“I saw while scrolling that Madoc means fortunate or blessed, and I was very happy for you.”
“I am both a fortunate man and very blessed. And hopefully you will be, too.”
“How is that?” Rylee asked.
“I had someone drop out of our study on Friday, and I’ve entered your name. You should aim to be in London by Wednesday night to acclimate to the time zone.”
The dead air was thick between them.
“Rylee?”
“I’m here. I’m lost.”
“Your doctors from Browning Neurological Group sent your diagnosis and medical files to us. Your profile fits exactly into the parameters of this study. I’m glad I had my computer set up to flag your name so it wouldn’t get missed or shuffled into the pack. You popped right up.”
“Hold on a second,” Rylee’s throat squeezed tightly, barely allowing sound to form. She looked at her recent incoming calls from an unknown number that came through on Friday, when she’d left her phone with Neesa and Hailey so she could rub her thighs on the Iniquus field.
She had to lean forward and pant to find a breath.
Not cancer. Not dying. Just slowly degenerating.
“I have MS, then,” she whispered with the phone back to her ear.
“Wow,” John said. “I’m mystified how I’d get this diagnosis first. Am I the one breaking the news? I’m so sorry, Rylee. Truly. But, of course, you’re not surprised.”
“Good to hear it from you, John. Glad to know. If I were going to pick someone to tell me the news, it would be you. And so, yes. Yes, absolutely, I’ll be where you need me to be when you need me to be there. Right now, I’m in Amsterdam, we’re getting refueled to head to Turkey.”
“Business? This would be an unfortunate time for a vacation there. The news out of the area is devastating.”
“I’m with one of the WorldCares teams responding to the earthquake. But I’ll go and do a few days' work, get on a plane and head your way.”
“Not last minute, though, okay, Rylee?” John’s voice was stern. “This is going to sap your energy. I want you here two nights before you do this, so the jet lag isn’t so rough and so you don’t have flight issues and miss this window.”
“I can do all that. Thank you.”
Rylee sent a second text:Neesa, I heard from John Madoc. Apparently, I missed the diagnosis call. It’s MS. I need to be in London by Wednesday night to get the prick on Friday. I’ll let you know if I need help arranging my exfil. I didn’t ask any questions and don’t have any answers besides that my guinea pig day is set for Friday. No idea if there’s a recovery time. After all the effort to get to this, I’m still in shock.
Rylee decided to loop Hailey in. If Iniquus was flying out before Wednesday, she’d like to catch a ride to a European hub.
“Rylee, I’m so sorry you’re going through this.” Hailey’s voice was pure sympathetic support. “I had no idea. Listen, I’ll do everything I can from my end. We’ll get you where you need to be in time.”
“I’m not stepping on your op here. I can have my team figure it out. I just wanted to be on your radar.” Yeah, the compassion in Hailey’s voice dug into the squishy, tender part of Rylee’s psyche. She was awash in emotions, and that was no way to deploy.
She needed to get squared away, or she’d be a deficit to her crew.
“I’m sending you all the best wishes.”
“Thank you. I think I see …” Dakota and Tank must be the extra passenger they were expecting on the plane. “Yes, Dakota’s heading this way.” Rylee was glad to leave theconversation and step away from the sympathy Haley showered on her. “He’s huge compared to the other passengers.”
“Good trip. Keep me in the loop.”
“Will do. Bye.” Rylee raised her hand and waved toward Dakota.
A sense of relief washed over her. And her only thought washe’s here.
***
With bags of snacks for the trip, Rylee and Dakota headed out the door onto the tarmac with Tank between them.
