Amnesia:A Navy Seal Erotic Romance(8)

"'Did do.' Not ‘still do.' You used to do your job flawlessly before. In the past, you always did what was needed. Never mind if you always had your head buried under your cellphone. I always figured that was your business, not mine."

Kaylee remained silent.

"But recently, you've changed. It's like you've lost your focus and it's affecting your productivity."

Kaylee didn't know what to say. What could she say? O'Bannon was right. Her work was taking a dip and there was no point in denying it.

"I'm sorry sir." Kaylee mumbled.

O'Bannon looked at Kaylee and she was surprised at the look on his face. He gave her a sympathetic look. It was almost as if the old man was trying to understand her. Then he shook his head and spoke again.

"I know it's probably none of my business, Watts. And you don't even need to answer the question. But I really have to ask because you've not been performing to your usual standard. So what's up with the added time on the cellphone anyway?" he asked.

Kaylee couldn't answer her boss. What could she say? And besides, he was right. It really was none of his business. But she should have also paid more attention to her work. If she did, this awkward moment probably would not have happened.

"It's nothing sir. I'm sorry. I'll work better in the coming days. I promise." she said curtly.

O'Bannon nodded silently.

"Okay. Pay more attention to your work. Your graduation's coming up. It's going to be a tough world outside. So go out with a bang." he said, smiling. Dr. O'Bannon then walked briskly away.                       
       
           



       

Kaylee wiped a little sweat which was forming on her brow. She still had a mountain of patient reports to type and some tables and figures to balance. This internship thing was tougher than she thought but the old man had just given her a strong reminder to get back to work. And Kaylee really wanted to graduate and soon work for herself. She just couldn't wait. Kaylee realized it was best that she just keep her nose to the grindstone, after all graduation was coming up.

Kaylee was about to turn to the computer monitor when she heard her phone ping. It was the ping of a message on her social media account.

She read the message and her heart skipped a couple of beats. She tried hard to control the well of emotion that sprung from her, but she couldn't help it. A single typed message from one of her online friends had sent her world spinning. This would probably result in more trouble with Dr. O'Bannon but Kaylee couldn't help but feel like a little girl with a schoolyard crush again.

Cole had that kind of effect on her. It was Cole who messaged her.

"My tour's done. I'm coming home."

Kaylee smiled to herself. She had heard rumors of this a few weeks back, and kept checking and checking for a message from him for verification. He was rarely online, so it wasn't usual to see an actual message from him.

‘Just in time for graduation.' she thought.





Chapter Two

"Fire in the Hole!"





There was the tense pitter-patter of machine gun fire all over but Cole could still hear Jimmy's desperate cry. He didn't even question it and instinctively jumped out of the way.

Cole had seen the grenade as it was tossed their way even before Jimmy had screamed out the warning. Cole managed to jump out of their foxhole. He felt sand, pebbles, and dust hit his face as he dove away. After a few very long seconds, he heard the sound of the explosion as the grenade went off.

"Shit! Jimmy! Storm! Turner! Wildman!" Cole cried out.

Cole rattled off names of his fellow SEAL Team 7. Adrenaline was pumping through his veins and a host of feelings were running through him. Fear, tension, worry, anger, confusion, they were just the ones on the top of his list.

"Jenkins! I'm hit!"

Cole turned around to where he heard the voice. It was Jimmy. He was coughing up blood and he looked horrific. Blood was pouring from his chest, there were pieces of shrapnel lodged all over his body and his face was contorted in pain and agony. The other members of Cole's squad were all hiding under whatever cover they could find. The Taliban had them cornered, they were sitting ducks.

"Medic! Medic! Damn it, Jimmy is hit!" Cole yelled.

After seconds that seemed like a lifetime, the medic scrambled over to where they were. The bullets were still flying everywhere but he made it. Cole could only watch as the medic tried to stop the bleeding but there was just too much blood loss. Jimmy was in bad shape, and he would bleed to death if they stayed where they were.

Cole cursed under his breath. He could not bear to see his SEAL brother quickly approaching death. There had to be something he could do, he didn't allow any option other than a successful mission, ever. That's why he was Team leader. He could think, fight and finagle himself out of any situation, and had been given the nick-name ‘Sly' to show for it. He moved like a wolf, steady, stealth, and often made great fun of sneaking up on his brother SEALs.

"Bastards!"

Cole whirled around. It was Wildman. They had always joked about Wildman and how his name fit his personality to a "T." He was a loose cannon. Someone who took too many unnecessary risks and acted out of raw emotion. But somehow, Wildman always managed to survive the skirmishes. Cole was similar in his fearlessness, yet much more calculated in each move. Today, however, Wildman would pay the price for his recklessness and his lack of patience, something that had been both a blessing and a curse for him.

"Wildman! Get down!" Cole demanded.

But it was too late. Wildman had panicked in their predicament, and forfeited his position to the terrorist, who had just claimed responsibility for an ill-fated flight from Los Angeles to the U.K. He felt trapped and cornered like a rabid animal. He wanted to desperately bite back. Wildman rose up without a plan and rattled off machine gun fire in all directions, just hoping for a hit. He was only up for a few seconds before he was gunned down.

Cole saw the entire tragedy. It wasn't pretty, and he wasn't moving. Wildman was dead.

"Damn it!!" Cole grieved, while considering options knowing it was perhaps time for his own ‘Hail Mary' to get his team out of there. Their presence in the small village had been compromised, and they were still trying to figure out the leak.                       
       
           



       

"We're screwed." Turner said. His voice had a tone of resignation. It seemed as if the situation was indeed hopeless.

Cole looked at his comrade sternly.

"No, we're not." Cole said. Cole's voice had a tone of finality and there was a look of steel in his eyes.

"SEAL team 7 will not die here."

Turner looked at Cole with a look of confusion.

"What are you going to do?"

Cole didn't answer. There was no point. He just had to act before they were all taken down.

Cole started running towards the sandy hill where members of the renowned terrorist group were entrenched. It was a mad, suicidal charge, but he knew his team could use the few moments of surprise to their advantage. He raced forward, pouncing left and right while ducking, like some kind of four-legged animal

"What the hell is he doing? He'll get himself killed!"

Turner could not believe what he was seeing. No one could believe it. For a moment, everyone was too stunned to even move, including the enemy, who even held their fire for the moment. But it was Turner who first woke up from the momentary surprise.

"Give him some cover fire!" Turner barked. You two swing around and take 3 and 9 position. He pulled the trigger and started firing. Seal Team 7 quickly sprang into action taking advantage of the few seconds of leverage. Soon, there was a hail storm of return fire from Cole's team, taking out key positions that quickly evened the fire fight.

Everything suddenly started to move in slow motion for Cole. It seemed like he was in some kind of strange movie. Before Cole enlisted in the Navy he had read about how this could happen when on the brink. How perceptions could change in some bizarre way. He didn't expect to actually experience it first-hand. But now it was happening. Cole could see the bullets whizzing past him in slow motion. He could see the look on his enemies' eyes. And he just kept running erratically toward them, firing, hitting mark after mark.

There was no fear in Cole's heart. His mission was to create an opportunity from which his brothers could benefit. He wasn't concerned about himself, at all. He was going to take down as many of the terrorists as he could and let his team capitalize on the element of surprise, or shock, or stupidity, he wasn't quite sure what term fit best. An idea dislodged from memory, from his favorite movie, ‘Dances with Wolves'.

He ran right into a sea of bullets. Cole didn't notice but the enemies around him were dropping fast from the gunfire of his friends. He took down two more and then another, and another. Cole wasn't even counting. He just kept charging and firing away. Some sort of divine intervention at war, it seemed.

***

The sights and sounds of the battle in Afghanistan were still fresh in Cole's mind. It was almost as if it had happened yesterday and not months ago. Cole silently opened his eyes. They wandered to the ceiling of the bus. He looked around. There were other sleepy looking passengers on the bus as it silently moved along the long country road.