The man nodded at her, making eye contact.  When the Colonel stood to get something from his office, the man led her to a corner.  “Got orders from Mr. Skinner,” he said simply.   Bette swallowed.  “It’ll be alright,” he was saying, catching Bette’s nervous energy.  “One of us will be beside you at all times.  Just do what you need to do.  Try do it quickly.  It’s best that we’re not exposed out there for too long,” he tried to smile, but failed. He seemed a hard-bitten warrior, not given to small talk.

The Colonel returned to the table.  “Okay Bette, you’ll be shipping out in 20 minutes.  We just got word that the path you and the team will be driving over is clear of mines.  So you and the team will be driven to the last cave.  Try to get your work done as quickly as possible, then you all should head back here by noon.  Understood?,” he directed the last question to both his team leader and to the man who was leading her personal security team.

The men nodded.  Bette headed to the washroom, both to wash up, but also to get some time to herself and collect her thoughts before they’d leave.

Later on, before she joined the men outside, who were waiting for her, she turned to the Colonel.

“Colonel, is it possible to call Tina?”

He shook his head.  “It’s too early in the morning, Bette,” he said gently.  “And I’d rather not transmit anything outside of this base whenever we have a team like yours that’s about to head out.”

Bette nodded, in understanding, but her disappointment was clear.

The Colonel smiled, “There’s something I can do, though.  Is there a code word I could use to insert into a phrase that I can use when I make my regular call to the compound?”

Bette brightened up.  “Yes, please use the words “Carousel,” and “Cat’s eye”.”

He wrote them down.  “Alright, I’ll make sure Tina gets it.”

“Be safe.  Keep your head down.  Stick to this men, alright?, “ he was smiling encouragingly.

xxxxxxxxxxxxx

Bette was done documenting things she’d thought would be important for Mike and his team.  She was handing her notes and the camera she was asked to use to one of the men while still inside the protective cover of the cave.  It was nearly 11, and she was relieved that they were well under the time set by the Colonel for them to return to the base camp.  As she and the men crouched near the entrance of the cave, preparing to head out, they heard the sharp report of gunfire.