Oath of Honor

times of sickness and in times of health, in times of joy and in times of

sorrow, in times of failure and in times of triumph. I promise to cherish

and respect you, to care for and protect you, to comfort and encourage

you, and to stay with you, for all eternity.

Roberts accepted the matching ring from a young dark-haired

woman who leaned on a plain wood cane, and slipped it onto Blair’s

finger. With this ring, I thee wed.

An anticipatory breath shuddered through the crowd. Six

uniformed officers, the Guard of Honor, stepped in sync to form a path

from the proceedings area, facing one another in a line, white-gloved

hands on shining saber hilts.

By the power vested in me by the United States Army, the President

of the United States, and the Commonwealth of…

The three male and three female officers drew their swords with

a slick of steel, their blades raised and touching to form the Arch of

Sabers.

…I pronounce you wed.

The couple kissed, the crowd clapped, and Wes turned to Peter

Chang.

“I guess you know who I am.”

Chang held out his hand. “Welcome to the hot zone, Captain.”

• 27 •

RADCLYfFE

chapter three

Hot zone. The term wasn’t new to Wes, but somehow she

didn’t think Dr. Peter Chang was using it in the usual medical

sense, meaning an area of contamination—typically bacterial or viral

or chemical. In combat, the term referred to the region under fire. When

teaching battlefield evacuation, Wes stressed that the hot zone was the

area where the injured were still in the line of fire, and those charged to

secure their safety would be too. Working in the hot zone was a way of

life for a battlefield surgeon, and though her career path had been one

of teaching, she’d done her tour at the front.

She hadn’t had much time to think about the tactical aspects of her

new job, and she wasn’t sure who she should talk to about the specifics.

One thing any team leader learned quickly was to keep their inexperience

to themselves. She wasn’t too proud to ask for help when she needed to

know something, but she didn’t plan to walk into her first day on the job

acting like a rookie, either. No one needed to explain the critical nature

of her assignment; she had only to look around the room. The president

of the United States, his chief of staff, his military liaison, his daughter,

her newly wedded partner, several ranking members of the cabinet, at

least one member of the Joint Chiefs, the national security advisor, and

the president’s security chief were all gathered in one room. A strike

against this location would effectively paralyze the government of the

most powerful nation in the world. It wasn’t her job to worry about the

security of the nation, only the health, welfare, and safety of its leader.

Right now, that leader was dancing with his daughter, as any

father of the bride would. Ushers and valets in crisp white jackets and

black tuxedo pants had magically secreted the chairs somewhere out

• 28 •

Oath Of hOnOr

of sight. A four-piece band had set up adjacent to where the vows had

been exchanged and was playing soft jazz. Waiters passed through the

crowd with flutes of champagne on silver trays. The atmosphere was

boisterous and relaxed. Wes didn’t feel relaxed.

She might not have officially begun her duty, but she was all but

signed-on-the-dotted-line, making every individual in this room her

responsibility whether she carried the black field-trauma bag today or

not. She wasn’t here to socialize. She wasn’t exactly sure why she was

here, but as long as she was, she intended to work if necessary.

“What’s the evacuation route to the nearest medical facility?” she

asked Peter.

“There’s a EC145 Eurocopter standing by. The closest level one

trauma center is about a twenty-minute ride.”

“Who flies it?”

“One of the marine pilots out of Andrews. He and our flight nurse

are in the building.”

“And you’re in charge today?”

“Yes. We draw up the duty roster monthly, depending upon

POTUS’s itinerary and events scheduled at the House.” Peter’s

expression grew somber. “Len was supposed to have this detail.”

She wondered if Chang and the previous medical chief had been

close friends, although their personal relationship didn’t really matter.

The death of a colleague, especially someone you worked with every

day, was painful, and no words of sympathy were ever adequate. “I was

sorry to hear of his death.”

Peter nodded, watching the crowd. “Yeah. We all were.”

“I’ve seen the team roster.” Wes had been provided dossiers on

all the members of the team—three docs, three flight nurses, three