Scavenger Vanishes (The SkyRyders Book 3)

by Liza O'Connor

  A knock on his door interrupted his thoughts. He recognized Tucker’s knock and called out to him to enter as he reached for his robe. He’d barely tied the belt when a fist rammed into his jaw and he went flying back onto the bed.

  That Tucker would strike him was inconceivable. He looked up at the boy in utter shock.

  Tucker looked as shocked as he did. The only person who seemed to know what was going on was Jack Sparkes, presently standing over him, rubbing his knuckles.

  “What the hell is wrong with you?” Logan demanded as he pushed himself off the bed and glared at Jack.

  “That will be all, Colonel,” Jack said to Tucker, never taking his eyes off Logan.

  “Yes, sir,” Tucker said, clearly not wanting to leave the room but also unwilling to break an order. “Are you all right?” he asked Logan.

  “Colonel, that will be all!” Jack repeated, an edge in his voice warning he was losing patience.

  Tucker turned and left the room.

  There was only one reason why Tucker would have obeyed Jack’s order, and it was the same reason why MAC had failed to list the name of Logan’s replacement.

  “Congratulations on your promotion, Jack,” Logan said. “Youngest general in Corps history. I’m sure Alisha is very proud of you.”

  In response, Jack attempted to knock him down again, but this time Logan blocked his blow. “What the hell is your problem?” he demanded. “You’ve got everything worth having in the palm of your hand. You can still lose it if I choose to press charges.”

  “You son of a bitch,” Jack yelled. “I’d give up this promotion in a heartbeat if I thought I could make you suffer half the pain you’ve caused Alisha. Unfortunately, that’s not possible. To suffer, you’d need to have a heart, and it’s pretty clear you lost that organ sometime in the last six months.”

  He’s jealous, Logan realized. Jack thinks she still loves me. Women… He sighed. They can twist a man’s head in a thousand directions.

  “There’s nothing between Alisha and me anymore. You’re right. The man I was on the West Coast is gone. This place has changed me. Hopefully I’ve got it straightened out enough it won’t have the same effect on you,” he added. “I’d offer to stay around and show you the ropes, but I doubt we’d enjoy each other’s company. Tucker knows everything better than I do anyway. He’s a good officer and will serve you well. Just take some time with him and show him how to lead men. I haven’t been a good role model for him.”

  He walked Jack to the door. “I’ll have Tucker call a meeting in which we’ll announce my retirement and introduce you. We should also announce Marge will be leaving and her battle plans are permanently off the table. That’ll help you win favor with the troops. However, I first need to dress and pack.” He gently pushed Jack out of his room and closed the door.

  Tucker was standing in the hallway. He immediately snapped to attention.

  “At ease, Tucker,” Jack said. “What you saw in there was a personal beef between Logan and me. I shouldn’t have hit him, but he’s been avoiding my emails and calls for the last month, and my temper got the better of me.”

  Tucker frowned. “Is something wrong on the West Coast, sir?”

  Jack sighed. “Yes, and I had hoped Logan might help, but I can see I was wrong.”

  Tucker walked beside him. “Is there something I can do to help?”

  “No. Only Logan.”

  “He’s changed,” Tucker said.

  “I can see that,” Jack replied, then observed Tucker more carefully. “As have you.”

  “Yes, sir, but I intend to change back,” Tucker assured him.

  ***

  Logan sat at his monitor and listened to their conversation. Alisha was evidently giving them disciplinary problems again. Powell just couldn’t seem to figure out how much rein to give her. If Jack had any sense he’d marry her and force MAC to bring her over to the East Coast with him. Her smile and spirit were just what these poor soldiers needed. She could be their hero.

  Jack and Alisha would make a powerful impression on the new East Coast. Surely MAC had to see that. He turned off the monitor and dressed.

  Chapter 28

  Tucker came to get General Logan when the troops were gathered. As they walked toward the field, Logan gave him some last-minute advice and encouragement about Sparkes. “Despite what you saw in my room this morning, Jack is a good leader who’s slow to anger. You’ll be well served to use him as a role model in developing your leadership skills.”

  When they reached the podium, Jack was at the base talking to Jersey and Ginnie and several of the other West Coast transplants. Logan could see the worry on the East Coast Ryders’ faces. They were wondering if they’d survive another West Coast general. In his speech, he would try to reassure them with a list of Jack’s fine qualities, but in the end it would be up to Jack to win their trust. Unfortunately, Jack was starting from scratch, since their current leader was nothing more than a murderer.

  During the presentation, Jack announced Colonel Williams would also be leaving and his first act of business would be to draw up new battle plans that would optimize success and limit casualties. Jack’s voice rang with sincerity and determination when he assured the troops there was nothing in the Corps more valuable than the men and women who comprised their ranks. Their response was ear-shattering applause.

  Logan fought back the tears that threatened to fall. Had he attempted such a speech, it would have been farcical. He had proven battle after battle the one thing he did not value was his men.

  Jack had no trouble winning over the East Coast troops. Their need for a man of integrity and honor was so desperate they didn’t care where he came from. All they wanted was a real leader, and finally he had arrived. Logan could only imagine how it would be when Alisha joined him. There would be no limit what they could achieve working in unison.

  In some ways, the transfer of power seemed to last an eternity. Yet by noon, Logan was soaring into the sky, heading back to the West Coast. For the first time in six months, he actually enjoyed the sensation of flying. He wasn’t leading men into battles designed to kill them. He could enjoy the freedom of flying once again.

  He couldn’t wait to return to Broadtown. The best years of his life had been at the sleepy fort, and while it was gone forever, the town remained. He hoped by returning to a place of better times, he might be able to regain a portion of the man he had been.

  It took him two days to arrive in the sleepy town and ten minutes to discover the house MAC had lined up had been sold and was no longer available as a rental unit. The real estate lady was apologetic, but assured him she had found another house, even nicer, in a better part of town, for less rent. It was “a blessing in disguise”, she assured him, and explained the market was extremely tight and he was very lucky this house had come on the market this morning, because if not, there was absolutely nothing left to rent at any price.

  Logan doubted it was as nice as she promised, but he didn’t care. He didn’t even care about the rent. All he wanted was a house in Broadtown.

  Or so he thought, until she pulled up to the house beside Daniel Kane’s. If he lived in this house, he’d be reminded of Alisha day and night.

  What the hell…he’d be thinking of Alisha no matter where he lived. Yet here, he’d have to see her as she visited Daniel. No…she’ll be moving to the East Coast, he reminded himself. And poor Daniel will be alone.

  “I’ll take it,” he said.

  “Don’t you want to see the inside?”

  “It’s fine. What do you need me to sign?”

  Five minutes later, he entered his new home and investigated the rooms, without the chatty real-estate woman at his side.

  The house had an identical layout to Daniel’s. He chose the front bedroom, the one that had been Alisha’s in Daniel’s house. Fortunately, the house came with furniture, something the woman hadn’t mentioned. He lay down on the bed and closed his eyes, remembering the night after the B
roadtown battle when he’d opened the door to Alisha’s room. He had to assure himself she was alive. The moment the light from the hall had fallen upon her sweet, beautiful face, her eyes had opened. She’d smiled and held out her hands.

  Pain ripped through him. Why had he been such a fool? Why hadn’t he acknowledged how much he loved her? Instead, he’d let everything come between them: the Corps, General Powell, his duty, her grandfather… And now where were all those things? Gone! Flickers in his life, and he was left with nothing, when he could have had Alisha. She had loved him back then. He was certain she had. If she fell for Jack’s charms later on, it was only because he’d pushed her away.

  As night fell, the room grew dark. He realized he hadn’t called the utilities and given them his new address. He turned the switch, but nothing happened. The phone was dead as well. He returned to bed. In the morning, he would go to Daniel’s and ask to use his phone. Right now, he just wanted to sleep.

  Chapter 29

  As Logan stood on his porch, he considered asking one of the other neighbors if he could use their phone, instead of Daniel, but chided himself for his cowardice. He had no reason to avoid Daniel. He had done what the man asked, and left Alisha alone.

  He walked down the sidewalk and was just about to enter through the lawn gate when a rough hand gripped his arm and halted him.

  A badge immediately flashed in his face. “Who are you and what’s your business here?” the plainclothes policeman demanded.

  Logan reached into his pocket and provided his ID. “I’m retired General Theodore Logan, and my business is personal.”

  “No, sir, your business is my business,” the policeman said.

  “I have recently retired. I just moved in next door. I need to borrow a phone to have my utilities turned on, and I’m a friend of Daniel Kane’s. Therefore, it seemed quite logical to ask him if I could borrow his phone. And if you don’t keep me standing here too long, I might even be able to join him for breakfast, which would be really nice, since I have no food in my kitchen.”

  “You say you’re a friend of Kane’s. Has he mentioned hearing from his granddaughter recently?”

  “I haven’t spoken to Daniel in over six months,” Logan said. “I was stationed on the East Coast. Is there a problem concerning his granddaughter?”

  “Yeah. And it’s critical we locate her soon. You have any idea where she is?”

  “I thought she was still stationed at Capital.”

  “She’s AWOL, or at least that’s what we’re being told. You go and have your talk with Daniel Kane,” the policeman said, and pressed his hand firmly on Logan’s shoulder, near the back of his neck. “But if he happens to mention anything about having heard from his granddaughter, or knowing where she might be, you are legally required to share the information with us. As a retired general, you are not beyond the law anymore.”

  “What’s she wanted for?”

  “Murder,” the cop replied, and walked back to his car.

  The moment Daniel opened the door, Logan held his finger to his lips. Once they were inside, he unzipped his flight jacket and examined it for bugs. He found the small metallic stickpin beneath the collar of his jacket. Daniel held out a box and opened it, revealing twenty identical devices. Logan dropped it in, and Daniel closed the box. He then took a black wand and ran it over Logan.

  “Sometimes they plant more than one,” he said in a curt tone, then returned to the kitchen. “I was just about to make breakfast. Courtesy requires I ask you to join me.”

  Logan felt he had just been doused with ice-cold water. Such a cold welcome would have made him leave in a second had his need to know about Alisha not come before his pride.

  “You don’t have to offer me food, Daniel but I can’t leave here until I know what’s happened to Alisha.”

  “If you mean where she is, I don’t know. I haven’t heard from her. I don’t know if she’s dead or alive. But you damn well better hope she’s alive and she gets out of this in one piece, or by God I will see you dead!” Daniel declared.

  “What do I have to do with Alisha?” Logan asked. “I’ve been on the East Coast for the last six months. I haven’t seen her!”

  “I know exactly where you’ve been!” Daniel countered as he violently broke the eggs into the skillet. “Lying in bed with your new woman while my poor Alisha hides out somewhere, trying her hardest not to be found.”

  “What business is it of yours if I had a woman on the East Coast? You told me to leave your granddaughter alone and I did!”

  “I told you to leave her alone, not get her pregnant and leave!” Daniel yelled in return. His voice echoed in the sudden silence of the room.

  His words shocked Logan to his core. “Alisha’s pregnant?”

  “Yes. And the bastard her parents arranged to marry her to is doing everything he can find her, have her child aborted, and charge her with murder.”

  “How did this happen?” Logan demanded.

  “How did this happen?” Daniel repeated in outrage. “How do you think it happened? The two of you had sex and she got pregnant.”

  “But what about her BCD?”

  “She didn’t have one. She was a virgin when she came to you. Then with the battles and all, she forgot to have a BCD implanted, so there’s no way to prove it was a virgin birth until she goes to MAC for a psych test. And she can’t do that until the baby’s born. So she’s hiding somewhere and Brown has the entire police force turning every nook and cranny upside down searching for her.”

  Logan sat down before his legs gave out on him. “She was a virgin?”

  “She can prove that. The physical MAC performed before her first psych test shows she was a virgin.”

  “But how will a psych test prove the child was conceived her first time? She can’t know which time resulted in the baby,” Logan said. “She can’t be sure it’s even mine. It could be Jack’s…”

  Daniel shook his head and slammed a plate of eggs with eggshell fragments embedded like shrapnel down in front of him. “Alisha says there was only one time, and while Jack wouldn’t name the father, he assured me it wasn’t him.” Daniel glared. “Are you denying you ever made love to my granddaughter?”

  Logan swallowed hard. “No…I’m not. There was one time, the night she returned from passing her captain’s exam. She brought wine and we celebrated. I let things get out of control. The next morning, I told her it was a mistake and couldn’t happen again.”

  “And it never did?” Daniel asked.

  “Not with me, but the moment Jack laid eyes on her, he started his seduction.”

  “Jack voluntarily submitted himself to a psych test. He has proven he could not be the father. For MAC to verify it’s a true virgin birth, it needed your test to prove you only had sex one time, but instead of helping Alisha you stay on the East Coast pretending this isn’t your problem!”

  “Daniel, I didn’t know any of this.”

  “How the hell could you not know? You’ve been getting a hundred emails a day on this matter. Hell, I sent over fifty myself!” Daniel bellowed.

  “I didn’t read them. I was deleting all emails from the West Coast,” Logan explained. “Can I use your phone?”

  The second Riley answered the phone, Logan declared he wanted to come in for a psych test.

  There was silence for a moment. “You know, being retired won’t protect you from anything criminal actions MAC might discover during the test,” Riley warned.

  “I don’t give a damn what MAC does to me. I’m coming in to be tested today!”

  When he hung up, he turned to Daniel. “You have every right to think the worst of me, but it isn’t half as severe as my opinion of myself. However, to set the facts straight, I did not know Alisha was a virgin that night. I did not know she was pregnant, and I certainly did not know she needed my help. Riley says I can take the test immediately, so I’m headed there now. If by the grace of God I’m not in the brig after taking this test, I will find Alisha
and bring her safely home.”

  “And then what?” Daniel demanded. “Are you going to ignore your responsibilities?”

  “Not willingly, but there’s a strong likelihood I’ll be going to jail for a long time. If that happens, contact Jack.”

  “Jack’s a good man. He’s already asked her to marry him,” Daniel said.

  “Yeah. He performs well on the wakes I leave,” Logan muttered, and left the house.

  Had Logan thought he’d fallen into Hell before he arrived at MAC Lab, five hours taught him the true meaning of Hell as he relived one unspeakable act after another. The test made him so physically ill he crumpled to the floor. When Riley came to get him, he was dry heaving, covered in vomit, too weak to lift his head over the trashcan. Riley left and returned a moment later with a wheelchair. He lifted Logan and placed him in the chair, ignoring his weak protests.

  The next thing Logan remembered was waking in a bed. There was a picture of Anna holding a little baby in her arms. It reminded him of Alisha, and that she remained in danger. He forced himself up and stumbled out of the room.

  He had to prop himself against the doorframe as the room swirled around and tossed from side to side.

  “Whoa, partner,” a voice warned, and then Riley’s face appeared floating in front of him. “You’re not ready to be walking yet. You just experienced the worse reaction to the psych test ever recorded. I’m a little concerned MAC didn’t abort it.”

  “No!” Logan moaned. If the damn computer stopped his test, he’d tear the lab apart chip by chip.

  “Calm down. It almost killed you, but the test was completed, and MAC can prove Alisha’s baby is a virgin birth. It forwarded the information to the local authorities. Now we have to hope to God she’s well hidden, because they’ve intensified their search since we sent the proof. Anna just saw a bulletin on the TV asking anyone who’s seen her in the last six months to call the police. They made it sound like she was lost and needed help, but there’s no doubt in my mind if they find her before we do, they’ll abort her baby and hold her for murder despite our proof. Her ex-fiancé makes a vicious enemy.”