Poor guy had been stuck back almost in the rear of the plane. Joshua had glanced back once or twice, and it hadn’t seemed like the young officer had enjoyed the best of flights.
Joshua understood his pain.
Jack fell down and broke his crown…
It wouldn’t leave his head.
Wincing against the sunlight, he wished he had thought to purchase sunglasses. It wasn’t like Joshua had tons of experience with voluntary detox. Usually when he’d dried out in the past, it had been because he couldn’t afford another bottle.
And it had never been in the South, with the sun beating down on him and the humidity at pretty damn well one hundred percent. It felt like he might as well be taking a shower.
By this point, Had looked like he’d mostly caught his breath. Joshua turned his head to look at the guy, hissing as the turn added to his already significant headache.
“You okay?” Had asked. “You look… Well, I mean you look great. But…”
“I look like shit, Had,” Joshua corrected him. “It’s okay. You don’t need to lie.”
“I wasn’t…” the officer began but then stopped. “No. You’re right. You look terrible.”
“You should see the other guy,” he quipped, and then licked his dry and cracking lips.
He needed some water. Somehow he always seemed to forget that drying out wasn’t just a metaphor for getting the alcohol out of his system. It described the terrible dehydration that could happen during that process. That tiny glass he’d gotten earlier on the plane was just not cutting it.
To fetch a pail of water…
And then Had handed over a bottle. “Here you go. Looks like this might help.”
There it was, in a nutshell. Had could be the most annoying person on the planet, and then he went and did something like that.
Joshua cracked the seal on the lid and poured the water into his parched mouth, feeling the cold wetness slide down into his belly. It was bliss.
After a long draught, Joshua grunted out, “Thanks, Had.”
“Sure thing,” the young man said, waving off the gratitude. “Listen. I may have a problem.”
“A problem?”
“Yeah.” Had swallowed. “I may have… inadvertently… ummm… given permission for my mama to show up here in South Carolina.”
“What?!” came a voice from up ahead of them.
Coop. That woman had super hearing.
“Your mother is coming to visit you during an investigation?” Coop’s skin, normally a dusky mocha color, was darkening dangerously, just like her demeanor. Joshua was just glad that, for once, it wasn’t directed at him.
“Well, no, not exactly,” Had sputtered. “I mean, yes, but I didn’t mean to. She sort of heard what she wanted to hear. See, we were supposed to be having a family reunion right now…”
“Wait,” Reggie interjected, “isn’t it just you and your mom?”
“I didn’t say it was a big reunion,” he muttered.
Joshua stepped in for a moment. “What does it matter?”
Coop seemed to be taken aback by that for a second. Her mouth worked, no sound coming out, and then she huffed out an exasperated sigh.
“She’s a civilian. We can’t have her messing up the investigation.”
Joshua shrugged, and then tried to keep from wincing. Even the simplest of movements seemed to be causing him pain today. This detox was shaping up to be a real doozy. Not that they were ever pleasant.
“She’s a grown woman. Yeah, she can be a little pushy, but so can you. And last I checked, she doesn’t generally shoot people.” An ache started behind Joshua’s eyes, but he ignored it. “Look, if she tries to get involved, push her back.”
Coop’s eyes narrowed. “I think you just want some more of her pulled pork.”
“Who wouldn’t? I mean, other than Orthodox Jews.”
“Well,” Had said, “Muslims don’t eat pork either. And there are lots of Hindus that are vegetarians, sometimes even vegan--”
“Okay, okay,” Joshua said, holding up a hand to cut him off. “My point is, we can’t control Had’s mom. And it would be stupid to try. But we can treat her as family.”
Everyone, Reggie included, stopped walking at that point and turned to face Joshua. Their faces were a mix of shock, confusion and concern.
“What?” Joshua challenged them.
They all three stared at him for a long moment, then glanced at each other. Reggie shook her head, Had looked down at the ground and Coop coughed.
“Nothing,” Coop answered. “Let’s go get a cab.”
Joshua nodded. At least they wouldn’t have to ride with Nadira this time. This was a new city, they didn’t have one of Bilal’s old recommendations for a cab driver. For once, it was possible that they could have a pleasant trip in a taxi.
Who knew? He might even get to take a small nap.
* * *
It was lucky that Had’s girlfriend knew just as many people as her dad used to. Before, Had would always make sure and call Bilal to have him recommend someone to take them around the new city. But now he could just ask Nadira.
They were in Colombia, South Carolina, the city closest to Fort Jackson. And Nadira had made sure he had a number to text when he arrived. So, of course, he’d texted. This was a friend of a friend, but Had was confident that any friend of Nadira’s friend was a… however that phrase should go.
The girl who showed up in a taxi was not at all what he would’ve expected. Her hair was bright pink and shaved on the sides. She had piercings in her nose and lips, with a tattoo of what looked like a dove poking its head above the neck of her black baby doll tee shirt.
“’Sup!” she said, leaning over the passenger’s side seat to call over to them out of the window. “You the ones that texted?”
Joshua groaned, glaring at Had. What was that all about?
But the girl was waiting, so Had stepped forward. “Yeah. That’s us.”
“I’m Phoenix,” she said, reaching to shake Had’s hand. “Nice to meet you.”
“Same.”
She glanced down at Bella, and for a second Had was worried that she wasn’t going to let Joshua’s dog in the car. That would scuttle this ride super quick.
“Hey, cool dog, dude,” she said to Joshua. He nodded back at her, his mouth still set in a sour expression. But then again, it was Joshua. He really only had one expression.
They all grabbed their luggage and dumped it into the trunk with Phoenix’s help. Then they clambered into the cab, with Coop up front and Joshua, Reggie and Had in the back. Bella draped herself across all the laps of all three that were in the backseat, her tongue lolling out in what looked like doggy humor.
Had was still stressed out about his mama. It was clear what Coop thought of the whole thing, and in spite of Joshua’s surprise approbation, Coop was his boss. What she said should go.
But Had also knew Mama. There was not a force on God’s green Earth that could stop that woman once she put her mind to something.
Phoenix turned around. “Where to, guys?”
Had perked up. “I don’t know about anybody else, but I’m starving. Can we stop for a bite to eat?”
Coop sighed from the front seat. “I guess we probably do need something before we head over to the base. But let’s make it fast, okay?”
“Any suggestions?” Had asked the cab driver. She wasn’t someone Nadira knew personally, but he was willing to take a chance here.
“Sure. I know a great place I can take you,” Phoenix answered with a grin. “Okay, everyone buckled up?”
Joshua groaned again from the opposite side of the car.
And then Phoenix reached down and turned on the stereo system. Had was braced to hear some kind of hard punk or metal… or at the very least techno.
Instead, what flooded the cab was… Sinatra? And at a volume that was just loud enough to be heard, but not so loud that it would interfere with normal human speech.
Had
glanced over at Joshua, whose mouth was hanging open. Then, a slow smile grew to cover the man’s stubbled face, and he leaned back, closing his eyes.
Their cab driver immediately began bobbing her head in time with “Fly Me to the Moon” as she hummed along. She caught Had staring at her in the rear view mirror and gave him a grin.
“Ol’ Blue Eyes. Gotta love him.”
Had could do nothing but nod his head.
What was even more incredible than this pierced and tattooed bright bird listening to Frank Sinatra was the way she was driving. It wasn’t like she was slow, but there was no sense of frenetic energy. She drifted from lane to lane, her turns as smooth as the best Italian gelato.
They drifted in and out of traffic, the movements in time with the crooning voice of the Sultan of Swoon. Before Had could almost register that this ride was unlike any he’d ever had before, it was over.
“Okay,” Phoenix said over her shoulder. “We’re here. Everybody out.”
* * *
The Immaculate Consumption was a coffeehouse restaurant that resided in an old brick building on the corner of Main Street and Pendleton, right near to the South Carolina State House. To the side of the restaurant was a small venue theater called The Nickelodeon. It was all kind of art-house cool, with a hip vibe to it.
Joshua hated that kind of shit.
But the smells coming from the place were admittedly good. Fresh coffee smells blended with the scents of the food they were preparing made Joshua’s stomach rumble. When was the last time he had eaten?
Joshua didn’t have tons of experience drying out. With the exception of this last time, when he’d done it on purpose, the beginnings of detox would send him scurrying for the nearest rotgut available.
Because with the tremors came mental pain, and this time that pain was ten times worse. Visions of his daughter, her face contorted in rage right before being gunned down by Coop, swam in his darkened vision every time he closed his eyes.
She had been there, right there. In front of him. Warped beyond recognition from the sweet little girl he had known, turned into a monster.
But his precious little girl.
And Jill came tumbling after…
Joshua shoved the thoughts and the song away from him. They were toxic.
And he needed to eat.
Phoenix had entered in alongside the group. Had’s insistence. The girl had protested once or twice that she shouldn’t be eating with clients, but it hadn’t been all that convincing. She was clearly hungry, and even more clearly wanted company.
Not Joshua.
He wanted to be as far away from other people as he could be. Only problem was, Humpty was still out there. And Joshua needed the others to track the killer down.
Glancing to his side, he caught sight of Reggie, who was staring at Coop. Okay, so maybe there was one person whose company he didn’t mind all that much right now.
The look on Reggie’s face was thoughtful, with a hint of something else in it. A stab of pain went through him, as he realized how much damage he had done there. Drunks weren’t known for their tact and gentle kindness. He wanted to do something, to make it better. But he knew that he wasn’t in any shape to be fixing anything.
Only Humpty mattered now. And if the death of his daughter had done nothing else… other than start him drinking again… it had solidified his desire to take that bastard down.
Bella bumped up against his leg, almost knocking him over. He looked down into his companion’s eyes, and Bella gazed back up at him.
She knew. She always knew.
Phoenix approached him, two plates held in her hands, a couple of coffee mugs balanced precariously on top of them. Joshua looked around for some way to avoid the pink-haired girl, but there was nowhere to go.
She nodded to a table that was right next to Joshua. All of the seating in the coffee shop seemed to be made out of old church pews. Not seeing any options other than running out of the restaurant or commanding Bella to attack the punk-chick intruder, Joshua sat down in the seat indicated.
Whatever. It wasn’t like Bella would have really attacked her, anyway. Lick her to death, maybe.
After depositing her plates and mugs on the table, Phoenix slid into the pew opposite him. She gave him an assessing look.
“You’re not doing well. Thought I’d grab you some grub.” She peered closer at his face. “And some espresso. Double shot.”
The steaming liquid in the mug looked as black as Joshua’s soul felt. But he lifted the porcelain to his lips, taking a sip.
It was strong, but good. Joshua wasn’t usually a fan of espresso, preferring just straight black coffee of the less intense American variety.
But this was exactly what he had needed. From the first sip, he could feel his headache beginning to release its vice grip on his forehead. The flavors were rich and strong, without the bitterness that Joshua had experienced with other espressos.
Phoenix, noting his reaction, nodded in encouragement. Leaning in closer, she spoke in a low voice.
“How long?”
“Excuse me?” Joshua sputtered, almost spitting out his drink.
“How long since you’ve had your last drink? You’re an alky too, right?” She noted his blank stare and waved a hand at him in dismissal. “Don’t worry. Not everyone can tell. I just know the signs.”
Joshua stared down into his espresso, trying to find meaning in the figures he found in the foam. How was he supposed to respond to this?
“Look,” she urged, pushing his plate toward him. “This doesn’t have to be weird. I just spotted another friend of Bill’s and wanted to reach out.”
“I’m not a friend of Bill’s,” Joshua corrected her. “Nor do I want to be.”
Phoenix pursed her lips at that, and then clucked her tongue. “You’re clearly not drinking. So either you’re the dumbest drunk I’ve ever met, or you’re wanting to stop for some reason.”
Joshua didn’t answer, but instead took a large bite of his sandwich. It was a turkey sandwich made on a croissant, with white cheddar cheese and slices of green apple, still warm from the oven in which it was toasted. And either he was really hungry, or it was one of the best sandwiches he’d ever had.
The cab driver continued. “Good. Eat up. You need the energy for what you’re doing.”
“I’m not doing anything,” he insisted, and turned his shoulder away from her, hoping she would get the hint.
She didn’t seem to. “Look. You can try to do this on your own. You know… gut it out. But it’s not going to work.”
“Thanks for your encouragement.”
“Hey,” Phoenix answered, shrugging. “I calls ‘em like I sees ‘em. Alcoholism is a sneaky bitch. Cunning, baffling and powerful. It’s bigger than you. It’s bigger than me.” She began to get up, but then paused for a moment. “You may not be a friend of Bill’s. But he can still be a friend to you.”
Then she was gone.
Joshua ate his sandwich, trying not to think about what the girl had just said. He had a task in front of him. There was no time in his life right now for meetings with broken old men whining about how rough recovery was.
But in the back of his mind, all he could see was his daughter’s face.
And Jill came tumbling after…
Inside of him, the urge to drink grew.
* * *
Fort Jackson was a huge, sprawling complex, stretching over more than 50,000 acres of land. But while there was a huge security checkpoint as they neared the main gate, Sariah had noticed that along the miles of fence line, there were multiple insecure access points.
Seeing as how this facility was enormous, and that the vast majority of what happened here was not super high-clearance intel, that made perfect sense. But she could also see that there appeared to be an additional security presence, at least at the main gate.
That also made perfect sense. You didn’t have a murder occur at one of the nation’s largest military bases without
people getting their feathers ruffled a bit.
Once inside the gate, past the suspicious guards who studied them all with a keen eye, lingering on Joshua and Phoenix the most, they were told to drive over to the welcome center, where they’d meet with someone from CID. Even as the security guard said the initials, it seemed as if he had tasted something bad.
As they drove down the road leading to the center, there was a sharp crack and the sound of breaking glass. Reacting instinctively, Sariah ducked, grabbing for the wheel to try to force Phoenix to pull the car over to the side of the road.
But the pink-haired girl snarled at her in response, slapping her hand away. She glanced at the shattered window, seemed to think for an instant, then spun the wheel, causing the car to spin around and land at a 90-degree angle to the curb.
“Everyone down!” she yelled, pushing Sariah even further into the well of the passenger side of the car. Sariah had no idea what to make of this behavior, but then another shot rang out. The rear window of the cab burst into tiny spiderweb fragments, held together by the laminate used in the safety glass, a perfect round hole in the middle. Whoever had taken a shot at them the first time had clearly not done it by accident.
At the same time that her mind was searching for a plan, she couldn’t help but note that Phoenix had angled the car in such a way that all of them inside were less exposed to the sniper. If she had done what Sariah had intended, they all would have been sitting targets, there for their attacker to pick them off one by one.
“Okay!” she called out to the back of the car. “Had and Reggie, on my count! I want you to lay down cover while I get out and find out if I can see where the sniper is!”
But before she could even finish the statement, Phoenix was out of the vehicle, moving around to the front of the car, the end farthest away from the direction from which the bullets had come. Her pink hair stood out against the green of the surrounding woods, and Sariah cursed the fearless girl even as she admired her.
Then another shot sounded in the still fall air, and she screamed into the back of the car. “Lay down cover fire! Now!”
With that, all three of them sat up, the two in the back having to displace Bella, their guns at the ready. Reggie straddled Joshua, rolling down the window on that side, while Had got ready on his end. They scanned the skyline for any hint of the shooter.
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