When Rome Stumbles

by David Kershner

  “Marines,” Josh replied.

  “Not, Josh Simmons?” he asked already knowing the answer.

  “One in the same. Do I know you?” Josh asked.

  “Oh, we’ve never met, but your name worked its way through the ranks during my time.”

  Josh chuckled as he said, “That can’t be good,” as he laughed. “You served?”

  “Rangers. Retired now... of course,” he replied as he broke the handshake and made a show of grabbing his belly with both hands. “What brings you into these unfortunate circumstances?”

  Josh was already prepared for certain lines of questioning and gave a non-committal answer. “I own some property on the other side of the forest. I saw a plane shot out of the sky.”

  “That must have been a traumatic event for you, Mr. Simmons,” alluding to the stories about Josh and his time in Europe.

  Josh wouldn’t accept the bait being offered. Long ago Josh had recognized and acknowledged the fact that most members of the military had heard about Bosnia and replied, “Oh, I’ve seen worse. As you’ve no doubt been told.”

  Toombs smiled and nodded. Slippery little bugger.

  An awkward silence enveloped the group. The three inspectors looked on in bewilderment until the Senior Inspector broke the stalemate. He began directing them to fragments of the fuselage.

  “As you can see on these pieces here and here, we seem to have both entry and exit holes consistent with larger weapons fire. This lines up with Mr. Simmons’ eyewitness account.”

  Mr. Toombs pointed to another hunk of the wreckage and said, “That one appears to have small caliber damage.”

  The inspectors looked closer at the piece he had identified. The Senior Inspector worked his way over and picked up the jagged chunk of debris. He walked back to the group and slowly rotated the evidence over for all five of them to see.

  “Good eye. Any guesses as to how these found their way into this?”

  Having already planned for this eventuality, Mr. Toombs had instructed the search and recovery team to riddle the fuselage with small arms fire prior to the NTSB showing up on the scene.

  “If I had to guess, there was probably a struggle on the plane and they most likely lost cabin pressure as a result of weapons fire on board. Given their proximity to a populated area, that might explain the F-15 being dispatched.”

  “F-15? Who said anything about one of those,” Josh interjected.

  He’s a quick one. “Didn’t have to. I’ve been briefed elsewhere,” Mr. Toombs retorted.

  The three inspectors pondered the debris and conversation between the two for a moment. All the while, the Senior Inspector continued to rotate the piece over and over in his hands. In the end, he decided to acknowledge the admission of military involvement.

  “He’s right, Mr. Simmons. An F-15 was dispatched. The pilot’s statement and his in-flight recorder coincide with the after action report we received from the DoD. The press has been kept at bay regarding the circumstances surrounding the crash. We are letting ‘equipment malfunction’ dominate the news cycle until there’s something more substantive to present.”

  Mr. Toombs already knew this would be accepted as plausible since it was he who offered the cover story to Edward and Congressman Abernathy.

  “Well how do you explain the fact that the engines were smoking when I first caught sight of it? This was before the kill shot I witnessed,” Josh said, playing along but casting enough doubt for the inspectors to continue to question Mr. Toombs explanation.

  “Excellent question, Mr. Simmons,” the Senior Inspector said. “Mr. Toombs?”

  Making a show of considering the possibilities, Toombs hesitated before answering, “If there was a struggle onboard, and shots were fired, they could have lost cabin pressure. The depressurization might have resulted in debris exiting the aircraft and damaging the engines.”

  Pausing to reflect on this statement, the inspectors turned in unison toward the remains of Samantha’s corporate jet. They were now looking for something specific. Josh and Mr. Toombs stood side-by-side observing the inspectors, saying nothing; neither party wanting to continue the verbal sparring match in front of the inspectors. Clearly, both thought, the other knows far more than they are acknowledging.

  After five minutes of fruitless searching, the Senior Inspector came over to them and said, “Thank you, gentlemen. You’ve both been extremely helpful. I think we can take it from here.”

  “What are you trying to find?” Josh asked in an effort to play dumb. Samantha had debriefed Josh about the entire flight prior to contacting the NTSB.

  “We’re looking for indications that something entered the engine intake and possibly damaged the compressor. Unfortunately, as you can see from what we’ve recovered thus far, it may be impossible to determine that. It’s still a possibility we need to follow up on though.”

  Accepting the explanation, Josh extended his hand to the inspector. “Well, good luck,” he said as he surveyed the parts strewn across the floor. “You’re gonna need it.”

  As the two shook hands the Inspector replied, “Thanks for coming in, we really appreciate it.”

  Josh nodded and started to turn and head toward the security desk when the Inspector said, “Oh, and Mr. Simmons, please be mindful of the non-disclosure statement you signed. We can’t have any of this showing up on the evening news. Not yet at any rate.”

  Josh smiled and said, “Don’t worry gentlemen. The glory will be all yours.”

  He then turned to Toombs and extended his hand. “Pleasure to meet you, Mr. Toombs.”

  * * *

  Basilia entered the house to find Evan and Layla interrogating Samantha. Katherine, assessing the situation differently, was off fixing a sandwich in the kitchen. Layla was standing in a firing position holding her father’s 9mm. Samantha had been tied to a kitchen chair that had been dragged into the living room. The pair had acknowledged Sam’s disabled state and decreased mobility due to the cast on her leg.

  “What the hell are you people doing?” Basilia demanded to know. “Lower your weapon, Layla! Untie her!” When no one made a move to comply, she screamed, “This instant Evan!”

  “No,” came the short terse reply from Layla.

  “Young lady, don’t you dare disobey me. I said to put that thing away,” the physician growled back.

  Katherine exited the kitchen with her sandwich in her hand and said, “You better do it... before she whoops you again.”

  When Layla had been seventeen, she had mouthed off to the only constant female presence in her life as Basilia had taken to looking after the girls as if they were her own. The petulant teenage attitude that Layla had dangerously flirted with for a time foolishly lashed out at the mother figure over something that really should not have been of any great importance to either of them. Unfortunately for her, it only served to stoke the embers of Basilia’s fiery Latin heritage who didn’t respond well to the disrespect. The ‘good doctor’ strode to the kitchen with purpose, cursing to herself in rapid fire Spanish, swiped a large wooden spoon from the drawer, and asked Layla to repeat the offence. To her detriment, she did.

  Basilia grabbed her by the arm with a vise like grip and began implementing corporal punished. Layla ran in circles wailing and attempting to break the hold. When Layla begged for her father to intervene, he laughed and said, ‘she’s just cashing the check your mouth wrote. You’re on your own’.

  Remembering this reaction, and her father’s unwillingness to aid her, Layla sullenly replied, “Yes, ma’am.”

  Observing the room while eating her sandwich, Katherine asked, “Do you know this woman?”

  “Yes. She is my patient and a guest of your father’s,” she answered evasively.

  “Since when does Dad allow guests? What’s she doing in our house?” Katherine calmly asked as she took another bite.

  Josh answered Katherine’s question as he walked through the front door, “She’s my guest and that’s all you need
to know, Katherine.”

  “Daddy? You’re back!” Katherine squealed as she ran over to him.

  “Yes. I’m back, sweetie,” Josh replied as they embraced. He gently kissed the top of her head as he set her back down.

  Knowing that Layla was the harder of the two, and given their last interaction, Josh knew he had to make a show of apologizing. He broke from Katherine’s embrace and walked over to Layla.

  “Layla, honey. You were right. I was being an idiot. I’m sorry. It won’t happen again.”

  Layla slowly looked her father up and down, silently judging his demeanor. She saw contrition in his eyes and in his manner. She had only seen him admit fault a handful of times in her life. He had never made such an overt gesture as apologizing in public. What is going on here?

  She hesitantly began to hand him his 9mm, but waited until he had a firm grip on the weapon before saying, “That better not ever happen again.”

  Layla released the pistol and headed upstairs to her bedroom. Josh watched her as he instinctively checked the breach. She hadn’t chambered a round. When she rounded the corner at the top of the stairs, he turned his gaze back to the room of people.

  “Now, would someone like to tell me why you have tied my guest to a chair?”

  “Protocol, sir,” Evan said.

  “Protocol?” Josh intoned.

  “Yes, sir. We entered the home to find the alarm disabled and an unknown occupant emerging from the kitchen. I drew my weapon and gave instructions to the intruder. She complied and Layla provided cover while we bound the trespasser. As we began to question her, she instructed us to call Dr. Martinez. We did. You arrived a few minutes after the fact.”

  Josh snapped his head around to look at Samantha, “You left the alarm disabled?”

  “I wanted some fresh air,” Samantha replied with a shrug.

  “Wait. What? You gave her the code?” Katherine questioned. “Have you lost your mind?”

  “No more so than usual,” Josh answered. “I wouldn’t have given it to her if I didn’t think she could be trusted.”

  “But you don’t trust anybody,” Katherine stated. “You’ve said that like a hundred times.”

  “I’m working on my personal growth,” Josh replied with a sly sarcastic smile on his face. “Evan, please untie my guest.”

  He did as he was ordered without a second thought. Once Samantha’s hands were free, she began to rub her wrists before complimenting her captors, “You should have seen it, Josh. They took full command the minute they entered. They swept the room and the house and secured the prisoner in less than ninety seconds. It was very exciting. The precision and team work were top notch.”

  “Who are you lady?” Katherine asked. “You seem to know our father, but we don’t know you from Adam.”

  “Josh?” Samantha said as she stood and picked up her crutches.

  Josh turned back to Katherine and said, “Honey, go get your sister, please.”

  Katherine did as she was instructed. Once she had made her way to the top of the stairs, Samantha asked in a hushed voice, “What did you find out?”

  “Mr. Toombs was there snooping around the debris keeping an eye on the NTSB.”

  “Crap,” Samantha replied.

  “Don’t worry about it. This farm, it’s land, all of the equipment, everything about me for the last decade are buried under a myriad of LLC’s. I’m essentially a ghost. He’ll have to do some serious digging to untangle that web and find this place.”

  Katherine returned with Layla in tow as Josh asked everyone to take a seat. Once everybody was seated, Josh decided to let the chips fall where they may and explained Samantha’s presence on the farm. He recounted the sight of the distressed plane, the F-15, finding Samantha in the woods, and the most recent events at Snyder Field.

  On several occasions, he paused to look over at Samantha for a visual confirmation of approval to say any more. She never declined his cues. When she saw that he was omitting details concerning GMO companies and Secretary McInerney, she did not interject.

  When he was finished, he stated that everyone, including the Martinez family, needed to stay vigilant in case Mr. Toombs did discover the farm.

  The room was quiet as each pondered what Josh had just told them. The silence was eventually broken by Layla when she directed a question at Samantha and asked, “So they all think you’re dead?”

  “For now,” Samantha replied. “No one can know I’m alive or where I am until I appear before Congress.”

  “And why are you doing that?” Katherine asked.

  “To testify about a number of things. Murder, conspiracy, and kidnapping. A lot of stuff actually.”

  Josh could tell that this was going to turn into a never-ending cycle of twenty questions. Before it spun into a full blown ‘Q and A’, Josh decided to halt it before it got out of hand.

  “Look girls, I know you want answers, and I’m sure Samantha would willingly sit here and provide them. However, at this point though, the less you know the better. All I need for you to do is be mindful of your surroundings and tell me, or Evan, or one of the other employees if you notice anything out of the ordinary while you’re here. If you even sniff an oddity while you’re at school, you call me immediately.”

  Josh paused and looked around quickly realizing that he hadn’t noticed that they should have been in Athens. “Wait, speaking of which, what are you two doing here?”

  “Laundry dad, duh,” Layla answered sarcastically.

  Josh shot her look that said ‘not now young lady’.

  “I wanted to check on you,” Katherine added cheerfully.

  Josh playfully gave her hair a tussle in reply.

  “Before you head back, I want you to double-check your packs. Make sure you have it repacked after our hunting trip in the fall. Load it the way I showed you, please. Don’t just cram it in there. Take those with you along with your Glock. Got it?”

  “Check,” Katherine answered.

  Layla groaned at the request as only a sheltered child could and remarked, “Fine, but she has to go. I don’t like her.”

  “That’s not your decision to make, Layla. I chose to bring her here. Samantha’s safety and well-being are now my responsibility,” her father answered.

  “She’s not gonna be anything but trouble. That’s something we don’t need any more of around here. Look,” she said as she directed to her father to observe Samantha. “She’s even got crazy eyes!”

  Ah, crap, Katherine thought.

  Josh whipped his head back toward Layla and barked, “That’s enough, Layla! This is my house, my rules. Got it!”

  No one spoke.

  Here they go again. Katherine abruptly stood up and addressed her father and sister. “You guys can stay here and fight if you want. I think she’s pretty and there’s nothing wrong with her eyes.” Then she stuck out her hand to Samantha and said, “It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

  “It’s nice to meet you too, Katherine.” Sam replied as the pair shook hands.

  After the introduction, Josh’s youngest daughter turned to Evan and asked, “You wanna go shoot skeet with me?”

  Evan glanced over at his employer who nodded.

  “Sure!” he answered to Katherine’s invitation.

  Josh and Layla never took their eyes off of each other. Their issues went back to before the kidnapping.

  “Samantha can come too,” she said as she gestured toward their father’s guest.

  “Oh, thank you sweetie, but,” Sam said and motioned to her leg.

  Katherine thought for a moment and then struck on an idea. “I’ll grab you a lawn chair so you it’ll be easy to work the thrower. How’s that? Besides, World War III is about to erupt in here. I wouldn’t stick around if I were you.”

  Samantha chuckled and then looked at Josh who smiled for the briefest of seconds.

  Josh waited for the others to leave the cabin before addressing Layla. When the door clicked shut, Josh let her have i
t. “What the hell is wrong with you?” he boomed. “Since when are you in charge? What kind of nonsense is ‘crazy eyes’? What does that even mean? When they get back, you owe her an apology, young lady. I swear, I’ve had it with your mouth. What do you have to say for yourself?”

  She didn’t speak.

  “Well?” he said impatiently. “I’m waiting for an explanation.”

  “I don’t like strangers,” she said in a barely audible whisper. It was loud enough for Josh to hear though.

  “Those are people you meet on a street corner, Layla. This was someone I took into my home. I’ve been caring for her for weeks and after all that, after she’s risked her life and jumped out of a burning plane, your introduction to her, the thing she’s going to remember forever about you, is how you insulted her and said she had crazy eyes. Nice, Layla. Real nice.”

  Chapter 10

  February 8th, 2022

  Josh pulled the Rhino out of the barn and parked in front of the steps leading to the front porch of the cabin. As he switched off the machine, he saw Samantha hobbling out. He smiled to himself. How can someone capable of enduring pararescue training, and hurtling out of airplanes, possibly look so awkward on a pair of crutches?

  While they were home for the weekend, the girls, along with Basilia, had gone shopping for some cold weather gear for Samantha. In Basilia’s words, ‘That tattered pant suit and Josh’s worn flannel shirts will never do’. Layla went begrudgingly.

  It was not lost on Josh’s daughters that his demeanor had changed with the arrival of Samantha. He was exuding far more patience and compassion. Josh waited on her hand and foot. Katherine thought it was sweet and chivalrous. His eldest felt the outpouring of emotion and constant ‘babying’ was nauseating.

  Regardless of how he acted around her, it was apparent to them that their father had not shared much regarding his more ‘extreme’ theories on the country’s current status and future predicament.

  Josh exited the Rhino and met her at the top of the porch to assist her with the steps. He stood in front of her, prepared to catch her like a parent with a toddler. She admonished him for the nursemaid treatment. Surrendering, Josh moved out of the way.