Paige gripped the radio. “November Gold, I have patients I need to treat, and Simon and Michael are going to need more time to evaluate the situation. I need a couple more hours minimum.”
“You don’t have that kind of time, Echo Lima.”
“Wait out, November Gold.” Paige released the Transmit button, excused herself, and hurried from the building. Simon and Michael stood outside talking to Abraham and several other men from the town.
Simon turned to her. “Is everything okay?”
“Nick’s just received a radio transmission with orders to pull us out immediately, but he didn’t give an explanation.”
“Nick wouldn’t transmit security-related information, which means the rebels must have returned.”
She shook her head, unwilling to accept the order. “The rebels have no reason to return here, and these people need me. I can’t leave.”
Paige caught the look of conflict in Simon’s eyes. “As much as I hate to pull out, I don’t think we have a choice. I’ll have Abraham drive us back to the plane immediately — ”
“Wait a minute.” Paige moved in front of him, blocking his way. “I know our safety is on the line, but the situation here is serious. The rebels stole the hospital’s generator, and I’ve got a woman in there who’s gone into labor six weeks early. Without a generator, a baby born premature doesn’t have a chance — ”
“I understand how you feel, but Nick wouldn’t call us back to the plane without a serious reason, which means that, like it or not, we’re leaving.”
“Without any regard to the needs and safety of these people?”
Simon’s jaw twitched. “You have to know by now I’m committed to ensuring that these people receive the help they need, but I will not put the lives of my own people in danger. We’re leaving. Now.”
Paige marched back into the clinic, yanked her stethoscope from her neck, and dropped it into her medical bag beside Tayla’s bed. Throwing a tantrum wouldn’t change anything, but she still hated the helplessness of the situation.
She ran her finger down the rounded face of the young child that glistened with fever. “I’m sorry, Patience. They’ve ordered us to leave the region and fly to Kingani immediately.”
“The rebels . . . They are back?”
Paige shook her head. “I don’t know.”
Patience’s voice pleaded with her. “Please . . . please, don’t forget us.”
“I’ll do everything I can to make sure someone returns with what you need. I promise.”
Guilt squeezed again at her chest as she said good-bye, then ran to catch up with Simon. “There’s got to be another way. Something we can do to help these people.”
“I’m sorry, Paige. You have to know this isn’t a call I take lightly. I’m as determined as you are to make sure every single person in this country gets the medical care they need, but sometimes it simply isn’t possible.”
She tightened her grip on the handle of her medical bag. “I know, but all of this seems so preventable. There’s got to be a way to stop these insurgents.”
Simon stopped in front of the jeep and caught her gaze. “I’ve been here for a year and a half, and I don’t think I’ll ever fully get used to the horrors I’ve seen. But we do what we can and that has to be enough. Life here . . . It’s like dangling precariously on the end of some flimsy thread, and sometimes there’s just nothing we can do to stop it from breaking.”
“It’s not right.”
“No, it’s not.” He helped her into the back of the vehicle and climbed in beside her. “But it’s the reality.”
Abraham floored the gas pedal, and Paige watched the cinderblock hospital disappear around the corner as they headed back toward the plane. Wind whipped through her hair and fanned the injustice smoldering inside her. She caught sight of a couple of villagers sifting through the charred remains of broken clay urns. How was it that life had become this unfair paradox? Those needing her the most were the very people she couldn’t help.
The crackling of gunfire ripped through the morning air. Fear closed in on her, constricting her lungs, and she ducked beneath the doorframe. Rural Tennessee had its problems, but they had never included being chased by rebels with machine guns. This wasn’t Tennessee.
Another round of shots split the air. Simon slumped beside her.
Abraham shouted from the front seat. “Everyone get down.”
Paige ducked, then reached for the patch of red soaking through the fabric of Simon’s shirt. Warm blood covered her fingers. “He’s been shot.”
“How bad?” Michael shouted from the front seat.
“I don’t know. Simon? Can you hear me?”
“Yeah.” He rolled his head backward. “I always wanted to go out with a bang. Please . . . please tell April I’m sorry.”
“Stop. You’re going to be fine. You’re not going anywhere except on the plane and out of here.”
Paige’s fingers tightened against his chest as she fought to keep pressure against the bullet’s entrance to stop the bleeding. The vehicle bounced across the uneven ground, jarring loose her hold.
Michael was already on the radio with the pilot. “November Gold, this is Mike Foxtrot. Request that you are ready for immediate takeoff. Over.”
“Roger that, Mike Foxtrot. Over.”
Paige strained to look behind her, searching for any sign of the armed rebels. Trees waved in the morning breeze, along with the tall grasses lining the runway, but there were no signs of the insurgents.
Panic engulfed her. “I don’t see them.”
“I don’t either. They’re probably on foot and meant it as a warning.”
“A warning?” Paige shouted. “That was no warning shot. They hit Simon!”
Abraham slammed on the brakes beside the plane and within a matter of seconds the men had hoisted Simon inside behind Paige.
Michael turned back to Abraham. “Come with us.”
He shook his head. “These are my people. I’ll be waiting for your return.”
Nick pulled up the ladder and closed the door. “Fasten your seat belts, everybody. We’re taking off.”