Blue-Green 39
They stopped in front of a door and James knocked. He heard the dog inside bark and told Sue. 'Levi.'
"Levi is good at his job."
At the call to enter, the silent man opened the door and Sue stepped into a dream. She paused at the threshold in shock. The room, the bed, the walls, she'd been there before and yet not really. It was quite a bit cleaner and a pleasant shade of ocean blue. She walked over to the picture wall and touched her fingers to her lips as she recognized each of the photos.
James watched her emotions play across her face. He felt a hand on his shoulder.
"She's looking at the pictures, isn't she?"
A nod.
Sue turned to see Hector standing next to James. Levi came bounding over to greet her. Kneeling, she buried her face in his fur for a moment to re-gain her bearings. "Thank you for watching him for me." She cringed when she realized what she said but the sailor just laughed.
"No problem. He didn't need to be on the range. And he's good company."
Levi began barking and pawed Sue's leg. "What is it, Levi?"
James signed 'Polly.'
Hector laughed again. "That would be Polly he's barking at. He doesn't like strangers too much and he seemed to think Levi was taking his place. I put him in the bathroom for a while."
The silent man stepped over and retrieved the parrot so Sue could see him. The bird sat calmly on James' hand as he walked over to Sue. He held Polly up to her shoulder and the bird stepped off and began to nudge his head into her hair.
'He likes you.'
Sue didn't know what to think of that. "I can feel his beak clacking. Does he talk?"
"Sure he does. Too much. At the wrong time." The sailor moved forward with his hand out and the bird flew to his master. Polly began climbing on Hector's head.
James signed something and Sue laughed. "He says if you wouldn't take him to town so often, he wouldn't spill the beans on you."
"Yeah, yeah, everyone's a comedian now." He grabbed the bird and held his hand to his shoulder and Sue took a good look at the pair. He did make a dashing sailor with the parrot on his shoulder.
'See, what did I say? Sailor Boy.'
Sue bit down a laugh.
"I know you are talking about me again."
She moved to give him a hug. "It's okay. Nothing bad." She tried to keep the smile out of her voice but she felt him grunt his disbelief. Looking up, there was a tiny grin at the corners of his mouth. "Faker." Polly flew to his perch.
Levi barked again and went to Sue as James went to the door.
It opened as the tall Aussie called down the hall, "Thanks, Trip!" He came in the door and greeted the trio and Levi.
"Hey, Wreck. Are all you guys so aptly named? Trip, Wreck, I feel right at home with Crash." Bobby was still on his adrenaline high.
"Pretty much so, buddy. I'm guessing you were responsible for the last big blast."
"Yeah. It was a beaut. Me and Trip almost lost it for a moment but stopped it with about twenty or so seconds to spare. It was great!" He collapsed on the couch next to the window and sighed.
'At this rate, you'll have to drive, Sue. He's gonna fizzle pretty quickly.' At her nod, he continued. 'Let me go get your civies and talk to the general. I have an idea.' He left quietly.
Across the room the FBI agent was now sprawled, fighting sleep and losing.
Sue led Hector to the bed where they both sat. He spoke in a low tone so as not to disturb Bobby. "I wish you didn't have to leave. There is so much I want to talk to you about."
"It's okay, Hector. I'll leave my cell number and you can call me. Or you can email me…" She trailed off at the look on his face. "What? Are you okay?"
"I, ahh, I just wanted to see you to talk. I know you have somebody waiting. I don't want to take from that." He turned away for a moment, took a breath and turned back. "You're the first person in a long time who has seen the real me. The one who needs someone to talk to. I just don't want to lose that."
"Listen to me. I will be there anytime you need to talk, however it is. When you get better, call me and I will make time for you." She placed a hand on his chest causing him to draw back slightly. "We have a connection and I want to be able to help you understand It. You won't be alone."
James returned at that point interrupting their time. Sue went into the bathroom to change into her own clothes. When she came out, she went to hand the flag to the silent man.
'Keep it. Top said to. Remember what you can do out side the box.'
Hector stood and moved to just behind James' shoulder. "I have to go back to the med-ward for a couple of hours so I guess I'll see you later?" There was a hopeful note in his voice.
"Sure. Call me or email when you can come into DC." She gave him one more hug and he kissed her on the top of head.
Placing his hand on the silent man's shoulder he said, "Lead on, stone soldier."
James signed 'Wait. I'll be back,' and they were gone.
Twenty minutes later, James returned to help Sue get Bobby to the car. She was going to drive. They got him in on the passenger side with the seat laid back and him sprawled across it. Levi curled up in the back. James watched her get in the car and buckled up.
'Are you sure you can make it?'
"It's not that far and I think I will be fine. I'm stronger than I look someone keeps telling me." She smiled. "You still owe me a story. Promise?"
He touched the place between her temple and cheek. 'Promise. Soon. After W is better.'
She started the car and followed the signs to exit the base. The silent man stood watching until the sun went down behind him.
Another figure joined him and took his hand. "You're going to tell her?"
He nodded and looked at his fiancée. He was a lucky man. He just hoped this Jack Hudson knew what he had.
