by Laura Acton
“Sounds deceptively easy, but it isn’t. You need to wait, listen, then challenge Blondie.”
What the hell? What is so hard about that? Confused, Jon asked “What do you mean? Why isn’t that easy? We listen all the time—it’s part of our job.”
The team was getting antsy. Jon’s side of the conversation made no sense. What was Blaze saying? Dan didn’t move a muscle and tears were falling. They needed to act. Deep worry etched their faces as they impatiently waited. Jon noted their concern but focused on Blaze.
Blaze said, “Wait with him. Wait until he’s ready to talk. Blondie will talk eventually, but you have to give him time to process inside first. Don’t push him to talk, wait until he is ready. With Brody, it took three weeks before Blondie started to talk. You can’t leave him alone during this time. He’s too vulnerable. That is when he is likely to take actions none of us want.”
“Do you think it will take that long this time?” Jon asked.
“I have no idea how long it will take him this time. But when he starts to talk only listen to him. Let him pour out his fears and his agony. Listen impassively. Don’t judge. Don’t try to rationalize what he says. Just accept it as the way he sees the world.
“I’m praying you can bear his pain and you won’t allow the things you might learn to change your view of him. And you can accept him as a man, one who endured horrific things and came out stronger—not someone who is damaged and to be pitied.
“And Jon, this is extremely important, you can’t show pity …” Blaze trailed off as an old memory assailed him. He would never forget what happened when he showed pity and Blondie saw—still made his gut churn.
When the line went silent for several long moments, Jon became concerned hearing Blaze breath heavily. Sounded like he was trying to calm and collect himself. About to say something, Jon stopped when Blaze spoke again.
Blowing out a long breath Blaze stressed, “This is very important. You can’t show any emotion, but especially not pity—pity will send him over the edge. That’s why I needed to leave. I showed pity. The part I couldn’t bear, only Brody stayed strong enough to listen.
“You need to be very strong to listen to the excruciating pain which may come out and not react. When Blondie started talking about what those animals did to him with the needles, he read horror at the atrocity and pity in my expression. Blondie went berserk and tried to grab my knife while screaming at me that he wanted to die.”
Jon blanched. “This happened after he was rescued?”
Blaze spotted the pilot heading to the helicopter. “Yes. I don’t know what Blondie will say this time, but he will need to let his hurt out. Whatever he says, you must keep confidential.
“He never broke. In three months he never gave the bastards anything but his name, rank, and service number. If he talks about his torture you must protect him. You can never share any of what he says with anyone. Ever. Promise me you will protect him.”
Can I listen to Dan tell how he was tortured and not show emotion? Jon resolved he had no other choice but to tried his damnedest. Dan is important to them. If this is the only way to bring him back, Jon will do his best. As to keeping what he said confidential—a no-brainer.
Jon said, “I promise. I’ll do whatever is necessary to help Dan. I’ll listen, and nothing he says will ever be repeated by the team or me. We will protect him. What do you mean by challenging him?”
Loki looked to Boss, Jon’s words concerned him.
Nick placed a reassuring and calming hand on Loki’s shoulder as he concentrated on Jon. He wondered what Blaze was telling Jon. The ‘we will protect him’ comment was rather interesting.
Calming, knowing he could trust Jon’s word, Blaze imbued a slightly more positive inflection in his words. “When Blonde is done talking he will ask a question. With Brody, Blondie talked for five hours straight then asked Brody why he couldn’t just die.”
Jon sucked in a breath. How would he respond if Dan asked him that?
“Threw Brody for a loop. He was at a loss for words.” Blaze saw Winds wave to him they were almost ready to go.
No shit! That would throw me for a loop too! Jon thought but kept quiet.
Hoisting his pack onto one shoulder, Blaze said, “I schooled my emotions and came back in the room just in time to overhear Blondie’s question. When Brody turned to me for help, I threw out a challenge to Blondie.”
“How did you challenge him?”
“I challenged him to live. Made him see if he died the bastards won, and his living was the best way to get back at them. He hadn’t survived three months of torture to just roll over and die and let them win. Made him see every day he lived and saw the beauty of life was a symbolic ‘fuck you’ to the bastards who hurt him so badly.
“That’s when Brody started creating Beauty and helped Blondie find a way to put the memories of what he endured away and find the beauty of life. I won’t lie, the first six months were hell. We helped Blondie when he faltered. Thankfully he is resilient, and in due course, the kid thought less often of it and moved on with living. But it was the challenge which pulled him back from oblivion.”
Jon’s mind was still reeling from all Blaze said and not seeing the challenge right in front of his face when he asked, “Would Beauty help now? I’m not seeing that challenge working again. It isn’t the same circumstances.”
“Beauty won’t work unless Blondie asks for it. Patch has it, ask him for it just in case. Your hook to bring him back is that the doctor said he didn’t know … time would tell. Those indicate a sliver of hope exists. All Blondie needs is a tiny flicker of hope to pull himself up again.
“Challenge him to prove the doctor wrong. Challenge him to prove the scans wrong. Challenge him to do the impossible. He has done it before, the kid can do it again,” Blaze said as memories of Blondie’s determination, persistence, and stubbornness helped him persevere and surmount impossible odds. “If Blondie starts asking how he can do it, you’ve hooked him. He won’t let go until he achieves his goal.
“Blondie’s mind will begin to focus on meeting the challenge. He is stubborn and will lock on to it with all his strength. You’ll see it in his eyes. Blondie’s eyes tell all. His masks don’t work on his eyes. Help him find ways to win this challenge. He’s gonna need support.”
Jon could do this. The team would do this. “Copy,” Jon said with conviction hearing the optimism in Blaze’s voice. Relief trickled through his body. He now had a tactical plan. Not an easy one, but at least he had a plan.
As Blaze headed for the helicopter, he spoke loudly to be heard over the sounds of the engines in the background. “I wish I could be there to help. I’m counting on you to keep Blondie safe. Please bring him back from the edge. I gotta go now, gotta board the bird. Have Blondie call me when you pull him back to okay. I’ll answer if I can.”
“Thank you, Blaze. We will bring Dan back. He will be good,” Jon stated confidently and waited a moment to see if Blaze had anything else to offer. He picked up sounds of a helicopter in the background.
Stepping up into the bird, Blaze sat next to Winds. Blaze gripped Winds’ left hand with his left hand.
Winds said, “Justice for Blondie.”
Blaze replied, “Justice for Blondie,” as he hung up the phone and tucked it into his vest. He gave the signal for the pilot to take off.
When the line went dead, Jon wondered what Winds and Blaze had meant by their statements.
As the bird lifted into the night sky, Blaze’s phone rang again. It was Sutton, Suhail determined the exact location. Now they wouldn’t have to search the whole village for their targets.
Blaze surveyed his unit after hung up with Sutton. They had proven themselves in their first mission together to get Pletcher. Damned shame and frustrating someone tipped off Pletcher they were there. But his unit had netted three—strike that—two terrorists and one black-ops operative who provided them new intel.
Suhail Yusuf interrogated the
terrorist with the missing pinkie, Balash Ghazali, for days and broke him. Ghazali supplied details they never had on Mousa’s cell. They had connected Pletcher with several missions which turned out to be traps—Pletcher supplied information to a Corporal Mamoon el-Younis in the intelligence division who passed it on to his superiors.
The corporal, now in custody, and as silent as a traitorous snake. CDS McFergus was serious in his endeavor to root out all those involved. It sickened Blaze to think of the level of betrayal—Corporal el-Younis had been one analyst who investigated the photos the general received from Plouffe.
This mission came from some of the intel gleaned from Ghazali. They now had a name and a face for Abdul Khaliq Mousa’s bomb maker—Rifat Qasim. Balash Ghazali had photos on his phone, and one of them was of Qasim.
Blaze remembered that face from when they rescued Blondie. He was one of the animals in the compound and likely participated in torturing Blondie. They needed to acquire Qasim in this mission. Yusuf would interrogate him once they brought him in. Hopefully, he would break him, and they would obtain the information they needed to find Mousa. Ghalzali indicated where he was holed up and now they knew the exact location, it was time to serve justice for Blondie.
Waiting and Plotting
39
August 3
St. Michael’s Hospital – Room 1030 – 5:20 p.m.
Loki’s foot tapped rapidly on the ground as he stared at Jon wanting him to give them details. Bram twisted his gold wedding band as his eyes flicked between Dan and Jon, unsure who to settle on. Nick absently rubbed his cheek his eyes riveted on Jon and ears attuned to one side of the phone conversation. Lexa ached to move forward and stroke Dan’s hair, but stood rooted in place with her hands secured under her armpits to prevent herself from acting on her desire. Ray closed off his emotion as he strove to remain calm when Jon hung up with Blaze and went to Dan.
Jon’s shoulders slumped, and he pinched the bridge of his nose as he stared at Dan. He wanted to tell Dan everything would be alright, but he didn’t lie. Nothing is alright. The doctor said the damage to Dan’s lungs is too extensive … No! He stopped the thought—he, the team, they all will do everything possible to help him return to the team.
“So, what did he have to say?” Bram asked unable to resist any longer.
Jon tore his gaze away from Dan and regarded the team noting the high level of anxiety displayed. He squared his shoulders and stood tall assuming his confident tactical lead persona, needing to be their leader to help Dan. Opening his mouth about to explain a knock on the door preempted him. Everyone turned towards the door wondering if they should answer.
Lexa went to the door and called out, “What do you want?”
“Why is Dan’s door locked? What’s going on?” Scott asked concerned.
“Open this door now!” William demanded.
Lexa turned to Jon and Nick. “Boss, do I let them in?”
Nick looked to Jon questioning. He spoke to Blaze and might know better. A slight nod yes from Jon and Nick said, “Yes.”
Opening the door only a fraction to ensure no one else came in, Lexa said, “Quickly.” She shut and relocked the door as soon as they entered.
William’s eyes went directly to Daniel, and his pupils dilated as his eyes rounded wide open taking in the sight of his son. His fist tightened as his heart ached, anger and concern competing for dominance. He turned to Bram as the muscle in his tense jaw twitched. “What happened?” he demanded.
Bram explained what happened as he clarified Dan’s meaning of fine.
Scott stepped closer to Dan as Bram spoke. He noted the same lost and vacant look in Danny’s eyes he witnessed after Sara died. His heart broke for his cousin. Not again!
Jon took the short distraction to consider how much he should share. It is one thing to know generally Dan once wanted to die, but quite another to hear the details. He believed some things should stay private so decided to gloss over the specifics and give only vague references needed for their tactical plan. He glanced at each and motioned for them to all huddle in the far corner so he could whisper.
“We need to wait, listen, and present a challenge to Dan. Blaze says we can’t leave Dan alone for a second until he accepts the challenge or we might lose him forever.” He relayed how they should help Dan. Having an idea how to help, determination registered on their faces by the time Jon finished.
“Remember, when he starts talking if becomes is too much for you to bear and you can’t listen without displaying emotion, you must leave the room. We don’t want to put him or ourselves in danger,” Jon said.
Jon reiterated this point several times as he told them the plan. They all readily agreed to the condition, understanding the gravity of consequences if not the actual details surrounding the reason. No one wanted to be the cause of Dan trying to harm himself.
They turned as one to look back at Dan. Still unmoving, curled in a ball with his eyes open. Wet tear streaks slowly dried on his face. They silently dispersed around the room and lowered themselves into the chairs. The wait began.
Loki sat as close as he dared, remembering Patch’s advice and wondered how one person could have so much crap thrown at him in such a short time. He rubbed his hands over his eyes to brush away tears as his knee slowly bounced. He feared he wouldn’t be able to hide his emotions.
William reeled inside—he wanted to kill Plouffe many times over for what he did to Daniel. His pain so real, time would never erase all his suffering. Visions of every time he was powerless to do anything to help his son invaded his mind’s eye.
So many times. Scarlett fever when Danny was barely five and the next year when he contracted Q fever. Sara’s death when Danny was nine. Dupont’s abuse when his son was only eleven.
Dupont betrayed his trust. If not for Brock and Duffy his son would’ve died. He owed those men more than he could repay. He knew they both blamed themselves for not noticing Dupont beat and verbally abused Danny while in his care. William held himself solely responsible—a man he trusted to keep Daniel safe while he had to be away for months hurt his son.
Daniel paid such a high price for being his son. Dupont might be the first to betray his trust, but not the last. The list now included Merrill, Plouffe, and Corporal el-Younis. William wondered how many others would be revealed in the investigation.
Merrill’s treachery was the hardest one to accept. If not for his instruction of the corporal he wouldn’t have been able to make the shot. Regret for trusting and teaching Merrill filled him to overflowing. It also made him question his ability to judge the character of his men. Was Plouffe right? Was he fit to be General?
He sucked in a deep breath and blew it out shakily. William whispered to his son, “I’m so sorry. I’ve failed to protect you time and again. I’m not going to fail you this time.”
Bram could read the deep suffering in the general’s body language and hear it in his voice. He wished there was something which would ease his pain. He was aware one could not change the past. Though the present and future could. He placed his hand lightly on the general’s shoulder. “You’re here, and you’re doing your best. That is all anyone can expect. Dan knows you love him. We need to help him now, and then you can look to the future.”
William nodded in response, but he wanted to scream out his agony—he didn’t think his wounds would ever heal and the guilt would never leave. The fault of all this lies with him alone. He failed his son miserably.
His mind went on with the litany of times he failed his son. When Danny was sixteen and attacked at high school. The crap Daniel went through at the 14th Division when he was eighteen. He only learned last week from Wilson about the real reason Danny left the police force and joined the army.
If he had been aware back then, he would’ve done something about it. He couldn’t believe Bella never shared the reason with him. But maybe she didn’t know the full reason like Wilson did. Daniel would’ve shielded her from the reason like he tried
to shield Bella when Snow and his goons attacked her.
William dropped his face in his hands as he rested his elbows on his thighs. He wished he never agreed to allow Daniel to join Special Forces early. Right from the start things went wrong. Even during selection testing when another recruit got upset at Daniel’s abilities. There was paperwork error, too.
Another wave of pain lanced through his heart. Merrill might be at the root of the paperwork error, though he might never know. Merrill said nothing in all the hours he was interrogated.
William never would’ve thought Merrill could be an assassin or be disloyal. He now understood how his friend Dominique felt—betrayal sucked. Duplicity which caused his son harm. William lifted his head and gazed at Danny.
Silently William vowed to never allow his son to be hurt again if he had breath in him. He would bring to bear all his resources if Daniel was ever in danger again. He would go to Hell and back for his son.
As he studied Daniel, his son’s current state reminded him so much of how Daniel reacted after Sara’s death. Hatred flared white hot in him. Thoughts of killing Plouffe, Merrill, Pletcher, and anyone else connected with this consumed him.
Lexa observed the general and noticed a shift from sorrow to rage brewing inside Dan’s father. The intensity of his eyes alone induced fear. She sucked in a breath and wondered if the general could contain his emotions when Dan talked.
Heck, she wondered if she would be able to contain her own emotions. If this were anyone else, she wouldn’t be questioning her ability to remain impassive. But this is Dan—he did something to her no other man ever did. He drew her to him like a moth to a flame. She might get burned by what she felt, but she couldn’t resist anymore.
Edmonton, AB – Club Ed Solitary Block – 7:30 p.m. (9:30 p.m. Toronto)
Nigel Plouffe sat in the common room ignoring those locked in their cells around him. He enjoyed the short break from the tiny barren cell. Solitary confinement had ten cells which opened into the area. Individually, men in this block were allowed be in this zone for an hour each day to stretch their legs and watch TV. Plouffe couldn’t stand the children’s program which played each time he was in the room so he spent his time plotting how he would escape and kill the Brodericks.