by Bella Juarez
“We will gladly return your children. But you have something that belongs to us that we need back.”
“What?” Reese demanded.
“A laptop that you stole from a mosque in Fallujah four years ago.”
About that time, Walsh and a few others like him walked into the Thompson house. Reese indicated, with signs that all special operators knew, he was talking to the people Walsh wanted. Walsh signaled to keep them talking.
“I don’t know what the hell you’re talking about. Be more specific,” Reese said.
“During the murders you committed while you were in Iraq, four years ago. You defiled a mosque and stole objects that were of no use to you. One of them was a laptop in which ancient texts of the Koran were translated. These texts are sacred. I want the laptop back. Return the laptop and I will return your children.”
“I recovered several laptops, computers, and cell phones during my time in Iraq and I was in Fallujah five different times. What laptop and when? Be more specific,” Reese said.
“You raided only one mosque in Fallujah and you are wasting time. Your children are waiting. We will be in touch in ten minutes.” The man hung up.
The FBI took Reese’s cell phone and paired it with their trace equipment so they could get an idea of where the call had originated. He remembered the laptop the guy was referring to. His unit had cataloged it and handed it over to the CIA. There was no way he could produce what they were asking for. The only way Josh and Jake stood a chance was to fake something and try to buy enough time to recover the boys before they discovered the laptop was a fake. Ten minutes seemed like ten seconds before Reese’s phone was ringing again.
“Have you had any success?” the man asked.
“I remembered the laptop. But I’ve got to go to Quantico to get it. This is going to be difficult because I don’t work there anymore. I’ll need some time. Tell me the plan,” Reese said.
“Are you sure you can recover it?” the man asked.
“I don’t care what I have to do. I will get for you. But I need to know the plan,” Reese said.
“What is your plan?” the man asked.
“I still have friends who can help me. I’ll contact them. I need to know what to do or how to contact you when I’ve got what you want. What’s the plan?” Reese asked insistently.
Reese watched as two of the agents left the room and hustled out the door. The FBI had the location and was on the way. Walsh gave Reese the thumbs-up and indicated for him to keep talking.
“When you have the laptop, meet us at West End Park in Falls Church, Virginia. No police, FBI, or any other agencies, do you understand?” the man asked.
“Okay, will you have my kids? Because I’m not giving you the laptop unless you give me my kids. So how are we doing this?” Reese asked.
“Your kids will be at the park. I’m sure you’ll recognize the carriage they were in?” the man asked.
“Yes. I will.”
“We will be watching, and we will see you.”
* * * *
Maggie tucked the children inside the baby seats in the back seat of her car. They were precious. The boys looked just like Reese. Maggie was such a proud mother. She waved at the man who had delivered her boys to her and drove the hour back to Maryland and the new apartment she had rented. Reese couldn’t resist her now!
* * * *
Walsh and Reese were discussing how to fake the laptop when the FBI produced a picture of the catalogued one from the raid in Fallujah. They were lucky it was at a storage facility at Langley, and Walsh obtained permission to hand it over without the original hard drive. It would take two hours to get the laptop and for Reese to get to the park in Falls Church. He was getting a little worried because Victoria hadn’t come home yet and it was already after five.
“Don’t worry, we’ve already got guys in place. The call came from the park in Falls Church. We’re scoping out your ex’s parents’ house. She hasn’t arrived yet,” Gavin said.
“That crazy bitch better not lay a finger on my kids or I’ll take it out of your ass, Walsh,” Reese said.
“What crazy bitch and what the hell is going on here?” Victoria asked.
* * * *
Victoria lay in bed, shocked. She had passed out when Reese told her what had happened. She was inconsolable at this point. Her babies were gone and with Maggie of all people. She had to get a grip on herself and think. She had to help her boys. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath.
“I’m okay,” Victoria said out loud.
Victoria sat at the edge of her bed and steeled herself. She would find Maggie and get the boys back, even if she had to kill the bitch to do it. She stood with purpose, gathered a few things, and picked up the light sweater that was tossed on the back of a chair in the room. As she walked down the steps, she started to think. Victoria’s mind cleared and her plan came into clear focus.
“Mrs. Thompson?” one of the agents called.
“Yes?” Victoria asked.
“Can I help you?” he asked.
“I’m just stepping outside for a breath of air,” Victoria said.
He turned away and went back to his work. Victoria passed two more agents and smiled at them as she passed. Her plan was forming as she walked the two blocks to a house on the corner. She charged up the walkway and rang the doorbell. The door swung open. She grabbed the woman by the throat and pushed her back into the house.
“Where the fuck is Maggie?” Victoria demanded in a snarl.
Sandy Stanfield struggled as Victoria shoved her up against the wall by the neck. Victoria heard footsteps coming and with her free hand pulled Reese’s gun, aiming it in the direction of the person entering the room.
“Jesus Christ! Victoria, what the hell is going on here?” Frank demanded.
“Where the fuck is Maggie and where are my kids?” Victoria asked in a deadly calm voice.
Frank looked at Sandy, who had gripped Victoria’s hands trying to free herself. Sandy couldn’t break the death grip that Victoria had on her.
“I haven’t seen Maggie. But if you let Sandy go I’m sure we can find her,” Frank said calmly.
Victoria released Sandy. “Get over there with him,” Victoria ordered pointing the gun at Sandy. “I know you hang out and I know you’re her little lap dog. Now tell me where Maggie is. I want an address and a phone number.”
Sandy rushed to Frank and tried to grip him.
“Get her what she’s asking for. Write it down,” Frank ordered as he shoved Sandy away. “Victoria, what happened?”
“Maggie has my kids. She took them this afternoon and I’m getting them,” Victoria said.
“I’m not telling you if you’re going to hurt her,” Sandy whined.
“I’ll hurt you if you don’t tell me what I want to know,” Victoria said.
“Sandy, shut the fuck up and write!” Frank demanded.
Victoria left the Stanfields’ with an address and a phone number. Apparently, Maggie had rented an apartment in Fairfax and had shown it to Sandy yesterday. The address was in Sandy’s GPS. Victoria walked back home. She crawled under her car and retrieved the Hide-A-Key she had stowed. She got into her car and drove to the address in Fairfax. When she pulled up to the series of duplexes, she instantly spotted Maggie’s car. It was the same one Maggie had been driving when she and Sandy had paid Victoria a visit. She pulled out her cell phone and called Reese. He answered quickly.
“I found Maggie and she has the boys,” Victoria said calmly.
“Sweetness, she doesn’t have the boys yet,” Reese said.
“Yes, she does. I can hear Jake crying from where I’m sitting.”
“What?”
“I’m ending this once and for all, Reese.” Victoria hung up the phone.
* * * *
“Walsh, you motherfucker! My ex has the kids already. My wife just found them!” Reese yelled.
“What?” Walsh asked.
“We’ve got to find Victoria. She’ll kil
l Maggie!” Reese exclaimed.
Walsh picked up the phone and called the house. Victoria was indeed gone, but the FBI, with Reese’s consent, had done something while she was upstairs passed out. They had managed to pair her phone so she could be traced if they had to. Victoria wasn’t far, and Reese and Walsh were just leaving Langley and on the road to Falls Church. Walsh got an address and made a beeline for Fairfax. It took fifteen minutes to get to her. When they found her car, it was empty. Walsh and Reese suddenly looked at each other when they heard the gunshot.
* * * *
“Put my son down and walk away,” Victoria said to Maggie.
“There’re not your sons, they’re mine and Reese’s. You’ve lost your mind, put that thing away!” Maggie demanded.
“Put my son down,” Victoria said once more.
“You stole Reese from me, and when he got tired of you, you lost it and went crazy. The kids are sick and you won’t take them to the doctor. So, Reese came to me. I’ve already started them on their medication,” Maggie said.
“What did you do?” Victoria demanded.
Victoria squelched the panic that threatened to take over. She refocused, remembering she couldn’t help her kids if she panicked.
“They’ll be fine now. This one is always crying. He’s really sick,” Maggie said. “Aren’t you, baby?” Maggie cooed at Jake.
Josh was passed out in the playpen beside the TV. Victoria leveled the gun and fired, hitting the floor next to Maggie’s foot. Josh and Jake were startled and started screaming at the noise. Maggie was horrified.
“Put…my…son…down,” Victoria snarled.
Maggie slowly lowered Jake next to his brother. Victoria leveled the gun at Maggie. She was disarmed before she got the shot off. Reese turned her and pulled her to him. She saw another man with his gun drawn. Two other men came into the house and took Maggie away. Reese and Victoria rushed to the boys.
“She gave them something,” Victoria said, lifting Josh.
“Walsh, call an ambulance!” Reese ordered.
* * * *
It was dusk when Reese sat at one of the benches at the park. Reese’s cell phone rang and he answered it.
“Yes?” Reese asked.
“I see you and the laptop. Is it the correct one?” the voice asked.
“Yes. It was transferred from Quantico to another facility, that’s what took me so long. This is the one from Fallujah,” Reese said.
“Very good. Place it on the bench and walk away,” the man said.
“Where are my kids?” Reese asked.
“Look to your left beside the far bench. Do you recognize something?” he asked.
Reese looked over and saw the boys’ stroller. He knew damn good and well the boys weren’t in it. “I see it. My kids are okay?” he asked, trying to keep the conversation going.
“I assure you they’ve been in good hands. Good-bye, Colonel,” the man said.
Reese walked away from the laptop and walked toward the stroller. He turned it around and found two dolls. He heard shouts in the background. He heard two shots and by the sound knew they were from a sniper. The shots had been perfectly placed, because seconds after, Reese heard a vehicle hitting a pole. He turned around and saw a swarm of FBI agents descending on a van and dragging a man out of the vehicle. Reese closed his eyes and thanked God it was over and everyone was safe.
* * * *
Marco pulled up to the duplex where Maggie Thompson lived. It looked quiet and he could see the light on in the bedroom. He took out the cell phone and punched in a phone number. He calmly drove off. The explosion that rocked the quiet neighborhood was deafening.
* * * *
Krazi was sitting at his desk looking at his list of things to do and closing out his day when an army of men dressed in black crashed through the doors of his office. He was stunned as the men shouted orders and leveled guns at him. In the background, he could see other men combing through the tiny office space. Searching. One of the men shoved him to the ground and handcuffed him.
“Krazi Mummar, I am Special Agent Gavin Walsh with the FBI and you are under arrest for kidnapping and for suspected terrorist activities.”
Chapter Nineteen
Eight months later….
Reese was finally coming home from Afghanistan. Reese saw the welcome that had been laid out for him and smiled. He spotted Victoria, Lucia, and his sons the minute he passed through security and into the public area of the airport. What a different homecoming than the one I got when I got back from Iraq…He marveled at how big his sons had grown and how beautiful Victoria had gotten while he was gone. It was good to be home. When he arrived at the house, Lucia and Victoria had a feast prepared for him. The boys were eating solid food. Victoria handled the kids, Lucia handled the cleanup, and Reese unpacked.
Lucia and Reese stayed up late talking. When Reese got upstairs to bed, Victoria was asleep. He crawled into bed next to her and started rubbing her back. She turned and reached for him. He kissed her slowly and passionately. He undressed her bit by bit and as he did, he noticed something different.
“What’s wrong, sweetness?” Reese asked.
“Nothing. I missed you,” Victoria said.
“I missed you, too.”
They made love, but not like it was before Reese left. Before, there had been a wildness to the sex they had. Something had changed. Victoria was hesitating. She seemed unsure as Reese caressed her. It was almost as if she just wanted to get through it, not into it like before. He held her close and decided to give it some time. He awoke the next day to Jake crying. He looked at the clock and saw it was nine thirty in the morning. He got up and walked to the boy’s room. Before he could get there, Victoria passed him.
“I’ve got it,” Victoria said.
Reese shrugged and walked downstairs. He saw that Josh was in his high chair waiting to be fed. He walked to the counter where Josh’s food was sitting and started to grab it when it was snatched out of his reach. He turned around and saw Jake sitting next to his brother. Victoria was sitting in front the boys feeding them. He watched her for the better part of the morning flying all over the house. It seemed like every time he tried to do what he had been doing before he left she had already gotten it.
Reese didn’t want to seem like he was jumping in Victoria’s shit, but he was feeling a little left out. This behavior went on for the whole three weeks he was home for leave. He did absolutely nothing while he was home. Worse yet, he felt as if he and Victoria had drifted apart while he was gone. He knew from the way other guys talked this kind of thing happened. He had been gone a long time and she had gotten used to doing everything by herself and for herself. He was home now and he wanted to be involved with his kids and his wife. Before he knew it they were arguing more than they ever had and the sex tapered off. It finally came to a head three months after Reese’s return. He was upstairs getting ready to give Jake a bath when Victoria rushed in with Josh and took Jake from him.
“I’ve got it,” Victoria said.
Those three words were really starting to piss Reese off. Today he had been told he was going TDY to San Diego for a week and really didn’t want to go. The drifting away and fighting with Victoria was really starting to bother him. For the better part of a week, he had tried to figure out how to fix it. He could see this marriage heading the direction his first one had. He was also missing out on time with his sons.
“Victoria, I’ve got it,” Reese said, taking Jake back.
“Reese, just relax. I’ve got it,” Victoria said, reaching for Jake.
“Go downstairs and watch TV,” Reese said to Victoria.
“What?” Victoria snapped.
“I would like to be more involved with my kids, again. For some reason, nothing I do is good enough for you. You have to do it all,” Reese snapped back.
“That’s because you’re in my way, Reese.”
Reese handed Jake to Victoria and walked away. It was early on a Friday night.
He got in his truck and drove to his mom’s place in Philadelphia. Lucia was closing the restaurant when he arrived. He seethed the whole three hours he was driving to Philadelphia. By the time he got there, he was really pissed off. So, I’m in the way, huh? Reese knew a good way to remedy that for Victoria. No! I won’t go through a second divorce…I have to fix this.
“Bambino! Where’s Victoria and the babies?” Lucia asked.
“At home,” Reese snapped.
Lucia took Reese by the hand and led him to one of the booths. He sat while she went back to the kitchen and fixed him something to eat. He figured his traitorous mom, who was close to her bitchy, perfectionist daughter-in-law, was calling Ms. Perfect to tell her he was here. He just knew they were collaborating on how to get his ass back in line and back home. He almost stood and left before his mom could get back. Lucia returned and set a plate in front of him. He picked up a fork and picked at it.
“What happened?” Lucia asked.
“I’m in her way.”
Lucia sat back and looked at Reese for a long time before saying anything.
“Reese, dolce, you know that Victoria is a strong woman. You wouldn’t love her the way you do if she was any different,” Lucia said.
“Mom, she doesn’t want me around.”
“Dolce, it’s not that. You two need time alone. I’ll go and watch the bambinos and you and Victoria take a little trip, eh?”
“Mom, Victoria doesn’t want me around.”
“No, dolce, I don’t believe that. You two need time alone. Why not take her on a trip?” Lucia suggested.
“I just went back to work. I can’t do that right now. I’ve got to go to California in three weeks,” Reese said.
“Why don’t you take her with you?” Lucia asked.
“She won’t go,” Reese said.
“Did you ask? Lucia questioned. “You don’t give Victoria a choice and tell her she’s going and I’m taking care of the bambinos. Eat your pasta and I’ll make up your bed for the night, huh?”