Under a Siena Sun (Escape to Tuscany #1) - T.A. Williams Page 0,1
her shoulder, took one final look at what had been her home and place of work for two years now, and followed. As she ran across the courtyard she felt terribly vulnerable but nobody fired at her. She almost bumped into the side of the helicopter, her eyes and her throat filled with dust. Strong arms caught hold of her and pulled her in. The Indian peacekeeper in the blue helmet bent over and put his mouth close to her ear.
‘Hello, Doctor Young. Are you the last?’
Lucy saw Nicole and Geneviève already in there and nodded. ‘Yes, I’m the last. There’s nobody left there now.’ The remaining local staff and patients had disappeared into the forest several hours previously. Lucy had hugged each and every one of them and wished them well before they left. Miriam, the clinic manager, who had become her closest friend, had opted to go with the group in the hope of helping them. When Lucy had offered to go too, she had been told firmly to wait for the helicopter with the two French nurses. Miriam and the others knew only too well that three foreign women would stick out a mile in the bush – and would make valuable hostages… if they were lucky. If not, their fate would have been too terrible to contemplate. Repressing a shiver, Lucy once more spared them all a compassionate thought and hoped they would be able to stay hidden, and survive.
The dust cloud swirled in through the door and as she erupted into a fit of coughing, she heard the soldier shout something and return to the machine gun. The engine note increased as the helicopter took off again, rising painfully slowly, or so it felt. Lucy crouched with her arms round her knees, head down, braced for incoming fire but, mercifully, none came. Hugging the treetops, the pilot speeded up and they gradually escaped the combat zone, the vegetation below them flashing past ever faster as the helicopter accelerated away.
‘Here, doctor, put this on.’
A crewman handed her a headset and she did as instructed. The earphones cut out much of the noise of the engines and she gradually allowed herself to begin to relax. Her heart was beating frantically and she was glad of the support of the utilitarian seat beneath her. She looked across and saw the other man pull the weapon back inside and slide the side door closed. This, plus the headphones, reduced the noise level to something approaching normality. Lucy roused herself.
‘Thank you so much, guys.’ She had to cough a few times before she managed to speak properly and she could feel the dust sticking to her eyelids. The microphone in front of her mouth was evidently working well as she saw both men turn towards her and smile.
‘You’re very welcome, doctor.’ The taller of the two crouched down in front of her, steadying himself as the pilot swerved to avoid something. ‘That was a close call you had back there.’
Lucy nodded. ‘Far too close for comfort.’ She surprised herself by managing a little smile. ‘I used to be scared of helicopters, but at least this little escapade has resolved that. I love helicopters now. Thanks again, guys and, captain, if you can hear me at the controls, thank you and all your colleagues for risking your lives to get us out.’
The pilot’s voice came back clearly in her headphones.
‘You’re very welcome, doctor. It’s the least we could do. You MSF medics are amazing.’
The two crewmen helped Lucy and the two nurses strap themselves in and then sat down opposite them. Lucy turned towards her two companions and did her best to sound reassuring.
‘I’m glad that’s over. How’re you doing, girls?’
Nicole answered for both of them, an unsteady smile of relief on her face. Beside her, even Geneviève was smiling now. ‘Fine… now. I was scared stiff back there. We only just got away in time, didn’t we?’
Lucy managed to smile back at them, but she was in no doubt that she would relive the past twenty-four hours in her dreams – or more probably nightmares – for a long time to come. ‘But we got away, and that’s what counts. I just hope Miriam and the others managed to get far enough away as well.’
The helicopter made another sudden change of direction and she caught hold of the side of the seat for support. Determined to do her best to keep her companions – and herself – feeling positive, she