by Warren Ray
“Thank you, Sergeant.”
The sergeant saluted as Winters pulled through the gate. He knew where the hospital was having been there many times. Seeing the building reminded him that Murphy was still here recovering from the gunshot wound he’d received in the sandpit after they rescued Reese and the other girls from the party-house.
He pulled around the building and into a parking spot. He then hopped out and directed Stacey to pull the van to the emergency entrance. A couple of orderlies came out with a stretcher and opened the back door where they moved Finley to the stretcher and carried her inside. The rest of the van passengers followed the stretcher leaving Winters with the girls out in the parking lot.
They approached Winters, who motioned them toward the entrance. They walked inside and found everyone standing in a waiting room talking to a doctor. The doctor finished reassuring Debbie that her daughter was going to be just fine.
Debbie approached Winters. “Thank you for doing this.”
“Thankfully, we had a place to go to.”
She nodded and turned back to her youngest daughter just as Colonel Brocket came around the corner.
“Captain Winters, it’s good to see you,” said Brocket with his obvious British accent.
“Colonel Brocket,” said Winters, as he grabbed the outstretched hand and gave it a firm shake.
“I see you came here under duress.”
“As always.”
“Indeed, Captain.”
Winters introduced Brocket to everyone and gave him a brief account. Brocket welcomed them and extended all the courtesies the base had to offer. He then had his assistant escort the moms with their kids to the hospital cafeteria to get something to eat.
Brocket turned to Winters. “General Standish will be available later this afternoon if you’d like to rest up beforehand.”
“I would, thank you and I have much to report.”
“I look forward to hearing it, Captain. In the meantime, you know your way around here, why don’t you take these two young ladies to the big cafeteria. It sounds like they’ve earned a spot at the table.”
“They have, sir. Believe me, they have.”
Brocket turned to the girls and shook their hands before excusing himself.
Laney grabbed Winters’ arm. “What’s the big cafeteria? What does he mean by earning a spot?”
“He means you’ve fought in a battle and deserve to eat among warriors.”
“Whoa, I love it,” said Laney in an astonished tone.
“Are you really a captain?” asked Collette.
Winters got a kick out of their excitement. “C’mon let’s go.”
“Yes sir, Captain,” giggled Collette.
“Please, just call me, Cole.”
“But he called you, Captain. Aren’t you a captain?” asked Laney.
“Not officially, but the guys in the Shadow Patriots chose to give me that title.”
“So, you really are a captain then,” protested Laney.
“I suppose so.”
Collette grabbed Winters’ other arm. “You need to stop being so humble. I like that you’re a captain.”
Winters shook his head as he led the chatty girls down the hallway and over to the cafeteria. They stopped chattering when they saw how big the place was and the hundreds of service men and women milling about.
Winters looked at the girls. “Pretty cool isn’t it.”
“Wow, this is amazing,” said Collette.
He led the girls inside and noticed some of the soldiers giving him nods as they walked by. Most of the personnel knew who he was and what he was doing in the states. They also knew that if he was escorting these two girls, that they, too, were somehow involved. They had a strict protocol on who was allowed to eat in there. Everyone else ate in one of the other cafeterias. Winters recognized a few of the men who trained him and his fellow Shadow Patriots. They greeted him and said hello to the girls as they walked by. The girls were out of their element and didn’t know how to act.
“Do they all know you?” asked Laney.
“Not everyone, but I think most do. Those men who just said hello, they’re the instructors who trained us.”
Winters got them in line and grabbed a tray for each of them. He watched their eyes grow wide looking at all the food that was before them. They hadn’t seen this much food in a long time and they couldn’t help but take a helping of everything. He found them seats, and they sat down to begin devouring their food. They giggled in ecstasy tasting all the different morsels.
Some of the service personnel smiled as they watched the girls relish their meals. It must have been an odd sight to see if you didn’t know the girls’ background. Winters knew it and knew how much this meant to them. They had earned a spot at the table and were taking full advantage.
Chapter 67
Washington D.C.
Too anxious to get to work, Major Green skipped his morning jog and headed in early. He wanted to survey the damage to the garage and be there in case there were any phone calls from Lawrence Reed. He didn’t get much sleep last night thinking about everything that had happened and how they were able to pull off such an important mission. They had just turned the world Reed lived in upside down. No longer would he believe everyone feared him. Not only were people conspiring against him but even his biggest benefactor, Gerald Perozzi, was now an enemy. Word would get around the district that he was no longer a power broker, and this would drive the man crazy.
What would be his first move? Would he be reactionary or more patient and put things into place first? Would he attempt to pull off a similar attack on Perozzi? He’d sanctioned many murders in the past, but this would be different because Perozzi maintained a formidable security team. Stormy reported how quickly and professionally they had moved in when Wagoner tried to arrest her. It wouldn’t be easy to get to Perozzi, which is why he was glad it would be Reed. Besides being involved in the bombings of cities, the man ordered the killing of a United States Senator and made it look like an accident.
Green turned onto the street where his parking garage was located and entered it. The first thing he noticed was that nothing was out of place. There was no crime scene cordoned off and his bullet-ridden van was gone. Green parked his car and headed down the ramp to the office building entrance. Everything looked normal. Green kneeled down looking for any traces of blood from the bodyguard’s wounds and found nothing. He looked at the walls where rounds had hit. All the bullet holes were gone. Someone spread new concrete over the holes and then repainted the whole wall the dark gray that matched all the other walls. It was as if nothing happened. Green pulled open the door and let out a guff realizing that Reed was a calculating man. He was going to pretend as if everything was okay and act like the shooting never happened. This would give him an advantage he already possessed but just didn’t know it. He was doing this to make Perozzi think nothing happened when in reality, Perozzi didn’t know that anything had happened. Green forced himself to control his facial expressions realizing this was even better than he could imagine. The only thing Perozzi would be thinking about was Reed was how he had tried to have Stormy arrested for some petty revenge play. Perozzi had to be happy about that because his interference made him look like a big hero. The only thing he had on his mind was getting her into bed. Unbeknownst to him, she was no longer going to work there, which would further increase his anger with Reed.
Green entered his office and hung up his jacket. He sat down and smiled at the blinking light on his phone. He reached over and dialed up his voicemail to hear the message.
“Major, this is Lawrence Reed. I want you to do me a favor and not mention to anyone what happened last night. It’s a matter of utmost importance that you do this. I know I can count on you, and we’ll talk in the near future.”
Green leaned back in his chair curious as to what Reed was planning. He could only imagine the things he was putting in place at this very moment. He was going to make a play
all right but it wasn’t going to be anytime soon. Green decided that Reed was more calculating than reckless and wouldn’t just fly off the handle. He couldn’t wait to get out to Manassas and report to everyone. They had decided for the sake of operational security that no one would contact any of the others in case their phones were tapped or they were being followed. Besides wanting to report in, he also wanted to see Stormy and check on how she was doing. He realized he had become more attracted to her when he saw her taking down Perozzi’s hired man. The way she jumped up and brought him to the ground was astonishing. Then watching the excitement flow out of her afterward and how thrilled she was had turned him on. Not only could she handle herself, but she also relished the fight. You didn’t meet this kind of girl every day or ever.
Green got up and made a pot of coffee hoping his attraction wouldn’t get in the way as they pursued a victory against Perozzi and Reed. He sat down in the chair and watched the water drip into the glass decanter. He’d have to keep his emotions in check so he could keep his head clear. Now was not the time to allow any kind of distractions to get in the way of their pursuit of taking down this phony government. Nothing was more important than re-establishing a government by the people and for the people.
He poured the coffee and sat back down before taking a sip. The coffee was strong and it reminded him of the coffee he shared yesterday morning with Stormy. Try as he may, he couldn’t help thinking about her again. He smiled thinking how her place was a mess and reflected the way she was now living. Hectic and exciting. It made him realize it was the same for him. On the edge and taking chances. He took another sip of coffee and from the window he looked across Lafayette Park. Joggers were beating the path racing toward some imaginary finish line. His finish line was clear, but the path was full of obstacles still unseen. They had just hurdled over the biggest obstacle. Now they would have to wait and see what happens next.
Chapter 68
Winnipeg Canada
After finishing the food on their trays, Collette and Laney patted their stomachs a few times comparing who had the biggest. Neither of them had even seen this much food in a long time and couldn’t wipe the smiles off their faces.
Winters laughed at their silliness. Then he heard a high-pitched voice coming from the entrance of the cafeteria. His eyes grew knowing whom it belonged to. He twisted around to see one of the instructors pointing his way.
“Cole,” Sadie yelled as she came running over.
Winters’ face lit up and he pushed away from the table to stand up.
Sadie charged in and jumped into his waiting arms. “You’re here.”
He squeezed her tight for a few moments soaking in all her excitement before letting her go.
“Why are you here? Where is everybody? How long you have been here?”
“I just got here and needed to get these girls fed before I came to see you.”
Sadie looked over at the girls and as always took the initiative to introduce herself.
She held out her hand first to Laney. “Hi, I’m Sadie.”
Laney looked at Collette before standing up. “Oh my God, she is so cute.” Instead of grabbing her hand, she gave her a big hug. “I’m Laney and I’ve heard all about you and couldn’t wait to meet ya.”
Collette came around the table and did the same. “You are just too adorable, I’m Collette.”
“You guys came with Cole then? What happened?”
“Cole, here, saved our lives,” said Collette proudly.
Sadie beamed at Winters and then put her arms around his waist.
Winters looked around the room. Many of the service personnel stared at them with grins on their faces. Sadie had become quite a fixture on the base and because of what she went through with the Shadow Patriots, was the only kid allowed to eat in the big cafeteria. Her outgoing personality made it easy for her to make friends with most everyone.
They sat back down at the table.
“So, what have you been doing since I’ve been gone? They been keeping you busy?”
Sadie let out a big sigh. “I’ll say.”
“So, what have you been learning?”
With her hands animating she said, “Well, I’ve learned how to field strip and clean a Colt C7A2 rifle.”
Winters leaned back in surprise. “Oh?”
Sadie giggled. “Don’t worry, I’m doing school stuff, but if I get my lessons done early then I get to learn the fun stuff.”
Laney grabbed Collette’s arm. “I so like this girl.”
“No kidding, she’s, like, totally cool,” said Collette.
Winters caught the eye of one of the weapons instructors, who shied away when he looked at him. “Glad to see everyone’s been taking a liking to ya.”
“I even got to shoot it… on full auto,” she said slowly pronouncing the last words.
A proud grin spread across Winters’ lips.
“I even hit the target with a nice tight grouping.”
“Meeks will be happy to hear you’re continuing the shooting lessons,” said Winters referring to the first lessons Meeks gave her and Reese on the campus back in South Bend, Indiana. That was where Meeks gave her the Ruger SR-22 that Winters had now used on several occasions.
“How is Meeks? How’s everybody?” Sadie grabbed his hand, “has anyone been…killed?”
Normally, this would be an odd question for an eleven-year-old to ask. However, she’d witnessed the destruction of her hometown while watching her mom being taken away, had a gun held to her head, sat in a jail cell, escaped Mordulfah’s compound while bullets flew around her, and saw many people shot to death. Sadie was no ordinary kid and there was no sense in hiding the truth to someone who had been through hell.
“Everyone’s good,” said Winters, not sure where to start.
Sadie tilted her head waiting for him to continue.
Winters gave her a quick overview of what had happened leaving out certain parts, including the death of Cara. Her smile disappeared making Winters regret telling her all the things he had, but then she’d find out eventually.
“My big sisters are okay though?” she asked referring to Amber and Reese.
“Yes, and you’d be proud of them, they’ve been nothing but amazing.”
“But Nate and Elliott?” she asked as tears began.
“Don’t worry, they’re going be alright.”
She wiped her eyes and nodded. “I’m gonna make them get well cards.”
“Honey, they would love that.”
Winters wanted to get some rest before his meeting and asked Sadie to show the girls around the base.
“Sadie, my little brother, Seth, came with us,” said Collette, “and also our friend’s little sister, Kayley. She’s your age. Would you like to meet them?”
Sadie’s mouth fell open. “Kids my own age, alright!”
“They’re at the hospital waiting room.”
“I know the way,” she said proudly.
Everyone stood up and Sadie gave Winters a hug before grabbing Collette’s hand and leading the way.
Winters held Laney back and whispered to her. “Do me a favor and don’t tell her about Cara. I want to tell her in private, okay.”
Laney nodded
Winters watched Sadie lead the girls out of the cafeteria. He was proud of her and was happy she was taking full advantage of her surroundings. With her mom dead and her dad most likely dead, it was good she was being kept busy. It couldn’t be easy for an eleven-year-old. He only wished he could be here for her and was tempted to stay a few days, but that would be impossible because he needed to get back to his men.
Chapter 69
Winters opened his eyes and blinked a few times. He didn’t want to get up because his body was so relaxed he thought it was part of the mattress. He rolled his shoulders and moved around the soft cotton sheets massaging the backs of his legs. Despite everything he’d been through the last few days, he had slept well. The excitement of all the fighting, dri
ving the injured Finley to Canada and then seeing Sadie had overwhelmed him. He had fallen asleep as soon as he hit the sheets.
He took a couple of deep breaths then got up to arch his back before standing straight to grab a quick shower. As always, the hot water felt too good and he had to force himself to get out. He found a clean olive drab t-shirt in the closet and threw it on before heading down to the cafeteria. He entered the big room and found it almost empty, allowing him to grab a quick bite to eat. He had to laugh at himself for putting too much food on his plate like the girls had done. Truth be known, he hadn’t seen this much food since the last time he had been here.
He looked at his watch noting it was time for his meeting, so he finished up and headed down the hallway to Standish’s office. He had hoped to go by and see how Finley was doing before the meeting but ran out of time. He was ushered into the same conference room they’d used before with the blue swivel chairs. Both General Standish and Colonel Brocket stood up as he entered.
“Captain Winters,” greeted Standish, in his deep baritone voice.
“Sir, it’s good to see you,” said Winters, shaking his hand.
“I trust you slept well,” said Brocket.
“Like I haven’t slept in years.”
“Battles wear the body down,” said Brocket.
Tea was brought in and served as Winters began giving them an account of the last couple of weeks. Winters took a break from the story and took a few sips of the tea. He needed to gather up the courage to continue. He was just getting to the attempted rescue of Cara. His hands began to tremble and Standish noticed it.
“Are you all right, Captain?” he asked.
Winters took a hurried breath. “Yes, it’s just that this next part is a little tough for me, but it needs to be told.”
Standish put his hand on the table. “Take your time, sir.”
Winters coughed and took another sip of tea trying to clear the lump in his throat. He took another hurried breath and continued with the story.