by Laura Acton
Dan adjusted in the bed sitting up a bit higher. “Wouldn’t know … just woke … up again. Feel like … Rip Van Winkle … I talked … to Blaze … today. Winds … called my cell. They’re … still on a mission … it was strange.”
“Strange how?” Scott asked intrigued given the summons he and the cousins had received. Something strange is definitely going on.
“Nothing really … just odd phrasing … said the mission … kind of … personal … would be happy when … he finished. … Strange for Blaze.”
A nurse brought in a light dinner and told him the doctor order he eat it all. Dan looked at the bland food and sighed. Do they purposefully make it so unappetizing? He spooned a small bit of mashed potato into his mouth. Tasteless might as well be flour paste. Maybe I should just ask for more broth.
While Dan slowly ate, following the doctor’s orders reluctantly, Lexa told them about the only critical call the team had today. A woman took a zoo keeper hostage and threatened to throw her into the cage with the lions. As a vegetarian, she was upset the keepers were feeding the lions meat. Lexa toyed with her hair as she told them how they resolved the call one peacefully and the lion got his meat.
I’d like to be one of those lions right about now, Dan thought as he ate a bite of soft mushy peas and craved one of Jarmal’s Five Alarm burgers.
“Too bad you couldn’t feed the vegetarian idiot to the lion,” Scott joked as he glanced at Dan’s dinner. Gross, bet he wishes he had something more appetizing. His mom will spoil him rotten with delicious food beginning tomorrow.
Dan snorted. “Eats only veggies … not enough … meat on her bones … lion would starve.”
Scott and Lexa chuckled. It was good to see Dan’s humor coming out.
Lexa could tell Dan tired by the mere task of eating. As he finished the last bite of his meal, she changed up her plans. Dan needed rest more than she needed to visit with him. He needed them to take care of him because quite honestly, Dan sucked at taking care of his own health.
She pushed his table away and lowered his bed then gave him a quick, friendly hug. “Get some rest. That’s an order.”
Dan chuckled. “Don’t … out rank me … can’t order me.”
Lexa cocked her head to the side and raised her eyebrow. “We can do this the easy way … you listen and do as you’re told.” She showed him her phone and added, “Or I can call Jon or Boss.”
Leaning back on his pillows Dan gave Lexa a lopsided grin—he would let her win this time. “Getting … some … rest.” As his head sank into the pillow, going back to sleep would be no problem. However, getting in shape is going to be difficult since lifting a spoon to his mouth left him drained.
Right before heading out the door Lexa said, “If we’re not on a critical call, the team is planning on swinging by tomorrow to say goodbye before you leave. Sleep well.”
After Lexa left, Scott quietly noted that Dan quickly fell asleep again. He pulled out his phone and texted Lily asking her to pack his bag and letting her know his orders. They texted back and forth for a while and then Scott picked up a magazine which was left in the room. He tried to read while Dan slept, but his mind comprehended nothing because it kept drifting off and wondering why they were all being summoned to Ottawa.
Several hours later Dan woke and they watched a game on TV. It was near eleven when Scott rose and said, “I’m gonna go grab a coffee, can I bring you anything?”
“No. Tired again … gonna … sleep. If I don’t … see ya tomorrow … wanted to … say thanks for … everything.” Dan looked at Scott, and his expression conveyed more than his words ever could. Scott and Jon played a huge part in keeping him alive that night. Dan was incredibly grateful.
“Anytime, Danny … but let’s not repeat that. Ever! Alright?” Scott gazed at Dan sternly. “You come even close to feeling that way, you call me. I’m always a call away. Do you hear me?” Scott directed as he placed Dan’s phone in his hand to make his point.
“Yeah. Got it.” Dan smiled as he gripped his phone. In the back of his mind, he thought, hope it never happens again.
Scott gave Dan a huge grin. “I put all the family’s numbers in your phone contacts.”
“Thanks,” Dan said as he leaned back and closed his eyes. A year ago he had only two contacts in his phone, Gambrill and the TRF dispatch desk. Amazing how things changed since then. He had his team, his unit, and his family’s numbers now—it felt amazing to belong again. He drifted off to slept with a smile on his face.
Scott studied Dan a moment, the smile warmed his heart. He turned to go get coffee from the vending machine wondering where Uncle Will was. He expected his uncle to show up about ten tonight and hadn’t gotten a message. As he closed the door, his phone buzzed.
He had to laugh at the timing as he pulled his phone from his pocket. It was a text message from Uncle Will. Sorry. Delayed in meetings. Not sure when I’ll get back. Sent unit to guard Daniel so you can get sleep. If Daniel is awake, let him know Sergeant Srònaich O’Naoimhín will arrive soon.
Scott turned around at the sound of boots approaching. He saw a giant of a man striding toward Dan’s room, but then the soldier stopped dead in his tracks. Wow! So that’s Mason. Dan’s gonna be very happy to see him. A lopsided grin played on Scott’s face.
St. Michael’s Hospital – Outside Room 1030 – 11:00 p.m.
Sergeant Murchadh-Ailpein Srònaich O’Naoimhín glanced at the room numbers as he made his way down the hall. He noticed a golden blond man step out of a room. The man had the same color of hair as Blondie. He figured that must be Blondie’s room.
When the man turned, Mason stopped abruptly. His first thought was, What the hell is Blondie doing leaving his room? He better not try to exit the hospital against medical advice. But a split second later he realized it couldn’t be Blondie even though it was a mirror image of him. Blondie is in no condition to be up and walking based on the briefing he received from Colonel Sutton.
Gathering himself, Mason closed the remaining distance. “Sergeant Murchadh-Ailpein Srònaich O’Naoimhín reporting for protection detail. You can call me Mason for short. Who might you be?”
Scott inspected the huge, barrel-chested soldier. The sergeant had to be nearly seven foot. Scott’s own five eleven and broad chested Broderick frame dwarfed in comparison. Scott noted the soldier had auburn hair in a buzzed high and tight. The man had the facial features to be a male model except for a rather horribly scarred right side of his face. Though the friendly, open smile is what Scott focused on—it was hard not to.
Without delay, Scott replied, “Lieutenant Scott Broderick, Dan’s cousin.”
Mason’s expression changed to one of bemusement. “Cousin? You look more like an identical twin.” He chuckled. “Thought you were Blondie trying to escape the hospital.”
Scott laughed. “He has quite a reputation for that, doesn’t he?”
Mason nodded. “Yes, he does. Wasn’t sure if the general sent me to keep him in or others out.”
“Maybe a little of both,” Scott said as he stifled a yawn.
“Is Blondie awake? I would like to go in and say hi if he is. Far too long since I last saw him.”
Scott shook his head. “No, he’s asleep again. Been wiped out by all the tests the past few days. I was on my way to get coffee. Can I bring you one?” Scott asked as he stifled another yawn.
“Looks like you could do with some shut eye yourself. How about you skip the coffee and go get some sleep?” Mason suggested, then added, “I and my unit have Blondie’s six until the general arrives.”
Nodding Scott said, “I think I will head out then. I’ve got to be in Ottawa at nine tomorrow.”
Mason watched as the duplicate Blondie walked towards the elevators. He turned to the door and slowly opened it. It was time to see his kid brother.
St. Michael’s Hospital – Room 1030 – 11:05 p.m.
Quietly and stealthily Mason moved into Blondie’s room and close to the bed, so
he didn’t accidentally wake him. Seeing Blondie in the bed with no shirt on and his chest covered in bandages tore at Mason’s heart. His hand absently rubbed across his own chest over his scar. Mason knew he wouldn’t be alive today if not for Blondie.
So many emotions played in his head as Mason scrutinized Blondie as he slept. Though the primary one which kept popping up was that his little brother must be in terrible shape because Blondie didn’t wake up when he entered the room. Blondie was always such a light sleeper. No one could ever sneak up on him unless he was sedated.
Pulling a chair close, Mason sat down. He ordered his men to do a quick perimeter check, then put Pirate in charge of allocating the unit to a rotation schedule. Mason planned to stay in Blondie’s room until the general arrived. He was slightly worried. Sutton said the general was delayed in returning because a mission went sideways. It could be any unit’s mission, but something in his gut told him it was Blaze’s unit.
He pushed those thoughts down. It did no good to speculate. Mason reflected on the past few years. Leading his own unit had been a hard decision to make because it meant leaving all the guys he deemed brothers. The years spent with Blondie, Blaze, Winds, Brody, Patch, and Ripsaw had been some of the best and worst times in his life.
When they lost Ripsaw, everyone grieved, but none more profoundly than Blondie. The kid blamed himself for Ripsaw’s death. Mason wasn’t privy to how Ripsaw died, mission details were always on a need to know basis.
The only thing Mason knew was the five-man mission was expeditiously cobbled together with men from three units. Sergeant ‘Mutt’ Murdock was in charge. Ripsaw and Blondie were assigned from their unit and Buzz and Dutch from Trigger’s unit.
They could’ve lost all the guys on that mission. Ripsaw, Buzz, and Dutch died, and Mutt and Blondie were injured. Blondie recovered quickly from his physical wounds that time, but the emotional wounds were deep. Brody helped Blondie through nightmares for a couple of months. No one asked Blondie to share how the others died—the fact that their funerals were closed casket meant it had been horrific.
Sighing, Mason finally reached out and laid a hand on Blondie’s bed near his hand. Mason let his hand rest on top of Blondie’s hand and was surprised that Blondie didn’t wake at the touch. “Cadal furasta, bràthair beag. Tha mi an seo airson coimhead ort. Chan fhaod neach sam bith cron a dhèanamh ort a-rithist.”
The nurse slipped in quietly to do her checks and overheard the enormous man whispering to the patient in a foreign language. Quietly she said, “Excuse me, I need to take his vitals.”
Mason smiled at the young nurse, removed his hand, and settled back.
As she took Dan’s blood pressure, she asked, “What language were you speaking?”
“Gaelic.”
“What did you say?”
Not wanting to share fully, Mason said, “Sleep easy, little brother,” but kept ‘I’m here to watch over you. No one’s gonna harm you again,’ to himself.
“Ah, he should sleep through the night.” She finished and left as noiselessly as she had entered.
Mason sighed again. “Ah hell, Blondie. I hoped the days of you being injured ended when you left the military. I would kill Plouffe if I had the chance. He deserves to die for what he did to you. No one hurts my brother. My vow is still as strong today as the day I gave it to you. Anything you need, I’m here for you, bràthair beag.”
Sunshine Starts a Good Day
52
August 9
St. Michael’s Hospital – Room 1030 – 1:00 a.m.
General Broderick slipped quietly into Daniel’s room after acknowledging Master Corporal Francis Drake who stood guard outside Daniel’s room. A weird bit of trivia popped into his head as William realized that Pirate was an appropriate code name for the master corporal. Sir Francis Drake had been called ‘my pirate’ by Queen Elizabeth I and was a privateer licensed by the English government to attack Spanish shipping. He wondered if the unit that named the soldier knew that.
William had been gone much longer than he intended today because he needed to deal with an issue. A critical mission went sideways. Three of the ten targets, including the leader of the terrorist cell, had gotten away.
All the soldiers made it out alive, but two had been injured. It upset him greatly when he saw their names and took all his control not to bellow when he demanded their exact condition. The poor new corporal sent to provide him the information was scared by the look on his face. William only relaxed when details came in that the injuries were not life threatening. However, one would require some down time to recover. He commanded arrangements be made to bring them both back to Ottawa within the next three days.
Today, William ignored twenty-seven calls from his nephews. He knew why they called, but he couldn’t give them the details they would ask for over the phone. Tomorrow morning would be soon enough—actually in eight hours.
He first looked at Daniel and noticed he was sleeping peacefully—that please him. He turned his attention to the sergeant and briskly but quietly said, “At ease. Resume your seat.” William pulled over a chair and sank down into it. He only had a few moments to sit with Daniel because he needed to leave for Ottawa in a half hour. “Is your team in place, Sergeant?”
“Yes, sir,” Mason responded.
“Good. I’ll be leaving again in a few minutes. You’ll be in charge. You have the list of approved visitors?”
“Yes, sir. Along with photo IDs,” Mason said tapping his front pocket.
“I should be back by late afternoon. I’m trusting you to keep Daniel safe,” William said in his commanding tone.
“Yes, sir. It’s my honor. Blondie saved my ass many times over there.”
William nodded, and his tone softened as he said, “Sergeant Srònaich O’Naoimhín, I’m now very much aware of the lengths you and the rest of the unit went to. I recall you sat with Daniel the first time he was injured after the building exploded—and on several other occasions. Thank you for always watching over my son. As I expressed to Blain, Simons, and Shea, I owe you gentlemen more than I can ever repay for taking care of Daniel.
“I’m ashamed of the things which happened under my watch. We will be making changes, and no soldier will ever again be subjected to the abuses Daniel endured. There will be checks and balances put into place. My son is important to me. I shouldn’t have been so hands off. I’m so thankful Daniel had men like you watching his six.”
Mason was shocked to actually hear this from the general. The guys said the general apologized and cared for his son, but to hear and see it for himself was quite another thing. Years of hatred directed at this man started to ebb away.
“I’m glad changes will be made. Will those who did this to Blondie be prosecuted?” Mason asked.
William nodded. “Tricky business since we can’t name JTF2 soldiers in General Court Martial proceedings. CDS McFergus is convening a special board of inquiry to deal with that fact. The current legal loopholes will be closed. Those who committed crimes will be dealt with appropriately.”
“Good because if Plouffe and Merrill get off scot-free, they won’t be walking this earth for long—that I can guarantee,” Mason stated with passion.
A mirthless laugh escaped William, as he nodded in full agreement. Plouffe and Merrill were damned lucky to be locked up in Club Ed at the moment. If not, William might need to do a little target practice.
After several more minutes, William stood and looked down at Daniel. He smiled. Yvonne was patiently waiting to embrace their son. Galloway and his unit successfully moved Yvonne, Becca, and Ann into their home. Yvonne directed a whirlwind of activity as she prepared for the Broderick invasion which would land tomorrow evening. William couldn’t wait for Yvonne to hug Daniel. Her heart would begin to heal. He bid Daniel goodnight and Mason goodbye then headed out of the room to catch his flight to Ottawa.
St. Michael’s Hospital – Room 1030 – 7:00 a.m.
The sound of soft laughter filte
red into Dan’s awareness as he awoke slowly. He recognized the laugh, it was Lily’s. There was another deep bass voice quietly speaking which sounded familiar. He opened his eyes to check if his suspicion was right. What is he doing here? Damn nice to see his ugly mug, but what is he doing here?
Dan said in a gravelly voice, “Mason?”
Mason and Lily turned to Dan.
“Good morning, Sunshine,” Mason teased as he walked toward the bed with an enormous dopey grin emerging. When he reached the bed, he gave Blondie several soft pats on the shoulder.
Dan rolled his eyes at the ‘Sunshine’ name. Mason often called him Sunshine because of his sullen disposition after returning from other units. It actually helped to bring him out of his foul moods. Dan responded with his well-worn reciprocal taunt, “Morning, Gorgeous.” Then he asked, “What … you doing … here?”
Only Blondie got away with calling him Gorgeous. Mason’s grin became broader. Some who didn’t know their relationship might think it was an insensitive remark given his scarred face, but between him and Blondie, it wasn’t. They shared a horrible event and came through it bonded more tightly. Both had permanent reminders of that day in the Humvee. His facial and chest scars and Blondie’s sometimes gravelly voice.
“Orders. The general needed to return to base early this morning to deal with something. He didn’t want you left alone. My unit is assigned to provide protection while he’s gone. Also with your cousin gone, we are to assist with escorting you and the general home later today. Damned glad to get the opportunity to see you again. Been way too long, Blondie.”
Dan thought about what Mason said and was surprised the general hadn’t left sooner. His father was always such a busy man. Dan realized his father made him the priority for as long as he could. It was still hard to reconcile that his father was protecting him. With the way Dan was feeling about his own state of weakness, it made him feel both cared for and irritated.
