by S. M. Dapelo
“No promises,” Tanner growled. “Rest assured, they will be stopped. We’d just prefer to have to have a formal go ahead.”
“Tanner,” warned Ethan.
“Sorry, Senator Jenkins,” said Tanner, not even glancing at the man.
“I understand. I’m not attached to them being brought in alive. But the panel asked me to request it. They do understand how fanatics can be,” he said. Ethan and the Senator made small talk as the elevator ascended. The three of us were situated in the back, with Berto and Lyssa to the sides and Tanner in the front of the elevator doors, his arms crossed.
When the doors opened, I heard Tanner growl, “Well this day just keeps getting better and better.”
I felt Ethan squeeze my hand. I glanced at him and his face had turned to stone. We exited after everyone else when I heard a sarcastic voice say, “There’s the newlyweds.” I turned to see a man around the same height as Ethan, but with black curling hair and sharp cheekbones standing.
“We’ve been married three years, Peterson,” Ethan stared him down. “Sorry you missed the invite to the wedding. Wait. No, I’m not. We don’t like you. Any of us.”
“Well that’s not true,” the man’s lip went up on one side, “Your wife once liked me a lot.”
“That was pity,” I broke in before Ethan destroyed him. I could feel the tension wafting off him. “Liking you?” I tapped my chin, then shook my head, “No.” The man’s face reddened.
“Brock!” A nondescript man with brown hair and a rumpled suit leaned out a corner office, “Get your ass over to the ambassador’s place like you were ordered. If you’re still here in two minutes, you’ll be riding a desk for the rest of your career.”
Peterson glanced back at the man, then glared at Ethan and me and walked away. “That was cold Sam,” Tanner chuckled. “He was your old partner,” he whispered. Oops.
“Ryker, Lafferty,” the man started yelling, then noticed the Senator. “Oh, Senator Jenkins, I wasn’t expecting you.” He forced a smile on his face and came over to shake the Senator’s hand.
“Director Hill, I heard Ethan and his group were going to be here. The committee got a copy of the tape and has some questions. Thought we could kill two birds with one stone so Samantha can rest. After all, she is still post-op,” the Senator smiled at him.
“Good thinking sir, I look forward to you in our meeting,” the Director never took his eyes from the Senator. I noticed a small sheen of sweat on his forehead.
“Stephen, Peter, can we go into the office?” Ethan gave an easy smile, “Samantha needs to sit.”
The Senator, not sure if he was Peter or Stephen, made a clucking noise, “Of course. The last surgery only happened a few days ago, correct?”
“Nine days. Her neurosurgeon is going to have a fit when he finds out we took her out today. She’s supposed to be on bedrest,” Ethan said.
“This way,” the Director led us down a hallway into his office.
“Hi Ethan.” A busty bottle blond with a fake Southern accent jumped out of her seat as we walked in. “I was wondering if we were going to see you again.”
Ethan only glanced her way for a second. “Amber,” he nodded at her. She glanced at our hands, then her eyes widened when she saw the ring. “Hi, Sammie,” she rolled her eyes.
“Mrs. Ryker or Samantha,” I smiled at her. “No one calls me Sammie who doesn’t want me to …”
“This way Sam.” Ethan dragged me into the office past her, “What did I say about not responding?” he whispered.
“Her boobs, hair, and accent are fake,” I whispered back with a fake smile. “Be happy I didn’t bring up any of that.”
He gave me a warning look before he sat me in a chair, sitting next to me. Tanner stood directly behind him with Berto and Lyssa at the back wall, reviewing something on a tablet. The Senator grabbed a chair and the brown-haired man sat behind his desk. “Ethan,” the Director started. “I reviewed the tape along with all the information you sent me. I have a few questions for Samantha.”
“I don’t want her pushed, Stephen,” Ethan said. “You asked I bring her here, and I did. We’ve already ran into Peterson, who tried to start something. And Amber just tried to rile up Sam as well. Extra stress can cause complications.”
“I won’t allow it either,” Senator Jenkins stated. “I’m not only part of the committee, I’m also a practicing attorney. Specifically, the Ryker family attorney.”
“I understand, I do.” Stephen put his hand up, “I just need to verify a few things. Peter, you can butt in if you think I’m pushing too hard.”
I was quickly looking around the room, trying to get a read on this man. Fishing gear in a corner, pictures of him and others camping, swimming, playing tennis. I turned and gave a smile, “What do you need clarified, Steve?”
“Well, you still keep everything as casual as possible, I see,” he smiled.
I just shrugged, “I’m pretty sure you’re the one that insisted on Steve.”
“So, I did,” he nodded. “When did you and Ethan get married?”
“Jesus Christ,” Ethan growled. “Does everybody get questioned about their marriage or just me?”
I put my hand on Ethan’s arm, “May seventeenth. We’ve been married for three years and I think the video explains why we kept it quiet. Once the Sacristy found out…” I bit my lip. “Well, they were able to hurt me, just to hurt Ethan. You of all people should understand trying to keep your family safe.”
Stephen looked down at his desk for a moment, then looked at me and nodded, “I do. But I have to go over this. What did you think about your wedding dress?”
“At the time I loved it, but looking back,” I grimaced and shook my head, “They shouldn’t allow you to buy something important when you’re drinking.” I rolled my eyes, “Of course, that might be why they offer champaign at all those wedding boutiques. How else are they going to get you to buy something that looks like a cupcake for as much as an engagement ring?”
The Senator snickered as the Director snorted, “I can’t argue with that,” smiled the Director. “Three years,” he muttered looking at Ethan. “You’ve been married for three years and never let on. You know this is going to devastate Amber, right?”
Ethan shrugged, “I never dated Amber or showed any interest in her. It was only in her mind. If you’re worried about that, Tanner can start flirting.”
“What?” Tanner blurted out behind us, “Dude I just got out of a relationship with a psycho, I don’t need another one.” He paused. “Not that Amber’s a psycho.”
Stephen rolled his eyes, “She lives in a fantasy world where she believes a rich spy is going to whisk her away to live a life of adventure. She’s not fully sane. But somebody had to hire that guy’s daughter. You don’t say no to the head of the Foreign Intelligence Committee.”
“Okay, let’s get down to brass taxes.” Peter started leaning forward, “We’ve seen what this cell of the Sacristy is developing.
Ethan squeezed my hand just as I was about to ask the obvious question. I just glanced his way and winked. “Yes,” Ethan started, “Some sort of chip they’re implanting into brains. Berto believes they’re designed to actually give an electrical shock, causing instant death.”
Steve and Peter’s eyes both got huge, “Shit, you mean you got that thing out of her head just in time?” Steve’s voice went up an octave.
Ethan’s face went to stone, “Yes, that’s exactly what happened. Samantha was kidnapped in Nevada but escaped at the same time we invaded their lair. They were already gone, but she grabbed a car and took off, not realizing it was us. We followed, she crashed, and we got her out of there and back to one of the compounds. We were worried about a concussion, the CAT scan showed something else. Luckily, we have quite a few jammers, so we probably stopped any incoming signals being sent.”
Steve put his head in his hands, “Jesus.” He looked up and thought, “You said Nevada?”
“We go every y
ear,” Ethan shrugged.
“We’ll look and see if there’s an uptake on people dying from aneurysms, brain bleeds, or stroke around there. This can’t have been the first time.” Steve leaned back, moved a statue, then hit a button. “We’re covered now.” He looked at Peter, “What does the committee say?”
“They’ve reviewed the medical records and agree Samantha’s fortunate. She could have died. Whoever put the chip in, put it in the wrong area. Her memory’s shot, but that’s it,” Peter glanced at Ethan as I stared.
“Hold on, did I miss something?” I was trying to look at everyone.
“Only a few of us are aware of the Sacristy,” Steve gave a small smile. “We try to keep it that way. We have a few teams working on this, but we are mindful of exactly what happened to you. To everyone else,” he shrugged, “you had a lucky break.”
Peter looked over at Ethan, “That plan you came up with? Can you pull it off?”
“Samantha and Lyssa can,” smiled Ethan. “How long before we know about the makers of the chip.”
“I’ll put a group on it,” said Peter.
“So, let’s stop the jammers and start our little melodrama,” smiled Steve. He reached over and hit the button again.
“So that’s what we’re thinking,” smiled Ethan, knowing that sentence was going to drive someone nuts.
“Okay, but we’re going to need to review the video again,” stated Steve. “We need to look at it slowly and see if any of us missed anything.”
“Sam’s not watching,” Ethan shook his head.
“Ethan,” I started.
“Sugar, no.” He reached over and ran a hand through my hair. “You’re looking pale.” He turned to Steve, “Is there another room she can relax in. Seeing that will put undue stress on her. Lyssa can go with her.”
“Sure,” Lyssa shrugged.
“Berto, we’ll need to go over some of the finer details you discovered. Did you bring the files?” Ethan glanced at him.
Berto sighed and threw a small box onto the desk, “Si Señor.”
“Berto,” growled Ethan as the other two men sitting were trying not to laugh.
“It’s okay, Ethan,” Peter got out. “We know Berto’s paranoid.”
“I’ll have someone in security take the women to conference room six,” stated Steve. “No offense Samantha. I know you used to work here, but we have to keep an eye on everything.”
“Fine,” I shrugged as Steve got on the phone. In a short amount of time, a large man in a uniform appeared at the door. “Dominic, please escort these ladies to conference room six. They don’t need to be here to see what we’re going over.”
“Yes sir,” he nodded and led us out.
“Bye Sammie,” sang Amber.
“Bye spinster,” I turned and smiled at her as she glared. “Maybe one of these days you’ll realize men like things natural, not silicone.” I heard Lyssa snort as Dominic grabbed my arm and took me out into the hallway.
“She’s a bitch,” he said under her breath.
“You’re talking about Amber and not me, right?” I smiled at him.
“Yep,” he smiled back.
“Oh, I like him,” smiled Lyssa.
“You’re officially our favorite,” I said.
“What are they watching they don’t want you two to see?” Dominic asked.
“Samantha being tortured by a terrorist group and having forced brain surgery,” Lyssa stated.
His head swung to me, “Is she kidding?”
“Nope,” I shook my head. “I had procedure to correct the issue just a little more than a week ago.”
“That bitch was giving you a tough time? I’m having her car towed,” he glared as he looked forward.
“Yep, definitely our favorite,” Lyssa giggled as we were escorted into the conference room.
Chapter 14
“I’ll get you ladies something to drink,” Dominic nodded to us as he left the room. Lyssa pulled out the tablet and started a movie. Within five minutes, two unopened waters were put in front of us, “I’ll be right outside if there’s any problems.”
I opened the water and took a sip, then put it down. “Does your water taste okay?” I asked Lyssa.
She took a sip and shrugged, “Tastes like water.”
“Mine tastes like copper,” I moved it away and looked around the room. Typical conference room with furniture that probably hadn’t been updated since the nineties. I started to look out the window and noticed waves in front of my eyes. “Lyssa, I think something’s wrong.”
She glanced up and gave a knowing look. “Are you okay?” she said woodenly. Shit, she thought I was about to act out the damn seizure.
“No, something’s wrong.” I tried to get her to understand, “I’m seeing waves and my water tasted like copper. Try it.”
She frowned at me and tried a sip. “Tastes like water Sam. You’re a bit pale, you should sit down.”
I sat. The waves were getting worse and I couldn’t remember why. My hands stared shaking, “Get Ethan, something is wrong.” That’s the last thing I remember saying until I was looking up with a security guy putting an oxygen mask on my face yelling the paramedics were on the way.
“Sam,” Ethan pushed past him. “Sugar what happened,” his voice broke.
I tried to remove the mask. “I don’t know.” I glanced around. “Why am I on the floor?”
“Ma’am don’t do that,” the security man put the mask back on. “You had a seizure. We called the paramedics; we’ll make sure you get to the nearest hospital.”
I looked up at Ethan and shook my head, ripping the mask off again, “I don’t want to go anywhere. Can’t we just go home?”
“Stephen, can you get us back home? We’ll have her neurosurgeon meet us there. She’s not going to a local hospital,” Ethan’s jaw was set.
“After what we just saw in the recording, she’s not going anywhere without an escort,” Steve said crossing his arms. “Where’s Dominic.”
“Right here sir,” he appeared behind the man trying to force oxygen on me.
“Call the paramedics, tell them it was a mistake and cancel it. She won’t be safe if she goes anywhere but home,” Steve’s voice was firm. I finally understood why he was in charge.
“Yes sir,” Dominic turned and left. Lyssa appeared behind Ethan with Tanner and Berto in tow. Ethan stared at the group, “I need to get my wife home now.” He glanced between Peter and Steve, “Gentlemen, did we come to an agreement?”
“Yes, I think we have,” Steve nodded. “I’ll finish up here with Peter and we’ll get the contracts over before the end of the day.”
Ethan nodded and helped me up. My legs were still weak, so he wrapped an arm around me and helped me toward the elevator, “Peter, please make sure the usual stipulations are in there.”
“I will,” Peter nodded solemnly at Ethan. “Make sure you take care of your wife. We’re not expecting any movement on this for the next several weeks. Not until we get more intel.”
“I understand. If we’re not working with Brock, we’re fine.”
“Or Amber,” I called back, causing Steve to smile.
“My secretary won’t be involved,” he said.
Ethan held me up with one arm as he shook hands with both men and got us on the elevator. Both he and Tanner gave small smiles, “That was fantastic Sugar,” he whispered.
I shook my head. “Ethan,” I whispered. “I wasn’t faking.” I watched as the color drained from his face and he swung me into his arms.
“Call Richard now,” he commanded as he led us to the helicopter pad. “I want him at the compound before we get back.”
Chapter 15
The flight back home consisted of Ethan and Tanner on their phones whispering back and forth. I just kept my eyes closed and held onto Ethan for dear life. Finally we exited the chopper and headed into the front door to be greeted a fussy doctor.
“Tell me exactly what happened,” Richard demanded put
ting his hand to my head.
All eyes turned to Lyssa who held up her hands, “I thought she was faking. That was the plan. Sam fakes a fit, I plant the bugs in those three rooms, then bust in screaming to Ethan his wife is seizing.”
Richard sighed and glared at Ethan, “I hate when you pull this shit.” He turned to me. “Samantha, describe what happened.”
Ethan put me in an overstuffed chair, “I felt off. The water tasted funny to me, but it didn’t to Lyssa. She tried mine. Then I started seeing wavy lines, I sat down, and next thing I know some rent-a-cop was forcing an oxygen mask on me.”
Tanner folded his arms, “That was a marine, not a rent-a-cop.”
Richard flashed a pen light at my eyes, “How do you feel now?”
“Tired and weak.”
“What did you eat for breakfast?”
I bit my lip, “An omelet?”
“She had two nibbles of mine.” Ethan was hovering, “She didn’t eat much last night. She stated she wasn’t hungry. Now as I think about it, she hasn’t really been eating much. Just a nosh here and there.”
“In all fairness, none of us has,” Berto shrugged. “Tanner’s overseen the cooking. At least until last night.”
Richard looked between Ethan and Tanner. “Can I see you two in the hallway?” The three of them walked out.
“I’m so sorry, Sam. I honestly thought it was just part of the plan,” Lyssa’s eyes were filling with tears.
“I’m fine now,” I reassured her. “I’ve had a lot thrown at me today. I’ll just be more careful about eating.”
“You kept saying something was wrong. I didn’t catch it,” she sniffled. “You even said the water tasted weird.”
“I would have said the same thing if I was faking,” I reassured her.
“Was this because we had you cook today?”
“I don’t think so. Anything could have set it off,” I said as she reached over and hugged me.