Long Shot | 13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi

Chapter 6

Upon arriving back at the Annex, the four of us who had been out on the most recent assignment quickly shed our suit jackets in an attempt to cool down ever so slightly. Oz, who was sitting just outside the doors with a magazine in his hands, looked up when we walked over and flashed a small smile. "How'd it go?"

"He's a rock star." Rone responded as he B-lined it inside. "Everybody in Benghazi knew he'd be there."

Walking inside behind Rone, I felt a sudden burst of relief as the small fan on the counter blew a gust of cold air onto my face. Rone, who had already made a stop at the fridge, tossed me a bottle of water as we looked over to see what movie Boon and Tanto were watching. "Wait, no, no. This is it. This is it. This is Downey's line." Tanto sounded like an obsessed fangirl before both he and Boon recited the line perfectly along with the character on the screen. "'Me? I know who I am! I'm just a dude playing a dude disguised as another dude.'"

"Classic." Boon laughed as I found a seat and happily gave my legs a break for a little while. Tanto and I made slightly eye contact for a second or two, but I wasn't about to let something so stupid cause tension in the group, so I flashed him a quick smile and moved on, hoping he would do the same.

Walking over to the white board, Rone snagged the paper that was attached to it and read it aloud. "From the U.S. Department of State. 'Be advised. Reports that a Western facility; or U.S. installation may be attacked in the next week.'" Sighing, he shrugged at the letter before quickly tossing it into the shredder. "Read and destroy."

The next morning, I woke up slightly later than usual and was actually given time to sit down with the guys and have an actual breakfast. Since it was the anniversary of 9/11, we were given the day off because the Ambassador was supposed to stay inside behind closed doors all day in order to increase his safety.

Shoveling a fork full of eggs into my mouth, I half watched as the TV in the corner displayed the footage of the second plane colliding into the twin towers. No matter how many years passed or how many times I saw it, that video always struck a small nerve inside of me; and especially now, considering where I was, it was a little extra gut-wrenching.

But alas, I was determined to not let the meaning of this day ruin one of my only actual days off in weeks. After breakfast a few of the guys decided to hit our so called 'gym', but I took a pass and decided to take some down-time in my room to read for a little while. I had been trying for months to finish this one book, but now that I finally had a little bit of time I was anxious to push through the last couple of chapters and find out how it all ended.

As the day dragged on I spent a little bit of time inside, had some actual conversations with some of the guys, and even played a few rounds of poker with a few of them. Of course, we didn't really have anything to bet with though, so let's just say it ended up turning into a slight 'strip poker' sort of situation. Everything remained PG though, so all was well.

Finally, around six in the evening, when the sun had finally started to dip down behind the horizon and the air around us started to drop in temperature a little, everyone split up to video chat, call, or text with their family members and loved ones back home. I, however, felt deep down that if I contacted Calvin, we would just end up fighting again, so instead I sat around and listened to the conversations of the others and took happiness in their happiness.

Boon had gotten a text that his fifteen year old daughter had started drinking, which, despite being told by Tig that lots of people drink at fifteen, still boiled his blood a little. I overheard Jack talking to his kids about their upcoming Disneyland trip, and I even got to get a sneak peak at Rone's youngest son, who was so much cuter than I ever thought a baby could be.