![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
reviews_and_ramblings
Hidden Enemies by Trish Kocialski Release Date: 07/ 2009
Publisher: P.D. Publishing
Publisher Link: http://www.pdpublishing.com/hiddenendpage.html
Amazon: Hidden Enemies
Blurb: Life is good, and Dean and Katie are enjoying it. Katie’s job at the DEA Training Center is going well, and their relationship is growing stronger each day. Dean and her colleagues at the Pentagon are trying to piece together intelligence reports that lead them to believe that something bad coming. As they try to unravel the intelligence threads at the Pentagon, Dean is unaware of another attack being directed at her until it’s too late. The enemy is everywhere and they strike a mortal blow. Hidden Enemies deals with the devastation of September 11, 2001 and the end of a career. How will it all turn out? Turn the pages and find out.
Excerpt:
Over here," came the gasping reply.
Dean turned toward the sound and felt rather than saw her way toward the rasping voice. The heat was becoming unbearable and the smell of burning jet fuel and charred flesh was stronger as she went into the room where the voice was coming from.
"Okay, I´m coming to get you," she said as she clawed through the debris of fallen ceilings and pipes, over barriers of concrete and smashed furniture. The heat coming from the floor below was oppressive, but the flames were providing some light. The smoke was still thick but seemed to be thinning just a bit as the fire spread. Dean had a fleeting thought that it was similar to walking through a battlefield at night, with only one´s sense of touch and hearing to guide the way. She reached a door frame where the door was torn from its hinges and lying on a pile of desks and chairs that had been blown across the room. She could hear coughing and ragged breathing.
"Hold on, I´m almost there," she said by way of encouragement as she started to tear at the rubble.
"Let me help you with that, Colonel," Bill said as he grabbed the corner of the desk she was trying to move.
"What are you doing here?" she shot quickly and then shook her head, a crooked smile appearing on her face.
"Glad to have you at my side, Bill. C´mon, let´s get the rest of this rubble cleared."
It took a couple of minutes, but they managed to remove the heaviest of the debris that was on top of the fallen soldier. Lifting the final collapsed piece of wallboard, she saw that it was a young private; she recognized her face. "Hawadi. What are you doing here?"
"I just transferred here this morning, Ma´am."
"Damn bad luck, Hawadi." Dean did a quick check of the young woman, who appeared to be in fairly stable condition, considering she´d had half the office furniture thrown at her. Her severely broken leg was going to make extrication not only difficult, but painful. "Is anyone else in here?"
Private Hawadi shook her head. "Most had just left on a break. There was another soldier waiting over there." Hawadi pointed out a section of the room where the wall and ceiling had fallen in. A bloodied hand was protruding from the pile of rubble.
"Bill, go check on him," she commanded as she finished her quick exam of Hawadi.
Bill moved cautiously over the wreckage and checked for a pulse. "He´s dead."
"Is there anything we can use for a splint?" Dean asked, coughing hard as the smoke got thicker.
As Bill looked around for something to use as a splint for Hawadi´s injured leg, the building was rocked by a series of small explosions, and chunks of steel and concrete fell all around them. "Nothing useable." He removed his belt and went back over to Hawadi. He tied both of her legs together with the belt. "This will have to do."
"Look, this place is getting ready to go. Your leg is badly broken and this splint won´t help much but it´s better than nothing. We need to get out now. I´m going to have to grab you and go."
The young woman nodded her understanding and Dean slid her hands under Hawadi´s arms. "Okay, are you ready? This is going to hurt."
"I am ready; please hurry." Another chunk of concrete thudded to the floor between them and Bill.
Dean grabbed the private firmly under the arms and Bill supported her legs. As gently as possible, they lifted her quickly. To her credit, Private Hawadi muffled her scream.
"You´re a good soldier, Hawadi. Just a bit further and we´ll have you clear." As soon as they were clear of the last of the debris, they backtracked carefully to the doorway. Hawadi was a lot lighter than Dean had expected and they were able to get her out of the office without much difficulty. By the time they exited the doorway, two firemen appeared, holding powerful flashlights. They took the woman from Dean and Bill.
"You men are a welcome sight," Dean said as they reached her. She leaned against the doorway, gladly relinquishing Hawadi to the fireman. "Get her out of here."
"You too, Ma´am. Follow us out."
"Right behind you." Dean turned to find Bill; he was about to go back inside. "Captain," she called, "let´s get out of here before this place falls apart completely." She coughed violently as another wave of dark smoke rippled through the area.
"I´ll be right with you. I just want to get that soldier´s tags," Bill rasped as he disappeared into the office.
The first fireman took the private in his arms and the other stepped forward to assist the colonel. As the coughing wracked her body, Dean staggered away from the doorframe. She walked unsteadily into the hallway, the rescuer´s flashlight playing on her soot smeared form. From the floors below, a rumble started its way up the devastated building, causing the floor to shift and buckle. There was a loud crack, and the walls and ceiling began to crumble. The exterior wall of Hawadi´s office collapsed inward, blocking the doorway completely. A large chunk of crossbeam came down from the ceiling, clipping Dean across the back of the head, neck, and back. It dropped to the floor, trapping her legs as she fell forward into the outstretched arms of the fireman. Dazed, she saw the beam of the flashlight hit her eyes. For a brief moment, she thought she saw Katie rushing toward her and she reached out... Then everything went black.
