“Oh, okay. If that’s what you want. Well listen, I wanted to talk to you about something, too. Is there something that I can do besides listen to chatter all day? I feel like I’m going crazy having to listen to that stuff all the time,” Lee said while smiling.
Megan did not smile back at him. She was obviously very mad about being stood up the night before.
“I think that listening to chatter is the only thing we’re going to be able to find for you for quite some time,” Megan said while motioning with her hand for him to leave.
What just happened? My dream girl became a monster, I hate my job, and my new best friend is an emotional wreck. Could things get any worse or any more confusing, Lee wondered as he walked back to his desk.
* * * * *
Jess entered her office and sat her stuff down. Then she went to find Jason to ask him if he knew what could be going on with Trish. Once she found him and asked the question, Jason recapped the events of the day before.
“So do we know who this David guy was to Trish?” Jess asked.
“No, not at all. Judging by her reaction to what happened yesterday, I think that he must have meant a lot to her,” Jason said.
“What’s being done to the man who killed David?”
“We’ve been questioning him all morning, but so far, it hasn’t done any good at all. I think that this guy may be a lost cause.”
“I see. Well, I think that I’m going to let Lee know what’s going on. He was up with her all night,” Jess said and walked back to her office.
She couldn’t go downstairs to his floor because she didn’t have the clearance to even be there, so she simply sent Lee a text explaining how Trish had seen David get killed and how they couldn’t get any information out of the man who killed him. Upon receiving it, Lee felt a little awkward. He didn’t know that what had upset Trish was so bad. What could this David guy have been to her, though, Lee wondered. Lee decided that he wasn’t going to just come out and ask Trish about the situation. He was going to wait until she volunteered the information. She needed time to heal from whatever had happened to her, and Lee trying to speed that process along wasn’t going to help things.
* * * * *
Zane found himself back in the same boat that he had decided to sail on in just a few short nights ago. The waves were pounding the ship, and he was in a panic because the lighthouse that would normally show them the way wasn’t operating. Wave after wave crashed into the boat. In the not too far distance, the largest wave that Zane had ever seen was approaching the ship.
“Brace yourself,” he heard a voice say.
Zane did as the voice commanded, but when the wave crashed into their boat, the impact of it sent him flying over the edge of the ship and into the chopping water. He felt himself being pulled under and tried to force himself to the surface. The more he struggled, the more it felt like he was sinking deeper into the ocean. Finally, he gave up and let the undertow take him wherever it wished. He held his breath for as long as he possibly could. He was hoping for some type of miracle. In that moment, he would have given anything to surface and see the moon. He only wanted to live for one more moment. When he could no longer hold his breath and water started to seep into his lungs, he was suddenly spit up from the ocean. The tide had pushed him onto land. He gagged and coughed while spitting up the water that had nearly drowned him.
“Thank you, God,” he said in a truly grateful way. His body felt old and broken. He knew that his sailing days were truly over no matter what he wanted. He looked up to view his surroundings and found that the small island he had been spat up on was the same island that the lighthouse was on. He was too weak to stand, so he crawled as fast as he could to the lighthouse and up its steps. If he couldn’t sail anymore, he knew that he had to protect anyone else from ever being swept up in the same storm. As he got closer and closer to the lighthouse, his strength returned little by little. By the time he was inside, he found that he could stand. He walked straight in and turned the lighthouse beam back on. He felt a sense of peace about his newfound purpose and smiled. Then he felt himself losing consciousness.
Chapter 9
Zane woke up to see only a blur and to hear something strange. He heard childlike voices coming from somewhere. It almost sounded like cartoons.
“So you don’t just watch cartoons to relax before a dangerous mission,” Zane said.
“You caught me. How are you feeling?” Dan asked.
“I can’t see, and your voice sounds a little low.”
“The door exploded when we tried to open it. The blast did some damage to your hearing, but you should recover most, if not all, of it soon.”
“What about my sight?”
“The doctor says that your vision should improve significantly, but you’ll never be able to shoot accurately again, if that’s what you’re wondering.”
Well, that’s it. I’m officially done in the field. I definitely wanted to go out better than this. Hell, I would have rather gone out in the heat of battle than to be a blind old man, Zane thought while feeling sorry for himself. Suddenly, what should have been the most important thing to him from the start occurred to him.
“How is everyone else?” Zane asked.
“A total of twelve of us made it out of there alive. The mission was a complete failure.”
“What about Michael? Is he okay?”
“He’s fine. I think everything that happened left him in a bit of shock though, so I sent him back to Washington. I don’t know if the kid is cut out to do the things that people like us have to do.”
“Maybe he isn’t, but I’m really glad that he’s at least okay. I never felt good about him coming with us.”
Zane thought hard about all the people he had just led to their deaths, and for what? Some symbolic beginning? No, I should have never led those people into that place without a better plan. I’ll make sure that everyone in that facility burns for what they’ve done, even if I can’t directly start the fire myself, Zane thought.
* * * * *
Two guards brought Chloe into a large prison where a man sat at a table waiting to question her. As she sat down, the man began.
“I want to know where we can find Markus Boyd, and you’re going to tell me where I can find him,” the man said.
“And why exactly would I do that? You haven’t given me an offer that I can’t refuse, and to spare you the speech about how much you’re going to hurt me if I don’t tell you everything you want to know, I’ll just go ahead and be up front with you. Pain doesn’t faze me. Years ago I learned to go somewhere else in my mind during torture. There are two things that motivate me. One is money, and the other is power. Offer me something, and maybe I’ll decide to give you a small detail that I don’t mind parting with,” Chloe said.
“You are going to tell me what I need to know. I can promise you that. I’m not offering you anything but the chance to tell me everything before we have to hurt you.”
“Well, I’m telling you right now that if you touch one hair on my head, I’ll kill you. It may not be today or tomorrow, but you’ll die.”
“Okay. Just remember that you brought this on yourself,” the man said while motioning for the two guards to restrain her.
All sorts of horrifying things were done to Chloe that morning, but just like she told the man, she simply went to another place in her mind. This wasn’t the first time Chloe had been through enormous amounts of pain. She thought back to what had gotten her into this situation. Not all of what she told Nathan had been a lie. She really was orphaned as a child, and she really did have to do whatever was necessary to survive on the streets of Moscow, but her story had never been a sad one to her. It was a story of strength and the ability to overcome. It was almost funny to her that these men believed she would break from simple pain being inflicted on her. She had been through far worse pain and far worse mind shattering situations when she was only a child. When she finally came back from the safe place in he
r mind, the torture was over.
“Now, is there anything you would like to tell me?” the man asked.
Chloe whispered in what sounded like a very hoarse voice.
“What?” the man asked.
Chloe motioned for him to come closer. The man placed his ear close to her mouth. She bit the man’s ear, taking a piece of it clean off of his head. The man screamed in pain and fell backward onto the floor.
“That’s just a taste of what I’m going to do to you when I get out of here,” Chloe said after spitting the flesh from her mouth. The guards collected their friend and quickly left her cell.
* * * * *
Nathan and Sam arrived in Memphis, and they rented a car.
“So can we do that drive-by of my house now?” Nathan asked.
“I don’t see why not,” Sam said as she started heading toward his house.
Sam grabbed her phone and made a call to someone. She told the person on the other line to forget high powered weapons and that the main thing they would need tonight were matches and a lot of gasoline.
“So it’s all set,” Nathan said in a less than satisfied way as she got off the phone.
“Yeah, it is. If you don’t want to be a part of this, I’ll understand.”
“No, I’ll be fine,” Nathan quickly assured her.
After about an hour, Nathan and Sam were riding past his old house. Sam slowed down, and Nathan peered out the window. It appeared that both of his parents were home. His mom’s car was home, and his dad’s eighteen wheeler was there. He felt bad about how worried they must be, but he knew that not visiting until he could properly explain what was going on was the best thing to do. A few feet up the road, an old dog stood in the middle of the road and refused to move. It was a brown basset hound who just looked like she was a little too big for her frame.
“Why won’t this dog move?” Sam asked in an aggravated tone as she came to a stop.
“That’s my dog, Cupcake, and I’m sorry, but she thinks that she owns this road,” Nathan said while smiling.
Nathan stepped out of the car and called Cupcake over to him.
“Thanks for letting us pass on your road, Cup,” Nathan said while patting her on the head.
As Nathan started to get back into the car, the dog let out a sad whine.
“I’ll be back soon. Don’t worry, and take care of everyone for me.”
As Nathan and Sam drove away, Sam couldn’t help but notice that Nathan was obviously much happier.
“That old dog means a lot to you, doesn’t she?” Sam asked.
“Yeah, I didn’t think I was going to be able to show any of my family that I was okay, but I did. That just really makes me happy.”
* * * * *
Michael arrived in Washington around three in the afternoon. Once he was back at the office, Jess saw him and ran to him. She greeted him with the firmest hug she had ever given him. Michael would normally be happy that she was so glad to see him, but what he had been through the day before left him unable to see the good, even in this situation.
“I’m so glad that you’re okay,” Jess said while releasing him from her hug.
Okay wasn’t exactly the word that Michael would use to describe how he felt.
“Me, too,” Michael eventually said for lack of a better thing to say.
“Oh, you’re back. Mr. Campbell wanted to speak with you as soon as you got here,” Burt said after spotting Michael.
Michael walked away from Jess and entered Campbell’s office. Jess knew that there was something wrong with him. He seemed much more detached than usual. He had barely spoken to her. She feared that his state of mind was a poor one at best after what he witnessed in Atlanta. When Michael sat down in Campbell’s office, Campbell didn’t beat around the bush. He just came right out and said what needed to be said.
“I’ve heard that the stress from combat may have been too much for you. I think that starting tomorrow we need to have you talk to our specialist. His name is James Harper, and he’s the best psychologist that we have at our disposal. If there’s anyone who can help you recover from all the things that you’ve seen, it’s him,” Campbell said.
Michael only nodded in agreement with Campbell. He had fought therapy for so long, but for the first time in his life, he knew that he needed it. Out there on the battlefield, his mind betrayed his body, and until his mind was right, he would never be fit to help anyone. After a little while, Campbell’s talk with Michael was over, and he exited the room. He sat in Jess’s office in silence while waiting for her work to be over. Anytime she said something to him, he only answered in the shortest way possible and never left an opening for her to say anything back. When the day was over and everyone was home, Michael lay down on the couch.
“You can sleep in my room,” Jess said.
Michael silently got up, walked to the bedroom, and flopped down there.
“I don’t know what you saw out there, but you know that sooner or later we’re going to need to talk about it,” Jess said.
“I just want to sleep right now. Please, can all of this wait until tomorrow?” Michael asked.
“Yeah, that’s fine. Goodnight,” Jess said and closed the door.
As she walked to the pantry and looked for something to eat, she worried. She didn’t know what to do for him, but she knew that she had to do something.
While Michael and Jess were talking, Lee walked straight to his room and crashed. He hadn’t slept in so long, and his body could take no more. He awoke at midnight. Great, now my schedule is all screwed up, he thought as he got up. Lee walked to the living room where he found Trish watching television.
“Hey, you’re out of your room, but why are you awake so late?” Lee asked.
“I slept all day, and I just can’t get everything off my mind.”
“Yeah, I went to sleep as soon as I got home, so I’m kind of in the same boat right now.”
“How did things go today with your lady friend? Does she hate you for standing her up?”
“Yeah, I think that I’m pretty much dead to her now.”
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to cause you so much trouble.”
“It’s fine. I was where I needed to be last night, and if Megan doesn’t understand that, then it’s her loss.”
“Thank you. Can I tell you what’s going on?” Trish asked.
“Yes. I would love to know what’s going on.”
Trish explained to Lee what had happened and who David was to her. Afterward, Lee told her how they were having trouble getting information out of the man who killed David back at the office.
“I’ll see what I can do about that tomorrow,” Trish said.
“What? You are not going back to work tomorrow after everything that you’ve been through, and you’re certainly not going to face that man.”
“Oh, I’m going to do more than face him. I’m going to squeeze every bit of information out of him, and then I’m going to kill him.”
“See, that’s exactly why you can’t go back there. That just sounds crazy, and that’s not the Trish I know talking.”
“Look, I’m going to do this. I need to at least question the man.”
“Fine, but I’m coming with you in case you try to do something stupid.”
“Do what you want to do,” Trish said as her stomach growled very loudly.
“Have you eaten anything?” Lee asked.
“Not since yesterday morning. I just haven’t felt like eating lately.”
“I’m no expert in these types of situations, but there is one food that’s socially acceptable to eat no matter how you feel. Come on. We need to go out for a minute,” Lee said.
“No, I’m in my pajamas.”
“That’s fine. I’ll go in,” Lee said.
“Okay, but where are we going?”
“You’ll see. Just come on.”
She followed him, and Lee drove to an all-night grocery store where he went inside. When he emerged and walked
to the car, he had two pint sized ice creams and some plastic spoons.
“You know that this kind of stuff will make you fat, right?” Trish asked.
“Oh, I know,” Lee said while pointing down to his belly.
“You aren’t fat,” Trish quickly said.
“That isn’t exactly a six pack down there.”
For the first time in two days, Trish laughed.
“Thank you, Lee,” Trish said.
“For what? I just wanted some ice cream,” Lee said while winking at her.
Chapter 10
Late that night, Nathan and Sam met their crew just outside of Silver Springs in a rural area between there and the adjoining town of Crawfordville. The first thing that Sam noticed about their fellow soldiers was how few of them there were. There was only one truck full of men and a smaller truck filled with cans of gasoline.
“Campbell really wasn’t joking when he said that we would lead a small crew, was he,” Sam said quietly to Nathan.
“I’m just glad that we came up with something besides a brute force plan. That would have never worked with such few people,” Nathan said.
As the men piled out of the large truck, Sam started to speak but then stopped herself. She could have easily explained the plan to these men, but this had been Nathan’s idea. Maybe it’s time to let him take a leadership role, Sam thought.
“Nathan, do you want to fill everyone in on what we’re going to be doing tonight?” Sam asked.
Nathan turned to her with a surprised look that showed a hint of fear. She gave him a reassuring nod in return. Nathan had never been very comfortable talking in front of a lot of people, but he gave it his best shot anyway.
“Okay. You five are going to go to the elevator and keep anyone from getting off of it by any means necessary. The rest of you are going to grab a can of gasoline and pick a wall. We need to cover all the walls and a large portion of the floor. Afterward, we’ll make a trail of gasoline that leads outside and light the place up. This should all be done as quickly as possible. We should aim to be in and out of the place inside of five minutes.”
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