Under Fire: The Admiral by Beyond the Page Publishing Page B

didn’t expand, Bambi pressed her.
“Ma’am, it’s important.”
    “A female officer and I were . . . were
confronted by some men.” She moved around. Her eyes darted between
them.
    “How many?” Bambi said.
    “Five.”
    “And?”
    She made an exasperated cluck. “They went to
the hospital. We went home.”
    Ben was duly impressed and entertained an
image of Gemma and another woman duking it out with five men. From
the look on Bambi’s face he was also impressed.
    “The other time,” Bambi coaxed.
    “Involved weapons.” Gemma’s voice went so low
Ben found himself leaning in to hear her answer. “People died.”
Gemma’s gaze went up into the canopy and she hissed in a long
breath and let it go slowly. “I was ordered to accompany some
lawmakers on a fact-finding mission. ” The last words were
coated in bitterness. “To a country south of the U.S. A particular
group took exception to the visit. People were killed. People
wounded.”
    Bambi went still. He kept his gaze on Gemma,
then dipped his head in an unspoken nod of approval. Bambi knew
what she was talking about. Ben searched his memory. He kept on top
of incidents south of the border. It was necessary to keep the
teams out of harm’s way.
    “One of you gonna share? I told you about
Eileen Pinckney.”
    The hard look Gemma shot said there would be
no sharing.
    Bambi checked his watch and broke the
silence. “We have a couple hours. Get some rest. I’ll stay
awake.”
    “What about the afternoon rains?” Gemma
asked.
    “None today,” Bambi said.
    Gemma looked around her, brushed the tarp
then laid down on her side, her arm folded under her head, her back
to Ben.
    Ben had been going south of the border for
seven years. He searched his memory for any incidents and
could only recall one. The medical staff were set to fly to
Guatemala and the State Department yanked their approvals. Things
south of the boarder were unsettled and their safety couldn’t be
guaranteed. A drug cartel attacked U.S. and Mexican officials
visiting a Mexican state. Local police and military refused to
assist the group for fear of cartel reprisals. A handful of agents
and military officers traveling with the officials protected the
group for hours until U.S. special teams arrived in helicopters. In
the suffocating jungle heat a chill skittered over him. Geezus. Gemma was there.

Chapter 7
     
     
    Gemma woke to Bambi nudging her. “Time to
move.” She rolled to her back and yawned. Ben was already
standing.
    “You get any sleep?” She stretched and yawned
again.
    “Not as much as you,” Ben said, offering a
hand. She grasped it and he pulled her to her feet.
    “I expect it to take a good hour to reach the
rest,” Bambi said. “We’re going to be moving slow and quiet.” He
handed a small plastic container over to Gemma. “Slather up with
that skeeter repellent and ah . . . you have any bathroom business
to take care of, now is the time. Once you settle in tonight you
won’t be moving.” He headed off to take care of his business
and Gemma and Ben took opposite points of the compass to do the
same.
    Bambi moved them at a slow pace, keeping the
noise down, stopping several times to point where Ben should put
his size twelves. Bambi nailed the time perfectly. They reached the
others after an hour hike. Technically, there were still a couple
of hours left before nightfall, but this deep into the jungle the
light was already lost. Hunter took over and guided them to a spot
at the base of a tree surrounded with dense growth. A small
camouflaged tarp was stretched among the foliage. Gemma would have
passed it by if Hunter hadn’t pointed it out. Inside, a downed palm
trunk created a bench for them to sit more comfortably. Their backs
were against a large tree, they were off the ground and could move
their legs occasionally, preventing cramping. And, thank you very
much, another tarp covered the ground. “Bet you never thought about
spending the night with six