Lean on Me

by Claudia Hall Christian

  “I saw that in Le Monde,” Alex said.

  “His?”

  “I doubt it,” Alex said. “But I don’t ask.”

  “Well, this is brilliant.” He kissed her head and stroked her naked shoulder. “Thanks for including me.”

  “Including you?”

  “After missions, you usually need time to regroup,” he said. “And Larry…”

  “Every moment I’m away, I only want to get back to you,” Alex said. “Whether you’re at school or work or here at home. I used to wait for you outside your classes at UCLA.”

  “I can’t tell you the rush I get when I know you’re safe and coming home,” he said. “I feel a flush of joy that… I don’t have words for. I’ve said this a million times: I would give it all up if I could follow you around. But you don’t want me to be your pet.”

  She rolled over to kiss him. He pulled her closer to him.

  “I just miss you, I guess,” he said.

  “I keep hoping to find some balance between home and work but…” Alex said. “I haven’t.”

  “At least I know I’m a priority,” he said.

  “My only real priority,” she said.

  He kissed her. She shifted on top of him. Their lips caught and for a moment, the outside world gave way to their inner life. He pulled back.

  “I’m always caught,” he said. “I long to talk to you – to hear about where you are, what you’re thinking. I long to tell you every detail of the last hours. And yet…”

  He flipped them over so that she was under him. She laughed. He smiled.

  “I love it when you laugh,” he said.

  His eyes scanned her face.

  “I can see them weighing on your mind,” he said. “How many more men are missing?”

  “Twenty-four,” Alex said. “A team of contractors and a Marine team.”

  “Heath Walker’s team.”

  Alex nodded.

  “You’ll leave tomorrow?” he asked. “We have this time. Right now.”

  “It’s not enough.”

  “But it’s what we have,” he said. “Frankly, it is a pretty good feeling to love someone so much that no matter how much time you have with them, it’s never enough.”

  She gave him a sad smile.

  “Don’t be sad,” he said. “For me. Don’t be sad. Let’s just enjoy what we have. You’ll be done with this soon enough.”

  “I don’t know,” she said. “We may be getting close to the crux of everything that’s happened – the assault, the room, last spring’s events, and…”

  He kissed her quiet. She gave him a puzzled look.

  “Come on,” he said. “You’ve been doing this work long enough to know there’s always another bad guy. It’s human nature. When we lived in Santa Monica, you used to tell me that as long as you were alive, you would be out there fighting the greedy, selfish, and power hungry.”

  She gave him a slight nod.

  “Has that changed?” he asked.

  “No,” she said. “I’m more tired now. Disheartened.”

  “Let’s celebrate,” John said. “Let’s have some champagne, eat some stolen hors d’oeuvres, and take a long bath. By the time the sun comes up, we’ll be ready to do it all again. Deal?”

  “Deal,” she said.

  He gave her a sly smile and slipped out of bed to pour the champagne. He looked one way, then the other.

  “Glasses?”

  “I must have forgotten them,” she said. “I can go…”

  “There’s no way I’m risking you wandering off.” He popped the cork and took a long swig from the bottle. “This will do.”

  He hopped back into bed.

  “There is nowhere I’d rather be. You?”

  “Not a chance,” she said. “Not a chance.”

  FFF

  The next morning

  Saturday morning

  December 26 – 7:47 a.m. MST

  Denver, CO

  Alex wandered through the first floor of their home. Their guests were staying until the Denver Police assured them they were safe in their homes. Truth be told, everyone was having such a great time, no one wanted to go home. The women had taken over the kitchen this morning and were cooking up a storm. Their Irish guests were out touring Denver with Cian. Her family was getting ready to give out their gifts to each other. And the house was filled to the brim with children. The older children had launched a “take-no-prisoners” video game tournament in the shared living area. The younger children were playing in groups all over the house.

  “They’re like an infestation,” Maria whispered as Alex walked past.

  Alex laughed.

  “Auntie Alex!” Hermes yelled from the front door of her side of the rooming house.

  “Auntie Alex! Auntie Alex! Auntie Alex! Auntie Alex!” the kids he was playing with mimicked his cry.

  “Excuse me,” Alex said to Maria.

  Maria gave her a wave and went into the kitchen.

  “Yes, Hermes,” Alex looked into the boy’s bright face. He was playing jacks with a few of the other children his age on the tiles in the entryway of the house. Over the last months, Hermes had gained healthy weight and grown taller. He’d also learned to be a killer jacks player.

  “There’s a man at the front door,” Hermes said. “He’s wearing a brown shirt and brown pants. Daddy said not to open the door but to call you.”

  Alex looked up to Troy’s perch on the stairs.

  “UPS,” Troy said.

  “He wants you,” Hermes said.

  “Okay, okay,” Alex said. She set her coffee cup down on the entryway table. With a hand on her Glock 9mm, she opened the door. “Yes?”

  “Alexandra Hargreaves?” the man asked.

  “Yes,” Alex said.

  “Package for you.” The man had a package under one arm and an electronic signature pad in the other. There was a UPS truck idling on the street.

  “You’re early.” Not removing her hand from the Glock, Alex held her other hand out for the signature pad.

  “Didn’t get everything delivered on Thursday. This time of year, we hire contractors but you know how it goes,” he shrugged. “Your box was due on Christmas. This is the least I can do. Hopefully, we didn’t ruin your Christmas.”

  “Not at all,” she said.

  Alex gave him back the signature pad. She let go of her weapon to take a medium-sized square box from him.

  “Merry Christmas!” He said as he ran back to his truck.

  Alex closed the door. Turning in place, she carried the box through the house, around all the people, and onto the milk porch. She set the box on the bench and slipped on her winter boots.

  “Whatcha doing?” Raz asked.

  She glanced up to see Troy and Raz standing at the kitchen door.

  “What’s that?” Troy asked.

  “What exactly,” Alex said.

  “Who’s it from?” Raz asked.

  “Someone in Mexico,” Alex said. “Juarez.”

  Raz picked up the package.

  “Do you know anyone in Juarez?” Troy asked.

  “Not someone who’d send me a Christmas gift,” Alex said.

  Alex pulled on her jacket while Raz inspected the package.

  “Where are we going?” Matthew asked.

  “I need to check out this box,” Alex said.

  “Parking lot behind the house next door is probably the safest place,” Raz said. “Erin and Grace are here so their home is empty and the house next door is empty. I know Sami wants to take up the concrete. If it’s a bomb...”

  “Good thinking,” Alex said.

  “We’ll call the cops when we know what it is,” Raz said.

  Alex, Troy and Matthew nodded.

  “Troy and Mattie, I think you should stay here,” Alex said. “I don’t want…”

  Alex turned to point at the row of young children peeking through their legs at her.

  “Why does he get to go?” Troy asked.

&nb
sp; “After the anthrax scare…” Raz said. “And Kandinsky, I know a lot about packages.”

  “Let us handle this,” Alex said. Seeing resistance on their faces, she added, “Please. I’d really like it if you didn’t blow up on Christmas in front of your children.”

  “Come on Troy,” Matthew said. “Let’s find a good place to watch before they’re all gone.”

  “Good thinking,” Troy said.

  Alex smiled.

  “What’s this?” Wyatt asked. “Anything exciting?”

  “Package of unknown origin,” Troy said as he passed.

  “Going to look inside?” Wyatt asked.

  “That was our general plan,” Raz said.

  “I was on a bomb team for a couple of years,” Wyatt said. “Mind if I tag along? See if I can help?”

  Alex and Raz looked at each other. Alex shrugged. Wyatt grabbed his tattered heavy winter jacket. Raz buttoned a fleece-lined, butter-soft leather jacket. He took a gray cashmere scarf from the hook and wrapped it around his neck.

  “How is it that you have the nicest clothing,” Wyatt said. “I feel… out classed for this adventure.”

  “Samantha,” Raz said. “We both put money into a fund and Sami buys our clothes. I’m sure she’d do it for you too.”

  “She loves to shop,” Alex said. “This gives her an outlet.”

  “The last woman who bought me clothing was my mother,” Wyatt said.

  “And?” Raz asked.

  “Where do you think I got this jacket?” Wyatt asked.

  Alex laughed.

  “You’ve met Frederec?” Raz asked.

  “You mean,” Wyatt squealed to imitate Amelia’s delight at seeing him. “Frederec! Oh my God! Frederec!”

  “She was loud,” Alex laughed. Wyatt opened the door. Alex and Raz followed him into the garden.

  “Yes, I’ve met him,” Wyatt said. “Why?”

  “He’s a designer,” Raz said. “He’s wants good-looking regular guys to wear his clothes. I bet he’d hook you up.”

  They went through the garden gate to the yard of the building next door.

  “Between Sami and Frederec, you’ll be set,” Alex said.

  She moved to the back of the lot, away from the houses but not too close to the houses across the alley, and set the box down. Wyatt dropped to his knees to look at the box. Raz squatted down.

  “It’s not ticking,” Wyatt said.

  “Always a good sign,” Raz said. “No obvious wires.”

  Wyatt flipped open the Spyderco folding knife he kept on his waist band. He flicked the knife through the packing tape on one end and then the other. Held together by a strip of tape along the long edge of the top, the top of the box came up an inch.

  “Could explode when the lid opens,” Raz said.

  “It’s not a bomb,” Jesse said. He appeared next to Alex.

  “How do you know?” Wyatt looked up to see who was speaking. “Wait, who said that?”

  “What?” Raz looked up to where Wyatt was looking. Unwilling to have the conversation, Alex shrugged. Raz leaned down to look under the flaps. “Whoa.”

  His face was marked with disgust and he waved his hand in front of his face

  “That’s not a bomb. That’s death,” Raz said.

  Wyatt put his face into the crack in the box.

  “Smells like death,” Wyatt said.

  Alex looked up to see Matthew, Troy and a sea of children watching her from their milk porch windows. Catching Matthew’s eyes, Alex slowly shook her head. He nodded. They waited until the children had gone into the house to open the box.

  Wyatt cut the tape on the top and Raz opened the box. Inside, they saw the top of a man’s head.

  “It’s Heath,” Alex said.

  “You’re sure,” Raz said.

  “Got to be.”

  “We need to call the Denver Police,” Wyatt said.

  Alex made the call. They waited in the cold with the box for a few minutes before a police cruiser arrived. The police cruiser led to a forensics team. Family gift time came and went while they waited by the disembodied head of her mother’s best friend’s son. The forensics team cut open the box to reveal what Alex knew.

  Someone had cut off US Marine Captain Heath Wheeler’s head and sent it to her. Alex nodded to confirm the identity. She, Raz, and Wyatt went back into the house.

  For the first time since they returned from North Dakota, the downstairs was quiet.

  “Where is everyone?” Alex asked.

  “The children are downstairs watching movies,” John said. “Tom and Rita are reading books to the little ones.”

  “Even the older kids?” Alex asked. “Amelia? Frederec?”

  “Moved their video game to one of the rooms,” John nodded. “Everyone is tucked away in a room. You can use your super secret office or do the laundry.”

  “Whatever me lady wishes,” Cian said.

  He bowed. Alex smirked at him and he laughed.

  “What did you do with your brothers?” Alex asked.

  “Watching football in Max’s sitting room,” Cian said.

  “How…?”

  “Broke out the Red Breast,” Cian said. “Jimmy brought another case as a gift from his employers. Hope you don’t mind.”

  Alex shook her head.

  “Everyone knows the score, Alex,” John said. “It’s time for you to work.”

  “Hector James said, ‘My mommy won’t come home for Christmas – this year or ever. You have to make sure other little boys’ mommies and daddies get to come home for Christmas,’” Troy said.

  “He’s a very sweet boy,” Alex gave Troy a quick hug. “What did you do with the women? I thought they were cooking all day.”

  “Next door,” Cian said. “Better, bigger kitchen. Plus, they want to participate in remodeling Samantha’s new house. Your mum and Erin even roused your contractor. Turns out, he’s Katy’s father. You know our Paddie’s Katy?”

  Alex nodded.

  “No one tells me anything,” Cian said.

  “He’s not Irish,” John said.

  “Heathen,” Cian said. “They’ll be by this afternoon to take a look at the house and bring Paddie home.”

  “Sir, your team is ready and waiting for you,” Joseph nodded toward the shared living area. “Your dad and the Admiral are here along with Max. Zack and Cliff are on their way to Buckley. We’ll pick up Colin at the hospital.”

  Alex nodded. Joseph and Troy went into the living area. Raz and Wyatt followed them. But Alex only saw John.

  “Merry Christmas.” She put her hand on his chest.

  “Try to be home for New Year’s,” John said. “I love starting the year with you.”

  Remembering last year’s cabin, Alex smiled. She held him tight and he kissed her cheek. With a nod to Cian, she walked into the living area.

  F

  CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX

  Two hours later

  Saturday morning

  December 26 – 11:47 a.m. MST

  Denver, CO

  Hearing someone at her office door, Alex looked up from her map table. Max worked at her computers and Raz worked on his laptop in an armchair near the gas fireplace.

  “Matthew?” Raz asked.

  “We’re almost ready,” Matthew said. “You?”

  “We’re ready,” Max looked up from her computers.

  “Raz?” Matthew asked.

  “Almost there,” he said. “What about the rest?”

  “Eighty percent. I think they’re waiting on Alex,” Matthew said. “By the time you’re there, everything will be ready. And location?

  “One thing at a time,” Alex said.

  “We’re close,” Max said.

  “About as close as we’re going to get right now,” Raz said.

  “You’ll come up?” Matthew asked.

  “We’ll be there,” Alex said. Matthew turned to leave. “Hey, did Troy…?”

  “He did,” Matthew gave her a cocky smile. “Yo
u’ll never believe it.”

  “One thing at a time,” Alex said.

  “Five minutes,” Raz got up and closed the door.

  Alex and Max gave him identical questioning looks.

  “I wanted some good coffee,” Raz said.

  Alex smiled. He filled a carafe from the water filter for the espresso maker and Alex’s phone rang.

  “This is my call,” Alex said. The men nodded. “Fey?”

  “Alex, it’s Efren,” the young man from the UN said. “The cartels deny any knowledge. In fact, they were pretty fast to say they had nothing to do with it. Do you have some pull with them?”

  “They don’t want to go to war against the US?”

  Max got up to use the restroom and Alex picked up her Magic 8 Ball.

  “That maybe true,” Efren said. “But they’re scared shitless of you.”

  “Probably,” Alex said.

  “Care to share why that is?”

  “I think you’d have to ask them.”

  She shook the Magic 8 Ball.

  “They aren’t talking,” Efren said.

  “The box?”

  “The box was mailed from Juarez to make it look like them,” Efren said. “They say it was sent by the military.”

  “The Mexican Military?” Alex asked. “The Admiral spoke to the head of the Mexican Military. They deny any knowledge. My understanding is that they are scrambling like we are.”

  Closing her eyes, she asked the ball about the success of this mission.

  “The Military is saying our tribe has them,” Efren said. “But I spoke with my brother. We don’t have them.”

  “He called me after you talked to him. They don’t have them and don’t know where they are,” Alex said. “And no one wants another war with your people.”

  “Especially since we’re Fey trained,” he laughed.

  “There is that,” Alex said.

  “Twenty-four dead American soldiers,” Efren said. “There would be war.”

  “Don’t even think it,” Alex said. “Our President and yours are in communication. We will find these men and take care of it.”

  She turned the Magic 8 Ball over. The black pigment still covered the transparent window. The die remained hidden. As if to scratch the black pigment off the other side of the plastic, she glared at the ball.

  “I hope so,” Efren said. “For the first time since the terrible confusion after Papa died, I’m afraid for my people.”