The Good Soldier

by L. T. Ryan

  "Jack," she said.

  "Surprise," Bear said. "He did it for the surprise factor."

  "Yeah, well, it worked," she said. "I sure as hell was surprised. Just like he's going to be when I mail the bill to him."

  Bear laughed and shook his head. "Not you, Jess. If those feds had been outside your house, the crash would have surprised them. That moment of distraction would have been the difference between us living and dying." He rolled his window down a crack. Wind rushed through the car, the cold air stinging upon impact. "Yeah, we're in this big car, but those guys are trained. One of us would have been hit."

  I looked up at the mirror again. A look of knowing washed across Jessie's face. Her eyes teared up. I could tell that the full gravity of the situation had finally hit her and it likely crushed against her chest.

  "That was them," she said. "Parked on the side of the street." She looked into the mirror.

  I nodded. "Sorry, Jess. We're going to get you someplace safe."

  "Safe? How do you know they're not following you now? How-" she pressed her hands into her face and rubbed to the side. "How did they know about me? That was them. The call. Right? How did they know you were at my house?"

  "The same reason they knew the car was there." I pulled over on the road's shoulder and stopped the car. Got out and opened her door. "Look at me, Jess. We think…they had a way to track the car. It's the only thing that makes sense."

  "No, no it doesn't make sense. They might know the car, but they called for you. Called for you on my phone." By this time she was half out of the car and slamming her fists into my chest.

  "There are files on me," I said. "You know what I do and who I am. Well, they do too. They have to know. It's their job to know. When they saw where the car went all they had to do was cross check that against anyone in my file and they found you. That's all. It'll stop there. I promise."

  She looked at me with tears in her eyes and shook her head. Her arms lifted over her shoulders and then fell onto me, wrapping around my neck and squeezing tight. A mixture of her tears and hot breath washed over the side of my face. A knot formed in my stomach. I fought back feelings that I hadn't allowed myself to feel in a long time.

  I held her tight, running a hand through her hair until she stopped shaking. I let go, turned and got back in the car. The back door slammed and I checked the rear-view mirror to make sure she had gotten back in. She had.

  "I'm calling Abbot." I pulled out my cell phone, dialed the number and put the Tahoe in gear. The empty road behind me was a green light to jump back on the interstate. I pressed the gas and got the speed up to sixty. Abbot answered as I merged back into the travel lanes.

  "Hello?"

  "It's Jack."

  He said nothing at first. I heard the sound of his fingers or an object banging on a hard surface. I pictured him sitting in his home office, behind his dark cherry wood antique desk. "What happened up there, Jack? You didn't kill Delaney, did you?"

  "What do you think?" I didn't kill him, but I couldn't help thinking that, in some way, I was responsible for his death. If I'd have just kept my damn mouth shut in Baghdad, none of this would be happening. I looked up into the rear-view mirror and caught Jessie's eye. She smiled, and I looked away.

  "I don't think you did, but, well, that's what's being reported on-"

  "I know," I interrupted. "I saw the report. It's BS, Abbot. We were ambushed. Delaney was hit in the back of the head. Bear took a slug to the shoulder. I tracked them down through the woods, but they had a car parked at the edge. They took off, and then returned to wait for us outside the parking lot. Managed to get by and fled on the interstate." I paused, thought about whether or not I should tell him about Jessie. I didn't. "The report came on TV. Then someone called for me, not on my number, and next thing I know these two spooks showed up outside at-" I avoided mentioning any names. "Outside the place we stopped to patch Bear up."

  There was a pause on the other end. I assumed he was filtering the brief conversation, trying to decide what to believe, who to believe, me or the news. I turned my head and looked at Bear, then shifted my eyes to the rear-view mirror to check on Jess. She sat just out of view, resting against the door. I returned my attention to the road. The stretch of interstate heading east toward Richmond, Virginia was empty.

  "OK, Jack," Abbot said. "Come to North Carolina. I need you close."

  "I'm not returning to Lejeune. If you think that then you can kiss my-"

  "Don't come to the base, Jack, for Christ's sake. You think I'm an idiot?" He paused. Was he looking for an answer? Before I could respond, he continued. "Pick a place, but don't tell me where. Some place close enough to Jacksonville that you can be there in a few hours, but far enough away you won't be spotted accidentally." It sounded like he shifted the phone in his hands and changed ears, the phone rubbing against his face with a sound like static as he did so. "Definitely stay far enough away that you won't be made for a Marine."

  "You've seen my hair, Abbot. Nobody is going to mistake me for a Marine." I laughed.

  He didn't. "This is no time for jokes, son. You two are in serious trouble."

  I said nothing. My eyes focused as far out as they could, settling someplace between the road, the mountains and the black darkness of the night sky.

  "Some place quiet, Jack. I'm serious." He cleared his throat. "And don't go making a commotion when you get there. Call me in the morning, Jack. First thing."

  The line went dead. I dropped the phone in the center console. He wanted us to go someplace quiet. Plenty of places in North Carolina fit that description. He had a point. I'd want to be close enough that I could return to base if necessary. And definitely far enough away that nobody would recognize my face. He didn't say what I knew he was thinking. Stay out of trouble. Whatever you do, stay out of trouble. Don't give the police, or anyone else for that matter, a reason to pick us up. That would be a death sentence wrapped up like a Christmas present under the tree. And the sticker affixed to the wrapping paper would read Jack Noble.

  Bear broke the silence a few minutes later. "What'd he say?"

  "He said we're in serious trouble."

  Jessie leaned forward. "I could have told you that."

  Bear started laughing, wincing between outbursts. Jessie joined in, and I did too.

  The laughing trailed off. Jessie spoke up. "You think they'll put some kind of broadcast out about my car?"

  I looked at Bear who was already shaking his head at me. "They just might."

  Chapter 12

  Four hours later I took a random exit off I-95 just outside of Rocky Mt., North Carolina. That put us about two hours away from Lejeune. Close enough and far enough away all wrapped in one. Bear and Jessie slept. Each had had a rough night of their own. The silence didn't bother me. I welcomed it. It was much better than the uncomfortable silence between me and Jessie when she was awake.

  The exit looped in a circle before leading us to a blinking red stoplight. To the left, the road crossed over the interstate toward town. To the right I saw a gas station and not much else. I turned left. The empty road was in stark contrast to the tall neon signs, each shouting, "Stop here for gas, food, coffee and lodging!" Some places had all in one. Nothing looked promising in this section of town, though.

  I recalled the sign just before the blinking red light. Gas .5 miles. Lodging 1.5 miles. I made a U-turn in the middle of the road. I panicked for a second. Whipping around like that, crossing the median, could be enough for a cop to pull me over and run my ID. How would that look? Big bad Jack Noble taken down by a country cop for making an illegal U-turn. I shook my head and grinned. The rear-view mirror revealed no such encounter would take place tonight, at least not yet.

  We rolled across the interstate overpass, past the open-all-night 24-hour gas station. The motel appeared suddenly after a curve in the road. The neon sign placed near the parking lot entrance blinked on and off. When switched on, it read "vacancy," which was enough to convince
me to pull into the parking lot.

  I parked the Tahoe by the front office then opened the door and hopped out of the vehicle and made my way around the front. I heard another car door open and close. Jessie made her way to the lobby entrance and waited for me.

  "You don't need to come in," I said.

  She shrugged. "Tired of sitting."

  "It's best you're not seen with me."

  "Whatever, I'm going in."

  I opened the door and gestured her through first. A middle aged man with a shaved, pointed head sat behind the desk. He propped his chin upon his open palm, fingers wrapping back along his jawline to his ear. He opened his eyes and blinked repeatedly at the chiming of the string of bells hanging from the door, shaking and clattering together as we walked into the small dimly lit lobby. It smelled like mildew and pine tree car air fresheners. The odor lingered in the back of my throat.

  The desk clerk sat up and tugged at the shirt hugging his barreled chest, straightening it out. "How can I help y'all?"

  "Need a room for a couple nights," I said.

  "Two rooms," Jessie said.

  "No," I leaned against the counter and turned my head to her, leaning in so we were eye to eye. "One room." I emphasized each word equally.

  "Excuse me," she said, poking a finger in my chest. "If you think I'm about to spend the night in the same room as you and your partner-"

  I placed my hand on her shoulder. "Jess, think about this for a minute." Out of the corner of my eye I could see that the desk clerk had placed an arm on the counter and was leaning over it, a smile on his face. "We'll talk outside." I stood and turned toward the clerk. "One room. Two beds. Three nights."

  The clerk stood, sniffed and wiped his nose with his sleeve. "That'll be two hundred fifty."

  I pulled a wad of cash from my wallet and dropped it on the counter.

  "We don't take cash," he said.

  I pulled out another fifty, dropped it next to the pile of cash.

  "Ok, room 114, 'round back." He slid two keys across the counter.

  We turned and left the lobby. The moment the door closed behind us, Jessie ripped into me.

  "What the hell was that, Jack?" She jockeyed for position in front of me, walking backwards and poking me in the chest. "I don't know what you are thinking, but if you think, for one moment, that you and I are going to-"

  "I don't think any of that," I said. "Damn, what the hell do you think is going on here? You are riding with two fugitives. We got CIA, MPs, and probably the damn NSA on us. You want to be in a room by yourself when those guys show up? Do you?" I stepped back and turned sideways, extending my arm toward the lobby door. "Well then march right in there and get your own damn room."

  She opened her mouth to speak, but said nothing. She threw her arms in the air, turned and got back in the Tahoe.

  I smiled and then climbed back inside and turned the key in the ignition.

  "Just like old times," Bear said.

  "Shut up," Jess and I said at the same time.

  I shifted into drive and pulled around the back of the building, parking in a spot a few rooms down from ours. I wanted to leave as much visibility through the front windows as I could. I didn't like the fact that we were at the back of the building. The only thing it had going for it was that we weren't in the front, and were shielded from the road. But the positive fed right into the negative. We could easily be ambushed.

  I put the key into the door and turned the knob. Felt along the wall to the left until I found a light switch. A dim, yellowish overhead light flickered on and off for a few seconds before staying on and flooding the room. The room was barely larger than the lobby and had the same moldy, pine tree infused smell.

  Bear pushed in from behind me. "Five star all the way, Jack."

  I shrugged.

  "Seriously, man. Weren't there better options in town?"

  "Yeah." There were. But there were also more people in town. More cops in town. More chances of being spotted in town. "We're national celebrities right now, Bear. Further we are from town the better."

  "I suppose," he said, moving to claim a bed for himself.

  "You two bunking together?" Jessie asked.

  I spun on my heel, ready to rip into her for the remark. She stood inches from me, looking up and smiling. The yellow light above us reflected off her dark brown eyes. Her olive complexion absorbed the light and radiated it outward.

  "What?" she said. "No witty come backs?"

  I forced a smile. I felt a burning inside that had disappeared a long time ago. I wanted to be with her again. Lean in and kiss her. Make love to her. Talk all night afterward.

  "Ja-ack," she said, singing my name. "Snap out of it." Her hand slapped across my face lightly.

  I smiled without having to force it and took a step back. "I'm going toward town. Saw a store that was open on the way in. Need to grab a few things." I moved to the door, opened it and stopped. "Keys to the Tahoe are on the nightstand if you need them."

  "You're not taking it?" Bear asked.

  "No," I said. "I need to take a walk."

  * * *

  The wind picked up during my walk and the cold night air bit at my face. It stung. It felt good. The country air and peaceful surroundings gave way to the sound of vehicles traveling on I-95. Families on vacation for spring break, business people driving overnight for their morning meetings, and truckers making the long haul from Florida to New York then back again. I filtered the sound of the traffic in my mind and allowed my brain to distort it. It reverberated through the air like waves at the beach. That calm feeling washed over me again. I laughed at myself for being able to relax with everything that had occurred in the last few days and the probable consequences hanging over me.

  I followed the winding road through a stretch of woods. A tall bright signpost appeared front and center as I stepped past the wooded stretch. Two cars were parked next to gas pumps. A middle-aged man walked a golden retriever in the patch of grass between the gas station's parking lot and a closed diner.

  I crossed the street and stopped in front of the store entrance to think for a minute, using the time to acclimate myself to the store's surroundings.

  The man with the golden retriever returned to his mini-van and opened the back door. The dog jumped in the back seat, cuddling up to a little girl. The man nodded at me and jogged to the driver's side of the car. A minute later the car turned left out of the parking lot and turned right onto the interstate on-ramp, disappearing from site.

  I opened the door to the store, a single chime greeting me as I walked through the open doorway.

  "Hello," a cheerful young woman said from behind her register. She was dressed in black pants, a white button up shirt, and wore a red and white checkered vest. A red tag had the name Michelle printed on it in white lettering with a black outline. She wore her dark hair in a ponytail and wore too much make-up, perhaps to cover the ever present dark circles under her eyes and the premature lines on her face from a lifetime of working odd shifts at places like this. Or maybe places even worse.

  I nodded and looked away.

  "Looking for anything specific?"

  "No. I'll just be a few minutes."

  She put her hands on the counter, slumped over and frowned, all the while nodding her head. "Okies. I'll be here when you're done."

  She must live for moments when someone would come into the store in the middle of the night and carry on a conversation with her.

  I grabbed a hand basket and wove my way up and down the aisles, grabbing various items as I went. I had no idea what I wanted. Just needed to pass the time and clear my head. Jessie had thrown me for a loop at the motel. Now wasn't the time for me to think about relationships and life after the military. And not just because of the current predicament I found myself in. It went beyond that. The life I led, and the life I foresaw myself leading for some time to come, left no room for love and relationships. Those things were liabilities in my world, not assets.
>
  The basket grew heavy. I looked down and saw I had filled it to the top. That was my cue that I'd grabbed enough off the stocked shelves. I walked to the counter and placed the basket on it.

  "Anything else?"

  I looked around at the display to the side and shook my head. "No, this'll be all."

  She babbled on, but her words didn't register in my head. I stared out the window at a group of four men cutting through the parking lot to the store. A couple of them yelled at an elderly man filling his car with gas. The old man cut it short, hung the nozzle up at the pump and got in his car, driving off in a hurry. The men laughed and slapped hands and pointed at the store.

  "-and so I'm only doing this until I have enough saved to go back to college and then I'll-"

  "You know those men?" I gestured with my head toward the window.

  Michelle bit her lip and nodded.

  "Troublemakers?"

  "One of them's my ex," she said. "And he's not a nice guy. Ex-con."

  "What'd he do?"

  She looked up from her scanner and the item in her hand. Her eyes watered over. "Tried to kill me." She wiped her eyes with her sleeve. "You should go. Just take the stuff and go. Those guys are bad news, especially if they've been drinking."

  "Keep ringing this stuff up. Don't say anything to them. Don't acknowledge them. Got it?"

  She said nothing.

  The electronic chime rang when one of the men pulled the front door open. They stepped through one at a time and cut to the left, behind me, laughing as they walked down the aisle. I got a good glimpse at them as they came through. All dressed the same, old jeans, black Doc Martin combat boots, and heavy flannel shirts worn as jackets. Two had long hair, one had a shaved head, and the fourth kept his cut close on the side and spiked four inches on top. Only the bald man came close to matching me in size, but that didn't mean I'd underestimate any of them. You never knew what a man was capable of until the moment of impact.

  "This your new boyfriend, Michelle?"

  She looked at me and said nothing then glanced down at the empty basket on the counter.