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“Rodriguez, Smith, and Mallory are dead. They were killed during the ambush, and their bodies are over there.” He jerked his head over to the unmoving forms Kate had seen earlier.
Kate swallowed. She hated this. Losing comrades never got easier. She didn’t know them but it still hurt her deeply.
“Cassidy has injuries he won’t let me look at. Andrews has this amputation and probably a TBI. Smacked the shit out of his head. I’m pretty sure I have at least minor injuries, but I haven’t stopped to assess them. I’m trying to keep Andrews’s wound clean and keep him from bleeding out.”
Kate could hear the strain in his voice, and she rested her hand on top of one of his.
“You’ve done everything right up to this point, Bowie. Now, you let go of Andrews for me, and I’ll take over from here. I want you to go eat a full meal pack here and get some water on board, and then take a nap while we treat some of these other guys first.”
Nodding incoherently, Bowie stood and his huge, cornfed frame lumbered away led by Cole and Maloy.
Garcia appeared at Kate’s side with the medical packs open and ready to go.
“Tell me what you need,” he said, voice calm and even.
Kate grabbed some gauze and started belting out orders. “I need sterile water now, and I need one of you to confirm the status of those three bodies. Cole, I need you to find Cassidy and make him talk. I need to know what’s wrong with him, and we don’t have time for his macho big-boy bullshit. The rest of you, if you have steady hands and you’re not squeamish, come over here, grab a pair of gloves and get ready to help me dress wounds.”
Everyone leapt into action, and Kate continued cleaning Andrew’s wound, firing off questions one after the other about his condition. The amputation had been nearly two days ago, but he hadn’t gone into shock. Kate was astounded at his fortitude. She couldn’t imagine how incredibly painful this injury must be for him.
“What do you want to do for pain medication?”
Andrews blinked at her as if he didn’t understand. “You can’t give me narcotics, doc. If you do that, I won’t be able to ruck out of here.”
Kate reeled back. “Aren’t you in pain? Why would you turn down the meds? A bunch of hard asses!”
Someone behind her grumbled something about beingmanlyand she growled in exasperation. Kate had heard enough.
“You have an amputation from above the elbow. If you go into shock while we’re transporting for exfil, we’ll have to stop and stabilize you. I’m giving you the damned morphine, and I don’t want to hear anything about it. Is that understood?”
Andrews’s jaw was clenched in pain and sweat glimmered on his brow. He nodded his agreement, and Kate turned to Garcia.
“Get me IV access on the other arm, at least an 18-gauge, and if you can’t get good access then go for an IO.”
Having heard Kate’s no-nonsense attitude, Sgt. Krantz and Sgt. Cassidy shuffled over and sat quietly near her, waiting for their turn to be examined and patched up. Garcia and Kate worked in tandem, and she secured the dressing as Garcia finished taping the IV line down, immobilizing it to Andrews’s arm and bicep.
They finished up with Andrews, and Kate surveyed the other two injured. “I want one of you to monitor Lt. Andrews. The morphine’s going to make him tired and loopy, but he should still be able to walk. Make sure he doesn’t sleep too much. I’m pretty sure he’s got a concussion. Talk to him and keep him engaged.”
Huang rose and took Kate’s place, assuming vigil over Lt. Andrews. Kate looked over Cassidy and Krantz, assessing what little she could see. They’d been through a lot already, and she didn’t want to add to it.
“Sgts Garcia, we have at least two gunshot wounds that seem to be through and through, one in each of our patients. Lookslike Cassidy’s wound has stopped bleeding, but it needs to be cleaned and dressed. Take care of him while I try to stop the bleeding from Bowie's shoulder. Lt. Cole, I could use another set of hands if you have time to spare.”
Alexis materialized at her side, her innate heat sinking into Kate’s tightly clenched muscles. Lt. Cole’s voice was calm and reassuring in Kate's ear.
“I’m here. What do you need?”
Kate ignored the wrenching in her chest at Alexis’ words and focused on Bowie.
“Wound needs to be cauterized. He’s got a slow bleed that won’t stop. Hand me supplies as I call for them and talk to me about our status.”
Equipment set out and ready, Kate set to work on Krantz, giving him an IV and cleaning the wound. Apologizing softly to the man for the pain, Kate focused on her task and Lt. Cole’s voice.
“Krantz was correct. We have three bodies. Looks as if they took enemy fire and were the first three to go. Their commanding officer was Major Smith, who died leaving Krantz in charge as we suspected. The immediate area is secure. This cave is well hidden. We can stay for another hour or so, but any longer and we risk getting caught in the daylight for the exfil. As far as I can tell, there aren’t any enemy combatants in the immediate area, and they’re unaware of our location.”
Kate was especially grateful they’d come in under the cloak of nightfall. If they’d arrived during the day, they could have alerted any nearby enemies to the location of their injured.
Alexis’s voice held concern. “How much longer do you think we’ll need to remain here, and what’s the travel status of these three?”
Humming in thought, Kate responded while she focused in, pulling out the cauterization tool and setting to work on the nowhalf-conscious Bowie’s shoulder wound. The tough son of a bitch had held out through the cleaning process, but the narcotics had finally taken effect, and he’d zoned out, blissfully unaware of Kate searing his flesh to staunch the blood flow.
