Joe reached for his door. “Christ.” It teetered on the hinge. “I’m kicking his ass.”
“Whose?” Andrea asked as she unpacked.
“Danny’s.” Joe stepped in the house. “Looks good.”
“Getting there. You could have been here to help.”
“I could have, but I was working. I’m busy, Andrea. And . . . I need to talk to you.”
“Sure. Can we talk while I unpack?”
“Yep.” Joe neared her. He had it on his mind all day. How he would handle it? Would he beat around the bush? Would he be direct? Subtle? Or would he be Joe? Joe reached into his pocket. “While I was looking for my cufflinks the other day, I found this.” Joe laid the note on the table. “I was wondering if we could talk about it.”
Andrea reached for the note and opened it.
Joe watched the expression. He swore if Andrea wasn’t a black woman she would have turned white. “Andrea? Can we talk?”
Andrea folded the note back up, slammed the box she was unpacking shut, and stormed off out of the room.
Joe heard the bedroom door slam. “Maybe not.”
^^^^
Melissa was silent, hesitating before saying anything to Dean. “Why?”
“I just need to know.” Dean questioned as they stood at the nurse’s counter. “Where was he today?”
“Dean, he was in school.”
Dean nodded slowly. “Melissa, I understand the protective instincts of a parent. I do. But . . . Jenny told me . . .”
“O.K.” Melissa held up her hand. “O.K., I couldn’t get him motivated this morning. So I figured since I was on the afternoon shift, I’d keep him home from school. Dean, he played, that’s all he did.”
“Did he leave the house?”
“Yes, but not for long.”
“Melissa.” Dean stayed calm. “What did I tell you? He’s either got to be around others or he stays in. Right?”
“But he wasn’t gone for very long.”
“He runs in excess of sixty-miles an hour which means alone for twenty minutes, Marcus ran from one end of Beginnings to the other.”
“What did he do?” Melissa asked.
“Nothing.” Dean shook his head. “We think he was wandering around the underdeveloped section, maybe a little further than he should.”
“He doesn’t know sometimes, Dean. Yes he’s big but you know mentally he’s still so young. I’ll keep a better eye on him,” Melissa said.
“Better? Melissa, you do fine. O.K.? I worry about him getting hurt. He’s a kid. Just keep him around someone if he wants to play. He tends to act like they do.” Dean began to walk away and stopped. “Which isn’t always good when he and Joey are together.”
“That’s all the time.”
“I know.” Dean smiled. “All right, speaking of Joey, I’m out of here. I’m on call so just reach me at home, I’m bringing stuff with me.” He started walking down the hall, turned, and walked backwards, speaking to Melissa. “Oh and uh I won’t say anything about Marcus running around today. We’ll keep it between us.” Dean spun back around, picking up his pace to his lab. He went over what seemed to be a million things in his mind, Dean hurried into his lab and gathered up the folders he was taking home. As he reached for the one stack he saw a note sitting on top. He briefly skimmed over the message that read, ‘The cat’s away. Does the mouse want to play? Find me. Bev’ . Not paying much attention to it, not thinking, he placed it inside one of his folders, secured the stacks in his arms, and left the lab.
^^^^
Bowman, North Dakota
“Dean has created pretty much everything we have,” Ellen explained to Blue. “There isn’t much that we can’t treat.”
“I appreciate this.” Blue stood by the small open refrigerator.
“Here is a little booklet Dean made up. He’s so anal.” She snickered as she gave it to Blue. “It tells you by symptoms what to use. We gave you basics. Anything else you can get from us. I have reqs for you to have on hand.”
“Reqs?”
“Requisitions,” Ellen explained. “As far as I understand, there will be frequent trips between us until you guys settle closer. Just send the req with whoever is coming up. Once you guys are close, you can have it immediately. Until then, you’ll have to wait so plan ahead.”
“I understand.”
“One thing you’ll have to get used to, everything in Beginnings, with the exception of food, is requisitioned. It helps keep track of things.”
“Like a purchase order.”
Ellen smiled. “Exactly. Any questions?”
“No, but I’m sure I’ll think of some,” Blue said.
“I’m here tomorrow too.”
Hal, who had been quiet in the back, stepped forward. “Get used to working with . . . Dr. Hayes. She’ll be the other doctor here in Bowman or wherever we end up. Of course, she’ll still live in Beginnings, but we get to have her often.”
Blue seemed to like that. “Excellent. I’m so glad to have the help. There’s a lot of people here.”
“We’ll do well together,” Ellen commented. “Hal tells me you have a woman here whose pregnancy is high risk.”
“Yes.” Blue nodded. “She’s at the house now on bed rest.”
“She’s been having contractions. Any dilation?”
“Steady at two for a while. I got her drunk and was able to sustain it.”
Ellen nodded. “I want to see her. I brought some medication that should help her. She’ll have to take it regularly.”
“The Captain can take you there.”
Hal shook his head ‘no’ at Blue. When Ellen turned to him, Hal stopped and smiled. “Sure, I’ll take you. Get your things, El.”
Ellen patted the black medical bag Dean had lent her that used to be his father’s. “Right here.”
“Then let’s get this over with.” Hal laid his hand on Ellen’s back, leading her out. He stopped in the doorway, looked back at Blue, mouthed the word, ‘you’ll pay’ and then he and Ellen left.
Blue stood alone in his clinic, a relieved and happy man. He had better medical supplies and . . . there now was a chance that he no longer had to make any more trips to that house.
She was either highly attractive or an oddity. Ellen was wagering on the latter as the reason for the stares she got while walking down the streets of Bowman with Hal. No matter what they did, the men stopped and watched her as she walked by with him.
They approached the large white house, guarded with two UWA soldiers out front. They both saluted Hal as he and Ellen passed by them.
“Big.” Ellen slowed her pace on the walk and looked up at the house.
“We believe it belonged to the mayor of the town.” Hal told her as they stepped to the porch. “This is going to be an experience for me.”
“You don’t come here?” Ellen asked.
“No, I do when I have to but I’ve never come here with a woman. I’m curious to see the reaction. So . . .” Hal moved Ellen to the door side. He laid his finger on her lips. “Shh.” He knocked on the door. “And the thunder rolls.”
Ellen snickered a silent ‘what’ as the door opened.
“Captain.” Grace said his name with a hint of hatred. “This is an unscheduled visit. You know how I feel about them.”
“My apologies Gr . . . Gr . . . my apologies, but I’m sure Sgt. Ryder told you the doctor from Beginnings is here to check on Monica.”
“Yes, he did.” Grace opened the door wider. “Is he with you?”
Hal looked to his left. “Yeah, the doctor is right here.”
“Then fetch your guards. We don’t know this person and I don’t want one of my girls in the hands of an animal.”
Smiling, Ellen poked her head around. “I’ll try to be gentle.”
Grace gasped. “You’re the Beginnings doctor?”
“Yes.” Ellen held up her bag. “May I come in?”
“Oh yes!” Grace answered the door. “Please, please.”
Grace held the screen door open for Ellen, letting her in. “Captain, you’ve done so well with this. Thank you. That will be all.”
Hal had to quick be to stop the front door from closing. “No, that won’t be all. I believe I will wait for her.”
“Oh.” Grace looked at Ellen. “You have other business in town?”
“I’m still helping Dr. Blue at the clinic.”
“Then I’ll show you to Monica.” Grace moved Ellen along, turning and looking back at Hal. “Captain, stay here.”
“I have no intentions of walking any further into this house.” Hal said. He felt that annoying, typical tickle in his nose when he went into that house, and he sneezed loudly. He laughed when he heard Grace’s gasp of disgust at him.
Like she just performed a difficult circus act, Ellen impressed all the resident women to the point of applause as they gathered tightly in Monica’s room. The baby’s heart beat was strong and loud through the Doppler that Ellen held on Monica’s stomach. “Sounds like a girl.”
Monica smiled. “How do you know?”
“Heart rate is relaxed. The faster the heart beat the more it tends to be a boy.”
“Have you any children?” Monica asked.
“Yes.” Ellen answered. “Many.”
“Where are they now?”
“Back in Beginnings.” Ellen put the instrument away, dancing around the words ‘my husband’ so not to ruin Hal’s new reputation. “My father has them.”
“Your father survived the plague?”
“Actually, my father died some years ago before the plague. Joe, Joe has been like my father for over twenty years. Joe is Hal’s biological father.” Ellen saw the lost look on Monica’s face. She turned and looked at the other women in the room. They all looked just as lost. “Hal. The Captain.” The woman all grumbled. Ellen snickered. “That’s funny. His brother has the same effect on women in Beginnings.”
Grace was shocked by this. “The Captain has a father and a brother who survived the plague and are in Beginnings?”
“No.” Ellen shook her head. “The captain has a father and two brothers in Beginnings.” She heard the gasp. “No, really. They’re all gruff but . . . I love them all. I’ve known them forever.”
Grace laid a soothing hand on Ellen’s shoulder. “You poor thing.”
Ellen had to laugh. What other reaction could she have? Grace was just so serious. She set the medication down on the counter. “O.K. Monica, because there is some dilation of the cervix, I want you to take the pills twice a day like clockwork. O.K.? I also see no reason why you can’t walk around, taking it easy with it. You have to get some circulation other than going to the bathroom. You don’t want a blood clot and I noticed your legs are swollen.” Ellen looked to Grace. “Get her up and moving,. O.K.?”
“How will that affect her baby?” Grace asked.
“She hasn’t had contractions in some time, so with the med she should be fine. Hal said she has a history of premature deliveries. Can’t guarantee this baby won’t be born early, but we can try to hold it in there as long as possible.”
Monica grabbed Ellen’s hand. “What if I deliver early?”
“I can tell you this. We have excellent medical care in Beginnings. My youngest son was born seven weeks early. He’s fine. And . . . you’re a hour away, round trip. Any problems, radio communications are up. Danny is here getting some phone service going. You call and Robbie will fly down and get you.”
“Robbie?” Monica asked.
“Hal . . . I mean, the Captain’s brother.” Ellen heard the moans. “Robbie’s the nicest one.” Ellen closed the medical bag. “Well, I’ll leave you. It was very nice meeting all of you.” Ellen felt the strangest thing. Monica was touching her hair.
“Your hair is pretty. And soft.”
“Excuse me?” Ellen asked.
“Your hair is so soft. Grace feel her hair.”
Ellen shuddered when she felt Grace stroke her hair. “Um, we have a great chemist in Beginnings,” She started to get up when she felt another touch her hair and then another woman touch her arm. “Excuse me.”
“So soft.” A woman commented. “How are you so soft? We try.”
“Chemicals. Creams.” Ellen stood up feeling really uncomfortable. “Well, I should go.” She backed up. “You girls have been great.”
Grace physically stopped her. “Doctor, you should exercise extreme caution out there. Please.”
“I will. Hal will protect me personally.” Ellen hurried to the door. “Thank you.”
“Doctor.” Grace called to Ellen. “We’ll expect you not too late.”
“Um O.K.” Ellen opened the door, walked out, and popped her head back in. “Bye.” She shut the door. Ellen paused in the hall before going down, trying to shake the weirdness that still lingered after being in the room with the odd women. How strange they were to Ellen, so curious and treating her like she was a novelty or toy. After shaking a shudder once, Ellen hurried down the staircase and met up happily with Hal who was still waiting on her.
^^^^
Binghamton, Alabama
“Oh my God. Frank . . . Frank.”
Frank could hear Ellen’s voice in his mind as if she were in that office with him. The sounds of his last day, his last moment with her were as alive in his memory as he was.
Gun shots . . .
“El . . . Run.”
“I can’t leave you.”
“Run . . . Run.”
The touch of her lips. The rustling of grass. Ellen’s scream . . .
Frank’s eyes closed tightly, his forefinger and thumb pressed tightly to his eyelids as his head flung back in the chair. He swallowed harshly. His mind was with Ellen and his heart filled more with hatred for George.
“Frank.” Richie’s voice invaded Frank’s thoughts.
Frank raised his head up, opened his eyes, and let out a long breath.
“You have to call George.” Richie slid the phone to him. “You’re a half hour late.”
Frank sniffed hard and pulled the phone to him. “I hate calling him.”
“You know what to tell him about his man Marcus, right?”
“No. I’ll wing it.” Frank began to dial the phone.
^^^^
Quantico Marine Headquarters
With one hand on the just hung up phone and the other on his chin, George stared with seriousness after finishing his evening checkin with Frank. Marcus had left Binghamton a day early. Why? Marcus never bothered to call for his check in. Why? Frank had no explanation and that was the only thing that stopped George from being totally suspicious of something going on. Surely if there was something happening in Binghamton, Frank would have had some extreme excuse or made up story to cover up but Frank had nothing. That told George perhaps he was being honest and Marcus was just being facetious. Just in case, to take no chances, George decided he would move the plans along faster, first with the scientists and the two ambassadors. Instead of leaving for Binghamton in two days, they would leave at first light. Once there, George would move ahead with part two . . . Dean.
CHAPTER
SEVENTEEN
Bowman, North Dakota
Joe snoring loudly.
That was how Ellen began to tell the tale she told to the group of men who sat with her and Hal on Sgt. Ryder’s long front porch.
Joe snored so loudly, it seemed to ricochet throughout the campsite. It caused her to laugh and Frank to get annoyed with her. They moved their sleeping bag a distance from everyone so they could fool around. They were just sophomores in college.
“El, come on, Knock it off,” Frank whispered.
“I can’t help it..”
A ripping Joe snore and Ellen giggled again.
Frank sealed off Ellen’s mouth with his own, shutting her up. Buried within that sleeping bag, Frank managed to turn things aroun
d, getting as serious as he could in the little space he had.
Zip. Zip. Zip.
“Shit.” Frank tried to move his head but it wouldn’t go up very far.
“Frank?”
“Shit. We’re zipped in here.”
“What?”
“Shit. Someone is tapping me on the shoulder.”
“Who?” Ellen asked.
“Hello?” Frank called out
Muffled giggles and coming from right outside the sleeping bag he and Ellen were inside.
“Fuck.” Frank bit his lip. “Hal!”
There was the tiniest unzipping of the bag. It was just enough for Hal to open and speak into. “Um, Frank. Seems we both are in a dilemma. Me, see, I’m fourteen and federal law prohibits me from actually holding down anymore than a paper boy position. There is this really neat bike I want. You, Frank, are stuck in the sleeping bag doing God knows what kind of obscene thing with a girl that dad believes you think of as a sister. Now . . .”
“Hal, I’m kicking your ass when I get out of here.”
“You shouldn’t make threats, Frank. See, I can wake up Dad. What would he think about this?”
“You’re dead.” Frank reached for the zipper.
“I’m in control.”
At that point Frank lost it. He bellowed out and didn’t care whether his father heard him or not, or whether Ellen was right there in that bag with him. “Hal, I swear to God, let go of the zipper or you’ll become a fuckin statistic when they find your long haired skinny ass body half buried in the woods. Let go!”
All eyes on that porch moved to Hal.
Hal tossed his hands up. “What? No. No.” He shook his head. “Don’t look at me. That is not what happened. She is telling it distorted because she was in that bag. Jimmy was the one that stood over that sleeping bag, not me El, remember? Jimmy. I was reading a really good book.”
Danny Hoi spoke into the radio. “Robbie? Did you hear that?”
Robbie’s voice was loud. “Oh my God, Hal! Can you still lie! No that’s not what happened at all. I remember.”
The Horse Soldier: Beginnings Series Book 10 Page 27