Nothing Personal, Uniforms, Bad Blood, Funeral & Dad
Rooftop Near Church - Friday - Noon
That took too long. Finding just the right location had been difficult. This was the best he could do. Not optimal but it would be sufficient if needed, god I hope it's needed. I do love this. The money ain't bad, will be a nice retirement someday. They never see it coming. I hope Murphy messes up again. That guy is so inept. He had so many opportunities to off the man. Can't believe Plouffe kept giving him chances.
He had nothing personal against either of them. In fact he really liked the General. His son was damned hard to kill. Just kept cheating death; probably had something to do with his unit. He really thought he wouldn't make it through the terrorist. God all those unit deployments were hard to keep from the General and that request from his unit to go after him after he was taken.
Well that took an enormous effort to cover up, but he had managed. But he was ready to end this. He was tired of Plouffe pulling his strings because he had discovered his 'hobby' or 'side work' as he liked to call it. He had been so careful for so long; only one little slip up. Still pissed him off that Plouffe found out.
As he settled into place to wait he thought again, nope don't have a thing against either of them, just love popping heads off more. Any opportunity to do it was fine by him. Maybe after I'm done with this I'll just do a pro bono and get rid of Plouffe for the General. He liked the General; that would be a nice thing to do for him. He'd think about it if got to pop off his son's head today.
Royal York Hotel – Lobby - 2:45 pm
Finally properly dressed and ready the group had left the room with Sam flanked by Blaze and Winds and encircled by Team One. The General following slightly behind comforted by the level of concern and protection Samuel's friends had for him. Samuel was a good man; his son was an honorable man. They congregated in the hotel lobby waiting for the vehicles to be brought around. They were an impressive sight all decked out in uniforms with the exception of Patch.
An eight year old boy stared open-mouthed seeing a General, a Captain, a Sergeant and several other army men in full dress uniform and armed. They reminded him of his daddy, he missed him still. They were supposed to take this vacation together but he died eight months ago.
There were also several fully decked out policemen who were also armed. And one guy in a cool black suit. He looked like a spy or something out of James Bond and had a black bag slung over one shoulder. The kid saw they all surrounded one of the policemen. He saw the cop's face.
Eeww, what happened to his face the kid thought? Then he remembered "Mom, mom, mom, look it's him, it's that guy, Mom, mom look" he said excitedly said tugging on her arm and pointing.
"Who?" she asked a bit irritated as she turned to see what her son was pointing at and looked in awe at the scene in front of her.
Wow, now there were some handsome men. Her heart fluttered as she looked at them. She was always a sucker for a man in uniform. Then she saw who her son was ranting about. The officer from the news reports. Jeezus he looked awful. They must be going to the funeral for the other officer.
She wondered why there were so many armed Army guys but then she saw the older gentlemen. The young officer was clearly cut from the same cloth, That must be his father they had said he was a General. Those guys must be the General's personal guard or something.
One man in particular stood out. God he was a handsome man. She stared at the Captain. The military style cut of his jet black hair coupled with his hazel eyes was striking. Jeezus, he looked strong and capable. What she wouldn't give to meet him. She got a hold of herself and looked down at her son "Ryan it's not nice to point, come on let's get going to the pool." She tugged on his hand to get him to move but he planted his feet firmly.
"But MOM" he balked loudly wanting to stay and watch.
His cry drew the attention of the Captain whose eyes quickly assessed the situation. She thought jeezus this is embarrassing as she tried to drag her son away.
"I wanna be a soldier mom just like daddy was. They got cool uniforms and they get to have guns" he was saying loudly as they finally moved away.
Blaze watched as the mother tried to wrangle her son and smiled at her. He saw the blush creep into her face. Yeah uniforms did that to some women he thought as he turned his attention back to Blondie.
Enroute To Church – 2:50 pm
The vehicles arrived at the entrance. Greg, Ed, Wordy and Winds were in one SRU truck. Jules, Spike and Lou were in a second one. The General, Sam, Blaze and Patch were in the General's limo. One of the unit guys was in the front of the limo while the other three were in an army vehicle that brought up the rear of the procession.
It was just a short drive to the location of the funeral. They had planned it to arrive just before it started to limit Sam's exposure. Enroute, Ed took the opportunity to finally ask the question that had been nagging him for a few day. "So Winds, I noticed your reactions when Samo said he was fine moving to okay. Do those words have different meanings for Sam?"
Greg and Wordy were intrigued by the question and waited for an answer.
Winds chuckled "You noticed that. Wow good observation." But he didn't answer.
"So, do they?" queried Wordy not letting go.
"Yeah, they do; another one of our codes" Winds said still not offering an explanation.
"Spill it man. What do they mean?" Ed demanded somewhat forcefully "I'm responsible for him now. I need to know."
Winds considered if he should tell and finally decided that it was important. Blondie could hide so much with the simple word fine if they didn't know. It would be in his best interest to spill it.
"It is the level of his emotional well-being. Patch came up with it; goes from fine to okay to good to great. The last three are all acceptable. Never heard him say great though, usually was okay. If Matt was around it hit good. If he says fine he needs help."
"Why would he need help if he is fine?" Greg interjected.
"Because it doesn't mean fine" Winds said, still getting confused looks from all. He laughed a bit as he said "Fine actually stands for Fucked up, Insecure, Neurotic, and Emotional."
The guys took that in. Ed remembered after every lethal force Sam had said he was fine and Ed had let it drop thinking all was okay. Damn it to hell. He asked needing to clarify "Does it ever just mean fine or does it always mean F.I.N.E.?"
"Blondie is a creature of habit. He always sticks to the code. So yeah, it never means just fine. When he says it he needs attention, shouldn't be left alone" Winds finished.
The leaders and senior member of the team tucked this information away for future use. Wordy could see Ed's eyes flashing knowing he was berating himself for some perceived failure so tried to lighten the mood by saying "Good to know. Guess we'll add that to Spike's Proper Care and Feeding of Samtastic manual." That got a laugh and set things back in order.
Courtyard Behind Church – 2:50 pm
This was the only private place the Major had said. The Major had scoped out the place yesterday. He needed to find a location to hide and wait. There were not many options. If anyone did more than a cursory checkout of the courtyard he would be found. He needed to find someplace he could act quickly from. There weren't many exits. Not a good place. But it was his last opportunity to do this.
As he looked for a place to hide in the courtyard he mused about the bad blood between him and Braddock. Damn he hated Braddock with a passion. He was a cocky SOB. Braddock's stupid stunt on the cliff caused him grief through the years.
After it happened several of the guys and Braddock's best friend beat the holy living crap out of him and the training officers turned a blind eye when he reported it. Over the years, every time he met someone from that training cadre, they always dogged him. They would tell him that he was only here because some kid risked his own life to save his worthless ass. That he would be dead if Braddock didn't act so fast.
It also pissed him off that Braddock beat him at everything. He should have been the star of that training cadre. But no he always came in second to Braddock. He was better at shooting, faster runner, quicker at assessing situations, better at tactics, lasted longer in cold weather and anti-interrogation training scenarios. Braddock shouldn't have even been there; he was too young. He would have been the star if Braddock's daddy hadn't pulled strings. Must be nice to have a General smooth your way, let you skate by, get anything you want.
Braddock even got deployed with the unit Murphy had wanted to be part of. The scuttlebutt was they were the best unit. But no, he and that damned best friend Matt got assigned. They got all the best most glorious assignments; while he kept getting stuck with sucky units. Boy he was happy when Gleason finally bought it. Still didn't know how he managed to get Gleason to agree with him about Braddock's position that day. But it was a great success for him. Just wish Braddock had died at the terrorist's hands.
Plouffe was very happy with him that time and he got his promotion to Master Corporal faster than Braddock. Every time he was successful with what Plouffe wanted he got kudos and promotions. Hell he even made it to Sergeant in record time and had his own unit while Braddock was still just a piss-ant sniper. If he was successful today, the Major had promised to fast track him to Warrant Officer. That would be nice. Ah that would be a good place to hide.
Arriving At Church – 2:55 pm
They arrived at nearly three pm. As they exited the vehicles Spike passed out headsets to all of the SRU and Army detail including the General and Sam.
Greg said "We want to make sure we are all in contact in case anything goes awry." Everyone nodded and adjusted their headsets.
Sam was struggling to put his on one-handed when Lou walked over and helped. Sam silently mouthed 'thanks' and Lou patted him on the shoulder.
Just then the General's phone rang. He walked a short distance away to take it when he returned he said "That was the JAG office. They have the arrest warrants for all the parties and are sending out MPs to locate the men and execute the warrants. We are not to engage the Major at the funeral. The MPs will take care of it when they arrive. For now our priority is Samuel's safety." The General addressed Blaze specifically "If the Major tries to approach for any reason, as your first priority is Samuel's safety, I authorize use of whatever force may be required to keep him safe. Understood?"
"Yes Sir, Roger that" Blaze responded. The unit guys took up their perimeter positions as the others headed toward the church. Team Five had been directed to hold seats at the back of the funeral area for Sam and the General.
As the group approached the church cameras started flashing from every direction. Aaron's funeral was a media circus. Ed and Blaze quickly assessed the surroundings glad that the uniform officers had it under control and the media although there in droves was a cordoned off in an area a respectful distance away.
Inside Church – Aaron's Funeral – 3:00 pm
Aaron's family sat at the front. His mother, father, brother and sister sat together. The Major sat in the row behind them with several other extended family members. All seats except two in the very back row were taken. There were dozens more people standing. The SRU team members had made sure they dispersed themselves throughout the room all keeping an eye out for Murphy and Merrill in the faces of the crowd.
All eyes pivoted to the last group of people to arrive as they entered. There were several gasps as people took in Sam's face. Several more curious and questioning looks wondering why there were armed Army and SRU officers at a funeral.
This was the first time Team Four members had seen Sam and for the other teams the first time since he was on the floor outside the briefing room on Tuesday. They all had nearly identical thoughts. Shit he looked terrible but thank god he was alive and they wouldn't be burying two of their own today.
The Major realized when they had entered and did not bother to turn to look. He only smiled slightly. The woman next to him saw the smile and felt a shiver run down her spine. She had never liked him. He gave her the creeps and in fact he gave most the family the creeps. How could two brothers be so different? She shifted slightly away from him, wishing she didn't have to sit next to him.
Sam slowly made his way to the open aisle seat and gingerly lowered himself into it. Sitting at attention he was embarrassed by all the stares. The color on his face increasing with the blush he could not control. The General sat next to him between Sam and the other person providing a buffer. He placed a hand on Sam's thigh and patted it lightly then softly whispered "Relax son."
Blaze and Winds stood directly behind Sam. Ed stood right next to the chair and gently placed his hand on Sam's right shoulder leaving it there in a gesture of support. Ed thought, the kid was so tense.
The funeral began. The pastor recited the appropriate prayers and delivered comforting words. He then opened it up for anyone who wanted to share memories or words of Aaron. Several people took him up on the offer and the picture they painted was of a good man, a fun and mischievous boy, a loving son and brother and a good officer.
The things his brother said about him hit the team hard and solidified what Sam had said about not letting one afternoon define the man. His brother had said that although Aaron could be pig-head, rash and hold onto erroneous thoughts a bit too long eventually he would see the truth of something and made amends for his rash or egregious behavior.
He was proud that his brother always rectified his mistakes. He was also proud that his brother had chosen to protect people. He was sad that he died too young but that he was doing what he loved when he passed. His brother concluded that Aaron was the definition of an honorable man.
As Sam listened he bent his head looking at his chest as tears welled in his eyes. He so wished he had been able to save Aaron. It hurt that he had failed Aaron and caused Aaron's family such pain.
At the conclusion people started milling about, talking to one another mostly sharing memories of Aaron. A young pregnant woman with red ringed and bloodshot teary eyes slowly approached Sam. Sam's head was still down and did not see her approach but the rest of them tensed slightly, readying themselves. With a shaky frail voice she addressed Sam "Constable Braddock?"
Sam raised his head. Tears still visible in his eyes he looked to the woman "Yes."
When she saw his face, she audibly gasped as her hand flew to her mouth "Oh my!" Recovering a bit she said "Sorry, it looks painful." He just slightly nodded waiting for her to continue. "I'm sorry; my name is Tammy Middles, Aaron's fiancé. I mean … was his fiancé" she said as new tears filled her eyes. "I was wondering if I could talk to you." Sam remained silent so she tentatively queried "I was hoping you could, I mean I need to, …" her voice breaking off.
Sam clearly seeing her distress tried to determine what it was she wanted "Tammy, you wanted to talk to me" he said softly looking into her eyes.
She nodded and very softly said "I need to know what happened. How he … how Aaron … died. I need to know for our … our son …" as she placed her hand on a very pregnant belly. "He will want to … to know one day". Tears slipped from both sets of eyes. "But there are too …many" she looked uncomfortably at all the people "Too many people here, could we talk privately?" as soft sobs started.
Sam stood slowly and took hold of her hand her as she cried for several minutes. He wished he could hug her but his injuries would not allow it. As he held her hand he was communicating non-verbally, having a war of no words with Blaze and Ed indicating that he would talk to this woman privately.
It was the least he could do. Aaron's son would be fatherless because he saved Sam. He would not take No for an answer; find a place he could talk to her and do it now was his final communication before he said "Yes, give them a moment to find a place for us to talk."
No one was happy. This was not the plan. The plan was in and out. Limit Sam's exposure. Dammit.
Frank had seen the exchange but not overheard the conversation between Sam and Tammy and saw Sam was now holding her hand so he walked over. "Tammy? Are you okay?" he said softly.
Ed said "She needs to talk privately with Sam. We need to find some place secure."
Frank thought "There is the wedding gazebo in the courtyard out back. Not ideal but the only place I can think of."
"Show us the way" the General said.
Courtyard Behind Church– 4:10 pm
They all followed Frank towards the back entrance of the church to get to the gazebo. Before they allowed Sam to exit the church the entire security team did a scan of the area and took up positions around the small courtyard in the middle of which was the gazebo.
Given the all clear by Blaze, Sam and Tammy with the General close at hand entered the gazebo area. There was a small bench just big enough for two inside the gazebo. Sam slowly sat and Tammy joined him. The General stood off to the side not far away affording what privacy he could but not wanting to be too far from Samuel. Blaze and Ed's guts were churning, Sam was too exposed here. Damn he was putting himself at risk again, they were pissed.
Tammy's crying had lessened a bit as she said "Thank you. I need to know. No one has told us anything about what happened. It's just so hard not knowing" she looked into his eyes.
Sam nodded and said "Sorry, they usually tell the families what happened after the SIU interviews are complete and the findings are official. I wasn't able to do the interview until this morning." She looked at his face and nodded understanding. "It will be a few more days until the official report is available."
She started crying again and dropped her head. Sam tried to put his arm around her but hissed in pain as he lifted it too far. So he settled for patting her thigh.
Tammy had heard the hiss and look up again "You're hurt more than just your face aren't you" she stated. He gave her a curt nod. "Was Aaron hurt like you? Did he suffer?"
Sam wanted to tell her something so said over the headset "Boss, can I tell her what she needs to know?"
Tammy realized then he was wearing a headset, that his whole team was and they were armed and encircling them. Something wasn't right. The whole checking out the place had gone over her head at first. Again she thought something is not right and got scared.
Greg replied "Keep it brief only the essentials".
"Copy that" he said. Looking at Tammy he said "I can't tell you everything. You will need to wait for the official report. No, Aaron did not suffer. It was instant. Aaron was an honorable man and he saved my life. I wish I could have saved his."
Up in a tree next to the gazebo, Murphy watched the scene before him. Hatred building more for the man. Look at all those people surrounding him. His daddy is right next to him. He gets someone killed and they still support him. Now was the time to end it.
He smiled and praised himself, this was going to be good. He had picked the perfect location. No one had bothered to look up when they checked the courtyard. He leveled his gun, perfect kill shot aligned.
The General was scanning the area when several birds flew by. As his eye tracked the birds he saw a glint of light of metal in the tree. As he launched himself toward Samuel he yelled "Shooter in tree."
Simultaneously four shots rang out as the General slammed into Samuel knocking them both hard to the ground. Then Murphy fell to the earth; dead with three holes in his head.
Greg, Wordy, Spike, Winds and Patch were racing to the Sam and the General. Jules, Ed and Blaze guns drawn and still smoking were scanning the area high and low for more threats. Frank and Lou went to cover Tammy and move her indoors to safety.
Sam was struggling to breathe the General's full weight was on him and the slam to the ground knock all the wind out of him. Pain was shooting thru his chest. He felt wetness. He was dizzy. The General was lifted from him and suddenly there were hands, so many hands helping him to sit, checking him over.
His brain registered that the General was laying on the ground next to him. Patch's crimson covered hands pressing down on the General's shoulder as pool of blood was rapidly increasing on the ground around him. "DAD oh god NO, DAD, DAD" Sam screamed in his head as he had no breath to get the words out …
