Parker (The K9 Files Book 6)

by Dale Mayer

  She groaned. “We don’t even have a place to wait in.”

  “We’ll fix that too.” He called one of the men over and said, “Corporal Pearson here will take you back.”

  They nodded, and, with Corporal Pearson leading the way, they grabbed their bags and hopped into one of the vehicles. Samson joined them without the cage. They headed back to the main barracks.

  “Can you believe it?” Sandy said. “We’re heading back there again.”

  “Hopefully for the last time,” Parker said lightly. “This should be good now.”

  She smiled up at him. “Says you.”

  “But it does accent the fact that poor Samson here needs us,” he said in a droll voice. “And I don’t think a date at Tony’s will be enough.”

  “What are you suggesting?” she asked, snuggling up close.

  He wrapped his arm around her and pulled her close. “We should sit like this for the next five hours,” he said. “Because there’s really no privacy for us to do anything more than that …”

  She chuckled. “How like a man. Right to the basics.”

  “Hey! Maybe I was talking about falling asleep.”

  “Well, … you were talking about something, but it sure didn’t have sleep involved,” she said teasingly. “Besides, I wouldn’t want to start something like that until we’re back home again.”

  “What do you have to do when you get home?” he asked.

  “I’m off until after the funeral,” she replied. “Which, in my case, is a cremation and a celebration of life next Thursday. I go to work Monday.”

  “I suggest we spend as many minutes of the next week as we can together,” Parker said. “By next Thursday, I will be officially unemployed.”

  Her eyes opened wide to that. “Wow,” she said. “That’s right. I’ve only got a week afterward anyway.”

  “Right? We have brand new lives starting. So how about we start them together?”

  She smiled. “You know what? That sounds like a perfect start to me.”

  “But we have to get through today, and that means a million more questions.”

  She groaned. “That’s why he wanted us to go back, isn’t it? So we could give our statements.”

  “And potentially why the flight has been pushed back too.” As they arrived back at the base, they were led right back to the colonel’s office. They were asked to take a seat and were offered coffee, tea or water.

  Sandy said, “Coffee, please, and if a doughnut is lying around, I won’t say no to it. I need the sugar hit.”

  Parker laughed at her. “At least you have your voice again.”

  “I never lost it,” she said. “I want to do whatever needs to be done to get out of here. I just can’t believe how much we’ve been through already.”

  “Understood,” he said. “I wonder how long until the colonel arrives.”

  “Maybe it won’t be him. Maybe somebody else will deal with us.”

  “I think it’ll be him and somebody else,” Parker said.

  Ten minutes later somebody finally arrived. “At ease,” the colonel said as he entered his office with another officer, carrying a tray with coffee. The colonel said, “I hope one of those are for me.”

  “No, sir. I’ll go get more,” the soldier said. He placed the tray down on the desk for Sandy and Parker, removed the items and quickly disappeared with the empty tray.

  Sandy stared at the heap of doughnuts and grinned. “At least he took me seriously.”

  The colonel motioned at the treats. “Which one of you needs a sugar fix?”

  “Me,” she said. “My energy is dropping quickly.” She grabbed a cup of coffee and the top doughnut and sat back. “Glad to see you made it back safe, sir.”

  “Me too,” he said. “I gather you guys thought many times today you wouldn’t make it.”

  “I’ve seen action many times,” Parker said, his voice quiet. “I just never expected to have to face it against my own men.”

  The colonel sat down with a heavy thud. “That’s the biggest betrayal of all, isn’t it? I sit here commanding thousands of men every day. And you see shit like that happening under your nose and wonder what kind of people would sell out their country and their souls for a few thousand bucks, take a life for even less than that, take multiple lives just to gain their freedom. All the while knowing that, in the end, they still won’t get away scot-free. How absolutely despicable all of it is.” He looked tired, fed up.

  “I do want to thank you for not getting mad at the methodology I used to contact you,” Parker said. “I did suspect Sergeant Hall a while back, and I wasn’t sure if he was monitoring your calls or not.”

  The colonel looked at Parker in surprise. “Did you really?” He twisted a pencil in his hand as he thought back over the different events. “It’ll take me time to get my mind wrapped around all the things he did have access to. But you’re right. He often does monitor the calls, so, if you called for help, he would have come, but then, of course, I wouldn’t have come too. I guess I owe Commander Cross a thank-you for this,” the colonel said.

  “I think Commander Cross’s only wish is that Samson gets a decent home,” Parker added.

  “Hopefully you can sort this out now, sir,” Sandy said around bites of a doughnut. “Parker, do you want one? They are delicious.”

  Parker watched her eat, her tongue licking the sugar off her lips, and he turned his attention to his own cup of coffee. “Why not?” He reached for the largest one on the plate.

  As he started eating, the colonel nodded his head at him. “You’ve been a huge asset. Are you sure you want to leave?”

  Parker’s eyebrows rose. “The decision was made with my brother’s death,” he said quietly. “It hasn’t been easy.”

  “I know,” the commander said. “I’d be more than happy to switch you over to military police investigations,” he said. “I know that carries a certain amount of cachet but also a certain stain to it. Because we’re always policing our own, but you did yourself proud today, son. I’d be even more proud to have you join my regiment.”

  Parker felt the surprise almost as a blow to his gut. “I don’t know what to say, sir.”

  “I don’t want you to say yes or no right now,” the colonel said. “I want you to go home, and I want you to bury your brother. I want you to take time to think about it, and then you contact me. It won’t be a problem to get you back in again. And, no, you won’t lose your seniority, benefits or anything else. We’ll just put it down as an extended leave for the moment. Compassionate grounds leave, whatever we need to do while you think about it.”

  “That’s very generous of you,” Parker said slowly. “I’m really not too sure what to say. I was looking forward to working the family business with my father. I need to spend some time with him to sort this out.”

  “Understood,” he said. “No pressure. Definitely no pressure. But, as I have just seen what I thought was a good man who turned out to be something he was not, I don’t want to lose a good man who I see for myself is just that.”

  That was one of the highest compliments Parker had ever been paid. That it came from a senior officer made it extra powerful.

  Sandy reached across, gripped his hand and said, “That’s a very nice offer. He’s right. Let’s take our brothers home and deal with our grief and get over this lovely day we’ve had here and see what you want to do.”

  “I certainly won’t jump to any decision,” he said. “That much is for sure.”

  The colonel turned to the paperwork before him and said, “I am bringing in a couple investigators. I’ll stay here the entire time. I will follow you both until you are on that plane and until the plane is in the air, to make sure you get away safely. The next couple hours could be uncomfortable. So prepare yourself. There will be a lot of questions.”

  Chapter 11

  It was a couple grueling hours, where Sandy and Parker kept tripping over each other with answers, remembering bits and piece
s as they tried to state exactly what happened. It should have been simpler. Should have been clear-cut, but it wasn’t.

  By the time they were done, Sandy was exhausted. She wanted to curl up, close her eyes and crash for hours.

  The colonel looked at his watch. “The main rush of dinner is over. I suggest we eat and then head to the airport.”

  She glanced at her watch in surprise. “It’s twenty hundred hours,” she cried out.

  “It is, indeed,” the investigator said, closing his folders, and smiled. “And you put in a very hard day. Your country appreciates it. You’ll be in Germany in no time. And likely asleep the whole way.”

  Sandy didn’t know what to say to that. The country might appreciate it, but she was exhausted. The colonel and the investigator were right that she would sleep all the way home. But first she needed more food, real food.

  She stood on shaky legs, and Samson stood up immediately. She looked down at him. “We lost the food we left at the airport, and once again he has no dog food.”

  “I’m pretty sure Samson’s got a steak coming,” the colonel said. “Let’s go.”

  But instead of heading to mess hall, they were in the colonel’s private room with a table. The room was empty of other people, and there was just them.

  The colonel sat down at one side, and Sandy and Parker took places on the other side. Instead of walking to the self-serve cafeteria, they were being served. When the waiter came to ask what she would like with her steak, she told him a huge Caesar salad, a massive baked potato and all the trimmings.

  Parker chuckled. “Make that two servings of everything,” he said. “We’re very hungry. Add an extra steak for Samson, please.”

  The colonel made it three orders. He also brought out some wine. “It’s a special occasion,” he said. “I don’t have a problem having a drink. And, if it helps you to sleep on the way back, all the better.”

  The next forty-five minutes were one of the most pleasant dinners she’d experienced. They talked about everything from dog breeds to cutting-edge nursing techniques to the colonel’s own two sons, both of whom were professionals—one an engineer and one a medical doctor.

  Samson gobbled a chopped-up steak and cooked yams and lay at their feet.

  Sandy smiled at the colonel. “You must be very proud of your sons.”

  “I am. Sometimes you don’t understand where the paths will take you. I really wanted them to follow in my footsteps. But, if they had, they wouldn’t be who they are. And who they are, I am damn proud to know and even prouder to call family. We can’t push people to do what we think they should do because it’s not right for them in our mind.”

  “Too bad so many other parents can’t figure that out,” Sandy said with a smile.

  “Exactly.” He nodded. “Neither of you are married, correct?”

  “No,” Parker replied. “Haven’t even gotten close.”

  “I wonder where you will be in a year from now?” the colonel joked.

  Sandy could feel the heat rising up her cheeks. Because it was the same thought that had flashed in her mind. She finished her steak, most of her baked potato and all of her salad. “Now I am stuffed,” she said with a laugh.

  “For a few hours,” Parker teased.

  She nodded. “Hopefully those few hours will be flying, and I’ll be sleeping.” She stretched her hand down and rubbed the top of Samson’s head and smiled. “This guy has also had a hell of a couple days. I’m sure he is looking forward to some quiet time.”

  “A hell of a few months in his case,” Parker corrected. “Just think of how many times he’s been the saving force behind us.”

  She nodded and gave Samson a big hug. He threw his weight into her, letting her know he was not only happy to receive the physical affection but was craving it.

  “He just needs some time, and he will be fine,” the colonel said. “Maybe some training for you?” he asked Parker.

  “Absolutely. I do want to keep him, and I think that’s important for Samson. He’s had a lot of different owners lately, and that’s confusing.”

  The colonel stood and said, “A little bit of wine is left, if you want it?”

  Sandy shook her head. “No. I’m good, thanks. I do appreciate that you brought us here and that we’ve had this evening to calm down. I can’t wait to get to the airport, but, more than that, I just want to be in the air.”

  The colonel nodded and said, “Of course.”

  “My brother’s cremation is in a few days, and that’s a painful process which I want to get past. Saying goodbye is something I feel like, in a way, I’ve partially done from the ceremony you had today. It already seems like a long time ago after so much else has happened.”

  The colonel nodded and said, “Come on. Let’s head out to my vehicle.”

  “Are the other family members around?”

  “Not now. They are at their hotels in town, as they are taking commercial flights.”

  “Right,” Sandy said. “For them, it’s just been a chance to visit a base that they’ve probably never seen before.”

  “It’s very different from most people’s expectations. Only those of you who have actually done tours here have any true understanding.”

  “I’m sure this is just as painful for them as it is for us,” Parker said. “We had the extra excitement, but, for them, it’s still no less traumatic to be taking home a family member.”

  “Exactly.” Outside, the colonel motioned to his jeep and said, “Hop in.”

  With Samson between them, they did. A driver came out, and Parker almost smiled at that. Sandy glanced at him, questioning. He just shook his head. But she realized, of course, the colonel didn’t drive anywhere. As they drove out, she twisted to look behind them. “It’s so hard,” she said. “When you look back, I mean. I might never come here again.”

  “I know,” Parker said, as he studied the area around them. “When we got off the plane, I just wanted to look for a dog as a distraction for my real reason to be here. I hadn’t expected this at all.”

  She laughed. “When you offered me a chance to go for a ride, I wanted to get off the base, away from all the heavy memories. I can easily tell you that all those heavy memories have been parked firmly in place. I can see how my brother could have come up against the wrong bullet with his name on it instead of the IED that killed him. The violence we’ve seen since we’ve been here …”

  “Which is not normal,” the colonel said. “You know that, right?”

  “Yes,” Sandy said. “It’s not normal, but it did help maybe, and I guess it’s wrong to say this, but it did help to put my brother’s death in perspective.”

  “Then that would be a help that we hadn’t even considered,” the colonel said. “It’s hard to lose loved ones. Grief is all-consuming, and then, all of a sudden, it’s not. Sometimes we feel guilty, and sometimes we look for other things to fill our lives. Maybe this last day will have helped you deal with that.”

  “I’ll still cry at the ceremony, and I’ll still cry at odd times in my life, but I’m pretty sure I can see that he did what he loved and that he was joyous doing it. I’m just grateful it wasn’t friendly fire that took him out.”

  “Exactly,” the colonel said. The rest of the journey was done in silence.

  It was getting dark out, and the headlights showed a completely different world that she hadn’t seen before. It had been dark before, but now, heading back, knowing all the issues were done and gone, it had such a different feel to it.

  Parker reached across Samson and clasped her hand in his. She smiled at him. “Is it safe this time, do you think?” she teased.

  “Yes,” he said. “It is. We just have to get through this next little bit.”

  “I’m trusting you,” she said with a wink.

  “Good,” he said. “Keep trusting me because you’ve trusted me right from the beginning, and I’ve trusted you.” He looked down at Samson, sitting between them, and asked, “How you doing
, Samson?”

  Samson gave a short bark.

  “I hope his cage is still there at the airport,” she said. “He needs it to be coming home with us.”

  “I hope so too,” Parker said.

  The colonel said from the front seat, “It was left behind on purpose.”

  Within another few minutes they arrived at the airport. They hopped out with their bags and walked over to where the cage stood.

  The colonel reached out, shook Parker’s hand. Parker saluted and watched as Sandy wrapped her arms around him and gave him a hug. He grinned, and she stepped away and said, “Thank you very much.”

  They opened the cage for Samson, and he went in willingly. He lay down, his eyes ever watchful.

  It seemed to take longer than expected, but finally, with Samson securely tied in beside them, they each took seats and waited for the cargo hold to close.

  This wasn’t your average flight, but it was one they had taken themselves at different individual times. Sandy stared out at the darkness as the door finally closed.

  She gripped Parker’s fingers tighter.

  “Here we go,” he said.

  “You know I’m okay with that,” she said. “I’m definitely okay with that.”

  He laughed and whispered, “I suggest that, instead of us splitting up, we both go to one place.”

  “I agree. And … it should probably be my place,” she said with a shy smile.

  “Well. It is closer,” he said. “Probably cleaner.”

  “Definitely cleaner,” she said with a chuckle. She squeezed his fingers. “We still have a long-ass trip to go.”

  “In many ways,” he said.

  Something in his tone had her opening her eyes and turning to face him. “In many ways?”

  He nodded. “In many ways. Because it’s not just about getting home, it’s also about the funerals. It’s also getting to know each other. That’s the journey I am looking forward to.”

  She smiled and said, “You say the nicest things.”

  “To the next chapter of our lives,” he said and squeezed her fingers again.

  “Sounds good to me.”