Pushing Up Daisies Read online

  Sarah could no longer see what was happening below, the rear of the bird tilted back and then settled. Daisy and Gopher leaped out firing. Sarah huddled in her seat. The yellow glare of the lights illuminated two bloody pirate corpses and another helicopter. She was back in the original compound. Freidrick and Coop were here somewhere.

  A tall man with dark hair and silver eyes that glowed in the yellow light stuck his head into the helicopter as more shots rang out. His smile contained no warmth. “You okay?” He asked as he scanned the interior of the bird.

  She nodded, stricken speechless by his intensity and good looks.

  “Do you know where the two U.N. men are?”

  “They said something about a basement. I don’t know where it is.”

  “You speak Somali?”

  She nodded again. His lips were perfectly molded, his chin square with black stubble. His brows arched and then shot down close to his hawk-like nose. He wore a baseball cap and an earbud. The cap said Gray Thunder under a silhouette of a howling black wolf. “I speak a lot of languages.”

  “Farsi?”

  “And Pashto.”

  “You hear anything?”

  “They took me upstairs and I listened at the window. I think the pirates sold me to al Shebab.”

  He nodded. “Why would they want you? You special?”

  She stuttered. “I don’t know. I’m an aid worker. My father is a diplomat. Last time he called, he was in Israel.”

  “Bingo,” he said. “Al Shebab is an Islamic organization. They hate Israel. That could be it. Maybe they want to use you to get to your father.”

  Sarah’s eyes widened. “But how would they know all that about me?”

  “They have ways.”

  He grunted, backed out of the helicopter and waved to two of the men. “One of the packages is inside. We’re gonna have to extract the other two.”

  House stared for a moment at the girl in the bird. She was beautiful in an ethereal way, blond hair and blue eyes, slim, lovely and scared. But brave enough to listen to her captors and give him information he needed.

  Daisy, Gopher and Blackberry crowded close to him. “Two of the packages are in the basement. We have to go in.”

  They nodded, checked their weapons and reloaded while House conferred with the other team leaders. The third bird had landed on the outside of the compound wall. It was a bigger Blackhawk. Together, they numbered a total of eighteen men. They came up with a plan and moved to implement it. When they got within twenty feet of the house, bullets erupted from the windows facing them. Two men went down. House felt a bullet hit his plates, grunted and ignored the pain.

  Blackberry opened up with the fifty caliber machine gun and his new man, Bam Bam, carrying the M-203, fired two grenades into the ground-floor windows. The explosions sent fire shooting out the windows. On his right flank, the British team went around the house, creeping low to avoid being sighted. On his left, the U.N. team members headed around the other side of the house. Pretty soon, they would have it surrounded. When they did, House and his team would go in.

  He got the signal through his ear piece and waved to his guys. Bam Bam fired two more grenades, one into an upper window and one into a different window on the ground floor. Under cover of a hail of fifty caliber rounds from Berry, they charged.

  House kicked in the front door, backed off and Berry moved in with the large machine gun. He sprayed an opening salvo and ran inside followed by Gopher, Daisy and Connors the new shooter. House went in last.

  The interior was gutted by the grenade blast. Sporadic fire erupted from the rear. Using a flashlight attached to his rifle, House took the lead. They were searching for the door leading down.

  A hail of bullets from the next room pinged into the walls and hit House in his armor. Gopher took a shot to the head and dropped. House growled. He couldn’t help it. Daisy was next to him. When she saw Gopher go down, she shimmered and almost shifted. They both fought it. This was no place to turn into a wolf.

  The shots coming from the middle room were so intense, House and Daisy were pinned behind a large credenza. He motioned to Bam Bam who stepped forward and fired a grenade. They all dove for cover. House fell across Gopher, searching for a sign of life. His friend and team member seemed dead.

  Chapter 5

  When House returned to the helicopter he was running. Daisy followed close. She stopped every few strides and fired more rounds into the building. A big black man followed carrying a body. Sarah gasped when she saw it was the blond guy.

  Bullets flew everywhere. Some hit her chopper. House leaped in and ran to the front. He threw himself into the pilot’s seat as a huge explosion went off in the building. Chunks of rock and concrete flew everywhere. The black man was hit and tumbled to the ground spilling the blond guy. Neither one got up.

  Daisy leaped into the bird and screamed at the black man. “Get up, Berry. Come on.”

  Pirates swarmed from around the sides of the building. Daisy tried to leap out to get her two comrades and House stopped her. “Don’t, we have to leave them.” He pointed at Sarah. “We have to get her out. We’ll come back later.”

  The helicopter next to them blew in a huge explosion that sent more debris into their helicopter. House started the engines.

  “What’s going on?” Sarah screamed over the noise.

  Daisy glanced back at her. “Two boatloads of pirates landed on the beach. We had it locked down and a hundred men attacked us. Fucking Somalia!”

  The bird they were on slowly rose. Sarah saw the compound was swarming with black men in shorts carrying an odd assortment of weapons. Some didn’t even have guns but brandished machetes like swords. The dead men from her rescue mission were scattered everywhere.

  Daisy threw herself into the seat as House swung the chopper and headed inland. Sarah strained to see into the compound. The sodium light was gone, but the sun was starting to rise. It was almost light. She tried to see the black man who’d been carrying the guy named Gopher and couldn’t. The compound faded into the distance as tears streamed down Sarah’s face. All those men had died because of her. The guilt would be with her for the rest of her life. How could she live with it?

  The helicopter was flying in a very erratic manner. It would climb and then drop. Sarah could see House struggling to control the cyclic stick. He had both hands wrapped around it, wrestling to hold it steady. Lights blinked on and off on the display array. A red light blinked continuously.

  “We may have to ditch,” House called to Daisy.

  She unstrapped and fell into the co-pilots bucket seat. “What’s wrong?

  “We’re losing fuel and I don’t think the rear rotor is working worth a shit. We might have a hydraulic leak. Where’s the best place to land this bitch?”

  Daisy laughed. “We’re in Somalia. How about Ethiopia?”

  “Never make it.”

  “Head west then.”

  “Already doing that.”

  Daisy leaned forward as she stared at the ground below and clutched the control panel in front of her. She tapped something. “No, you’re headed southwest. Remember the map of Somalia? Ethiopia is under us, I think.”

  Sarah strained to see out her window. Below, everything was a monotonous tan color. It looked dry.

  Daisy stared out the window. “Looks like fucking desert down there. If we land we’ll die of thirst.”

  “Better chance with the desert than with the pirates or the insurgents.” The bird took another steep dive shaking like it was sick. This time it didn’t correct. House fought the stick. Daisy’s knuckles on the instrument panel turned white.

  “I can’t stop it. We’re going down,” he screamed.

  Wind rushed into the open door on Daisy’s side.

  “Get into the back with Sarah,” House yelled. “Protect her. The minute we get close, I’m gonna shift.”

  Sarah had no idea what he was going to shift. She was terrified. She felt like she was going to throw up and
or lose control of her bowels. Daisy unstrapped and fell into the rear compartment. She knelt in front of Sarah, wrapped her arms around her and held her. Sarah held her back.

  House leveled the bird for a moment, then it began dropping again. When it hit, they bounced once on the struts beneath the aircraft, the nose tilted forward and hit hard. Glass in the front windows exploded. Daisy took the brunt of it. When Sarah opened her eyes for a second, she couldn’t see House. He was gone.

  The bird skidded across the ground at a terrifying rate, finally hitting a rock. It careened off the formation and flipped. Daisy never let go as they landed hard on the rotors still sliding.

  Daisy felt strange in her arms, furry and bigger. Sarah hung on, keeping her eyes tightly shut. It must be her hair. The helicopter finally shuddered to a halt upside down and Sarah opened her eyes. She was hanging in her seat harness with Daisy still holding her. She hit the release button and Sarah tumbled into her arms.

  “We survived,” Sarah gasped.

  “Well, we’re alive,” Daisy said as she hauled herself to her feet.

  Little was left of the chopper. The tail was missing. A gaping hole was all that remained. Sunlight gleamed over the tops of mountains to the east illuminating an arid plain with an occasional clump of reddish rocks. The entire cockpit was gone along with House.

  “House is gone,” Sarah said. Her voice quivered with the after-effects of the crash, her capture and the firefight. Her hands shook. Her entire body trembled with terror. They’d survived the wreck. Now they were going to die in the desert alone, just her and this warrior-woman.

  Daisy crawled to the open rear of the compartment. “He’s here somewhere,” she said.

  Sarah crawled after her. Together, they fell out of the inverted bird to the hard ground under it. “How could he survive? The front of the helicopter is gone.”

  Daisy sat next to her. “House is a survivor. He’ll show up. You’ll see.”

  Sarah didn’t see. The nose of the craft was crushed beyond recognition. The only reason they were alive was Daisy’s strength. She’d held Sarah and the seat in place.

  “You are the strongest woman I’ve ever met,” she said.

  Daisy nodded and pulled herself upright. “Yeah, I’m a bitch. You stay here. I’m gonna search for House.”

  “Those other two guys died didn’t they?”

  Daisy shrugged. “Lots of guys died. It was their time.”

  Sarah huddled in her spot against the rocks. The sun rose swiftly, turning the surrounding area into an inferno. The remains of the helicopter cast shade over her but she needed water. The arid air was sucking all the moisture out of her.

  Daisy returned and tossed her a bottle of water. Relieved to see her, Sarah twisted it open and drank the entire thing. “Did you see any sign of House?”

  The tall, dark-haired man’s silver eyes haunted her. She couldn’t believe someone that powerful and strong could be dead.

  Daisy stared down at Sarah. She was a complete mess. Her dress was torn and she’d lost a sandal. Barefoot in this nasty hole could mean death. Her blond hair was tangled and her face smudged with mascara and dirt. She hunkered down beside her, licked a finger and wiped a clump of black crap off her face. “He’s alive.”

  Sarah pushed her hand away. “Where? Do we need to help him?”

  Daisy laughed. No, they didn’t need to help House. She’d spotted big wolf tracks leading into the surrounding mountains. House was running as a wolf, searching for a way out of this mess. “He’s checking out the surroundings, looking for a way out of here.”

  Sarah sighed with relief and leaned back against her rock. “Thank god. I thought he was dead. When I saw the cockpit smashed, I just knew he’d died and we were alone.”

  Daisy snorted. She and House and would be fine without Sarah. Stuck with her to care for, the two of them had to stay in human form. As wolves, they both could have made it all the way back to Mogadishu with no trouble.

  “Those insurgents wanted you pretty bad. What for?” Daisy asked.

  “House said it’s because my dad is a diplomat currently serving in Israel”

  Daisy nodded. “That would do it.”

  She sat next to Sarah and put an arm around her shoulders. She was soft and womanly, smelling like fresh coconut with a floral note. Daisy turned her head so her face brushed Sarah’s hair. The smell came from the pale gold tresses. Something warm rose in Daisy’s chest. She realized she wanted to protect Sarah. She tightened her grip on the woman’s shoulders and Sarah turned to bury her face in Daisy’s plates.

  They rested together for about an hour. Daisy didn’t sleep, but Sarah did with her head against Daisy’s body armor. Daisy kept scanning the horizon for anyone following them or for House. When he showed up, she was dozing and he surprised her.

  “Sleeping on duty?” He asked.

  Daisy bolted awake. “House, sorry, man, I was so tired and it’s hotter than hell. I kept wanting to get rid of the armor, but I know better.”

  “It’s okay,” he said. “How’s the girl?”

  “She’s feeling pretty guilty and terrified. The let-down after the crash was hard. She’s been sleeping for a couple of hours.”

  House stared off into the distance. “We left men behind.”

  “I know you hate that.”

  “Gopher and Berry, I can’t believe we lost them. I’ve been with Gopher for a couple of years.”

  “We’ll go back and get them. We just need to find a way off this frigging desert.”

  Sarah woke up and blinked. “House, you’re alive.”

  He reached down and pulled her to her feet. “Yeah, at least I am for the moment. You spot any tail?” He asked Daisy.

  “So far nothing. I saw a rat. Does that count?”

  House smiled. “I don’t think so. You probably should have caught it. At least we could eat.”

  “Awe, man, rat? Did you find a way off this hot plate?”

  He shook his head. “No, we’re miles from anything or anywhere. Only good news is I think we’re in Ethiopia. I found a cave about two miles from here. No water, but we can hole up there until dark.”

  Daisy slowly rose to her feet. Everything hurt. She’d been hit twice in the plates and was bruised. The crash had added a few more. “We need to search the wreckage for Sarah’s sandal. She can’t go anywhere with only one shoe.”

  House nodded his gaze on the horizon. “Round up anything in the bird we can use. I’ll search for her shoe.”

  * * * *

  House walked in circles starting at the bird, his eyes on the ground, his mind churning. They were in so much trouble. He’d run for thirty miles in a circle around their location and found nothing. But he’d got a take on where they were and thought if they started walking around midnight, they might find a main road. From there, they could find a town.

  He found the sandal fifty feet from the wreck and carried it back to Sarah. She was helping Daisy stuff two backpacks with weapons, ammo, bottles of water, MREs, a med kit and some tools. When House saw the tools, he lifted one eyebrow.

  Daisy shrugged. “You never know what we might need.”

  “Did you find the satellite phone?”

  Daisy held up a crushed phone. “The laptop and the com equipment were in the cockpit.”

  “We still have our chips. They’ll find us.”

  Daisy and House were both equipped with tiny chips beneath their skin for ease in locating them after exactly a crash like this.

  “They won’t send a bird out until after dark,” she said. “We need to lay up until then anyway. It’s too frigging hot to travel.”

  “You two get going. I have to take care of the helicopter.”

  “What?” Sarah said.

  “Policy, we blow any wrecked birds. House will take care of it.”

  “Why?”

  “We never leave anything for the enemy. Who knows what they could use this for…propaganda photos, parts for their own equipment, anyt
hing. So we destroy it.”

  Sarah waited a good distance away. When the bird went up, House loped into view. “You guys ready?”

  Daisy and Sarah nodded. “We’re good,” Daisy said. “Let’s hit it.”

  House grunted as he shouldered one pack. Daisy hefted the second and they started out. Daisy kept her M-4 across her arms. House wore two pistols on his belt and a huge K-Bar in a sheath built into his body armor. They were as ready as they could be.

  “Do I get a gun?” Sarah asked. “I can shoot. My father taught me.”

  House dived into his pack and emerged with another pistol belt, this one with a Walther PPS in the holster. He wrapped it around her waist and cinched it tightly. She was very slender. Ten inches of belt strap dangled. He whipped his K-Bar out and sliced the end off with one swipe.

  She expertly ejected the clip, checked it was full and slapped it back into the pistol. “What’s this tape on the handle for?”

  “It’s grip tape. Helps you hold onto it if it gets slippery.”

  “For sweat?”

  “Nope, blood.”

  She shuddered delicately. “Well then, okay, thanks.”

  Being this close to her, he smelled her fear, dried sweat, and a subtle coconut and floral scent. As a werewolf, all his senses were heightened. She stirred something inside him. Her bravery in the face of danger was admirable. She stood in front of him in a torn dress and sandals, her shoulders back, her mouth quivering with a half-smile.

  “This was all my fault,” she said with a sigh. “I don’t know how I can live with it. You lost your men because of me. That poor blond guy and the black man.” Tears filled her eyes and spilled over. “How can I live with this?”

  He patted her awkwardly. “You have to. No choice. We all have something on our backs. Don’t make their sacrifice in vain. Live and move on. Don’t let the bad guys win.”

  She sucked in a long breath. “I won’t.”

  Chapter 6