Holding Their Own XI: Hearts and Minds

by Joe Nobody

  “Why?” she asked, returning back to Nick. “What possible motive could Bishop and Terri have to undermine my administration?”

  Breaking eye contract, Nick’s gaze again drifted someplace else. “I can’t answer that, at least not just yet. Believe me, I’ve been pondering that same question for several days now. It could be Terri wants to run the Alliance, and Bishop is supporting her. They might have someone else in mind… or could be having second thoughts about Texas being independent. Who knows how or what conspirators think?”

  Again, Diana wasn’t buying it. “It was Terri’s idea for Texas to be independent. No one has done more for the Alliance and to support my position than those two. I just can’t accept that there is some hidden agenda with our best friends.”

  Nick’s face softened, his eyes growing warm. “Your loyalty to friends and supporters is part of the reason why I love you so much. It shows the quality of person that you truly are. But not everyone is like you. Over my lifetime, I’ve seen traitors, schemers, and common men develop an unquenchable thirst for power and money. You can never, never let your guard down. Never.”

  “I bet you’ve also seen leaders grow paranoid, afraid of their own shadows, and see boogie men under the bed,” she countered.

  Sighing, Nick said, “Yes, I’ve seen that as well. If you truly think I’ve left the reservation, let me ask you one last question before we both turn in. Don’t you find it about the biggest coincidence in the history of mankind that our new ambassador is actually an acquaintance of Terri’s? Don’t you find it the least bit strange that Chase was assigned by Bishop’s former boss… a man he obviously respects and has risked his life to protect?”

  “Yes, it’s odd, but not impossible. I’ve wondered about that before.”

  “Combine all of what I’ve said, Diana. Connect the dots any way you wish. I might be wrong about all this, but for sure I’ve not completely lost my mind.”

  She again kissed his cheek, her mind still reeling from his words. “We both need to rest now. I’ve got a lot to digest. I’ll see you in the morning.”

  Terri rose early, giving up any hope of sleep. She had tossed and turned all night, Bishop’s fight, and more specifically Nick’s words, keeping her from achieving any beneficial rest.

  So troubled was the young mother, she decided that seeking a babysitter for her son was the morning’s top priority. Bishop, fully aware that his mate hadn’t slept well, offered to take care of Hunter for the day.

  “We should see if I can get someone else,” Terri protested, still sipping her morning cup of tea. “We need to visit Nick and Diana together.”

  “I don’t think that’s wise. I know I’m still stinging from Nick’s words, and can only assume he’s still thinking like a crazy man. How about us boys hang out here while you sensible female-types solve the world’s problems?”

  “Fine.”

  After a quick shower, Terri threw on a pair of jeans and a T-shirt. Today, comfort was a higher priority than image.

  After kissing Hunter and Bishop goodbye, she was off to the courthouse, still unsure how she was going to approach the subject with Diana.

  Halfway there, a familiar voice called from behind her.

  “Oh shit, not now, Chase,” she whispered, trying to pretend as if she hadn’t heard his greeting.

  “Hey, Terri! Wait up!” he repeated after rushing to catch up.

  “Good morning, Mr. Ambassador.”

  “I heard about the festivities last night,” he continued, short of breath. “It seems like your husband has been experiencing confrontation issues of late. Are you okay?”

  Terri stopped, spinning to face him with anger in her eyes, “That, sir, is none of your business. Furthermore, I don’t appreciate your gloating tone of voice.”

  The diplomat became stern as well, “But it is my business, madam. I am charged with interaction at the highest levels of the Alliance government. The fact that the head of security services was in a fistfight with the husband of my liaison is well within my scope of operational responsibility. Throw in the fact that the same man assaulted me less than a week ago warrants my attentions.”

  “Keep out of this, Chase. It doesn’t concern you. The two incidents are unrelated, and last night’s affair has nothing to do with the United States or its interests.”

  Chase relaxed, just a little, his tone becoming reasonable. “Really, to be honest, I just wanted to check on you and make sure you were okay. What the hell is going on, Terri?”

  “It’s no biggie,” she replied. “A misunderstanding is all.”

  Pretending to accept her answer, he replied, “Good. I was afraid it all had something to do with Butter’s arrest. I’m glad you cleared it up and that everything’s okay.”

  “Butter’s arrest?”

  “Well, as of just a few minutes ago, his attempted arrest. I think they’re calling in a SWAT team or something.”

  “Shit!” she barked, pivoting to push past the messenger.

  Darting the few blocks to the house, she burst in the front door and told Bishop what she’d just heard.

  Mumbling, “I told you he was thinking like a crazy man,” Bishop grabbed his carbine from the closet after handing Hunter to his mother.

  “What are you doing?”

  “I’m going to figure out what the fuck is going on,” he snapped. “It’s one thing for Nick to pick a fight with you or me. Taking out his frustrations on my loyal teammates is another.”

  Terri blocked his way to the door, her expression making it clear she wasn’t going to be moved easily. “Leave the rifle here.”

  “No.”

  “Bishop… please… don’t take the rifle. Nothing good can come of it.”

  For a moment, she thought her plea was hopeless. Bishop had that look in his eye, the one that was normally followed by a lot of shooting and carnage.

  “Please.”

  He changed, much to Terri’s relief. One of her recurring nightmares last night had been of Nick and her husband’s brouhaha escalating into a full-blown gun battle.

  He returned the long gun to its resting place, and then sighed, “There. Are you happy now?”

  “Yes, thank you. I’ll get Hunter dressed, and we’ll be over in a bit. Please, be the cool head, whatever is going on.”

  “You got it,” he said, bending to kiss her forehead before hustling out the door.

  It was six blocks to the former hotel where Butter had a room. Bishop ran the entire distance; the only noise reaching the Texan’s ears was the pounding of his heart and boots.

  He rounded the corner to see several police cars and Alpha’s only functional ambulance parked in front of what he knew was Butter’s residence. There were dozens of people standing around.

  He spotted Sheriff Watts, Nick, and a deputy standing in front of the crowd, the huddled men talking out of earshot of the gathering onlookers.

  As he drew closer, he also saw two EMTs and the doctor bent over a prone deputy. Another was already on the stretcher. “Fuck,” Bishop muttered. “What have you gone and done, Butter?”

  The window fronting Butter’s unit was shattered, shards of glass sparkling all over the sidewalk. Bishop could see small pockets of blood intermixed with the remnants.

  The door to the former hotel room was partially open, at least four deputies pointing pistols at the threshold. There was no sign of Butter.

  Ignoring Nick, Bishop stepped directly to the sheriff. “What’s going on?”

  Watts turned and said, “Your man in there just put two of my officers in the hospital,” he spat. “He threw one out the window and broke the other’s jaw.”

  “Butter wouldn’t do that without damn good reason, Sheriff. What happened?”

  “Nick radioed me early this morning and said he had information that Butter had been involved in a burglary. I sent two deputies over to search his quarters and things obviously went wrong.”

  Finally acknowledging Nick, Bishop stared at the bi
g man and said, “Burglary? Seriously? Butter?”

  “There was an eyewitness,” came the cold reply. “Someone saw a person resembling Butter leaving the doctor’s office the other night.”

  “Butter? Now why on earth would he break into the doctor’s office?” Bishop replied, trying to keep his cool.

  “After we had arrested Butter, I was going to ask you that very same question,” Nick replied with an edgy tone. “After all, that kid would only do something like that if he was ordered to.”

  The accusation was clear, Bishop’s temper rising quickly. Seeming to struggle to control the building rage, the Texan hissed, “You and I can settle our shit later. There’s no need to involve innocents.”

  Watts sensed he was about to be caught in a clash of titans and moved to defuse the situation. “I can’t stop you two boys from having your schoolyard brawl, but please, not right now. I’ve got men down and a very skilled, heavily armed shooter inside that room. If a firefight breaks out, a lot of civilians might get hurt.”

  Shaking his head in frustration, Bishop shot Nick a nasty look and then pivoted toward Butter’s room. Watts said, “I wouldn’t do that… he’s pretty desperate.”

  Ignoring the warning, Bishop strolled directly toward the threshold and then stopped about 20 feet away. “Butter!” he said loud and clear, “It’s Bishop. I’m coming in. If you shoot me, Miss Terri is going to be pissed.”

  “I wouldn’t shoot you, boss,” came the distant reply.

  Bishop entered the dark room, finding Butter behind the bed with his weapon trained toward the parking lot. A pile of magazines was beside the clearly frightened kid.

  “Good morning,” Bishop greeted as if nothing was wrong.

  The response came in a rush. “Sir, those deputies said I broke into the doctor’s office… but I didn’t. They pointed toward the file sitting over there and said I’d stole it. I’m not a thief, sir. I’ve never taken anything that doesn’t belong to me.”

  Frowning, Bishop reached for the office folder Butter had indicated. Sure enough, it was full of medical records – Nick’s records. “What the fuck? Where did you get this, Butter?”

  “I’ve never seen that before, sir. The two deputies found it behind the dresser while they were searching my room. I swear I didn’t know it was there.”

  “Do you ever leave your door unlocked?” Bishop said, turning to examine the opening.

  “No, but a few nights ago, my key didn’t work the first two times I tried. I just thought it was getting stiff or something and sprayed some gun oil on it.”

  Bishop bent and looked at the keyhole, finding several fresh-looking scratch marks. There was no way to tell if the lock had been picked, or not.

  Returning to Butter, Bishop sat on the bed next to the nervous kid. “Look, you’re going to have to surrender. I’ll make sure Watts knows the truth and treats you fairly, but this standoff is going to end badly, and you know it.”

  “But… but, sir, I didn’t do anything wrong.”

  “I know that, Butter,” Bishop replied with the softest voice he could manage. “I believe you, 100 percent. On the other hand, Watts has to do his job, and the deputies will keep coming and coming. End this, my friend, before it all spirals out of control.”

  The look of helplessness on the kid’s face nearly tore Bishop’s heart out of his chest.

  “Why is this happening to me?” Butter asked, tears rolling down his cheeks. “I didn’t do anything wrong, sir.”

  “I promise you I won’t rest until your name is cleared. I swear it. Now secure that blaster, and let’s go talk to the sheriff.”

  Nodding, Butter did as Bishop asked.

  Bishop grabbed the folder while Butter put away his weapon and stood to straighten himself out.

  “Stand tall, Butter,” Bishop said kindly. “Square those shoulders and walk out of here like the innocent man you are.”

  “Yes, sir.”

  Bishop went to the doorway and shouted out, “We’re coming out! Hold your fire! We are unarmed!”

  Turning and nodding to his teammate, Bishop said, “Keep your hands out wide and don’t make any sudden movements. You hurt two of them. Think about how we would feel if someone kicked the shit out of our teammates.”

  “Yes, sir.”

  Bishop went first, his hands wide. Butter followed as instructed.

  After they were a few steps outside, two deputies rushed up, one reaching for the handcuffs on his belt.

  “No,” Bishop commanded, “that won’t be necessary.”

  The two lawman threw a questioning look at the approaching sheriff, not sure what to do. “It’s okay,” Watts said calmly. “At least for now.”

  Bishop held the folder out for Watts to see. “Is this what you’re looking for?”

  As the sheriff reached for the evidence, Nick stepped in and rudely snatched the documents away. “That’s private information,” he hissed.

  Deciding to ignore his ex-friend’s reaction, Bishop motioned toward the hotel room door. “Sheriff, Butter claims that he never saw that file before, and I believe him. He also stated that a few nights ago his key wouldn’t work as usual. If you look at the lock, it has some odd scratches around the keyhole.”

  “A likely story,” Nick spouted. “Do you really expect anyone to believe that shit?”

  Before Bishop could reply, a commotion at the edge of the crowd drew everyone’s attention. Terri, Diana, and Ambassador McQuire, along with their significant security entourages, had arrived.

  Nick apparently forgot all about Butter, Diana’s appearance now the big man’s highest priority. Walking toward her, he said, “I thought you were going to sleep late this morning? Really, you shouldn’t be out of bed. There’s no need for you to be involved in this.”

  Diana didn’t even hesitate, her mind set on getting in the middle of the fray, “What the hell is going on?”

  “There’s no need for you to be here,” Nick repeated. “This doesn’t involve you.”

  “I think it does involve me,” Diana stated, clearly prepared to hold her ground. “Terri came to me a few minutes ago, afraid you two were going to try and kill each other again. Somebody explain to me why half of the police force and two of our most highly regarded SAINT team members are in a standoff.”

  Watts took less than a minute to brief the Alliance leader.

  Diana took it all in, never saying a word until the sheriff had finished. She then motioned Nick to follow her out of earshot.

  “I want to support my man,” Diana began. “Truly I want to back you up more than anything. But until you start talking to me, that is becoming more and more difficult with each passing moment.”

  “I told you last night, I’m convinced that Bishop and Terri are up to something. Chase told me the day after the break-in at the doctor’s office that he’d seen Butter running away as the police arrived. After what happened yesterday, I decided to see if there was any proof.”

  Nick then held out the doctor’s folder and said, “And guess what? The cops found this in Butter’s room this morning. Do you still think I’m crazy?”

  Diana started to reach for the file in Nick’s hand, but the big man pulled it back. “It’s my medical records is all,” he said, clenching the documents tightly.

  “Why, Nick? Why would someone break into the doctor’s office and steal your records? What possible value could they have?”

  His answer came quickly – too quickly. “If my health were poor, that weakness could be used against us both. I think Bishop and Terri were fishing for leverage.”

  Not in a million years would Diana have accepted the explanation were it not for the fact that the folder was in Butter’s room, and someone had broken into the doctor’s office. Diana’s headache came rushing back.

  “Okay, I need time to think this through. What’s next?”

  “We take Butter into custody and try to get him to confess that Bishop ordered him to do the dirty deed. Then we’ll arrest
Bishop and his wife.”

  “Are you serious? How can you even think like that? After everything we’ve been through together?”

  Nick didn’t answer, his attention diverted by the sound of Terri’s voice as she was speaking with Sheriff Watts. A scowl crossed the big man’s face.

  Holding up a finger, Nick said, “Hold that thought,” before rushing back to the main gathering. He arrived in time to hear Terri saying, “Release him into my custody, Sheriff. I promise you he won’t be going anywhere.”

  “No!” Nick snapped, “I want to interview Butter and get to the bottom of this quickly.”

  Bishop stepped directly into Nick’s path, “I have one overriding question for you. Who is the eyewitness that saw Butter leaving the doctor’s office?”

  “That’s not important,” came the curt response.

  “It most certainly is,” sounded Terri, her words fast and sharp. “Anyone charged with a crime has the right to face their accusers. That’s been a basic right for hundreds of years… or has the paranoia around here gotten to the point where we’re suspending the Bill or Rights? Who is the witness?”

  Nick, taken aback by Terri’s assault, briefly flashed his eyes in Chase’s direction.

  Bishop saw it.

  “You!” Bishop barked, pointing a finger at the ambassador. “You son of a bitch,” he continued, stepping toward the indignant man. “None of this shit started happening until you arrived. I should have killed you that first night.”

  Chase didn’t answer, instead reaching for his pistol and drawing the weapon.

  Despite the gun pointing at Bishop’s head, the Texan kept coming. “You low-life bag of shit…. You’re in the middle of all this, stirring up trouble for God knows what reason.”

  Watts came between the two men, shouting for the ambassador to put the weapon away. Terri was tugging on Bishop. Several deputies rushed in. Chase’s security team, as well as Diana’s, all seemed to appear out of nowhere.

  For a moment, it looked like a full-out brawl was about to erupt in the hotel’s parking lot, tempers, fear, duty, and egos flaring in all corners.

  Diana, feeling the need to take charge, raised her voice, “People! People! Stop this right….”