by Leanne Tyler
“Oh man, this is hard,” she murmured.
She scooted over to her side of the bed where it was safer, even if the sun was shining through the open curtain. She attempted to sit up so she could close the curtain, but her head went spinning, so she laid back down and turned her back to it before falling asleep.
Sometime later she was awaken by a female doctor checking her vitals. “Hello, Simone. I’m Dr. Ballard. Your friend filled me in on what has been going on with you. As I understand it, this is the first time you’ve ever had a panic attack.”
“Yes. I never passed out before either. Now I can’t seem to sit up without getting dizzy or my head spinning. I also have a splitting headache.”
“That’s because your blood pressure is elevated due to the stress you are under. I’m going to prescribe a mild anti-anxiety pill for you to help you deal with this situation you are going through.”
The doctor open up her bag and pulled out a prescription pad as well as a small rectangle box. “Here is a sample pack of the prescription to get you started today until you can get the prescription filled. Go ahead and take one.”
Simone pushed herself to a sitting position and opened the box, pushing the pill through the aluminum backing, then reached unfinished bottle of water that Liam had left sitting on the bedside table.
“I recommend you rest today. Let your blood pressure return to normal. Eat a healthy died of low sodium as well. I know being at a hotel it is not always that easy, but the menu here is pretty good. Also, while taking this medication avoid alcohol. Do you have any questions?”
“What if I can’t rest this afternoon? I’m here on business and I had to move my morning meetings to this afternoon. I don’t know if I can postpone them until tomorrow. I will try, but I don’t know if my client will understand.”
“Give me the name of your client and their fax number, and I will send them direct orders that you are on bed rest until tomorrow. I have no problem doing this. You have to get your blood pressure down, Simone. If you don’t, you risk the possibility of having a heart attack or a stroke and you are too young to have damage from either one of those cripple your body for the remainder of your life.”
“You’re scaring me, Dr. Ballard.”
“Good. Because this is serious. I highly recommend you follow up with your doctor immediately as soon as you return to Chicago. I’ve never seen anyone’s blood pressure still be as high as yours was in their sleep after an episode. Liam estimated it had been a good twenty minutes since you passed out. It should have come down greatly during that time, but it didn’t. I don’t think you need a blood pressure medication. I believe this is all brought on by the stress of the situation you are going through. And until that is all put behind you I would continue taking this medication.”
“Thank you.”
“Now your client’s name and fax number.”
Simone gave her the information she needed.
“I recommend you order room service and eat something heart-healthy for breakfast. I’m also going to close these curtains a little more for you to help you rest.”
“Yes, thank you,” Simone said. “I couldn’t get up earlier to do it myself and Liam was in the bathroom.”
“Well it is taken care of now,” Dr. Ballard said. She smiled. “I’ll drop back by this afternoon or early evening to check on your blood pressure again. I want to monitor it the rest of the day, if you don’t mind.”
“That sounds fine.”
“Then I’ll leave you for now. Don’t forget to eat healthy and drink plenty of water.”
“I will do that,” Simone said.
Chapter 11
Liam arranged with hotel security for one of their men to be stationed outside of the junior suite while he paid his old pal Sam Jensen a visit at Lincler Technologies & Securities. While Simone was sleeping that morning, he’d called Sam under the pretense that he was looking for a job in the DC area and they had a two o’clock appointment.
Sam met him at precisely two in the coffee shop on the plaza where the Lincler building was located. He was wearing a grey suite with a light blue dress shirt, no tie, and the top button undone. Liam had already ordered them coffee and had a table away from the other customers so they could talk in private.
“You could have knocked me over when I answered the phone this morning and it was you, Don Juan,” Jensen said.
“Same here when I opened up the paper Monday on the Metro and there your name was in the article I was reading about Lincler Technologies & Securities.”
They had a quick hug and then separated.
“So you are in DC looking for work you said? You’ve been cleared as one hundred percent after the explosion? Because if you are, I can get you in at Lincler easy. You can move up the ladder in the company and be a junior executive like me in no time.”
Liam nodded. “Does Lincler have a problem with veterans?”
“No. Don’t misunderstand me. They are all for hiring ex-military. They only want to make sure we have no mental issues. Some of our divisions deal in weapons and the last thing Lincler wants is someone that isn’t all there opening fire and taking out the workforce, if you know what I mean.”
“Yeah. I get your meaning.” Liam got it loud and clear. “I’ve been cleared to return to work. I’ve even held a securities job for a few years, so I have references if that will help prove my stability. Like I said I’ve relocated and need a job now. I thought with you in town you might have a good idea who is and isn’t hiring. I had an interview with one place, but when I went for it they had cleared out. Left the premises and didn’t even notify me.”
“That is strange. What business was that?”
“Testerman International.”
Sam swallowed, then grinned, tapping the side of his coffee mug with his fingers. “Really?”
“I checked with the security guard at the building and he said that Testerman slipped out without anyone being the wiser. He also said that Lincler Properties owned the building. I made a call and sure enough Tawanda Ford, the building manager said that Lincler Properties and Lincler Technologies and Securities is all one big conglomeration. Which supports what the security guard said about Lincler having its hands into everything. Would you say that’s true?”
Jansen sat back in his chair and looked at him. “What are you really saying, Don Juan? This suddenly doesn’t feel like you’re here about a job. More like an investigation.”
“I like to know whom I’m getting involved with before I take a job. If Helmand taught me anything, it’s that life is too short. It can all be taken away in a flash. You have to be careful where you step.”
“True. Lincler is a rising star. We want to be on top. We want to be the go to company in everything. That is part of our mission statement. There is nothing wrong with that. Maybe we’ll be the next monopoly on the market. You can’t hold that against us. If others have a problem with it that is just their issue, not ours.”
“Fair enough.” Liam took a sip of his coffee, then said, “Tell me more.”
Jansen talked about the company for a while and then he invited Liam back to his office. He got him through security with a visitor’s pass, which is what Liam was looking for all along. Once inside Lincler he could go snooping. It was a long shot not to get caught, but it was worth burning his tie with Jansen for Simone.
The problem was getting away from Jansen long enough to do snooping. It didn’t look like that was going to happen.
“Want to take a tour of the facility?” Sam asked.
Liam shrugged. “Sure. Why not?”
He followed Sam to the bank of elevators and they went down to level G. “Main is M where we got on at plaza level. Floors one, two, and three are accounting, purchasing and the start of sales. I’m on four with the other junior executives as you already have seen,” Sam explained.
When the doors opened they stepped out. “This is where shipping and receiving is located. Most new hires start down
here to learn the ropes for the first few weeks. The CEO likes for us to get to know the company from the ground up.”
“So you rotate through every department until you get to your final office?”
“Yes. That way you have a good hands on understand of the business to do your job better. It’s a crash course really, but in the end it’s worth the time and the money put into each employee. No one has ever said they regretted it. I know I didn’t.”
Liam nodded, mentally making note of his surroundings as they walked through the different areas and Sam talked about each division. At one point Sam stopped to talk to one of the foremen and Liam had a chance to wander off by himself to look over some of the equipment, but what he was really doing was seeing if there was a room off from that area that could have been the one Clayton Reid was held in for the video. Nothing looked familiar, and the noise level was clear that the kidnappers would not have done it during the day. Yet the lighting had been enough that even though the video was dim, there was a good source of light coming from somewhere.
“Sorry about that.” Sam rejoined him. “Let’s walk back to the elevators. The next floor up is G2 where shipping and receiving records are kept. The whole administrative division is stationed there. We’ll stop for you to see.”
“It looks to be a fine layout and a good foundation for a strong company,” Liam said. “Can you point me to the men’s room?”
“Of course. There’s one right down from the bank of elevators here. I’ll wait on you.”
“Thanks. Too much coffee.”
“I hear you.”
Liam went into the men’s room but when he came out again, he cautiously looked to see if Sam was watching for him. His old pal wasn’t, having been caught once again by the same foreman. Liam took that opportunity to slip down the darkened corridor to investigate the far end of the basement area that wasn’t in use.
There were several windowless doors, but each one was locked and as he turned the knobs he leaned against the steel door to see if he could hear anything on the other side. Nothing. If Clayton Reid was at Lincler, he wasn’t in shipping and receiving.
Liam hurried back the men’s room, pushed the door in and acted like he was just coming out when Sam finished his conversation.
“Ready to go?” Sam asked.
“Sure.”
They stopped for a moment on G2, only for Liam to step off, look around, and get right back on the open elevator that Sam held with his hand. Then they went back up to the fourth floor and to Sam’s office.
“I don’t suppose you’ve seen enough to make you want to fill out an application to join Lincler have you?” Sam asked.
“It’s tempting. Besides the application, what would I need to do?”
“There is a physical you’d have to pass. And since you were injured you’d have to have a psychological evaluation from your doctor to your mental state. I only know because I tried to get Billy Jennings on here a year or so ago and that is what he had to provide. He didn’t get cleared.”
“Billy Jennings wasn’t even injured in Helmand, was he?” Liam asked.
“No. That was what I found so odd, but his psych eval was what kept him from being hired.”
“How do you know so much of what went on in his hiring?”
“Billy told me why he didn’t get hired.” Sam stood. “If you’ll excuse me, my coffee is begging to be released now.”
“Sure man. Take your time.”
Liam waited until the door closed behind Sam, and jumped up. He made fast work, sticking a small thumb drive into the USB port so he could copy data and do a search later. He quickly did a masking code to prevent anyone from Lincler’s IT department from seeing that he’d been there and executed the command to copy the necessary files that he wanted onto the drive. When that was done, he pulled it out of the computer, put the thumb drive in a small compartment in the heel of his shoe, and ended the masking code. He was standing at the window, admiring the skyline when Sam walked back into the office.
“For the fourth floor, you sure do have a good view of DC.”
“I know. I lucked up when I got this office. A straight-line view of the Washington Monument and the National Mall in the far distance, minus all the traffic in between.”
“It’s still a great view for a junior executive.”
“So about that application?” Sam asked.
“Do I need to have my doctor at Walter Reed contact someone directly here in HR?”
“That would probably work just as well. Let me give you Nancy Handleman’s business card. She handles hiring. I’ll send her a reference for you myself and let her know you’ll be submitting an application.”
“Great.” Liam took the card and slipped it into his pocket.
“It’s really been great seeing you again. We should do dinner one night. I’d love for you to meet Danielle. She doesn’t believe me when I talk about my days over in Helmand. But if she were to meet the great Don Juan, then maybe she would.”
Liam grinned. “I’m not the great anything. I almost didn’t come back from there and you know it. If I’d been smart, I wouldn’t have be anywhere near that explosion. I’d have had insight and known it was coming.”
“No one knew. We dealt with what we had and survived the best we could.” Sam slapped him on the back. “Come on, I’ll walk you back down. Here’s my card as well. It has my cell number on it. Call me and we’ll get together even if you don’t get hired.”
“You don’t think I will?” Liam asked.
“I have no pull in these matters. So who knows?”
“I hear ya. Even if I don’t, I’ll give you a call.”
They got on the elevator and went down to main. Sam waved to him as Liam walked to the security desk and returned his guest pass. Then he left the building. He walked a good block away before he placed a call to Hank Patterson.
“Hey, Hank, it’s Liam Donovan.”
“Hey, Liam, what’s up? How’s Chicago going? Hawkeye taking care of you guys?”
“Yes. But I’m in Washington DC right now on assignment. That’s why I’m calling. Before you panic, I have no intention of leaving the Brotherhood Protectors, but I’m about to apply for a job. I’m doing this to get inside this organization for the assignment I’m on. I have no intend on doing that. I wanted to let you know before I did, because I’m sure they’ll be calling you up asking questions about me.”
“Gotcha, man. Anything I can do on my end?”
“I may need backup sent to DC if things play out the way I’m hoping. Brand, Wyatt, and Will are all tied up in Chicago.”
“I can do that. Just send word and I’ll have guys sent your way ASAP. Anything else?
“Watch out for Wyatt. He’s on his way back there with a girl. They’re going to Better Days. She was attacked and I know Wyatt is a great person to help anyone with PTSD, but if this girl is anything like her friend that I’m dealing with, he might be in over his head.”
“You think so?” Hank said.
“I know so.”
“Then I’ll make a point of checking in with him, but I’m sure the folks at Better Days will be able to help him out if he needs it.”
“He’ll need reinforcements. Trust me.”
“That bad?” Hank asked.
“Well, she does look sweet so maybe she isn’t like my girl.”
Hank chuckled. “You take care of your business and I’m sure Wyatt will do just fine. Talk to you later, Liam.”
“Bye, Hank.”
Simone was sitting on the sofa painting her toe nails when he entered the junior suite. She looked his way and smiled. “Hi.”
“How are you feeling? I thought you were supposed to be on bedrest?”
“I am resting. Painting my toenails is relaxing. If that guard out there would have allowed me to go down to the spa, I would have had a mani/pedi there, but he said I couldn’t leave on your direct orders. So I had to cancel. He was nice enough to bring me my room service
orders when they were delivered and remove the trays when I was finished.”
“I couldn’t risk you disobeying orders. Even for a mani/pedi.”
“I know. Come sit down, kick off your shoes and I’ll paint your toenails for you.”
“Not on your life, sweetheart.”
She pouted. “Oh, I thought I might catch you off guard for a second. But seriously. Come sit down and tell me, did you have any luck finding my father?”
“I didn’t. At least not yet. I’m going as far as applying for a job with this company I suspect could be involved so I can get access to the premises.”
“Is that necessary?”
“I don’t know. Maybe not. I’ll turn in the application and let them start the vetting process on me at least. In the meantime, I’ll sift through the data I collected while I was there today.”
He got his computer out of his tactical bag and retrieved the thumb drive from the compartment in the heel of his shoe. It didn’t take long for the thumb drive to bring up the information once he had the right program installed. He began searching for any information on Clayton Reid, Samwell Brady, or Testerman International. While the search was running, he got up and went to the little refrigerator to get a bottle of water.
“Do you want a bottle?” he asked Simone.
“Sure.”
He started to toss it at her, but decided not to, because if she’d been painting her toenails she may have just finished her fingernails as well. He untwisted the bottle cap and handed one to her.
“Thank you.”
“You’re welcome.” He took his bottle and sat back down as his laptop began making all sorts of beeping noises indicating matches
“Holy Moly!” Simone said. “Is your laptop going to explode?”
“No…I…I hope not.”
She moved on the sofa so she could see the screen. “What is all that flashing? Wait. Is that my dad’s name? And Samwell Brady? Even Testerman International?”
She looked up at him. “Liam, what have you found?”
“I’ve hit the jackpot. I’ve just tied Lincler, the company I met with today, to your father, Samwell Brady and Testerman International. Now, whether Lincler is behind your father’s disappearance or not, I don’t know. He sure wasn’t there, at least as far as I was able to find, when I was given a tour of the facility. I’m hoping these files will tell me more so I have more proof.”