Operation: Healing Angel

by Margaret Kay

  “Yes,” Peggy agreed, wanting her daughter protected.

  “And just so you know, she is armed,” Shepherd said.

  “I, I assumed she would be,” Peggy said.

  Shepherd placed a kiss on Diana’s cheek. “Have a good day. Madison will bring you back to HQ or I’ll come get you.”

  Diana locked eyes with him. She loved this man so much! The strong emotions washed through her, almost overwhelming her. “You have a good day too. I’ll see you tonight. Plan something good for dinner.”

  He smiled a confident smile, and he nodded. “Yes, ma’am.”

  Diana watched him leave, worried more about his safety than her own. If he was the target, shouldn’t he have protection with him when he was out of the office? She would mention that later in the evening.

  “Were you going to get me one of your polo shirts?” Madison asked.

  Diana’s gaze shifted to her. “Yes, follow me and I’ll get you one as well as show you the office.”

  Later, just past noon, after a full morning schedule of patients, Peggy brought sandwiches from the deli next door to Diana’s office for her and Madison. “Thank you, Mom. Not sure what I’d do without you.”

  “How much do I owe you for lunch?” Madison asked.

  Peggy’s eyes swept between her daughter and Madison. “Nothing, it is my treat with my thanks to you for protecting Diana. Do you really think she is in danger?”

  “As Shepherd said, we’re not taking any chances.”

  “Could I talk to Diana alone for a moment?” Peggy asked. “I’m sorry, I don’t mean to offend you.”

  “Not at all,” Madison said. She took the sandwich with her and stepped into the hallway, closing the door behind herself.

  “Mom?”

  Peggy wrapped Diana in a hug. “I am so worried about you.”

  A pang of guilt hit Diana. “I know you are. Mom, I am so sorry I didn’t tell you about Sam and me. I wanted to. This relationship with him is important to me. He is important to me.”

  “He’s a good man, an honorable man. Why didn’t you tell me?”

  Diana breathed out hard. “Pride maybe, I don’t know. I wanted to share it with you. But I didn’t want to tell anyone in case it didn’t work out. I didn’t want to have to tell anyone, especially you, that I just don’t have it in me to have a good relationship like you and Dad had.” She paused and smiled as tears gathered in her eyes. “You and Dad were great together and made a great home for us. I remember you two always danced in the kitchen while you made dinner. You always spoke kindly to and about each other. You provided an example of what a great relationship should be.”

  Peggy hugged her again. “You have it in you, Diana, but you never found a man who did too. I pray Colonel Shepherd is that man.” She pulled away and gave Diana a compassionate grin. “I better let you wolf down that sandwich. Your next patient is waiting.” She turned to leave, but then paused and turned back again. “I love you Diana and I am very proud of you. If I don’t say it often enough, I’m sorry.”

  Diana and Madison walked Pam, Diana’s two o’clock patient, out from the treatment rooms. Diana saw Ben Rosenblum seated in one of the chairs, waiting. He made a point of looking at his watch. “Mom, Pam will need another appointment later this week.” She paused and her smile met Pam’s. “Have a good week.”

  “Thank you, Doctor Diana. It was nice to meet you, Madison,” Pam said.

  “Ben, come on back,” Diana said. She was only five minutes late getting to him. Certainly, he had to be happy about that. “How do you feel today?”

  “I’m stiff.”

  She led him to the physical therapy floor. “Ben, this is one of my interns, Madison,” she introduced. “She will be observing our session.”

  “What happened to that kid, Sheila Jean?” Ben grumbled.

  “She is working with one of the other therapists two afternoons and evenings a week to accommodate her school schedule,” Diana answered. She found it curious he mentioned it. “Why do you ask, Ben?”

  “Just wondering why you seem to have a revolving door of interns and she struck me as a good kid.” Ben Rosenblum gave Madison the once over. “You look a little old to be an intern.”

  “Physical therapy is a second career for me,” Madison replied without missing a beat. She replied pleasantly even though her protective instincts flagged red. Was he just an annoying asshole or was there something shifty there that needed a second look? She’d mention him to the digital team and have him looked into.

  Diana was impressed with Madison and how she responded. She was glad she had chosen Madison to be her shadow. She already counted Madison as a friend. She realized that she had a different life now than she had before the attack at the cabin. Things were different for her now, the knowledge she had about what Sam and his people did. She had new friends as revealed the previous day at the BBQ. Even though there was a potential threat, she was excited for the future.

  That evening she met with Michaela and Doc, as Sam had wanted. The technology was fascinating, a very small device injected into the muscle, under the skin at the back of the shoulder that gave them a distinct location anywhere in the world. A few things would block the signal, but for the most part, it was detectable.

  Even so, she declined the administering of one of the trackers, agreeing instead to wear a necklace with a tracker in it after learning that the babies and children wore ankle bracelets as an alternate. The possible short-term side effects of the injection were too great and may interfere with her ability to adjust patients. Plus, she wanted to do a little more research on her own into the trackers and how they worked.

  Shepherd didn’t like that she declined, but he respected her reasons. She also promised that she may reconsider after conducting her own research into them. For the short-term, the necklace tracker and Madison continuing to provide protection was good enough for him.

  Yankee

  Over the next few days, Shepherd became increasingly frustrated. No intel was discovered to indicate who was responsible for the attack on them at the cabin. He found it hard to believe that there was no chatter about it. None, whatsoever. It was like it hadn’t happened.

  Diana communicated with her instructors at the Chinese Medical School and received her assignments to complete on her own. Others, she was able to do online. Her clinical schedule would be adjusted to allow her to make up the hours later in the program. She would be allowed to continue the program shifting to a fully online semester for the next six weeks of coursework.

  She completed the work from her office at the clinic and worked in a few extra patients that week. It was a compromise that she and Shepherd worked out. Her driving up to Racine three days a week was not a situation he felt comfortable with until those responsible for the attack on them were discovered. And Madison tagging along to class was not an option.

  By Friday evening, the man Delta Team had taken to Great Lakes Naval Training Base and Hospital was recovered enough for them to begin to question. He was a ghost. His fingerprints and DNA were not in the system. He had no ID and would not give them a name. Shepherd had been notified earlier in the week that the same held true for the dead man the CUT Team had removed from the boathouse. Who the hell were these fuckers?

  Diana’s car was returned to the Shepherd Security private garage area. No tracker was found on it. It was like the incident at her lake house hadn’t taken place…but it had.

  Saturday morning, Diana and Madison were again at the clinic. She had a full schedule of patients. Diana was already accustomed to Madison shadowing her as she provided physical therapy and chiropractic care to her patients. She’d almost forgotten that Madison was not really an intern.

  Over the week, they’d spent a lot of time talking about a wide range of subjects. And she’d learned a lot about Madison, her past, her education, her military service. Madison had shared with her how she and Cooper had gotten together, succumbing to the powerful attraction they both had fe
lt. They’d gotten close, and Diana truly admired and appreciated her. She was swiftly becoming one of Diana’s best friends.

  “If things are quiet at work tomorrow, you and Shepherd should come to our house for dinner. Angel is home from the hospital with little Johanna and we plan to go see her for the first time. John said it is killing Shepherd that he hasn’t met her in person yet. Shepherd has Skyped with Angel and has seen the baby, but that isn’t the same as him holding her. You guys could go meet her before coming over. This has to be the longest Shepherd has gone without meeting one of the babies. I know he’s not wanted to bring any trouble to Angel’s doorstep, just in case there is a threat, but it’s time to not let this interfere with life.”

  Diana agreed. It had been nearly a week. There were no leads on who it had been. She’d shifted her classes to online and had Madison with her when away from the Shepherd Security Building. Everything else seemed to be normal. They couldn’t live like this indefinitely. Maybe it had been a case of mistaken identity? Maybe there was no direct threat against them. She would like to think so, anyway.

  By lunchtime, Diana knew she’d chosen the wrong shirt to wear with the necklace with the tracker in it. It kept catching on the lace neckline of the shirt. Without thinking about it, she took the necklace off and laid it onto her desk. If she didn’t, it would surely ruin the delicate shirt.

  Shepherd was on a video call with Mason. There were still no leads or intel into the attack the previous weekend at the cabin. “Whoever it was that came after us, is keeping quiet. I can’t believe there is nothing out there, zilch.”

  Mason frowned. “The dead body removed by the CUT Team proves it happened.”

  They disconnected the call, Mason promising to stay on it.

  Just then, Shepherd’s cell phone chirped. It was Lambchop. He answered it, not expecting his report to be anything more than the last three had been. “I sure hope you finally have some news for me.”

  “We cracked him. It wasn’t you they were after. It was Diana.”

  “What?” Shepherd spat. “Diana, why?”

  “His boss, one of her patients, one Ben Rosenblum said she had seen a text message on his phone that would put him in a compromising situation. That was the motive.”

  Shepherd had heard that name. He closed his eyes and thought for a second. The asshat who gave Peggy a hard time that one day he was in the office was Rosenblum. “What were their intentions when they came to the lake house?”

  “Their instructions were to find out who she told about the text and then kill her. You just happened to be there. They had no clue who you were. Rosenblum is in the import export business, and not all of his dealings are legal. He lives up on the Gold Coast in a high-rise condo facing Lake Michigan.”

  “Leave him in the base’s military police’s custody. I want Delta Team to head back to HQ immediately. We may need you.”

  “We’ll be on our way in five minutes,” Lambchop replied.

  Shepherd dialed Ops. He relayed the information. Yvette reported that both Madison and Diana’s trackers still showed them at her clinic location. His heart beat wildly in his chest and he felt anger surge through his veins. He dialed Diana. She did not answer. He checked his watch. She should have wrapped her day up with the last patient an hour earlier. Could she have been that far behind schedule? He dialed Madison. She did not answer either. As he dialed the front desk of the practice, his dread spiked. The familiar recorded message that the line was out of order was the answer. His phone rang. It was Ops.

  “Shepherd, Emergency Services reports an explosion and fire at Diana’s practice. They’ve just scrambled equipment,” Yvette stated. Her voice was as controlled as it always was in an emergency. “I’m scrambling Alpha Team now. They are all at their homes, closest to Diana’s practice location.”

  He heard keys being tapped. She was typing into their emergency notification system. A moment later the alert came to his phone. “Thank you, Yvette. I’m heading over too.”

  “Roger, I assumed you would.”

  His heart pounded in his chest as he ran down the seven flights of stairs to subbasement level two and the garage. He shifted to drive before his seatbelt was even on. It seemed to take forever to get out of the garage and onto the street. Then he pointed his SUV towards Diana’s office and saw the thick, black smoke rising over the buildings. It was a stark contrast against the brilliant cobalt sky. Oh fuck!

  Shepherd was forced to stop his vehicle at the perimeter the police already set up a half a block from Diana’s building, which he could see was consumed in flames. He continued on foot and rushed towards the action, badging his way past the police tape. Three fire trucks and several ambulances were on the scene with over a dozen firefighters and EMTs in the area.

  They had a group of at least a dozen people off to the side of the building, employees and patrons from the surrounding businesses, it appeared. Several of the people wore shirts with the Deli’s name on it. The deli was also on fire. He scanned the group of people but didn’t see either Diana or Madison.

  “Shepherd, with Homeland,” he identified himself, holding up his badge, to a cop who approached him. Then he saw his team, near the open door of an ambulance. “My team is onsite.” He pointed to them. His feet pounded the pavement, propelling him towards the ambulance. His heart was lodged in his throat. Only Madison was within. “Where’s Diana?”

  Madison sat on the stretcher. An icepack was held to her head. “We were attacked as we left and locked up for the day. No one was around when we stepped out of the building. I reconned the immediate vicinity before Diana joined me. A car suddenly came from around the building and the passenger, wearing a black mask, threw a flaming projectile at us. I pulled Diana out of the way and flung us both away from the building. It went through the glass window and exploded. That’s all I remember.”

  “A large piece of the door was on top of her when we arrived on scene. She was unconscious,” one of the EMTs replied. “I recommend she is transported to the hospital for an eval. A concussion is likely.”

  “I don’t want to go to the hospital. I’m fine,” Madison protested.

  “You need to get checked out,” Doc insisted.

  Shepherd raised one finger, pointing it at her. “Hospital, and that’s an order. Coop, go with her.”

  Garcia stepped back over to them. He had been talking with the police. “Got a witness from the deli that saw the car and a woman fitting Diana’s description being forced into it after the explosion.”

  Shepherd realized Jackson was there. “You’re on paternity leave.”

  “Angel insisted I came. What’s our next move?”

  Shepherd pulled his phone from his pocket. “Control, do you still show Diana’s tracker at my location?”

  “Affirmative,” Yvette replied.

  “She took the necklace off and had it on her desk. It was snagging on her shirt,” Madison informed him.

  “Control, I need her phone tracked.”

  After a few minutes of Caleb Smith doing his thing, his voice came over the line. “I think she’s still in motion, heading towards downtown with a slightly northward trajectory.”

  “Do you have Rosenblum’s addresses?”

  “Yes, I already began compiling a list of Rosenblum’s home address and any other properties he owns. My next step will be tracking his phone for the past week to see what cell towers he’s pinged off of.”

  “If he lives on the Gold Coast, what is he doing out in Schaumburg several days a week for Diana to treat him?”

  “His office and warehouse are near O’Hare,” Smith answered.

  “Is the signal heading towards his residence on the Gold Coast?” Shepherd asked.

  “Could be. He also owns a house on a lake in Michigan. He could be headed there too.”

  “Scramble Delta Team and have them meet us at his primary residence unless we continue through the city following the signal. Show Miller injured, en route to the hospital vi
a ambulance. Cooper will accompany her.”

  “How bad is it?” Yvette asked.

  Shepherd could hear the concern in her voice. “Minimal injuries. Possible concussion.”

  “Thank God,” Yvette muttered. “Scrambling Delta now. Sending the alert to Rosenblum’s residence to all of Alpha Team too.”

  Shepherd heard the telltale clicking of keys. Then the alert came to his phone. “Thanks, Control. Show us en route to his residence but keep us apprised of the signal from her phone. All team members will be on comms momentarily.”

  “Roger,” Yvette replied.

  Shepherd’s eyes swept over the team. “Coop, get me a status report on her condition later. Let’s go,” he told the rest of the men with a head jerk towards their cars. He turned to the uniformed officer and handed him a business card. “Have your captain, the detective, and or the fire marshal contact me later. My team has intel on the possible perp. Homeland is taking the lead on this.”