Reaching for The Moon by ThePekingNoodle

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Chapter Ninety-Six: Meanwhile Back at the Ranch

In which the Colonel finds out that our heroine has slipped through his fingers…

Colonel Lydecker stood looking down at the body of his lieutenant which was sprawled on the floor behind the desk with a neat bullet hole in his forehead. The expression on the Colonel's face was cold and forbidding.  Another man entered the office and stood waiting for the Colonel's attention.  The Colonel finally turned and looked at him.

"Did you locate our other operative?"

"Yes, sir."

"Dead as well?" Lydecker wanted to know.

"No sir. Unconscious. He's in a room down the hall."

"Let me know when he comes to. I'll want to speak to him. No sign of the girl I suppose?"

"No sir. We've searched the warehouse and I have a team scouring the surrounding blocks. This team's vehicle is still here, and she can't have gotten far on foot. We'll have her for you in no time."

Logan shot him a look. "Let's hope so. I don't like failures." He glanced down at the body. "Send someone to move the body out of here. Dismissed."

The man saluted and left to carry out the Colonel's orders. Lydecker glanced around the room searchingly but didn't see anything out of the ordinary.  He frowned as he stood there lost in thought, and then headed out to the warehouse to the abduction vehicle.

A team of technicians was already working on the vehicle when he got there.

"Anything of interest?" he asked.

"We found the girl's purse on the floor in the back of the vehicle but that's all. No signs of any kind of struggle. It appears they arrived here according to plan and left the vehicle with no problems," the tech advised.

"What's in the purse?" Lydecker asked.

"Nothing out of the ordinary. A comb, lipstick, some cash, a cell phone. That's it." The tech handed him a small green evening purse.

The Colonel opened it and pulled out the cell phone. He pressed the display and the list of calls came up. The last outgoing call had been made at 4:17 PM. He briefly glanced at the incoming call list before closing the phone and dropping it back into the purse.  "I'll hold onto this." He slipped the purse into his pocket and walked away.

Shortly thereafter he was standing looking down at the second operative who sat sullenly in a chair.

"So explain this to me one more time." Lydecker said coldly. "A little girl who was doped up on rohypnol managed to free herself from this room, knocked you out, and then took your gun and shot Fernandez without him making any move to defend himself."

"That's what I said."

"You weigh how much? 225 or thereabouts?"

"Something like that."

Lydecker looked at him with a glare that sent chills down the man's spine. Then he began to speak in a voice that was even more deadly for all its softness. "Let me tell you what I think really happened here. The team found a few scraps of green fabric on the cot in the storage room. They also found what appear to be the prints of a small female on the gun that was used to shoot Fernandez." He paused.

"I told you she took my gun and shot him."

"The prints were on the barrel of the gun." Lydecker stared him down. "Would you care to explain how you shoot someone while holding the gun barrel?"

The man was silent.

"No, I think that you decided that you wanted to use the girl while she was under the influence.  Fernandez told you no, so you shot him. He wouldn't have expected that from you, hence the lack of defense on his part. You tried to force the girl. Somehow she managed to fight you off and then she hit you over the head with your own gun and left. That's what I think happened."

The man continued in his silence.

Lydecker turned to his companion. "Bring in the tasers. Let see if a few jolts at maximum intensity will loosen his tongue."

The man looked at the Colonel in a panic. "No. No tasers. Please. You're right in what you said happened. But I didn't mean to shoot Fernandez. The gun went off by accident. I was only going to lock him in the room while I had the girl. I figured she'd never remember and once it was done, Fernandez would keep his mouth shut about it. That's all. I swear it was an accident."

"Doesn't it feel better to tell the truth son?" Lydecker said to him softly. "Let me get one thing clear. You're positive the girl did it herself? She didn't have any help?"

"The bitch kicked me in the balls. She didn't need any help for that. She like to broke my eardrum screaming into it too. Nah, she didn't have any help. But who woulda thought a society bitch like that would know street tricks?"

"She didn't display any unusual strength or speed?"

"Huh? She could barely move. I coulda swore she was too scared to try anything at all. I dunno how she managed to kick me. Guess it's true what they say about fear making you stronger."

"Very well." Lydecker turned as if to leave. The man in the chair slumped in relief. But then Lydecker turned back to him. His face was an emotionless mask.  There was the sound of a single gunshot and a look of surprise crossed the man's face as he looked down to see the bullet wound that had blossomed in his chest. He slowly toppled off of the chair.

"Clean up this mess." The Colonel directed his companion. He left the room after slipping his gun back into his shoulder holster.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

 Dawn broke over the yacht. It was a typical gray Seattle day that promised rain at some point. The water was still calm and the yacht rocked gently at its anchorage.

Max yawned and stretched, and sat up. She propped herself back against the headboard with her pillow cushioning her back. Logan was sprawled face down next to her with one of his arms draped across her waist. He murmured something when she moved but then settled back into sleep. She couldn't resist reaching out and running a hand through his spiky hair, never failing to be surprised at its softness which was in complete contrast to the way it looked.  The sheet was down around his waist and she enjoyed looking at the strong lines of his back. As she sat there gazing at him, her mouth curved into a smug smile.

She sat there for a long time, relaxing into the gentle motion of the yacht, and watching Logan sleep. But finally he muttered and began to stir. An eye opened and looked up at her.

"It's about time you woke up," she said.

"Why?" Logan wasn't at his best in the mornings.

"I was getting bored sitting here. Not to mention hungry."

The other eye opened and he rolled onto his back, stretching out his arms. Max smiled at the sight.

"You look like the cat that swallowed the canary." Logan said sleepily.

"Or who's about to." Max teased running her eyes over him.

"Oh yeah?" Logan managed to raise one eyebrow. "You know, there are various ways that comment could be taken. Which way did you mean it?"

"Do you really want to know?" Max's voice was low and the look in her eyes held a seductive promise.

Logan looked at her from under hooded eyes. "Yeah," he said huskily. "I think I do…"

End of Chapter Ninety-Six…TBC…