Desperate Situations (7 page)

"About yesterday
…"

"Concentrate on today." Megan turned her attention back to her paperwork.

Jake waited a couple of seconds then stood up and left. He knew when he was dismissed.

Four days later was a celebration of Afghanistan independence from the British. The celebration lasted a couple of days with the actual Independence Day on Friday. It was a time of feasting and a chance for employees of White Pine to see the real Afghanistan people.

As predicted, the last several days had been a milk run. Not a whisper of trouble. Actually boring. Megan walked into the base office when one of the clerical walked up to her with a big smile on her face.

The secretary wore
a head scarf while on base but off base wore the full chadari, sometimes mistaken as a burqa in the West. This was a full covering from head to feet of blue or white material with a mesh opening for the eyes. Even after the Taliban had been ousted, most women still wore it in public.

"Ms. Cartwright."

Megan smiled at the Afghan woman. Zarin Saikal was not only intelligent, but being the only two females on base they had naturally been drawn together. "Hello Zarin."

"Mail today." Zarin handed two envelopes to Megan.

"I got mail?" With only her brother, who she hadn't spoken to in years, and her father being her only living relatives, she never received anything that she didn't send for over the internet. "Thanks."

"You are most welcome." Zarin smiled and walked off.

Megan glanced at the outsides of the envelopes but neither had a return address. The post office mark showed them to be from her hometown, which meant they were probably from her dad, who hated to write letters. With a frown, she grabbed the work reports and headed to the briefing room. The rest of the crew was due in a few minutes to turn in reports, then they had a couple days off.

After sitting down at the head of the table, she tore open the first postmarked letter with a frown. It was short and to the point.

'Megan, I'm writing to tell you that I was taken to the emergency room four days ago after a car accident that I caused. I blacked out and they're still working on the reason why. I don't think it's serious and I considered not even writing you, but I thought that you should at least know about it. I'm home now, only a broken arm. I'll write again if they find out anything. Take care. Dad.'

The frown deepened as she read. This was not good. She tossed the first letter onto the pile of blank crew reports and tore open the second, postmarked two days after the first.

'
Megan, I have a brain tumor. Cancer. I have an appointment on the sixteenth with some asshole cancer doctor. For all of the shit I went through and this is what's going to kill me. Damn Russians couldn't kill me. I retire and look what happens. I should have stayed in the Company. A bullet would have been faster and easier. Keep your head down, Kid. Love, Dad.'

Megan swallowed hard. Today was the fourteenth. She leaned her head on both of her hands and stared at the letter she had dropped on the table
, her mind completely blank.

"Hey little Cowgirl, I like this kinda job. Fly and park. Fly and park. No shooting at us…" Cowboy began as he walked in
to the room. He stopped seeing Megan's expression. "Meg? Darlin', you okay?"

Megan swallowed back the tears threatening to come. She sniffled twice before looking up. With a quick swipe, she brushed her hand over her damp eyes.

Cowboy slid into the chair next to hers. "What's the matter?"

Megan gathered the letters up and shoved them under the crew reports. "Just news from home."

He frowned. "You never get letters from home. Must be somethin' bad."

Megan merely nodded, pulling out a form and began filling it in.

"Wanna talk about it?"

"Nope."

"Come on. Tell me."

"I said no." Megan busied herself with the report. "Did you find out if that part was sent for Death?"

"Yeah, but who knows when it'll get here. Even the pony express went faster." He tapped the table in front of his fellow pilot. "If you wanna talk…"

Megan looked up. "Yeah, I know. Thanks."

"Sure thing, Meg," Cowboy said grabbing a form. He started to work on his report, but kept glancing at Megan.

Slowly, the crew drifted in
, and within five minutes all were quietly doing paperwork. Megan finished and looked around the table.

"Let me interrupt for a minute guys, before you get out of here. All of you attended the cultural lecture two days ago. Please don't forget what was said. These people are friendly, but their customs are different
than ours. We must respect their ways. For the next several days, do not flaunt your nationalism, this is their time. If you go into town tonight, don't cause problems. Alcohol is against their religion and laws. Under no circumstances does it leave the base. Don't whore around. Don't even look at their women. Don't start any fights." She looked pointedly at Tiny. "It won't be tolerated under any instances. You mess up, you're gone. Got it?"

"Yes'em," Tiny replied.

"Try to stay together in at least twos and stay in the city, the nearer the base the better. The people here are more suspicious than in Iraq. The Iraqis were more used to Western thinking and attitudes. Remember, they were fighting the Taliban and then the Russians before, and many still think that they're being occupied by us. Next month, there are several planned trips as a group to different cultural places other than Kabul. Wait until then to go sight seeing. Don't damage the company's reputation with the locals. We have it good. Be back before curfew."

Three of the men were smiling
, and it was obvious that they couldn't wait to get going. Megan went back to work.

Tiny turned to Fisher. "Hey, are you coming with us? Bosser, Gunner, and Chips are heading into town with me. And what about you, Jake?"

Fisher nodded yes as he wrote. "I'll go. I want to see the, uh, local customs here. Taste new food."

Tiny smiled. "Jake?"

Jake glanced up from his work. "Not tonight. Maybe tomorrow. Thanks anyway."

Tiny handed his paperwork to Megan
, as did the other three. "Meet us at the front gate, Fisher."

"I
'll be there in many minutes," Fisher replied.

Jake smiled at the guys and with a glance noticed that Cowboy was taking extra time with his paperwork. Usually he was the first one out of the room. His eyes swung to Megan. It was obvious she wasn't concentrating. He frowned.

Soon there was no one in the room but the three of them. He laid down his pen and glanced at the others. Suddenly he wondered if there might not be more going on. He narrowed his eyes as he watched Cowboy reach out and gently pat her arm.

Jake cleared his throat. "I got a bottle of whiskey in the mail today from an old army buddy. Care to join me in a drink? Or were the two of you heading into town together?"

Cowboy smiled. "Tonight, I got a hot date."

Megan snorted. "With what, your hand?"

"No. Do ya'll remember that restaurant we ate at the last night here 'fore we got shipped to Iraq?"

Megan nodded as she gathered the papers.

"The owner invited me back tonight for a special meal. I'm thinkin' it's part of the Independence thing. Babrack said that there'd be lots of food." He licked his lips.

"Ah, a date with food," Megan said jokingly. "Don't forget to take a gift with you, Cowboy. And watch your mouth, I'd hate to have to break you out of the pokey."

"Be a good side kick and keep an eye out for your pardner," Cowboy said as he stood.

"I'm not the cavalry."

"Not true, Darling." He winked at her. "You wanna jaw anytime, ya'll find me."

Megan looked him in the eye with a slight smile. "Don't worry, ya mother hen. Get out of here."

As Cowboy left the room, he began whistling.

"And Kelly, I don't want to have to nurse maid you through a stomachache tomorrow, don't 'date' too much." Megan raised her voice to reach him as he walked away.

Cowboy's laugh could be heard from the hallway.

Jake smiled. "So, what does our fearless leader do with her time off?"

"Relax."

"In town?"

Megan shook her head. "This isn't exactly Europe or the United States. No, I stay on base."

"Any good sights to see in town?"

"I don't know. Ask Kelly. He'll point you in the right direction, but unless you're adventuresome and have a cast iron stomach, don't listen to his advice about food." She shook her head. "That man could eat a cactus and claim it tasted like chicken."

Jake chuckled.

Megan smiled then it faded as she picked up the paperwork, her eyes falling on the letters under it. Quickly, she picked them up and shoved them under a crew report.

"Well, in that case, since you aren't headed into town, care to join me in a drink?"

"Thanks but no," Megan said and stood up after taking Jake's report. "Have a good evening, Cupcake."

Jake smiled. "You too, Chief."

But the smile faded as she left the room. Megan was in a strange mood. One he had never seen before with her. She almost seemed distraught. He shook his head. He would never understand women.

***

Jake stepped out onto the rooftop as the waning sunshine poked
out from behind the mountains that surrounded the city. The colors of the sunset blended in harmony as the air cooled. There was little humidity, so once the temperature dropped, it cooled off quickly.

The foothills that faced the city were green but not from trees. Years of occupation by Russian forces had caused the timber to be harvested for various things, not the least
of which was for heat and cooking. Small groves of trees were being nursed back since the Russians left, but these were still immature trees. Bushes were the tallest things on the hillsides.

The air was crisp and clean. There was no smog here even though Kabul, which the White Pine base sat on the edge of, was the biggest metropolitan city in the country. He could hear city sounds off in the distance with an occasional military helicopter or plane passing overhead.

Unlike other countries Independence Day celebrations, this one would have no dancing and music. There were no parades or large gatherings. This was a quieter affair but no less celebrated. People invited others to their homes, and food was lavished on each other as much as people could afford.

Afghanistan was below poverty level, most people barely surviving. Still, when they invited visitors in for a meal, they provided well, even if it did impoverish the family. That's why, as Westerners and rich in comparison, it was considered polite to take a gift to the family.

Here on White Pine base, meals weren't huge, but they didn't starve either. There was always enough to go around.

The rooftop was located on the main barracks building. The base
was an enclosed, almost fortified city, surrounded by thick walls. The barracks the crews lived in were near the northern wall. There were three employee living barracks, each two stories high, and they were closest to the foothills. The main base building was next to the hanger, which was closest to the front gate. The other buildings on base were used for storage.

There was no air conditioning. So on hot summer nights, like tonight, the crews either hung out near the patio or on the rooftops. The patio area had a barbeque, tables, chairs, and
was one of the few places that had a sheltered cover to protect from the beating sun.

Several guys had told him that rooftops were the best place to catch the slight breezes that only occasionally relieved the heat. On this particular building there was a very small retaining wall about four inches tall. Most of the older buildings had no ledge, including those lived in by the native Afghan people, especially those that lived in the mountains.

Movement onto the roof caught his attention. Meg turned to look at him. She sat near the edge, staring into the distance. Her slightly reddened eyes quickly turned away.

"They said downstairs that this was the coolest place." He wiped his brow. "They were right." He hesitated
; her look indicated that he might have interrupted something. "Do you mind?"

Megan shrugged
, but her expression seemed to say that she'd rather be left alone. "Chairs are over there." She pointed to a small recess by the door. Her attention returned to the mountains.

Jake hesitated then decided to follow his gut. He put his chair next to Megan's and sat down. He poured himself a drink, then sat silent. It was a long time before either spoke. The sunset was entering its last stages of brilliance.

"Pretty sunset," Jake said softly in the quiet of the rooftop.

Megan nodded.

Jake now studied her. "Sure you don't want a drink. I brought an extra glass."

Megan shook her head but continued to stare out into the distance. She sighed softly with a soft sniff.

"Is everything okay?"

Megan didn't answer.

Jake shrugged and got comfortable. Now the silence stretched out. Noises from the base and nearby town became louder. A military helicopter flew by. He watched it and as it passed, his gaze lingered on Megan.