by Laura Acton
He sat on the bench and reflected on the past five months. He had three families now. His natural family with his mom, dad, Becca, and all the extended aunts, uncles, and cousins. Blaze, Jim, Mason, and Winds came back to him. The bonds he forged in purgatory with his unit brothers, which he thought severed after Brody’s death, remained intact. Now he had a TRF family too.
This Christmas would be like no other he had. Dan felt joy for the first time since he was eight. His thoughts ceased as Jon entered. He grinned. “Almost late.”
Jon tossed his go bag on the floor then opened his locker. “Scraping the ice off the windows of my car and Jen’s took some time. Then I got stuck behind someone who clearly doesn’t know how to drive in this weather.”
As he pulled on his sweats, Jon asked, “The others in the gym?”
“Nope, only you and me so far.” Dan stood and started for the door.
Jon stopped him. “You look a little washed out. Are you sure you are up to the job today?”
Knowing he still looked thinner than three weeks ago, but bristling at Jon making a note of it, Dan said, “I wouldn’t be here if I’m not capable.”
“With your lungs and this weather—”
“My lungs are fine.”
Jon eyed Dan. The use of fine worried him. “Fine?”
Rolling his eyes, Dan replied, “Fine as in alright. No issues.”
“Alright. But if you …” Jon trailed off as Broderick walked away. He registered the annoyance, but as the tactical leader, it was his responsibility to make sure everyone on the team was okay. And with Dan, that was still difficult to do. He made an amazing recovery, but Dan could hide things well.
Jon needed to keep a close eye on him, especially given the weather. Dan would likely be in Zulu One positions outside in the cold and wet. He was still tormented by the memories of last winter, finding Broderick in his freezing apartment and hearing the harsh rattles with each breath Dan tried to draw in. If Dan got a cold with his scarred lungs, it would be ten times worse.
Dan pivoted and strode out of the room. He didn’t need the mother hen attention from Jon. He let some of his irritation roll off his back as he approached the gym. Lexa ran on the treadmill. Her auburn hair pulled back into a ponytail. He preferred her hair down so his fingers could run through her silky waves, though pulling back for work made sense.
TRF HQ – Gym – 5:00 a.m.
Lexa slowed a little as she turned down the speed. “Morning. The others coming?”
Dan began wrapping his hands to use the heavy bag. It would help to work out the rest of his annoyance at Jon. “Not sure where Bram, Ray, Loki, and Boss are, but Jon should be here in a few minutes.”
“Sorry about Hailey. She comes on quite strong,” Lexa said.
Chuckling, Dan finished with the wrap. “Yeah, a bit. I hope she wasn’t offended when I didn’t invite her to the TRF Christmas party as my date. That was rather awkward.”
Lexa glanced around making sure no ears might eavesdrop. “About the party. I’m bringing someone. We can’t take any chances.”
Dan started pummeling the hanging bag. His hard strikes having nothing to do with Jon’s words, but with Lexa’s, ‘I’m bringing someone.’ Jealousy sparked an emotional fire. Damn, keeping our relationship secret will be harder than I imagined, predominantly around our sergeant. Boss can read me well since I dropped many of my masks with the team.
“Dan?” Lexa stepped off the treadmill and moved to the bag. “Dan.” He punched with excessive force. “Dan!”
Landing a blow, Dan stopped when he heard his name. He realized Lexa stood next to him. When did she move? “What?”
“What’s wrong?”
Dan blew out a breath. “What makes you think anything is wrong?”
“Well, for starters I called your name several times. And you’re hitting the heavy bag with a vengeance. So what’s bothering you?”
No way I can admit the real reason to her. Dan’s eyes flicked to the door and saw Jon about to enter. He deflected using a partial truth. “Nothing, just Jon questioned my ability to do the job. He is acting like a mother hen.”
Lexa chuckled. “Yeah, you got to expect that. Probably get it from all of us. So suck it up, Broderick. You’re family, and we care.”
Dan groaned.
Jon overheard the groan. “Dano, are you sure you are okay?”
Saving Dan from answering, Lexa laughed. “He’s alright. Only a bit miffed that I bumped him from number one spot on the TRF accuracy rankings. His pride is a little hurt.”
Heading for the weights, Jon said, “Now that you’re back, Dano, we can have a three-way shootout tomorrow if time permits.”
Thankful for Lexa’s save, Dan smiled and nodded. Being back was terrific. His mind picked up a small bit of July fifteenth again, and he asked Jon, “So, will everyone who is late be scrubbing floors?”
A huge grin spread on Jon’s face. “Sounds about right.”
Over the next thirty minutes, the other members of Alpha Team straggled in with excuses related to driving on icy roads or vehicles needing to warm up before they would start.
After Loki went on animatedly, detailing all his frustration in getting his car started this morning, Dan gave him a lopsided smile. “I don’t have those problems riding a bike.”
The rest of workout was full of friendly banter as the team enjoyed being whole again. It had been five long months without Dan as he recuperated and completed his interview. Everyone was pleased he returned to work, but none happier than Dan himself.
TRF HQ – Briefing Room – 7:00 a.m.
Dan sauntered into the room with a grin on his face and a baggie in his hands. He took his place at the table and waited for the rest of the team to assemble. He was now home where he belonged and it felt amazing.
The festive look of TRF HQ made him cheerful. Common areas were festooned with colorful lights, and a tree was tucked into one corner near the dispatch desk. Last year it was decorated much the same, but Dan was in a different mindset and didn’t take notice. Although the team had begun to reach out to him, his mind had been in a dark place.
Christmas with Bram’s family had been wonderful. He smiled thinking about waking up to find little Allie in his room. Her twenty questions and talk of cookies warmed his heart when he needed it most. It helped him remember the innocence and joy of the season.
His little tree was adorned with three ornaments. Emilie’s snowflake, Leslie’s tree, and Allie’s star. Dan hoped Bram’s daughters might make him more ornaments this year.
Bram strode in with a smile on his face and said as he sat down, “Kellie and the girls are expecting you next Saturday to help them make cookies.”
Dan’s expression changed to one of confusion. “I’ll be there but don’t they normally bake on the day before Christmas?”
“Yeah, they do. But since Saturday is our only half day off and they want you to join them, Kellie moved it.”
Incredibly touched they would do such a thing for him, Dan said, “Kellie is very kind to do that for me.”
Bram noticed the baggie. “What you got there?”
Dan slid the bag over to Bram. “My mom and I made a ton of cookies when I visited her. Thought you would enjoy snickerdoodles. A little angel told me you like the ones with cinammammon sugar.”
Bram laughed. “Cinammammon? I think you meant cinnamon.”
Shaking his head, Dan shared, “Not according to Allie. She said she thought you snuck one after Leslie said the cookies were for Santa. She saw the cinammammon sugar on your mouth.”
After opening the bag of snickerdoodles, Bram withdrew one and took a bite. “Mmmmm. Good. Do I have to share with the team?”
Dan shrugged. “Up to you. But you know Loki. You don’t share, and he will be planning all kinds of ways to steal them.”
Loki bounded into the briefing room singing the first part of the song which started playing in the gym as officers from other teams worked out. “On th
e first day of Christmas, my true love gave to me, a partridge in a pear tree.”
He stopped seeing the cookies, and his eyes widened. Loki’s voice changed to a superb imitation of Sesame Street’s Cookie Monster as he said, “Cookies. Me want cookies.”
Bram pulled one out and gave it to Loki. “You’re lucky it’s Christmas time, and I’m charitable. Otherwise, you’d be outta luck, Cookie Monster.”
Loki took the cookie and bit into it. A contented expression covered his face. “Mmmmm. Tell Kellie her cookies are the best.”
“Hey, I thought you said mine are the best!” Lexa exclaimed as she came to a stop next to Loki. She gave him the evil eye.
Loki gulped. “Um, um. You make the best double chunk chocolate chip cookies. Kellie makes the best snickerdoodles.”
Bram chuckled and shook his head. “Not that I disagree, but these aren’t Kellie’s cookies. Dan’s mom made them.”
Turning to Dan, Loki pouted. “And you gave them all to Bram? Aw, I thought we were buds!”
Dan only grinned. “Yours are coming tomorrow. I didn’t have enough room in my bag this morning to bring them all without crumbling them.”
Jon sauntered in and caught the tail end of the conversation. “When are you going to get a vehicle, Dano? It’s too damned cold for you to be riding your bike now. Perfect way to end up ill.”
“I like riding my bike. I don’t need a car,” Dan replied calmly as he pushed down his ire. Can’t Jon let it go already?
Nick entered and looked around, noting only Ray was missing. His eyes landed on Dan. So wonderful to have him back. I would hate for him to get sick. If he catches a chill and develops pneumonia, his lungs might not recover after the damage done to them by Merrill’s bullet. He offered, “Dan, if you start to catch a cold, you let me know, and I’ll take you to and from work. Don’t want you getting bronchitis again.”
Dan prickled at the fact that Lexa was right. They would all coddle him—to death. What none of them knew, and he was not about to tell them because he might appear weak, was that he wore special cold weather undershirts. He contacted the company which supplied the Special Forces with their arctic gear and ordered two dozen of them in black. He worked damned hard to return to TRF and would take appropriate precautions with his health.
Ray entered with a smile. “Sorry, I’m late. Father Lopez called to see if I’m still able to make it down for Christmas. I told him I’m looking forward to volunteering and booked the red-eye flight on Christmas eve.”
Loki quipped, “Don’t you mean the red-nosed flight?”
Everyone looked at Loki with various confused expressions.
Loki got expressive, “Don’t you get it. Red nose, Christmas Eve … come on. One of you got it, right?”
The team all remained quiet. They got it, but it was fun to tease Loki.
Exasperated Loki said, “Rudolph … you know it is Christmas Eve, and he is in the air flying like Rudolph the red nosed reindeer.”
Ray patted Loki’s arm as he smiled. “Yeah, I got it, buddy.”
Loki grumbled. “Wish you weren’t gonna be gone for Christmas.”
“I’ll be back after the new year. Father Lopez worked hard to arrange the humanitarian mission to Jamaica. My parents have even agreed to come and help. The hurricanes decimated the island, they need a lot of help to rebuild. I like the thought of giving back during the season.”
“Yeah, well, I bet you’ll spend at least some time on the beach. I’m jealous. We’ll all be here freezing our butts off and you’ll be on the beach with babes.” Loki pouted. He wished he said yes when Ray asked him to join him, but he couldn’t leave Ma at Christmas. It wouldn’t be right.
Ray chuckled. “I’ll scout one out for you. Speaking of which, did you ask Nina if she would be your date for the Christmas party?”
Loki dropped his head and sighed. “She said she had other plans. Maybe I’ll just take Lucille.”
The team chuckled. Lucille, the bomb sniffing robot, might be the perfect date for Loki. He spent tons of time taking care of it and griping after the other teams messed with her gears or treads.
Nick’s mind shifted to his date for the celebration. He had been dating Christiana Andersen for the past five months. Not frequently, but things moved at a pace both were comfortable with.
Christiana finally shared that she had a son after about ten dates. She remained quite protective of Kristoffer and didn’t want males entering and disappearing from her child’s life because his natural father ignored him. Christiana’s ex-husband divorced her right after Kristoffer turned five stating he never wanted children.
It had been hard on the boy to understand why his father left him. Nick empathized with Christiana’s concerns. Though he would really like to meet Kristoffer at some point, he respected Christiana’s decision to hold off for now. The meeting would be a bit bittersweet for him. Kristoffer was fourteen, the same age Martin would have been if he lived.
Nick shelved his thoughts and brought the start of shift briefing to order. “Alright boys and girl. This time of year can be crazy for us.”
Jon joked, “Drunk Santas, parents fighting over toys—”
“Stolen cookies,” Ray teased Loki trying to bring his best friend out of the funk over him going to Jamaica and Nina turning down the date.
“What? Hey, they were on a platter at the dispatch desk. I thought they were for anyone.” Loki defended his actions from last year for eating half of the shortbread cookies which Tia intended to give Commander Gambrill. She became ticked off at him and remained so until he bribed her with her favorite cookies and replaced the ones he ate.
The team chuckled. Nick started to open his mouth rein in the conversation, as Tia called out, “Alpha Team, critical call. Armed entry at twelve twelve North Pear Drive. The homeowner entered the distress code, and the monitoring company is listening in. Patching through on channel two.”
The team rushed out of the briefing room to gear up as Nick said, “Tia, I need details on the homeowners.”
“Copy,” Tia responded.
Zulu One in Position
3
December 12
1212 North Pear Drive – Front
Alpha Team listened through the home security system on the way to the address provided. It sounded like the subjects might be the thieves who had hit the neighborhoods in this area over the last few weeks. They stole presents and made hasty exits. In all previous burglaries, no one was at home.
However, Mrs. Partridge returned home unexpectedly. She left work early because she was ill. The team overheard her coughing through the intercom. They also heard the burglars arguing about what to do with the homeowner. Their disagreement gave the team time to arrive and figure out a solution.
One male wanted to kill the woman because she could identify them. Another male voice and female remained skittish, not wanting to add murder to their list of crimes. Two strongly opposed doing any harm to her.
After arriving in silent mode, the team assembled near the SUVs. The home was in the Pear Groves neighborhood. The upscale area used to be an actual pear grove. The mansion boasted huge glass windows. Jon and Dan reviewed the blueprints which Loki supplied. Based on information from the security company Lexa talked to, they determined Mrs. Partridge was in the upstairs family room.
Nick turned to Jon. “We need to try and talk them out.”
Jon nodded as his eyes assessed the vicinity, not liking their limited options. “Dan, find a Zulu position with a view to the second-floor.”
“Copy.” Dan pulled his ski mask down, covering his entire face to ward off the cold, as he jogged to the SUV to retrieve his Remi. He slung the strap over his shoulder before trotting to the back of the house where a large window to the family area was located. The residences were spread out and semi-secluded, surrounded by twenty-foot-tall pear trees.
1212 North Pear Drive – Backyard
Making it to the back of the house, Dan stopped and search
ed. He found no suitable outbuildings and no homes behind this one which he could use a roof of as a sniper perch. Dan chuckled a bit as he headed for the trees a fair distance from the house. Time to go for a climb.
Dan ascended a tree. Though their trunks appeared thick enough for climbing, by the time he reached twelve feet off the ground, there was nothing but spindly branches. That was as high as he could safely go and have the boughs hold his weight.
A plethora of thin limbs filled out the pear tree. Dan thought it would be a beautiful tree in summer when full of leaves, but the bareness now made it stark. The leafless boughs were optimal for visibility, but also afforded no cover should the subjects decide to fire at him.
He tested two sturdy branches and placed his feet on them to distribute his body weight then locked his security line to another robust one near his waist. Lying down would be best but these limbs were not situated properly to do that, so he stood and leaned his back against the trunk for support. Dan slung his rifle around and braced his Remi in the pocket of his shoulder, balanced the barrel on an offshoot, and stabilized it with his right hand.
Gazing through his scope the thrill of being back to work filled him. “Zulu One in position. I have a view of the entire room. One woman is in the corner on black wall sitting in a chair. She appears to be coughing, so I’m fairly sure she is Mrs. Partridge. Four subjects are arguing near green wall.”
1212 North Pear Drive – Front
Loki said, “Give me a moment to log into the security system, and we might have eyes to go with our ears.”
Nick nodded. “Lexa, you’re my second. Two subjects are female, so they may respond better to you.”
Lexa acknowledged with a slight nod. “Once Loki gets visuals, I’ll run facial recognition and see if I can find information on the subjects.”
Loki and Lexa headed for the command truck.
Jon stated, “Ray and Bram, cover the back exit. I’ll take the front and if we go in Loki or Lexa will assist me.”