Covert Move, Coffee & Pissed Off General

Twelve Days After Rescue – Base Hospital Afghanistan – Sam's Room 1100 (11 am)

Winds hung up the phone "That was the General. We need to prepare to leave Mason."

Smiling broadly and his voice happy Mason replied "Hot damn. Man he must have a sixth sense about his boy. No sooner do we hear he is ready to travel and the General calls. I know he's a busy man but that was one short call. Is he coming here or are we just bringing the kid home to Ottawa?"

Winds was about to reply when his phone buzzed. He read the text 'coffee'. Strange go code he thought briefly.

Mason noticed that Winds was not smiling which wiped his off his face.

Winds looked up from his phone "Somehow we have been compromised. No details but we are authorized to do whatever necessary to keep Blondie safe." Winds unholstered his gun and double checked the clip.

Mason followed suit and said seriously and all business "Travel plans?"

"We need to get all of Blondie's medical records and take them with us. You and I are traveling with him, at least on this leg of the journey. Zach's not coming with us. Our go code is coffee and we leave within four hours. We need the doctor now to discuss how to manage the light sensitivity. Assuming Galloway will be making the arrangements. With security being compromised it will be interesting to see what cover he creates for us to get out of here covertly" Winds responded.

"Zach's gonna be pissed" Mason replied.

As if on cue there was a knock on the door and Zach called out "Just me, okay to open?"

Winds looked at Blondie. He never quite knew if Blondie was completely out or just in stealth mode. Patch always knew but he could never quite read him on that. He put the cloth over his head just in case then called for Zach to enter.

"Sorry guys that took longer than expected. Had to ask someone to find more of his favorite bars. Got him a whole box of them though. Found a new pair of sweats and an awesome shirt too. Button down instead of pullover it will be easier on his ribs getting it on and off." Zach was chattering away when he recognized Mason and Winds were busy in the corner of the room with their packs and not even really listening to him. "What's up guys?"

Winds turned to him "Need your help. Locate the doctor and have him provide you a copy of Blondie's full records of injuries. Have him make up a week's worth of pain meds in injectable syringes. Then bring him here. We need to discuss how to manage the light sensitivity for travel."

Zach nodded he could do that "Is Sam being moved right now? Did you call the General?"

This all seemed so sudden. Zach was put off a bit by their mannerisms. His Uncle would want Sam to travel but why the complete rush. Unless? "Something happened. Is there a threat to Sam?"

Mason briefly thought the kid's sharp then said "Nothing specific, no details other than we need to leave within four hours."

"Okay I'll get the records and meds and bring the doc. Then I'll go grab my things too" Zach replied.

Winds stopped his packing, stood and turned to him "You're not going with us kid."

Zach was about to ask why but decided to quit being stupid and use his brain. He stopped and thought things through a moment. Several things came to mind.

His leave was almost up, there was an unspecified threat but his uncle was not taking chances evidenced by moving so quickly and they were SF. That meant they were not taking Sam to the base hospital. They were taking him to a safe house to recover. Good he thought Sam hates hospitals anyhow. Given the breach in security his uncle would use a form of blackout protocol even though the priority one was no longer in place.

Winds and Mason watched as the wheels turned in Zach's head and saw when it clicked.

"Shit I'm gonna be on the 'no change' list now. That's gonna suck. Just let Sam know I care and it was not by choice I'm not with him. What else can I do to help?" Zach asked

"Nothing at the moment" Mason answered.

Zach nodded turned and left the room to quickly to do what they asked him to do.

Gulfstream Private Jet Inflight to Ottawa – 1530 (3:30 pm)

Fifteen minutes after take-off Corporal Drake walked towards the front of the plane. He stopped in the small galley to grab a soda on his way back to his seat near the front. "Winds, Mason, Mike want anything while I'm here?" He grabbed each a soda per their requests and moved forward.

Handing the drinks to them then he sat in the spacious, comfortable, soft leather seat. "Now this is the way to travel" he sighed and kicked up the leg rest.

Popping the top on the can Mason said "Sure beats the hard metal seats of the normal transport flights. How'd the General swing this one?"

Pushing the chair into a reclining position Drake replied "Not the General. Mike was in charge of arranging transportation for this mission." He twisted in the chair and called out behind him "Hey Boss. How the hell you swing this one?"

From the pilot's seat Lieutenant Galloway chuckled and called back "Not telling you all my secrets kid. If I did then you'd have my job in a heartbeat. And to tell truth, I really like my job."

Mike would never tell them it was one of his family's private jets.

As far as anyone knew Mike was just a normal guy from an average family; not the heir apparent of one of the richest families in Canada. The General knew but he kept quiet. He completely understood Mike's reasons for wanting to be known for who he was rather than who his family was.

But at times Mike saw the need to tap his family's resources. This was one of those times. Sam needed a safe, fast, non-military exit from Afghanistan.

Drake chuckled "If you're not careful I'm gonna start calling you Magic Mike. You might have to finally share a trick or two with me to get me to stop."

Mike bristled at the name but snorted and dryly said "You start calling me that kid and you'll find yourself buck naked in some dark alley in some god forsaken country with a name you cannot even pronounce praying for someone to come rescue you."

That shut Drake up fast. He gave Winds and Mason a wide-eyed look that clearly said 'Mike could do that'. Drake responded quickly "K, boss hear ya loud and clear."

They all smiled as they heard Mike burst out laughing.

Downing the last of the soda Winds was looking at his god awful suit that was too loose in places and too snug in others. Christ he thought the pants would fall down they were so loose. With no belt included he had strung one of his combat boot laces between two belt loops to tighten them when he changed at the hospital.

"So if Mike was transport, then it's you we have to thank for our wonderful wardrobe?" he said sarcastically looking at Drake.

"Man don't even begin to complain Winds. I feel like I'm in a freaking straight jacket. Scared it would burst at the seams and leave me naked as a jaybird in the airport. Good thing I was carrying Blondie. He covered where the three buttons had popped off and the shirt gaped open" Mason said.

Now that they were safely in the air he started pulling to remove the tie and unbuttoning the remaining buttons on the shirt that were also threatening to pop off. He also kicked off the too small dress shoes he had crammed his feet into.

Drake was laughing uncontrollably "Sorry dudes. Not much choice over here on such short notice and especially not in your size of suit Mason. At least be happy you're not wearing a burka. Seriously thought I might have to go that route for you dude."

He blocked the shoe that Mason threw at him.

Still snickering he continued "But I knew had to find something that would somewhat fit. You both needed to fit the part of beleaguered security personnel for our young boss." He waved his hand towards the back of the plane.

Then Drake continued "You know our obnoxious, filthy rich, drunk off his ass playboy who is out gallivanting the world in daddy's plane. It let us get our 'passed out' playboy there onboard with little inspection or notice from airport security. All they saw was just another privileged good for nothing playboy paving his way with daddy's money."

Winds sobered a bit as he too yanked off the tie and unbuttoned the top three buttons of his shirt "Yeah at first I wasn't sure that was gonna work. How the hell did you guys come up with that cover? Worked great but was a bit tense with that one guard until you slipped him that wad of money. I'll tell you, I sighed with relief when he quickly allowed us to pass. Would have been awful to shoot our way to the plane."

Smiling still Drake answered "Cover was Mike's idea. He said long ago he once knew a guy like that. Said it always worked for the guy and money usually got him everything he wanted." He shook his head "Money's nice and can be useful, but it cannot buy happiness. Leastwise that's what Magic Mike keeps telling me."

"Drake, you're tempting fate. Better not let me hear you call me that again" Mike admonished slightly irritated.

He really hated that name. When he was young, brash and a stupid playboy all the sycophants he thought were real friends called him that. It took one incident when he was twenty-one to give him a much needed wakeup call and he changed his life completely. He wanted to forget the wasted early years of his adult life. Well actually he didn't recall too much because he was usually too wasted then to remember all the crap he did.

Shaking himself out of the past Mike's voice switched to real concern "So Drake, how's our playboy doing?"

Stretching out languidly Drake answered "He's still out cold. Not gonna give him another dose just yet. The doctor's dose should be wearing off soon. Need him to wake up to see how's he's feeling. Nice the doctor arranged that portable infusion pump for him. Hate sticking him with needles. I had to change his IV when he was awake at the safe house before. Sam went all rigid when he caught sight of the needle. He was so stiff and tight I thought the needle would bend when I inserted it. He must have a real fear of needles."

Mason cringed, if Drake only knew why but it wasn't his place to share that information with him. He was so glad that Blondie was out cold when he started the IV in the desert.

Stripping off the pants Mason noticed the seam of the butt had actually torn and was close to ripping wide open upon the entire length. That would have been embarrassing. He dug in his bag for his own clothes, filthy and rumpled but at least they fit properly. As he changed he asked "What's our flight time in this tin can?"

Mike guffawed at the tin can description of one of the most elite private jets. Over his shoulder he said "This baby does a max of Mach 0.925. But with head winds, gonna be another eight or nine hours in the air to Ottawa where we stop refuel and to pick up the General. Then it will be another four to five hours to Yellow Knife depending on conditions."

Winds was pulling on his own pants now, like Mason he would rather be in his own clothes even though they really needed to be washed "Mike not sure how you did it but thanks. Nice to see that Blondie has a comfortable place to rest during the flight. I thought he'd have to put up with a small little chair or maybe the hard floor for hours."

Mike just smiled and nodded in acknowledgement.

Winds was totally impressed that Mike found a plane with a bed. The General's personal security detail was good, damned good.

Finishing tying his boots Mason stood up and had to stoop over not to hit his head on the roof of the cabin. Seeing Winds was re-lacing his boot he said "Hey Drake, wanna give me a hand with Blondie. Probably better to get him changed into something comfortable too before he wakes."

Mason and Drake went to the back and stripped him out of the tight suit and put him into a new pair of soft black sweat pants and light cotton button down shirt that Zach had bought for him at the PX.

After Mason propped Blondie's ankle on several pillows he pulled the blanket over him and removed the sunglasses they had put on him to hide the gauze.

Drake carefully removed the tape holding the gauze in place that covered his eyes to protect them from light.

Mason handed Drake a black sleeping mask. "The doc said this should work fine. It's padded and the strap is adjustable to make it snug. Should block all the light and stay in place better than the cloth, it won't fall off if he moves in sleep."

Drake adjusted the mask then did another quick vitals check. All good. "Hey guys, pull all the window shades, let's make it dark as possible in here for when he wakes."

Winds and Mason proceeded to close all the shades. On the way back to their seats Mason was near the small galley and grabbed a bag of beef jerky. He tossed it to Winds.

Catching the bag and opening it Winds said "So this safe house in Yellow Knife, it's not a piece of crap like the one we had for Daphne is it?"

Returning to his seat and kicking back Drake responded "Nah, completely state of the art. Gots all we need to handle Sam and keep him safe. Craig and Jack are supplying it as we speak. Mike ordered them to make sure we had enough for eight weeks before we need to restock. Hope it doesn't take that long. But Sam seemed to like it there last time. He spent hours on the porch swing just letting the cool pine breeze blow around him."

Base Hospital Afghanistan – Sam's Room 1600 (4 pm)

Zach lay in the bed, the blackout cloth over his head letting just the top of his blonde head show. Gun held at his side just under the covers in case needed. All lights off and the room pitch dark. He had been here just like this for several hours now.

He was bored but knew what he was doing was important. Zach was the decoy to assist Sam's departure unnoticed. He thought back to when he had come back with the doctor as Winds' had requested.

Winds had told him they needed his help to get Sam safely out of the country. He said it could be very risky for him if someone decided to go after Sam and that he would have no backup. He had readily agreed without knowing what Winds wanted him to do.

Mason armed him with a small handgun and told him to tuck it away were he could reach it quickly if needed. Then they explained what they needed him to do. Be the decoy; make people think Sam was still here and help Mason and Winds get out of the room unnoticed.

His first task was to go out and distract the MP by giving him the guy's rifles and instructing the MP to have someone pick them up and return them to the armory. As he did this Mason and Winds slipped unobserved from the room. Then he accompanied Sam and the doctor down for a CT scan, leaving the MP unaware no one was in the room.

They had all met in the empty scan room. He was introduced to someone named Drake who was dressed in an awesome tailored black suit and tie. Zach helped to dress Sam in gray dress pants, black shirt with a silver tie and gray suit jacket. Getting the shiny black dress shoe on his right foot was a bit difficult due to the swelling but he eventually managed. He was glad Sam was out cold for all that.

As they dressed him the doctor cut several eye sized gauze pieces and taped several layers to Sam's eyes. Drake pulled out a pair of over-sized, mirrored, aviator sunglasses and put them on Sam. They completely covered the gauze. Next came a black wig with nearly shoulder length hair he put on Sam. The final touch was several splashes of beer on the jacket to give him the odor of alcohol, like he had too much to drink.

The doctor changed the IV location to higher on the arm and capped it off so it would be hidden by the sleeves. He put a small neutral colored bandaged over the old IV location in the hand. Drake pulled out something and pressed it on Sam's hand over the bandage. He saw Drake smear it a bit with his thumb. It was the entry a stamp from a local bar indicating he was of age to drink. The placement of the stamp disguised that an IV had been there.

Dr. Nettle reviewed all the scans with Drake and explained the status of the concussion. They discussed all of Sam's injuries. Nettle told them to tell the General to contact a Dr. Blue about Sam's eyes if they did not clear soon. Then he explained to them all how the small portable infusion pump worked for delivering pain meds as Zach had changed into Sam's clothes.

Then Winds and Mason changed into some totally ill-fitting black suits. It was hard not to laugh as Mason tried to cram his feet into the shoes. How he managed to walk in them Zach would never know. Mason had his revenge for Zach's laughter when a button popped off his shirt and it hit Zach in the forehead. Two more followed but he ducked quickly.

While they dressed Drake stowed all their remaining Army gear into black travel bags. Each donned shoulder holsters that hid their guns under their jackets. Drake handed Winds and Mason a passport and other fake ids. He handed another set to Winds for Sam. They would be leaving via the regular airport completely bypassing anything remotely military. The cover story had intrigued him and he wondered if it would really work. But Winds and Mason seemed okay with it so he relaxed.

Mason and Winds gently moved Sam into a wheelchair and propped him up. Zach had climbed onto the bed and the doctor covered him up so that a bit of the Army sweats and the top of his blonde hair showed. It was a good thing he and Sam were of the same build and height. When the others left the doctor had moved him to Sam's room. The doctor distracted the MP so he didn't pay close attention to the body in the bed.

Once in the room he had kept up a monolog of memories of benign and fake memories of Sam loud enough for the MP to think everyone was in the room. All he needed to do now was wait for the doctor to return to complete his final part of this deception.

Knocking was heard. He called out loudly "Just a second. Okay you can enter now." The doctor opened and closed the door quickly. The MP as usual glanced in the room then returned his bored gaze forward. Loud enough so the MP could overhear through the closed door he said "Hey doctor. Any news on the latest scans from today?"

Pulling up a chair the doctor modulated his voice at the same level. "I'm sorry to say the swelling has returned. Not sure what is going on. I need to run some more tests. It will still be several days before I can authorize travel. I know you were hoping he could go home with you. But it's just not safe yet."

Faking despondency Zach said "Crap. I can't get my leave extended I tried but my CO won't budge. In fact I have to leave shortly to actually make it back to base on time. Guys, you two are going to have to keep me apprised of his status." Both of them had made guttural sounds of acknowledgement that came close to Winds and Mason's voices. Luckily those guys had been mostly soft voiced the last few days and their voices had not carried to far.

Zach sat up and swung off the bed. He quickly changed into his clothes which had been stowed under the covers. He shoved Sam's clothes into his own bag. He walked to the door "Thanks doc. I know you'll take good care of him. Guys, I'll call after I arrive at base for status. Hopefully he'll be awake and I can talk to him."

The doctor said "Well if there are no more questions, I'll slip out with you now." Near the door too he said "Press the call button if he needs anything before I return in two days to recheck his status."

They both slipped out the door. Zach deliberately bumped into the MP knocking him away from the door so he could not see inside. "Sorry man. Didn't mean to run into you."

The MP mumbled no problem and tried to glimpse the room but the door had shut completely.

Zach shook the doctor's hand "Thanks again doc for everything. I know he's in good hands."

As he strode out of the hospital Zach thought that was actually interesting and kinda fun. He knew the seriousness of it but it was still fun.

He had always admired Sam so much for being in SF. He wondered if he had what it takes to do what they did. Those guys had some awesome skills.

Maybe he should talk to Uncle Will, see if he might be a candidate for Special Forces. They needed people with all kinds of skill sets. Maybe his pilot skills would be useful. He jogged towards the airbase switching mindsets to pilot mode; he needed to plan his flight back to base.

SRU HQ – Dispatch Desk (11:55 am)

Jules was juggling her gym bag, the large envelope, a bag of cookies and two trays with seven coffees. She was running so late. The Timmy's by work was slammed. They had had five huge orders along with all the normal orders before she arrived and had placed hers and she had to wait for the coffee to finish brewing. The girl behind the counter looked frazzled and a little confused as she finished Jules' order.

She was wondering just how she would open the front door when Dale exited. "Hey Jules let me hold the door for you. I see you got the guys coffee this morning." He laughed hard as she walked passed him.

Slightly perturbed at the laughter and wondering what was so funny. She wondered if something was off with the way she was dressed. She was so late perhaps she missed something "What's that for Dale? Did I forget my pants or something?"

Shaking his head he could only get out "You'll see" between hearty laughs.

"Thanks Dale, I think?" Jules said just as the door closed.

Walking into the building she wondered what was up and was kicking herself for being late. Ed didn't like it when they were late and today of all days, Mike's first full day with the team. Not such a good example to set.

What punishment would he dream up for her today? Maybe he would give her a reprieve since she was bringing everyone coffee and cookies. It might get her off the hook. Especially since no one brought coffee since Sam had been gone. They had gotten out of the coffee rotation routine.

Jules rounded the corner at the dispatch desk and stopped dead. All five guys and Winnie turned and looked at her then burst out laughing. She joined them as she strode forward and placed the trays on the counter around the desk.

Her seven coffees joined thirty-five other coffees. Every single one of the team had done a Timmy's coffee run this morning and all had included Winnie when they ordered.

Ed smiled and raised an eyebrow as the laughing finally subsided "There will be absolutely no excuse for anyone napping today."

They all grabbed one of the coffees and general chatter ensued for a few minutes. Wordy piped up "So Mike, how's it you know what coffees to get?"

"Lucky guess?" Mike said.

"No really how?" Wordy asked.

Mike winked at Winnie "Yeah, well it pays to be resourceful. I bribed Winnie with buying her one today if she would tell me. But I see now that is normal protocol for a Timmy's run."

They all laughed again.

Jules held up the bag of cookies "Anyone interested?"

Ed snatched the bag. He counted five. He looked at Winnie "Spike you don't get one. Giving yours to Winnie."

Spike lifted his head and said "Fine, but you don't get any of Ma's lasagna or fresh out of the oven bread. Giving yours to Winnie." He held up the green and orange bag.

Winnie and Jules shared a look. Men, make that Boys. Stalemate. The whole team was silent watching the two stare each other down. Who would break first? It was Spike.

"How about we share. Half and half?" Spike suggested.

They agreed and Ed handed out the cookies. Jules felt a slight twinge of regret she should have included one for Winnie too.

Spike was about to take the dinner to the breakroom fridge when a courier arrived. Winnie set down her coffee and cookie and asked "May I help you?"

Both Spike and Jules said at the same time "He's here to get something for Sam?" They looked at each other perplexed. Then back at the courier.

The man looked at them and simply said "Was told there would be two packages for a Sam." Jules and Spike both pulled out their envelopes and handed them over.

Wordy piped up "Are those really going to Sam?"

The courier, Spike and Jules nodded yes.

Wordy reached into his front pocket. He had intended to tape it to Sam's locker for now. But this was much better. "I have something that needs to go too, Jules can I slip it into your envelope?"

Jules nodded took her large envelop back from the courier and opened it.

Ed and Greg knew what Spike was sending but not what Jules was sending.

Greg asked "We know Spike is sending beauty but what are you sending?"

Jules explained what she had included and why. Everyone was impressed.

Greg asked the courier "Can you hold a moment please?"

He nodded yes.

Then Greg asked "Guys anyone have any other ideas of small things we could send that might help?"

Ed, Wordy and Greg all raced off in different directions knowing exactly what they wanted to include. They converged back at the desk and Jules opened the envelope.

Ed contributed a bullet from the Remi Sam used as a sniper. Greg dropped in the King from the chess set. Wordy dropped in a small length of rappelling rope with a note that said 'hang on, don't let go, you are not alone, we are here always'.

Spike start to slip off his black and gold band.

Greg stayed his hand and said compassionately "No Spike not that."

Spike looked at him with a bit of sadness "But I can't think of anything else at the moment."

Ed grabbed his arm and hauled him into his little tech workshop that housed Babycakes among other things.

"Let's look" Ed stated.

Both men gazed around the room. Nothing popped out to Ed. These two were such good friends, there had to be a small memento here somewhere. Ed held up a gear. Spike shook his head no. A timer. No. An old mouse. No. It went on for five minutes and Spike discounted everything Ed selected.

Ed leaned back on the rack behind him. There had to be something. Anything. He tilted his head up and looked at Spike's collection of DVDs across the room. He remembered he and Sam refused to watch any of them when they recouped together. They never told Spike. Just thanked him.

As Ed pushed off the rack something fell from the top shelf. Spike was fast and caught it before it hit Ed. Not that it would have done a bit of damage. It was a large sombrero.

Damn those three were totally useless the day after their binge at the Mexican bar Ed thought. He enjoyed watching them cringe and squint as he read them all the riot act very, very loudly for coming in partially hung over. He ran their asses off on the field and made them spend hours at the range.

He had Wordy drill them in combat moves focusing on throws for a long time and then he sent the three of them to scrub the floors. Ed thought he had made a real impact on them. But when he checked on them later he found them all singing along, loudly and off key, with the stupid theme song to the old Three Amigos movie.

Ed laughed, the three amigos. It was rather large, but? "Hey Spike, if the courier will take it, how bout the sombrero?" Ed asked.

Spike perked up. He ran to his computer and quickly downloaded something to a flash drive. "If he won't take it he can at least take this. The theme song to the movie" Spike said happily. "Thanks for the help Ed."

Ed inclined his head and patted Spike's back "Anytime, anytime."

They returned to the desk to find Team Three all with coffee in their hands and overheard them thanking Greg for sharing. Even the courier had one.

Spike smiled broadly as he slipped the flash drive in Jules envelope. Then with pleading eyes he turned to the courier "Can you take this too?"

The courier gave him a look of 'really man, you want me to take that?' He was about to say no when Wordy using his calm fatherly voice said "I know it is rather large but it would mean a lot if you could take it."

Winnie pulled out a very large evidence bag from the bottom drawer of the desk. She slipped the hat into it and taped it closed. "All packaged up. No reason you can't take it now with the other two packages" she said firmly. He was a courier after all; it was his job to take packages. Not to judge the contents or size. He looked like he was going to say no and she glared at him.

"But, but, I was paid for only two packages" he weakly stated.

Jules grabbed hers back and sliced open the envelope. Grabbed the package with Beauty from his hands and slipped it in. She and Winnie taped it closed again. Both glared at him.

In the strict voice she had used with her four brothers when she demanded obedience Jules said "Now you have two packages. Any more problems?"

The courier shook his head completely cowed by the forcefulness and outrage coming from the two women. He took the two packages and left as quickly as he could.

Everyone overheard Mike whisper to Wordy "Remind me never to make either Winnie or Jules mad. I like living too much to do that."

When the courier was gone Winnie and Jules gave each other a high five then turned to the guys.

Jules looked to Ed "So workout?"

They all grabbed the coffee trays and headed to the breakroom. They would have lots of iced coffee for later in the day. Spike put the lasagna away for dinner and they all headed to the locker room.

Mike walked to the aisle that most the team was in and tried to open what appeared to be an empty locker but it was locked.

Spike said quietly "Sorry, pick another. That one is Sam's. Still has his stuff in it for when he comes back."

Mike nodded and went to the next aisle already registering the only other locker in that aisle had a plaque on it. It would be wrong to use that one. As he put his stuff away and changed he thought this is one hellava tight knit team. Should be very interesting.

House of Commons 1330 (1:30 pm)

The General strode firmly through the House of Commons. He was way beyond PISSED OFF. He fought desperately to keep a non-urgent pace and an impassive face.

He was decked out in full dress uniform and was a formidable sight to see as every strike of his heel on the marble flooring echoed around the cavernous lobby. Even with the blank face held firmly in place there was deadly ice in his eyes and people shivered as if a blast of arctic air blew over them as he passed by.

In his mind he was exploding, fragments of the iceberg flying in every direction. That damned capricious, arrogant, despicable, egoistical, greedy, power hungry, unethical, licentious, BITCH. He had tried. Tried everything he could think of. She would not change her stance. She wanted things from him in return he could not and would not ever consider in this lifetime or any other.

His honor, duty and vows to family and country would never, ever allow the things she not so subtly wanted from him. She was a political climber of the worst sort. She was corrupt through and through and totally bankrupt morally. She made him sick and his skin crawl.

She was careful so no trails led to her. All behind the scenes word of mouth deals and blackmail, nothing ever on paper. Her personal paper trail was spotless. She appeared publicly to be valiant and upstanding. But her true nature was quite different.

He had sat in her office laying out his case for over an hour. She had finally stopped him and insinuated what she wanted from him. Directing military contracts to business she identified. Influencing appointments and promotions she wanted. Things he could and would never do not even for his son's sake; so completely foreign to his nature and being. If he had even an inkling of considering it Samuel would have shot him. That was Samuel's job; take out threat's to the safety of the country and the free world.

When he had flatly declined she had ripped the sleeve of her pink suit jacket and slammed her hand on the desk loudly twice then yelled "Don't. No." Followed softly by "Don't tell me you're all noble and willing to give all for Queen and country." She laughed.

Then she had sauntered around the desk. She leaned close and put her hand on his upper thigh. Then she huskily whispered what he could do instead. He would NEVER dishonor Yvonne in that manner. Hell he would never dishonor himself in that manner either. That woman was morally dissipated.

She had laughed when he recoiled at her suggestive words and angrily removed her hand from his leg. Then she had strolled to her side of the desk sat and said that she was sorry they couldn't do business. But if he changed his mind and wanted her to change hers he knew what to do. The choice was his. Then she nonchalantly told him that if he ever told anyone what she had wanted from him she would charge him with assault.

Pointing to her jacket, she had said that her ripped sleeve would be seen as he left the office and she was good at acting scared and vulnerable. He had stood to take his leave unable to be in a room with such a vile woman.

As he was almost out of her secretary's office she showed him how low she really was. In a shaky, tiny voice she had asked her secretary to book her on an afternoon flight to Toronto. She needed to go home to her husband, she wasn't feeling well. She made her eyes teary and her hand shake as she laid it on the ripped sleeve. Then she faked a sniffle and wiping a tear away before closing her office door. She was a damned good actress.

The secretary had instantly seen the watery eyes, ripped sleeve and heard the scared voice. The secretary had glared at him assuming exactly what the committee member wanted her to assume.

If he said anything openly it would be a complete he said, she said scenario and men never won those in the court of public opinion no matter the facts. Especially a hard man like him who was known to rage and had the damnable nickname of 'badass'. It would be a bloodbath in the press and in the end he would lay disemboweled for all to see and pick at even though he was innocent.

This path was closed for Samuel's situation. But this woman had no idea who General William Braddock was and that you did not piss him off unless you were prepared for a fight. He was definitely pissed off. She had no idea what he was capable of and the resources that were available to him. The bitch would go down and go down hard.

He would do it covertly and gather the appropriate evidence. His name would not be attached in any way to it. But when he was finished it was likely she would never see another day outside prison.

William had sworn an oath to protect this country and its citizens. A Braddock always did his duty even if they didn't like it or the personal cost was high. It was too ingrained in all of them; it was who they were.

But this the General thought, this he would enjoy doing on two levels. Self-serving, power-grubbing, corrupt politicians like her were a direct threat to all he held dear, country and in this case family too. She may hold the cards at the moment but not for long. He would bring her to justice. She had just pissed off the wrong man.

Unable to gather the required unanimous votes for now, he decided he would focus on this son's health before tackling the problem of the corrupt politician. Shifting his thinking to Samuel's injuries one outcome he didn't want to think much on is that if his eyesight or memory didn't return that would resolve the situation of him being in the military.

However, it opened a whole new set of problems. If he didn't get his memory back Samuel would forever be at risk from enemies unknown. Same if his eyesight didn't return plus he would need to create a new life. The SRU job Samuel loved so much would be gone. The General would need to plan for several contingencies.

His thoughts were interrupted just outside the building as his phone rang "Braddock"

["Sir. Ninety minutes out. Connelly Airport gate two" Mike relayed.]

"Roger. Status?" William asked.

["Conscious, unchanged" Mike heard the troubled sigh of the General and the laughter coming from the four men behind him so he added "But in good spirits."]

The last was a good sign. He hadn't seen Samuel in good spirits in the whole four weeks at the cabin.

"Roger. Thanks." He hung up and then headed to his office. William needed to change into civilian clothes, grab their bags and get to the private airport.