The men were also ordered not to catch the virus in the process, if they didn’t want to end up like Reverend Rally, their supervisor unemotionally declared.
Despite all of that, the two undercover killers posing as CDC investigators were sympathetic humans when it came to the innocent, and they felt badly for this woman and her kids. They didn’t do anything wrong. The two men knew what Mr. Rally became, and they believed it wasn’t his fault. The two men didn’t want to see that happen to anyone else. It would be sad, and besides, the agents did not want to be forced to kill the innocents.
“We’re very sorry, Mrs. Rally,” Gus finally said. “Your husband was very sick. He wasn’t going to get any better and the police did what they had to do to protect the community.”
“Kenny was the sweetest, kindest man you ever would meet. He was sick, it’s true. But he was in the bed as weak as a sick heifer for two days. Burning up with the fever.”
She pouted thinking back to the one hundred four degree reading on the thermometer and bed soaked in her husband’s sweat.
“He didn’t want no lunch so I let him sleep. All night and all day yesterday. Last night, I’m in the kitchen cleaning up that awful mess he made. I guess his appetite came back. He ate all that leftover meatloaf. And he don’t even much care for my meatloaf, tell you the truth.” She stood up and walked over to the counter.
“I’m sure,” Gus said as he watched his partner pace around, looking at his watch.
“Left all his trash on the counter. I was cleaning up the juice he spilled all over the floor,” she said as she stared at the floor, “when I hear that knock on the door. It’s the police telling me that they had to kill my husband. Chief Batton himself. He didn’t tell me why. It was that reporter, Jewell, that told me. And she told me he ate that girl. I said, what? She said it’s true. He gone and ate Cheyenne! Oh, my God! Is that true? Please, Jesus. You have to tell me! Is it true?” She picked up the glass vase and sniffed the flowers that had already started to wilt.
The agents looked at each other, not sure what to say. Will looked at his watch.
“Don’t worry about packing. We have clothes for you back in Atlanta,” he offered. “We can get you anything else you might need. It’s time to go now, Mrs. Rally.”
Will grabbed Sarah by the hand and practically dragged her out the door, causing her to drop the glass vase of flowers on the kitchen linoleum. Gus grabbed her two small children by the hand and pulled them along. The two agents led the family out of the house with all three of them crying on their way to the unmarked black van that was parked in the driveway.
The back of the van was empty except for a tall three by four cage that was attached to the wall that separated the cargo area from the cabin. A wooden bench ran along one side.
“You ain’t puttin’ us in no cage!”
Will jumped into the back of the van to help the family inside. “No ma’am. You can sit anywhere you want on the bench. The children can play back here.”
Gus tried to be comforting. “It’s just a short trip to the airport.”
Gus nudged the family into the back of the van while Will helped them step into it.
“The lights don’t work back here, so here’s a flashlight so you can see,” Gus said. He handed Sarah a torch light. “We’ll be there in ten minutes.”
Seconds later, the back doors of the van closed and locked from the outside with Sarah and her children huddling together in the dark, shivering.
As the van moved towards its destination with what was left of the Rally family inside, a Black Hawk helicopter was waiting nearby at a small, secluded airfield to take off with Sarah and her children. Sarah knew they weren’t going to the airport. It was a lot further than ten minutes away. She turned on the torch for some light and patted her children’s heads. She kissed them and rubbed their backs while she repeatedly assured them everything would be okay.
She didn’t really believe that.
Chapter 4
“Where the hell are you?”
Jamie yelled for Jackson over the loud streams of water that blasted out of the powerful showerhead with her head peeking out of the shower. Water escaped around the ruffled shower curtain and puddled on the floor.
“I’ll be right there!” Jackson yelled back. He bear hugged Jax and lifted him off the ground. “Ugh! You’re way too big for me to do that anymore.” They shared a smile and pecked each other on the cheek before Jackson put Jax back on the floor. He squatted down to be at eye level with his son. “You ready to take a road trip with your dad?”
“Yes! When are we leaving?”
“Soon. Is your gear all packed? Ready to go?”
He saluted his father. “Ready, sir!”
“My little soldier!” Jackson saluted back. “I hear your diggin’ your birthday present.”
“Oh yeah. I love it! I’ve already videoed a bunch of stuff with it.”
“Yeah?”
Jax nodded. “Even have some footage of a spider eating a fly off its web to show you. It’s so cool!”
“Awesome! Can’t wait to check it out.” Jackson rubbed Jax’s hair and messed it up. “What kind of spider was it?”
“I don’t know,” Jax answered with a shrug.
Jackson laughed. “We’ll figure it out together.”
“Cool.”
“I’m sorry I missed you opening that GoPro.”
“That’s okay, dad. Me and mom and Jumper need you, but the people you are over there to help need you, more.”
“Wow. Thirteen years old and already so wise. I’m so proud of you kid.”
Jax grinned ear to ear. “Who am I to argue?”
“Modest too.” Jackson hugged his son again. “I was thinking you could bring the GoPro and chronicle our whole trip with it. What do you think?”
“That sounds awesome! I will definitely bring it.”
“Good.”
“Are you waiting for the Earth to run out of water?” Jamie yelled from the bathroom.
“I’m going to grab a quick shower and then we’ll eat some breakfast, head out after that.”
“What are we going to have for breakfast?”
The two hurried into the kitchen and opened the fridge. “Bacon for sure. Haven’t had any in nine months. Something else. Sound good?”
“Yep.”
“Cool. Did mom tell you we are going to stop at the nursing home to see grandpa on the way?”
“Yeah.”
Jackson could see the sudden subtle sadness in his son’s eyes. It looked familiar. “Is that okay with you?”
“Yeah. I want to see grandpa. Oh. Almost forgot to tell you. I made a video for grandpa. Me and Jumper singing happy birthday to him.”
“That’s great, buddy. Jumper has quite a singing voice. If anything can bring a smile to his face, it’s the two of you.”
Jackson hadn’t felt this sentimental since the day he flew out of Atlanta to begin his second tour after an eleven year hiatus.
Jamie didn’t try to hide her desperation. “Do I need to paint my skin brown and put a towel on my head to get you in here?”
“I gotta get a shower before your mom has a stroke. I love you, champ.”
“I love you too, dad.”
Jackson looked out of the kitchen window and saw Jumper lying down in the grass in the back yard, bathing in the sun. Majestic.
“What do you say we bring Jumper with us on the trip?”
“Yay! Jumper’s coming!”
“Why don’t you go out back and run around with him for a bit. He needs to get some exercise in before he’s stuck in the backseat of the car.”
Jackson planned to take the trip in his new Dodge Charger. He bought it a month before he left for the Middle East and had barely driven it.
“Okay, dad.”
Jax gave his father one more hug and dashed out to the backyard where Jumper was sniffing the fly covered pile he left there yesterday.
Jackson opened the fridge an
d took a quick drink from the orange juice carton before hurrying to the bedroom. He shut the bedroom door and grabbed his cell phone off the nightstand. He stepped out of his shorts on his way into the bathroom and placed the cell phone on the bathroom counter as he closed the bathroom door.
“About time. Hurry up.”
“One second, my love.”
The hot water had turned to steam that covered the mirror. Jackson scribed a message in it with his finger and then touched the YouTube application on his cell phone. He searched for a song, but not just any song. He thought back to that night in San Diego, the first time they met. He had just finished basic training and decided to celebrate with his fellow graduating soldiers at Disco Pacifica, a dance club near the base.
It was five minutes before closing when the song started.
“It’s that time everybody!” the nightclub DJ said. “Find someone to get close to and enjoy tonight’s last dance. Make your case to boogie tonight away somewhere else!”
At the time, the club closed out every Saturday night with the same song after endless hours of 70’s disco favorites and boos. It was the owner’s favorite song ever since he danced with his wife to it at their wedding in 1981.
“I love this one,” Jackson said to Jamie as they danced slowly to it just before two in the morning at that San Diego club. Her long, brown hair was still wet. Sexy. He got lost in her electric blue eyes, glimmering under the shimmering disco ball that spun above their heads.
“You do?” Jamie asked, surprised that the beast of a man she was dancing with had ever heard it.
“My parents love it,” he said with a boyish smile. “Played the record all the time when I was growing up.” He touched his finger to her lips softly. “Don’t tell anyone.”
“Can’t promise you anything.” She laid her head against his chest and left it there. “I love it too.” They kept dancing after the song ended.
Jackson joined Jamie in the shower now as the song began to play, this time on a cell phone. No disco ball. As he pulled back the curtain to enter, Jamie was looking down at her feet with the water soaking the back of her head.
“Nice color,” he said, noticing the purple tint she painted on her pretty toenails. He put his hand under her chin and raised her head gently as water poured down her face. Their eyes locked as the instrumental intro of their song began to fill the air in the bathroom.
‘Overnight scenes, dinner and wine, Saturday girls. I was never in love, never had the time, in my hustle and hurry world…’
Jamie shook her head and smiled as she realized what was playing.
“You dork. Don’t know if I want to kill you or make love to you again.”
“I’ll take the later.”
He held her close to him as they danced slowly to the song in the shower, just like they did that rainy night in San Diego.
“To match your purple heart.” Jamie looked down to her toenails. She looked as if Jackson had died while getting the medal despite the fact that she was closer to him now than she had been in the better part of a year.
‘I was dancing in the dark with strangers, no love around me, when suddenly you found me…’
“Do you remember what you said to me that night, outside in the rain before we danced?” Jackson waited for the answer as they spun around slowly in the shower with Air Supply’s Every Woman In The World playing in the background. “I asked you if you wanted to go back inside for one last dance.”
“I remember.”
“You said that sounded better than standing in the monsoon outside, freezing to death, unless that was your only option to dance with me one more time.”
“Yes, and I meant it.” She laid her head against Jackson’s chest.
“When we were dancing, you said you’d rather dance dripping wet and cold once with the love of your life than dance for an eternity with anyone else.”
“You said you felt the same way,” Jamie said.
“Yes, I did.”
“Do you still?” Jamie asked as she looked Jackson in the eyes. “Feel that way?”
“What?”
‘Girl you’re every woman in the world to me…’
“Do you still love me?”
‘You’re my fantasy. You’re my reality…’
“Of course. Why would you ask me that?”
Jamie traced the outline of the Purple Heart tattoo on her husband’s chest with one finger. “But not more than her.”
“Her?”
“I can’t compete with her.”
“Who?”
“Freedom.” Jamie released her hold from Jackson as the song played. “Your never ending compulsion to stand beside lady liberty.”
“You know that has nothing to do with how I feel about you.”
Jackson’s voice trembled. Nothing in the world was more powerful than Jamie’s face. He saw the whole world in it and couldn’t bear the thought of Jamie hurting.
“I know.” Jamie stopped dancing and put her arms around Jackson as tightly as she could. “I’m not trying to make you feel bad. I just miss you so much.”
“I’ve missed you too. Jax and Jumper as well. Our home. My job. Our friends. It’s been hard. Really hard. Harder than I ever imagined it would be.”
“Why did you have to go back? You have a good job at the college. You have all the most prized medals already. You’re a hero and a legend. I don’t understand why.”
“You know why.” The muscles and veins in his neck bulged as the enchanting green in his eyes intensified. “Something had to be done.”
Jamie thought back to the news reports, men in orange jump suits with knifes to their throats followed by a televised beheading.
“And are you? Doing something?”
Jackson felt himself growing angrier. “I don’t know. I don’t know if I’m making any difference. I’m not even sure who the real enemy is anymore. Sometimes, I feel like I’m just a puppet on someone’s purse strings. Some rich asshole laughs every time an Afghani kid gets blown to bits or blows up one of us. Some sick game.”
“Leave it all behind then, baby. Please! Life is too short. You can’t save the whole world!”
“I’ve been thinking about it. I have.”
“Do it then. Chancellor Clark calls every week to find out when you are coming back to the university. He jokes that you must be the only tenured science professor in the world that takes sabbaticals to kill terrorists.”
“That’s probably true,” Jackson chuckled, burying his deep, unresolved anger once again, but just for a moment.
“I couldn’t handle it if something happened to you again, Jackson.” Jamie tenderly ran her finger down the long scar and continued below Jackson’s waist until she could see he was becoming ready to make love to her again.
“I’m sorry I upset you,” he apologized.
“You didn’t,” she lied.
And we all fall, Jackson thought as he looked down at the scar and thought about that day eleven years ago. He hadn’t forgotten a second of it, the parts when he was awake. Jamie could see the pain still alive in his eyes. She could feel the persistent guilt still emanating from him.
“Liar.”
Jackson exhaled the tension and caressed Jamie’s face, now ready to be inside of her again. At least, that part of him was. His mind, on the other hand, was far, far away.
“I’ll call Chancellor Clark from the road this week.”
“You didn’t do anything wrong, Jackson. You did what you were trained to do. What you had to do. You know that, don’t you?”
“Yes.”
She put her hand around his chin and made him look at her as her body pushed against his erection. “Don’t you?”
Jackson nodded. “Yes.” And we all fall. The innocent chant of his young son bogged down Jackson’s mind whenever he thought about that day in Somalia.
Jamie caressed her husband’s tortured face and then pushed his head into her chest. She knew exactly what was happening in his
head. They almost divorced because of it. They danced a little more until the song finally ended and something faster and far less sappy played automatically thanks to YouTube.
“I have to tell you, I’ve never seen Jax so excited.” Jackson lifted his head to look at her. “He hasn’t stopped talking about the road trip since you told us you were coming home for it.”
“I’m glad,” Jackson said as he soaped up.
“You don’t get to spend nearly enough time with him now that you’ve reenlisted.”
“I regret that.”
“So it’s good that you’re going on this trip. You know I’m trying not to be selfish, don’t you? I’m really happy that you and Jax are getting some father and son time.”
“Me too.”
“This morning was nice.”
She pushed her lips against his. He hesitantly kissed her back, but couldn’t resist kissing her deeper as the water pounded their heads and blood engorged him. Their passion for each other burned hotter than ever.
“Besides,” Jamie said after the kiss, “by coming back now, you get to see your dad on his birthday. You’re still planning to stop at the nursing home on your way, aren’t you?”
“Yes. Not sure how many birthdays he has left.” Jackson hung his head, letting the water deluge his face.
Jamie pulled his head out of the stream. “I know it is hard to see him like that. You know I went by to see him a couple days ago.”
“Yeah? How did he look?”
“He’s lost a lot of weight over the last month. They’re taking good care of him though. I’ve been stopping by to see him at least twice a week since you left.”
“You’re the best. Thanks for doing that. I appreciate that more than you know.”
“Oh, it’s no big deal. I’ve enjoyed spending time with him. These last few weeks have been hard though.”
And We All Fall (Book 1) Page 5
