Broken (Book 3 of The Guardian Interviews)

by Michael Clary

  Sometime in the late afternoon, I pulled Jaxon upstairs to the room we normally used and I fitted him in his tuxedo. I had picked it out for him myself. I went with Ralph Lauren. I thought it would be able to manage his gigantic shoulders quite nicely, and I wasn’t wrong.

  As I was working on the adjustments, Jaxon took a nap on the sofa. This time he wasn’t bothered by nightmares. The entire house became very quite in an effort not to disturb him. It was near sunset when he finally woke up.

  He wanted to go to the garage and work on his motorcycle, but I was having none of that. The limousine would be arriving in under an hour, and we were for damn sure going to be ready for it.

  “Where was the rest of the team staying?”

  They all had rooms at a place called The Inn of The Mountain Gods. It’s one of the nicer hotels in Ruidoso. I’m not sure how they felt about not staying in the same place as their leader. I mean, Jaxon considers them family, and so do I. I just wanted a slightly less rowdy time that day with my more immediate family before the awards ceremony.

  “They are pretty rowdy when they get together, aren’t they?”

  It takes some getting used to. Don’t get me wrong, though, I normally find them hilarious. Each of them is so inventive with the way they harass one another. Except for Nick, he’s not as creative.

  The argument started as soon as the rest of the team arrived at the cabin. Dudley kept telling everyone he was James Bond, and then he went around posing himself in the typical James Bond type of pose.

  “Why the Hell are you James Bond?” Jaxon laughed. “I should be James Bond.”

  “I’m the one wearing a tuxedo by Tom Ford, dipshit,” Dudley announced.

  “So?” Jaxon demanded.

  I cringed. I was the one that had picked out everyone’s tuxedos.

  “Tom Ford is the maker of James Bonds suits,” Dudley said.

  “Is that true?” Jaxon asked me.

  “That might be true, sweetie,” I reluctantly answered.

  At this point in the argument, the rest of the team began gleefully joining in. It wasn’t long before each of them had chosen a side and added to the chaos. Everyone was talking at the same time. The noise level was deafening. Merrick got so excited from all the commotion she began to bark loudly in a high pitched sort of bark that was so loud it hurt my ears.

  And then Ivana walked in the front door in the dress I had picked out for her. Everyone abruptly became quiet. They weren’t used to her wearing a dress.

  “Oh, fuck you guys,” Ivana growled.

  “Tell her she looks pretty, you jerks!” I shouted.

  Everyone blurted out how hot the two of us looked. I beamed with pride. It’s not easy to get a compliment out of that bunch, and I wasn’t even asking for them to compliment me.

  “Hey, Buffy,” Javie said. “How are you going to slay vampires in that outfit?”

  I didn’t get the joke. Truth be told, I didn’t really want to get the joke but the sudden chill in the air made me think that maybe enough time had not yet passed to make the comment funny. That is until Jaxon started laughing, and laughing, and laughing. He even started pointing at Ivana while he laughed.

  It didn’t take long before everyone began to snicker. Well, except for Ivana. She was too busy staring at Javie with an arched eyebrow.

  “What?” Javie asked. “I got jokes to tell.”

  Ivana finally cracked up. As soon as she did, Javie crossed the room, and gave her a big hug. Drinks were passed around immediately after. It was wine for me and whiskey for everyone else, including Ivana.

  I thought the tuxedo drama was over until Dudley began to go around introducing himself to everyone saying his name was Bond, James Bond. That of course got my husband riled up all over again.

  “Seriously, Skie,” Jax demanded. “Why is he wearing a Tom Ford, and I’m not?”

  “Because your big-ass gorilla shoulders won’t fit in a Tom Ford,” Georgie answered.

  “My shoulders aren’t that big,” Jax said gloomily.

  “Dude,” Nick said. “Your shoulders are freakish. I’m not even sure my shoulders are that wide.”

  It was a bold statement considering how big Nick is.

  “How the hell did Nick get invited to this thing?” Jaxon asked.

  “Because I’m on the team, dumbass,” Nick answered testily.

  “You’re more like a pledge,” Dudley laughed. “You haven’t really been with us long enough to be a member.”

  “Well, you’re more like Q than James Bond,” Nick retorted.

  “SURRENDER TO MY AWESOMNESS!” Jaxon shouted at Dudley.

  “I’m no Q,” Dudley growled. “I’m a freakin’ badass.”

  “Nope,” Georgie said. “The badass title goes to the General.”

  “SURRENDER TO MY AWESOMNESS,” Jaxon laughed.

  “I’m not saying Jax isn’t a badass,” Dudley explained. “I’m merely saying he’s more like blunt force trauma when he fights. I, on the other hand, am a highly skilled ninja assassin.”

  “Wait,” Jaxon said. “Did you just imply that I have no skill?”

  “Not really,” Dudley answered. “I’m saying that you have no style.”

  “Those are some bold words,” Nick said. “I think we need to have a grudge match.”

  “Two may enter,” Javie said in an ominous tone. “One may leave.”

  “All I want is far beyond the Thunderdome,” Georgie sang out in a high pitched voice.

  I didn’t get the movie quote. Javie throws out way too many of them for me to keep up with. Ivana and I made eye contact and just shrugged it off as one of many things we weren’t going to understand.

  “I’m up for a grudge match,” Dudley said.

  “Bring it on pretty boy,” Jaxon challenged.

  Everyone started hooting and hollering. A wrestling match was about to break out. Even Ivana was pounding her fist in the air. I had had enough. I hiked up my dress. I climbed up on the kitchen table and put up my tiny fists.

  “The first one of you that even thinks about ruining their tuxedo is going to have me coming at them like a spider monkey,” I announced to the stunned group. “I’ve spent way too much time and effort picking out everyone’s clothes, which I also paid for with my own money. So, we are all going to this party immediately. We are going to arrive there in one piece, and we are going to behave ourselves properly. Do not even think about ruining this night for me, and can someone please explain why Javie has only shaved one side of his face?”

  Jaxon immediately scooped me off the table. I squealed and laughed as he swung me over his shoulder and made his way to the door. The giant limo was waiting for us in the driveway. All of us somehow managed to fit inside of it, and we waved goodbye to the kids, Merrick, and Jaxon’s parents as we drove off to the awards ceremony.

  “I take it the argument was over?”

  Oh, Hell no. Not even close. Two minutes after we left Jax and Dudley were at it again.

  “How the hell can you say I have no style?” Jaxon asked.

  “You’re more about just beating the living hell out of your opponents,” Dudley answered. “You don’t exactly look like a skilled ninja assassin when you do it.”

  “Jax has a beat your ass style,” Georgie added. “It looks pretty impressive to me.”

  “I think you’re probably using the wrong word,” Javie told Dudley. “Style would be better used when describing fashion, and perhaps his overall look.”

  “What the Hell is wrong with my look?” Jaxon asked.

  “Boots, jeans, t-shirt, and a wallet with a chain aren’t exactly the hallmarks of high fashion,” Georgie added.

  Dudley started laughing hysterically.

  “Tight jeans and a shirt that’s three sizes too small doesn’t really work either,” Georgie told Dudley, which shut him up immediately.

  “If we’re involving fashion into the equation,” I said, “the only one of you truly worthy of being called James Bond would
be Javie.”

  Everyone just stared at me.

  I realized my mistake immediately. I had joined in on their reindeer games. I had become one of them. I had finally been corrupted.

  “Damn you,” I shouted. “Damn you all.”

  Nick pretended to wipe a tear from his eye. Georgie made a sound as if he was quietly crying. Jaxon called for silence. Georgie pursed his lips, shook his head proudly, and began The Clap.

  “What’s The Clap?”

  Skie laughed mischievously at my mistake.

  “Is there an actual definition, or were you just messing with me?”

  No, there is. That was just too funny for me not to laugh. The Clap is what they used to do in comedies from the eighties. It’s normally reserved for when the nerd or underdog gives a big speech at the end of the movie and the entire school starts to applaud. It begins with one person. They do a slow but loud clap and then everyone slowly joins in.

  Ivana was the last to join in. By the time she did, I was looking out the window and pretending that I was alone in the car.

  I think the driver was glad to be rid of us when we reached the banquet hall. I can’t say I blamed him either. The drinks hadn’t stopped pouring. For the most part, they were mixing whiskey with soft drinks but every now and then they downed a few straight shots just for the Hell of it. It was crazy. I try and limit myself to two glasses of wine due to low tolerance but even I was on my third glass. At one point I was even joining everyone in fist pumps while Jax and Dudley did a row of shots.

  Secret Service agents were all over the property of the banquet hall and probably in the woods beyond as well. I had forgotten all about the important people on the guest list. The thought of being in the same room with the President of the United States had a somewhat sobering effect on me. I stopped drinking immediately. His first impression of me wasn’t going to be that of an immature alcoholic.

  There were a lot of eyes upon us as we made our way to the entrance. Even more turned to look in our direction when a shoving match broke out between Jaxon and a couple Secret Service agents.

  The agents apparently didn’t want the boys to enter the banquet hall with firearms.

  “Jaxon, are you carrying a gun?” I asked. It was news to me.

  “Possibly,” he answered.

  “Hand it over, please,” I pleaded. “I’m sure we will be well protected while we celebrate. Look at all the agents that have shown up just to make sure everyone stays safe.”

  “I’m not giving up my knife,” Jaxon grumbled as he pulled a snub-nosed revolver from the back of his jacket and handed it to the agent.

  “Would you please check in and see if my husband and his team can keep their knives?” I politely asked the agent nearest me while simultaneously giving him my prettiest smile.

  “I’m sorry, ma’am,” the agent said. “The orders are firm. No weapons allowed inside the banquet hall.”

  I was not to be deterred.

  “Dudley,” I said. “Would you mind calling Mr. Hardin? Perhaps he can help us get past this roadblock”

  We waited patiently. I say we, but I think Ivana and I were the only patient ones. The team was ready to pack it all up and head home. With nothing else to do, I began to take in the beautiful countryside. The forest was thick behind the banquet hall, but across the street and to the sides the land consisted of vast amounts of rolling grasslands. I even got to see some wild horses running in the distance.

  The police had arrived during our wait and began directing the traffic, which was rapidly becoming congested. I found it odd that so many people were showing up to an invitation only event, but I assumed they just wanted to get a look at either my husband or the President.

  The agent blocking our entrance began talking into a microphone on his sleeve. I doubt it was Mr. Hardin that he was speaking with but the results were the same. The boys were allowed to bring in their sharp and pointy things.

  As I said before, Jaxon had already given up his gun. Nick handed over two large .357 magnums. Dudley handed over a very battered .45 and warned the agents not to scratch it. Javie handed over a 9mm. Georgie handed over two pristine looking .45’s from his belt. Then he leaned over and pulled out another two snub nosed revolvers from his ankles.

  I had no idea that the boys were even carrying weapons. I was pretty shocked. Ivana was laughing.

  “Georgie needs a lot of guns,” Dudley whispered loudly. “He tends to empty them rather quickly due to his shitty aim.”

  That got everyone laughing. The mood was instantly restored as we walked inside the building. On our way to the actual hall, we were beset by many well-wishers and hand shakers. Some of them were politicians. I follow politics very closely, by the way. I have since I was a teenager. Jax, on the other hand, had no idea who anybody was so I needed to whisper the names of most of the people into his ear.

  “Does Jaxon not follow politics?”

  Not at all. He has zero interest in anything political. To him it’s just a bunch of stuffy men and women having boring conversations that put him to sleep. The man doesn’t even vote.

  Once inside the gigantic hall, the boys made their way straight to the bar while a nervous hostess tried desperately to usher our group to our seats. I felt sorry for the girl as she repeated over and over that our waiter would take our drink orders.

  Finally, after Jaxon had liberated a bottle of Jack from the bartender we grabbed our seats. We were at the front of the room. Before us was an empty expanse of wooden flooring; beyond that was a raised podium. I was still finding it hard to believe that the President was going to speak on behalf of my husband and his friends.

  The hundred or so tables behind us began to fill up slowly. By the time the boys were opening their second bottle of Jack, the room was filled. Shortly after that, everyone became silent as a man walked to the podium and introduced the President. Everyone watched as he calmly walked to the podium, shook his announcer’s hand, and then smiled directly at our table.

  “I understand that the man of the hour isn’t big on speeches,” the President said. “So, taking that into consideration I will make this as short and sweet as I possibly can while still maintaining the honor I wish to bestow.”

  Jaxon squirmed in his seat.

  “On a summer morning in the not so distant past, this great country had its entire sense of reality shattered. A nightmare had crawled out from the darkest parts of our nightmares. It was a nightmare that the government was powerless against. We could not render aid. We could not evacuate our citizens from danger. We had no choice but to close our doors. Too many of the people of this great nation were left out in the cold.”

  Jaxon squirmed some more.

  “It’s a sad thing to be a leader of this country and not be able to help the people that call this land home. I was powerless. We were, all of us, powerless, and our people were frightened. Our people were without hope.”

  I put a hand on Jaxon’s leg to stop him from squirming.

  “That is, until one man stood strong against the nightmare. He braved the shadows, and he brought hope to an entire country with his bravery and his deeds. Tonight we celebrate the man known to most of America as the General. Tonight we celebrate the fearless men that follow him. You are all true American Heroes.”

  The applause was deafening. I sort of expected that. I didn’t expect the standing ovation. All those men and women cheering for my husband brought tears to my eyes.

  Jaxon looked extremely uncomfortable at all the attention and he sort of stared at the floor in an effort to ignore what was going on. I expected that as well. Javie was pretty cool about everything; he simply smiled proudly and nodded his head. Dudley, Nick, and Georgie had the very best reaction. Each of them had raised their arms in the air as if they were conquering barbarians.

  A man quietly approached our table amidst the applause and escorted the boys to the podium. The President himself shook each of their hands and placed a golden medal on a red, white
, and blue ribbon over their heads.

  He then ushered Jaxon to the podium. He wanted Jax to say a few words. It was a good thing he didn’t know this was coming. He would have never shown up. I watched as he looked around shyly before clearing his throat.

  “Thank you,” Jaxon said. “Thank you for your support. I don’t…I don’t really know what to say. I guess…I guess I’m just glad I could be some sort of help. I’ve done what I can. I’ll continue to do everything I can…”

  “WE LOVE YOU, JAXON!” Ivana shouted out when his words began to falter.

  Jaxon smiled.

  “I’m just…I’m just not sure how much of this I deserve. I was given a responsibility. I’ve tried my damndest to make a difference. I wouldn’t have achieved anything without my team watching my back. Each and every day they put themselves in mortal danger. Each and every day they follow my orders.”

  The applause came again.

  “What I’m saying is,” Jaxon continued. “I make mistakes. I’ve lost people. I wish…I wish I could have saved more lives. I wish I could have been there for all the people that didn’t make it.”

  The crowd became still. I was worried for my husband. I was so worried I was biting my lower lip. I knew he was having problems. I knew he had nightmares. I didn’t want him to unravel in front of all these strangers. I wanted to whisk him away to someplace safe, someplace quiet, and I wanted to hold him until he felt better. No matter how long that might be.

  Jaxon was just standing there with a blank look on his face. I don’t know what dark corners of his memory his mind had wandered off to but he was no longer in the here and now. I was about to go to him. I was about to lead him away. The President got there before me.

  “Son,” the President told him. “You’ve done more than any man could ever be expected to do. You have accomplished more than any man could ever be expected to accomplish. We thank you. We support you. We believe in you. Every war has its losses. I wish things were easier on you. I know what you’ve been through. I know the challenges that you’ve faced. Perhaps you’ve thought of yourselves as alone in this. I can assure you, you are not alone.”