He Wanted To Hate Him, Can't Run From Me & Princess Protection
Adela's Coffee Shop
Patrick stared down at his coffee cup. The contents magically never made it past halfway empty and never actually became cold. He had no idea how many times it had magically refilled in the time he sat here.
His mind was on other things. Patrick felt so many emotions he could not really sort them out. They layered on top of one another all clamoring for dominance.
The cup magically refilled once again and it automatically lifted to his lips. Lowering it once again the repetitive motion was an anchor of sorts as he was caught in the eddy of his emotions. Swirling around and around and being pulled under time and again.
Patrick finally lifted his eyes and gazed at the man that sat across from him. The man with kind eyes and calm face sitting quietly waiting for him. Patrick wanted to hate the man. But what he finally figured out was that what he really felt was envy. Deep, burning envy.
That man had what he wanted. That man held what he had discarded. She had gone to him for comfort. She had run to him the instant she saw him.
He had held her tenderly. He had comforted her in her time of need. He had been strong for her. She had cried on his shoulder. He had said tender words to her. She had smiled at him as she wiped her tears.
Patrick wanted to hate him. He really did. But he couldn't.
The man with kind eyes loved his daughter. He loved his wild girl. It was clear as day. It was in the look in his eyes as he had opened his arms for her. The way she went to him. The way he had enfolded her in his arms like a father would, should do. Those things said it all. He loved her and she loved him.
Patrick wanted to hate him for being what he was not. He wanted to hate him for being the one she went to for comfort when she was hurting and confused. The man she ran to the instant he came into the room because her world was crashing in on her.
But he couldn't. That man earned the right.
That man had never walked away from her. That man did not burn holes in her heart with callous actions. That man had not shattered her when she was begging to be loved and accepted for who she was. That man had not abandoned her.
He had. He had abandoned his wild girl.
Greg watched silently. He could see that Jules's father was battling deep, painful emotions. The emotions did not show on his face so much as in his whole body. It was so tense and tightly coiled. Greg could almost hear Patrick's body grind like metal on metal when the man lifted his coffee cup up to his mouth.
They had been sitting here in the very back booth of Adela's coffee shop for well over an hour, maybe closer to two. The last thing either of them had said was to order coffee from Lisa. She had come back every fifteen minutes or so and refilled their cups. He had only smiled and nodded at her each time. Patrick did not seem to notice.
Greg had spoken briefly with Ed before they headed out after visiting with Sam. Both of them felt that Jules emotional state was just as precarious at the moment as Sam's was and the two of them were more important than the competition. They saw that seeing her father had disconcerted Jules completely.
Ed was not ready to forgive the man. He wanted to go give the man a piece of his mind. Greg had reminded Ed that Jules would overhear him if he did not lower his voice when Ed had started to rage about her father showing up and trying to force himself into Jules's life again.
He didn't make any impact on Ed until he said one single word. Dean. Ed had closed his mouth and nodded.
So they had decided to divide and conquer. Greg trusted his team to take care of things. Jules was caring for Sam just like Sam had cared for Jules the night she found out about Bruce. Spike and Wordy were taking care of the videos and tracking leads at the event. Ed would speak with Nick and then join Spike and Wordy.
He would take care of Jules by speaking with her father. Determine the man's intents. Shield Jules from him if necessary.
None of them knew exactly what happened to cause the rift between Jules and her family other than she said they did not agree with her choice to be a cop. Greg always thought it was more complicated. He could see the deep hurt in Jules.
The walls that Jules had erected were well built and had shielded her heart and vulnerability. It wasn't until Sam joined their team that they all began to see more of the real Jules that lay behind the fortress. Sam and Jules had a connection no one could deny.
They needed each other. Each was one half of a whole. He could tell from how Jules allowed Sam to carry her from the room the other night that Jules did not hide her vulnerability from Sam. She trusted him more than she trusted any man.
As a result of that trust she had allowed the rest of them to see more and more of the beautiful woman behind the walls. But Greg always knew it was there. He had been privileged to be given of peek inside the fortress years before Sam even joined.
It occurred after the first suicide Jules had lost. The one that affected her so deeply that caused Jules to cry for the first time in front of him. The one that allowed a rare moment of vulnerability and Jules to open up to him about her own rape and how she wished she could have saved the girl. How she wished she could have helped the girl see she could get past it. But the girl had not seen it and killed herself in her despondency.
After that they shared a connection. He came to care for and love Jules like a daughter. Jules's heart was something Greg treasured. It was something he nurtured and tended. He knew she felt abandoned by her family, hell she was abandoned by them.
Greg still recalled the call he made to Patrick Callaghan after Jules was shot on the roof top. The man was gruff and closed off. It had angered him at the time.
Looking back Greg was so glad that Jules had Sam at that time. Sam spent all his free time taking care of her and helping her recover. But that didn't lessen the anger Greg had felt towards Jules's father and brothers. They had never even bothered to call or visit her.
But now Greg wondered who this man was. If he were to profile Patrick right now Greg saw a man before him that was feeling deep regret. Here was a man who realized all that he had lost. A man who did not know how to go about fixing it. A man not used to showing emotion to the world.
Therefore Greg decided to wait. He would let Patrick start the conversation. Then he would see if he could help.
Greg would help because he knew what it was like to screw up so badly and be estranged from someone he loved and cared about. He knew that deep sense of regret. He knew the lost feeling of not knowing how to fix it.
He also knew the overwhelming joy when he and Dean were finally able to reconnect.
So Greg would wait and help if he could.
Patrick took another sip. His eyes welled then said "I want to hate you but I can't. I envy you. I lost my girl. It is my fault. I don't deserve her in my life but I so badly want her in it. What I did can never be forgiven."
Greg waited; his body language open, relaxed and non-judgmental. He gave a slight nod of his head and a half smile. It was an encouraging look meant to convey go on I'm listening.
"You have been there for her. I turned my back on her. I was so lost when my wife Kaitlin died. I locked everything up tight. I abandoned my children when they needed me the most. My grief overwhelmed me and I could not see that" Patrick stated.
He wiped at his eyes "My boys stepped in and became what I should have been for Juliana for years. When I finally realized what I had done she no longer needed me. She had made her decisions. She chose to do what I feared most."
His voice became unsteady "I could not survive losing her in addition to Kaitlin. I thought if I gave her an ultimatum she would choose a different path. She relented at first. She went to college. But when she graduated she went directly to the police academy."
"She was so stubborn. The more I pushed the more she pushed back. I drove her to being a cop by saying that she could not be one. When she graduated the academy I refused to go. I did not support her."
"When she started with the RCMPs things got very strained. We argued whenever we spoke which was rarely. I said things, things I'm not proud of. Things that hurt her because I wanted her to see being a cop was so wrong for her. I did not want my little girl touched by the horrors I'd seen as a cop and I was cruel to her and said such awful things."
Patrick's voice shook considerably as he said "When she told me she made it to SRU all I could see was her in harm's way; seeing her facing the scum of the earth every single day. All the faces of the cops I'd seen killed swirled in front of me but their faces all morphed into Jules's face. So did all the faces of people I'd seen killed for senseless reasons. All the dead people in the plaza when that sniper was killing and no one could stop him."
Drawing a shaky breath in Patrick shared "I could not bear the thought of her dying like that. I could not bear her dying for a senseless and worthless reason. It would be such a waste of such a bright and beautiful girl."
"I closed off right then and there. I wasn't able to speak, my throat was constricted and I could barely breathe. The pain and fear were overwhelming. I turned my back on her and walked away. I shattered her heart and abandoned my wild girl that day" Patrick confessed then dropped his head into his hands as his shoulders shook recalling the wounded look in Jules's eyes just before he turned from her that day.
Greg listened to it all. He was trying to decide what to say.
Then Patrick added speaking into his hands "Then when you called and she had actually been shot … I died that day. I cried. I realized that I had already lost her. I did not know what to do. I was so ashamed of my actions that I could not bring myself to tell the boys that Jules had been shot. I was so ashamed that I could not go to her. I hurt her so badly. I was not there when she needed me most."
Looking up he said through teary eyes "You have the relationship I want with my daughter. I am so envious of you. But I know you earned it. You did not abandon her like I did. I know you can never understand what it is like to screw up so badly, to regret your actions so deeply and have no idea how to fix it. But I wanted you to know …"
Patrick wiped his eyes then his hands shook as he set them on the table and he continued "I wanted to … You need to know …. I want to thank you for being there for Jules when I should have been."
Greg reached out a hand and covered Patrick's hand. Greg caught Patrick's eyes and quietly said "I understand more than you might think."
Patrick looked at the kind eyes and calm face. He heard the gentle, nonjudgmental words. His voice unsteady he asked "What do you understand?"
Greg sighed "What is like to behave in a manner that is not really you when trying to cope with something unbearably painful. Of doing things while in that state that you regret with all your heart. Of feeling like you can never fix it. Not knowing how if you could even try. The guilt for the pain you caused others by your actions."
Patrick just stared. Greg took his hand away and took a sip of coffee. His voice was a tad emotional when he said "I have a son. Dean. I lost him once but I got a second chance. It was not something I thought I would ever get. When he was sixteen, my son came to tell me he was going to let his step-father adopt him. That he wanted the name of the man that had been his father in all but name."
Greg then shared with Patrick what he had done to lose Dean. How he had been excluded from his life by actions he had taken when dealing with the stresses of work. How Dean had shown up at SRU and overheard a hot call. How it was a turning point in their relationship.
Finishing Greg said "My son has an open heart. He was willing to give me a second chance I didn't feel I deserved. Dean lives with me now. We are building a good relationship now."
Patrick's voice was a mixture of emotions when he said "I'm glad your son was able to forgive you but I hurt Jules too bad."
Greg smiled "Jules has the most open heart I know. It is what makes her good at her job. She sees people. Not just what they want the world to see but what is really there. She is amazing to watch when talking people down from crisis. She couldn't be as good as she is without her heart. If you are sincere Jules will see that."
Shaking his head no Patrick said "No she will see only that I discarded her and she can never forgive that. Hell I can never forgive myself that."
"Forgiving yourself will be hard but Jules forgiving you is another matter all together. She has the capacity. She has forgiven me for things in the past. She has forgiven me for things I did that hurt her" Greg said.
Patrick's eyes narrowed "You? What did you do that could ever compare to what I did?"
Greg leaned back and rubbed his head as he tried to configure his thoughts. He hadn't meant to go down this path. Taking a sip of coffee he saw Lisa coming to their table. Greg said "Patrick you like the chocolate silk pie?" Patrick nodded. Greg said to Lisa "How bout you bring two servings of that pie I keep hearing so much about?"
Lisa smiled and hurried off to get the pie. While she was gone Patrick looked at Greg. He could see that Greg was uncomfortable with what he was going to share. Patrick could see Greg was stalling. What did he do to Jules that would require her to forgive him? Lisa set the pie down and moved off.
Greg took a bite then set the fork down. Patrick ignored the pie waiting. He would show the same consideration to Greg that Greg had shown him.
Leaning back again Greg finally said "I behaved in a manner that nearly cost Jules Sam."
"The young man she is engaged too? What did you do?" Patrick asked.
Greg nodded then said "I didn't listen. I didn't trust. I followed rules without looking at who they were. Sam was nearly killed because of my actions. I should have trusted her. I should have trusted him. But I didn't and they paid a steep price. She forgave me. Luckily Sam did too."
"She really loves him doesn't she?" Patrick asked recalling Jules's face at the event and in the hospital.
"Yes and he her. My actions kept them apart. My actions denied them happiness and hurt them both for years. When they defied the rules a second time, when they could no longer ignore what they both needed I finally relented. I decided to trust them. I supported them. I held their secret. They never once let me down. They earned the right to be on the same team. I'm glad they are marrying but very sad that Sam will leave the team when that happens. Hopefully they will have a long engagement. But part of me thinks they will not" Greg shared.
Patrick smiled "Quill and Rogue. They were two of a kind. Kaitlin is likely smiling down on them. Some might say they were fated to be together."
Greg looked at Patrick confused "Quill and Rogue?"
A secretive smile crossed Patrick's face "Between us would you like to know how those two really met for the first time?"
Nodding Greg said "What do you mean really met for the first time?"
Patrick launched into the story of the camping trip. He expounded on all the fun they had had as a family. How Jules always tried to outdo her brothers. Shared the happy things he and Jules did together that week. How it was the last happy trip for the whole family.
Then he told Greg about the log bridge and the quicksand. Patrick shared all about the code names and shooting competition. How Sam had taught Jules to use the scope. How Jules begged for a scope for Christmas and he had worked nights as a janitor for six months so he could afford to get it for her.
He ended with "They don't know. The boys and I just found out because Kaitlin wrote a note on the back of a photo of the two of them. She wrote his real name under his code name. We decided to wait until after the competition to tell them."
The edges of Greg's mouth lifted in a small smile. What he heard when Patrick shared went way beyond the words Patrick said. It showed the man's heart. A father willing to work nights for six months to get the one thing his daughter's heart desired was a man who loved and cared for his daughter.
He could see Patrick had been a man lost and adrift after his wife died and did not cope well with his grief. And his daughter chose the one profession that scared the man to the point his actions were not logical but driven by fear.
Looking at Patrick Greg said softly "I'll talk to Jules. If you are as sincere as I sense you are, my advice to you is to be open and honest with Jules. Share with her your fears and feelings. Let her see the real you. The man that loves her so much he could not contemplate losing her."
Tilting his head slightly his word holding a firmer tone Greg added "But for there to be true reconciliation you will also need to accept Jules for who she is and the choices she has made for her life. Accept that she is a beautiful, caring, strong, intelligent woman raised by loving parents and brothers that is capable of making her own decisions. And finally …"
Patrick looked hopeful waiting for Greg's finally piece of advice.
"… trust her with your heart" Greg counseled. Then he took a bite of pie, smiled and chuckled "Quill and Rogue? Tell me more."
Command Post
Commander Maddox stood back and watched the technical members of the SWAT teams working. He was impressed. But mostly impressed with the Toronto's team Constable Scarlatti. That man was beyond good and he had some impressive connections too.
He overheard as the man worked. He was talking to someone in Special Forces. Between the two of them they were doing things he never thought possible. The techno babble was over his head and he did not truly comprehend what they were doing. But he knew it was significant by the way the other technical members would surreptitiously glance over at him in awe and disbelief.
Spike's hands flew across the keyboard then he said "Cameo that's it. Yes. Got it. That sneaky little one is mine now. You can't run from me. BAM! Got it. Last one destroyed."
He sat back and let his hands rest they had been in motion for the past four hours. He and Cameo had been racing against time and rapidly tracing videos and images that had been sent out from over three dozen phones. Although Spike was well versed technically this had been a challenge. He was still in awe sometimes how fast things proliferated.
Taking a drink of water Spike listened to Cameo telling him he would finish the program that would continue to root out and destroy any of the images they may have missed. Spike looked to Wordy and smiled. He gave him a thumbs up. Wordy smiled with relief and sat back.
Spike spoke to Cameo "Thanks for all your help Cameo."
["Happy I could help. That was some challenging work there Spike. Hang on a sec" Cameo said and turned to the General. "Sir it is all done. We were able to track it all and eliminate the images. All I have left is a precautionary program to finish to catch anything that slipped by us."
General Braddock said "Good work Cameo. Thank you. Are you still on the phone with Spike?"
"Yes Sir" Cameo answered.
The General motioned for the phone. Cameo handed over the headset and Braddock put it on then said "Spike this is General Braddock."]
Spike leaned back in his chair and put his feet up on the table in a relaxed position "Hello General."
Commander Maddox and the techies all paused and looked at him. He was speaking to the General of the Special Forces. Davis Gentry's mouth fell open at Spike's relaxed demeanor.
[General Braddock stated "Thank you for all your efforts today. Samuel has a true friend in you."]
Spike responded "Thank you Sir. I couldn't have done it without you and Cameo though. Cameo has some mad skills."
["Don't I know it? I keep trying to steal him away from his unit for my analyst team." The General grinned at Cameo.
Cameo made motion that he was going to go. The General nodded okay. Cameo headed out in search of coffee. It may be five pm in Medicine Hat but it was four-thirty am in Kandahar and he needed coffee after being up all night. He still had that program to finish and put in place to find any images he may have missed. So coffee was an absolutely necessary item at the moment.
The General then asked "How is Samuel really? Is Jules with him? You know he will talk to her."]
Spike said "He's fine and yes she will make sure he is okay. I gave her Beauty 2.0 and she will ensure he has the time he needs for beauty to work her magic." Then he chuckled "You know she had to hide his pants to keep him from escaping."
Those around Spike were giving each other bemused looks. He's fine but will be okay? Beauty working magic? Hidden pants? Escape? Just how well did Spike know the General to be talking like that?
Davis leaned over to another tech officer and whispered "Wow they are talking in code. Wonder what it is all about?"
[General Braddock laughed "Really? I wish I was there to see Samuel's face when Jules did that. Bet he was pissed off he couldn't leave the hospital. Jules is a wonder. Love that little lady. I know she will take good care of Sam." Then getting serious again he asked "Did you find out how this happened?"]
Spike dropped his feet and his face became hard "Not yet. We found some video showing the man, Old Nick, walking back there but it was after he had circumvented the barricades."
Looking over at the area where witnesses were gathered waiting to be interviewed Spike did a quick count. He added "They still have about half a dozen spectators to interview. Last I heard Ed is at the hospital waiting to speak with Old Nick. We are hoping Old Nick recalls why he went that way. But it is unlikely given his age and the hit to his head when Koala tackled him. We did find that the danger sign had been knocked down. It could be an accident."
[William listened "But you don't think so do you Spike?"]
Spike gave a half laugh "No Sir I do not. Not with the cut rope incident and the lax security at the storage units. I don't know who but someone is out to sabotage this competition. If I know the Boss and Ed, and I do know them, I think they may pull our team if the security is not improved. Neither of them will put us at risk for a simple competition."
Commander Maddox cringed at that comment. Security had to be tightened or his head was gonna be on a platter. He could see General 'Badass' Braddock getting involved and his career would be over for sure.
Maddox began searching for that damned liaison officer Nealy again. Captain Black had gone to the hospital to get the old man's statement. But they still could not find the damned liaison officer anywhere on the grounds. Maddox headed off to find his assistant Toby for a status report.
Wordy finished reviewing the last phone he was working on. It contained lots of pictures of Jules but none of Sam or anything else useful. He signed the custody log paperwork then stood up. He looked to the waiting area and located the owner of the phone.
There was no question to whom it belonged. All those waiting for their devices to be returned to them, with the exception of one, were adult males. The phone in his hand very definitely did not belong to a grown man.
The phone was pink and covered in stick-on bling. Most definitely a girl's phone and there was but one girl in the waiting area. She looked to be about eight or nine years old. Wordy headed over.
As Wordy approached he saw the back of the girl's pink shirt and smiled. When she turned around his grin increased. On the front of her shirt it at the top left was the logo for the Junior Sharpshooters Team. In flowery script letters on the front it read 'I may be a Princess …' and on the back in strong bold letters it read '… but I'm NO damsel in distress! 1 MOA rocks'.
Wordy stopped and said "I believe this is your phone Cindi."
Cindi Vinson looked at the officer and said "Yes it is thanks." Then she said "You're on the team that has the female SRU officer Jules Callaghan on it right?"
Nodding Wordy answered "Yes Jules is my teammate."
"She's so cool. I watched today. She blew away those golf balls without missing a single one. That's gotta be hard. She is good. I want to be able to shoot as good as her one day" Cindi rattled off.
"I'll let Jules know she has a fan. Practice and I'm sure you can achieve your goal" Wordy encouraged as he saw a man put his arm around the girl.
Cindi looked up and said "Dad do you think we could set up golf balls like that for me to practice with?"
Her father grinned as he leaned on his cane "Yes Princess. I'd be happy to do that." Then turning to Wordy he asked "Is the officer okay? That was surely a nasty shock." He couldn't believe Braddock was in that position again. Damned bad luck.
Wordy notice the man's reliance on the cane to stand and replied "Yes Sam is okay. He is happy that neither of the men back there was hurt."
Cindi's face became indignant "I don't know why that police officer sent the old man that way. Anyone with eyes could see that way lead behind the firing line. Did he never learn about firearm safety? Geez."
Wordy's eyes whipped to the girl "You say a police officer sent Nick that way?"
Mark Vinson said at the exact same time "Princess why didn't you say something before?"
Looking at both men Cindi answered her dad first "Dad I kinda forgot about it until now. It shocked me. I thought someone had been killed."
Wordy knelt down to be eye level with Cindi and said in his fatherly tone "It's okay Cindi. That is quite understandable. It happens to a lot of adults too. So you recall seeing a police officer sending the man that way?"
Cindi nervously bit at her bright neon green nails and nodded "Yeah."
"What did you see? Start at the beginning" Wordy calmly instructed Cindi.
Taking a moment Cindi screwed up her face like she was thinking. Then she quit biting her nails and looked at Wordy. She reported "My Dad got us VIP access because he coaches the Junior Sharpshooters team I'm on. I wanted to watch Officer Callaghan shoot. I went to get a soda after she took her last shot. That was awesome by the way."
Pointing to a place close to the barricades Cindi got back on topic "Anyhow, I was over there, just passing the barricades and I saw the local police officer talking to this old man. I thought he was stopping him from going that way. I mean the sign was down. It was up earlier but someone must've knocked it over."
"But then I saw the officer move the barricade and point to the back. Then he put the barricade back and hurried off towards the vendor. I started forward to ask him why he sent the old man that way but he bumped into another guy. A big guy with gray hair" Cindi said then stopped in thought again.
Chewing on her fingernails again Cindi added "The officer looked angry and said something to the man he bumped into. I couldn't hear what he said. Then the officer continued away very quickly. By the time I turned around to go find my dad the other guy, the big one with gray hair, was running after the old man."
Her eyes dropped to her shoes as she shuffled a bit then she looked up and at Wordy "Then everything just happened."
Cindi glanced up at her dad and moved closer to him "I got scared when I couldn't find my Dad in all the jumble when people screamed and started running." Looking back at Wordy she concluded "I guess that's why I forgot until now."
Wordy was reeling inside. It was a deliberate act. Two possible things entered his head. One was that whoever was trying to sabotage the competition got ahold of a police officer uniform so they could blend in and not draw attention when in areas that spectators should not be. Two, and more sinister was that Nealy tried to get at Jules by sending Old Nick back there knowing they were firing.
That thought turned his stomach. But Wordy gently said "Like I said it is understandable. It was scary and you are a brave girl. Thank you for telling me what you saw. Would you be able to describe the officer?"
Cindi nodded "Yeah."
Wordy stood and looked around trying to locate Captain Black. They needed to get an official statement and a sketch artist to translate Cindi's description into a face. His gut told him it was going to be Bruce's face. But his mind would not jump to conclusions without hard facts.
Mark pulled his daughter close in a protective manner and spoke to Wordy directly "Cindi is all I have in this world. We moved to a small town to get away from violence after her mother was mugged and killed in the city last year. If Cindi saw a deliberate act such as this she may be in danger. I want my little girl protected. If it was a local officer I will not trust her safety to them."
Wordy thought a moment then said "Come with me."
He led them slowly towards Spike giving consideration to the man's slow gait with the cane. He thought good it sounded like Spike was still speaking to the General. He asked "Spike, is that General Braddock?"
Spike nodded "Yeah. Why?"
"Let me speak to him please" Wordy requested. Spike handed over the phone and Wordy said "William it's me Kevin." The General had insisted they be on a first name basis after they spoke at length many times when Wordy and he had discussed how to reconcile with Sam.
[William said "Kevin, nice to hear your voice. Been too long since we talked. How are the girls?"]
Wordy answered "Good thanks. I have a favor to ask. It is important."
["Whatever you need I will try to do" William answered as he sat forward. Kevin's voice was urgent.]
After explaining what Cindi saw and his two thoughts without revealing Jules rape by Nealy, just indicating there was an incident in the past that prompted the extra vigilance of the team and her brothers Wordy concluded "I agree with Cindi's father. Would it be possible to assign Apollo or someone else to watch over Cindi until we find out what is going on around here?"
[Pacing as Wordy related what the little girl saw he finally stopped "What did you say the officer's name was that might be stalking Jules?" His gut was churning. The name sounded vaguely familiar.]
"Bruce Nealy why?" Wordy asked and looked to Spike with a questioning expression.
Spike grabbed the phone having heard what Wordy had explained to the General. His voice urgent Spike said "Sir I did research on Nealy. He has a sealed Special Forces testing file. I wanted too but I didn't hack it to see what it contained but … do you know what it was all about?"
[Memory slammed in. Could it be the same Bruce Nealy, yes it could. Spike just said he did research. He would not have found that file unless the officer was the same Bruce Nealy. Firmly the General asked "Is Apollo in the vicinity?"]
"Yes. I see him speaking with Commander Maddox" Spike answered now giving Wordy a questioning look and pointing to Apollo.
["Good. I will call him and assign him for now. I'm sending a few men there. I'll be contacting Sutton to see who is available. That sealed file was an incident where Corporal Bruce Nealy attacked Samuel in recruit testing." The General then shared a quick synopsis of the incident.
Then he said "My mind is thinking that this is not directed at the competition as Apollo initially reported to me. If both Samuel and Jules have had run ins with this man it is more likely directed at them. Until my men get there, I trust you and the others to keep Samuel and Jules safe.]
Spike nodded and said "Will do. Sam and Jules are at the hotel right now. Jules's brother Brayden called Wordy to let us know Sam was released about an hour ago. I'll let Wordy and the others know."
["Good. Apollo will inform you of who will be coming and when to expect them. I'll leave it to Sergeant Parker to decide what and when to tell Samuel. Given two shocks to his heart in only weeks I want this handled very carefully" General Braddock stated briskly then hung up. His mind was already whirling on how many men to send and how fast he might be able to get them there.]
Spike lowered the phone at the abrupt hang up and said to Wordy "The General is assigning Apollo to protect Cindi. He is sending more men. We need to let the Boss know and the General wants him to handle telling Sam. I'll tell you all more once Ed and the Boss get here suffice to say Bruce knows Sam too and it isn't good."
Wordy asked "Service related?"
Giving a meaningful side glance at the little girl and her father Spike said "Sort of."
Wordy nodded in understanding Spike was unwilling to share details in front of Cindi and her father.
Mark Vinson saw the glance and asked "What is all this about? Was that General Braddock of the Special Forces? Does this have something to do with Sam Braddock's JTF2 service?"
Spike and Wordy looked at the man astonished. Spike asked "You know Sam?"
Shaking his head Mark said "Not personally; never met him. But I was in JTF2 at the same time. One of the reasons I brought Cindi today. She wanted to watch Jules and I wanted to watch Braddock. My CO used to say he was something to watch, fast and accurate."
Mark didn't know if these men knew about the whole investigation into Sam's service. It wasn't his place to say anything either. So he did not share more than that.
Wordy smiled at Cindi as he saw Apollo approaching and said "Would like to meet a real life Special Force's long-range sharpshooter?"
Her eyes lit up and Cindi exclaimed "Besides my dad, sure that would be cool!"
Spike nudged Mark aside and said quietly as Wordy introduced Cindi to Apollo "Yes that was the General Braddock. We know and trust Apollo. He will keep Cindi safe until we know what is going on. That is all I'm at liberty to share with you."
Vinson nodded "Thank you. My Princess means the world to me. She is what got me through the tough times after I was injured and discharged. She is all I have left. I trust General Braddock. He is an honorable man like his son. If you say this Apollo can be trusted to keep Cindi safe then I believe you."
Spike smiled "Let me introduce you to Apollo then."