VANGUARD(16)

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“Two breaths and then one, two, three, four. Take it easy, kid. These are chest compressions. You’re not beating the snot out of the guy.” Everyone laughed, Sophie included. The instructor winked at her.

Green light or not, it took a frightening amount of time to get tens of thousands of pounds of equipment and fifty-five people ready to enter a warzone. It had been nearly two weeks since the coalition had gotten the go-ahead. Two weeks of endless prepping, inventorying supplies, obtaining visas. The logistics were staggering.

The real delay, however, was the Soviet Republic. They questioned every piece of equipment, every person on the roster. Now, finally, the last preparations were nearly complete. They departed in just days.

Sophie despised the wait. She kept busy and tried to make herself as prepared as possible. Today, she was taking a refresher class in emergency medical response.

“Okay, let’s take fifteen minutes, then we’re back for our session on musculoskeletal injuries. Come prepared to splint a few legs.” Sophie was pulling on a sweater over her shirt when the instructor stopped her. “What happened to your arms?” He gestured toward the bloom of multi-colored bruises covering her freckled arms.

“Oh,” she said. “Well, on this arm, hepatitis A and B happened, plus my booster shot. On the other arm, we got typhoid and a flu shot. Down here was my tuberculosis test.” She pointed to her inner elbow. “My doctor has an obsession with keeping my shots up to date.”

“Either you’re the world’s most disease-prone person, or you’re going somewhere really scary.”

“The latter,” Sophie said. “But I’m ready.”





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On Sunday, after her weekly visit with the Nariovsky-Trents, Sophie borrowed Anjali’s car and drove to Westchester to see Carter. They had discussed this a few months ago, and now it was time.

Life had been kind to Carter and his bride, Janet. After leaving GYL, Carter had gotten his MBA and joined the family brokerage. Janet had pursued a career as a corporate finance lawyer. Together, they discovered they were very good at making money. Sophie had no issues with this. DeVries Financial donated generously to Refugee Crisis International. In fact, DeVries Financial owned the Manhattan building where RCI made its home, and Carter was a founding board member.

He met her on the doorstep with a hug, ushering her into the sitting room. Sophie saw Janet smiling tiredly in an armchair and leaned down to embrace her.

“Janet, you look…” She stared at Janet’s enormous belly. Carter’s beautiful wife was nearly nine months gone with their first baby, a son.

“Huge?” Janet suggested. “Scary, isn’t it? People avoid getting into elevators with me.” She took Sophie’s hand in hers, placing it on her mountainous belly. “Feel him.” A moment later, Sophie felt a kick under her palm, and she jerked back, startled by its ferocity.

“Carter’s son, for sure.” She eyed Janet’s stomach nervously. “He’s already starting a party in there.”

They talked a bit more about the baby’s imminent arrival. Then Janet gave Sophie a sad smile and heaved herself to her feet, going into the other room to give the two of them privacy. Carter stood at the bay window, watching the falling snow and running his hand through what little was left of his hair. When he turned around, there were tears in his eyes.

“Hey,” Sophie said softly. “It’s going to be okay. I’m going to find him and bring him home.”

“If anyone can do it, it’s you.” Carter scrubbed at his eyes. “I’m just scared I’m going to lose both of you. I should be going with you. Look at me, living in this stupid house, more money than I ever goddamn dreamed of.” He kicked viciously at the edge of what was undoubtedly a priceless Persian rug. “Every time I see these things around me, I think of him. Wonder where he is. Whether he has enough to eat, if he’s warm enough.” Carter stopped, emotion overwhelming him.

“You’re not going to lose me or Michael,” she said, putting her arms around his waist. “I swear to you, I’ll come back. And I’ll bring him with me.”

“There’s a war on. You can’t make that promise.”

She had no answer to that, so she clung to him instead, giving and taking comfort. Finally, Carter pulled away. “Come on. Let’s get this done.”