Lean on Me Read Free

only. Why?”
    “ We’re the Fey team,” the
team called.
    “ Exactly,” Matthew said.
“We should be able to communicate with each other via our old style
walkie-talkies. Test yours before you’re in the air. Zack and Cliff
will act as our connection to base via our feed.”
    “ Get ready,” Joseph said.
“Check your partner.”
    In quick, practiced motions, they strapped
into parachutes. Each partner checked the other for body armor,
loaded weapons, and parachutes.
    They wore thick black
parkas with “FEY” stenciled on the back in white. Under “FEY” was
the Vivaldi “F” that served as the “Fey” team mark and
“ جنية ” (Jinniyah) Arabic for fairy. Their last names and service were
printed in white on the left front with another “FEY” on the right
front. The jackets were designed by Helene’s fashion designer
mother, Claire Martins. They had gorgeous details and were tailored
to fit each of them.
    Under their black helmets,
they each wore individualized scarves of white and a color by which
they could be identified in the field. Alex’s color matched the
bright blue of the blue fairy tattoo under her left bicep. Their
eyes were shielded by dark Ray-Ban sunglasses. Alex gave them each a Snickers bar as a gift from her boss,
Captain Gordon, to ensure a successful mission. He’d sent a case
with them for good luck.
    Zack slipped the helicopter behind the
mountains.
    “ Sir?” Alex’s assistant,
Sergeant Dusty appeared on her laptop. “You’re expecting a priority
phone call.”
    “ I’m about to jump,” Alex
said.
    “ Remember we practiced with
the wireless headset?” Sergeant Dusty asked. “The satellite phone
and wireless headset are in the middle pocket of your
backpack.”
    Alex dug around in her backpack until she
found them. She stuck the phone in her back pocket and the wireless
headset in her ear.
    “ Got it,” Alex
said.
    “ Let’s test it,” Sergeant
Dusty said.
    “ Go!” Joseph
yelled.
    Alex looked up to see MJ, followed by
Margaret, jump from the helicopter. The wireless headset rang and
she tried to switch it on but she hit her helmet.
    “ Answer, sir,” Sergeant
Dusty said. “Remember we set it up so you could say…”
    “ Answer,” Alex said and the
phone clicked through.
    “ Good job,” Sergeant Dusty
said into her ear.
    “ Go!” Joseph yelled. Trece
and White Boy jumped from the helicopter.
    “ Got to go,” Alex
said.
    “ Yes, go save the
President,” Sergeant Dusty laughed and clicked off.
    “ Go!” Joseph
yelled.
    Raz jumped from the helicopter and Alex
followed. Raz had learned to jump from a helicopter in the last six
months. She followed closely to make sure he didn’t get caught up
in the helicopters draft. He jumped like a pro. They heard the Pave
Hawk take off toward the other side of the ridge.
    Alex’s wireless headset rang.
    “ Answer,” Alex
said.
    “ Alex!” Helene’s voice came
through the phone’s wireless headset. “I’ve been trying you all
day!”
    “ Hey, I’m in the air,” Alex
said. “Can I call you back?”
    “ Where are you flying
to?”
    “ I’m parachuting into
Pakistan,” Alex said.
    “ Oh.” Helene’s voice
lowered with embarrassment. “Sorry.”
    “ It’s okay, honey,” Alex
said.
    “ You told me to call if I
didn’t hear from him.” Hurrying, Helene’s voice came in a flurry of
Parisian French. “He hasn’t called. Alex, that’s just weird. He
always calls me. He hasn’t missed a call in almost two years. He
was going to go out for a week and… now nothing. You told me to
tell you.”
    “ Thanks. I’ll see if I can
find him,” Alex smiled at Helene’s worry for Alex’s ex-intern,
Helene’s boyfriend Sergeant Larry Flagg. “I’ll call
tonight.”
    “ Au
revoir ,” Helene clicked off the
phone.
    Shaking her head at Helene, Alex pulled her
chute and began a slow, controlled decent to the ridge in Pakistan.
Her phone rang just as she landed. She grabbed her parachute