by Kurt Winans
As she had done throughout the previous three weeks, Ashley was sleeping in a spare bed which had been moved to a location no more than ten feet from Savanah. Refusing to leave her side for little more than quick restroom breaks, Ashley spent long hours in waiting while she hoped against hope that there might be a deviation in the inevitable outcome. Then on the morning of April twelfth, she could cease with that worthless endeavor. Rising well before six o’clock from another night of restless and sporadic sleep, Ashley in her typical fashion moved to check on Savanah. With a slight nudge on the arm she attempted to wake her, but there was no response. A second nudge was then followed by a third of increased emphasis before Ashley finally turned her gaze toward the bedside monitor. Her immediate thought was that the instrument readouts must be incorrect, as they revealed that Savanah had flat lined.
In a separate wing of the mansion Samuel was awakened when he heard the lengthy agonizing scream, and he knew without a doubt the message which it conveyed. Her scream of denial was only interrupted by the instant that it took Ashley to inhale and deeply refill her lungs. Then she let loose with a second and more exaggerated scream which rang out from deep within her soul.
Samuel rolled over to awaken Victoria, but his action was unnecessary.
As he touched her shoulder, she said with a broken and trembling voice, “I know Samuel, I can hear her.”
When she sat upright in bed a few seconds later, Samuel asked, “So what do you think we should do?”
“Well we have to go comfort Ashley!”
“I know that Vic. But should we rush right over, or give her a few minutes to be alone?”
Staring at her husband, Victoria replied, “Well, we should probably get over there right away in case Ashley wants some immediate comfort. But if she needs to be alone for a little while, we can always wait in the hall.”
Agreeing that was a reasonable approach to the situation, Samuel and Victoria quickly put on their robes and made their way toward the grieving mother. When they arrived, Blake was standing in the hall just outside the bedroom of his younger sister with a vacant stare that looked as though it reached a thousand miles into the distance.
Victoria cautiously moved to his side, and put her arm around the shoulder of her youngest grandson.
Then she asked, “Blake. Has anyone gone in yet to see your mother?”
With no immediate response, she looked back toward Samuel who provided her with an encouraging nod to ask again. Victoria in turn shook Blake ever so slightly within her grasp and repeated the question.
Her action broke the young man from his trance, and then while nodding toward his grandmother he answered, “Yes ma’am, dad is in there.”
Within another moment or two, Courtney and Jennifer arrived in unison. Soon after that, Ms. Holloway joined the collective. Then all six of them stood silent and fought back their respective tears while listening to the continued screams and sobbing of Ashley.
When President Harwell was informed by Heath as to why the numerous calls had been made, he was saddened to hear that such a young life, no matter what family she was a member of, had been extinguished. Without knowing any specific details which surrounded the demise, or having firsthand knowledge of what it would be like to suffer the death of a child or grandchild, the President could still feel pain for the Tillman family. He was after all a human being, and in spite of what some felt about most politicians, Jordan Harwell was neither heartless nor devoid of a soul.
The covert team established to monitor the communications of number twenty-three made contact with the Secretary of Defense during the evening hours of April twelfth, as there had been a high volume of calls both to and from her residence throughout the day. While the team listened in on the first call, which along with each of the others would be recorded for further scrutiny, they learned that Samuel Tillman was notifying Ms. Matthews that his little sugar Savanah had passed away during the early morning hours. The initial reaction of the team to such news was that he might be speaking of a family pet, as many people often spoke of an animal with similar affection. However they soon realized that number two was probably speaking of a grandchild with the mention of various items such as her death being unfair because she was only ten years old, and the need of a breathing apparatus while bedridden for her final weeks on earth.
Their suspicion was then confirmed when a pending church service with an open casket and the subsequent burial of Savanah on the grounds of the estate was discussed. Before the call ended, number two stated that Kyle and Ashley were understandably distraught. Therefore in order to help them through the tragedy, he would put aside all business maters with regard to the organization for the next several days. Then Samuel expressed his desire that number twenty-three do him a favor by contacting many within the organization to inform them that Savanah had passed away. There would be more specific details to follow, but it looked as though the funeral would take place on Easter Sunday and each of them were welcome to attend if they so desired.
Not wanting to disappoint, number twenty-three then began calling a wider range of numbered operatives than was already known to the covert team so that she could convey the tragic news. While employing a natural progression, Ms. Matthews placed calls and spoke directly with the known persons identified as numbers three, five, seven, eleven, and thirteen, before contacting operatives referred to as number seventeen and nineteen. Eventually she moved to numbers which were higher than her own by speaking with twenty-nine and the still unidentified thirty-one before making a large jump up to number forty-seven. Three of those individuals, numbers seventeen, nineteen, and forty-seven, were first time contacts for number twenty-three since the extensive surveillance of her had been initiated. As a consequence, no previous voice recordings of them existed in the current profile for the organization. Following protocol for such an occurrence, the covert team employed the same voice recognition software which had been used to identify other operatives in the hope that a connection to another database could be found.
Regardless of what their objective might uncover in the near future, there was some good news of an immediate nature which came about as a result of the series of calls. Number twenty-three had made it abundantly clear to each of the operatives that she planned on attending the funeral services for Savanah, and without exception, every one of them that she spoke to echoed their intent to do the same.
When Heath informed the President of that news, he replied, “Well, I suppose that’s not too surprising. They all probably want to express sympathy towards the family.”
“Yes sir. That would be understandable given the circumstances.”
“So then if my calculations are correct Heath, when we add Mr. Tillman into the mix, there will be a dozen of their operatives together at the same time.”
“Yes Mr. President. And there could be more attending the funeral that we don’t know about at this time.”
“Well then we must seize the opportunity to gain more intelligence on the organization. Photographs and voice recordings of conversations could prove to be of benefit.”
“I agree sir. And to that end the Secretary of Defense has suggested that we reposition a satellite to pass over eastern Texas at the time of the funeral. It could easily zoom in on the Tillman estate for the purpose of photographs.”
“That’s true, but is there anything else we can do to listen in on what might be said?”
“Yes sir. The Secretary also suggests that we deploy a few tiny drones from a nearby location. The model he intends to use is the size of a dragonfly and very quiet. It is fitted with a powerful microphone and camera, and each drone could remain virtually undetected since the focus of everyone will be on the funeral service.”
“That’s good Heath. Let’s go ahead with both of those measures.”
“Yes Mr. President, consider it done sir.”
As one would correctly assess, the days and nights which immediately followed the death of Savanah were extr
emely difficult for the entire Tillman clan. Although her passing was expected, anyone claiming to being fully prepared for the loss of a ten year-old would only be lying to themselves and those around them.
On that horrific morning the bulk of the family stood in the hall for at least five minutes while waiting for either Kyle or Ashley to open the bedroom door.
Then Ms. Holloway had moved toward Samuel and quietly stated, “We could all be out here in the hall for quite some time. I think it would be a good idea if I call for an ambulance so that Savanah can be properly cared for. Then I will make some coffee.”
Victoria heard what she had said, as the space between them was minimal.
She nodded in agreement when Samuel replied, “Thank you Ms. Holloway, and you’re correct. That call should be made immediately, along with a call to the front gate. The guards need to be notified that a medical team will be on the way.”
The subsequent examination by the paramedics had determined that Savanah passed roughly two hours before their arrival, which meant that she had died sometime around four in the morning. While the medical team was at the mansion tending to the removal of the body, they also gave Ashley a sedative. She had initially fought against the suggestion while continuing to weep, but Victoria helped her understand that it was the prudent thing to do. Although everyone else recognized the obvious, Ashley needed to be reminded that there was nothing more she could do at the present time to help Savanah. In addition, Victoria pointed out that the coming days and weeks would be quite taxing both emotionally and physically. They would require Ashley to be focused and composed, so several hours of uninterrupted sleep would be the best way to help prepare for that.
Later that morning Samuel notified Mason in El Paso as to what had happened, while also asking that he not inform number thirty-one. That task would soon be delegated to number twenty-three, with instructions to notify everyone else as well. Mason agreed with the request, and stated that he would be ready for a return to Crockett when the family plane arrived to retrieve him. Satisfied with how his middle son planned to come home as soon as possible, Samuel called his pilot to inform him that a flight over to El Paso would be required within the next few hours. Then he contacted number twenty-three and asked that she spread the word throughout the organization.
Roughly an hour after forwarding the simple instructions of those three calls, Samuel contacted number seven with knowledge that by then the man would have been informed of the distressing news. The General offered his sincere condolences for the loss, to which Samuel responded with thanks before requesting a favor. If it was possible to identify a temporary replacement for Jason at College Station, then it would be appreciated by the family if he could be given emergency bereavement leave to attend the funeral services of his sister. That request was granted without hesitation, so Jason was able to leave his instructional posting and drive home to Crockett later that evening.
The logistics and ease of that task was in stark contrast to a similar attempt which needed to be made for Beau. As a first class cadet in good standing at the Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, Beau would receive some leave after his upcoming graduation. It would certainly be good to see him again when that time came, but unfortunately for the Tillman family, the day to celebrate his accomplishments would not come for more than a month. Therefore Samuel realized that a different approach would be necessary in order to get Beau the desired emergency leave during the present week, even if that required him to sacrifice what he would soon earn.
Samuel broached the subject of the potential tradeoff idea with his grandson when he informed him that Savanah had passed, but even though Beau was saddened by the news of his cousin, he believed that the proposed tradeoff or emergency leave would be impossible. That expressed belief was then confirmed the following morning, as Beau called to inform his grandfather that all possible angles to obtain leave had been pursued and denied.
After that call ended, Samuel found Victoria and Ms. Holloway sitting out by the pool.
With a subtle side to side motion of his head, he said, “Beau can’t be here.”
Victoria immediately replied, “Well has he tried everything?”
“I’m afraid so. Apparently the idea of trading his graduation leave for bereavement leave was an outrageous request which wasn’t taken well. When Beau subsequently requested only an immediate bereavement leave, that was also denied.”
“You mean that they won’t let him come home for a few days when a member of the family has died? That’s utterly ridiculous!”
“Beau said that the academy would have considered the leave if it had been the death of a parent, or perhaps even a grandparent, but not a cousin.”
Ms. Holloway had seen that Victoria was puzzled and distraught by the callus distinction that such a regulation placed upon the significance of various relatives.
Therefore she turned to Samuel and asked, “Do you think that number forty-three could help with this?”
Samuel returned her gaze, pondered over the thought of it for a moment, and then replied, “No. I don’t think that would be a good idea.”
Victoria had been caught off guard not only by the inquiry, but the negative response to the suggestion. If there was another way to possibly get Beau home for the funeral then it was at least worthy of an effort.
Turning to Samuel she asked, “Number forty-three? Who is that Samuel, and why are you hesitant to ask him or her for some help with this?”
“Well first of all Vic, number forty-three is an operative that we have within Colorado. That’s why Ms. Holloway suggested the possibility of asking for his assistance. As to why that probably wouldn’t work, there are a few reasons. I don’t believe that the man has the power or influence to impact this particular situation as it’s a military matter. More importantly, the interference in a matter which clearly lies way beyond his scope could jeopardize his cover. That cover was not an easy one to establish, and it took years for him to obtain the position which he currently holds. So simply put Vic, the risk of losing that potential leverage for our organization is far too great.”
Victoria wasn’t at all happy with that explanation. She understood what Samuel had said, and realized that with time she would probably come to embrace his decision, but she still wasn’t happy.
Plans for the service and burial then continued without delay, with the date which Ashley requested for the farewell being an interesting choice as some would claim that it was somehow associated with rebirth. However in this instance, Samuel couldn’t fathom that she had put that much significance into such a belief or claim. Her choice probably had little to do with Easter other than in the current year it happened to fall four days after the death of Savanah. After all, no member of the Tillman clan could be classified as a religious zealot, even though they did attend church as a family on a few occasions throughout the year.
That was not to say that Samuel or the family didn’t believe in what a church or other religious facility could offer. Many a good deed had been done by such groups to provide comfort for those who might require a foundation of belief to stand upon, or need help in other ways. He understood much of the folklore which could be associated with religion, and had studied the parallel concepts of both Greek and Norse mythology at great lengths soon after meeting Ms. Holloway in his troubled teenage years.
Although for Samuel organized religion just wasn’t a good fit, he yielded to the wishes of his grieving family by utilizing the power of the Tillman name to its fullest. His effort became evident at nearly every turn, as Samuel was able to book an afternoon portion of Easter Sunday at the largest church in Crockett while also arranging for some other favors which would normally be unavailable on such short notice.
A few days later, after the completion of the open casket church service for Savanah, a lengthy procession of vehicles made their way toward the Tillman estate. Although most of those within were legitimate grieving friends, each vehicle was checked at the
front gate to keep out any unwelcome media representatives. In addition, walking patrols of the grounds had been initiated earlier in the day to ensure that no trespassers would sneak onto the property for the sake of intrusive long-range photographs or the chance of an ill-advised interview. Those half dozen men and women had been provided by the local sheriff, and they acted in concert with those of the regular Tillman security team.
The old bench which had been used on uncountable occasions by Samuel and others for contemplation, conversation, or communication toward those who previously had been lost was reserved for Kyle, Ashley, and their two sons Jason and Blake. Directly behind there was a row of six family chairs designated for Samuel, Victoria, Ms. Holloway, Mason, Courtney, and Jennifer. Everyone else in attendance would stand, and with over one-hundred grieving family friends and school mates waiting near the gravesite, the short casket containing Savanah was carried along the footpath from the distant driveway. During that procession her father and older brothers remained with her mother on the bench. But with help from the two security men who had escorted Savanah on her first trip to New York more than two years prior, Samuel and Mason shouldered the load.
Like millions upon millions of graveside services for others who had been lost over the centuries, the one for Savanah was respectful and dignified. She had been dressed for the eternal sleep in her favorite Texas A&M sweatshirt, and placed at her side within the casket were a few other items such as a pennant with the Aggie logo, a small football, and the cowboy hat which her grandfather had given her before the New Year’s Eve adventure to Manhattan.
