“Do you need an excuse to leave? I’m sure I can find you one,” Katie said.
Jamie shook his head. “He’s my father. I’ll deal with him.”
“Might want to put on your tactical armor, if that’s the case.”
“I’ve armor enough. Thanks for the heads up.”
“Always.”
Katie ducked back out of his office after a quick salute. The door slid shut, giving Jamie the privacy he so desperately needed. Sitting back down in his chair, he stared blankly at the nearly complete report for a few seconds more before shaking his head.
“Fuck,” he muttered, rubbing at his eyes with one hand.
Jamie did his best to finish up his paperwork before his father came around. He managed to make it to the second to last page before a knock sounded on his door some thirty minutes later.
“It’s open,” he called out.
The door slid open on a small group of people standing in the hallway, probably at the center of every agent’s attention within eyesight. Jamie really didn’t want to deal with the rumors about his father again. People within the upper ranks of the MDF knew who his father was. Everyone else made do with speculation, but it was hard to deny—for security’s sake—when they shared a last name. The identities of metahuman families were kept secret for a reason.
Senator Richard Callahan waved aside his aide and MDF escort before stepping into Jamie’s office. Jamie got to his feet as the door slid shut, discreetly activating the privacy settings in the small room as the door shut. It’s not that he didn’t trust the people he worked with, because he did, to a certain extent, but his family was none of their business.
“What are you doing here?” Jamie asked.
Richard raised an imperious brow, gaze tracking over the pristine office Jamie had claimed for himself three years ago. “Is that any way to greet your father?”
Jamie waved him to a seat before retaking his own. “You know I hate when you visit me here. It’s not like when I was in the Marines.”
Richard took a seat on one of the two chairs angled before Jamie’s desk. The chairs were straight-backed and uncomfortable, built for work, not for leisure. His father didn’t seem to notice or care that the furniture in Jamie’s office wasn’t up to his usual high-class standards.
“I didn’t think you’d meet with me if I called you and requested you come over. Dinner last time was interrupted, after all,” Richard said.
Jamie eyed his father as he saved his work without looking. “I gave you my answer.”
“Walking away isn’t an answer, Jamie.”
“I kind of thought it was.”
Richard’s blue eyes narrowed slightly, but his expression remained calm and impassive. If there was one thing Jamie’s family knew, it was how to show the world a politely neutral face that gave away absolutely nothing even as they twisted a knife made of words through their target’s metaphysical heart.
“I take it you haven’t thought much about my request,” Richard said.
“I thought about it, but I’m not changing my decision.”
“I wasn’t aware you’d made one.”
Jamie grimaced. “Let’s cut to the chase, shall we, Father? You want me with you when you run for president, but the only way that will happen is if I leave the MDF. My status as a metahuman can’t be disclosed to the public unless I’m legally a civilian. I have no desire to join the civilian world right now. I will support your endeavors in private, but I can’t do so in public. Not how you want me to.”
“I gathered as much, which is why I sought a meeting with the MDF director today. Under the guise of a senator concerned about the allocations the MDF is asking for in the next fiscal year through the DOD’s defense budget, of course. It always takes me at least a week to leave D.C. after recess has been called, what with all the never-ending business I must attend to.”
Jamie tamped down hard on the fury rising through him, refusing to give his father the satisfaction of his anger. “Excuse me?”
“Because of your unique status, I thought it prudent to let the director know of my intentions to run for president. My announcement will come late this year, I’ll campaign for the Republican nomination throughout next year, and if everything goes to plan, I’ll be the Republican nominee on the ballot in two years. That is plenty of time for you to ease out of your position here.”
“Or you’ll what?” Jamie asked in a low voice, fighting to keep the rage out of his voice. “Ask the Senate Appropriations Committee on Defense to lower the funds allocated for the MDF? You realize that’s extortion?”
“It’s not extortion when the DOD accounts for more than half our federal budget,” Richard replied coolly.
“Bullshit. It’s extortion no matter how you dress up your visit today.”
“I’m well aware of what services the MDF provides this nation as a whole. But you have spent twelve years putting your life on the line for this country. It’s time you put your family first. It is time you come home.”
“I am putting my family first, or do you think fighting to keep this country safe is anything less than that?”
Richard tapped his fingers slowly against the armrest of his chair. Jamie held his father’s gaze because looking away wasn’t an option. He wasn’t a child anymore, bound by his parents’ rules and the restrictions that came from living in such a politically public spotlight. Everything the Callahan family did had to reflect positively back on their name. Negative press was unwanted and undesirable. He’d learned that lesson young.
Jamie knew he had fallen off the media’s radar over the years. Family pictures his father sent out for campaign press releases and holiday emails rarely showed him anymore. His excuse had always been his deployment, but being stationed Stateside now meant he was back within reach of his parents and their ever-present demands. Extricating himself from them was always a headache.
“I think you have made your mother and me worry quite enough,” Richard stated flatly after a brief, tense silence.
“I understand your worry—”
“I doubt that. You aren’t a father. If you were, you would know the fear a father has for their children when they are in harm’s way.”
“I’d believe you cared if you didn’t see me more as a puppet to your political aspirations than as a son right now,” Jamie snapped.
The barb hit hard, judging by the faint flinch around his father’s blue eyes. If it was anyone else speaking to Richard, a reaction would never show. But Jamie was his son, and family always knew how to make every word hurt. They knew where to look to see the damage.
“You will always be my son,” Richard eventually said.
“And a means to an end for you, just like Mother and Leah. The perfect family of a high-ranking politician. I hate to break it to you, Father, but I’m not perfect. I’m not even human anymore.” Jamie leaned forward, never blinking. “I’m a Marine and I’m a metahuman. Those two facts will never change. And if you think for a second that your game here will earn you points and get me to change my mind, let me tell you—it won’t. If you try to hold the MDF budget over the director’s head in retaliation for me not leaving my post, then I guarantee you will not see me again, and I’ll leave it to you to explain to Mother why I no longer take the family’s calls.”
Richard’s eyes snapped with anger at Jamie’s ultimatum and at the loss he didn’t think he’d sustain. His father might have been used to making underhanded deals in Congress with other Republicans to further their own coffers above the health of the Republic, but Jamie would not be a party to that.
“This is my job, Father. This is my life. I won’t give it up simply because you want me to.”
“But you’ll give it up in the line of duty?” Richard asked coldly.
“In case you forgot, I’m harder to kill now.”
“That’s not a comforting fact at all.”
“I don’t mean it to be. War isn’t a game, so don’t treat it like one. I’m
not your pawn.”
Richard clenched his teeth together, nostrils flaring, before he got himself under control. He stood up, smoothing down the front of his business suit with hands that didn’t shake. “I never thought you were.”
Jamie got to his feet, refusing to be looked down upon. When he spoke, his tone was freezingly polite. “I’m sure you believe that. Good luck with your future campaign.”
Richard stared at his son as he adjusted the cuffs of his suit sleeves. “You can’t hide here forever, Jamie. The media will wonder about you, whether you are by my side or not. I came to warn your director about that inevitable problem as well. The media will dig until they know your story.”
“Then I suggest you do your best to keep them looking the other way. You’re good at that. I’m sure it won’t become a problem.”
The icy blandness between the two of them was nothing new. It brought Jamie some relief though, because it signaled this fight was over. For once, it had drawn to something less of a stalemate and one he cautiously tallied as a win in his favor. How long it would last once he spoke with the director, Jamie couldn’t say.
Richard turned and approached the office door, hesitating only a moment before swiping his hand over the control panel. “Call your mother.”
The door slid open and Richard left Jamie behind, taking the last word with him. Jamie let him have it. Sighing, Jamie sat back down in his seat and ran both hands through his hair, adrenaline making his heart pound in his chest. He really wanted to shoot something right about then, but damage control couldn’t wait.
“Ceres, connect me to the director if he’s free,” Jamie said.
“Certainly, Captain Callahan,” the AI said. “Director Nazari is available and wishes to speak with you.”
“Of course he does,” Jamie muttered under his breath. A holoscreen snapped into existence at the edge of his desk, the video uplink filled with Nazari’s face. “Sir.”
“I take it your meeting with your father is over?” Nazari asked dryly. “Was it as illuminating as mine?”
Jamie flushed a little from anger and shame that shouldn’t be his to bear, but he felt it anyway. “I’m sorry for my father’s actions, sir. He had no right to use me against you or the MDF.”
“No apologies are necessary. The senator is a politician. I expect that sort of attitude from those people, especially when they demand a face-to-face meeting. Are you leaving the MDF?”
“No, sir,” Jamie responded in a clipped voice.
Nazari’s gaze sharpened. “Good. If that display of arrogance just now actually got you to change your mind about serving with us, I’d schedule a very long meeting with you and the brass to help you see the error of your ways. I know how much you like meetings, Callahan.”
Jamie most certainly did not like meetings with the chain of command. He knew of no one who did. “Yes, sir.”
“The senator will be escorted around for a tour of the main building to help shore up his reason for being here. His meeting with you is on the books as a friendly meet and greet to grease Congressional opinion of us in a positive way.”
Jamie’s mouth twitched. “Of course, sir.”
“His actions do not and will not reflect badly on you, Callahan.”
“Yes, sir.”
“I’ll be on hand later to see the senator off base. I’ll have Ceres inform you when he is finally gone.”
“Thank you, sir.”
The uplink cut out, leaving Jamie alone in his office. He slumped in his chair, thoughts circling through his mind. His father had always been ambitious and his mother would always support that. For all that he and his father definitely did not see eye to eye regarding Richard’s nascent presidential campaign, his father was right in the sense that the media would not overlook Jamie’s absence. He was going to have to prepare for that eventuality.
He used to not mind the media when he was younger. His mother was the spinmeister of the family, a fact even his father would not argue. Charlotte knew how to make sure her family only put the best foot forward for the media. Jamie’s absence was sure to make things difficult for his mother, both in the political and the home sense. He absolutely hated disappointing her, but she’d been the one to teach him how not to cave in the first place. Neither of his parents should be surprised he’d taken all their lessons to heart.
Jamie tensed as his office door slid open, not in the mood for a second round with his father. Only this time, it was Katie again, an odd look on her pretty face.
“Are you needed for the dog and pony show right now?” she asked.
“Does it look like I want to be anywhere near my father?”
“Excellent. Alexei just called me since he couldn’t get through to you. He and Kyle are heading to your condo right now. They have news, about what, they wouldn’t say over comms or through a telepathic link, but it sounded important. They want the team to come to them.”
Jamie frowned, straightening up. “Our comms are encrypted and secure. Why wouldn’t they trust that avenue of communication? For that matter, your telepathy is even more secure than our comms.”
“I don’t know. I didn’t ask. I just told him I’d get you and the team on the move.”
If both Alexei and Kyle were asking for a meeting off base, whatever information they had, they didn’t seem to trust voicing it within MDF headquarters. Jamie didn’t know if that was some holdover paranoia from their time in Strike Force or if whatever they’d found out could directly impact the MDF and they couldn’t trust the security within its walls. Both options worried him.
Jamie tapped into his comms as he got to his feet. “Guys, we’re getting lunch off base. Meet Katie and me in the garage.”
They left his office together, heading for the elevator down the hall. Thankfully, his father was nowhere in sight. Jamie didn’t know what he would’ve done if they’d ran into Richard again.
Probably sic Katie on him, Jamie thought to himself.
I heard that, Katie said.
15
The Monsters In Your Head
Jamie crossed his arms over his chest and eyed Kyle and Alexei, the jacket of his uniform pulling taut over his broad shoulders. Kyle couldn’t help but look.
“All right, we’re all here,” Jamie said. “What’s so important that you needed to pull us off base?”
Alexei nodded at Kyle. “Your English better than mine. You talk.”
“That excuse was old when we were teenagers,” Kyle retorted.
Jamie pinned them with a look. “One of you, or both of you, talk.”
Kyle scratched the back of his head and sighed. Their team was arrayed around the couches and chairs in Jamie’s living room, all of them staring at him with serious expressions on their faces. When Alexei had called Katie and asked to meet with everyone back at Jamie’s condo without giving a reason, they’d been prepared for a fight. He was glad to see they weren’t getting one.
“Is the condo secure for privacy?” Kyle asked.
Katie didn’t look up from her personal laptop. “All security systems are fully functioning.”
“Right. Okay.” He cleared his throat. “Three years ago Alexei and I were part of a Strike Force squad seconded to a CIA team working out of the Directorate of Operations. Our liaison was their team leader, Special Agent Cora Everly. They had actionable human intelligence that a drug company based out of Geneva had managed to successfully isolate the instability points of the Splice chemical, stabilize those localized points, and render it ineffective through the human immune system. Like with Dr. Patel’s work, word got out that Helix, Inc. may have found a possible vaccine.
“The mission was strict extraction. The CIA discovered the Switzerland government really didn’t want that cure out on the market if the vaccine turned out to be viable. War is big business and Switzerland might be a neutral country, but it makes a lot of money doing so. Same can be said for any other government. You find a way to halt the human immune system’s response to S
plice and you get zero metahumans and less dead people for politicians to rally around, crying war.”
“Man, I hate politicians. Present company excluded,” Donovan said.
“I’m not a politician,” Jamie replied.
“Thank God for that.”
Kyle grimaced, sharing a look with Alexei, before he continued speaking. “Everly turned out to be a double agent and a shapeshifting metahuman. We never did find out who she was working with. We were running dark with command when we all split up. Everly impersonated the lead scientist once she got inside. When we infiltrated the biolab, she was waiting for us, along with the mercenaries under her command, a few of which were metahumans. They managed to get most of us trapped in restricted areas before she initiated a lockdown. Alexei and I were rearguard and outside those areas of the lab, but Everly’s mercenaries pinned us down. We got caught and detained.”
He clenched his hands into fists, crossing his arms over his chest. This wasn’t a story he wanted to tell, and he’d told it too many times since being transferred out of Strike Force. It never got any easier. “They sprayed everyone down with Splice before slagging the server and setting fire to the lab to destroy the scientific work.”
Out of everyone who’d heard the story, the six people standing and sitting before them were some of the few who intimately understood what those words meant. Kyle was thankful they didn’t press for more.
“Katie?” Jamie asked after a moment.
“Ugh, the CIA actually did a decent upgrade on their firewall since the last time I hacked them. Give me two more minutes and I’ll be in. I need to reconfigure my backdoor,” Katie replied as she tapped away at her laptop with focused intensity.
“You hack CIA?” Alexei asked, sounding both impressed and worried at the same time.
“It’s not hard.”
“For you,” Trevor said with a snort.
“Far be it for me to say no when their retained security company asks other agency hackers to help find flaws in their system. I’m not the only one who left something behind. I’m just the only one who didn’t get caught.”
In the Wreckage: (M/M Sci-Fi Military Romance) (Metahuman Files Book 1) Page 24