The Scout

Chapter - 6

The Scout
Chapter 6 / 'Balls & Arrows'
By; mike hurley

Ty woke up at 2:00 to a fierce windstorm, the tent was fluttering and whipping with 50 mph gusts. He decided to check the tent stakes & other hardware, but realized Amy was almost laying on top of him. Her head was nestled into his neck, her hand on his other shoulder and with the faint moonlight, he saw the bulge of one of her breasts, nestled down into his abs. He had no idea how to get up without disturbing her or accidentally touch her in a female place. The side of their tent was warm, Ty saw the outline of Phantom. The big wolf feared little, but greatly disliked strong winds.

Ty watched Amy sleep, he knew what it was like to be cold for weeks, she slept so peacefully. He was getting to know her, but more importantly, he was allowing his heart to fall in love with her. Ty had always been happy & friendly. But since the fires & losing Jennifer he had become much more guarded. He was opening his heart to Amy & he hoped she was sincere. Every perception tool his mind used said she was. Ty hoped this was real and not a dream. He needed someone like Amy. He liked how strong and resilient she was, yet so gentle and loving with him. It was how he always pictured the perfect woman. Ty hoped he was being everything Amy needed in a man, he knew he became withdrawn sometimes. It was a part of his personality he had always struggled with. Ty looked at Amys face; she was so incredibly pretty. He reached for his sweatshirt and laid it over her bare shoulders.  She stirred and mumbled his name.  Ty was taken aback; even in her sleep Amy thought of him......

He remembered when Colonel Phelps handed him Amy's photo. The Colonel was becoming a 2nd father to Ty. He had asked Ty why he didn't date more and find a nice girl at the base. The pesky matchmaker crew constantly scoured the base for single men and women to stick together.

Some would say the Colonel was old fashioned, but he looked after all the men & women under his command. Ty smiled and wondered if the Colonel knew this was the girl for him.

For some strange reason Colonel Phelps climbed into the Blackhawk @ 12:17 am and shook hands and wished everyone Godspeed.  Ty was one of 6 Scouts parachuting in the dark near Rebel Camps to extract women and occasionally children that had been captured. Amy hadn't been captured yet but an elderly woman from a friendly camp Amy spent a few days in had called the Base and alerted them to her route. Edna Ferguson was her name. She had met Amy & told Corporal Matt Endoyr at the communications desk that she spoke with angels and had been told Amy was in danger. She was going to be captured in Wyoming near Rebel camp 344. The Corporal asked the woman where 344 was. She got a little snappy and asked why he was asking her?? 'You're the military man, that's your job to know these things. Wyoming & camp 344 is all the angel told me'. He smiled and wished the old lady a good day, then tossed the call contact sheet in the trash. After lunch he pulled it out and looked at the Intel map on the back wall. There was a camp 344 in a very remote part of Wyoming. He returned to his desk and finished filling out the form. He thought of his mother. She was killed in the fires near Edmonton, she was a religious person and believed in angels. Quite often she drove Matt crazy with her angel stories. He opened his drawer and looked at his mums photo. She always had a beautiful smile; he missed her.

In the contact reliability column he wrote 'doubtful, & seemed a little senile & crazy, but I have a feeling about this girl, please investigate further'.  He put it in the research tray for a clerk to enter Amy's info in the computer system & search drivers license records for a photo. Before he closed his drawer he looked at his mums photo again & whispered; ok, I'm doing this one for you mom!!

The Intel group built a file & investigated. Dropping a Scout into a remote area was costly. The Corporals 'success of rescue' rate was 92%, the highest at the base. He had a knack at telling which calls were reliable.