hand and an arm. Coleman released the rifle, letting it hang from the sling around his neck. Taking both hands, he lifted the large piece of Formica up, revealing a dusty and pale Rapp. He chucked the large board off to the side, dropped down to one knee, and stared at Rapp's lifeless face. Coleman placed a finger on Rapp's neck to search for a pulse and then slapped him a couple times on each cheek.
Rapp gasped, his eyes shot open wide, and his left hand shot up and grabbed Coleman by the throat.
Coleman removed Rapp's hand from his throat by applying just the right amount of pressure to his wrist. "It's me, you idiot. Do you think you can stand?" The former Navy SEAL could tell by the way Rapp's eyes were darting around that he still wasn't entirely with it. He ran his hands up and down Rapp's body looking for any injuries. The thump-thump signature of the helicopters was growing louder by the second. The thought of missing their ride, or worse, getting one of the birds blown out of the sky because they weren't up on the LZ, made Coleman skip the rest of the medical assessment. He stood and grabbed Rapp by his tactical vest, yanking him to his feet. Rapp wobbled and almost fell to his left, but Coleman steadied him.
"Come on . . . this way. Our ride is waiting for us."
"What the fuck are you talking about?"
"We have a hot double date." Coleman squatted, threw Rapp's right arm around his neck, and then moved the two of them down the hallway. "Don't want to be late. Come on, we need to hustle."
"Where the hell are we?" Rapp wobbled again and his legs gave out.
Coleman struggled to keep him upright and then decided he needed to change tactics. He spun Rapp toward him, bent over, and threw Rapp over his shoulder. Coleman hefted him in a fireman's carry and started up the steps. "Damn, you're getting fat."
"Put me down, you idiot. What are you doing?"
"Saving your fat ass, dumb shit." Coleman reached the second floor and stopped at the ladder that led to the roof. The rotor wash from one of the helicopters was blowing through the opening. Coleman didn't think he could climb the ladder with Rapp over his shoulder, so he set him down.
Rapp's pupils were as big as saucers.
"Shit," Coleman muttered. He turned Rapp toward the ladder and placed his hands on the rung just above his head. "Come on, climb. Let's go."
Rapp turned his head and gave him a blank stare.
Coleman screamed at him, "We're going to die if you don't get moving. Snap out of it!" Coleman grabbed him by the waist and started pushing him up the ladder.
Rapp seemed to finally come out of his stupor, his hands grasping at the rungs above him.
"That's right," Coleman prodded him on as they made painfully slow progress. Fortunately, Maslick appeared in the hatch opening. He grabbed one of the shoulders on Rapp's vest and practically yanked him onto the roof. By the time Coleman cleared the ladder, the big former Delta Force Operator had Rapp on his feet and was dragging him toward one of the waiting Little Birds.
Coleman watched as bullets began impacting the ground around Rapp and Maslick. He snapped his M-4 up to his shoulder, flipped the selector to full automatic, and began raking the roofline across the street with fire. Coleman marched steadily forward, and when his weapon locked out he ejected the spent magazine and inserted a fresh one, charging the weapon and then releasing another volley.
Ducking under the Little Bird's rotors, Coleman kept up the suppressive fire and jumped onto the portside external bench. He looked inside the back compartment and saw Rapp and Gould in a pile on the floor. Maslick was sitting on the starboard side bench laying down suppressive fire. Coleman took his finger off the trigger and reached forward, slapping the pilot on the shoulder. Coleman gave the man the thumbs-up signal and the bird immediately lifted into the air.
They banked to the right, which gave Coleman a good vantage point to fire at the building with the men on the roof. No one, however, was getting up to shoot at the helicopter. They were either all dead or had finally taken the hint that it was a good idea to stay down. As they gained elevation and distance Coleman released his rifle and strapped himself in. That was