by Lynn Story
“Are you sure, do you need anything? How about some ice chips?”
“You don’t need to fuss but some ice chips would be nice.”
“I’ll be right back.” She swooped out of the room only to be replaced by Eddie.
“Kay?” he said tentatively as he stepped inside.
“Come on in, Eddie.”
I was hoping this wasn’t going to last long as I was already starting to feel tired.
“I know you need your rest, but I just wanted to see for myself that you were alright,” he said gently.
“I’ll be fine, I’ve been worse.” I gave him a weak smile.
“I know, but a person can only take so much.”
He had a point. “I know, I’ll be fine,” I told him.
“Carolyn and the girls sent these.” He walked over and placed a vase of flowers that he had been holding on the windowsill.
“Thank you, those are beautiful. Please tell them I love them,” I smiled.
“They wanted to come see you, but I told them to wait until you are stronger,”
“They are welcome anytime, Eddie. Just like you.”
He smiled. “I wish I could have done something to prevent this.”
“There isn’t anything anyone could have done.” I tried to reassure him.
“Do you remember what happened?” he asked.
“Not really. I stayed up late watching old movies and I guess I had too much to drink because I fell asleep and the next thing, I knew I woke up in the back of a van.”
“You didn’t see any faces of the persons who took you?”
“No, not that I can remember.”
Eddie nodded.
“How did you know I was missing?” I asked him.
“When you didn’t come into work on time, Sherry tried to call you and when you didn’t answer she sent me over to check on you.”
Sherry stepped back into the room.
“You two are my heroes.” I smiled.
“Oh no, Ethan is the real hero.” Sherry stepped around Eddie to sit down next to the bed.
“Oh?” I was intrigued.
“I called him after I called Eddie.” Sherry began “The local police showed up and that was a real mess at first. Ethan and the detective got into it and Ethan had him thrown off the case. That detective was pissed, I can tell you.”
I was more than intrigued. “Really?”
“Yes, and then Ethan and his team, oh and Mac, started investigating even though it was really up to the local police.” Sherry whispered.
“They were looking at traffic cameras and everything and that is how they found you.” Sherry leaned back in the chair nodding.
“Traffic cameras?” I asked.
“Yes, just like on TV. It was a good thing too, because there was a storm coming and if they hadn’t found you in time...” Sherry started to sniffle.
“They did find me.” I said weakly. I was trying to remember but I couldn’t.
“Yes, they did.” Sherry squeezed my hand. “And you’re a lucky woman.”
“Is everyone else okay, did anyone else get hurt?” I needed to know.
“No, Ethan put Michael in protective custody, I think they call it,” she explained.
“Why? Do they know who did this?”
Sherry looked uncomfortable and looked around the room. Then she leaned over and whispered. “They think it was Todd Bannister from InDesign.”
“Are they sure?”
“Ethan is.” Sherry insisted.
“Don’t take this the wrong way but are we sure Ethan is thinking clearly right now?” I was getting concerned about him.
“How can you say that after everything he went through?” Sherry protested.
“I’m sorry, you’re right. I guess my brain is still foggy.” I didn’t want to have an argument with Sherry and I also wouldn’t expect her to understand.
Her demeanor changed and she gave me a sympathetic pat on the arm. “I’m sorry, I’ve kept you too long. You need to rest.”
She stood up.
I tried to look drowsy. “Sherry, you’re my best friend. Thank you.” I said reaching for her hand.
She smiled and then a tear escaped down her cheek. “I love you, Kay and if you need anything you call me okay?”
“I will, I promise.”
She seemed to have forgotten my questioning of Ethan’s judgement and she and Eddie left. I closed my eyes, I was exhausted. I thought about what Sherry had said about Todd Bannister and if it could actually be true.
I drifted back to sleep.
***
There was debris flying and I couldn’t hear anything. I knew I should be able to hear something. I could see the mouths moving on the marines as if they were shouting but I couldn’t hear the words. My leg felt like it was on fire and I was frozen and couldn’t move. Oliver was waving at me to get down, but I couldn’t for what seemed like an eternity. He was running towards me then a cloud of smoke blocked him from my view and when I saw him again, he was lying face down on the ground. I wanted to scream. Maybe I did but I couldn’t hear anything. I looked around and when I could hear again, everyone one was down on the ground. No one was left standing. There was rubble and debris all around me and no one was moving. I looked beyond the space we had been occupying. There used to be walls but now there was nothing. There had been furniture, a table and some chairs. Now there were only sticks. The marines that had been standing just a few moments ago were all bleeding and hurt and I just stared at them.
◆◆◆
I woke with a start, drenched in a cold sweat. I think I must have called out.
“Hey, there. You’re okay. I’ve got you.”
I was startled to hear someone’s voice. Every other time I woke up from that dream I had been alone. The voice was new, and it scared me as much as the dream itself. I flinched.
“Kay, it’s Ethan. You’re safe. It’s me, Ethan.”
“Ethan?”
“Yeah, it’s me.” The voice was so calming.
I didn’t remember an Ethan on our team in Afghanistan. It took me a minute to realize where I was. Thousands of miles and six years away from that day. The day the world around me blew up.
“Oh, yeah. Ethan.”
His face came into view. “You okay?” he asked.
“Yeah,” I told him.
His face told me he knew I was lying but he didn’t press for any more information. I rested back against the pillow and started to shake.
“Kay?” He leaned over me. “Are you sure you’re alright?”
“Yeah, just give me a minute.” I tried to will away the images that still clouded my vision.
Ethan pulled the blankets up closer to my chin. I felt him sit down on the side of the bed.
“Can I do anything?”
I shook my head. I reached out my hand to his. He took it gently and sat silently until I stopped shaking.
“You need the nurse or anything?
“No.”
“Okay.” He didn’t argue. He just sat holding my hand until I fell back to sleep.
When I woke he was gone. Logan sat in the chair next to the bed watching me. I wasn’t sure if I was comforted by his presence.
“Hi,” I said.
“Hi, do you need anything?” Was his short reply.
“No. Where’s Ethan?”
“He had something he had to do.” He was a font of information.
“Why aren’t you with him?”
Logan frowned. “Because he told me to babysit you.” Great.
“And where do you think I am going to go?”
“Nowhere, but it isn’t about where you are going, it is about who might be coming.” And there it was. The elephant in the room.
“You still haven’t caught him yet?” I asked.
“It’s complicated,” he replied.
I could see I was going to get nowhere with Logan, so I nodded. “Still, you should be with him to have his back.”
“I couldn’t agree
more.” I knew where Logan’s loyalties were.
“Then go!” I commanded.
“I can’t because if I leave you and something happens to you, my life won’t be worth living.”
“I doubt that.” I rolled my eyes.
“Then you don’t understand or appreciate how Ethan feels about you.” He bit the words off. Clearly, he wasn’t happy to be here, and he wasn’t happy with me.
“I seriously, doubt that ever stopped you from doing something you thought was right.”
He stared at me as if considering my words. For a moment I thought he might get up and leave.
“Ethan and I have been friends a long time and if he has asked me to guard the one thing he holds most dear in this world, then that is what I am going to do,” He glared at me, “No matter how annoying she is.”
His words both shocked and stunned me. “What’s your deal anyway? Why do you dislike me so much without knowing me?”
“You’re right I don’t know you, but I know your type,” he generalized.
“My type?” I laughed. “And pray tell, what is my type?”
“I know you were a photojournalist and you were imbedded with a marine unit.” His eyes narrowed, “I don’t know how you pulled that off. But people like you get people like me get hurt.”
“Were you injured because of a photojournalist?” I asked using my most innocent voice.
“No.”
“Then your statement has no basis in fact, and you can guard me from outside the door.”
I closed my eyes. I didn’t believe my presence had gotten my marine corps team injured. The fact was, they had been injured and they were alive because I found a car and drove them all back to base. I was the reason they were alive. It didn’t feel like I had done anything brave or that I had been strong despite my own injuries. I did what needed to be done at the time to simply survive. While I don’t believe any of those marines blamed me, I still felt sick about what happened. Logan’s words made me question if we had been targeted because I was there or whether it was because I was female or a journalist. But I had no idea. I closed my eyes and the images returned. The blood, the screaming, the smoke and dust. It was nothing short of a miracle that we got out of there alive even if most of us weren’t in one piece. I tried to block it out, but with nothing to distract me here I couldn’t. I pressed the button for more morphine and hoped that in sleep I might find relief from the images.
I selfishly prayed that Ethan would be back when I woke up. Then I let the drugs carry me into the blackness.
Chapter Twenty-Six
Ethan
It was hard for me to leave Kay in the hospital. I wanted to stay there and tell her how sorry I was. How I planned to spend the rest of my life making things right. And protecting her. Todd Bannister had turned this case into one with FBI jurisdiction written all over it. And I was hot on his trail. I was still working with the local police and letting them handle the local aspects of the investigation, interviews of witnesses, even talking to Kay about what she knew if anything. We still had Michael in protective custody, and I left Logan to guard Kay, not trusting anyone else. I knew he was not happy about missing out on the action, but he was the only person I trusted to keep Kay safe. I was filled with self-doubt, thinking maybe I should let Logan handle the investigation while I sat with Kay. Somehow, I felt like I had to do this in order to be worthy of her, again.
I went back to the office to check in with Stephanie and Jared.
“Where are we?” I announced myself.
“We are trying to track Bannister.” Stephanie said.
“He stopped using his credit card a couple of hours ago and his car just parked at the airport. I don’t know if he has bought an airline ticket or not.”
“We don’t have actual eyes on him?” I demanded.
“The agents that were following him lost him in traffic and are coming into the airport now.” Stephanie answered. “Luckily, I was able to pick him up on the traffic cameras.”
“We are assuming that he is headed out of the area and possibly out of the country?” I put my hands on the edge of her desk and leaned in to look over her shoulder at the computer monitor.
“Yes, sir.”
“Do we have access to the cameras at the airport?” I pointed to the computer; my patience had been worn thin.
“Not from here.” She shook her head.
“Call the agents out there and tell them to get with airport operations or the police or whoever controls the damn cameras out there. I want to know where he is going.” I was not going to let him get away.
“Maybe he is traveling with someone who is purchasing the tickets,” Stephanie suggested.
“Possible.” I entertained the idea. “Or maybe the airport is a decoy and he just dropped his car and picked up a rental. It’s hard to trace a rental.” I stepped away from her desk and started pacing.
“We have no way of knowing if he called ahead or not but check any outgoing cars from the airport shortly after Bannister’s car entered.”
“On it.” Jared said as he spoke to the agents out at the airport.
“What would be his reason for staying?” I asked out loud, not expecting an answer.
“Well, he couldn’t have done all of this alone. He had to have help. Maybe he is doubling back to meet up with his partner in crime.” Stephanie suggested.
“That’s possible.” I was deep in thought wondering who could he have been working with to kidnap Kay? Was he coming back to finish the job? A thought slowly started to take form in my mind.
“Jared? Who is at the safe house right now?” I asked.
“A couple of Mac’s agents.”
“Where’s Mac?”
“Dunno,” he replied.
I turned around expecting to see him sitting at a desk in the corner or something. He wasn’t. I pulled out my cell phone and punched Logan’s number.
“Logan.” His gruff voice barked into the phone.
“It’s Ethan, listen we’ve lost Bannister. Keep an eye on Kay because he might be coming back for her.”
“You got it.” Logan said as he clicked off.
“We’ve got camera access!” Jared called out from his desk as he snapped his fingers at Stephanie to get her attention and point to the computer.
Stephanie began typing and clicking something on the screen. Jared was still talking to on the phone.
“Got something!” Stephanie called out. “He did get into another car.”
I returned to stand behind her looking at the black and white images on the screen.
“Can you track him? Can you get me a location?” I demanded.
“Working on it.” Stephanie said without taking her eyes off the screen.
“I didn’t see anyone else with him, did you?” I asked.
“No.” Was all that she said. She was concentrating on the images on the screen.
“Maybe he is using an alias?” Jared offered.
“There are too many maybes.” I began pacing again. We were missing something. I couldn’t figure out what it was.
“He has to have someone helping him. We know he didn’t put her on the barge himself. What do we have on the people who were with him at docks?”
The clicking of keyboards was fast and furious in the office. The phones started to ring.
“Agent Craddock!” I barked into a desk phone.
“Agent Craddock, this is Agent Mercer at the safe house we’re taking some fire. I’ve called the local PD for back-up.” Mercer shouted into the phone.
“How many?” I could hear gunfire in the background.
“At least three that I can see,” he reported.
I started snapping my fingers to get Jared and Stephanie’s attention. They both looked up.
“We’re on our way!” I slammed the phone down.
“The safe house is under fire!” I ran for the door trusting Stephanie and Jared would follow.
When we got there the Gates Point
police were there. It looked like the shooting had stopped. We all approached the scene cautiously.
“Who’s in charge and where are the agents?” I called out.
“You Craddock?” A police sergeant asked.
“Yeah.”
“This way.” He motioned for me to follow him.
I could hear more sirens in the distance. I found the two NCIS agents on the floor and one was unconscious. I checked his pulse. He had been shot but he was alive. A Gates Point officer was administering first aid. I knew the sirens must be the EMT’s. The second agent was propped up against the wall and conscious.
“What happened?”
“It was Nichols. He was part of it.”
“Michael Nichols, the man you were protecting did this?” I was stunned.
The agent nodded.
“Jared!” I yelled standing up and looking around.
“I’m on it.”
I saw Jared step outside and start talking into his phone. “What else can you tell me?”
“They opened fire through the windows. Nichols ran to the back of the house and opened the back door.”
The agent coughed. The EMTs pushed their way in.
“He let them in?” I was having a hard time believing all of this.
“Yes, then he just opened fire on us. We returned fire and I think we got at least one of them. It all happened so fast.”
“I understand, it’s okay.” I tried to reassure him. “Did you hear them say anything about where they might be going?”
“No, they didn’t say anything once inside the house.”
The EMT’s stepped between us and started assessing the agent.
“I’ll call Mac and have him meet you at the hospital.”
I don’t know if the agent heard me. It looked as if he had slipped into unconsciousness.
My mind was full of thoughts of Kay. I pulled out my phone and called Logan. No answer.
“Dammit.” I ran out the door. “Jared, I’m headed to the hospital.”
“I’m coming with you!” He and Stephanie jumped in the SUV.
“If these guys are headed there, they might be meeting Bannister and you’ll need back-up.” Jared explained.
I nodded and started the engine. I redialed Logan but still no answer. I tried Mac, nothing.
“I have a feeling we might be too late already.” I said out loud without realizing it.