Home of the Brave

By Mary Doucet

Home of the Brave is a compilation of short stories by Mary Doucet. Included in Home of the Brave is He Said Drive!, When in Rome, and Black Ops.

He Said Drive!: Gemma, a mother of two, was climbing into her SUV after working the night shift. She is jolted into reality when four men jump into her SUV and demand she drive at gun point. The story continues with a harrowing tale of betrayal and heroism. Will she make it to safety?

When in Rome: Rachel is a newly divorced mother of three grown children, and after her husband left her, she decided to take the Italian vacation she always wanted. She met a fantastic man, Bain. She was having a lot of fun getting to know him, but he is keeping a secret, a secret that could get them both killed.

Black Ops: Rita is a high school senior with a bright future ahead of her. She is suddenly thrust into a world she was not a part of. Her father, a Marine, was killed-in-action, while assisting the CIA, worlds away. Now these same people are hunting her down, for unknown reasons. Can she discover the truth in time?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Mary Doucet
• Release date: Apr 26, 2013
• ISBN: 9781301677856

Book preview

Home of the Brave

by Mary Doucet

Published by Mary Doucet

Copyright 2013 Mary Doucet

Smashwords Edition

Cover photo taken by Mary Doucet

Copyright 2012 Mary Doucet

Smashwords Edition, License Notes

This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

Table of Contents

He Said Drive

When In Rome

Black Ops

~He Said Drive!~

Gemma walked to her vehicle, which was parked on the street. Still dressed in scrubs, she was to hoping to unwind from a long night at work. She climbed into her dark colored SUV with her fresh gourmet coffee in hand, an indulgence she rarely obtained. She thought about the day ahead as she sipped her coffee. The kids were at summer camp for the next three weeks and her shift was over for a few days. Her night shift at the hospital was busy, but not a killer.

After taking a sip of coffee, she placed the cup in the holder next to her. She put her keys in the ignition ready to head home for some rest.

She was suddenly alarmed as a loud thud echoed from her rear passenger side fender. The backdoor of her SUV flew open. Two large men in suits shoved a third man in. A fourth man climbed in the front passenger seat. Guns in hand the men stared at her, all of them seeming confused.

One of the men in the back seat put his gun in her face. Drive! He told her gruffly.

Who- She attempted to question.

He said drive! The man in the front seat yelled at her as he brought his gun to her head.

She fired up the engine as shots rang out. Bullets hit the right front fender with a thunk.

Hold on! Yelling, she threw the vehicle in reverse. One of the men in the back seat threw himself over the man next to him. The third man in the back seat broke a side window and began shooting at the assailants. He hit two of them as they began to scatter for cover.

Gemma sped down the street backwards, bumping a few cars. She knew she was coming to an open area and wanted to turn the vehicle around. Hold on I’m going to turn around! She screamed over the gunfire. They all grabbed on to something just as the vehicle began to spin. She slammed on the breaks and turned the steering wheel putting the SUV into a spin. She very carefully and methodically shifted the car into drive as she released the breaks. She continued driving, now forward. She looked in her side mirror as a vehicle approached quickly.

She glanced in the rearview mirror to see what the others were doing when she caught a glimpse of one of the men. She stared in the mirror not believing who she was seeing.

That’s right, the man in the front seat told her as she continued to dodge cars on her mission to get to the interstate, It’s the vice president. She now knew the men who demanded she drive, at gun point, were secret service trying to protect the Vice President.

She was now terrified while the adrenalin continued to surge through her veins.

She glanced again in her side mirror as the vehicle shortened the distance between them. She looked to see a nondescript black van approaching quickly behind her. A man sat in the window of the van and quickly pulled out a rifle taking aim. She kept her mind on driving as bullets began to riddle her car. She suddenly and inexplicably turned right down an ally.

Where are you going? The man in the front questioned her.

I’m trying to lose them, She stated as she evaded the dumpsters at eighty miles per hour. She glanced in the side mirror to see the man in the van pull out what looked like some kind of rocket launcher. Is that a rocket launcher? She screamed at the man in the front seat.

He turned in his seat to look through the back window. Yes!

Hold on! She yelled as loud as she could. She looked to see a large cloud of smoke billowing out of the rocket launcher. She stood on her breaks as she came sliding sideways on to the road at the end of the alley. She began to accelerate as she entered the slide moving quickly out of the intersection. The rocket was right behind exploding as it hit an empty store front. She immediately continued down another alley and then a secondary service alley. She continued to glance behind her looking for any sign of the van. She turned down another alley headed toward the interstate.

I think you lost them, the man all the way in the back shouted over the wind as he climbed forward.

Keep looking, she yelled back, I’m not counting on anything until I get to where I’m going.

Where are you going? The man in the front seat questioned her.

Somewhere far away from here, She informed him as she calmly reentered a road. She entered the interstate heading south.

Drive in the direction of Evansville, The man next to the vice president ordered her.

Where are we going? She glanced at him in the rearview mirror.

There’s a truck stop on the way there, he said as the adjusted himself in the seat. We will call the office from there.

She continued driving down the interstate until someone told her to exit.

She pulled around to the back of the small truck stop to a place where no one would see her vehicle.

One of the men left her SUV and headed to the small store. She opened her door and stepped out trying to evaluate the situation.

What are you doing? The man from the front seat questioned her as he stepped out.

Trying to understand what happened, she confessed. How did y’all end up in my car?

You were parked where our back-up vehicle should have been, The man explained.

She looked over at him, Great.

Who are you? He asked her as he walked around the front end.

I’m a night nurse at the hospital, She explained as she looked him over.

Where in the hell did you learn to drive like that? He continued his questioning. She spotted a large area of blood on the back of his left arm.

I wasn’t always the night nurse, She walked over and removed his suit coat. Take your shirt off, She ordered him. He did as she told him. She inspected the wound and made her evaluation, It looks like a bullet wound, but I don’t think it’s serious. She continued her examination noting no exit wound. It hit you at low velocity and it’s still lodged in your arm.

It doesn’t hurt, the man stated.

You won’t feel it for quite a while, she informed him as she walked back to the car. Right now, you have a little blood in your adrenaline stream. She opened the back door and reached under the backseat.

What are you getting? The man in the backseat questioned her as he drew his gun.

The first aid kit, She looked at him stone faced. He dropped the muzzle of his gun and holstered his weapon.

She pulled the first aid kit out and brought it around to the front of the SUV placing it on the hood.

She tended the man’s wound to the best of her ability. You will need to have the bullet removed, She looked up at him, and make sure you get a tetanus shot.

The man nodded as he put his shirt back on. She handed him his suit coat and walked back to the vehicle. She opened the back door again.

Mr. Vice President, I need to check you for injuries, She informed him, Can you step out of the vehicle?

He stepped out and she could only locate a few scratches she surmised from flying glass. You’re fine you can get back in, but make sure you get a tetanus shot just as a precaution, she advised him, and he nodded climbing back in the vehicle.

She walked around to the other side of the SUV and opened the door. The secret service officer looked at her. Step out, she ordered him.

I’m fine I don’t feel injured, He told her not leaving the vehicle.

You have so much adrenalin in your blood four future generations of your family tree won’t feel pain, She looked at him, Now get out of the car. There was no debating it as far as she was concerned.

He stepped out and removed his sports coat. She noted an area of blood soaked clothing near his hip.

Turn around, she ordered him as she continued her examination, Loosen your belt.

She continued examining his wound. He had an exit wound, and the fact that it stopped bleeding and he wasn’t dead she determined it was not serious. He also had several cuts from the flying glass.

You need to have an x-ray done to make sure there are no fragments left in your hip, She informed him, It’s in and out and it doesn’t look serious, but the exit wound is large. You will need stitches, a tetanus shot, and antibiotics before an infection sets in.

He put his clothing back on.

I need to know your names, she told the two men as she placed all her items back in the first aid kit.

She turned to the first man, the man who sat in the passenger seat, Hunter.

She looked at the next man, the one who covered the Vice President, Justin.

That’s better than ‘hey you’.

The third man walked up to the crew. He called the other two agents over and the three began discussing what was going on, as he put the phone to his ear.

She climbed back into the SUV and turned on the radio. She began to listen to the news and failed to hear anything about what happened.

She turned to the VP, What is going on?

What do you mean?

Why isn’t this plastered all over the news?

And create national panic?

The president is safe I’m assuming?

As far as I know, he informed her.

Bullets began to ring out as she quickly spun around to see the three scrambling to the vehicle.

She threw it in reverse again and turned to cut through an empty lot to head straight on to the interstate.

The ground is soft, Hunter told her. She reached over and hit the button for four wheel drive. That helps, he said as she entered the interstate. She continued driving glancing in the mirror to see another van pull out on to the highway with a truck and car following.

How did they find us? She questioned Hunter.

He leaned out the window and began firing on the vehicles. They began swerving to avoid the bullets.

She reached under her seat and grabbed her gun. She took it out of the holster and turned the safety off. She saw as the car sped up on the side of them. She took aim at the tires and fired. She hit it, she saw bits of rubber fly, but the tire didn’t deflate. They have silicone in the tires! She yelled to the group. She then aimed at the grill of the car. She put three slugs in the radiator. It would only take minutes at that speed for the car to overheat and eventually lock the engine. She saw the steam spewing and soon came the smoke and the car dropped out with the van and the truck right behind them.

She placed her gun under her leg to keep it in place and refocused on her driving. She observed the truck approaching fast. It was coming up on her right, taking the shoulder. She looked up and noted a bridge coming up, sooner rather than later due to her speed. She could hear her heart racing over the wind and gun shots, and quickly planned her attack on the truck.

She waited having to time the assault perfectly. She knew the driver of the truck didn’t notice the bridge. The bridge was flat to the road and not very obvious. She swerved as they came to the edge of the road just prior to the bridge. She watched her mirrors as the truck caught the edge of the guard rail and flipped. It sent a splash into the air as it slid sideways into the creek.

The van was the only vehicle left. She was hoping the men could take care of this one. She watched as the man in the back, the only one whose name she didn’t know yet, leaned out of the passenger side rear side window. He fired at the van striking the tires.

Hold on! she screamed to the crowd. She watched as they all grabbed on to something to stabilize themselves. She jammed on her breaks and watched as the van went flying past them. She immediately started to accelerate. Hunter turned and grinned at her, soon returning to the attack on the van. One of the tires disintegrated. It may have had silicone, but the tire can only take so much.

She then looked over to see an exit ramp coming up on a small farming community she knew fairly well. She grew up in northern Kentucky; therefore, southern Indiana was very familiar to her.

She ducked off to the exit ramp before the driver of the van could react.

We can hide in the woods and wait for them, she told Hunter.

You know this area? He questioned her.

I grew up about thirty miles from here, She said as she turned down a side road.

She made her way around the horseshoe road and waited to see if the van was able to follow. The four wheel drive still engaged it provided her with an advantage, however small it may be.

They sat back from the main road for a long while.

They may not have seen where we went, Hunter whispered to her.

I’m hoping, but I wouldn’t count on it, she whispered back.

They waited another thirty minutes, still not seeing any sign of the van. They were about to leave their hiding spot, convinced they had evaded their pursuers. The van then passed, creeping along the dirt road in the mid afternoon light.

Just wait, Hunter whispered.

I know, but we need to lure them out, She whispered back, we need to make sure they can’t follow us.

They all sat silently, the two in the front seat trying to form a plan.

Let’s go out now, Hunter told her, draw as much attention as you can. He looked over at her, If you know these roads as good as I think you do you can get the vehicle disabled.

She put the SUV in drive, turned on the lights and peeled out letting gravel fly everywhere.

The van awkwardly turned around and began the pursuit again.

Gemma took turn after turn knowing exactly where she wanted to take them. She fish tailed through most of the corners throwing dirt and dust up over the underbrush and in the air. She sped up knowing she was coming to her turn off. She came to an old bridge ducking down a small path to the right of the bridge and immediately slammed on her breaks. She threw the vehicle in park killing her lights and waited. The outside of the SUV was covered by the brush.

The van, in close pursuit, went full throttle up the embankment of the bridge. What the driver of the van didn’t realize is the bridge had been out for at least the last 20 years. They all watched as the van went careening into the river. The occupants scrambled to get to the roof of the van or the bank. She put her SUV in reverse and left the area. She decided to stick to the back roads and the decreased visibility. She soon stopped on the top of a one lane bridge about five miles down the road.

Gentlemen, she turned to all of them, Those people found us. We need to dispose of our cell phones and anything else they can use to track us. She pulled out her cell phone and removed the card placing it in her pocket. She stepped out of the car and threw the phone in the river. The three secret service men did the same thing.

Mr. Vice President? She questioned him.

I don’t have any need for a cell phone, He informed her.

Do you have any type of device that receives the internet? She asked him in return.

He reached in his coat pocket and pulled out a data assistant. She removed the memory and threw the device in the river.

Is that it? She questioned all of the men.

No one said anything and she returned to the driver’s seat heading to the place she knew best.

She didn’t feel safe until she entered Kentucky. Getting her car repaired was her first priority.

She pulled up to an old farm house feeling like she