Rylee was frightened by the rifles. The men could shoot them all dead, take all the supplies they had on hand, and escape across the border.
“The supply train is getting there mid-morning on Tuesday,” Mandy said.
“Tuesday, that’s farther out than I’d hoped.” This was performative, and Mandy would recognize that and play along.
“I’m really sorry. The whole region is impacted. Supplies are flooding in, but transportation routes are limited. Bridges, tracks, and roads aren’t passable. The good news is that they expect the track to be cleared by Tuesday morning, and we have our supplies on that first scheduled train. I had calculated for a large population.” Mandy was stellar with her explanations. “We can share supplies, and if necessary, I can arrange for a second delivery. But, sir, so you understand, we are not authorized to cross the border into Syria. And even if we were allowed, it could only be at an official crossing area. Reports from your area indicate the border is very difficult to navigate right now. The chances of our getting the items to you would be very small. I’m not encouraging you to break any laws. But any collection will have to happen on the Turkish side of the border. Can you do that?”
“We will do that,” the leader said once he read the translation.
“Tuesday around noon,” she said again. “When the train gets there, you will need to give our people a bit of time to sort your supplies out. But I am putting together a rescue package for one hundred people. You said one hundred?”
“One hundred. Tuesday.”
“Thanks, Mandy. I’ll report in later.” And Rylee closed the lid on her laptop, tucked it into her pack, stood, and, with hand on heart, she bowed. “I must get to my tasks. I will see you onTuesday in the afternoon.” Then she extended her hand toward the trucks, indicating it was time for him to go.
Rylee thought that had gone about as smoothly as possible. She stood in the doorway with the air traffic controller, watching as their cloud of dust faded.
He was sweating and shaking when he looked at Rylee and nodded. “Good. Good,” he said in English, and Rylee didn’t know what to make of that. It might be the only English word he knew.
As Rylee retreated to the main supply tent, she saw that George was back, rallying the team, giving them instructions, and handing out maps.
It was time for Rylee to be sentry.
She wasn’t sure how she felt about being the only one in their camp.
But there she was. And there she’d be.
With a vague lift of her hand, so George knew where she was, Rylee went into the supply tent to call Neesa back.
“It’s six in the morning, your time. Have you had coffee?” Rylee asked.
“Girlfriend, I have a new IV set up with a timer, so an hour before I need to open my eyes, it drips directly into my soul. Actually, Jasper’s here. Not here, here. He’s in the shower. “
Rylee smiled. “Good for you.”
“Yup, very good for me. You doing okay?”
Rylee told her about the encounter with the Syrian and how she had a good case of traumatic response when she saw the pickups approaching with the armed men in the back. “It quite literally set my nerves on fire.”
“Tell me what that means,” Neesa said. “Your symptoms are worse?”
“Yeah, if I had a dial, I’d say the buzzing is usually about a two. But right now it’s a five, maybe six.”
“Practically, what does that mean?”
“The buzzing is as high as my knees. My feet feel a little numb. Not that it’s breaking my stride. It’s just worse.”
“You should leave.”
“Okay. I’ll jump on the next mule that walks by and trot on out. This is a disaster zone, Neesa.” She took a breath. “That was rude. Yes, I know what you’re going to say. You asked if I could handle it, and frankly, that was at the beginning of last week. Look at all the shocks I’ve taken to my system. And these men that I spoke with, their loved ones are under rubble. Of course, they’re desperate. The thing that set me off was a war memory, nothing that they did.”
“Where are Tank and Dakota?”
“I don’t know, but they’re sleeping in the supply tent with me. I always feel calm when Dakota’s around.” Rylee focused on the stacks of MREs in the corner. “It feels wrong that I’m here with the boxes and nothing to do. I’m here to observe the responders, not sit in a tent.”
“Okay,” Neesa said, “but by sitting in the tent, you can see if anyone is sniffing around for the wads of cash in their absence.”
“Frankly, the money seems stupid when I’m here amongst life-threatening situations.”
