Chapter 11
Sean slapped the newspaper onto the table in the small motel where he and Shannon took up temporary residence. "This was a waste of our time, Shan. Nobody's hirin' me, not without a background check."
"I thought that was all cleared up," Shannon said. "How did you get that job in Buffalo?"
"Aye, it was, but I don't know why they're makin' excuses about doin' a check this time. I think we have to assume that someone discovered my file and... altered it."
Shannon looked up at him, her eyes wide. "Surely you're not sayin' that someone is onto us!"
"I don't know. It just seems that somethin' is rotten." He let out a deflating breath and dropped onto the edge of the bed. Shannon reached for his suit jacket, removed it, and began kneading his shoulders. Sean groaned. "Maybe Jacob was right. We ought to just go to Oregon, and then meet him in Colorado in November."
"I wonder how he's doin' in LA? Maybe 'twould be easier in a bigger city."
"I've wondered that myself." He sighed and turned out of her gentle grip, and he knelt on the bed with her. Taking her arms, he said, "Shan, would ye mind if we went to LA? We could reinvent ourselves there, and perhaps fit in better."
She asked with a soft voice and eyes full of questions. "New names?"
"No," he replied softly. "No accents. The names'll be fine."
"Aye, 'twould be simpler, wouldn't it?"
Sean nodded with a smile on his face.
Her eyes glimmered with the challenge of new territory. "Alright then. Let's leave tomorrow."
It was so early when Sean pulled out of the motel parking lot, the couple beat the truckers on the road. With no planned itinerary or route mapped out, Sean was flying by the seat of his pants. That was so unlike him. It was scary, but it also gave him and Shannon a sense of adventure as the couple crossed from Iowa into Nebraska, with the sun coming up behind them. Miles and miles of fields full of crops wove in the breeze as they sped through the state. The sun shone down and seemed to bless the trip. Sean drove almost all the way to Denver, with several stops along the way for gas, snacks and drinks, and bathroom breaks for Shannon.
"Shannon, let's take a detour to Fort Collins. I want to find the restaurant where we're meeting Jacob, and do a recon."
"That sounds like a fine idea," she replied with a smile.
It took them almost two hours out of the way, but they found it. Sean pulled into the parking lot and chose a spot. "Let's grab some dinner here, check it out, and be on our way. We'll stay overnight in Denver."
Shannon nodded. "I take it we're getting rid of the accents now?"
"Yes. Let's just be an ordinary American couple with Irish names." Sean grinned and held the door open for her.
"Fine by me. I was getting really tired of your brogue... Sean." She smirked at him and entered the restaurant. He frowned, and her smile widened.
Neither one said much as their eyes roamed the establishment and took in every detail. Both Sean and Shannon came to the conclusion that it was a friendly place, yet it offered some seclusion.
"I can't wait until our next meeting," Shannon said as they left the restaurant.
"The food wasn't that great, Shan."
She grinned at him. "That's not why I said it. I just want to get through these next months and then hide away."
"I'd be happier if we could figure out how to get the truth to the CIA. I know Pearce knows everything, but when the agency won't believe her either, something is seriously wrong." Sean got into the passenger side, and Shannon took the driver's seat.
She waited until both of them were in the car to speak. "Maybe you don't want to acknowledge this, but I think Card is part of it, if he isn't the main reason. He carries a lot of weight, and you know it."
"I know, you've told me that before." He paused and stared out the window. "Fi... Shannon... it's hard to get my head around the fact that the man I trusted my life and career to has set out to destroy me. Why?"
"He sold himself to the devil, that's why. Just like Larry. Like you almost did." She turned the key and met his eyes. "Sean, you beat the temptation, and it kills him and Anson. You put a target on your head, as well as mine, Sam's and Jesse's, because you wouldn't fall." She held up a hand. "Ah, don't apologize. Despite our trials, we wouldn't have it any other way." She smiled at him and put the car in gear.
"I wonder what might have happened if we'd let Anson live."
"He was going to blow up your mother's house with her in it, Sean. You had no choice."
"Yeah."
Sean closed his eyes and his mind went back to that fateful day. He, Fiona, and Jesse were hot on Anson's trail. Sam was at Maddie's helping her with some home improvement project that she insisted had to get done. When Anson showed up and held them hostage with the help of a few of his burned spies, somehow Sam managed to text him and warn him what was happening. They arrived and found Anson in the solarium with Maddie and Sam tied together.
"Michael, you just wouldn't give up, would you," Anson said in his customary soft condescending tone as he came out and stood on the front porch. "I gave you so many chances to work with me, but you've fought every one. I'm giving you one final offer. If you say 'yes', your best friend Sam and your mommy Madeline get to live. If not..." He grinned as he held up a detonator. "They go boom!"
"Anson!"
Michael charged at him, but he held out a hand. "Uh uh, you touch me, and I drop this, and that's it. We're all done for."
"You wouldn't risk it. You wanna live too much for that."
While Michael talked to Anson, Jesse worked his way around the back of the house. He put two of the spies inside the house out of commission and made it to the solarium. Maddie gasped, but he held up his finger to his lips and urged her to be quiet. He untied her and Sam, and they swiftly and silently rushed for the back door.
"Wait, Jesse! There's two more coming in the back," Sam rasped.
The three changed direction in the kitchen and Sam and Madeline ran out the side door. Jesse stayed behind to take them on. He laid one out easily, but the other gave him some trouble.
Sam started to move along the side of the house, but he saw Maddie turn back. "Maddie!" He groaned and turned to follow her. By the time he entered the house, he found her standing beside Jesse looking down at the second spy, out cold on the kitchen floor.
Sam's eyes widened as he asked, "What did you do?"
"I found a new use for a crock pot," Maddie responded as she held up what was left of the appliance. The ceramic liner lay in pieces on the floor around the head of the spy who attacked Jesse.
He grinned. "I always knew you were creative! Come on Jesse, let's go help Mike." He took a detour to the Cadillac, opened the door, and pulled out a reserve gun from under the seat. Then he said to Madeline, "You stay here and take cover. I mean it! You don't have another crock pot to bean him with, and Anson's got something a lot more dangerous." He pointed at her, and she nodded.
Sam and Jesse slowed their pace as they neared the corner of the house. Michael and Fiona saw them. Jesse pantomimed for them to step back as Sam aimed for Anson, using a bush for cover.
"I'm sorry, Anson. I'm not playing your little games anymore." Michael turned and walked away from the house. "Good luck with your team," he shot over his shoulder. "That is, when they wake up."
"What..." Anson glared at him, and then he looked through the louvered windows. Sam and Maddie were no longer there. He cursed under his breath and ran into the house.
"Dammit, I was just going to shoot," Sam whispered. "I know the CIA wants him alive, but Jesse..."
"I know. Come on." He took off toward the front of the house, ran up the front steps, and Sam followed. The two saw Anson in the solarium, raised their guns, aimed, and fired. The louvers shattered on the first shot, and Jesse missed, but the second shot in quick succession hit its target.
Anson's eyes turned to Sam. There was victory in them. Sam and Jesse both shot at him, piercing his chest. Anson collapsed and hit the floor.
"Sam, he's got a detonator with a dead man switch!" Michael called out to his friends as he raced back to the house.
Sam nodded, and he and Jesse stormed inside. A few seconds later they came out carrying Anson. Sam had a vice grip on Anson's hand, preventing him from letting go and blowing up the house along with him and Jesse. They dropped him onto the grass, not caring if it hurt or not. Anson's chest was covered in blood, and his breath came out in gurgles. A siren screamed in the distance.
"We've gotta get out of here," Michael said. "Fi, get the car started."
She ran to the curb and started the car while Michael leaned over to look at his nemesis one last time. Anson opened his eyes and gave him a bloody grin. "You think this is over, Michael. That you've beaten me. Think... think... again." The breath left Anson's body, and he stared blankly up at the sky.
"Come on, Mike, he's dead," Sam checked for a pulse at his carotid artery and found none. "Let's get out of here!" He put the safety on the dead man's switch, preventing the house from blowing up before Anson's hand could relax and take the pressure off of it.
Sam and Jesse grabbed Michael's arms and dragged him to the car. Maddie stood in the front yard looking down at the man who caused her son so much grief. Jesse called out to her. "Maddie! Come on!"
"No, I'm not leaving until this trash is off my property!"
Sam pushed Michael into the back seat of the Charger and ran with Jesse to get Madeline. "Maddie, there's no time for this! We all have to leave, because as soon as the CIA finds out about this, we're all on their list. They wanted him alive!"
Maddie bit her bottom lip. The sirens increased in volume. "Okay." Her voice shook. "Okay." She turned and looked at the house that had been her home for almost fifty years. Then she leaned over, ripped the detonator out of Anson's dead hand, and pressed the red button. The concussion blew out the windows and sent a fireball through the house, and the three fell to the ground. Jesse recovered first. He pulled on Sam and Maddie, who made sure that the detonator was in Anson's hand, and the two got up and ran for the car. Sam and Maddie got in back, and Jesse sat shotgun with Fiona. Fi put on the gas and got them away before the police and fire units arrived.
Michael could still recall the look on Sam's face as Fiona drove past the garage. The Cadillac was in the driveway, and flaming shrapnel from the house punctured the passenger side windows, setting the interior on fire.
"Elsa's gonna kill me," Sam muttered.
There was no time to lose. After retreating to the loft, the group discussed what their plan of action would be. Jesse went to his apartment, packed a bag, and contacted a friend to help him get to the Caymans. Maddie hopped on a bus to see a friend in Orlando for a few days, and would return to Miami acting shocked at the destruction of her house. Elsa picked up Sam, and the next day he stopped by the loft one last time driving his used truck. Then Sam left, alone, and Michael and Fiona went their separate ways in used cars.
Wonder where Ma is. Where's the Charger is now? Is it okay? There were so many more important things to worry about, but his mother and his car were two things that concerned him the most at the moment. Michael knew Jesse had friends in the Caymans who would keep him safe, so he had no reason to worry about him. The last time he'd seen Sam a week earlier, he was thinner but doing well. He had every confidence that he would make it.
"I really wish there was a way to contact my mom," Sean mumbled.
"I have an idea. We need some gas, let's stop at this exit." Shannon pulled off the freeway and pulled up to the pump at a small station just off the freeway. "You pump the gas, I'll get you a phone."
Sean pumped the gas while Shannon went inside to put money down for the pump. As she turned around, she smiled sweetly at the man who got in line behind her. His hands were full of items, and as he ogled Shannon, he nearly lost a loaf of bread.
"Oh, here, let me help ya with that, darlin'," she drawled as she smiled wider and took a couple of the things, then laid them on the counter.
"Thanks, honey." He grinned at her and slipped past, leaned toward the counter, and set the rest of his purchases on it. Meanwhile, Shannon's hand flitted over his back pocket and pulled out his phone. "Hey," he said and turned toward her. He only saw her withdrawing her hand.
"So sorry. I din't want ya to fall over there. Have a nice evenin'." She winked at him and turned toward the door.
Shannon used up just enough time for Sean to fill the tank. He got into the passenger seat as Shannon rushed out to the car. Once inside, she handed Michael the phone. "Here. Make it quick, and when you're done, throw it out the window on the freeway." She started up the car and put it in drive, and the vehicle disappeared into the night as the man whose phone she pinched came out with his stuff. He felt his back pocket, realized it was missing, and yelled. But he was too late. The little phone thief was gone.
Sean dialed Madeline's cell number, hoping it still belonged to her. It rang four times, and then someone picked up. "Hello?"
"M...may I ask who this is?"
"Isn't that supposed to be my question?"
Sean chuckled, but it came out more like a sob. "Ma. Ma, it's me, Michael."
"Michael!"
"Ma, please, don't freak out! Where are you?"
She paused to get herself under control. "It's okay. You'll never guess who I've been staying with... Elsa."
"Elsa?" His eyebrows rose. "You're staying with Elsa?"
Shannon's head whipped around, her shocked expression lit up by the dashboard. Sean silently urged her to keep looking toward the road.
He turned on the speaker. "Yes, she's been a gracious hostess, Michael. She's helping me find a new house, and she offered to pay for it and new furnishings! She loves Sam so much, and she knows that he thinks of me like his mother, so she's helping me."
"Ma, when this is all over, we'll get everything straightened out with the house. I promise."
"Yeah, well, unfortunately, the insurance won't cover acts of terrorism, and thanks to your friends at the CIA, that's what they're calling the destruction of my house. So I now own an empty piece of land, and in this market, I'll never be able to get rid of it!" Her tone softened. "But that doesn't matter right now. I'm worried about you, Fiona, and Sam. How are you?"
"Fi and I are good. Mom... we got married in Buffalo. I'm sorry you couldn't be there."
"Oh, honey, that's wonderful! We'll celebrate when you come home, and you can do one of those vow renewal ceremonies. It'll be great!"
Her exuberance made Michael homesick and happy at the same time. "We saw Sam over a week ago. He's doing well. We're going to meet again in about three and a half months."
"Can you tell me where?"
"No. I'm sorry. We... borrowed... a phone, but we can't be sure your line is safe."
Madeline let out a breath. "I know, honey. It's okay. I hate this whole business, and I'll be so glad when you're home. I was hoping you and Fiona would get back together, and that you'd team up with Sam again. The fact that you're all scattered about is driving me crazy." She paused. "And if Sam is there, maybe he'd like to talk to Elsa."
"Sorry, Ma, he's not with us."
There was a pause, and he heard someone talking in the background. "If you see Sam, tell him she got it and the lifts are lovely this time of year."
That makes absolutely no sense! "Okay, I'll tell Sam the next time I see him. I've gotta ditch this phone now. I'll talk to you when I can."
"Okay, honey. You take care of Fiona."
"I will, Ma. I almost forgot, Fi's having a baby. Talk to you soon, Ma. Love you." He broke off the connection and missed Maddie's shriek of delight, rolled down the window, and tossed the phone out onto the pavement. In the distance, he heard it crack into little pieces, and he sighed deeply. Then he felt hot tears roll down his face, and he let the breeze coming in the window dry them. Shannon's hand found his, and he slowly turned back into Sean McKellar.