by Margaret Kay
Shepherd was not sure how to answer that. Besides his alarm set at zero five hundred, there was nothing consistent about his sleep schedule. Shepherd Security was a twenty-four by seven operation and he often got woke during the night. “No, I don’t.” He didn’t elaborate.
“What about your intake of food and beverages?” She asked.
“My office manager makes sure I eat a healthy diet.”
Vic snickered. “Does she still do all of your personal shopping?”
“She or Elizabeth,” Shepherd admitted. He saw the questioning expression cross Dr. Diana’s face. “Two of the women who work in the office.”
She wondered if either woman was his significant other. She banished that thought from her mind. His personal life was none of her business. “Do you drink alcohol?”
“Rarely.”
“What medications do you take regularly?”
“I’ve been using muscle relaxer patches often.”
“What about pain killers?” She asked.
“I do not use any for the same reason I rarely drink alcohol. I cannot afford to have my mental state diminished due to the job.”
“You’ve been dealing with this pain with no pain killers?”
Shepherd nodded slowly. “I have a high pain tolerance.”
She was surprised. “Vic said you do not leave this building often. You do realize that is not healthy, don’t you?” Diana asked.
Shepherd’s annoyance flared. He schooled his reaction. “Everything I need is here and the work we do is both demanding and important.”
“As I said, I’d like our next appointment to be at my office.”
“I could get away for a few hours tomorrow morning,” Shepherd offered.
“I’m only in the office on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays. For the past year, I’ve been attending the Midwest College of Oriental Medicine in Racine, studying Acupuncture. Oriental medicine also involves the use of herbs and nutrition for optimal health. It is a great addition to my practice to promote wellness and treat my patient’s illnesses and injuries.”
Shepherd beamed an impressed grin at her. “You are a busy lady.”
“How about Thursday morning?” She suggested.
“I could make that work.”
Diana brought her calendar up on her phone. She would have to move a few patients around, but she could work him in. She could have Lexi, one of the two massage therapists who worked for her, do a massage on him first at nine a.m. and then she could conduct his physical therapy session, followed by an adjustment. “How about nine o’clock?”
Shepherd opened his calendar. He had three meetings between zero nine hundred and eleven hundred. Two were internal meetings and would be easy to move. “Nine hundred it is.”
“I assume the massage will be first?” Vic asked.
“Yes, an adjustment holds better if it follows a massage,” Diana answered.
“I’ll join you at ten for the physical therapy session and the adjustment,” Vic said.
“Good. I’ll do your adjustment when we are done with Colonel Shepherd’s.”
Vic nodded. “I’m also one of Doctor Diana’s patients,” he told Shepherd.
“Let me get dressed and I’ll see you out.” Shepherd rolled to his bedroom and closed the door. He had a new, civilian client meeting later that morning, so he dressed in a pair of dockers and a button-down shirt. He slid his holster on, distinctly recalling Vic’s warning, and he topped it with a sports coat.
He rejoined the pair in his workout room, overhearing them discuss his treatment schedule and Doc’s possible involvement as he entered. He would have to either find a way to make it work or perhaps Dr. Diana would know of someone who could take him on part time providing home care, when she could not work with him.
“Doc is currently in the office about fifty percent of the time. Isn’t that right, Shepherd?” Vic asked.
“Approximately, and yes, I think he could provide the physical therapy portion of my treatment when he is here, but not the massage portion. Would you know of someone who would provide that here?”
“Maybe,” Diana said. “Let’s wait until we meet Thursday to talk further about it.”
Shepherd led them out of his apartment. Diana noted that everything was set up for Shepherd’s needs, handicapped door openers on all doors, everything at wheelchair height. She didn’t even have a handicapped door opener on her practice’s front door. She watched the numbers scroll down as the elevator descended, thinking about that.
Shepherd motioned her out of the elevator first. He pointed to his office door. “That’s my office.” Then he motioned down the hall towards the door they came in to enter the suite. “Angel should be in. I’d like you to show her what kind of adjustable desk to order, please.”
“Of course,” Diana said. “Are you planning to order a lift too?”
“Yes. I know I have room for it, and I think it is an excellent suggestion.”
As they approached the reception desk area, a dark-haired toddler, who was seated at an activity table squealed in delight and ran to Shepherd at the sight of him. Diana knew the child-sized table hadn’t been there when she’d entered the office a few hours earlier.
“Grandpa!”
She watched Colonel Shepherd scoop him up and give him a hug. “Hi Sammy. No school again today?”
“No,” Angel replied.
Only then, did Diana notice the very pregnant, dark haired woman who sat behind the desk where Brielle had been seated earlier.
“Elizabeth has a doctor’s appointment for Olivia this morning during pick up time, so she can’t get him after school, so I just kept him home today.”
“You could have gone to get him,” Shepherd said, while still embracing Sammy. “Doctor Diana, my office manager, Angel.”
Diana smiled pleasantly. She recognized both women’s names. “Hello, it is nice to meet you.”
“You too,” Angel said.
“Angel, Doctor Diana will show you a convertible desk I’d like you to order for me. I also need you to get me another, smaller lift for my office. Doctor Diana suggested I have both so I can stand for part of my day in my office while I work.”
“Great idea,” Angel said. “I’ll get both ordered today.”
“Doctor Diana, thank you,” Shepherd said. “I’ll see you Thursday. Vic, I’ll see you tomorrow.”
Both acknowledged him and he retreated back down the hall to his office.
“Where do I order the desk from?” Angel asked Diana.
“Amazon has them.”
Angel logged into the agency account. Diana helped her select one, a model that sat on the desk and adjusted to various heights. She ordered it. After Diana and Vic left, she completed an order for a second lift and harness. Besides the lift in Shepherd’s penthouse, there was a chair lift in the locker room area just off the large gym on subbasement level two. It was set up near the hot tub that Shepherd used often.
As the elevator descended, Diana spoke. “I’m not so sure he is actually paralyzed. There is something else going on based on the description of his sensations of feeling and the pain.”
Vic smiled. “If anyone can figure it out, it’s you. So, are you taking him on as a patient then?”
“I need to think about how it can work, schedule wise. I can have Lexi go to him several days a week to give him a massage. It’s the physical therapy portion that may not be so doable. My time to work with him is limited. An hour-long therapy session the three days a week I’m in the office will take too much time away from my other patients.” She blew out a breath.
“How many hours a week is Sheila Jean working? With your supervision, she could handle his therapy. I was only a semester ahead of her when I started working with Shepherd.”
“You were more advanced than most.”
Vic chuckled. “I had a great mentor.” He flashed her a warm smile.
Diana rubbed her temple as the elevator door opened. Sheila Jean was
an intern who did the twenty hours a week of her clinical rotation at Diana’s practice. She was in her senior year of her doctorate program. Diana was just not sure if she wanted to turn a case as complicated as Sam Shepherd’s over to an intern.
They stepped into the lobby. As they passed through the door into the parking garage, Diana remembered she had a few questions. “What were the circumstances of him being shot?”
“I’m not entirely sure,” Vic replied. “I know it was during a case the agency was working.”
“I can’t even imagine doing a job that would get me shot.” She shook her head. “That man is intense. You were right about that.”
“But he’s a nice guy. I have truly enjoyed working with him,” Vic said.
“You don’t need to convince me. I’ll see you Thursday,” she said. They separated, and she went to her car.
Sam Shepherd and his mystery symptoms were on her mind all the way back to her office and during much of the day. Later that afternoon, she did some research in her medical books that lined the bookshelf behind her desk. She was missing something.
Delta
At thirteen hundred hours on Wednesday, Shepherd was notified that Alpha and Delta Teams were preparing to depart Camp Lemonnier, Djibouti. It was twenty-one hundred in Djibouti. The sun had set several hours earlier. They were late leaving due to a technical issue with the chopper that would transport them.
He dialed Miller, who remained at the Ops Center at Camp Lemonnier to coordinate.
“The chopper just took off,” she said as she answered Shepherd’s call.
“What was the problem?”
“A mechanical issue with the rotors that shook out during the preflight checklist. They’re only a couple of hours behind schedule. Cooper’s confident they can still get the target and extract before daylight.”
“Did the CIA handler go with them?”
“Negative,” Madison replied. “He’s too recognizable in the region. It was discussed, but we believed the team had a better chance for success without him.”
“Keep me informed. I would like to be tuned in when they are on the ground,” Shepherd said.
“Roger that,” she said.
A few hours later Shepherd was summoned to Ops. The ground team was just minutes from reaching the LZ. He checked his watch. He was not crazy about this late hour of insertion. Both Yvette and Smith were in the room. “Yvette, start the mission timer. They extract in five hours, with or without the targets,” Shepherd ordered.
“I’m setting the timer as well,” Madison Miller’s voice came over the speaker.
On the main monitors the sharp images from the pair of military drones that had been deployed to the region were displayed. There were vehicles and fifteen people seen in a cluster three klicks north of the LZ. Nothing else. They watched the chopper come in fast. It set down for only twenty seconds. Then it lifted back off and sped away, leaving the eight figures behind.
“The team is now on comms,” Cooper’s voice came.
“The mission timer is set for five hours,” Shepherd advised.
“Roger that, Big Bear,” Cooper replied. “I hope to be out of here long before that.”
“You have some local traffic three klicks north of your twenty.” Shepherd then muted the comms on their end. “Smith, zoom in on the contact point on monitor two, but leave monitor one a wide shot,” Shepherd ordered.
With a few more keystrokes, Smith displayed the rendezvous point that showed no movement and no heat signatures.
“Rendezvous point alpha is clear. We’ll keep watch,” Shepherd said.
“Thank you, Big Bear. Keep watch of our six too, if you will,” Cooper said.
“We’ve got you,” Yvette replied.
A half-hour later, Cooper reported in. “The terrain is rough. We should arrive at rendezvous point alpha in approximately ten more minutes.”
“We’re not seeing anyone there, Coop,” Shepherd reported. “We’ll keep watching the area as you approach.”
“Better vacant than a force waiting for us,” Lambchop’s voice said. “He’s got three kids. As late as we are, I don’t blame him for bringing his family home.”
“Affirmative,” Cooper added. “We’ll proceed to rendezvous point bravo if no contact is made at the primary. The handler sent a coded message of the delay. We’ll give him fifteen minutes at the primary point before moving onto the secondary.”
“Roger, Coop.” Shepherd viewed the time. Ten more minutes to reach the primary point, fifteen to wait on the contact, and then another thirty to reach the secondary rendezvous point. That was nearly an hour more. He didn’t like it. And the secondary rendezvous point, which was the contact’s residence, was in the heart of the village. At least it was after midnight, local time. There shouldn’t be too many people moving around the village.
“I don’t like this,” Yvette said quietly.
Shepherd watched the minutes click by. “Smith, zoom the feed from the drone out so we can see the route from rendezvous point alpha to point bravo and mark them on the map.” He scrutinized the footage. “Coop, be aware that there is movement on the outskirts of the east end of the village. Adult-sized images. No children.”
“Roger. We’re heading to rendezvous point bravo now,” Cooper advised.
Shepherd’s gaze on the monitor shifted from the village to his eight men at rendezvous point alpha. They began moving towards the village. “We’ll keep watch over your vicinity,” he broadcast.
“That’ll speed them up,” Yvette said. She shook her head. “I sure hope this guy and his family are ready to evac.”
“Me too,” Shepherd agreed. “Even if they aren’t, they’re out of there in a few hours.”
Shepherd continued to watch the team move to the village. The clock continued to tick through the minutes. Occasionally, he saw a few people moving around the village. The patterns did not display a threat. Finally, thirty minutes later, the team reached the edge of the village.
“In position. Sitrep request,” Cooper’s voice came into the room.
“At this time, quiet. Proceed to rendezvous point bravo,” Shepherd advised.
“Roger. Proceeding to point bravo.”
Shepherd watched the eight figures advance through the village in two-by-two leapfrog formation, hugging the dwellings as they moved. His peripheral vision kept watch on the remainder of the buildings. The room was silent. He knew that Yvette and Smith were doing the same.
Four figures one street to the west of the team’s location, left a house, assault rifles in hand. Yvette broadcast the alert a split second before Shepherd opened his mouth. The four-man patrol immediately separated and fanned out from the house.
Shepherd broadcast the presence of the patrol that headed towards the team. “Freeze where you are. You’ve got one circling in from the north,” Shepherd said. “We’ll give you directions to avoid detection. Do not engage if possible.” He paused, watching the sole Somali to see what direction he would take. “He’s going around the building to the east.” He watched the team make the evasive moves he directed to move to the west side of the building. The team waited, holding position, knowing that Shepherd and Ops were their eyes.
Shepherd watched the four in the local Somali patrol circle through the village. He gave the team two more directions to avoid them over the next twenty minutes. Finally, the patrol returned to the house from which they’d come. That had been a costly half-hour in their tight schedule.
“Location secure, continue,” Yvette broadcast as soon as the door to that house was closed with the patrol within.
“Roger, Control,” Cooper’s voice said.
Shepherd watched as the team took up positions around the target house. Cooper and Lambchop approached the door.
“It’s not locked,” Cooper whispered. “In three, two, one,” he counted down. Then the two men disappeared into the house.
Shepherd waited; his eyes glued to the feed.
“The
target is not here,” Cooper reported. “His wife says he was summoned to Anan’s compound earlier this evening. Even if we’d been on time, he would have been a no show.”
“Affirmative. Does she know when he is due to return?” Shepherd asked.
“Negative, and Big Bear, the missus is nine months pregnant. Besides the three children, his very elderly parents are here too, expecting to evac with us. His mother has not been out of bed and walking on her own in months,” Cooper said.
“Aww shit,” Shepherd cursed.