by Jet MacLeod
“I do.”
“I will work on my interaction skills.”
“I’ve noticed.”
“I need to go help Cole with our new vehicle. Please keep yourself near the barn or the house. If you need me or something happens, scream, call me on your phone, but make sure that you do everything in your power to get my attention. Can you do that?”
“I believe that I can.”
“Good. I think that Cole left your new life on the coffee table in the living room. You might want to start studying it. I am not going to quiz you today about it, but the sooner you learn it, the sooner we might leave. It will also mean that you will be her until…whenever.”
“I understand.”
“I hope so. I truly hope so. Just remember that there is no dry run on this. We are live now.”
“I am fully aware of that.”
“I am sorry.”
“For what, now?”
“That it has come to this. Hopefully we can go somewhere and you can have a semi-normal kind of life. I will do what I can for you, Angie, but everything that I do is for your protection.”
“I know that,” Angie replied, taking another sip of her coffee.
Angie watched her caramel colored eyes for a moment. She actually believed that Del was sorry for the situation. She knew that she had gotten herself into this mess, but the fact that Del cared how she felt made her…happy to a degree. She knew that Del was just a hired mercenary basically and the only one that the “Alphabets,” as she called them, that would agree to care for her. Angie didn’t like that. She was independent and strong. She could care for herself, but Del had proven that she didn’t know anything outside her social circles or New York.
Life was different here. It moved at its own pace. It didn’t care who you were, but only who you are. She knew that Del was trying to find the beauty of the world around her after she had spent so much time in darkness. She didn’t mean to push Del’s buttons, but she found it easy. She actually liked the way that Del sparred with her, the way she reacted to her questions and her eager defiance. It kept things interesting with just a hint of danger.
Danger was already what she was in, but with Del, there was something else. Beneath the icy exterior there beat a warm and live heart that was searching for a peace that it had never known. She saw how Del’s eyes looked for peace in everything. She heard how Del wanted peace even during their stupid spats. She was looking for calm.
Angie thought that calm was a blissful state of mind. She didn’t know what calm was any more than Del did. She was always going a fast pace in New York. She liked it, but being in the country, even it was Pennsylvania, was relaxing. She had found a calm she had never known in the SUV ride out of New York. She couldn’t believe how over the last year, in all the upheaval of her life, the continuance armed guards from various factions of the Alphabets, how a quiet moment of peace actually meant something to her.
She could relate on that factor with Del. There was also something dark behind those caramel colored eyes that Angie couldn’t understand. A darkness that Del kept at bay and she hoped that would never have to see, like a chained beast waiting for you to get too close so it could strike. She could only wonder what would happen if that beast was unleashed and she wasn’t sure that she really wanted to know that much either.
For some reason, Angie wanted to help her find her calm. She found that even though she wanted to rebel against Del’s orders, she realized that they were for her protection and that she should obey them. It wasn’t the rules that she was rebelling against, but more just the fact that Del was there and the tone that she used to tell her what to do. But, now, even that had changed.
They were only a few days out of the City and Del had, dare she say it, relaxed. The only time she saw Del tense completely was when she was caught off guard, like early on the porch or in her dreams. Angie didn’t know a lot of Russian, but she knew enough to know it when she heard it. She didn’t know what happened in Del’s past, but it has something to do with Russia or one of its former states turned countries. She figured as soon as she was allowed to check the computer she would translate the phrase that Del kept muttering in her sleep. She knew that she couldn’t ask Cole, because he would never betray Del’s trust. No, she would wait and she would remember ever word until she could translate it herself. Then, she would find a way to stop Del’s nightmares. It would be the friendly thing to do and it would be a way that she could repay her for being her guardian and protector.
Angie smiled at Del over her coffee cup. Del just arched an eyebrow before getting up and returning her mug to the sink, filling it with water again. She felt Del leave the house.
“Yes, I will figure out your secrets, Delia Montgomery. I will find your demons. And, I will fight them, because it is what I do. You kill your demons. I lock them away. Maybe, we are more alike than we care to admit. We are demon hunters, but who fights your personal demons, Del?”
Chapter 7
Del was in the barn with Cole working on the car. She was sitting down beside him, while he was underneath it barking out orders for tools or parts. She smiled. She knew that he was happy here. She could be happy here with him. They had nothing left of their old lives but each other. Angie was her last mission and one that she meant to keep alive.
“You called in, yet?” he asked bringing her back to the here and now.
“Nope.”
“You plan on doing that soon?”
“I guess I should.”
“They haven’t triangulated you yet, have they?”
“How could they? They don’t know this number. And, besides, I am not that stupid. I left all identifying devices in that rat hole apartment when we fled. They have no way of tracking me. Once I call in, they will. I’ll need to go to town and get a new card. I’ll call and then destroy it. If they decide to follow it, they’ll only find a broken SIM card. That way I can keep them away from you. I don’t want to bring you any further in to this then I already have,” Del told him.
“That might be difficult. They will know my signature on your papers. They will know that I helped you. I am sure that I am on some watch list. I sure that they know we survived together. They have probably already moved a satellite to look down on the farm. I’ve already taken care of your SUV. They won’t be able to track you by that or find it. It has…disappeared.”
“But, what about you?”
“What about me? They aren’t going to come after me. They are looking for you and Angie. If they do come here, they will only find out that you stayed her long enough to get gear and move on. I have no idea where you are going. You might have mentioned Chicago or wasn’t it Charlotte? That’ll keep them guessing. Besides it will be fun to play with them, again,” Cole stated with a mischievous grin as he pushed himself out from under the car. “She’s ready for you. You wanna take her to town?”
“Not yet, maybe later. I need to go talk to Angie. I hope that she is ready to move. Once I know that she is ready, then I’ll call in. I give them an approximate location. That should be enough for them. They gave her to me to keep alive. I can’t trust them and they know that. As long as I call in now and again, we should be good. Right?” Del asked him.
“I have no idea,” Cole told her.
“I thought as much. I guess I should let them know that she is still alive and well. They picked me for this assignment. They should have known what type of detail she was going to get.”
“They should have but that doesn’t mean that the suits aren’t freaking out right now because they don’t know exactly where she is and that she is still breathing. They might think that you have abducted her because you’re working for the cartels. Who knows what those damn bureaucrats think? I sure as hell don’t. Never did and never will. That is why I quit working for them. Never understood their mentality, it never made sense. You want to train me to kill. You unleash me in Hell holes all over the world to take care of ‘problems,’ but then when I begi
n to question why other ‘problems’ aren’t being dealt with, I am told to learn my place. I did. I left.”
“I know how you feel.”
“Your shoulder still bothering you?” he asked as she shrugged it like she was stretching it.
“Not as much, it is still a bitch in the cold though,” Del answered.
“I am sure.”
“Cole, why are you so worried about me? Why now? Why not after…?”
“Girl, if you even dare finish that sentence, I’ll call the Alphabets for you. I’ll tell them exactly where you are. Don’t doubt me on that. You know that I’ll do it.”
“I do.”
“Then why the Hell would you ask me that question?”
“I…”
“Don’t answer that, Lieutenant. It was rhetorical. You were my commanding officer. You saved my butt more time than I care to admit. You did your job well and kept your men alive. When we found out what happened with you in Kiev, I demanded to be at your side. I wasn’t going to let you go through that alone.”
“I …”
“Don’t remember any of it. They kept you in a coma for a while because of the swelling. I flew with you back to Ramstein and then back to the States. I came to the hospital one day to check on you. They told me that you were awake and yelling in Russian. I knew then, that you didn’t remember. I knew that you’d be pissed that I brought you home. I made sure that you were going to make a full recovery and I left. I had been giving new orders. I flew out that afternoon. I never had time to explain anything to you, Girlie.”
“Why didn’t you ever tell me?”
“When was I going to do that? You pushed yourself through therapy and were back in the field before I knew it. You kept moving bases when they told you to wait. I knew what you were doing, but I didn’t know how you would react to me.”
“Sarge…”
“You’re like a daughter to me, Girlie. Why do you think that I would let you come here with her, no questions asked? You called. I started working my magic. I’ll help you as much as I can, Lieutenant. You should know that by now. We all will. You brought us all home. No matter where, or how deep we were, you brought us all home, even if you had to come get us. Don’t think that we don’t remember the shit in Colombia. It went bad fast, but you came out of nowhere and brought us home. We’ll help you. You just have to ask.”
“I already did.”
“I know that, but I am talking about in the future. You don’t have to wait to come back and visit. I am not really hiding, but then again, I not really broadcasting where I am either. It’ll be okay.”
“I hope so.”
“Don’t hope, Del. You have to know. You need to believe that this is going to work or you aren’t just putting your life in danger protecting her. You will be endangering hers, too.”
“I know that, Sarge.”
“Then, wake the fuck up and realize that you don’t have to do this alone. I know that you don’t want to stay here, right now. I understand it. I know that you don’t want to deal with the suits, either. And, given the situation that makes perfect sense. But, you still have to deal with your own demons and protect that girl. She is your responsibility, now. You can’t walk away from it and you know it. You’ve already gotten yourself in too deep with her.”
“What the Hell are you talking about?”
“Come on, Lieutenant. I’ve seen the way you look at her. I’ve seen the way she looks at you. You are good for each other. You complement each other…well. That might help you while you hiding out in plain sight. Use that to your advantage. You’ll be amazed at how quickly things will become easier for you both. Trust me on that one,” Cole told, sliding back under the car.
“What the fuck are you talking about?”
“Darling, if you can’t see that woman has eyes for you, then you’re blind.”
“Are you fucking kidding me?”
“Nope, she likes you, more than you know. And, there is nothing wrong with that. It will make things easier as you move on. I know that you deceived her to get her this far. Tell her why. I am sure that she’ll understand. Besides, she likes you. You are a puzzle that she wants to solve. You know you could be nicer to some people; you might be surprised what happens when you do. I am just saying. Now, get. I got to finish these repairs. I’ll have her ready for you in the morning,” he told her and then added, “ And, don’t forget to sleep tonight.”
“What you spouting off about now, Old Man?”
“Don’t think that I don’t know about your late night patrols of my farm. I promise you that you’ll know if someone comes on my land without being invited. I have enough fun out there to light up a small country. I think the suits know it, too, and that is why they have left me alone.”
“You’re crazy, Cole, plum crazy.”
“That may be true, Girlie, but it has kept me alive more than once.”
Del laughed. She knew that he was right. She did need to sleep more and trust his “alarm” systems. She knew that they were safer there than the gold was at Fort Knox. Cole didn’t play when it came to protection. According to him, there was never enough.
She decided that it was time to go make dinner. She made her way back to the house. She rooted around in the kitchen and found some chicken. She sat in the sink to thaw. She knew that Cole didn’t expect her to cook, but it was the least that she could do since he was taking care of them and giving them a roof over their heads.
She made some coffee and poured herself a cup. She took the mug with her as she went back outside to sit on the porch. It was early fall and the weather was perfect for sitting outside. She missed being able just relax and feel…nothing. It was a glorious thing. She couldn’t wait until she could feel that again. She sighed and took another drink of her coffee. Her mind never stopped. It couldn’t. She was always planning for something, anything…the what if’s. It was why she was so damn good at her job and she knew it. Sometimes she wished that she could turn it off. She took another sip and then just held the coffee cup under her noise smelling the rich aroma. She let it permeate into her senses. And, then Angie popped into her mind.
“Damn it, Old Man, we don’t have time for this,” she told no one.
She finished her coffee and went back inside the house. She found Angie sitting in the living room with her new identity, studying it and becoming Emily. She saw the cup of coffee in her hands and realized that she must have smelt the fresh batch and got some.
“I’m going to town.”
“Need company?” Angie asked her.
“Not really. I have to go make a phone call. I’ll be back after a while. Don’t go outside. And, if stuff starts exploding, get in the hidden cellar below the house. The door is hidden in the back of the closet there,” Del told her pointing. “All you have to do is open one then the other. Lock the inner door behind yourself. I’ll get to you another way if I have to. Nothing should happen, but know that it is there if need it. Cole is outside working on our car. Need anything?”
Angie looked at her blankly. She couldn’t believe how quickly Del could flip from caring to the hard-nosed bitch she met in New York. She met the dangerous dark chocolate brown eyes with her own and held them in a gaze. She could tell that Del didn’t like it, but she didn’t stop.
“No.”
“Alright, well, we’ll be having chicken for dinner. I’ll make something when I get back. I might stop by the grocery while I am out. I’ll see about getting you a bottle of wine worthy of you pallet. I am not promising anything. Just so you know,” Del told her.
“Duly noted, Del. Be careful. And, I’ll be here waiting on you when you get back.”
Del just nodded as she walked back into the kitchen. She grabbed a set of keys off the hook and walked to an old CJ-7 Jeep. She started it up and was driving away before Cole knew what was going on. He saw her driving off as he came out of the barn and walked to house.
He made his way into the kitchen and was thankful for Del mak
ing new coffee. He didn’t know who taught her how to make it but hers was always the best brewed no matter the price or type. She knew how to make one helluva cup of coffee. He downed it quickly, rinsed his cup and then his hands. He shook his head at the chicken in the sink. He knew that she was already preparing dinner in her mind, happy that it was something they didn’t have to catch and clean before they cooked it. He shook his head and started to make his way to his shower. He stunk and he wanted to be showered before Del made it back from town.
“Cole?”
“Yeah, Emily?” he asked, using her “new” name.
“What does ‘Nyet, nyet, pozhaluysta, nyet ... prosti menya ... Ya dolzhen byl ... prosti menya’ mean? I keep hearing Del say it in her sleep, when she does sleep. I know it is Russian, but I can’t find a translation of it. Can you tell me what it means?”
Cole stood there, wishing he hadn’t given up drinking. He could use a good whiskey now. He stared at the woman. She knew more than she thought, but still not enough to understand. He shook his head. He shouldn’t be the one who told Angie the truth, especially about Kiev.
“Nope, sorry, I don’t speak any of the Slavic languages,” he lied. “Why don’t you ask Del? I know that she did a stint in the Ukraine, years ago, after the Fall of Communist Russia. That woman took to languages like a fish to water. She can get by in most countries ‘cause of it.”
“I already tried asking her.”
“Ah,” he stated, “Well, I’m going to get the shower. Sorry, I couldn’t help you. You’ll figure it out though. I hear you are a really smart girl.”
He walked off, knowing he just dodged one bullet. He knew that Del might shoot him herself when she got home if she found out that he spoke anything about Kiev to her. But, there was no way that Del could be objective with Angie until she let Angie come to terms with who her protector really was. He knew that Angie thought she had an idea, but she really didn’t know a damn thing about the dark haired woman that whisked her away from her life as she knew it.
