Chapter 35

Ava woke to the pounding on her door and Clara wailing her head off. She like Ava didn't appreciate the wake up call. She lifted the baby girl into her arms and kissed her forehead before jiggle and rocking her, it tempered her wailing to a somewhat more comfortable decibel for Ava's poor ears.

"It's ok, baby girl." Ava murmured to Clara who was grumbling at her. She moved to the door and checked the peephole to find Maria. She unlocked the door and opened it. "Hey, everything ok?" she asked Maria.

"Is Javi here?" Maria asked her, she looked a little frantic that shook Ava from her bleary state as Maria didn't do 'frantic'. Ever. The woman took everything in her stride.

"No, he went for a run." Ava told Maria.

"So did Eric but he's not back. He always goes for a 45 minute run, then calls to see if I need something from the shops. It's been over an hour. I'm worried he got hit by a car. He runs with his earbuds in which is just stupid and dangerous." Maria rambled as it was clear she was upset and worried.

"I'm sure he's ok." Ava said as she had to admit it was kind of adorable how frantic Maria was about Miller being 15 minutes overdue from a run. As she was sure Miller and Cruz would be back any minute. She was kind of hoping Cruz would come back with croissants or bagels.

"He's not answering his phone neither is Javi. I don't want to call Bobbie yet but do you think you could call Javi to see if he's ok?" Maria asked her as he rung her hands and wouldn't stand still for a moment.

"Yeah, let me find my phone." Ava said as she moved to the kitchen where she had left her mobile.

"Your place is amazing." Maria told her.

"It's a mess." Ava said with a smile as she picked up her mobile and called Cruz. After a few rings she hit his voicemail. "Javier, it's Ava; call me back." Ava said before she hung up, and tried again but hit the same voicemail inbox.

"No answer." Maria stated.

"No, let me just change Clara and come over to yours. We'll figure out what the next move is ok?" Ava told her as she and Clara weren't fit to help ease Maria's fears and given the hour; it wouldn't be long until Maria's boys were awahe.

"Ok, Sorry, I'm totally panicking aren't I?" Maria asked her, Ava smiled reassuringly at her.

"It's ok. Give me ten." Ava told her.

"I'm CMC Russell Jeter, I spoke to a ER Nurse Francis Alpin. One of my sailors was brought in. Javier Cruz." Jeter said, he showed his military I.D. to the young woman at the admissions desk at St Louis General Hospital.

"One second-" she started but was cut off by an older woman in the same scrubs.

"That was me, thank you for coming down so quickly. We tried his next of kin but the number on file is for. So we contacted the base." Nurse Alpin said as she extended her hand out to him. He shook her hand.

"What is his condition?" Jeter asked.

"He's currently in surgery, I can't tell you much other than he's in critical condition but prognosis is positive." She told him.

"Can you tell me what the circumstances of his arrival here?" Jeter asked, relieved that the doctors felt good about Cruz's outcome even if he wanted to know more.

"I don't know but Officer Mai Zhen can fill you in." she said as she made introductions to the uniformed officer who was standing to the side.

"What happened?" He asked the officer, the nurse left them to go back to work. Officer Zhen didn't waste time once she saw his I.D., she flipped open her note pad.

"What we have so far from witnesses was that he was running with a friend. A black van careened in their path. Men wearing balaclavas came out of the van and attacked them. Petty officer Cruz was shot twice, one was a graze to left arm, and the other was in his right upper leg. He put up a good fight, but his friend was taken by the men." Officer Zhen told him.

"What is the description of his friend?" Jeter asked, she looked down at her note pad and he showed his usual patience even though inwardly he needed the officer to be quick given that he needed to know if this was related to Miller and his troubles with his father.

"Roughly 6 ft tall, Caucasian with red hair, in his twenties. Sound familiar?" she asked him, Jeter pulled up as his suspicions were confirmed and a familiar tension curled in his stomach before any mission came up. He needed to call Mike and get the ball rolling before they lost more time.

"Yes, I need to call my CO." he told her, as she just described Miller. It looked like Miller's Father had made his move and it wasn't how they had anticipated it.

"I'll be here. I've been instructed to wait until Petty Officer Cruz is awake and coherent to take his statement. The police are currently on the scene with CSI techs. We would be grateful for any assistance the military can provide." She told him.

"I'll be back." Jeter said told her as he pulled out his mobile phone and dialled Mike's phone.

Miller slowly came to, his whole body ached especially his shoulders. He opened his eyes and realised his was hanging by his arms. It explained a lot. He took in the room. It was a large rundown apartment. One of those high rise complexes that he knew would've gone for a mint pre-pandemic. But thanks to the pandemic those buildings had suffered major degradation due to shoddy construction and no one to maintain it.

He looked to be in the living area, his arms suspended above his head in tight ropes attached to an exposed steel beam in the ceiling. His toes barely touched the floor, not being able to take the weight off his arms created a mean stretch in his muscles. The room was minimalist in nature with just the basic furniture like it was the display apartment. To his right there was a hallway he assumed led to bedrooms and bathrooms. To his left there was a dining area and fancy kitchen. His father stood in the kitchen making himself a sandwich.

"Good to see you wake up." Rob said conversationally as he sliced the sandwich in half and plated it.

"What's going on? Where's my friend?" Miller asked.

"I'm fishing, we had to throw the spic back." Rob told him, he held the plate in one hand and pulled a chair from the dining table with the other. He dragged it across the fancy tiles. The noise grated on Miller's nerves. He pulled it to a stop and sat down. He was close but just far away Miller couldn't try to kick him. "I was so prepared to be your father, I wanted to be that person for you, but you're just such a disappointment." He told him, before he took a bite of his sandwich.

"The feeling is mutual." Miller assured him, Rob wore an amused smile as he swallowed the bite he was eating.

"At least I'm not shacked up with some spic whore and her offspring. It's disgusting, but then you didn't learn what I did in prison. You stick to your race, no cross breeding. I stayed loyal to your mother but even she's a whore. So I guess I shouldn't have expected so much from you." Rob said he clicked his tongue in a disapproving manner which made Miller wish he was Mr Fantastic as he would stretched his limbs out and punched the stuffing out his father. But sadly he was just human and a moronic one at that.

"Same here." Miller told him, Rob grinned.

"Well, I'm going to finish this sandwich and then I'm going to dangle you like bait." He said as he pulled out Miller's mobile from his jacket pocket. Miller felt anger ripple through him as he truly hated the man before him, he pushed back the tears threatening to fall and pressed his lips into a firm line.

He might have been an idiot but he was going to get out of his restraints and kill his father, with that thought in mind. He slowly moved his feet making it seem like he was struggling but really he was shifting his weight. Using it and gravity to pull the restraints out of the bolt in the beam.

A knock sounded at the door, Ava paused in her pacing and Clara made a grumpy noise at the stop in motions. But Ava ignored the noise of complaint as she adjusted Clara in her arms and moved to the door. She looked through the peephole to find Kara and a woman Ava had never seen before with her. She opened the door with a sense of relief at seeing them but it didn't last.

"What happened?" she asked as she had a terrible sinking feeling in her stomach. She and Maria had been trying Miller and Cruz for a while with no success and then she called Kara hoping she'd know something. The two women here was not a good sign.

"Ava, this is Commander Andrea Garnett." Kara said making the introduction between Ava and Andrea, she moved to Maria. "Maria Cruz, I'm Lt Kara Foster, I served on the same ship as your brother." She said introducing herself.

"What's going on?" Maria asked as she paled considerably at their appearance. The twins were on the couch watching Sesame Street completely oblivious to what was going on. But they already missed Miller and Cruz's presence at breakfast.

Mateo and Clara were a little unsettled but Ava had a feeling they were just picking up on the tension. Mateo was taking a nap in the other room while Clara refused to be put down. She seemed to know something was wrong, she was most likely picking up on the tension in Ava and Maria. So, Ava carried her on her hip while she paced the room.

"Your brother is ok, he's at St Louis General Hospital. He and Miller were in an accident, but Cruz is alive and stable. Andrea's going to drive you over there while I stay here with Ava and the kids." Kara told Maria.

"What about Miller?" Maria asked.

"I'll explain, let's just go." Andrea told her, Maria looked to Ava. It was that moment where family trumped girlfriend.

"It's ok, go." Ava told her, Maria nodded and picked up her purse. She moved to the twins.

"Boys, Mommy has to go out for a bit. So I need you to behave for Ava and Kara. Ok?" she asked them. They both nodded and Maria moved to Ava. She caught her hand and gave it a comforting squeeze. "I'll call you and let you know what's going on." She told her.

"Thank you." Ava said with a nod. She watched as Andrea and Maria left the apartment before she turned Kara. "What happened?" she asked her.

Kara moved her into the kitchen so they were away from the twins.

"Miller's been kidnapped. Cruz was running with him, we don't know all the details but he tried to intervene. He was shot twice and beaten. He's in surgery at the moment, but he'll be ok." Kara told her, Ava blinked back tears and nodded taking the information at face value as she swayed on her feet to placate Clara.

"Ok." Ava said as she had to keep herself together. Cruz was alive, he would survive. "Miller?" she asked.

"We don't know yet. But trust me, everyone looking for him." Kara assured her, a cry sounded from the bedroom. Mateo was obviously awake.

"Can you take Clara, she's being a little grizzly." Ava said, Kara nodded as she took Clara into her arms freeing Ava to go take care of Mateo.

Bobbie smiled as she read Miller's name on her phone's screen as it rang. "Hello Son of mine," she said as she answered the phone.

"Our son's a little tied up at the moment." Rob told her, she leaned on the counter as cold trickle of fear ran down her back; making her woozy. "I know you're being watched, so let's just keep this short and sweet. It's time for a family reunion. You're going to drop what you're doing and leave your little love nest. Turn left and walk two blocks; there'll be a blue sedan with a man named 'Drew'. He's going to bring you to me. Don't talk to anyone or leave any notes or I'll have to resort to hurting our boy. Do you understand?" he asked.

"Yes." She replied, her voice thick as she struggled to get the word out.

"Good, I'll see you soon Baby." Rob told her, the end of the line went silent as he had hung up. She lowered her hand and looked at the phone for a moment. She placed it on the bench and looked to Wolf who just got off his mobile.

"He has Eric." Bobbie said, she felt like crumpling to the floor but she had to go.

"I know, what does he want you to do?" he asked her, not a demand that she stay, no comforting words. But his tone was formal and pragmatic which for some reason calmed her more than anything else.

"Leave the house now and walk to a car. I can't tell you more and you have to let me go." she told him, shaking her head as she already told him too much.

"Bobbie-" he started.

"No. I have to go." she said cutting him.

"I was going to say take your mobile phone. We can track it." he said as he picked up her mobile and moved towards her. He held it out to her.

"I think I'm going to vomit." She said as she took the mobile and stuffed it into the pocket of her dress.

"We're right behind you. You can do this." Wolf told her, hating himself as he let her walk out the door.

"Don't look at me like that." Rob told Miller as he turned off Miller's phone after finishing his call to Bobbie. Miller glared at him darkly as he wished he could escape the restraints around his wrists. But they were tight and unforgiving on his arms. He was starting to lose feeling in his hands. He hated his father for coming into his life, for giving him just a moment's hope for someone better.

"You know what? I never wished I had a Dad ever. I had Mom and Grandpa, they filled that space and I'm glad for that; given what an asshole you ar-" His words were cut off as his father slugged him hard in the stomach.

"You're too much like your Grandfather with that mouth and all that judgement. If your mother hadn't betrayed me than I could've corrected all these deficiencies you have." Rob told him shaking his head as he looked at Miller like he was a lost cause.

"Why did you even bother me?" Miller asked him.

"I had this fantasy of what could be. Family reunion, I was delusional because you and your mother turned around and betrayed me. You didn't even give me a chance to prove myself. Instead you got your friends together, had me followed, set a trap for me. But you didn't see me coming, I couldn't go to your mother directly. I needed to draw her out, and you left yourself unprotected. I guess the Navy didn't teach you much after all." Rob said patronisingly to Miller.

"You could have left us alone. You still can, just go and be free." Miller told him.

"Free?" Rob scoffed. "Please, I had over 20 years to think about Bobbie and how I get back to her. How I'd get back at her for what she did to me. I'm not walking away from that, if I did it would make me weak and I'm not a weak man." Rob told him.

"You attacked her. A defenceless woman. Sorry, I meant to say a defenceless girl as she was 16." Miller said defending his Mom, anger flashed through Rob's eyes as his lips formed a firm line.

"She had it coming, she was supposed to love me which means staying by my side; supporting me, not putting me in jail. So I think it's time she pay restitution to me. I can't get back 20 years of my life, but I'll take what I can get." Rob told him.

"You hurt her and I'll kill you." Miller promised him. Rob laughed which only fuelled the fire in Miller's gut to motivate him.

"Kid, you're tied up and going nowhere." Rob told him with a wink.

Maria and Andrea came into the ER waiting room where they were immediately greeted by Jeter and Officer Zhen.

"Maria Cruz, this is Master Chief Jeter. She's Cruz's sister." Andrea said making introductions; Maria couldn't help but feel frantic by how quickly everything had passed. Her brother in the hospital, Miller somewhere unknown in danger.

"I wish we were meeting under better circumstances." Jeter said shaking Maria's hand. "This is Officer Mai Zhen," he added, Maria shook the officers hand before she looked at them expecting them to speak first. She was so far out of her element. What was she supposed to do?

"Any word on my Brother or Eric?" Maria asked them, not wasting a moment.

"Our best people are on it. Your brother is still in surgery." Jeter told her, just as she was about to ask more a man dressed in scrubs walked over to them.

"Master Chief Russell Jeter?" he asked looking to Jeter as he was wearing his uniform, so it had to be him.

"Yes, this is Maria Cruz. She's Javier Cruz's next of kin." Jeter said, the doctor nodded and gave his full attention to Maria as he spoke.

"I'm Doctor Charles Bennett, your brother is going to be alright. He has a mild concussion, couple cracked ribs, a broken arm, contusions and gunshot to upper right thigh but luckily it was a through and through. So there were no complications, no fracture of the femur, only tissue damage that we've stitched up and only time can heal. Now, he's currently being moved upstairs to patient's ward 23 on level two. We'll need to keep him for a few days before releasing him but he's going to be fine." The doctor told them, reiterating that Cruz was fine.

"Ok, uh-" Maria said as she gave an exhale letting go of tension that she'd been holding inside. "Thank you, Doctor." she told him.

"You're welcome," he said leaving them to return to probably his next patient.

Maria wavered on her feet as relief washed through her. She blinked back tears as she covered her mouth with her hands. She needed to keep it together even though she wanted to fall to pieces. She may have her brother back but Miller was still missing. She felt like she'd finally found a home and family to surround herself with and in the space of a morning it had nearly been ripped from her. There still a piece of that home missing from the picture.

"If you'll excuse me, I'm going to join the teams that are searching for Miller." Jeter said to Maria.

"Please." She told him as she'd didn't want him here when he could do so much more out looking for Miller. She had Andrea at her side, she knew she would be safe, that she could lean on the woman for support.

"I'll be back later to check in." Jeter told her and Andrea who stood with them silent the entire time.

"Ok, thank you." she said to him, he gave a nod and walked away, leaving Andrea and Maria with the police officer.

"I'm shaking." Maria said as she blew out a breath as her whole body trembled. She wiped at her face with shaky hands.

"It's ok, it's the shock." Andrea said as she rubbed her back.

"I need to call Ava." She said to Andrea.