by Laura Acton
Blaze was slowly coming to the realization that he truly didn’t know the General. Christ, it was like Blondie. Who the hell was the real General and did he have the same motivation to protect like Blondie? He answered the second question quickly. Yes, the General did.
He weighed what he knew of the General before Blondie joined his unit. It didn’t match what the General did to Blondie, but it matched the man sitting in front of him now. Blaze’s mind started to walk through Blondie’s history with the unit and to look for whatever it was that was making his gut scream.
Alpha Team just stared. There was so much they didn’t know about the rookie. His past seemed to be full of hurt and misconceptions.
“Can you tell us what happened to Dan that time?” Bram asked.
Patch regained his self-control and recounted the whole story about Blondie running to save the unit from the rigged building and his fast recovery from his injuries.
Winds noticed that Blaze was lost in thinking mode and so he told them how Blondie blamed himself for Gambit’s death and got a laugh from several of them when he shared the part about Blondie saying he should’ve dodged the bullet.
Glancing around the room, Nick saw his team trying to process all they had heard thus far. He suggested that they take a short break and everyone agreed.
Winds, Jon, and Bram left the room to do a security sweep.
Lexa rose and headed into Dan’s room along with Patch and the General.
Blaze sat immobile in his chair—deep in thought.
Nick rose and stretched his legs. He wandered over to Loki and Ray. “How are you two holding up?”
Loki quietly said, “After hearing the first two accounts, I’m afraid to know what ‘toy soldier fallen?’ refers to. That’s just a bizarre message.”
Ray nodded in agreement.
Chapter Forty-Nine
July 17
Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, QC –
Canadian Forces Leadership and Recruit School – 11:30 a.m.
Major Mark Broderick made his way across the grounds of the basic training school as he looked for his son. They had been unable to contact Jeff via phone because he was busy with his latest group of basic recruits. Mark smiled as he watched several platoons going through drills.
He was proud of his son. Jeff was a fine man who eschewed going to university and joining the military as an officer like his cousins had. Well, not all his cousins—Danny and Kyle both opted for the enlisted route, too.
Mark knew that Adam and Zach chose the university route because their parents, Connie and his youngest brother Ryan, put great stock in a higher education. It was probably because those two were only fifteen when Connie became pregnant with Adam and they worked damned hard to remain in school and raise Adam at the same time. Adam and Zach also chose that path because they loved to fly and they had to be officers to get into the flight programs.
Spotting his son in the mass of soldiers on the field, Mark couldn’t help grinning as he listened to his son drill the new soldiers. Yes, he was a proud father. Jeff had found his calling, and the military benefitted from his ability to turn soft civilians into disciplined, combat ready, soldiers. Mark stopped when he reached the area and waited for Jeff to finish or notice that he was here.
Drill Sergeant Jeffrey Broderick noticed his father long before he came to a stop. He continued with the drill until he could hand it off to another instructor. He saw his good friend Sergeant David Thompson heading his way. He called him over and David agreed to take over for a few moments while Jeff found out why his dad was here. Jeff strode to his father, came to attention, saluted, and held it until his dad returned the salute.
Mark returned the crisp salute and then said, “Walk with me.” They fell in step together, their strides evenly paced as they headed away from the recruits.
Once they were out of hearing range of the recruits, Jeff smiled and said, “Always nice to see you, Dad. What brings you here?”
Mark stopped and said, “Danny.”
Jeff tensed when he saw his dad’s expression. “What’s wrong with Runt?”
Mark’s expression changed as he smiled and chuckled. “Runt? Seriously? Isn’t Danny taller than you?”
His father’s smile and laugh eased his tension. “Well, yeah, but he’s still lower on the totem pole than me. He’ll always be Runt—even if Zach and Kyle are younger than him. Dad, what’s up. You wouldn’t come all the way to Quebec to see me in person if it wasn’t important.”
“You’re right—as usual. Scott located Dan. He’s been in Toronto this past year working for Walter Gambrill as part of the Tactical Response Force.”
“Really? Okay. How’s he doing? Ready to reengage with the family?” Jeff asked with hope imbued in his tone.
Mark placed his hand on his son’s shoulder. “Danny’s been hurt and I have some things to tell you that are going to make you angry at your Uncle Will. But I need you to put that aside for now. I came to see you because all the guys are planning to go see Danny soon. We need to give William a few days to sort some things out, but Danny is going to need our full support.”
Jeff blinked. “What’s Uncle Will done now? I swear, if he’s hurt Runt again. I’m gonna tear a strip off his hide this time—you won’t be able to stop me. He’s caused Danny too much hurt.”
“Calm down, Jeff. You know your uncle loves Danny, it’s just …”
Jeff interrupted when his father trailed off, “It’s just wrong. No two ways about it, Dad.”
Mark shook his head. “It’s complicated, Jeff. Now, I know you have to get back to your recruits. How about we meet for dinner later? We can have a private conversation and I can bring you up to speed with what I know.”
Inhaling deeply and letting the anger he felt towards his uncle ebb out for now, Jeff nodded. “I’ll get David to cover my duties tonight. I have a feeling it’s gonna be a long conversation.”
Mark blew out a breath. “Yes, it probably will be, son. I’ll meet you at 1900 hours at Restaurant Le Samuel, I’m in the mood for some Mediterranean food.”
Jeff nodded again. “I’ll be there.” He came to attention and saluted with a small grin before taking his leave of his dad. He liked paying compliments to his father. His dad was an exceptional man. As he marched over to his recruits a small part of him wished that Runt had a similarly good relationship with Uncle Will. Both of them were missing out by not having a good father-son relationship.
Grand Citadel Hotel – Main Suite – 1:30 p.m.
The short break turned into a longer than expected break when a group of very drunken men got off the elevator on their floor. The drunkards refused to leave, insisting that they were on the correct floor. Jon had called in local patrol units to take the men to lock up after the drunks started throwing punches and one of the men peed in a plant in the hallway.
By the time the situation was handled, it was close to lunch so General Broderick had ordered up lunch and insisted that they needed to eat before tackling the briefing again. After lunch, Blaze woke his men and had them get showers and something to eat. Then he stationed Hal, Angus, Duncan, and Russ in the hall near the elevator in case other unwanted people tried to access this part of the fifteenth floor.
As everyone settled back into place, Loki asked, “So we talked about the first two, ‘fly Danny fly’ and ‘run Danny run’. What happened when you got ‘toy soldier fallen’?”
Loki was shocked and immediately sorry he’d asked as he watched the General’s reaction. Dan’s father was standing near the table when tears welled up in his eyes. Loki watched dumbfounded as the General turned quickly away from the group and walked to the window. The normal erect posture slumped and his head dropped to his chest.
His eyes wide, Loki turned to look at Ray.
Ray patted Loki’s shoulder, a gesture that told Loki that Dan’s father’s reaction was not his fault. Ray’s stomach dropped as Dan’s scars came to mind and he realized when the General must’ve gotten t
hat photo.
Stunned at the General’s reaction, everyone remained still and quiet. Blaze realized which event it was tied to as tears welled in his own eyes. He was seeing a side of General Broderick he hadn’t thought existed. But the intense pain and guilt he’d read in the General’s eyes was unmistakable—his eyes spoke to him just like Blondie’s eyes.
Blaze rose and joined the General. With a soft voice, Blaze asked, “Sir, would you like me to tell them? I think I know when you got that one. Was it at the beginning or after we rescued him?”
“Both, twice,” William whispered in answer.
Taking a steadying breath, Blaze turned back to the others. “The ‘toy soldier fallen?’ refers to when Blondie was captured and tortured for three months. The General received one photo when Blondie was taken and one after he was found.” Blaze knew he didn’t need to explain more. They all knew what happened then. There was a loud intake of breath from several people.
Undetected by the others, hot and cold emotions were roiling deep and clashing within Winds as he sat not moving a muscle. A storm was brewing.
“Whoever this person is, they’re a freaking bastard!” exploded Loki. “We need to find him and put a stop to this. To send a message like that’s just …” Loki trailed off, unable to put a strong enough word to something so despicable.
General Broderick had thought he was ready to discuss this one with the group—but he wasn’t. He brushed away the welled tears quickly and drew himself tall and taut. William turned to the group and stated flatly, “I’m going to check on Daniel.” With that he strode into the room and closed the door firmly behind him.
After the door closed, Alpha Team started to quietly discuss the meaning of the photos, but realized they needed more information. Was someone only provoking emotional hurt with those photos or was there something else behind it? If so what? It had gone on for years. They started to disperse a bit as Loki pulled his laptop to him and began to search for information. He wasn’t sure what he was looking for, but he couldn’t sit idle. So he tapped away.
Lexa, Ray, and Nick began discussing what the possible motivation or profile of the subject might be.
Jon, Bram, Blaze, and Patch moved to a far corner. Jon asked if there was anything they could share about Dan’s captivity that might help. Blaze reluctantly told them only the barest details. He shared that Blondie was with another unit when he was taken, that he’d been held for three months, and that Blaze’s unit found and rescue Blondie.
Bram shared with them what Dan had said in the bank and how he’d saved two of the three men by sharing his painful past. They all saw Patch’s eyes well with tears and watched him walk over to Dan’s bedroom door, slide down to the floor with his back against the wall, and bury his face in his knees.
Blaze quietly said, “Patch kept Blondie alive when he should’ve died. That period of time was very difficult for Patch. Blondie was in so much pain. We nearly lost Brody then, too.”
Jon asked, “What do you mean? Was he taken too or injured in the rescue?”
Shaking his head, Blaze said, “No, but I’ve said too much as it is. Sorry, I can’t answer any more questions. Some I can’t say and some isn’t my place to say. I hope you can understand.”
Bram nodded understanding completely.
Jon crossed his arms. He wished knew more. It could be important in keeping Dan safe and maybe getting him to take fewer risks. Although from what he heard so far—jumping off a friggin cliff—retraining Dan would be difficult if not impossible, but he was damn well gonna try.
Winds continued to sit unmoving, staring at nothing—totally engulfed in the chaotic emotions warring within. The storm was gathering and not even Blaze was aware that a category five was imminent.
Grand Citadel Hotel – Dan’s Room – 1:35 p.m.
As he watched Daniel sleep, William thought that showing his emotions showed his weaknesses. His weakness could and had been used to harm the ones he loved. That damned photo had been used for years against him, against his son.
He’d failed to protect Daniel so many times and his son hated him for it. He failed to protect Daniel when Sara died. He’d failed his son when he was only eleven and sixteen, too. So many things he wished he could go back and change. He was a piss poor protector of his son. Daniel always got hurt because of him and his decisions.
Get control now, Broderick! he silently ordered himself. Now isn’t the time to try and sort this out. You’re on the job. Put your emotions away in your fortress. Bar the gates and lock them down. They won’t help Daniel right now. Get control! William slowly gained the upper hand and started to put his General mask back on so he could rejoin the group.
He groaned a bit as he realized just how un-General Badass-like he’d been in front of his Special Forces men for the past day. He thought that there might be some interesting repercussions from letting his guard drop so far down. But it was all about Daniel and it was so very hard to hide those emotions. He was so tired of hiding them. It seemed his son was hurt and in danger regardless of whether he showed how he truly felt or not.
Taking one last deep cleansing breath, he quietly said aloud, “I’m not a coward. Time to face this, repercussions be damned.” William looked at his son. “I promise to figure this out. You deserved better than I gave you. I’m sorry for messing this up so badly. I love you, son. I hope one day you will come to realize that.”
William leaned down and kissed his son’s forehead, glad to feel the fever gone. He stood and walked to the door. Self-control regained, William put a hand on the doorknob, secured his stoic mask in place, turned the knob, opened the door, and then strode out exuding confidence once more.
Grand Citadel Hotel – Main Suite – 1:45 p.m.
William had seen the expressions on the group. They all cared and they were intelligent. He’d been trying with no success to resolve this for years. He had ideas and suspicions, but no hard evidence. He couldn’t charge Plouffe without evidence. He was pretty sure it was him—his suspicion had grown stronger since finding out about the blackmailer with a name that started with Pl.
Pletcher also started with Pl, but his gut didn’t think he was associated with the mail theft or the photos. He needed solid proof and he wanted to know why, too. Perhaps Daniel’s team could find evidence that linked Plouffe to this.
If what William suspected was correct, then Daniel was in danger and William needed help to end it once and for all. They would help. It was time to lay the rest of what he knew and who he suspected out on the table.
As he strode back into the room, the General asked, “Everyone ready to continue?” Nods all around indicated yes. “Although those three burned the hottest, I received many, many more over years, most not related to Daniel being hurt.
“They would just randomly show up. Always the same photo. The messages on the ones not related to injuries were always a variation of the same message. However, my analysts couldn’t figure out what it meant. It made no sense to them or to me.”
“What was the message, the variations?” Loki asked, hoping for something he could search on.
The General responded, “HL followed by a number and HB also followed by a number. The HL and HB were constant, just the numbers changed.”
“Fuck!” Winds bellowed.
“Shit!” Blaze roared.
“Dammit!” Patch shouted.
All eyes pinned to three irate men. Their anger and shock was clearly visible.
Jon’s stomach flipped. He knew why the guys reacted this way. What the hell was going on?
“Our code, our goddamned code,” Blaze expelled forcefully then he struggled hard to get a breath back in.
“Your code?” William asked alarmed. His gut was clenching. Did he really want to know the answer?
A category five hurricane of words exploded from Winds, “Nearly every goddamned time you sent him out on a mission with another unit he came back in bad shape and on the edge. They didn’t care about him!
“It was our way to find out how bad it was physically and how many kills he had to make. HL for the number of days he was out alone—no one covering his six. HB for the number of targets he had to kill.
“You fucking cold-hearted bastard, you nearly killed your son’s soul! You’re heartless. This … all this concern now … it doesn’t wipe away what you did to him for years.
“Blondie never had down time. never! What the hell were you thinking? He was in the field for six straight years! The only breaks he got were when he was injured—which happened way too damned often when he was with the other units.
“You never even punished the assholes that left him alone sixty kilometers from base camp after seven days in his perch and thirty-two kills.
“He saved their asses and they just forgot him. They left him to fend for himself—unarmed and in hostile territory!
“Blondie almost fell off the edge that time. it was too damned close—too many times it was too damned close!
“He was your perfect soldier—always hit his target. You used and abused him at every opportunity. You have no idea how many times I wanted to kill you for that. You had no concern for him—he survived in spite of what you did to him.
“Blondie coped, with our help. He always did his job without fail. He always came back no matter what you threw at him—until he finally broke after killing Brody.
“I’m so fucking happy he’s no longer your toy soldier. He can actually live a life instead of just surviving now that you can’t fuck with him.”
Slammed hard with the hurricane force of Winds rage, General Broderick braced himself and assumed a steel-backed stance. His face hardened, stone cold, with a look that would put fear in most men. He held his ground unmoved and met the diatribe that was spewed forth head on.