five weeks they’d trained with her, they learned to wait and listen. JC and Lance joined them after Kevin motioned for them to sit when they walked up.
“You know, I’m thinking we should set up a crossfire right here.” She pointed to a spot about a hundred feet from the entrance to the camp.
“Who?” Kevin looked at the map.
“You and me, I think.” She looked around at her team.
“Nope, don’t think so.” Nick shook his head.
“You got a problem, Carter?” Meredith looked at him.
By this time, the rest of the guys had surrounded them, taking comfort in the closeness of others. A few of them smirked at Nick.
“You and Kevin can’t both be there. What happens if both of you are hit? We need one of you back here, preferably you, Commander.” He looked at Kevin before looking at Meredith.
“Then who do you suggest take point?” She looked around the circle of men.
Brian looked up from the map. “I’ll do it.”
Kevin looked at his cousin, worry evident in his eyes. Brian stared back at him for a few moments before he nodded. The two men knocked their fists together before they turned back to Meredith.
“Okay. We’ll set up a secondary line here. Just make sure you don’t shoot Richardson or Littrell when they head back to the line.”
She settled herself more comfortably on the ground. “Now, just because they are expected to be here at 2000, doesn’t mean they will be. They could have slowed down, they could have sped up. We have to stay sharp and pay attention. If you’re in doubt, ask. Don’t be afraid of looking stupid. It’s a hell of a lot better than being dead.”
“I want you two to find some good spots and huddle down.” She gestured towards Kevin and Brian. “Keep your eyes and ears open. The rest of us are going to set up some cover and ensure clear lines of fire.”
They got busy setting up cover around their lines. Brian and Kevin rooted around and settled into their spots, making sure they had their extra magazines within easy reach. Both men stayed up front to keep watch. Meredith checked on each man to make sure he knew how to aim and fire without causing himself too much pain. She separated the nine men not on her team and assigned one each to Howie, Nick, AJ, and herself, then assigned one more to Howie, Nick, and herself. She knew AJ would have the detonators and didn’t want to many people hovering around him while he worked. The last two, Lance and JC, were instructed to remain close to Brian and Kevin’s positions within their secondary line to make sure the two men on point made it back safely.
Even without the warning, Meredith could hear the unmistakable sound of troops approaching. Looking through the binoculars she’d found, she waited until they were just past the explosives AJ and Nick had set before ordering AJ to detonate. Trees and rocks cascaded down over the rebels, sending most of them scurrying back towards the U.S. troops. About twenty-five soldiers made it forward, where Kevin and Brian sent them running for cover. Meredith whistled for them, and they hightailed it back, avoiding the bullets that peppered the trees where they were hiding. Shots were exchanged in random spurts as the rebels tried to figure out how many people were firing at them.
Howie was replacing a magazine when he heard a strangled gasp next to him. He looked over to find Chris and Nick Lachey staring in frozen terror over his right shoulder. Dropping and rolling, he came up on one knee, swinging his rifle into position and taking aim at the two rebels coming through the trees. They aimed their guns at the trio as Howie squeezed the trigger, releasing several rounds. Their bodies jerked and fell to the ground, blood soaking their clothes, and Howie stared at them for a moment before the chaotic fire of bullets pulled his attention back to the battle in front of him.
To her left, Meredith heard a “fuck” and wondered what had happened. Unable to risk a glance over there, she hoped it was nothing serious.
Nick sank below the rock formation that provided cover for his team. Jeff and Joey stared at the blood oozing from his shoulder. He looked at the two men with him, then gestured to Joey’s shirt.
“Rip that up and make some pads, would you?” Nick pressed his hand to his shoulder, and blood trickled between his fingers.
Joey ripped the shirt into pieces, folding part of it into a pad of sorts. Nick opened the bottle of water and had Jeff pull the t-shirt away from his shoulder so that water could poured to cleanse the wound.
“If it messed up one of my tats, I’m going to be fucking pissed.” Nick closed his eyes and grimaced as the cool water cascaded over his skin.
Jeff looked down and smiled. “Nope, no tattoos messed up.”
Nick grinned. “Cool.”
He took the pads and pressed them against the wound, then had Joey wind another part of the shirt over his shoulder and under his armpit to hold it in place.
Justin rose up from behind the rocks where he, Meredith, and Drew were kneeling. Bullets whizzed by, and Meredith yanked him down. “Are you trying to get yourself fucking killed?”
Keeping her head low, she eased around the rocks and fixed several positions that she wanted the guys to hit and hit hard. Using hand signals, she directed each team to the area she wanted them to focus on. Looking at her team, she had to fight back a grin at the death grips they held on the rifles and the looks of determination/fear/excitement on their faces.
“You guys ready? When I give the signal, I want you to aim at the large group of trees directly in front of us. Got it?”
Justin and Drew both nodded. She counted down, and at one, they all began to fire at their assigned targets. When she could detect no return fire, Meredith raised her fist to stop them. She waited a few moments to see if the rebels were finished. She crept over to Kevin and JC.
“I’m going to check it out.”
Kevin laid his hand on her arm. “Better let me. If they’re trying to draw us out, we can’t afford to lose you.”
Meredith reluctantly agreed. “You better not get hurt, or Irene’ll have my head.”
He smiled and winked before slipping into the woods. Several minutes later, he came out and nodded to her. Meredith stood up and was horrified to see a rebel stagger out from behind a tree and take aim at Kevin.
“DROP!” She screamed as she took aim.
He dropped to the ground as the bullet from the rebel’s gun buzzed past his ear. The rebel stared at Meredith, and she pulled the trigger without a moment’s hesitation. Blood splashed all over Kevin as the man collapsed on the ground next to him. He saw death in that man’s face as brown eyes rolled upwards and a last breath was exhaled.
Table of Contents
Chapter Twenty-Two