Forever Until Tomorrow (War Eternal Book 5) (7 page)

"Awesome," Michael said.

Katherine looked at him. "Michael. How are you?"

"Shaken," he replied. "Having nightmares. They've already set me up with a therapist. I survived without getting shot, thanks to you. Right now, that's what I'm focusing on. Anything else leaves me paralyzed."

"I'm sorry."

"It wasn't your fault. You couldn't have known."

"Did they ID the attackers?"

"Yes," Yousefi said. "Former military, all of them. Lured into the AIT, though we aren't sure how. Initial intelligence is that there is money involved. A lot of it. Whoever is backing the group has deep pockets." He shrugged. "That's for Security to figure out. Your job is to rest and get better."

"Is the launch still happening?"

Yousefi didn't answer right away.

"Sir?"

"I don't know." He sighed. "Member nation governments are pushing the UEA to cancel the launch until we can be sure there is no credible outside threat to either the Dove or to the people involved in the program."

"And how are they supposed to do that?" Katherine asked, starting to feel angry. "They would be giving the AIT exactly what they want."

"I know. I've heard they're working around the clock on it, but anything more than that is beyond my, or your, clearance. I've already told you more than I should have, but in light of what you did, I think you deserve it. I also recommended that the Potus award you with a Purple Heart."

"Do you think he'll listen to you?"

"Because I'm Iranian? I'm still a ranking officer of the UEA. That's supposed to mean something. It would be easier if the alliance would settle on a recognition system."

"They've only had ten years," Michael said sarcastically.

"Unifying so many countries takes time," Yousefi said. "And it certainly isn't a priority."

 
Someone knocked on the door. Katherine looked over at the doctor.

"I'm glad to see you're awake," he said. He was an older man with a bald head and a large nose. "How are you feeling?"

"Annoyed," Katherine replied.

"Are these two bothering you?"
 

"Laying here is bothering me."

The doctor approached on the opposite side of the bed, tapping on the screens behind her. "I'm Doctor Villanueva, but the way. Vitals are good. You were lucky the bullets didn't hit anything important. You should be out within three or four days."

"You could use a little work on your bedside manner," Katherine said.

The doctor laughed. "I've heard. You're in a military hospital, Major. If you wanted fluff, you should have been an actress or something."

"Are you harassing me?" Katherine smiled. She liked Doctor Villanueva. He was no frills.
 

"You'll know if I'm harassing you. Are you hungry?"

"No."

"Good. I'll have some food brought up." He glanced over at Yousefi and Michael. "As for you two, visiting hours are between ten and five." He pointed at one of the screens. "It's six-thirty."

"Do you know who I am?" Yousefi said.

"Yes, Admiral. And I know you outrank me, sir. I don't care. This is my hospital, and I run a tight ship. The Major here is going to have something to eat, and then she's going to sit here and watch the streams or whatever else that involves not moving."

Yousefi smirked. "Katherine, don't worry about losing your spot. I won't allow it to happen. In the meantime, get some rest. You'll need your strength to find Mitchell."

Katherine had started to lay back in the bed. The last part caused her to sit up again. "What?"

"I said you'll need your strength to fly the Dove."

"Oh. Right."

"Take care, Kathy," Michael said. "They've got me holed up in a room down the hall for observation until tomorrow. I'll stop by before I leave, at ten sharp."
 

Kathy reached out, taking Michael's hand and squeezing it. "I'm sorry," she said again, still feeling guilty for bringing him to the party.

"Don't be. Mitchell will make it better."

She froze again. Mitchell? Why did she keep hearing the name? It meant nothing to her. Or did it? She let go of Michael's hand. Maybe she needed some more rest after all.
 

Yousefi and Michael filed out of the room, leaving her alone with the Doctor.

"Did you hear either of them say Mitchell?" she asked.

He looked down at her curiously. "No. Why?"

"I don't know. For some reason, I keep hearing the name Mitchell, but I don't know anyone with that name. Do you know why that might be?"

He shook his head. "You didn't have a concussion or anything else that might be affecting your brain function. It could be the meds. We have you fairly well sedated right now."

She smiled. "Yeah, that's probably it."

"Well, everything looks good here. I'll get the food sent up. Keep doing what you're doing and you'll be out of here in no time."

"I'm not doing anything."

"Exactly. Good night, Major."

"Good night, Doctor Villanueva. Thank you."

He headed for the door, standing behind it as it slid closed. She thought she saw his expression change right before he vanished from view, shifting from slight amusement to complete seriousness. It seemed strange, but then again who knew what his next stop was. Maybe he had to tell someone they were going to die?

She rested her head on her pillow and closed her eyes again. Mitchell. Maybe she was wrong. Maybe she had known a Mitchell during the Xeno War?
 

She laughed silently at herself. If she were hearing a voice in her head, it was either because of the trauma or the medication. She was ridiculous to take it seriously.

Follow the doctor's orders and rest. Help the wound heal so she could get back to training for the mission. That should be her priority.

She closed her eyes again.

Katherine couldn't sleep. There was nothing but fire and death mingled in the darkness of her closed eyelids. At first, she thought it was her mind trying to work through the attack at the party, to make sense of it, or at least come to some kind of resolution that would allow it to relax. When she realized it wasn't the attack, she began to panic.

She had fought in the Xeno War. She had downed enemy fighters and sent guided bombs to strongholds on the ground. She had killed in the name of her country and what she believed in. She had never shown signs of PTSD before. A sound mind had been one of the top criteria for Project Olive Branch. Now this had happened, and now she was seeing things, and now she was hearing things. It didn't matter what Yousefi said. If they did a psych eval and she failed, nothing he could do would get her on the Dove.
 

Nothing.

She wanted to cry but thought that would make it worse. She needed to pull herself together, not let herself fall apart. She did as the doctor ordered, remaining in the bed, resting her body. She couldn't rest her mind. Not yet. She closed her eyes again, focusing on her breathing, and on paying attention to what she saw.

Darkness. Silence. A blue pyramid. Multiple blue pyramids. Asteroids. Light. Candles put out.

It was a blur that repeated over and over, too fast to get any details from. It hurt her to see it, to feel it, to know that it was more than a nightmare. Something had happened to her that she didn't yet understand. She could either run from it or embrace it.

She had never run from anything in her life.

In Middle School, she had picked a fight with the quarterback of the high school football team because he was giving Michael a hard time about his weight. Michael shrugged it off, used to the jokes and jeers and teasing. She hadn't been able to let it go. She found him after practice and broke his nose, her expertise in martial arts making easy work of the dumb jock.

In the Air Force, she had gotten into dogfights with multiple targets at once on more than one occasion, always in support of another pilot who was outmatched and outnumbered. She had nearly been killed one of those times, damage forcing her into a landing that was rougher than the plane was expected to survive. Somehow she had.
 

Mission training was the toughest test of them all. So much competition, each of the men and women from countries around the globe equally decorated and skilled. Some were former enemies. A couple she had faced off against directly over the ice of Antarctica. They were on the same side now, but they weren't going to let their opposition beat them for one of the few seats on the Dove. Only constant, grueling work had pushed her over the top.

Whatever this was, she would figure it out. She had to.
 

Her eyes were closed, and she was trying to slow down the speed of her nightmare when she heard a soft click. The door to her room opening.
 

She didn't know what time it was. Late. A nurse, most likely. She was sure they thought she was sleeping.

She didn't open her eyes. Let the staff do what they needed to do. If it was time for more meds, so be it.

Then again, she didn't feel much pain. She remembered the last time the nurse had come in. It didn't seem like it had been that long ago.

She listened to the motion beside her. The nurse would always hit the screen and check her vitals and levels before she did anything. She waited for the brightness to seep through her eyelids.
 

It never came.
 

She could hear someone moving the IV tubing that ran to her wrist. She could feel it pulling lightly. She breathed in, smelling a stronger, more musky odor. A man. She raised her lids slowly, glancing over to her left.

Doctor Villanueva was hovering over her, IV in one hand, a syringe in the other.

"What is that?" she said.

The doctor jumped back, startled.
 

"Uh. Major. I. Ah."
 

He was stumbling over his words. Nervous. Katherine didn't like it.

"I said, what is that?"

She caught the motion from the doorway out of the corner of her eye. Doctor Villanueva wasn't alone. Two men in black were coming at her.
 

"I'm sorry, Major," Villanueva said. "You have to die. You'll ruin everything."

She wasn't restrained. She pulled her wrist hard, yanking the IV, the tube pulling the rack of machines behind the doctor. He was distracted by them for a moment, just long enough for her to wrench the IV free of her wrist, ignoring the blooming pain and blood sprouting from the area as she rolled off the other side of the bed.

One of the men had reached her, and he caught her on the way down, grabbing her and getting his arms around her waist, lifting her easily. She kicked back, hitting him in the groin, bringing her elbow back and slamming him in the side of the head. His grip loosened, and she wiggled out of it.

Her gut burned, her body barely healed. She quickly scanned the room for anything she could use. There was nothing obvious, so she threw herself at her attacker, knocking aside a clumsy block and bashing him hard in the throat. He coughed and put his hand to his neck, while she skirted around him, seeking the door.

The other man reached for her, getting his hand on her shoulder. She pulled back from him, letting him tear the hospital gown away, using his momentary confusion to drive a knee into his stomach and knock the air out. A hard punch to the side of his face rocked him aside, and then she was through the door and into the hallway.

The first thing she saw was the nurse, dead against the side of the wall; her neck tilted way too far to the left. She felt the panic mix with her adrenaline. Michael had said he was just down the hall. To the left or the right? She didn't know, and would have to guess. She went right, sprinting down the corridor as the thugs regrouped behind her. There was no time.

She reached the first door, pushing it open. Empty. She ran to the next. Empty. When she reached the third, a loud report sounded, and a bullet hit the wall beside her. She pushed the pad to open the door, falling into the room. She got up in a hurry, pushing the door closed and searching for something to jam it.
 

"Kathy?" Michael said behind her. "What's happening? Why are you naked?"

Damn it. She had been trying to reach him before they did. She hadn't intended to get cornered in the room with him.
 

"I need to jam the door," she said.
 

"It's motorized," Michael replied. "You can't jam it."

She looked back at him. He was sitting up on the bed, wearing a pair of AR glasses and gloves and doing his nerd thing.
 

"We have ten seconds to disable that door, or we're both going to die."

Michael's face paled. Then his hands started moving.

"What are you doing? Didn't you hear me?"

"I was bored, so I was looking at the hospital mainframe. Lucky for us." He smiled mischievously as he did something she couldn't see.
 

She heard them outside two seconds later.
 

"Get off the bed," she said, grabbing his arm and pulling.