He thought about it for a moment, and then said, “You called my bluff, Aidan, I’m impressed. I won’t ask you to do anything against your will. We will think of something else. In the meantime, will you keep a vigilant watch at the hospital, and report to Bradshah any suspicious behavior you see, no matter how innocent it might appear?”
“Of course, Mr. President, and thank you, sir.” She made a hasty retreat, with one thing on her mind. Find Vicky and make sure she was all right.
As soon as Aidan closed the door, the president picked up the phone and asked his secretary to connect him with Victoria Montgomery.
*
Vicky was meeting with her Executive Team, when Yvonne tapped lightly on the door and entered. She walked over to Vicky, and whispered in her ear. Vicky immediately excused herself from the meeting, and returned to her office.
“Mr. President, how can I help you?”
“I was wondering if you could pay me a visit? I need to talk to you about something vitally important. And Victoria, I need you not to tell Aidan about this. I’ll explain everything, as soon as you get here. I’ve already sent a car for you, it should be arriving in a few minutes.”
Though she had agreed, he could tell she struggled with it. Sometimes I hate the things I have to do, to protect this country.
Less than ten minutes later, Aidan barged into the conference room without waiting to be announced. All heads turned toward her. The look on her face told Vicky she was scared. I wonder if this has something to do with the President’s call?
“As I was saying, let’s table this discussion for now, and I’ll have Yvonne reschedule. Thank you.” Vicky dismissed her team. Once they were alone, she turned to Aidan with a worried look, and asked, “What’s wrong?”
Aidan looked into her lovers eyes, and hesitated for a split second. Her desire to protect the one thing she loved more than life its self, almost swayed her from the promise she had made to her. Almost. She knew she had to keep that promise. She put her finger to Vicky’s lips, then motioned for her to follow. Walking outside, and across the parking lot, Vicky struggled to keep up with Aidan’s long stride. Aidan finally stopped by the grotto of Mary, Mother of Jesus. The grotto was partially hidden from view by a steep hill, and a lot of shrubbery. Taking a deep breath, she turned to Vicky.
“Trenton told me that Muham escaped custody, this morning.”
“Oh, my God!” Vicky began to tremble, and Aidan wrapped her arms around her, holding her tight. Finally, she calmed down enough to look up at Aidan with questioning eyes.
“Here’s the quick version,” she held Vicky at arm’s length, “He was not working alone, and Homeland thinks there may be a home grown cell, right here in the city. They also think there are operatives working in the hospital. The plan is to take you, and the hospital, hostage.” She could feel Vicky tremble again, and knew this was not easy for her to hear. “They know about us. They have your office bugged, your home too, probably. They may even be watching us now.” She exhaled, and waited for the questions to follow.
Vicky only had one question. “What…, what are they doing about it?”
“They want me to break up with you, so I can disappear into the background, and maybe sniff out Muham. I told them no, not unless you knew about it, first. They don’t believe you should be told, because it needs to look real. But I made a promise to you, and I’m not going to break that promise.”
Vicky looked thoughtfully at her, an idea stirring in her mind. “President Trenton called me earlier. He wants to meet with me, and I’m not to tell you about it. God help me, I’m probably committing some sort of national security infraction, but I will not let the government play with our lives like this.” She was speaking more to herself, and Aidan smiled at her bravery. “Oh, sorry, anyway, I think he’s probably going to ask me to do the same thing. So why don’t you and I show them, just what good actors we are, and take back control of my hospital?”
Aidan couldn’t help but be proud of her determination to put control back into her own hands. “You understand what that will take, right? We can’t be together, can’t touch, or talk, or even smile at each other, for however long this may take. Our lives may depend on it. You have to be mad at me, and I have to start dating other women, and‒‒”
“What? Why do you have to date other women?” She had not considered that possibility, and she didn’t like it one bit.
“In order for them to believe I’ve moved on, they have to actually see me do it. You trust me, don’t you?” Aidan grinned.
Vicky was serious, “It’s not you I’m worried about. I don’t think I could handle seeing another woman’s hands on you, Aidan. Not after waiting fifteen years to do that myself.”
“Baby, I don’t want that either, but I don’t see any other way around it. So, are you ready to do this?”
“Do I have a choice?” Her eyes misted over, and Aidan hurt for her, for them, for the unbelievable situation, they found themselves in.
She stroked her cheek gently, “Let’s stay at the Capital Hotel tonight, and talk for one last time, before we breakup. How does that sound?”
“It’s not talking, I’ll be doing,” she stated confidently.
Aidan laughed, knowing exactly what she meant.
*
“Mr. President, how are you feeling?” Vicky was very polite and professional, as she entered Trenton’s study, followed by Aidan.
Bradshah was sitting next to the President.
“I’m just fine, thank you, and yourself?” The President offered them a chair, realizing now, how foolhardy he had been, to try and come between the two lovers.
Vicky preferred to stand, as she did away with the pleasantries, and got right to the point. “Aidan and I are willing to help, but on our own terms. We will break up, and pretend we hate each other, but we do not want to purposely hurt each other, just because a terrorist may, or may not be in my hospital. And need I remind you that Aidan is still recovering from a gunshot wound, not to mention the fact, she still has huge gaps in her memory from the amnesia she suffered, fighting for our country. No, if we do this, it will be our way, Mr. President.”
The President smiled at Vicky’s tenacity, remembering how she was never intimidated by power, or office. “I had a feeling you two would find a way to stay together, and I applaud your determination.”
“And I will not, under any circumstances, play with the safety of my patients. If I think, for one instant, that they might be in danger, I will pull the plug, and have them all shipped to another hospital.”
He agreed with her, this time. “I will personally send in the troops to assist in the move. The patients must be protected, at all cost.” He assured her.
“And,” she wasn’t done yet, “I think key personnel, like the board and security, should be made aware of the threat.”
“Ordinarily, I would agree with you, Victoria, but we can’t risk one of them being part of the cell.”
She slumped down on the couch, Oh my God, I never thought of that. It was difficult for her to accept that any of her employees could be helping a terrorist. Not her employees.
“No one, but you and Aidan, can be trusted with this information, you understand?”
“I understand,” she replied reluctantly, taking Aidan’s hand in hers.
Then it was Aidan’s turn, “Sir, she is not going in there, by herself. I need a way to be able to contact her, in an emergency. Give us a burn phone, or a throwaway phone, or whatever you call them, these days. We need to have that lifeline.”
He wasn’t sure, so he looked at Bradshah, who nodded his head affirmatively, “Doable. What else?” The President asked.
Vicky spoke up, “I want your guarantee that Aidan’s reputation will be restored, and her medal application be re-instated. There shouldn’t be any blemishes on her record, because of this.”
Aidan shook her head, though she loved Vicky for it, those things just didn’t matter to her. But Vicky was adama
nt about it.
“She’s already got the medals, Victoria, it’s just a matter of the ceremony now.”
Confused, she asked, “Medals? There’s another one?”
“Well, this wasn’t the way I wanted to tell you, Aidan, but yes, Victoria, I’ve put her up for the Presidential Medal of Freedom, for stopping Muham’s assassination attempt on me.”
“Oh wow!” Her pride bubbled to the surface, pushing her hard edge to the side. She squeezed Aidan’s arm, “Thank you, Mr. President.”
Aidan added, “Yes, thank you, sir, but it’s not necessary. I hope you won’t take offense at this, sir, but I was trying to save Vicky, as much as I was you.”
He smiled at her, “Oh, I have no doubt about that, Aidan. Regardless, you risked your life to stop an attack, meant for me. I’ve already talked with Washington. It’s a done deal.”
***
Vicky and Aidan barely made it through the door of their hotel suite, before they began tearing each other’s clothes off, frantically kissing as they went. Afraid to waste one minute talking, Aidan threw Vicky on the bed, and climbed on top, still undressing, but now caressing as she went. They both knew it might be weeks before they could make love again, and that thought caused them to urgently, hungrily, seek each other out. They made love so fast that, though the need was satisfied, the togetherness was less than adequate.
“Whew, that was fast. I think we need to slow down, for the next one, okay?” Vicky asked, a little sheepishly.
“Hmm, what would you like, m’lady?”
Grinning, she replied, “I’ll leave that up to you, sweetheart. Just take your time, okay?”
“Uh, maybe we should talk first then?” Aidan asked reluctantly.
“Sure, what do you want to talk about?”
“We need to talk about our breakup.”
Vicky thought for a minute, “Okay. Well, I’ll be the bad guy then, and‒‒”
“No way. You’re the CEO. Your reputation is much more important than mine,” Vicky started to protest, but Aidan cut her off again, “No, kid, this is non-negotiable. You’ve worked too hard to get where you are today. I won’t let you throw that away, even if it is all just make believe. Once we do this, rumors will fly. People will believe them, no matter what they are told afterwards. No, I’ll be the bad guy, I’ll take all the hits, on this one.”
“No, Aidan, I don’t want you to.”
“I know, Vicky, but I want to. I need to do this for you.”
Vicky leaned in, and kissed her tenderly, “Do you know how much I love you?” she asked.
“I hope you can still say that, afterwards.”
“What are you afraid of, Aid?”
“Baby, I’ve got to do some things that you’re not going to like. Hell, I don’t even like to think about it. But I need you to remember one thing. No matter what I do, or what you hear, I love you, and always will. I’ve given this a lot of thought, since we met with Dr. Kline, and I realized something. The only things I remember, from the time I left you until the day I woke up at Walter Reed Hospital, are small segments, and quick pictures, like flash cards, in my head. It’s very frustrating.”
“I can imagine, Aidan.”
“But baby, the only solid block of memory that has come back completely, and that I’ve been able to hold onto, is our childhood together. Don’t you see, it’s because of your love for me. No matter what we’ve been through, in the past, or what we have to go through, now, we are meant to be together. It’s important to me, more important than anything else, that I preserve that.”
A tear glinted in the corner of her blue eyes, “God, you say the most romantic things sometimes,” she gushed.
“Just hold onto that thought, when you see me with another woman, okay?”
“Oh, Aidan, this is so damn unfair. I finally get you back, after all these years of wishing and praying, and now I won’t even be able to smile at you?”
“I know, baby. Pretending not to love you, goes against every fiber of my being. It will be the hardest thing I’ve ever had to do. ”
“It was easier pretending not to know you before. Now, the thought of not being with you, just plain hurts. It feels like the cosmic universe is conspiring to keep us away from each other. I can’t go through that again. I have to be with you, Aidan.”
“We will be, kid. Just think of how much better it will be, when we get through all this. I’ll have a lot of pent up S.E.X. that will require your personal attention. And don’t forget, you still owe me that double header,” her green eyes crystallized at the thought.
Vicky laughed, “Well, I think you need my personal attention, right now, lover.”
Chapter 13
Aidan stormed past Yvonne, barged into Vicky’s office, and slammed the door. She pulled Vicky from her chair, and held her close. Winking at her, Aidan began talking loud enough to be heard in the hallway. Vicky joined in, and it became a game, to see who could talk the loudest without yelling.
Yvonne wasn’t intentionally eavesdropping. Still, she couldn’t help but over hear words like, ‘other woman’, ‘affair’, and ‘get out’. They’ve been through so much, I hope they can work things out.
Before Aidan opened the office door, she dipped Vicky low, and kissed her, deeply. Vicky giggled, and Aidan kissed her again, just to quiet her. After one last peck on the lips, they stood up, and straightened their clothes. Vicky reapplied her lipstick, smiled at Aidan, then turned her face to stone, as Aidan reached for the door knob.
The Administrator of St. Frances Hospital, Jack Owens, walked up to Yvonne’s desk, looked at Vicky’s door, then looked at Yvonne. She shook her head. He turned to leave, just as Aidan charged out the door, almost running right into him.
“Wow, I wonder what that was about?” Jack asked innocently, but Yvonne ignored him, and went to Vicky’s door.
God, I hate this already, Vicky thought, as she sat down at her desk. Yvonne tapped on the door, and she half‒jokingly answered, “Come in, if you dare.”
“Everything all right, Vicky?” Yvonne walked in, shutting the door behind her.
Remembering to wipe her eyes, Vicky replied, “No, Yvonne, things couldn’t be worse, at the moment.” Yvonne was genuinely concerned. Oh, damn, I wasn’t expecting her to care like that. But I have to keep acting, even with Yvonne. “Aidan and I have… well, we’re not as close as we once were,” she said as convincingly as she could.
“Oh, I am sorry. I hope you can work things out, with her.”
“That’s very kind of you, Yvonne. Now, let’s get back to work. What’s on the calendar for today?”
*
Aidan began her investigation in the emergency room. She thought that this could be a major point of entry, for anyone attempting a hostile takeover. She strolled up to the nurses’ station, showed them her work badge, and told them she’d be taking pictures of the new equipment that had been recently installed. She knew that would be a good enough excuse to snoop around, without looking suspicious.
Joking, she told the nurse that she was trying to get pictures of the staff on duty, for the in‒house newsletter, but they ran away every time they saw her camera coming towards them. It was the camera shy people, that Aidan was most interested in photographing. The nurse that she was talking to, liked having her picture taken, so she rounded up her coworkers, including the shy ones, and they all posed for a quick picture.
Aidan took pictures of every employee she saw, whether they knew it or not. Then she went behind the unit, into the stairwells, the storage rooms, and empty patient rooms, taking photos of everything. She went outside the ER next, taking pictures of the building, flower beds, even the helipad.
When she finished with the ER, Aidan went to the front lobby, and then to every entrance of the hospital, taking pictures as she went. Satisfied that she had checked every nook and cranny, she took the camera card out and replaced it with another one. She planned to give the photos to Homeland Security for analysis, but she did
n’t think they would find anything.
She checked her cell phone, hoping for a text from Vicky, then laughed at herself. I can’t even go an hour without needing to hear from her. How am I going to make it for weeks on end? She decided the only way to finish this nightmare was to find the bastard, and find him, she would.
At least, this afternoon she would be able to see her, she thought. Vicky was scheduled to present the Employee of the Year Award, at the annual employee’s luncheon. Granted, all she could do was take her picture. It was better than nothing. Then she remembered she’d have to put on a show for the gossipmongers. A furrow creased her forehead. Why can’t anything be easy for us?
“Hi, Aidan, isn’t it? I’ve seen you around, taking pictures.” Barbara Cox, a Registered Nurse on Ortho, quickly fussed with her hair, and licked her lips.
“Yeah, and you’re…, uh‒‒”
“Barbara. You took my picture with Ms. Montgomery, at the blessing ceremony.”
“Oh sure, I remember.” Aidan remembered that Barbara had her hand on Vicky’s butt, like it belonged there, and the thought of it still irked her. “So, how are you?”
“I’m fine, but you seem a bit out of sorts?”
“Just frustrated, at the moment.” Aidan replied truthfully.
“Just wait, something will happen that will change everything.” Barbara said sweetly
“I hope you’re right, because I’m ready for a change.”
“You know what they say, be careful what you wish for.”
Aidan wasn’t quite sure what she was alluding to, but she continued with her charade, “Well, I didn’t wish to be dumped, that’s for sure.”
I Remember You Page 18
