If Alex and his crew didn’t get Pancho and Leila to the operating room on the USS Kearsarge soon, they’d both be dead. Alex, John, Hassan, Dalal, and three of Omar’s men paddled in a large, civilian, blue and white inflatable raft carrying Pancho, Leila, and Youssef. Omar’s men in the boat weren’t militia types, but they were experienced white-water rafters. Everyone wore red life jackets except for the SEALs, who already wore gray life vests that they could inflate if needed. John inflated Pancho’s life vest—just in case.
The river flowed so swiftly that they didn’t need to paddle for forward movement. They paddled only to keep the boat from turning sideways or backward. Rocks poked up out of the water and the paddlers maneuvered the boat around them like they were moving through an obstacle course. Farther downstream, more and more rocks appeared, creating white water and small waves. The raft rode over a ledge that dropped two feet—no problem. As they proceeded, the river became deadlier with more white water and larger waves. Alex and the others worked harder to avoid the larger rocks. At the next ledge they dropped five feet at a 45-degree angle and hit the water below hard enough to make Alex worry that they might lose someone over the side.
As the number of rocks increased, it became more difficult to avoid them, so they ran over them, picking up speed on the downstream side. The water rolled back on itself, creating a white, foaming hole. Alex, John, and Omar’s men paddled hard through the white water so they wouldn’t get stuck in the hole. Hassan and Dalal worked hard, paddling as fast as they could, but their strokes were short and shallow, having less effect. Alex and the others muscled their way through the water. The Assi River was tougher than he’d anticipated. Now Alex wished they had Pancho’s brawn to help them.
The Assi calmed down, and although Alex wanted to catch his breath, they still had to get Pancho and Leila to a surgeon as quickly as possible. Alex and John continued to dig their paddles into the water and pull long strokes. The others followed their example.
After their boat rounded a bend, the river was all white water for as far as Alex could see. Then he saw a drop ahead—it looked like a big one. John stowed his paddle and grabbed hold of Pancho and Leila. Hassan and Dalal held on to John. Omar’s two men on the starboard and port sides paddled diligently to keep them straight while the man in the back steered.
Youssef stood up screaming and waving his hands. Alex tried to pull him down so he wouldn’t fall out of the boat. Alex didn’t want to lose a hostage, and he didn’t want to perform a rescue swim in icy water. Hypothermia worried him more than drowning. Youssef broke out of Alex’s grip. The ledge appeared up ahead. The other side angled down at 45 degrees—a ten-foot waterfall. Alex grabbed a handful of Youssef’s shirt and jerked him down to the deck just as they edged over the top of the waterfall and began to drop. When they hit bottom, the front of the boat folded upward. Still holding Youssef by the shirt with one hand, Alex landed with such force that his other hand lost its grip on the boat, but he clung to the boat with his legs. When the water calmed, Alex was happy that he and Youssef hadn’t taken a swim.
They reached their rendezvous point and paddled out of the river’s main current and landed onshore. After exiting the boat, Alex and the others pulled it farther inland, where Cat and Brutus were there to greet them. Brutus’s two drivers each sat behind the wheel of an idling vehicle.
“Youssef!” Brutus hugged Youssef and kissed him on the left cheek, right cheek, then left—a common Lebanese greeting between friends and family.
Youssef cried tears of joy.
Brutus kissed Alex: left cheek, right, left.
Alex didn’t think he’d be happy to be kissed by a man, but he was. “I’m sorry I can’t stay, but we’ve got a medical emergency.”
Alex needed Cat to translate for him, but she stood staring at Pancho and Leila.
“Cat, I need you to translate for me.”
She remained in a daze.
He put his hand on her shoulder. “Tell Brutus that we have a medical emergency and need to go.”
Cat translated, her voice trembling.
Brutus helped the Outcasts load Pancho and Leila into their van. Alex gave a hurried wave before sitting in the passenger seat. Cat peeled out, then sped along small roads before she reached the main road.
As she barreled along the highway, Alex radioed JSOC and told them about Pancho’s and Leila’s critical conditions. Alex requested a helo medevac but was told to follow the original extraction plan and that two surgeons on the Kearsarge would be standing by with their staff and operating rooms prepped.
Cat raced through Tripoli. Alex noticed a tear in her eye. Even though Pancho and Leila meant more to Alex than most people, his eyes were dry. Maybe I do need to learn how to love. Maybe I do live in a lonely little dysfunctional world. But in situations where most people would’ve shit themselves, I kept my cool. I made the impossible become possible. And because of that, Pancho and Leila are going to survive.
The average time to drive from Tripoli south forty-four klicks to Byblos was about fifty minutes, but Cat reached Byblos in twenty-five. Near the end of the trip, they passed through the town of Amsheet, where Alex, Pancho, John, and Cat had cheated death before. We’ll cheat death again.
On the Lebanese amphibious base, Alex linked up with the Lebanese marine commandos. Even though the commandos knew it was a training exercise, they treated the situation as if it were real. They loaded up their boats with the Outcasts and Hassan and took them to the USS Kearsarge.
Both Pancho’s and Leila’s eyes were closed. Alex tried to wake them up, but neither responded.
“We need to go faster!” Alex told the coxswain. Cat translated.
“Yes, sir,” the coxswain replied.
But the boat didn’t go any faster—it was going as fast as it could. The five-minute ride to the ship felt like five hours. On board the Kearsarge, only a select number of people knew that the medical emergency was real and were told to keep it a secret.
Pancho and Leila were immediately whisked off to the operating room, and Hassan was ushered off for a medical check. Alex, John, and Cat waited outside the operating room. “This will probably take a while,” a Navy commander said. “Is there anything I can do for you?”
“Some water would be nice,” Alex replied.
“Will do.”
An hour later, the first surgeon came out. “Pancho is a tough one. He’s still in rough condition, but he’s better off than he was, and now his situation is stable.”
Alex, John, and Cat smiled.
“He needs some rest now. I recommend you three get cleaned up, grab some chow, and then get some rest, too,” the surgeon said.
“We’re waiting for Leila,” Alex said.
“Sure,” the surgeon said with a poker face that left Alex with less hope than the little he’d had before.
Minutes later, the second surgeon came out. “We did everything we could. I’m sorry. Leila is brain-dead. I don’t know how she survived as long as she did.”
Pain strained John’s face, and tears filled Cat’s eyes.
Alex remembered being in the hospital with his sister Sarah. Now the world’s colors faded and everything was turning white again. Even though his strength faded, he knew what he needed to do. “I need to see her,” Alex said.
The surgeon nodded. He escorted Alex to her room, then left him alone with her.
“I’ll always remember you, Leila. Mamnoon.” He put his hand on hers and kissed her on the lips. He knew what he needed to say, and he didn’t hesitate. “Goodbye, Leila. It’s okay to say goodbye.”
Minutes later, her EKG went flat. Alex walked out of her room and returned to John and Cat. “She’s gone,” Alex said.
Cat cried.
John pulled Alex aside.
Alex didn’t want to talk to him. Alex didn’t want to talk to anyone. He just wanted to be alone.
“In the Hummer, Leila told you something,” John said. “What did she say?”
Alex looked into John’s eyes and saw so much hurt. Maybe it was just a reflection of Alex’s hurt. He wanted John to feel better, so Alex said what he thought John wanted to hear. “John.”
“The last thing she said was my name?”
Alex nodded, then walked away. He walked down the narrow passages, not knowing where he was headed until he found himself at the forward hold. The steel door was unlocked, so Alex opened it and walked in. Rope, shrouds, turnbuckles, and other gear for deck operations and cargo transfers were stored inside. He closed the door and sat on a pile of rope in the dark. Alex felt lightheaded, as if he were going to pass out. He tried to keep a stiff upper lip, but his lips quivered. Tears ran down his face and they wouldn’t stop. He tried to stop them, but he couldn’t. His body shook and his throat ached like it was going to sob, but no sound came out. The tears continued to pour.
THE USS KEARSARGE SAILED a little over two days, until it arrived at the Naval Air Station Sigonella in Sicily. Alex, Pancho, John, Cat, and Hassan rode a helo to the air station. “I wish I was going with you all,” Pancho said.
“I do, too,” Alex said.
They exited the helo to find two pretty female hospital corpsmen with a stretcher. Pancho lay down on the stretcher. “Aah, Sicily,” he said with a peaceful smile.
Alex and Cat smiled, too. John just shook his head.
A gray van was parked nearby with the words U.S. NAVY written on the side. The doors opened and a commander stepped out with Dr. Sheema Khamenei. Hassan rushed toward his wife, tripped on his own feet, and fell. Dr. Khamenei ran to assist him. Hassan picked himself up before his wife reached him. Between hugs and kisses, they babbled in Farsi, but Alex didn’t need to understand Farsi to know they were happy. Alex was glad that Leila’s sacrifice hadn’t been in vain. He walked over to greet Dr. Khamenei, but she was still busy with her husband, so he waited patiently. As Alex watched, he felt a calmness come over him, and he wanted what they had. He looked at Cat, but she was too focused on them to notice Alex looking at her. Maybe Cat is thinking the same thing.
Dr. Khamenei turned and spoke to Alex in English. “Thank you so much. The MBD21 lab is in the jungle ten kilometers west of La Paragua, Venezuela. . . .”