Lean on Me

by Claudia Hall Christian

  “Some boys touch other boys’ penises,” Hermes said.

  “Because they want to,” Hector James said. “Not because they have to.”

  “I don’t want to,” Hermes said.

  Troy held his boys close while they cried into his chest. He said a silent prayer of gratitude for Jesse Jr. Before getting the boys, Maria told Troy that Luis, Jesse Sr.’s four-year-old brother, had been sexually abused in foster care before coming to live with them. Jesse Jr. had made it a mission to help boys like Luis. He had been just what Hector James and Hermes needed. Jesse Jr. had answered every question and even taught them their first boy game – Battleships.

  Troy continued rocking until the storm passed. The boys stared straight ahead in the numb, shocked way of deep loss.

  “Let’s get dressed in our PJs,” Troy said. “Everyone wants to say goodnight.”

  “I don’t want everyone in our room!” Hermes said.

  “We’ll go to them,” Troy smiled. “Come on. Auntie Alex’s mom bought you some super snuggly pajamas.”

  “What about you?” Hector James asked.

  “I’ll shower when we get back,” Troy said.

  “We’re big boys, Daddy,” Hermes said. “We can put on our pajamas while you shower.”

  “We’ll be right here,” Hector James said.

  Troy knew the best thing for the boys was to let them dress themselves. He knew his doting would destroy their new and growing sense of independence. They both looked so much like Dahlia that he hated to have them out of his sight. He gave the boys a nod.

  “I’ll be right in there,” Troy said.

  He made sure their door was locked, undressed, slipped his gauze-wrapped feet into plastic bags, and took a fast shower. His boys were waiting for him in the bedroom when he got out. He went around the twin cots to grab a pair of pajamas and underwear.

  Rebecca Hargreaves had purchased these pajamas. Hermes’s pajamas were covered in Winnie-the-Pooh bears. Hector James’s pajamas had Tigger on them, and Troy’s pajamas had Owl. Because his boys had never heard the stories, she’d also bought the books. He pulled boots on over his gauze wrapped feet.

  “Are we ready to say good-night to everyone?” Troy asked.

  “Ready!” Hermes held up his arms and Troy picked him up.

  “Ready!” Hector James picked him up.

  Troy carried the boys into the dining room where the team and their families had assembled for their pre-marathon dinner. They cheered at the sight of his boys. He stepped into the door and Trece and White Boy took the boys from him. Trece and White Boy carried the boys as if they were Superman flying over the table. The team raised their hands. The boys held their hands out flat and patted the team’s hands as they flew by. Alex hugged Troy tight.

  “I’ll be in to check on you tonight,” John said.

  “You need your rest for the run tomorrow,” Troy said. “Plus, the boys want the door locked.”

  “You’ll ring me if your pain is too much?” John asked.

  Troy nodded. John hugged him.

  “We’re on the support crew,” Troy said. “We’ll see you in the morning. You’re not running alone. Are you?”

  “Mattie is running with me. I’d run with Colin but he’s too fast,” John said. “Plus Max and Raz are pacing.”

  “No Jimmy?” Troy asked.

  “Not yet,” John said.

  “Sorry I won’t be there,” Troy said.

  “Next month.” John smiled at his running partner. “We’ve plenty scheduled this fall.”

  “Listen, I don’t have a place to stay.” Troy’s worried eyes reviewed John’s face. “We thought we’d rent a house in Denver this month but…”

  “We haven’t rented out your space yet,” John laughed. “But you never know what random relative will show up.”

  “You don’t have kids at the house,” Troy said. “My boys…”

  “Our contractor is moving the door to your suite as we speak,” John said. “The boys will have their own rooms and a bathroom. There’s plenty of room. You’re welcome there as long as you need the space.”

  Feeling movement near him, Troy turned to see Alex’s parents. Rebecca Hargreaves hugged him and Patrick shook his hand. Emily Lamberton stood from her seat and asked about his feet. She ended their conversation with a hug. Before another person arrived for a hug and a chat, his boys returned to his arms.

  “Time for bed!” Troy said. “Boys?”

  “GOODNIGHT!” Hermes and Hector James yelled. The crowded dining room cheered for the boys.

  Troy carried them up to bed. Only a year ago, he would have resented not being able to run the marathon. This would be the first month in almost twenty-four that he hadn’t run a marathon.

  “Daddy?” Hermes asked.

  “Yes baby,” Troy said.

  “Will Mommy be mad if I go to sleep without kissing her goodnight?” the little boy asked. “I’ve never gone to sleep without kissing Mommy goodnight.”

  “Let’s kiss her goodnight when we get to the room,” Troy said.

  Tonight, he was grateful that his children had survived their executioner. He opened the door and set the boys on their beds. They read the Winnie-the-Pooh story book that Rebecca had left for them. By the time they were through a few pages, the boys’ eyes were heavy.

  “Let’s kiss her goodnight in our minds and tell her we love her,” Troy said.

  “Like we do for you when you’re not home?” Hermes asked.

  “Exactly,” Troy said.

  “Love you Mommy,” the boys said almost in unison. “Goodnight.”

  Troy switched off the overhead light and watched the boys fall asleep. For the first time in his adult life, the queen bed seemed impossibly large without Dahlia in it. He tried sleeping on the left side where she had slept. No luck. He tried his usual side. Nothing. Sighing, he grabbed a blanket and a pillow and made a spot on the floor next to the boys’ cots.

  “Goodnight, sweet Dahlia,” Troy whispered. “I will miss you all the rest of my life.”

  With tears seeping from his eyes, he forced himself to sleep.

  FFFFFF

  Sunday early morning

  October 25 – 4:15 a.m. EDT

  Sheridan Circle Mansion, Washington DC

  “This place is a fortress,” James Kelly said. “I’ve been standing on the stoop like a street urchin for hours.”

  Alex raised her eyebrows.

  “Five minutes,” he said.

  “Yes, you’re right,” Alex laughed. She stepped aside to let him in. “I can’t teleport down the stairs to get you.”

  “That’s not a Fey gift?” James smiled. “I thought it was.”

  “Very funny,” Alex said. “Are you ready to run?”

  “I need to change my clothes,” James looked up at the mansion surrounding him. “This is a lovely fortress.”

  “Amazing,” Alex said. “The butler won’t be here until six. He usually arrives at eight, but he’s on special duty for the marathon.”

  She tapped the tip of her nose as if it was very posh. James laughed. He held out his arms and they hugged. He kissed her cheek.

  “I’ll take you up to your room,” Alex started up the wide marble stairwell. “Did you find anything interesting?”

  “I brought what Interpol has,” James said. “But it’s not much. Our satellites picked up what you have. The cover of trees makes it impossible to see Captain Olivas. Heat imaging shows something moving fast through the forest. Once the house explodes, everything is hot. You probably have the same thing.”

  Alex nodded. They turned at the landing and continued up the next flight of stairs.

  “And the house?” Alex asked.

  “Nothing,” James said.

  “Shit. I thought there would be something on the night-vision,” Alex said.

  “He must have set up the explosives some other time,” James said. “Have you gone back in time?”

  “Just a couple of days. That’s
a good idea,” Alex said.

  “He could have set the explosives a week or more before,” James said. “I watched a few days of video. They kept a very regular schedule. It wouldn’t have been hard to set everything up in advance. You know, you should ask my brother Cian. He might be able to see something we haven’t.”

  Alex opened the door to a bedroom. The gorgeously appointed room had a Queen-sized bed, its own bathroom and balcony.

  “This is lovely,” James said. “The nicest place I may have ever stayed in.”

  “It’s gorgeous,” Alex said. “We’re having breakfast in a half-hour or so. Why don’t you get cleaned up? I’ll go wake the runners.”

  “The police are coming for Olivas in an hour or two,” James said. “Early. They want to throw him off guard.”

  “Thanks,” Alex said.

  “He’s lucky you put Dahlia’s house on the watch list,” James said. “I had the entire month put in your account. If you need more, I just have to call. We wouldn’t have anything if you hadn’t flagged the house.”

  “That’s cold comfort to his boys,” Alex said.

  “Johnny and I were orphans a lot younger than these boys,” James said. “Look at how we turned out.”

  Alex raised her eyebrows and gave him a “that’s what I mean” look. He laughed. With a nod, she turned to leave.

  “One more thing,” James said.

  Alex stopped at the door and turned to look at him.

  “We’re missing an entire team,” James said. “Very hush-hush. They were on loan to NATO. September 22, they’re tracked by GPS and satellite; September 23, they vanish.”

  “That’s why you were in the Falklands?” Alex asked.

  “I went to where they were last seen,” Jimmy nodded. “And when I say vanished, I mean there was not one bit of evidence they’d ever been there.”

  “Not even physical evidence?” Alex asked.

  “Nothing. It’s like the Bermuda Triangle or an alien abduction.”

  “Can you leave the details for me?” Alex asked. “I’ll check into it.”

  “I sent the folder to your Intelligence account,” James said.

  “See you in an hour,” Alex said.

  She pulled the door closed and wandered down the hall. She knew John was already moving through his pre-race routine. She tapped on Vince’s door and was greeted by Amelia. She was wearing pajama bottoms and one of her dad’s big Navy shirts.

  “I’m running too!” Vince and Emily’s daughter said. “Dad, Leena, and I have been practicing!”

  “I wondered when I saw your grandmother,” Alex said. “She loves to watch you being so liberated.”

  Amelia beamed a mouthful of braces. She was a stunning cross between her delicately made mother and Vince’s rugged power. At fourteen, she was both strong and beautiful.

  “Mom and Dad are next door,” Amelia said. “He’s already hogging the bathroom. Hey, how come Leena isn’t here? I thought she was running with us. Plus, she’s Dad’s partner. She’s supposed to go where he goes.”

  “She wanted to see her mom while she was in Washington,” Alex said. “Turns out her mom is pretty sick. She’s looking into putting her into a nursing home.”

  “That’s awful,” Amelia said.

  “I know,” Alex said. “I think Leena’s hoping to move her mom to Denver so she can keep an eye on her.”

  “I’ll go visit her mom too,” Amelia smiled. “I go to nursing homes with my Girl Scout troop.”

  “I bet Leena will ask your advice about a good nursing home,” Alex said.

  Amelia smiled and stood a little taller. Her father’s beautiful Navy mineman partner had become Amelia’s not-quite-a-parent, fun adult friend. Alex smiled.

  “Is that Alex?” Vince’s voice came from behind Amelia’s door. Amelia was startled. “Sorry, Am. I didn’t mean to surprise you. I need to talk to Alex.”

  “The rooms adjoin through the bathroom,” Amelia rolled her eyes.

  Vince put his hands on Amelia’s shoulders and kissed the back of her head. Alex had been in a medically induced coma when Erin had seen her high school friend Vince Hutchins’s name on the board at Walter Reed Hospital. Knowing he didn’t have a family, Erin talked their father into having him moved in with Alex. Of course, Erin didn’t know Alex had rescued Vince from a hole in Iraq just six months before. Through mutual pain, multiple surgeries, and the playful torture of their Navy and Army guards, Vince and Alex became fast friends.

  “I’ll get dressed,” Amelia waved and retreated to the bathroom.

  “Hey!” Vince said. “Don’t be in there long!”

  With one more roll of her eyes, Amelia closed the bathroom door.

  “She’s a real bathroom hog,” Vince said.

  Alex struggled to keep from laughing.

  “What’s up?” Alex asked.

  “I haven’t had a chance to talk to you since going to Troy’s place,” Vince said. “Then it was paperwork and reports and…”

  “James thinks he may have set the explosives ahead of time,” Alex said. “We don’t see anything on the satellite but we haven’t looked past yesterday.”

  “He’s probably right,” Vince said. “I’ll check it out after the marathon. It would be nice to catch the bastard red-handed.”

  “We should match the dates with Troy’s schedule. I bet he set them on a date he knew Troy would be there,” Alex said. “That way it would link back to the whole PTSD soldier crap that Asshole Jasper is spewing.”

  Vince nodded.

  “Anyway, good luck today,” Alex turned to leave.

  “Wait,” Vince said. She spun around. “I got a call right after we landed last night. My old Commander…”

  Alex nodded.

  “He couldn’t talk,” Vince said. “He said he’s missing a crew. He knew I was working for you and wondered if I could look into it. He sent the details to Emmy’s work email from a bogus civilian account and I forwarded it to you.”

  “Why couldn’t he talk?” Alex asked.

  “He asked about them a few times and has been told to leave it alone. The last warning came with a detailed safety review of the destroyer.”

  “Clean?”

  “Of course, they were clean. It’s just a pain in the ass,” Vince said. “The team in question has been gone a few months. He’s been waking up in the middle of the night with the feeling they’re begging for help. He waited until the ship was in port and used a burner phone to call me. He’s scared – for them and for himself.”

  “That’s not good,” Alex said.

  “He said he didn’t want to be in a Navy that would let its men and women just disappear,” Vince said. “Alex, I’ve known this guy for a long, long time. I’ve never known him to be scared.”

  “I’ll look into it,” Alex nodded.

  “But you’re not surprised,” Vince said.

  “This is maybe the eighth time I’ve heard the same story,” Alex said. “At dinner last night, Mom said Heath was missing. I was like, ‘Hookers and beer?’, but she was dead serious. I think something actually happened to him.”

  “When did you first hear?” Vince asked.

  “Three weeks? Maybe four?” Alex shook her head. “Sergeant Dusty had an Army Ranger friend disappear. He thought it was weird because the guy was about to have a baby.”

  “The timeline fits,” Vince said.

  “Anyway, I’m on it. These things take a lot more time to set up than you ever think they should.”

  Vince turned to see the door to the bathroom was still closed. He grimaced.

  “Can I use yours?” Vince asked.

  “Sure,” Alex said. “I have to go wake Mattie.”

  “No you don’t,” Matthew said as he walked down the hall toward them. Vince scooted out of the room to use Alex and John’s bathroom. Alex turned to Matthew. “Grace has a four o’clock feeding.”

  Alex hugged Matthew. In Special Forces training, he’d gone from being her enemy to being her
friend. She’d rescued him twice and won countless mixed martial arts championships as his partner. When it was time to build a team, he was the first person she hired. He kissed her cheek.

  “You ready, Poppa?” Alex asked.

  “Excited,” Matthew said. “I feel like I’m getting back to myself. I’m not healing from a gunshot, working off an injury, taking meds for parasites…”

  Alex laughed as he listed his most recent maladies.

  “I love seeing you so happy,” Alex said.

  “Me too,” Matthew said. “I was going to help Troy with the boys.”

  “Good idea,” Alex said. “We eat in about a half-hour.”

  Matthew raised his hand to Alex. She retreated down the stairs.

  “And?” Raz asked when she reached her workroom on the main floor.

  “Missing Navy team, probably SEALs. Missing British team,” Alex said.

  “The British satellite data is interesting,” Colin looked up from his computer.

  “Shouldn’t you be getting ready to run?” Alex asked.

  “Did that,” Colin said. “We only have a few more hours before the police come for Troy. I wanted to see if I can find anything.”

  “James suggested he set it up beforehand,” Alex said.

  “Do you have Troy’s schedule?” Raz asked.

  “Not when he was at the house,” Alex said. “I think Mattie or Joseph kept his schedule. I’ll ask. That’s good thinking.”

  “If this was as well planned as it seems?” Raz shook his head. “We’ll need a healthy dose of luck to figure it out.”

  “We haven’t had it so far,” Colin said.

  “Keep looking,” Alex said. “Remember. We’re the pros. Hector was not a pro.”

  “Could he have hired one?” Colin asked.

  “Sure but no one’s claimed credit,” Alex said.

  “That gives me an idea,” Raz said.

  “James suggested we call Cian,” Alex said.

  “That’s another good idea,” Raz said. “I’ll do that now. Is he at the bakery?”

  “Should be,” Colin said.

  John’s elder brother, Cian Kelly, appeared in the middle of an awful year a few years ago and was now a member of the family. He and his best friend, Eoin, went from being IRA thugs to owning a popular bakery with Colin.