Roe nodded sharply. “Good. Prep him for transport.”
Shannon’s eyes were bloodshot, face pale, voice frayed with exhaustion, but she was razor-focused.
“You’re riding with him?” Roe asked.
“Yes,” she said instantly.
Ford lifted a brow. “Your CO?”
“Lawson will sign off,” Shannon said. “Or she’ll have to sedate me to stop me.”
Roe gave the smallest approving nod. “She’s not wrong.”
A small jet hit the tarmac. Dust plumed in the early morning wind as the armored SUV rolled to a stop. Mike and Ian stepped out, both in tactical pants and polos, both dead on their feet from sleepless travel but moving with purpose.
Shannon was already outside the tent before they reached it. Mike wrapped her into his chest, one hand at the back of her head. “You holding up, baby girl?”
She swallowed hard. “He’s still here.”
“That’s because you kept him here,” her dad whispered.
Ian stepped inside the tent and scanned Dante’s condition, then he turned to Roe. “What do you need from us?”
Roe didn’t waste breath. “Type-specific blood and dialysis waiting, but what we really need is that big jet inbound to Germany with full renal and infectious disease support.”
Ian already had his phone out. “Handled. Hunt Montgomery is prepping a trauma bay at Landstuhl. Mack Browning is en route from Berlin via New Orleans. You’ll have anything you need when you land.”
Roe exhaled with relief he didn’t show often. “Good. Then we make this flight count.”
The sand blasted through the camp, tearing dust across the area as the big C130 hit the runway. Medics rushed forward withthe reinforced litter. Roe supervised Dante being transferred, checking every tube, every clamp, every stitch.
Shannon moved to Dante’s side, hand gripping his shoulder firmly enough to steady both of them. “Dante,” she leaned close, “you’re getting closer to home. Hear me? You’re heading home.”
His eyelids fluttered a trace.
Roe looked up sharply. “He can hear you. Keep talking.”
The crew carried him into the bird with controlled urgency. Lines vibrated. A monitor screeched until a medic silenced it.
Ford approached Shannon as she climbed in. “Try to sleep. It’s a long flight, and the plane has a full staff.”
Shannon strapped in beside Dante as they lifted into the thin desert dawn. Roe sat across from her, knees braced and hands in sterile gloves as he adjusted the vent rate. Ford sat a row down.
The monitor beeped erratically. His blood pressure was falling. The aircrew was already responding.
Shannon leaned forward. “Roe?”
“Stay calm. He’s compensating… but he’s losing volume again.”
A medic hung a fresh unit of O-neg. Roe nodded.
The plane jolted in turbulence. Shannon grabbed the rail with one hand, Dante’s arm with the other. “Stay with me!” she shouted over the engines.
He didn’t respond. But his blood pressure ticked up, one point, then another.
Roe nodded. “Good. Good. That’s it.” Another medic hung more antibiotics.
Shannon’s breath came back. She didn’t let go of him again, not for the rest of the flight.
