by JL Redington
“What? He’s one of the what?” Cayman thought he hadn’t heard correctly.
“MOVE!”
Cayman didn’t question. He needed to get Alexa out of the warehouse, safely away from the chaos. With a brief glance at Dixon, he turned to Alexa and together he and Max grabbed the chair and ran for the door. They hurried to the side of the neighboring warehouse and Max was immediately on the phone calling for back up and an ambulance.
“He’s a plant, Cayman,” said Max when Cayman hung up his phone. “He was planted two years ago to try and determine who it was that was getting these guys off, who was leaking information to them and making every one of our advances too late. Guess we found out who that was.”
Cayman was frantically working on the tape and Max was right beside him. Eventually, as they heard the sirens blaring, Alexa came free of her bonds and fell into Cayman’s arms. Tears of anger quickly turning to rage filled his eyes.
“Who did this to her?” he said, glaring at Dixon who’d run with them from the building. “WHO DID THIS TO HER!!?”
“His name is Hunter,” said Dixon, clearly ashamed. “I didn’t know he would do something like this. Had I known I would never have left him guarding her.” Dixon looked drawn and tired.
“Get her to the hospital, Max. Take care of her. I’ll be there as soon as I can.”
Max pulled Alexa into his arms, holding her to him.
“Don’t do anything stupid, Son. She loves you. Heaven help her, but she does. You come back for her. Do you hear me? You come back for her.”
There were dozens of police and FBI cars coming into the compound. Cayman nodded to Max and ran into the warehouse, gun drawn.
The gunfight was going strong, and trying to find cover in an otherwise empty space was a big problem. His team had hidden behind an overturned metal sheet, but it was the only thing in the room, and it was obviously not going to fit another person behind it. Cayman hid beside the open door, glancing quickly around the door frame every now and then to see where the cartel members were. Once he got his bearings, he ran back out the door and around to the back of the building, staying low to avoid stray bullets.
As he rounded the corner, a bullet came through the metal wall, hitting him near the hip and traveled on to a fuel tanker parked nearby. The bullet hit the fuel tank dead center. The explosion was deafening. Cayman was thrown to the ground holding his hip, ears ringing. He struggled to his feet, grabbing the wall and limped to the back entrance of the warehouse.
Anger pushed him forward. He couldn’t think of anything but Alexa, of what they had done to her. He wanted to kill them all in the worst way, but first, he was going to find out who this ‘Hunter’ was and make him pay.
The fire from the tanker had caught onto several other buildings. The whole area to the north of the warehouse was in flames. Cayman found the back entrance and slowly opened the door. There was one of him and six of the cartel members. If he shouted for them to drop their weapons, he’d be a goner. He had to take some of them out before they knew he was there.
Quickly he checked the chamber of his gun. He had four bullets left. He threw the door open and emptied his gun into the backs of the drug runners. Every shot found its target, and when he finished there were two of them left. The firing stopped with a “hold your fire” command from the agents across the room. The two members not hit by Cayman’s bullets turned in surprise and seeing they were outnumbered, dropped their guns and raised their hands. Cayman kept his gun on them as the others ran forward and shoved them to the ground, cuffing them. They were immediately pulled back up into a kneeling position.
Cayman limped to the two on the ground. Grantham couldn’t look him in the eye. Cayman would have spit in his face if he had. He couldn’t even ask Grantham why, it was like looking at no one of any importance at all. He was filth, the lowest form of scum.
Cayman leaned over with a snide smile on his face and whispered in the traitor’s ear.
“I’ll bet your son is so proud of you right now.”
He stood up and glared at the two prisoners.
“Which one is Hunter,” he demanded, pointing to the men he’d shot. There was no answer from either of them. He cocked his gun and held it to the traitor’s head. “WHICH ONE IS HUNTER? Give me a reason to pull this trigger, Grantham, just one reason. It would be so easy for me.”
Grantham nodded to the man beside him.
Cayman leaned over and picked Hunter up by the hair, cranking his head back so hard he yelped. Hunter quickly obeyed the command in an effort to keep his head where it was.
“You get a kick out of beating up women who can’t fight back, do you?” he hissed at him. “Here’s a present from the little lady next door.” Cayman winced as he lifted his knee planting it soundly in the man’s groin. Hunter collapsed on the floor in agony and Cayman grabbed his shirt with one hand and pulled him off the floor, ignoring the pain screaming from his hip. Forming a fist with the other hand, he pulled back and punched the man soundly in the face. He pulled his fist back again, ready to plant it one more time.
Immediately there were three men behind him, pulling him off Hunter.
“You’re hurt, Cayman,” said Winston. “Let’s not waste perfectly good blood on losers like these. I say we get you to the hospital.”
Cayman wiped his upper lip with the back of his hand still holding the empty gun. He tried to steady himself, leaning against Winston for support.
“Sounds good to me,” he said breathlessly.
Hunter was writhing in pain, his face bloodied as a steady stream of blood dripped from his face onto his shirt.
Cayman still had a fist full of Hunter’s shirt and he let him loose with a shove. He groaned as he hit hard cement, and Cayman smiled sardonically.
With a fellow agent on either side of him, he put an arm around each of their shoulders for support. Together they started for the door.
“Let’s get outta here,” he said with disgust.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Cayman was wheeled into the ER asking after Alexa with every breath.
“Where is she? I need to know where she is. Where is she?”
The nurse gave Winston a quick look while holding up a syringe. It contained a mixture of sedative and painkiller. She looked back down at her anxious patient and said flatly, “He leaves me no alternative.”
She was joking, but still she pushed the needle into his IV and emptied the syringe so he would relax…and relax he did.
The bullet just grazed Cayman’s hip and required only a few stitches. He wasn’t admitted as a patient, but the hospital wouldn’t release him until he could put together a coherent sentence. Once he was released, he went straight to Alexa’s room. Using the crutches he’d gotten in the emergency room, he walked in, went right to Max and hugged him. He shook Keith’s hand and said, “Good to see you, Keith.”
Cayman looked at Alexa from the end of the bed with the other two men.
“She kept telling me you were alive,” he said to Max, “and I just knew someone was playing a joke on her,” he shook his head. “Why didn’t you just show yourself...let her know it was you?”
“I couldn’t,” said Max, sadly. “I didn’t think she’d see me, but she’s faster than a rabbit and several times I didn’t make it out of sight soon enough. Had I come out of hiding, it would have been worse for her, if that’s possible. The cartel would have been all over her as soon as they found out I was alive. They would have used her to get to me.
“I just needed to know she was okay. I had to see her, but it was stupid of me. I knew the cartel had found her and I was worried they’d try to get information out of her she didn’t have. When I saw you were with her, I breathed a little easier.”
Cayman smiled. “I can’t even tell you how good it is to see you.”
Max smiled and looked at Alexa, his smile fading to sadness and concern.
Alexa looked much better than the last time he saw her. Though her face
was still black and blue, the swelling was going down. She’d been placed in a medically induced coma to allow them to get the internal wounds checked and bleeding stopped. She looked peaceful.
“When will they wake her up, did they say?” Cayman asked, walking around the bed to her side.
“A couple days at most,” replied Max. “I’m sure her body needs the rest anyway. Knowing her, she probably did everything she could to listen in on their conversations. She’s a strong one, always has been.”
“Well,” began Cayman, “from what I’ve heard, she was well trained. She’d make a great agent, if we could find a way to control that stubborn side.” Cayman laughed and Max chuckled.
“Yeah, she’s that, for sure.”
“Hey, Max,” said Cayman hesitantly, “you…you said she loved me. How do you know that? I thought she wanted to get as far away from me as she could.”
“When I found her and knelt beside her in the warehouse, she thought I was you. The way she said your name was filled with relief and sadness. A Dad can hear these things. Her voice told me she was in love with you, that’s how I know.”
Cayman grinned at Max. He grabbed a chair from the side of the room and pulled it to the bed. His hip complained a little and he grimaced as he sat down beside her. He took her hand and held it gently, moving the hair from her face with the other. He felt like he’d let her down in the worst possible way. He’d allowed her to be taken, by not going into that shop with her, he’d been careless and thoughtless. Every blow she took was his fault. Every broken bone, every drop of blood was because of him. The guilt weighed heavily on him and he wondered if he could ever get past it. He wondered if his guilt would destroy the love he felt for her, wondered if she could ever really love him knowing how he had caused her this pain.
He felt a hand on his shoulder. It was Keith, silent until now.
“I know what you’re thinking, Cayman,” said Keith softly, “and you couldn’t be more wrong. You didn’t hit her, not one time. Put the guilt where it belongs, on the people that did this to her. You could never hurt her like this, you know that.”
Cayman whispered, “Thanks.”
He knew Keith was right, it was just hard to let go of things like that. He swallowed hard and turned to Max.
“You’ve been in witness protection…for a year?”
“Yes, sort of,” said Max, “not really witness protection, but the cartel knew I had something on them so it became necessary to go into hiding. What I think is, they saw us that day in the desert and figured I had seen them, as well. I did see them, and I took the photo, not knowing there was anyone in the back seat at the time. When I got it home and printed out the picture, I enlarged it and did see someone in the backseat. I destroyed the enlargement right away until I could get the information to the Bureau and I planted the code, hoping you could get it to Truseau in time.”
“Yeah, thanks to Grantham, that didn’t happen. He never sent the backpack on to the office in D.C., so by the time Truseau got it figured out, Gratham had already shot Barnes.”
Max shook his head.
“It wasn’t Dixon in that backseat, it was Grantham. That’s why I needed the photo to get to Truseau. I knew he could be trusted. But when you didn’t make it out of Phoenix, Grantham was the most likely person to get the picture and there wasn’t a thing I could do about it.” Max rubbed his chin with, disgusted with the way that went down.
“How’d you find that out?” asked Cayman.
“Never mind…I just found it out. But I had no proof, and Barnes paid the price for that.”
“How’s Dixon doing? Have you been talked to him?” Cayman asked.
“He’s fine. I guess he left Hunter not knowing the history between him and Alexa.”
Cayman turned to him with eyes of thunder.
“What history.” His voice was suddenly cold.
“Oh, well, apparently she kneed him pretty soundly in the groin in a motel room somewhere when he tried to get--”
“--the album…” said Cayman, finishing his sentence and laughing out loud. “That’s hilarious, because I kneed him in the groin at the warehouse and told him it was a present from Alexa.” He chuckled as he said, “Was it ever!”
They all laughed softly, enjoying the moment.
“Poor Dixon,” said Cayman sadly. “I almost killed him, and would’ve if you hadn’t been there Max.”
The nurse came in and injected something into the IV. She explained they were going to bring Alexa slowly out of the coma and check for any brain damage or permanent sight issues. She told them it would be good for someone to talk to her as she comes out of it. She explained it’s comforting to the patient and might bring her out of the coma a little sooner. She smiled at the group of men and walked from the room.
“Brain damage?” Cayman asked incredulously. “Sight issues?”
He looked to the others and they said nothing. Cayman, still holding Alexa’s hand, looked determined.
“Doesn’t change a thing.” He said firmly, staring into Alexa’s face.
“She’s too ornery for any of that,” smiled Keith. “She’s going to be just fine. Wait and see. She’ll be cussing us all for standing around like she’s incapable of caring for herself.”
“She’ll be fine, Cayman. She’s a tough one, my girl. She’s going to be fine.” He glanced at Cayman and then to Alexa. “You two are both going to be fine.”
Max and Keith left Cayman with Alexa and headed to their motel rooms to get some sleep. It had been a long couple of days and everyone was exhausted.
Cayman snagged a nurse and asked her if he could get a copy of Dr. Seuss’ Green Eggs and Ham. She looked at him kind of funny, but said they would probably have it on the Pediatric floor. Within minutes she had the book and delivered it to Cayman.
He gazed at the book and smiled. This was one of her favorites, he remembered her telling him. He glanced at Alexa and walked around the bed to sit on his chair. Slowly he leafed through the pages trying to imagine her as a little girl on her father’s lap, listening to him read these lines. He smiled again.
Scooting his chair closer to the bed, he leaned forward with his elbows on his knees, holding the book before him. Clearing his throat and feeling just a tad silly, he began.
“I am Sam. Sam I am. Do you like green eggs and ham…?”
His voice continued on smooth and soft. When he finished the book, he looked over at Alexa. She remained asleep so he opened to the front page and began again.
Ever so gradually, Cayman began to feel sleep overtake him. He shook his head and continued reading, placing the open book on the bed and scooting a little closer to it. Still, his head began to lower onto the blankets as his eyes closed.
In minutes he was sound asleep, his head resting on the bed beside the sleeping body of the woman he loved.
Chapter Twenty-Three
It was late afternoon when Max stepped into Alexa’s room with Keith. What he saw made him smile.
Alexa continued sleeping peacefully, and there with his head on the bed beside her was Cayman, leaning over from the chair. On the bed beside Cayman lay the book, “Green Eggs and Ham” open, but not finished.
“Looks like he read himself to sleep,” smiled Keith.
“Yeah, sure looks like it,” chuckled Max.
“I’ve missed her Keith, I’ve really missed her.” Max smiled admiringly at his daughter.
“Oh, she has missed you as well. Not many days went by she didn’t talk about you one way or another. You were always her hero.” Keith grinned as he spoke.
“I never told her the truth about her mother. She still believes LeAnn died in childbirth. She was always so small, too small to understand. Then suddenly she was old enough to understand, but I couldn’t tell her without telling her what I actually did for a living. I keep wondering if that decision, to not tell her about my work, was a mistake.”
“No, Max,” said Keith firmly. “You probably saved her life. If tho
se men even thought she knew more, they would have tortured her until she spilled it all, then they would have killed her. I would think an idiot could have seen that she didn’t have a clue about your life. It’s just a good thing Dixon was there to at least offer some protection.”
“Yes, I owe Dixon a great debt. It’s got to be hard to be thought of as a traitor and then have to integrate back into the team. We’ll have to help with that.
Max gazed at Keith with warmth, his eyes moist with tears that did not fall.
“I can’t thank you enough for looking after her. I suppose she didn’t think she needed a lot of looking after. I hope she wasn’t a pain in the butt for you.” He said softly.
“Are you kidding? I missed nearly all the years of her life as a child, and clearly all of her young adult life. It was a pleasure, every minute.
“I was afraid she wouldn’t see the ad I placed in the Page newspaper. I was hoping it was something she would be interested in. It paid off in a big way, and I was so glad to see her arrive in Startup. I suppose they’ll move away from there now. That will be the hardest thing for me.” Keith gazed at Alexa with a mixture of pride and sadness.
Max clapped him on the shoulder. “Couldn’t have asked for a better brother, you know. It helped me a lot knowing you were there with her.”
“Wouldn’t have missed it for the world. I’d do it again in a heartbeat.” Keith said, tearing up a little and blinking them back.
Alexa stirred just then and smacked her lips, trying to get some moisture into her mouth. She turned her head slowly, eyes still closed and moaned softly.
“Cayman…Cayman…” she whispered, then mumbled several unrecognizable words.
“She’s crazy about him, you know,” said Keith. “From the first minute she saw him, but darned if she would admit it. You’re right about the stubborn part. I do believe she got that from you.”
“Well,” began Max, a little wistfully, “she got a lot of that from her mother. Wish she could have known her, but I guess it would have been like looking in a mirror. Maybe they wouldn’t have gotten on so well, being so much alike. I guess we’ll never know the answer to that one. ” Max smiled sadly.