“I think Ben’s afraid you will get upset.”
Alex raised her eyebrows in surprise. What could possibly upset her more than the murder of the Fey Special Forces Team?
“Who?”
“Carlos.”
Alex reacted as if he had punched her in the face. Unable to express her horror, she hopped up to put more wood on the fire. Jesse appeared by the fire.
“Sweet Jesus! Carlos?” Jesse asked.
Alex shook her head. Carlos was Ben’s assistant prior to Raz. He was a handsome, sweet talker who used sex to get what he wanted. His test scores and work history spoke of a brilliant operative. But Carlos was incompetent. Because he claimed he and Alex were sexually involved, it took Ben and Alex a year to get rid of him. The last time she saw Carlos, he told her she was the love of his life.
To stall for time, she set about replacing the cool stones around Raz with warm stones from the fire. When she sat down near Raz’s head, she saw his deep concern for her.
“How did he die?”
“He shot himself through the roof of his mouth,” Raz said. “When we were forced to leave you, we went to his home in Amsterdam. The coroner places his death around the time he called us.”
“You’re sure he killed himself?”
“Yes. We intercepted a coded letter he wrote to you.”
“How involved was he?”
“He believed he was a major pipeline of information for the killers,” Raz said.
“That doesn’t mean anything. He was grandiose and delusional.”
“At best,” Raz said. “He knew the Fey Special Forces Team had been killed.”
“He’s not the King,” Alex shrugged. “God, poor Carlos. He was so talented at so many things. He wanted so badly to be a super spy. He just wasn’t.”
Raz smiled at her sweet sentiment. Only Alex could feel sorry for someone who gave her so much grief.
“Shall I call you Antigone from now on?”
“Hey, I might be a bastard child, but my mother is not Ben’s mother.” Alex laughed.
Raz laughed then groaned.
“You should sleep. Tomorrow will be a long day.”
“Will you rest?” he asked.
“I’ll probably talk to Jesse. He’s been commenting on everything we’ve talked about.”
Raz smiled.
“Would you like more pain meds?”
“No, I’ve been fighting sleep,” he said. “I only have to shut my eyes...”
He was sound asleep. Stretching her neck, she heard the sound of large machinery. It wouldn’t be long. Jesse sat down next to her.
“Wanna talk?”
“Not really,” Alex said. “You?”
“Nah. We’ll figure it out.”
“Together.”
Alex held her hand out. Jesse placed his hand over hers.
“Together,” Jesse said.
Holding hands, they sat in silence watching the sleeping men and the fire. Twelve hours later, an earth moving machine broke through the surface. While Alex put the fire out, Colin used a morphine auto injector from the team’s medical pack on Raz. Raz would sleep for the rest of the trip home. Trece and White Boy carried him from the tunnel.
After all those hours of silence in the warm tunnel, the wind, air, noise and people were overwhelming. And very welcome.
They were flying toward the Castiloon parking lot before anyone realized Alex’s arm was in bad shape. She waved off the drama but accepted an actual arm sling. Once back in the Super Hercules, she nestled against Max.
Home was only a short nap away. She fell asleep thinking of John, Maggie and her new fluffy bed.
F
CHAPTER TWENTY-Seven
Five and a half hours later
Saturday night
March 29 – 11 P.M. MDT
Buckley Air Force Base
“I don’t get it,” Alex said. The Black Hawk began descending toward the Air Force base. “Where’s John? He always meets me when we get back. Especially on a Saturday night.”
“Something’s up, Alex,” Joseph said. “We’ve been trying to get in touch with your Sergeant. We lost connection about a half hour ago. Then… nothing.”
“What’s the media say about last night?” Alex asked.
“Texas Rangers saved four boys in Big Bend National Park,” Joseph said.
“Cell phones?” Alex asked.
“I wasn’t able to get the replacement phones before we left. Our bank account is fucked up.”
“The Fey Special Forces Team account? I totally forgot about that.”
“For the life of me, I can’t figure out what’s going on.”
“Boy Scout,” Alex said.
“Boy Scout fucked up.”
“Give the bank account to Troy,” Alex said. “He’s really good at that kind of thing.”
“Troy?” Joseph glanced at Troy. Troy was using his finger puppets Enrique and Frieda to embarrass Larry with their pornographic exploits. “You sure?”
“His last tested IQ is 187,” Alex said. “He’s a genius, especially with numbers. What about Vince’s phone? Wasn’t it military issue?”
“Vince’s doesn’t work – shut off.”
“From the electromagnetic pulse?”
“I called Nancy to check in after we reached the Hercules. Now it’s off. Your pocket computer?”
Alex pulled the computer from her back pocket. Flipping open the cover, she pressed a few buttons. Nothing.
“It’s not working. I mean it was an hour ago. It’s not now. But you know it breaks all the time. It doesn’t really mean anything,” Alex said. “Satellite internet?”
“Same thing. Last half hour or so.” Joseph shook his head.
“Zack?” Alex asked through the intercom.
“You better come up,” Zack said.
Alex walked down the hallway to the cockpit.
“Fuck! You smell! God damn, Hargreaves!”
“I’ve been worse,” she said. “What’s going on?”
“MPs are waiting for you. They’re going to arrest you for assaulting the Boy Scout. While you were getting pungent in the mine, the Denver Police went looking for you. When they didn’t find you, they assumed you skipped town. Of course, Gordon wouldn’t tell them your location. Samantha didn’t know. You’re a fugitive from justice, Alex!”
The co-pilot laughed. Alex sneered at him.
“That doesn’t make any sense,” she said. “I was just with the Texas Rangers. They could have arrested me.”
“What would you like us to do, Lieutenant Colonel?” the co-pilot asked.
“Do you still have the beach house in the Saint John?” Alex asked.
Zack laughed. Hoping to impress her, he told a twelve-year-old Alex he had a beach house on the island of Saint John.
“You may as well land,” Alex said.
“We gain nothing by avoiding the inevitable,” Zack gave her a Patrick Hargreaves quote.
Alex laughed. She turned back to the passenger compartment when Zack said, “Hey.”
Turning back to him, the co-pilot had taken over flying. Zack flipped his visor up and shut off his mike. He gestured for her to come close to him.
“Back there? Those last bombs? They were designed to kill you, Alex. Texas Rangers believe the captors were collecting on your contract. More money they could bleed from Joiner.”
“Nice to be popular. How did you find out?”
“Your Sergeant passed it along before the MPs shut him down. I think they arrested him.”
“I’ll take Trece and White Boy. They have badges that will make the MPs sweat.”
“You’ll be safe?” Zack asked.
She nodded. Walking back to the passenger compartment, Alex prepared for what was to come.
“Ah fuck no,” Troy said. Peering through the window at the MPs, he said, “There’s only one person they’re coming for.”
Before she could say ‘boo,’ the men had grabbed machine guns and jumped fro
m the landing helicopter. She reached her hand out to Max.
“I can take your place,” Max said. “Who would know?”
“We gain nothing by…”
“Avoiding the inevitable,” Alex, Max and Colin said together.
“Can you stay with Raz, Colin?” she asked. “He’s terrified of this surgery.”
“Of course,” Colin said. “Julie’s mother is throwing another baby shower tonight. I’m happy to miss out on another shower! How much ‘oohing’ and ‘ahhing’ does one guy have to do?”
“You’ll take care of the Homeland thing, Max? Please. For me?”
Smiling, Max nodded. They pressed their foreheads together. She hugged Colin and stepped out of the helicopter.
“Captain Ramirez? Captain Blanco? With me,” she said.
Trece and White Boy moved to either side of her.
“Stand down,” Alex called. “This is a paperwork snafu. I need you to continue our investigation while I get some rest.”
“Yes sir,” the men called.
Between Trece and White Boy, Alex met the Air Force MPs. She smiled when they attempted to handcuff her hands behind her back. Colonel Gordon batted them away.
“I’m sorry, Lieutenant Colonel Hargreaves,” Colonel Gordon said. “This was the best I can do.”
“No civilians?”
“You’ll stay in the Buckley jail until we get this resolved,” he said.
“I need to get my arm looked at,” she said.
She watched Trece and White Boy flash their black ops security badges. The MPs saluted the men.
“Shit, Lieutenant Colonel, your arm needs surgery. I’ll have the Medics look at it but you’re going to have to go to the VA in town,” Colonel Gordon said.
“I’d prefer to go to Anschutz with Agent Rasmussen?” Alex asked. “Please.”
Colonel Gordon looked away from her for a moment then nodded.
“You still have that fancy insurance?” he asked.
“Yes sir.”
“We’ll send you to Anschutz. A surgical team, including one Dr. Drayson, is set to work on him first thing tomorrow morning. I’ll have your Sergeant place the call. You’ll have to hang out here tonight.”
“Thank you, sir,” she said.
“We need to get her processed, sir,” the MP said.
“There was no way to avoid this,” Colonel Gordon said.
“I’m certain that’s true. Someone is pulling the strings.” Alex looked up into the face of her old friend. Under her breath, she asked, “Who is Geppetto?”
“I asked the same question,” Colonel Gordon said.
“And the King?”
“The Army is my King, Queen, my life,” Colonel Gordon said.
Alex startled. She watched his face harden, and then saw a smile creep across his face until it settled in his eyes.
“Enjoy your rest.” Leaning close to her, he added, “I’ll tell your Sergeant to leak your video to the ED at Anschutz. You’ll get star treatment.”
“Yes sir.” Alex laughed.
Walking between Trece and White Boy, Alex was almost to the MPs car when she heard the Black Hawk’s engine rise. She turned to see the helicopter take off.
“Where are they going?” Alex asked Trece.
“The men have a little business to attend to,” Trece said.
“Do I want to know?” Alex asked.
“About what?” Trece asked. He scooted in beside her in the back of the MPs car. “Did you know this base gives early warning for the entire theater?”
“I always wondered what that meant,” White Boy said.
“I’m not exactly sure, but I think they mean the entire United States,” Trece said. “I wouldn’t mind if one of those hot lady techs came to help me install my theater.”
“What theater... WAIT.”
“I’m glad you asked, Alex. This White Boy and I have purchased a home here in Denver.”
“A house,” White Boy said. “A swanky remodeled house.”
“A swanky house in the old Officer’s Quarters,” Trece said. “It’s called the Gallantry after some dead officer. I’m not quite sure who. We are sharing a SWEET bachelor pad. And...”
Alex shook her head. There was no way to stem the flow of words coming out of Captain Andrew ‘Trece’ Ramirez’s mouth. Never was, never will be.
“Damn Alex, you stink. What the hell?” Trece broke into her silence with a jostle of his shoulders.
“Wood smoke, sweat, panic, dirt, mercury mine, garbage,” she said.
“HEY.” Trece pushed on the MPs seat. “Can you open the windows back here?”
“She won’t escape?” the MP in the passenger seat asked.
“Nah, but at this rate we’ll die of stinkation back here.”
The MPs unrolled the window.
“Like I was saying, we bought a fine home on the old Air Force base.”
“Lowry,” White Boy added.
Alex sighed. The fresh air was wonderful. She rested her head against the seat and fell asleep to the droning noise of Trece’s chatter. She woke when they arrived at the jail. She fell asleep the moment the cell door closed.
FFFFFF
Five hours later
Sunday morning
March 30 – 6:30 A.M. EDT
Over Washington DC
“This is a test to see if you’re qualified for a position on the new Fey Team,” Joseph shouted over the Black Hawk’s engine. “In waves, I want twenty pushups. Everyone except Mac Clenaghan.”
Three at a time, the men pumped out push ups.
“Remove all but your tank tops,” Joseph ordered.
“Sir, no disrespect meant, but what are we doing?” Larry asked.
“We are going to pay a visit to a certain Homeland Security Assistant Director. I’m asking you to play the part of the new Fey Team,” Joseph said.
“And that means?”
“Vince? What does it mean?”
“You’re pumped, glistening but do not smell of body order, sir,” Vince said.
“Matthew?”
“You’re cool, distant and tougher than anyone else,” Matthew said.
“You don’t smile. You don’t speak to anyone other than a team member,” Joseph said. “No matter what, you’re tough and cool.”
“Max,” Zack asked over the intercom. “You’re sure of the address?”
“Yep,” Max said. “Google satellite shows enough room to land on the golf course.”
“How’s Alex doing?”
“She’s asleep,” Max said.
“Get dressed Max,” Joseph said.
Max changed into a pair of digital fatigues and a tank top.
“Where’s our glasses?” Troy asked.
Joseph opened his backpack. He passed out pairs of dark Ray Ban Wayfarer glasses.
“You wore Oakleys before,” Matthew said.
“New team, new glasses,” Joseph said. “Matthew, I want you to stay with the chopper. You don’t need the excitement and he’ll know you’re not one hundred percent.”
“Machine gun?” Troy began passing out Uzi machine guns. “Check that they are loaded, safeties off.”
“How do you know all of this?” Larry asked.
“Alex’s team dropped her off every time we’d get together,” Troy said.
“Me too,” Matthew said.
“Yep,” Vince said. “They dropped in once while I was on ship. Scared the crap out of everyone.”
“For good reason,” Joseph said. “Our image precedes us. This is our first ‘How do you do’ for the new Fey Team. We have to do this well.”
The helicopter descended onto a golf course.
“Your orders: You will not speak. You will not look at anyone. You will not smile. You are silent and deadly,” Joseph said. “You gain access to the building then hold the space for Hargreaves. This twin is your practice. Do. NOT. Fuck this up.”
The helicopter landed.
“Go.”
Throwing ope
n the door to the helicopter, Troy led the wave. At the point of a V formation, Troy moved with practiced ease across the golf course to the home’s back entrance.
“What the fuck?” A man came to the entrance of the house. “You can’t land there. Who the fuck are you?”
While the men stood like silent pillars, Joseph walked from the helicopter.
“We have a confidential message for you, sir,” Joseph said.
Turning, he motioned Max across the golf course.
“Good God, Hargreaves? What the fuck is this about?” the Homeland Security Assistant Director asked. As Max drew near, the man realized he wasn’t Alex. “Who the fuck are you?”
“Max Hargreaves, sir. I’m here on behalf of Alexandra Hargreaves and Arthur J Rasmussen,” Max said. He gave the man two letters. “They are terminating their positions with Homeland Security. The letters have been emailed to the Secretary.”
Max turned in place to walk back to the helicopter. He did not respond to the Assistant Directors calls to him. The men followed him. Larry was the last man into the chopper. He closed the door before the men started laughing.
“Very well done!” Joseph said. “Jakker, get us home!”
The helicopter began its flight over Washington DC to Bolling Air Force Base when they caught a shuttle home.
FFFFFF
Seven hours later
Sunday mid-day
March 30 – 12:04 P.M. MDT
Anschutz Medical Center
John had no idea why he was called out of Raz’s surgery.
Sure, surgery was going well.
And he wasn’t really needed.
But attending Raz’s back surgery was his way of being involved. In some small way, he was connected with his Alex.
No one would tell him where she was. Last he heard, she’d been arrested for assaulting the cretin Boy Scout. The very idea made his blood boil. Following the nurse into a private recovery room, he had to focus on the floor to keep from screaming: “What the fuck is wrong with people?”
He looked up when a woman cleared her throat.
“Planning our trip some place warm?” Alex asked.
In a breath, she was in his arms. In a moment, he was kissing her. He set her down and stepped back.
Learning to Stand Page 23
