Halfway Between

by Jana Leigh

  “Aww, honey, they are a manifestation of your guilt. Everyone who has PTSD does this at one time or another,” she said and looked around the room in support, not sympathy, they would have never taken that. “You know my dad was retired military. He had severe PTSD, we never knew who was walking through the door. Either it was my father, the military persona, or the broken man who talked to people who weren’t there. He could be mean and nasty but there was always a reason. I had to realize that at times he was still the same man just going through a real hard time. I was a kid, and I didn’t understand it fully until I was in school. There are meds though, we can ask for. He took them and it seemed to help.”

  “Woman, we are not crazy, we all see them together. They are leaving us when we are done finding this bastard. It is like a ghost thing, Tulu, and Vince can see them as well, and help others to see them too. They are real,” Thane bellowed.

  “Okay, I understand,” she said soothingly.

  “Vince,” Thane growled.

  “Well, I usually have to have Tulu with me, I have never done that on my own. Maybe if we call her?” Vince said and stood.

  Harper held up her hand. “Listen, I will concede until the mission is done to listen to your friends, afterward, if they don’t leave you all have to be honest and seek help.”

  Drake rolled his eyes and looked up to the ceiling. Tulu came on the speakerphone and said smartly. “I have been waiting for your dumbass to call. I got a dead man who is insisting I pass on something.”

  Harper frowned. The woman sounded normal except for the whole Louisiana accent she had going on. Harper had a hard time speaking Redneck Creole, they had an accent and a humor she loved, but didn’t always get.

  “To who?” Vince asked.

  “Harper Bret. Her father and mother are here, of course the woman is much smarter than him. But he is being a pain in the ass,” Tulu said.

  “Right,” she snorted. “Group hallucinations. Very common in a group that have all lost people in the same incident.”

  “Whatever,” the older woman said on the phone. “You sound like Jolie, you can speak geek to each other another time. Here is the message, so I can finally go lay down and sleep. Harper, he says he is sorry.”

  “Ah…see, I know you aren't talking to my father, his motto was ‘never apologize for your actions’.” She laughed and smacked the table.

  “Would you let me finish, doubting dolly. He said he is sorry he raised such a close-minded fool,” Tulu said.

  “Figures,” Harper said.

  “And he wants you to know he was not crazy, his buddies were trying to tell him something…move on… He knows you won't believe this so he says: Do you remember the last time he said ‘I love you?’ You were fifteen going to the prom, and he said you looked stunning as well. He left the next day on his last mission. He wants to replace that memory by telling you now how much he loved you and your mother, without you he would have been a lonely, crazy fool,” Tulu said.

  “Well shit,” Harper said, feeling the tears gather. “Did we have to go there?”

  “I am just the vessel, I don’t give the message. Although I will say that I did tone it down a little, he actually said, ‘fucking close-minded fool’. But there you go. Vince, call me later, I need a damn nap,” Tulu said and hung up.

  She looked up, looked around the room, and nodded. “Okay, carry on.”

  Thane shook his head. “Well that took the thunder out of my sails. I can see them all now, what does that mean?”

  “So can I,” Drake said and the others nodded in agreement.

  “Good,” Sam said. “Hug it out later, you can see us all because the mission is almost over. We will stand by you all for this last part. It is going to be hard, and no one is sure if any innocents will be lost.”

  “Great, okay, deal with that later,” Thane said. “Get your stuff and get ready, they have four locations in a three block radius where Diego has been seen. All hotels, he has to have his men stashed there. We are going to strike the first blow, while Vince is going to the base and make a phone call. We want them to be listening and recording directly.”

  Chapter Eighteen

  Dario looked out the window of the dive hotel they were hiding in while Mel typed on a brand new computer. She was looking for information as to where the phone they had been texting Thane was located.

  “He is here,” she said finally. “Thank God, I thought he had left again, they seemed to disappear before we made it to the hospital to find them.”

  Dario turned around. His dark skin and blue eyes gave him an air of mystery. She had been attracted to him on site. But of course, he had remained a gentleman throughout the whole thing. From the moment he had discovered what she was sending to the Commander, to the moment she discovered his brother was responsible for the suicide bombing that took some of the men he had been friends with out. Sam included. That was when she had told him about Sam. Dario had been sympathetic, but she had worried he would turn her in anyway. He was like that, a rules and regs type of guy.

  She wasn’t tall or short, fat or thin, sexy or slutty, Melanie was forgettable. The mouse in the corner, until they pissed her off. Then she was the cobra that killed the mouse, and then went after more prey. Sam had taught her that, gave her that confidence.

  He always referred to her looks as a cover. Because he had seem the beautiful side too often to agree with her observation. It didn’t stop her from pointing out her lack of male interest, or the fact her virginity remained in tack. Sam said it would happen when she was least expecting it. So far, she had thought it had with Thane, his LC, and now she thought it had happened when she met Dario who seemed to actually see her. However, short of throwing up her legs and screaming take me at every opportunity, neither of them had seemed to be interested other than to kiss her sweetly on the cheek with a brush on the lips. Fuckers. She was gonna show one of them how sassy she could be. First, she needed to stay alive to actually see Thane again.

  “What do we do?” she asked.

  “We get a message out, tell them we want to meet, and go from there. If they answer, we are good, if not we are on our own. We will make a few plans just in case. But we don’t have much time; we have cash so no worries there. But my brother has connections everywhere, if he wants to find us he will,” Dario said.

  “So text first, and wait for a few,” Mel said.

  “Let me get the phone,” he said. They had to get another burner phone because Diego apparently knew what they were doing. He would have already put a trace on it. So when they left the embassy they made three stops. One for a phone, one for clothes, and one for money. They were set.

  He thought about everything he had heard on the small video feed they had set up. His mother or his brother, neither what he thought. His brother wasn’t a shock, Dario thought he was an asshole anyway. Since they were young, there had been something off about the kid. As he grew, his cruelty grew as well. Dario happened to be one of his favorite targets for a while. Until he had gotten big enough to fight back. Then Diego had left him alone. But his mother? That tore him in two.

  She had always been supportive, outspoken, and firm. She encouraged him to join the military, encouraged him in his promotions and requests for transfers. Now he realized it was only to be able to use him as a way in. It was pathetic.

  When he heard his mother utter the words to kill him, he had frozen, his wish to go and arrest both of them had been great. It was Mel who talked him out of it. She reminded him about the laws of the embassies; they were vastly different from normal laws. So they had planned.

  When Dario first met her, Mel had knocked him on his ass. A quiet woman with fire in her eyes. She showed only what she wanted to show, but she was not quiet or timid like his mother thought. Hell, he would love to watch her kick her mother’s ass. Mel was a crack shot, and took kickboxing. He knew the woman thought she was frumpy, he thought the word was. But she was anything but, curvy, muscular, and sensual. If it w
eren’t for the fact they were in this situation, he would have her flat on her back and worshiping her body.

  He turned around and she was standing right there. He almost leaned over and kissed the worry frown from her head. He hated that she was worried.

  “All in?” she asked.

  “Go for it,” he said and she nodded and took the phone.

  CLIPPER NEEDS A HAIR CUT. I WILL MEET YOU AT HIS FAVORITE SHOP WHENEVER YOU CAN MAKE IT, Mel texted.

  “Now we wait,” she said and he nodded and hugged her, giving into to his avoidance for one brief moment.

  Chapter Nineteen

  Diego stood in the middle of the hotel room he paid for. These idiots were clueless about how to do something he wanted. Well they were about to find out how pissed he was.

  One of the men stood in front of him. He was supposed to be watching his brother and the woman. Instead, he had assumed they were in the embassy and went to get a coffee while they disappeared. Now they had no idea where the hell they were, and time was running out for his plan.

  If he played it right, he would have his brother killed and set up for his acts, then his mother would be in question and he would be able to deal with her if she were incarcerated. Killed was probably the best move, she was pissing him off. Then he would concentrate on getting his father freed and all would be well.

  First things first though. “What have you found?”

  “We are still looking, sir. Right now, we have found the three places they stopped, we should narrow down where they are in the next few hours,” the man said and Diego nodded and looked over at his second.

  “Is this true, do you have this information?” he asked and his second nodded.

  Diego pulled out his gun, shot the man in the head, and looked around at the frightened faces in the room.

  “The next person that lets me down will not be so lucky, someone get this carcass out of my room and remember who you work for. I will not tolerate sloppiness any further. Our mission is clear, we are done here for now. We need to be gone in seven days!” Diego yelled.

  He turned to his second and motioned him to the doorway with his head. “I need to be out in five, they can twist for the crime. How close are we really?”

  His second grinned. “I will get the search organized, they can’t keep slipping us for long. Sooner or later they will have to stay in one place and then we will find them.”

  Diego nodded. “That silly party my mother is insisting I go to is where I will make it known that no one is safe from this. For a while, my mother will take the fall, and then they will know it is me. I need to be ready and that is not sitting in the middle of their territory playing this game anymore. It was fun, now I take it to the next level.”

  “Yes, sir,” his second said. “I will make sure we are ready.”

  Diego’s phone rang. “Hello, Mother.”

  “Get your ass back here ASAP, I have received a call and they will soon be hunting for you. As long as you remain here, you are fine. There is no time to run, I believe they will be watching. Come in the back entrance, the servants will be waiting to open it,” she snarled.

  Shit, he thought. “Yes, Mother, I agree it would be best to be in the embassy, I will be there shortly.” Maybe this could work as well, the back entrance was secretive. Maybe if his gets in free and clear he can get back out the same way.

  Chapter Twenty

  They had one stop to make on their way to the hotels. The San Diego Police Department had received her letter of resignation and took it; however, she was still under investigation, and it could seriously tarnish her image unless they realized that her LT was the one who was responsible.

  Thane had signed letters from the DoD, and one from the FBI, stating that their men had witnessed her LT’s abuse and they requested it to be dropped. As they entered the building, she knew that she looked like a badass in all of her gear. But add to it the others behind her and they looked like a freaking team ready for battle. They left the vests in the car, but they still carried their side arms.

  Harper held her head high, as she ignored everyone and walked to where the internal investigation office was. She pushed open the door and walked right in to the leader's office without even asking. He had been on the phone, but he quickly hung up when he saw the muscle and started sweating.

  “See here,” he said, trying to sound offended and not terrified.

  Drake stepped around her and slapped the two letters on his desk. “These are from our commanders. Take them seriously because we do. If there is anything else to come of this, Harper will have the backing of the FBI, every military branch, and a few billionaires who have helped her start her business.”

  “Are you threatening me?” the chubby man blustered.

  “No…Gerald is it, this is a promise,” Thane growled behind her.

  They waited while the man read the documents and made phone calls in front of them. He finally hung up the phone, pulled a file out, stamped a paper, and handed it to her. It said cleared and she grinned. “Awesome, people, one more stop and we are outta here.”

  The men chuckled and followed her as she went to where her office had once been. She hadn't been back and just needed a few things, including the picture of her parents, but when she arrived her desk had been cleared out. She looked up and the pitying look from the others meant only one thing, the asshole had them.

  Harper lifted her chin and marched with the men trailing into his office without knocking. The door made a loud noise and he jumped a little, but the red in his neck let her know how pissed he was. She assumed he had already gotten the call.

  “Where is my stuff?!” she yelled.

  He leaned back in his chair and narrowed his eyes. “You no longer work here, you can't just barge in here and yell at me. I could take this as a threat you know, have you arrested for harassing a police officer,” he smirked.

  “Harassment, what a fucking joke. You are no more a policeman than I have a dick swinging between my legs. Cut the bullshit and give me my stuff before we all get a little cozier in the office. I can guarantee these men make a great wall to clock anyone from seeing me actually kick your ass. But a big clumsy oaf like you, it could be dangerous to try to maneuver in such a small space, you could trip and fall, break your nose, your leg. Hell, you could crack your head on that big ugly desk and then what. All that paper work, the group of us telling everyone what sadly turned into a tragedy when little oh me came to get my shit, and the big bad nasty continued his harassment of me by trying to scare me. I feel the fucking tears flowing already.” She laughed.

  Her former boss leaned forward. “No one will believe you.”

  “Wanna bet, I make a good, convincing wounded bird,” she said and sniffed. She concentrated for a moment and tears began to leak out of her eyes as she sobbed loudly so anyone in the outer office could hear her. “I only wanted to be a cop,” she wailed. “A good one, so my father who is looking down on me from heaven would be proud. Why couldn’t you just give me a chance, I would have done anything you wanted to make this work.”

  Her voice sounded desperate and sad while her eyes looked calculating and cold. Her former boss stood, grabbed a box behind him, and threw it on the floor in between them. It was a loud thump and she grinned.

  “Oh no, the picture of my parents, how could you have thrown that, it is broken, it is the last picture I had of them before they were killed. Drake, what am I gonna do? I have no job, no money, no home, and now no memories,” she wailed.

  The guys made small noises of amusement and she walked to the door and flipped him off over her shoulder. Thane just so happened to be standing next to her and she whispered, “Hey, you owe me a pantsing.”

  “That I do, Mini-Me, that I do,” he murmured and looked at the men and grinned.

  As a group they all dropped trou, mooning the asshole without a person seeing. Jessie even slapped his ass, looked over his shoulder, and said, “Don’t ask, don’t tell.”

&nb
sp; Harper pulled up her pants and began crying. The guys surrounded her as if in comfort and followed, making small murmuring noises as they walked out.

  “Goodbye, friends. Know that I will miss you greatly,” Harper said as the internal investigator walked into the room. “Sir, it's okay, it was just a final vicious act to make me remember I was never welcome here. Right guys? I am sure he would love to hear how the LT ordered you to treat me so scandalously. I forgive you for being his puppets of pain.”

  She sunk a little acting listless, Joel swept her into his arms. “It is okay, darling, we will find you a nice car to live in for a while, with my retired government pay it will only take a few months to find a nice little apartment in the Barrio,” he said sadly and carried her out.

  Harper held it together until they got out of the building and then they all began laughing.

  “Damn, I knew Sable turned on the tears whenever she wanted to guilt trip me. But she is going to bow to your skills,” Alex snorted.

  “No holding classes with the women,” Mason warned.

  When Joel set her down, Thane turned her to him and grinned down at her. “Kneel before me,” he ordered and she looked around and the guys were nodding seriously. Harper did what they asked and she looked up. “I proclaim a new member of Team TEN. I dub thee, Dame Evil Bitch of the Cowboy Providence, and proclaim today be celebrated every year to remind us of our treaty and partnership,” Thane said and took out his K-bar.

  He touched it to her shoulders one at a time and then pulled her up and turned her around. “Welcome our new member in the manner she should become accustom.”

  The men lifted their shirts, stuck out their bellies, pulled their pants up, and walked in a circle chanting her name. She giggled, then Thane whispered in her ear, “No matter how hard you try, you just keep showing me we were separated from birth.”