by Margaret Kay
Sloan filled Cooper in on the discussion with the FBI and his phone call with Shepherd.
“What’s our next move, Coop?” Mother asked as Madison handed the food containers out.
“We have a short briefing at twenty-two hundred,” Cooper said. His gaze shifted to Annaka. “And I’m sorry, but during it, we’re going to have to ask you to be out of the room.”
“It’s fine. I understand,” she said. She took her dinner from Madison and took a seat at the table. Danny sat beside her.
“You look tired,” Madison said to her. Madison sat across the table from her.
“I am,” Annaka replied. She took a few bites. The room was quiet as everyone ate. “I am very thankful for everything your group has done,” she said, her eyes sweeping over Lambchop, Madison, and Cooper who sat at the table with her and Danny. The other men sat on the couches in the living room area.
“It’s our job,” Cooper said.
“And we protect the people we care about,” Lambchop added. He drew her eyes to Danny’s with his own.
“As I said. I am thankful. And when your group has to leave, I will understand.”
Mother laid his hand on top of hers. “Hey, nobody said anything about us leaving yet.”
“We have regular briefings with our boss,” Madison said. “Just because we are talking with him this evening, doesn’t mean we’re getting pulled out already.”
Later, at a few minutes before the scheduled time for the call with Shepherd, Cooper nodded to Mother. “It’s almost time.”
“Annaka,” Mother whispered in her ear.
“I know,” she replied. She rose and stepped towards the door to their room.
“I’ll be in right after it,” Mother said.
“Sure,” she said. She closed the door behind herself. She dropped herself onto the bed and brought up her games on her phone. At some point that day, Danny had played their games. All ten of them waited for her. This brought a smile to her face. She glanced at the door, wondering what their call was about. She certainly hoped they wouldn’t be called home yet.
“Thanks,” Cooper said to Mother.
Madison already had her tablet open and was connecting to the video chat with Shepherd. They waited only a minute before Shepherd joined the call. “So, where are we on this?”
“Carstairs shut down the drilling on that platform that was leaking, but didn’t do so right away or willingly,” Cooper reported.
“The amount of oil leaking after the quake today increased, otherwise, I don’t think they would have shut it down,” Lambchop chimed in.
“What were your impressions of the executives who were at the hearing in Anchorage?” Shepherd asked.
“Very guarded and pissed that their site survey request was again being discussed,” Cooper said.
“The operations manager, Troy Davis, made a point of talking with the researchers after the hearing was over, guaranteed them it was no one from Carstairs who arranged for the kidnapping of Annaka Sanchez in December and the kidnapping of Remi Ipsen’s family a few days ago,” Madison added. “He suggested the rig workers union had something to gain from it. I’m not sure if it was just deflection, giving us someone else to look at, but we plan to talk to the union heads tomorrow.”
“But the vice president of their Alaska Operations, Charles Devlin, a smug prick in an Armani suit, didn’t say a word to them. He did a lot of whispering to their corporate attorney’s during the testimony from the researchers,” Cooper said. “If the tech unit isn’t already digging into him, they should. He warrants a deep dive.”
“Will do,” Shepherd said.
“And Annaka positively identified one of the two men who held Remi’s family as one of the scumbags who kidnapped her in December,” Mother said.
“The other seismologist determined that Patrick Keeling had turned off the reporting function on several of the monitors. In doing so, the true nature of the quakes the area had been having was disguised. They could be dismissed as readings from the drilling instead of seismic activity,” Lambchop informed him.
Shepherd looked thoughtful and nodded. “What have you learned about her house explosion?”
“The fire marshal came by the research office to talk with Annaka about it today. He’s ruling it as suspicious. I think the asshole suspected Annaka of torching her own place. We plan to go there tomorrow and look around,” Mother answered.
Shepherd nodded again. “You learned a lot today. What other plans do you have for tomorrow?”
“As we’ve said, we’re going to chat with the union heads. We’re going to go to Annaka’s house as well as protect her. Did you get things squared away with Whiting for the continued protection details for Ames and Ipsen?” Cooper asked.
“Yes. Whiting set them straight. He’s guaranteed me protection for those two and their families for five days. It will be revisited then.”
Five days. Mother knew their involvement would likely end before the FBI protection did if they didn’t find anything before then. He would have to convince Annaka to come with him whenever they were recalled. When the call ended, he went into the bedroom. He expected to see her on the bed, but the room was empty. The bathroom door was shut. He set his gun and phone onto the nightstand and then stripped down to his skivvies. He slid between the sheets.
Annaka came out of the bathroom wearing the same long-sleeved sweatshirt and the flannel pants she’d had on that morning. She crawled beneath the covers and snuggled in close to Danny. She was instantly engulfed in his warmth. “I think this is the warmest I’ve been all day,” she said after several silent, pleasurable moments.
Mother pressed a kiss to her lips. “Me too.” He held her, caressing where his hands were. “This has been one hell of a day.”
“Two days, two unbelievable days.”
Several silent minutes passed. Mother reached up and turned the bedside light off. “I love you, cariño. Please talk to me. I saw something upset you when we were near your car. I can’t help you if you don’t tell me what it is.”
Annaka breathed a heavy sigh. “Being near that room door reminded me of how afraid I was last night while I waited for the Rangers. And when I realized it was just last night, I couldn’t believe it’s only been twenty-four hours.”
Mother embraced her more tightly. “I am so sorry I wasn’t there for you, so sorry I couldn’t even be on the phone with you.”
She heard the sincerity in his voice. “It’s okay. Lambchop called and that guy, Garcia, stayed on the phone with me the whole time. I wasn’t alone.”
“That’s my team. I knew they’d take care of you when I couldn’t.”
“Garcia even picked up a call I made to your phone after we got to the rooms on base. If you had it with you, how did he do that?”
Mother chuckled. “I don’t know exactly how Garcia does all he does. I’m sure he has a way to hack into all our phones. He is the system administrator.”
“He said he’d been a Ranger.”
“Yes. I told you, almost every member of the team was previously with special forces.”
“Madison too?” She asked.
“She was an Army officer. She was a lead Operations Analyst for combat forces in the Middle East and she had some on-the-ground special assignment time in the region as well. That qualified her for our group.”
“What exactly does that mean? I don’t speak your language, Danny. I don’t know what the hell an Operations Analyst does or what it means to have a special assignment on the ground.”
Mother instinctively held her tighter. He’d never heard her tone be as demanding or sarcastic. He knew better than to tell her to calm down. No woman wanted to hear that in any context. He kissed her forehead. “She directed combat operations in any arena our men operated in. She called in drone and other air strikes to cover our troops. She directed our troops, telling them where enemy forces were, called in for evacs. She was our eyes, and our ears while on the ground. She was our lifeline
that made operating the way we did possible, her and the other Operations Analysts we worked with while in the Sandbox.”
Danny’s description was shocking. Madison, that beautiful blond-haired, blue eyed woman was a real soldier. “Oh.” Was all she could say. After a few seconds of fumbling for the right words, she formed a coherent sentence. “So, she worked very closely with Special Forces while she was in the Army and that qualified her for your group.”
“Yes. She does that now for our team as well as operates in the field with the rest of us on missions. Many of us take our turn in Ops, me included. My unit has its own Operations Command Center.”
“So, on that mission before Christmas that you told me about, she was in your Operations Center directing you?”
“No, she was on the ground in full tactical gear with an assault rifle, like the rest of us. She’s very proficient with it.”
“Wow. I would never have guessed any of that looking at her or speaking with her. She seemed so normal.”
Mother chuckled some more. “She is normal. We all are.”
“You know what I mean. She’s a real soldier. Danny, she does things that most people don’t, haven’t, would never be able to. That’s not normal.” Her respect for the woman grew immensely.
“We do have certain training and skills most do not. And a willingness to use those skills and training that others might not either,” Mother admitted.
“I cannot even fathom what you’d need to know to call in an airstrike, let alone what kind of courage and self-confidence it takes.”
Mother had never really thought about it in those terms before. While operating in the field or in Ops, you make decisions and act on them. You have to. You rely on your training, your experience, and your senses. You know your shit, and you know that you know your shit. You don’t doubt yourself. “It’s the same self-confidence you have when talking about whales, the same as when you go out and tag them, the same as when you spoke in front of that commission this morning.”
Annaka made a sarcastic snicker sound. “Don’t even try to minimize what you and your team do. You know it’s not the same as what I or most of the people on this planet do.”
“Not minimizing. Special forces personnel are very special in many ways, but it’s the confidence in yourself, in your chosen profession I’m referring to. I read your bio. You are one of the leading experts on beluga whales. You know your shit when it comes to whales, and everyone knows you do.”
“Well,” she stammered, taken aback by the conviction in his voice when he spoke. “What most of the rest of us do, is not life or death.”
Mother was not going to get into that conversation with her, not tonight anyway. He pressed his lips to hers. Instinct took over from there. He made love to her; a connection they both needed. It felt perfect to join with her. It was both fiery and comfortable. He couldn’t imagine ever wanting to be with any other woman. He couldn’t imagine ever not having her in his life.
The next morning, as Annaka still slept, Mother made a second pot of coffee. Madison and Cooper joined them from the room next door that they were staying in. “How’s Hahna doing with Doc and Elizabeth?” He asked.
“She’s doing okay,” Madison said. “I miss her though. Crazy, isn’t it? She’s been with us less than a month.”
“No, not crazy at all,” Mother said, thinking about how much he’d missed Annaka after he’d left her and returned to Chicago. Yes, he’d definitely have to convince her to come back with them.
Later that morning at the research office, Inspector Alfrejd came in. A scowl appeared on his face as he glanced around and saw how many unknown people were in the room. He approached Lambchop first and offered his hand. “Agent Johnson. Sorry I didn’t get back in touch with you yesterday, we were tied up at the Ipsen crime scene.” His eyes went to Remi. “I was glad to hear that you and your family were safe.”
“Thank you, inspector.”
His eyes went back to Lambchop. “Can I have a word with you outside?”
Lambchop nodded. “We need to include my entire team.”
All eight of the Shepherd Security Operators put their coats on and followed Lambchop and Inspector Alfrejd out the door. They congregated in the parking lot near Alfrejd’s police unit. The sun was just coming up over the horizon. Mother couldn’t help but admire how beautiful it looked.
Lambchop introduced them all to the State Trooper who shook hands with them as they were introduced, or in the case of Sherman and Mother, reintroduced.
Alfrejd shook his head. “I know this is way above my paygrade, Ranger’s taking out suspects and conducting a rescue on a family held at gunpoint in their home, the FBI protecting two of the researchers and their families, and you eight federal agents here on the ground.” His eyes swept over the team as he spoke.
“We don’t believe Annaka Sanchez’s house explosion was a leak or an accident,” Cooper spoke up. “The fire marshal is reporting it as suspicious. We’re going to need to visit the site ourselves once it’s light out.”
Alfrejd nodded. “And this is all linked to Annaka Sanchez’s kidnapping in December? What could be worth all of this?”
“Money, a lot of money,” Mother remarked.
“I’ve been told to make myself available to your team, anything you need.”
“We need to get in touch with the union officials for the rig workers,” Cooper said. “Can you help us with that? We’d like to talk with them today.”
“Yes, I can arrange a meeting,” Alfrejd replied. “The union hall is in Anchorage, but the union president lives in Homer when he’s not on a rig. It’s a small union, with officers who actually work on the rigs. Let me make a few calls and I’ll get back to you within the hour.”
“Just tell us when and where,” Lambchop said. “Make it today if you can.”
Alfrejd dug his car keys out of his pocket. “I’ll see what I can do. Anything else?”
“Not right now, but we’ll let you know,” Cooper said. He offered Alfrejd his hand.
They went back into the research office.
“What did he say?” Annaka asked.
“Not much, offered us his help,” Mother said.
“Mother, you, Sloan, and Sherman, why don’t you go check out Annaka’s house now,” Cooper said.
“I want to go with,” Annaka said. “I want to poke around and see if any of my stuff is salvageable. If even a drawer of clothes survived or a coffee mug, I want it.”
Mother wrapped a protective arm around her. “Cariño, you don’t need to do that to yourself. If there’s anything there, I’ll bring it to you.”
“I want to see it in the light of day,” Annaka insisted. Her voice held determination.
Mother nodded, knowing he wouldn’t win this fight with her. And if it were his house, he would want to see it too, so he understood her resolve.
The SUV pulled up in front of the charred remains of Annaka’s house. Glancing over the remnants, Annaka felt foolish for thinking that anything could be left to salvage. She glanced up at the Kenai Mountains, the view that she often enjoyed from the front porch swing. She was barely aware of the three men, who fanned out to examine the remains of her house on all sides.
She wasn’t sure how long she stood, staring at the mountains. She felt a sadness unlike anything she’d ever felt. She’d told herself she wasn’t going to cry about her house when she saw it. And she hadn’t, wasn’t going to. Besides feeling sad, she also felt angry. She knew this was no accident.
“Are you okay, cariño?” Mother asked as he gently laid a hand onto her shoulder.
Annaka forced a brave expression. She nodded. “This view from the front porch is why I bought this place.”
Her voice sounded hollow and lifeless to Mother. “You can rebuild. Make it better than it was.”
Annaka shook her head no before he’d finished his sentence. “I don’t plan to stay here. I’ve given this a lot of thought over the past day. I’m going to look
for a position in a tropical climate far away from any oil rigs. Dolphins are just as alluring as belugas. I may even branch out and specialize in manatees.”
Mother wrapped his arms around her and held her for several silent moments. “Don’t make any snap decisions. Give yourself some time.”
Annaka nodded, even though she was sure of her decision.
“Found something,” Sherman called from the back of what had been her house.
“Stay here,” Mother told Annaka. He left her by the car and tromped around to the back.
Sherman stood near the blown out back door. It laid four feet away from the burnt remnants of the house. The doorknob was intact. He twisted the knob. “It’s unlocked. I see scratches in the outer lock mechanism. Could be from the explosion or more likely is from someone picking the lock.”