He’d been such an abusive man. Even when they were first married, she’d been afraid of him. But when they had come together, as a favor to both families, it had been a time when there weren’t divorces, nor did anyone talk about the abuse one might have in a family. So, she had endured.
Then the boys started coming along. They had been her saving grace, as well as her biggest fear. She never wanted them to be hurt by their father, and she tried very hard to hide from them what sort of person he was. But they weren’t stupid, and from such a young age they knew that he was hurting her.
It made them better men, she thought. To see how much he had hurt her, even when he was only abusing her. But when he’d gone after one of her boys, that was it for him. She simply pulled out the gun she’d been carrying for several weeks and shot him right in the head with it.
Lewis had been caught in the middle because he was trying to protect her. She was sure that if any of the others had been there, one of them would have been the one he had held down and tried to make her do what he wanted. She remembered it just like it had happened only hours ago instead of all those years.
“You’ll come here and let me have you, or he’s dead. And then I’ll take you anyway, Alisha. You’re my wife and you’ll do as I say.” Lewis didn’t scream or cry, but watched her. Alisha told Kent that was his son, he couldn’t hurt him. “I will if you don’t do what I tell you. And while you’re standing there thinking, you remember where you put any money that you got yourself squirreled away. I need that too.”
“No. The boys need it. They’re in school now, and they need things.” Kent laughed and said he was tired of them kids draining them, and he might just end them all. “You will not. They’re my boys.”
“You’d not have them if it weren’t for me. Now get your ass in gear, Alisha, and get me that money. Then you be ready for me. I have shit I need to get done. I might even leave you with another kid to make up for the ones you’re going to lose today because you’re a fucking bitch.” The gun came out as if it had done it on its own. “What do you think you’re going to do with that? You think to wound me, Alisha? Won’t stop me. If you think it will, you might as well kill me dead. I’ll hurt you if you don’t.”
She aimed it and shot. When he fell back, the axe narrowly missing Lewis, she gathered her son up and held him until the police arrived. Before they could get there, the others had come home and sat with her on the couch. It was the only time in her life that she felt like she’d done something wrong. And that turned out all right too.
~~~
Vance felt like he was going to prison. He wasn’t—he just hated being in his dress blues, as they were called. As he shined his shoes again on the back of his pant leg, he thought of all the things he’d rather be doing than sitting here waiting for an interview with the president. Acting president, he remembered.
Why he wanted to see him was a mystery, after Vance telling him that he’d had enough of Army life. He had a wife, and a child on the way, and that was it for him. Vance even told him that he had another job lined up, and that he was excited to be starting a new venture in his life. But he had insisted, and when anyone with the name President of the United States in any part of their title said they wanted to meet you, you had to meet with them.
“Sergeant McCade? Can I get you anything to drink? I’m sorry his meeting is running over. I don’t think he’s very happy about it either.” He told her he was fine, then asked if he should just come back. “No, he asked that you wait. It won’t be too much longer.”
He’d been told that twice now. Vance pulled at his necktie and leaned back in the seat. He wanted to be with Micky today. They’d decided that since they were in town, they’d see a play, go to a nice restaurant, and have some fun. Not that they’d not have fun where they were going, but today was going to be the final chapter of his life in the Army.
Selling his house had been much easier than he’d thought it would be. There was an influx of new businesses going in, and one of the people that had a nice restaurant elsewhere in the world had decided to buy Dragon’s Lair, as well as his home to live in. The man hadn’t even dicked around with the pricing but paid what he said, and had already had his financing cleared.
He and Micky were going to celebrate in grand style today, if he ever got out of here. Additionally, he wanted to do some shopping, deciding just last night when he saw the rings on his other sisters-in-laws’ fingers, he wanted to get Micky a ring.
Not just any ring either. He had called a jeweler that lived here and had them make him something that he’d seen in a dream he’d had. It was going to be beautiful, he hoped, and with the gems that he’d gotten from the castle, he was sure it was going to be something that Micky would love it too.
“Sergeant, the president will see you now.” He stood up and tried to fix his tie again and thought fuck it, he was here on time and had had to wait. He’d just have to see him as he was. “He said that I’m to bring you a whiskey, is that all right with you?”
“No thanks. I don’t drink. But a water would be fantastic, please.” She nodded and left him at the door. Knocking once, he entered the room when he heard that he could enter. Kirk Delaney was sitting behind a large desk, and his entire family was there as well. “What’s going on here?”
“It’s harder than you think it is to do something without the paper knowing all about it. But I managed to pull it off, and I think I did a hell of a job of it too.” Vance nodded, but was still confused when Kirk stood up, coming to him. “I didn’t think you’d want a lot of fanfare with this. You’re a man that does his job, does it well, and gives credit where credit is due. I wanted to thank you for that.”
“It was my job, sir.” He looked at his wife and his mom, sitting on the couch like being in the Oval Office was an everyday thing. “What is it I won’t want any fanfare for?”
“I’m giving you a Medal of Honor.” Vance thought he’d heard him wrong and asked him to repeat it. “The Medal of Honor. I’m as sure as I’m standing here that you probably not only feel you don’t deserve it, but you also can’t think of a single reason that I should be giving you this. You see, I’ve had a long look at your service record. The one that no one else but me can see.”
“You’re right, on both accounts.” He pulled at his tie again, and then saw his mom huff at him. “I don’t usually get this dressed up to come in and tell anyone that I don’t care to work for them, Mom.”
“You look very handsome. I don’t think I’ve seen you look like this since you graduated from the Army all those years ago.” She fixed his tie for him and then touched some of the medals that he had had to put on this morning before leaving the hotel. “These have no meaning to me. As I’m sure they don’t to you either. All I ever cared about was having you home safely when you could get there. But the president, Kirk, was telling us some of the things you’d been doing when away. And I have to tell you son, I’m so happy that I didn’t know. I would have worried myself into an early grave.”
“I was only doing my job.” He looked at his family and told them again how he’d only done what he’d been told. “So to be honored with this, it’s too much.”
“No, I don’t think it is. And you didn’t always do your job, did you, son?” He glanced at Kirk, then looked at his mom as he continued. “Had you only done what you were told, we’d be at war now. Or something much worse. The country would be in shambles. The arms that we were sending over there would have killed our own men, thanks to the others in office. No, I think that you of all people deserve this medal more than anyone I can think of right now. You saved us. And a great many people like you.”
His family shook his hand and Micky came to stand beside him as the President showed them the medal he was going to pin on him. Vance wasn’t sure if he deserved it or not, but it looked to him like it was a done deal. So he stood there like a good soldier and waited for Kirk to do it.
“The Medal of Honor is the United States’
highest and most prestigious military decoration. It’s for the men and women that have distinguished themselves by acts of valor and bravery.” Vance watched him as he was decorated once again, and felt more pride in this one than any other because his mom and wife were here. “Command Sergeant Major Vance McCade.”
“I’m sorry, what was that?” His mom looked at him as he spoke; he wasn’t sure that the new acting president knew what he was saying. “I’m Retired Sergeant Vance McCade, not command sergeant major. If so, I’ve skipped quite a few ranks in there.”
He laughed, hoping that someone would laugh with him. When Kirk only shook his head, smiling at him the whole while, Vance shook his head too, telling him that it wasn’t right. He was retired.
“Perhaps to you, you’re retired, but to myself, along with most of the people that now work for me, you’re never going to retire, and you’ll be paid accordingly. The promotion should have happened a long time ago.” He said that there were others, his men that were dead now too. “Yes, I’ve taken care that each family that was left behind has been told what a great man their husband, father, and brother was. Also, they’re being given a nice check to help them with the day to day of living without their loved one. I cannot tell you how sorry I am that this hasn’t been taken care of before now, Vance. But it’s been a privilege for me to be able to bestow this honor on a man who deserves this and so much more.”
He shook his hand, then they hugged. It was an honor for him too, Vance told him, to be able to do what he’d done in order to make things right for a lot of people. The medal would forever stay on the uniform, and he’d show it to his children someday, he supposed.
Vance had never told his family what he’d been doing when he was away. He supposed in a way they might have known some of it. He was forever hurt in some way, and when something happened that he’d been a part of, he could come home for a few days. One or more of his family would comment on an event that took place, never asking him about it, but he had a feeling they knew in some way. That their brother and his team had not just caused the outcome of whatever had happened, but also killed whatever got in their way when they did it.
“Are you all right with all this?” He asked Micky if there was more coming. “Just dinner with him upstairs. He didn’t want to put your picture in the paper—he was afraid you’d hunt him down. You wouldn’t do that, would you?”
Vance just winked at her and she laughed. “I don’t hunt down people just for a picture. Besides, I know just where he is at all times. So that makes it easier.”
He could tell that she didn’t know if he was kidding or not. Which he supposed was what made him so good at his job—the ability to make people believe anything he wanted them to.
When the sword stirred at his back, he looked around the room. There was nothing out of the ordinary, but something was off. As the feeling got stronger, he started reaching out to the people in the room, his family, telling them that something was wrong. Just as he was making his way to the president, he felt the sting of a bullet crease his arm just as he leapt at him, taking Kirk to the ground.
As he was going down, his head hitting the desk, he wondered briefly if things would ever be just quiet and calm. But holding the man down proved to be harder than he thought when the Secret Service decided to fucking do their job.
Things got just a little chancy there for a minute or two. He was sure that the men who were supposed to be protecting Kirk were going to shoot him. Then his mom stepped in to the fray and slapped the first man she came to. The agent didn’t blink an eye, and had started to turn his gun on her when Kenton stepped in and took the man to the floor.
Vance had to laugh every time he saw the agent’s face after it was cleaned up. The agent kept staring at his mom and brother like he’d love nothing more than to kill them both. But he was in handcuffs as well, having pulled his gun on a civilian. Vance thought the man was lucky that he’d not ended up in a body bag, as the man had that shot him.
The man who had shot into the room they were in had been killed by a sniper. He’d been taken away within minutes; no one would be the wiser of what had happened. Things like this, small things that could be contained, were put away but not forgotten. Vance was positive that someone would lose their job over this one. Including the agent.
The rest of the people, mostly the entire wing they were in, had been put on lockdown for a little while longer, just to make sure that there wasn’t anyone else in the building or on the lawns. His wound was looked at, but he insisted that he was fine. By the time he was taking off his jacket to be cleaned and repaired, the wound was as if it had never been.
“You saved my life.” Vance said nothing as they were escorted up to the family wing and seated for dinner. “I can’t...I honestly don’t know what to say. You saved my life, and I’m indebted to you greatly. And if you tell me you were only doing your job, I might hurt you again. Christ, that person meant to kill me.”
“No, sir, he didn’t.” Kirk looked at Raven when she sat down beside him. “He only meant to scare you. Not that it makes it any better, but he never meant to kill you. He wanted you to recognize that no matter who is president, they can always be gotten to. If I were you, I’d fire the entire group of agents with you now and get your own. They were very loyal to the previous regimen.”
“They had a part in this?” She only stared at him. “All right. I can and will do that. I never...I guess I thought with them here, I was safe, but I guess not. He was paying them off, wasn’t he? To perhaps look the other way?”
“Yes, that would be correct.” Raven sat there for several seconds with her eyes closed. “I can give you a list of the ones that you should have with you at all times. And a list of those that need to be thoroughly investigated.”
Dinner was a nice affair. And before they left for home, Raven gave him the lists as well as a number of things that he needed to take care of. One of them was the little room downstairs. He hadn’t known of it until then, he told her, but it would be gone, as well as the way to get in and out of there. Kirk was going to do well, they all thought. And Raven promised him that she’d keep an eye out for other things that he could do to make himself safe.
They didn’t make the play that he’d wanted to see. Nor did they get to do much in the way of sightseeing. But Vance could live with that. He was happy with the way things had turned out and knew that as soon as he was in his new job, he was going to never think about the Army and what he’d done again.
Yeah, he thought to himself, and I’ll not have nightmares either when my children start to date. Especially his daughters. Laughing, he realized that he was looking forward to the rest of his long life much more than he had before.
Chapter 11
Gavin stood up when the judge entered the room. He was thrilled to be here, in this room. His family was here too, and that made what was going on today much more important to him. Just yesterday he’d graduated from college, and today he was making his first court appearance. But it wasn’t for anything major. Just something that he thought should have happened a very long time ago.
“This is an odd one, even for your family, Mr. McCade.” He smiled; Gavin loved hearing his full name said to him. “You’re here to represent your grandmother? What has she done now? And while we’re on the subject, you do know that you’re going to have to put someone else’s name on the court documents. You must be at least twenty-one to come in here as an attorney.”
“Yes, sir, I know, but Grandma insisted that I do this for her.” Marcum nodded. “May I continue? That way Grandma can go out sooner and get into more trouble before dinner time.”
Grandma huffed. Gavin had to cover his mouth when he started to laugh. His grandma had made it her life’s work, he thought, to cause trouble wherever she could. It was never dangerous trouble, or even, for the most part, against the law. But she did manage to make some sort of trouble where she had to be arrested.
“Well, Your Honor, as you know
there are some sidewalks that are less than perfect. Wheelchairs have trouble riding over them, and at times people to go into the grass to get around. And that poses its own set of troubles.” The judge nodded and said he’d seen the sidewalks. “Yes, sir. Several of them are in front of your house. Which brings me to my grandma. She has been after the city to come in and not just fix the sidewalks, but also to make sure that they’re everywhere that people want to go. But they’re not—the city workers aren’t doing anything to them. And since my Uncle Vance has left town for a while, it’s been harder and harder to get the workers to do much of anything. Just last week, the trash wasn’t picked up for an entire day.”
“Yes, I’m aware of that as well. I was told it was because of a scheduling issue.” He asked if he could give him a report. “Come on now, we’re not going to be all formal at this point, are we Gavin? Just tell me.”
“There were ample people to work the streets, sir, but none of them wanted to go out in the heat to do their job. I have it on good authority that they sat in the offices all day, playing cards and drinking.” He asked how he knew this. “They neglected to turn off the cameras, and I have a copy of those recordings as well.”
Marcum looked over the schedule as well as the report that he’d written on the men. “So you’re going to tell me that these two things are related? Or that the same men were assigned this job and for the same reason didn’t do it.”
“Pretty much that’s it, sir.” The judge, Marcum McCade, one of his distant uncles from way back, asked for a computer to play the disc on. “There are two days on there, sir. The day that my grandma thought the sidewalks were going to be worked on, as well as the trash day. They did pick the trash up, but they’re now a day and a half behind and going to be more so, and the animals will start going through it.”
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