Love Lonely

by William C. Cole

  “Will she hear me?”

  “Probably not, but it’s not an exact science. We like to believe a familiar hand and voice provides positive reinforcement whether they respond or not.”

  David looked at Renée who had backed off to provide some privacy, to see her mouth, “I’ll be right here.”

  The doctor escorted him to the room before leaving him alone and closing the door. There his wife lay attached to a number of monitoring machines. An endotracheal tube was inserted down her throat. Her head was wrapped in white gauze with a tiny tube of what looked to be draining fluid from her brain. Both her eyes were blackened. She didn’t look well, but she was alive. The graph on the screen confirmed it. That’s all he could ask for now.

  Back in Langley, Virginia, at the CIA headquarters, Christopher Young the Director was sitting behind his imposing desk when his assistant knocked then entered.

  “Sir there’s been a mishap.”

  “Yes.”

  “Sandy Watson has sustained injuries from being thrown from a horse.”

  “Is she alive?”

  “Yes.”

  “Good,” the Director's conversations were short and to the point.

  “Sir,” the assistant handed over what looked similar to an iPad.

  “This her medical condition in real time. It is a direct feed from the hospital. As the doctors learn so do we.”

  “Do we know the whereabouts of Brayden or Mason or whatever the hell his name is?”

  “He’s en route to the airport. As you requested I’ve arranged for one of our jets to transport him to his reassignment.”

  “Where did you post him,” trusting his assistant’s judgment.

  “Our Black Site in Malaysia, sir.”

  “He will never step foot in the United States again?”

  “No sir.”

  “Thank you,” the agent was dismissed.

  Christopher scrolled through the hospital's updates on Sandy’s condition. He paused at one page.

  “God dammit,” he bellowed.

  ***

  David sat at the edge of the bed. He held her hand with both of his.

  “Sandy I’m so, so, sorry. Please forgive me. I shouldn’t have pushed you to take the ride.”

  Tears rolled down his cheeks. His stomach turned. He was shaking.

  “Seeing you lay in that ambulance scared me. I thought you were gone. Please don’t be gone. The only thing that matters is for you to find a way to come back to us. I promise things will be different.”

  He wiped the tears from his face. With one hand he caressed her cheek. It was gut-wrenching to be staring down seeing his wife in this condition.

  “Sandy you will get better. You will be better than ever.”

  “I want to apologize for my recent behavior. Seeing you like this I’ve realized how selfish I’ve been. I married you for who we are and not for what I want us to be. All I need is you. I will never pressure you to change again. A life with you is all I want. I don’t know why I’ve been behaving like I have recently. I am so sorry. I pray you can find it in your heart to forgive me. You are the most important person in my life. I am honored to be your husband. We will see our way through this. I love you.”

  David bent over and gave her a kiss on the cheek. At that moment the doctor reentered, this time accompanied by Jacob and Brooklyn. David got up and gave both of them a hug. Jacob moved to the side of the bed. The doctor nodded to David to meet her in the hall.

  “I’ll be right back,” he said to his father-in-law.

  The doctor looked at the medical chart she was holding.

  “Mr. Watson.”

  “Please, David is fine,”

  “David, your wife is a very lucky woman. We’ve completed a full body scan and I’m happy to say she did not sustain any breaks or fractures. Which might I say is a miracle from the trauma she experienced. She is in incredible physical condition. The majority of people would have been very badly damaged. The only noticeable injury was from landing on her head. She sustained some swelling which caused a mild liquid build up. We have drained most of it. However, I would like to keep her sedated for another twenty four hours to avoid any unnecessary movement. Considering, all and all it’s as good as it gets.”

  “Thank you doctor. You have no idea how much I appreciate hearing that.”

  The doctor was a bit surprised at David’s overall reaction or lack of it.

  “So, furthermore, the great news today is they both will make a full recovery.”

  “That’s wonderful. I’m so,” he stopped mid sentence as it sank in that he was being informed both would make a full recovery. “What do you mean by both? I wasn’t aware anyone else was injured.”

  The doctor looked at him a bit confused until her rationalization of his comment hit home.

  “Oh my god. You didn’t know.”

  “Know what,” now he was baffled.

  “Your wife. She is three months into term. David, you’re going to have a baby.”

  Chapter 23

  Six months later Sandy gave birth to a beautiful healthy baby girl. They named their new family member Capella after the child’s grandmother’s favorite star. Life at the ranch now revolved around that little ray of brightness. David was already trying to predict what her foot size would be when she took her first steps. His plan was to contact one of the skate representatives he was aligned with to have them customize a pair for his future Olympian.

  Sandy’s recovery from the accident was quicker than anyone expected. The Doctors were amazed at how fast she healed. All those years of fine tuning her body paid off. Within a month of the fall she was back to her normal routine. She did however reduce her traveling quite a bit. One, maybe two overnight trips per month were all she committed to until her ninth month of pregnancy. All of her communications took place from her office at the ranch from that point on.

  She explained to her husband that she had been aware of the pregnancy for the two months leading up to the accident. During their discussions on the subject, she withheld the information as she was not a hundred percent certain she was ready to become a mother. David accepted her explanation without discord. He was grateful for all he had been blessed with these past few months.

  Prior to the birth of their daughter a memorial was held for Serge. The minister’s sermon was heard by all existing staff, along with some past employees. He blessed a plaque that was placed on the ranch’s stable which was now named The Serge Thompson Stable in memory of the trainer. They also took time to pay their respects to the two horses that perished in the fire at a small monument which was erected in their honor.

  Jacob and Brooklyn fell nicely into the groove of a married lifestyle. They elected to make the log chalet their residence. Although it was only a couple of hundred yards from the main house, it provided a sanctuary away from the office.

  It went without saying that the affair between Renée and David came to an end, at least for the time being. The flame still burned within both but with time it had a chance of being extinguished. To avoid falling back into the secretive rendezvous David allowed Renée to handle all the out of town races on her own. He took care of the business end from home.

  Back at the hospital after David came out of the shock of learning he was going to be a father, Renée was eventually able to explain the reasoning behind Charlotte’s Choice being spooked. He was fit to be tied. If Mason was in his sight he would have ripped his heart out. The information was passed on to his father-in-law whose reaction was similar, although, it didn’t take either long to let calm heads prevail. At that time all their energies needed to be focused towards Sandy.

  After his daughter was released and settled in at the ranch a discussion took place with regards to the shocking of the horse. Sandy immediately knew the Director ordered it and the reasoning behind it. She elected not to expose him to her family insisting that her father and husband allow her to deal with the situation. Actually she was prepared to let
the whole thing slide. It only solidified her reasoning behind withdrawing her services. The more Sandy thought about it, although not in agreement with their method, she did understand why her pregnancy was an issue to the Agency. It also became obvious to her that her way of thinking was more similar to the Director than she had realized. But now was her time, not the country's.

  Her father couldn’t let it go. Shortly after their talk, he boarded his aircraft filing a flight plan to Washington. He had summoned a face to face with the President. Heads were going to roll. No one endangered one of his family members, especially his daughter without paying dearly. He wanted answers. Not from the various law enforcement agencies. He expected the President to have his daughter’s back. Now the Chief was going to have to explain himself.

  The two sat face to face on opposite couches in the center of the Oval Office. There were no niceties. Jacob was about to begin his thrashing when President Tucker waved him off.

  “Jacob our government is responsible for the attacks on your family,” he began.

  He went on to explain it was the Director of the CIA that ordered both aggressions. The fire was to keep David near, allowing Sandy to attend the wedding by herself. The invitation list provided a once in a lifetime opportunity of intelligence gathering, making it imperative she be there alone. Without going into details, he explained to Jacob that the results of his daughter’s trip ultimately saved thousands of American lives. He went on to apprise him that they were able to resolve lingering questions with regards to an operative, referring to the locating of their former agent Emily. Sandy’s mission to extract her was not and would not be mentioned. Jacob was told without the sacrifice of his daughter’s services over the years the face of the country would not be the same. If the necessity to shielding her involvement wasn’t so imperative, she would be the recipient of every Medal of Honor the country could bestow on her.

  Being a smart man Jacob sat back and listened without interruption. He was so proud hearing the President praise his daughter he couldn’t help but smile. It didn’t ease his being upset about the attacks, but he understood the premise behind it, not the method. He sat in silence as the President continued.

  It was explained that both attacks were executed by the CIA without the knowledge or approval of the White House. No one could deny the success of the first mission. He apologized before telling Sandy’s father the truth behind the shocking of the horse. The CIA accessed his daughter’s medical records. When it was learned she was pregnant the Director took it upon himself to orchestrate an accident in hopes of causing her to abort the baby. Christopher Young felt he had a much better chance of retaining her services if there were no children brought into play. The Director was confident Sandy would not sustain any major injury due to her conditioning. His justification was she had been through much worse in her training. The President added that he was outraged when he learned of the attempt. It made his stomach turn to think about it.

  Not expecting this explanation, Jacob was blindsided. He was fuming. His next stop would be Langley where he would personally take care of the Director. But before he exploded with anger the President put up a hand to hopefully defuse the situation by outlining his plan to resolve the debacle.

  Jacob did speak up demanding the Director be removed from his position. The President went on to say that he had a heart to heart with the head of the CIA and they came to a mutual agreement that in one year’s time Christopher Young would announce his retirement. That wasn’t good enough for Jacob, he wanted him out now. After all he could have killed his daughter.

  President Tucker laid out the plan informing his guest that it wasn’t a burger joint where you could kick someone to the curb for giving his buddy a free order of fries. The Director of the largest intelligence agency in the world could not be fired on the spot. It took time to oust someone in his capacity. If he was suddenly removed from office it would mean the involvement of the House of Representatives among god knows how many more groups, his immediate staff included. This way was clean and tidy. Besides he told him, it would take that long to vet a replacement.

  Sandy’s father agreed on two conditions. One was the Agency refrain from ever contacting his daughter again unless she reached out to them first. The President agreed. Second was that all files relating to her existence within the organization be purged and the new Director was to know nothing of her.

  “Jacob, unfortunately I can’t agree to that demand. I have the perfect person in mind for his replacement but they will have knowledge of her involvement. Actually I may need your assistance in the vetting process or should I say the persuading of my candidate.”

  Jacob didn’t understand why his participation would be required and told the Chief that it was best left to the White House to decide on these matters without public input.

  “I agree that would be the norm, but in this case I am quite certain your influence of the individual I have in mind is quite substantial.”

  Still confused Jacob asked, “Who exactly is your candidate?”

  With a widening smile on his face the President of the United States locked eyes with his long time friend and said, “Your daughter, Sandy.”

  To be continued...

  Book 2 coming 2015

  Acknowledgements

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  About the Author

  Born in Toronto and raised in Northern Ontario, Canada, I currently own a small business in the Sudbury region. My wife Diane has been by my side for 34 years, which I believe should propel her directly into sainthood. I have been blessed with an amazing and supportive family.

  Creativity has always been a part of my journey. Writing seems to be a natural extension to my years in the music industry, where I had the pleasure of listening to songs I penned being played on the radio.

  When not working, sleeping, biking, or writing, I am on the golf course trying to keep up with my son’s Lee and Aaron.

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