Witness Protection: Moving Target

by Jet MacLeod

  “I am fine, Angie. It is just some bruises. They’ll heal.”

  “She needs to be seen,” Angie insisted.

  “I like her,” Sanchez added. “She’s feisty. And, looks like she was totally worth the trouble.”

  “Sanchez, shut up,” Del told him.

  “Yes, ma’am.”

  “Did you get hit?” Cole asked with all seriousness.

  The entire group sobered quickly. They knew that voice when they heard it. Cole wasn’t one to play.

  “I did.”

  “Where?” he asked.

  “Does it really matter?” Del asked him.

  “Delia Montgomery! Tell him what happened in that room or so help me,” Angie started. “Just tell him.”

  Cole looked at her and then back at Del. He saw the silent argument between them, and he waited. He knew that Del would lose and she would finally tell him what happened during those crucial moments of radio silence. Angie held her own. She wasn’t going to back down and Del finally relented.

  “Fine, I got shot twice. Once to the heart and the other to my lung. It hurt. I’m bruised but the armor took it. I am fine,” Del admitted.

  “Just bruising?”

  “Yes, just bruising. There is no shortness of breath. I don’t feel any odd rhythm in my heart. I am fine. Nothing that some rest and relaxation can’t deal with. I’ll be fine,” Del stated.

  “Cole...” Angie started.

  “Why don’t you let me look at them?”

  “Look at what?” Del asked.

  “Let me see the bruises,” Cole told her.

  “I am fine.”

  “Lieutenant, how many times did you make us get checked out no matter how small the wound seemed? This is the same thing. Just let Cole look at it,” Sanchez replied.

  “Fine, but we do this my way.”

  “As you wish, LT. I wouldn’t want to upset your delicate nature. Shall we do this in my cabin or yours?” Cole asked her.

  “Mine,” Del stated through clinched teeth.

  She didn’t wait for him to acknowledge her statement. She headed for the cabin that she knew that she and Angie would be sharing. She went inside and dropped her gear beside a doorway to a bedroom. She then turned back around, walked to the couch and sat down in front of the fire place. She looked up as she saw Angie and Cole come in after her.

  “Where’s Sanchez?”

  “He is stowing our gear in our cabin.”

  “How many?” she asked him.

  “Does it matter?” he replied.

  “How many, Sergeant?” she asked more formally.

  “Twelve that we know of,” he answered.

  “That makes twenty-five, confirmed, then.”

  “Twenty-five?”

  “Thirteen for me,” she said quietly.

  “Take off your shirt,” he ordered.

  “Cole, I didn’t want to do it.”

  “I know that, Del. Take off your shirt. I can’t assess the damaged through it,” he told her lightly.

  “I am sorry.”

  “For what?” he asked her, still waiting on her to take off the shirt.

  “I didn’t want to do it. It was like I was on autopilot. I couldn’t stop once I started.”

  “I know, Del. I trained you. It is second nature for you. There wasn’t anything else for you to do. You know that right? You did what you had to do to get Angie out of there in one piece,” he explained.

  “I know, but...”

  “Just take the damn shirt off.”

  “I...she...he made me do it,” Del told him.

  “Angie, hun, will you go in another room?” Cole bid her.

  She nodded, realizing that the aftermath of what Del had done was starting to affect her. She knew that Del was about to breakdown and Cole was the only one who could calm her fears now. Angie saw their dynamic and was grateful for it now, after everything. She just hoped that Del would be able to deal with it. She quietly got up and walked across the cabin to the bedroom, went inside and closed the door. She sat on the bed and stared at the door, hoping that Del would be the one to open it.

  “Del, darling?”

  “Why did he make me do it?” she asked him.

  “Because he was an idiot.”

  “I know that, but he didn’t have to...he made me kill him, Cole. I gave him an out. It was into custody, but it was an out. Why didn’t he just take it? Why did he make me kill him?”

  “Rudakov wasn’t known for his long term thinking, Del. He was a short term thinker. He planned out short missions. He didn’t think that you would make that far. He really didn’t. He thought that he had conceived of the perfect plan that you couldn’t escape. He didn’t understand your training or skill set. He only saw it as a burden and he played it to that effect. Gregor is cleaning up the mess. I am sure that you will get some sort of civilian medal for heroics or some shit. Nothing is going to come back to you though. Gregor is making sure of that. It will be listed as a terrorist cell take down. Their names won’t be released. All of Rudakov’s hard work will have meant nothing in the end but his own death and being systematically erased from all records. He won’t have existed past today.”

  “I know that,” Del stated.

  “Then, what is the problem?” Cole asked her and pointed at the shirt.

  She sighed, deeply. Her fingers found their way to the bottom of the black tank and she slowly pulled it over her head. She didn’t care that she still hadn’t put on a bra. Cole had seen her in worse or with less. She trusted him. She knew him.

  His eyes went wide when he saw the dark purple of the bruising on her chest. The purple and red splayed across her sternum and her upper right pec. She gave him a look as he cocked an eyebrow at her in disbelief.

  “This is fine?”

  “I am fine.”

  “I can see that,” he stated.

  He leaned forward to assess the damage better. When he reached out to touch her, she didn’t flinch away. He palpated the areas, but she didn’t wince or grimace like she was in pain.

  “Does it hurt?”

  “Like a motherfucker,” she replied.

  “Does it feel broken?” he inquired.

  “No, it doesn’t.”

  “You’re sure you’re okay?”

  “Cole, I am fine.”

  “I’ve heard that before.”

  “I am fine. It isn’t me that I am worried about though. It is Angie,” she stated.

  “Why?”

  “Because she has finally seen what I am and what I can do. I didn’t want her to see that. I thought it would just be enough for her to know that I was a killer. But, there was so much blood and I didn’t really have a choice. Rudakov didn’t give me many options to get her out of there.”

  “I know that.”

  “How can she even be around me right now?” Del asked him.

  “Why don’t you ask her that?”

  “I can’t.”

  “Why not?”

  “I just can’t.”

  “Did she seem like she was going to run away from you earlier?” Cole asked her.

  “No.”

  “Then, what are you so afraid of with her?”

  “Her,” Del answered simply.

  “She isn’t going to hurt you like Yulia did, Del. She actually cares for you. She isn’t a ruthless, heartless, psychopathic killer and arms dealer. She is a lawyer. Her ruthlessness is limited to the courtroom. I promise you. She doesn’t want to lose you, either,” Cole told her.

  “How do you know that?”

  “She demanded that you have your bruises looked at, Del.”

  Del just stared at him. She hadn’t thought about that. But, then, again, she was a juvenile when it came to relationships. She didn’t know how to act and she didn’t know what to do when someone actually showed concern for her. It had always been a foreign concept to her because of her mother. Angie was different and she knew it. She had seen it. She reacted with her. And, it wasn’t the same
as it had been with Yulia and for that she was grateful. She was scared of Angie because she finally knew and couldn’t hide the fact that she loved her. Everyone could see it, even Cole. She sighed. She knew what to do, now.

  Del knocked on the door to Angie’s door. She didn’t want to just barge in on her. She wasn’t sure what protocol was in the situation. She was a little stunted and she knew it. When she turned around to ask Cole, he was already gone. She was on her own and that was what she needed. She needed to figure out what she was going to say or do when it came to Angie.

  “What did he say?” Angie asked in greeting after she opened the door.

  Del spun back around to face her. Her eyes looked Angie up and down for a moment before she decided that she could actually answer her. She started to answer twice, but stopped herself.

  “He said that I am fine. I’m bruised, but nothing is broken. The bruising will go away in a week’s time or so. He told me to take it easy. They would stay near us until I thought that I was ready to be on my own guarding you, again,” Del told her.

  “And, naturally, you tried to say that it was now, right?”

  “Yes, but he talked me out of it. I don’t want them bogged down here. I don’t think that I need them here, but it will be nice to have a day off after today.”

  “Delia Montgomery!”

  “What?”

  “You will take more than a day off. You need to rest. I know that I can’t order you, but you need it. I wish you would take more than that, but I know that you won’t listen to me about this,” Angie stated and pulled her into the bedroom.

  “I am fine.”

  “Who are you trying to convince of that? Yourself or me? Cause, I really want to know.”

  “I don’t need to convince myself. I know that I am okay. I’ve been through worse.”

  “I know that, Del. You told me what Yulia did to you. I know you’ve been through worse, but you aren’t in that line of work anymore. You are my guard, right? You are supposed to protect me. There isn’t anything that you need to prove. I know that you are capable. I know that you are willing, but God willing, you aren’t going to die on me. Do you hear me? You aren’t allowed to sacrifice yourself for me,” Angie ordered.

  “I wasn’t planning on it.”

  “Then what the hell was that in the warehouse?”

  “A miscalculation,” Del answered honestly.

  “A miscalculation? Del, you were shot. Twice! How is that a fucking miscalculation?”

  “Yes, I screwed up. I admit that. What else do you want me to say?” Del asked starting to feel her anger building.

  “I want you to admit that you need more time off.”

  “I can’t do that. You know that. I can’t leave you alone,” Del explained.

  “I am not asking you to leave me alone, Del. I am asking you to stand down and let Cole and Sanchez do the guarding. No one is making you leave. I don’t want you to leave. I just want you to relax for a little while,” Angie stated.

  “You don’t want me to leave?”

  “No, silly, I don’t.”

  “You want me to stay, but you want them to guard us for a while?”

  “Yes, Del, that is exactly what I want.”

  “Are you sure?” Del asked, her eyebrows furrowing in confusion.

  “Well as much as I like Cole, I don’t think that I want to keep him from his farm too long. He doesn’t seem like the kind of guy that could handle a big city for too long. And, I don’t know Sanchez. I might have to punch him or something. I don’t like guys I have to continually put in their place and he seems like that type. They wouldn’t have to worry about me making it to court because I might be in jail,” Angie told her.

  Del started laughing. It was light and heart-felt. Angie just smiled because she knew that Del got the joke. It was amazing how easily that could make each other laugh now.

  “That I would like to see, Madam Counselor,” Del teased her.

  “Don’t take time off, and you might,” Angie threatened.

  Del’s smile fell. She knew that Angie meant business. She nodded in ascension. Angie pulled her in close. She needed to feel her close and Del didn’t protest.

  “Del…”

  “It’s okay, Angie. It’s over. Rudakov is dead. He can’t hurt you anymore.”

  “I…just…you cannot die, understand?” Angie pleaded.

  “I am not planning on it.”

  “Will you just hold me?”

  “If you want, yes,” Del told her.

  Angie gave her a weak smile. She looked towards the bed and then back at Del. Del hadn’t moved since she had been pulled into the room. Angie moved towards Del and Del has to make herself not move away from her.

  “Do you have anything to sleep in?” Angie asked her.

  “I am sure that I do in the other room,” Del replied.

  Angie just nodded. She motioned for Del to get changed. Angie had already made a survey on her room in the cabin while Del had been with Cole. She found her clothes. Del turned to go to the other room to check for her clothes. Angie reached out and put her hand on Del’s arm to stop her.

  “Wait,” Angie told her.

  “Yeah?”

  “Here,” Angie stated throwing a t-shirt at her.

  “You’re sure?”

  “I just want to go to bed, Del. Please. Just put the shirt on and come hold me.”

  “I need to take a shower,” Del added.

  “Del, get in the bed,” Angie commanded.

  She turned around and headed towards the bed. She sat on the far side of it, away from Angie. She unzipped her body armor skin and let it fall down around her waist. She reached down beside her and grabbed the offered shirt and put it on. She pulled the shirt down covering her bare skin. Once she had the shirt covering her torso, she stood back up to remove the rest of her armored suit and clothes. She quickly took off her boots and tossed them towards the wall. She slowly and delicately removed the pants from the suit and let them fall on the floor. She dropped the armored skin top on them on the floor. She righted the t-shirt and sat back down on the bed. She reached down and ripped the wet socks from her feet, tossing them at the boots.

  “Del?”

  “Yeah?”

  “You sure you’re okay?”

  “I am fine, Angie. I promise. I am just going to be a little stiff. It has been a while since I’ve had that much adrenaline running through my body. I’ll be able to work it out in the morning. Don’t worry about me, Angie. I am fine. Cole has even given me a pass,” she stated.

  “I know that.”

  Del turns on the bed to face Angie. She sees her azure eyes questioning Del’s mindset. Del decided to finally get in the bed. She pulled back the covers with some force and got in the bed. She pulled herself back up against the headboard and waited of Angie to join her in the bed. She didn’t have to wait long.

  When Angie gets in the bed, Del can see that she has changed into a t-shirt and a pair of boxers. She surmises that Angie must have done this while she was slowly stripping out of her gear and putting the offered t-shirt on herself. She doesn’t question Angie’s choice in clothing as she curls up with Del in the bed. Once Angie gets close enough to Del, she pulls her down and more closely to her body. As they settle down in the bed, Angie turns completely into Del’s body.

  “Thank you,” she whispered.

  “For what?”

  “Coming to get me.”

  “You don’t have to thank me for that, Angie. I was just doing my job. I promised to make sure that you get back to court on time and very much alive and well. I still plan on doing that. I wasn’t going to let Rudakov or Ivan keep me from that goal. I wasn’t going to let anything happen to you. I am sorry that I let Ivan take you in the first place,” Del told her.

  “That isn’t your fault, Delia.”

  “Isn’t it?”

  “No, you couldn’t have predicted that Rudakov would send him after you. You were using information tha
t they were giving you. You were worried about what the cartels were planning and who they might be sending after me. You couldn’t have planned for your past to come back and affect me. There is no way anyone could have expected that to happen,” Angie replied.

  “They should have considering what I used to do for a living.”

  “Del, you can’t blame anyone but Rudakov and Ivan themselves.”

  “I still blame myself, Angie. It is my fault. I didn’t protect you in the beginning. I let the situation happen. And, then I had to rescue you,” Del stated.

  “Del, you rescued me. I am safe. We’re safe. We’re okay.”

  “Are we? Are we really? How do you know?” Del asked her.

  “Because you got me out of there. You were shot and survived. We are here, now, together.”

  Del looked down at her. She pulled her as close as humanly possible and put her head on top of Angie’s. She took a deep breath and inhales Angie’s scent. She felt it calming her and she could only hope that she was calming Angie’s fears.

  “Del?”

  “Yeah?”

  “Do you want to talk about the elephant in the room?” Angie asked her.

  “What elephant? Where? And, how the hell did I miss it?”

  Angie chuckled slightly as she buried her head into Del’s neck. She wrapped herself around Del, mindful of her bruises. She nuzzled her neck and melted into Del’s warmth. There was just something about the warmth that Del gave off and Angie needed it. She couldn’t explain it, but the day had been trying for them both. They needed each other to get warm and feel safe.

  “Del, can you be serious about this? Please. I need you to talk to me.”

  “I’ll do my best.”

  “Just don’t deflect things. I need to know what you are feeling. We need to talk about it.”

  “I know that.”

  “So, let’s talk,” Angie stated.

  “What you want me to start with?”

  “How did you find me?”

  “I didn’t. Sanchez did after I contacted Cole. Cole started the investigation. I picked him in Salt Lake and then we headed here. Sanchez came out before we did. We were only hours behind you. We did what we had to do to find you.”

  “I know.”

  “Did they hurt you?”

  “Besides the tight ropes, no, he didn’t. I think that Ivan was afraid to touch me. He was more worried about what Rudakov was going to do. I just tried to keep him off balance and make him realize that Rudakov was just using him as a pawn,” Angie replied.