by Jesse Jordan
“What is it, sir?” I ask, dread running through me. “Are they taking me out of the Apache?”
General Thomason nods his head sadly. “Unfortunately. The Pentagon felt that with your ordeal in North Korea, that sending you and your wife there, especially with two babies, was not in the best interests of your family or the Army. So you've both been reassigned. Here's your orders.”
He hands over an envelope, and I tear it open reading the contents. “The 52nd Regional Support Command? Sir, that's not an active duty unit, I don't even know who they are. From the orders they look like a Reserve unit here in Virginia. Whoever they are, they sure as hell don't have helicopters. What the hell do they need an Aviation officer for?”
“Who knows? The Pentagon makes decisions that even us generals don't sometimes understand,” Thomason says. “I know this is a tough break for you, Simon. You've busted your butt getting back into shape physically and mentally. I'm sympathetic to your desire. Think of it this way, at least you'll have your family with you, and you can spend a few years getting that squared away before you do something else.”
I shake my head, frustrated. “Sir, by the time I finish this out, I'll be a Captain. There aren't too many Captains in Aviation still flying. This is a knife to my career.”
“Perhaps,” Thomason says, looking at me sympathetically. “Do your job well, and you'll never know what might turn up for you.”
I hear a little cry from the office outside, and I save my comment. “I gotcha, sir. Thank you.”
I stand up and give Thomason a salute, which he returns. “Good luck, Simon.”
“Thank you, sir. If you'll excuse me, that's Andi.”
Outside, I see that Will's woken up too, looking at his sister and his face working as well, but he's not crying yet. I kinda feel like crying though, and I lean over sniffing. “Yeah, my sentiments exactly,” I tell Andi as I smell the poopy diaper. They say baby diapers don't smell before they're a certain age, maybe my kids just started the stinky poop faster. “My sentiments exactly.”
“At least we'll be together,” Ashley says as we follow the map towards the address that's given as the headquarters of the 52nd Regional Support Command. “I know being taken out of the Apache sucks, but there's that.”
“I know, Ash. And I'll get over it. I just... I want to fly it one more time, just one more time,” I tell her. I turn left, and proceed down the empty blacktop which looks like it goes nowhere. “And we'll stay close to your Mom and Dad. That'll be nice, I'm sure they'll appreciate being able to see the twins more often.”
There's a building up ahead, a squat concrete block that looks more like a delivery warehouse than an office building. In front, on a small brown metal sign is 'US Army Reserve, 52nd Regional Support Command.'
“Guess this is it,” Ashley says as I turn into the parking lot, putting the car in park. She gets out, and smooths her ACUs over her figure. She's pushed herself hard to get back in shape, and the changes that are left make her all the more beautiful to me. Sure, there's a few stretch marks around her belly button, her hips are a little wider, she did push two children out through there. Then again, her C cups are now solid Ds, something any man can appreciate, and she's still got that amazing auburn hair and face that our daughter has copied. Maybe it is a resting bitch face, but when I kiss her lips, the smile is that of an angel.
Ashley notices my look, and smiles, blushing. “What?”
“You're beautiful, that's all. I'm sorry if I have been whiny about losing the Apache. I gained something more. I gained you. I'll trade all the Apaches in the world for that.”
Ashley comes over and gives me a kiss, smiling. “Careful there, Lieutenant Lancaster. That's dangerously close to sexual harassment.”
“Noted, Lieutenant Lancaster. Come on, let's report in.”
We go up to the solid door, finding that we have to buzz to get in. The girl who opens the door is in a civilian woman's suit, and looks at us with a smile when she waves us in. “Oh, the Lancasters. Good, the Colonel's been expecting you.”
“Thanks,” Ashley says. “Uh, are you one of the GS civilians?”
“Not quite,” the woman, who's got streaky blond and brown hair and a little smile on her face still, says. “We do things a little different in the 52nd. You'll see soon enough. Come with me.”
She escorts us to the back of the building, past a line of nondescript doors, until she reaches the one at the end. She knocks, and opens the door. “Colonel Carlyle? They're here.”
“Colonel Carlyle?” Ashley and I say together, going in wonderingly. I blink, stunned as Henry Carlyle gets up from behind his desk, in his own set of ACUs. “Henry?”
“Hmph, I thought they taught you how to report properly at the Academy. The Corps has,” Henry says gruffly, and I snap to attention, saluting. Ashley does the same, reporting according to protocol, and Henry returns the salute. “Okay, that's the first, last, and only time you two are going to salute me, by the way. Major Ursek obviously didn't fill you guys in all that much.”
“Sorry Henry, I thought the surprise would be fun,” our escort says, her eyes twinkling. “I think it was more than worth it. Sorry for that, I'm Dee Ursek, your Ops Officer. Nice to meet you both. We'll talk later.”
I shake, still stunned at seeing Henry in uniform, in an office. Major Ursek leaves, closing the door behind her, and I turn, looking at Henry. “I think you have a lot of explaining to do, Henry.”
“I do,” Henry says, pointing to the couch. “First off, welcome to the 52nd. As for what the 52nd is, well, it's no Regional Support Command. It's... well, let's just say we're the unit that watches the watchmen.”
“What do you mean, Dad?” Ashley says, still sounding rattled as we sit down. “You retired.”
“That's what I am publicly. In reality, I'm the commander of the 52nd. I'm still active, a full bird now, and my job is to keep track of all the stuff that the Army doesn't want people to know about. Such as the man who sabotaged your Apache, Simon. Publicly, it's swept under the rug. But that's what the 52nd does, we're the ones who take care of what's under the rug,” Henry says. “You ever get into spy novels?”
“Not since West Point, sir,” I reply, realization slowly dawning on me. “So... why all this?”
Henry looks at both of us and smirks. “I need people I can trust. I've got five, maybe six years max before I have to retire. I need to know in that amount of time, that the family legacy lives on. Ashley, I never told you, but your Grandfather also commanded the 52nd when he 'retired' from active duty. I owe you an apology I know, and later on we'll have one. But for now... what do you say?”
I look over at Ashley, who nods. “I'm in. Simon?”
I nod, and look back at Henry. “Is there a chance I get to fly helicopters?”
Henry laughs and stands up. “Simon, you're going to find that you get to do all sorts of interesting things for the rest of your career. Both of you, welcome to the 52nd.”
Epilogue
Ashley
“Your five year reunion is coming up,” I mention casually to Simon as we wash up the dishes, looking over at my husband. He's never quite gotten all the way back up to the one ninety he was before Korea, but he's fitter, and more importantly, I love him more now than the day we first kissed. “Do you want to go?”
“I was thinking about it,” Simon says, wiping down the cast iron skillet before putting it away. “It'll be nice to see Cara and Tammy again. Skype's nice, but being able to hug our sisters, that's more important to me. What about you, do you want to go?”
“I want to if for no other reason than to see Cara pregnant,” I tell him as I get to work on the plates. “I always thought Tammy would be the one if either of them decided to have babies.”
“Well, Cara's at the right spot, if you think about it. She's strong, she's fit, and she can do it before she reports for the Captain's Career Course at Sill. Although to go from Germany back to Sill, that's gonna suck,” Simon comments.
“Speaking of which, did you enjoy Germany six months ago?”
“How could I not? It was the first time I've heard you actually speak French,” I comment, smiling. “Those nights were memorable.”
My duty phone rings, and I look, it's Dad. I give Simon a glance, and he can't help but smile. Dad doesn't call on the duty phone unless it's important. “Good evening, Dad. You just missed dinner.”
“Sorry to hear it. I have a mission for you two. This one will have special purpose to you two. How'd you like to participate in the capture of Major 'Jenny' Song of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea and the Chinese People's Liberation Army?”
I glance at Simon, who's got an anticipatory look on his face. “I think we'd like that a lot. What's the timeline?”
“Two weeks, in South Korea. You can leave the kids with me and Katherine.”
I cover the mouthpiece, and look at Will and Andi, who’re finishing up their desserts like only little kids can. “How'd you two like to spend a couple weeks at Grandma and Grandpa's?”
Of course they love it, Mom loves it too, and Simon's grin spreads. “Really?”
I nod. “We might get to say hello to your old friend Jenny from Korea. You game?”
Simon's grin turns slightly predatory, and he nods. “When do we leave?”
I repeat the question to Dad, who chuckles. “Tomorrow morning. You'll be back in time for Simon's class reunion. Meet me at the 52nd at seven thirty. Good night.”
“Good night, Dad.”
I hang up the phone, and turn to Simon. Simon puts his arms around my waist and kisses me, his passion already evident by the stiffness in his pants. “Jenny Song?”
“The Songbird herself it seems,” I giggle, feeling his cock push against my hip. “You're already looking forward to it from the feeling in your pants. Or is that just me?”
“That's all you,” Simon growls, pulling me close. “Do you know how sexy it is to have a secret agent wife who's also my partner?”
“Well, this will be the last partnered mission for a little while,” I whisper, kissing his lips quickly. “After this, I'm going on profile for the next few months. Congratulations, Simon. You're going to be a father again.”
Simon's smile is all I need, and we embrace, looking forward to the future.
There’s more coming in this series! Want to know the second I release a new book or be the first to know about exclusive giveaways? Sign up to my newsletter.
Also by Jesse Jordan
