by Matt Lincoln
“I was so scared,” she whispered shakily.
“Hey,” I said abruptly, pulling her back just enough so that I could look her in the eyes. “I’m here. I’m safe. We’re all going to be okay.”
Tessa gulped and nodded and pulled me in for another hug. I held on for a moment until I heard Farr clear his throat awkwardly beside me. I glanced over at him through her errant strands of hair and found him cross-armed and waiting impatiently.
“Let me help them into the house,” I muttered into Tessa’s ear. She pulled away reluctantly and nodded. When I opened the back door, I found Warner sitting there with a frustrated expression while Header leaned hard up against him.
“What’s going on?” I asked, unsure of how to help. “What should I do?”
“I’ve been keeping pressure applied until we can stop moving,” Bonnie announced from the other side of Header. “Poor TJ has been stuck in this position for the entire ride.”
“The entire ride?” I gasped. “It took damn near an hour to get here!”
“You’re telling me,” Warner grumbled. “It feels like a hell of a lot longer than that.”
A bright blue hatchback pulled across the driveway then. My hand immediately went to my holster while I used the other hand to sweep Tessa behind me.
“Easy, Marston,” Farr ordered. “He’s with me.”
I relaxed my stance and watched as a tall man with an athletic build got out of the driver’s seat and stretched. He was wearing a sweat-covered t-shirt and gray gym shorts. It was quite obvious that he had just come from a workout. He pulled a red bag from the backseat, and I immediately put the puzzle pieces together.
“He’s an EMT,” I muttered.
“Yep,” Farr replied good-naturedly. “He’s a good one. Works here on base. He owes me. I got him into the program.”
“You sure did, sir,” the man replied cheerfully. “How have you been?”
The men shook hands briefly before Farr gestured lazily toward the SUV.
“My guy is bleeding all over the rental,” Farr griped in jest. “He needs more than what our Bonnie can offer.”
The EMT beamed at Farr and headed over to the open door of the SUV.
“You must be Bonnie,” he guessed accurately. “I’m Jesse. Let’s see what we’ve got here.”
I turned and looked over at Farr. “How is it you manage to think of everything?”
Farr shrugged nonchalantly. “We were in traffic for long enough. I had plenty of time to think.”
“Well, thanks,” I murmured. I locked eyes with him briefly. “Seriously, thank you.”
“Yeah, yeah,” he grumbled, waving off my gratitude. “I’m not doing it for you.” His eyes softened slightly as he avoided my eyes. I chuckled, but I didn’t say anything further.
A scuffling came from the SUV, and then Warner stepped down onto the driveway. He rolled his shoulders and his neck as he tried to loosen up after the long ride.
When he finished loosening his muscles, he turned to the three of us with a grimace. “First, I’m tied up for hours, and then I get stuck in an awful position in the car. I need a massage or a nap. Maybe I need both.”
“How about a drink?” I offered.
“That’s a good start,” he nodded.
“You go,” Farr ordered. “I’ll help Jesse, and we will be right behind you.”
I turned around to find Tessa listening on in earnest. I took her by the hand, and we followed Warner into the house where I was finally able to take a deep, relaxing breath.
Chapter 24: Ethan
“Everyone?”
Warner’s voice was getting drowned out by the commotion surrounding Header’s thigh. Jesse had determined that his injury had been caused by a sharp knife. There was a trail of blood leading in through the front door all the way to the kitchen where he had been placed on the floor with only a white sheet to help dampen the coldness of the tile.
“Everyone?”
“What’s going on, Warner?” I muttered distractedly as I searched the supplies for something Jesse had requested.
“We need to talk. It’s about the case.”
My hand stilled over Jesse’s bag, and the room went silent around me. Jesse was the only one unfazed by Warner’s announcement.
“Hey, big guy,” Jesse called out. “What’s your name? Ethan? I’m going to need you to find that.”
“Yeah, sorry,” I muttered. I pulled the zippered pouch out and handed it over. “Is that all you need?”
“Yep, I’m good now, thanks.” He hadn’t looked up from his work. I looked over at Warner, who was sitting impatiently at the dining room table.
“What’s going on, Warner?” Header called out from his position on the floor.
By this point, every one of us, including Header, was looking at Warner. He grimaced at the sudden influx of attention before he spoke.
“Tomorrow,” Warner announced, “the Mezzanotte bosses are coming to New York.”
“What?” Bonnie shouted, almost knocking over some of Jesse’s supplies as she bolted up to her feet.
“Hey!” Jesse shouted. “Take it easy.”
“Sorry,” Bonnie muttered sheepishly.
“They’re coming tomorrow?” I was laser-focused on Warner now. If he knew that, what else had he found out?
“Yes,” Warner spat. “They’re meeting with Whittington, the senator. They mentioned a beach house. All the bosses are gathering there for a big meeting.”
“Okay.” I sighed and looked down at Header. “If we can find out where this beach house is, we can get to them. We can cut the head off the snake and finally end this.”
Header nodded furiously, much to the chagrin of his EMT. “Absolutely. Let’s do it!”
“I highly advise you not to do anything,” Jesse griped. “You need to heal.”
I barked out a laugh. “Yeah, I’m pretty certain that Header has a history with not listening to medical advice.”
“Him?” Bonnie scoffed. “Talk about a pot calling a kettle black.”
“Ahh, shut it,” I teased. I turned back to Warner. “Any idea where this beach house might be?”
“Well, kind of,” Warner sighed. “They didn’t give any more details about where it might be, but when I was doing my research, I remember stumbling across a Hamptons address. I didn’t think much of it. These guys are made of money. It seemed obvious that they would have a beachfront getaway. I didn’t think it would be connected to their business dealings.”
“After your experience, now you’ve connected the dots,” I guessed.
“Pretty much,” he shrugged. “If I’m wrong, we don’t have time to prove it. With the tight time constraints, we just have to wing it.”
“I hate winging it,” I groaned.
“I love winging it!” Header cheered from down on the kitchen floor.
I laughed and shook my head. “This is why we can’t work together,” I quipped. I reflected back on our teamwork in Queens and bit my tongue. Despite our different methodologies, the truth was that at the end of the day, Header and I made a fantastic team.
“Ahh, you love me!” Header shouted, followed by a grunt as Jesse yanked him back into position.
“If you stayed still, I could bandage you up easier,” Jesse grumbled. “Not that it matters, apparently.”
“Hey, lighten up, Jesse,” I called out. “Welcome to the crew.”
Jesse blew air forcefully out of his nose and shook his head, but I saw a slight smirk as he caved to our jests.
“Alright, let’s focus here.” Farr’s deep voice boomed out over our laughter. “Warner says we have twenty-four hours to plan on a guess, and you’re all cracking jokes.”
“Ahh, lighten up, Don!” Header cheered, repeating my earlier comment. Farr shot Header a stern look at the unwelcome nickname, but Header pretended not to notice. “If you do recall, I particularly enjoy flying by the seat of my pants.”
“Well, I don’t,” Farr snapped. “Warner, wha
t’s the address in the Hamptons?”
Warner pushed himself up off the chair and bolted into the living room to grab his laptop. He brought it back to the table and opened it up, and we sat around in mostly awkward silence while he booted up his computer and pulled up the correct information.
When he rattled off the address, Farr nodded. “That’s right on the beach, isn’t it?” I heard Farr’s unspoken implication behind the question.
“Uhh, hold on,” Warner muttered as he typed. “Yeah, it looks like the back of the house faces the beach.”
“That’s great!” I beamed. Bonnie and Tessa both shot me a pointed look, so I explained my reaction to them. “A dark beach is a great tactical advantage. There’s usually very little lighting, and the sand will muffle our footfalls. Any sound that the sand can’t muffle will be drowned out by the ocean waves.”
“That’s genius,” Tessa gushed.
“Don’t inflate his ego too much,” Bonnie joked.
“Hey, guys?” Header called out from the floor. “Is there any chance that since Warner overheard them and then was subsequently rescued, they changed their plan?”
“Well, as Farr said, none of this is certain,” I pointed out. “They may not be at the Hamptons address, anyway. We still have to go.”
“Right,” Header agreed, “but what if they are expecting us? Our little plan to sneak up on them and maintain the element of surprise goes right out the window.”
I paused for a moment. I had already considered that option, but I hadn’t wanted to speak it out loud.
“We still have to go,” I replied forcefully. “We can’t let this opportunity slip by.”
“Can we get body armor for this one, though?” Header said in jest. “I don’t particularly enjoy getting wounded. No offense, Jesse.”
“None taken,” Jesse chuckled. By now, Jesse had finished taking care of Header’s thigh, but he wasn’t letting him sit up quite yet.
“You damn well better wear body armor!” Farr argued. “I’ll make sure the boat is well-stocked.”
“The boat?” Bonnie leaned forward excitedly.
“Yes, the boat,” Farr repeated. “It will take us right in without leaving a trail of breadcrumbs for them to follow. Since they’re so good at following breadcrumbs, I’d like to avoid leaving them.”
“I’m on board with that plan,” I agreed.
“I like boats!” Header chimed in. “It won’t be as cool as my boat, but hey, it’s still a boat.”
“Nothing is as cool as your boat,” Bonnie pointed out. Tessa nodded alongside her.
“I’ll make the call in a few minutes,” Farr announced, his tone strictly business. “I have a friend who lives in the Hamptons. We can use his boat. No one will be the least bit suspicious if they recognize his boat.”
“Smart.” Tessa beamed up at her uncle.
“There’s one more thing I should mention before I head out for the evening,” Farr added. We all stopped and looked over at him.
“Bradley Whittington was the Mezzanotte’s puppet, that’s true,” he continued. “He couldn’t work alone, though. He needed to call in favors to get MBLIS’s funding cut. The man who cut the funding for him has officially been taken care of.”
“Taken care of?” I clarified. “He’s not…”
“No, I didn’t have to kill him,” Farr specified. I couldn’t tell if he was joking or not. “I did make a few threats and a few deals, and suffice it to say, Whittington no longer controls MBLIS finances. It may take a bit, but there should be real financial improvements across the board coming up for you guys.”
“Hot damn,” I breathed. “You did it!”
“I stopped the favor-trading,” Farr clarified. “If Whittington is savvy enough, he can find another route. We need to cut Whittington’s ties to the Mezzanottes if we want real, lasting change.”
“If we’re successful tomorrow,” I grinned mischievously, “we may get exactly that.”
“That’s the hope,” Farr agreed. “I’ll leave you all to the details. Let me know if you need anything from me.”
We all said our goodbyes and waved Farr off. I sat back and let the news sink in, but beside me, Bonnie and Warner were cheering.
“MBLIS lives!” Header shouted. “Hey, Jesse, do you think I can get up now? I need to celebrate.”
Jesse grunted. “From what I understand, you won’t listen to me, anyway.”
“You’re right,” Header chuckled. He flashed Jesse a mischievous grin and eased himself up to standing. He hobbled a bit as he adjusted to the bandages and then worked his way over to the table. “Where’s the booze?”
Tessa laughed and skipped off to the fridge, coming back to the table with a handful of beer bottles. “We don’t have any hard liquor, but we have plenty of beer!” She handed the bottles out, and everyone twisted off the top and held the bottles up for a toast.
“MBLIS lives,” Bonnie repeated with a smile in Header’s direction.
“MBLIS lives,” he beamed, and we all clinked our bottles together. Header took a big swig before noticing my demeanor.
“What’s up, Marston?” he asked, setting his bottle down on the table and focusing on me.
I chuckled humorlessly. “Don’t get me wrong. I’m thrilled by Farr’s announcement.”
“Okay…” Header stared at me expectantly.
I sighed and set my own bottle down. “Up until this moment, I was fighting for MBLIS and Holm. Farr’s announcement didn’t make me feel better at all. I guess I didn’t realize how focused I’d been on Holm. I’d completely forgotten about the budget cuts.”
“I thought the funding was the point of all of this,” Header replied softly.
I looked up at him with pain in my eyes. “None of this matters until I know that the Holms are safe.”
Tessa placed her hand gently on my shoulder in an attempt to comfort me, but it did little for my state of mind.
“Hey,” Header said, sitting forward in his seat, “I’m with you, brother. I’m in this fight for Holm, for Ronnie, and for their parents. This isn’t over.”
I swiped my beer bottle off the table and took a long swig. I sunk back into the chair. “It’s not over.”
It wouldn’t be over, not until I knew my brother was safe. Whatever I had to do, I’d get it done, and I’d fight to make sure that happened.
Chapter 25: Tessa
Tessa’s heart ached for Ethan. She watched as his teammates celebrated the day’s victories. Everyone seemed overjoyed except for him. The good news seemed to fuel their conversation, even as they planned for the mission the next day. Despite how serious the topic was, and how terrified she was for their safety, they were all laughing through it.
Everyone was laughing except for Ethan.
When the group finally dispersed, after the details of the mission had been well-plotted out, Ethan wandered into the kitchen to meet up with her.
“Popcorn?” he teased. “Was the show that good?”
Tessa grinned as she popped a kernel into her mouth. “Actually, watching you guys plan for a mission is usually about as bland as it gets. Today was nice, though.”
“Was it?” He looked at her with that familiar lopsided grin that made his blue eyes sparkle with warmth. She couldn’t help but smile back up at him.
“It was,” she nodded assuredly. “It’s nice to hear you guys laugh. You’re usually so serious.” Tessa looked back at the table where the group was chatting and making evening plans.
“To be fair,” Ethan chuckled, “you don’t get to spend a lot of time with everyone when we’re off duty.”
“That’s true,” she giggled softly. “Even when I do manage to get time with you, we end up getting shot at.”
Ethan opened his mouth to argue, but he closed it again. “I’m ashamed to say you’re right. We should probably try to do better than that.”
“That’s a low bar,” she teased as she picked out the perfect popcorn kernel.
“It
is,” I admitted sheepishly. “It’s all I have for the moment, though.”
“Ooh, popcorn!” Jake clapped Ethan on the shoulder as he worked his way between them. He stuck his entire hand into the bowl and came up with a fistful of popcorn.
“Rude,” she giggled.
“I didn’t realize how hungry I was,” Jake admitted around a mouthful of kernels. He swallowed it all and grinned at her. “I’ll make you a fresh batch. I’m sorry.”
“Nah.” She waved him off. “I don’t care all that much.”
“Speaking of food,” Ethan interjected. “I’m starving, too.”
“Rescuing Warner took a lot out of us,” Jake admitted.
“Not as much as sitting in all that traffic,” Ethan pointed out.
“I don’t want to hear any more about traffic!” TJ’s voice cut through the chatter in the dining room. “I still have a crick in my neck!”
“Well, you know what…” Ethan turned to face the group and raised his voice so that everyone could hear him. “Since Warner got himself kidnapped today, he gets to decide what to eat for dinner.”
“I’m cool with that,” Bonnie nodded.
TJ’s eyes widened. “That’s a lot of pressure.”
Tessa popped another kernel into her mouth as she awaited the consensus. Ethan had been right. The popcorn did make it feel almost as if she were watching a movie.
“Pizza.” TJ stood tall and spoke confidently.
“Again?” Bonnie asked, sounding disappointed.
“Hey, now,” Jake interjected. “You can’t beat New York pizza. Down where I live, the food is amazing, but I do miss pizza. I fully support Warner’s decision.”
“Should we put it to a vote?” Bonnie argued, her arms crossed over her chest.
“No,” Jake insisted. “If you get kidnapped, you pick dinner. That’s the rule.”
“That’s a rule?” Tessa asked, thoroughly amused by the banter.