Just Gone, Sting, Going Home & Hot Call
Twenty-five Days After Rescue – Yellow Knife Safe House – 1100 (11:00 am)
"Where the hell is he?" Mike bellowed at Craig.
Mike clenched his fists as he fought not to throttle Craig who was in charge of keeping an eye Sam. Mike was woken from sleep by Craig's call of alarm that Sam was missing five minutes ago. He had rechecked inside and outside the cabin with Craig while the others checked in four directions outside.
Craig was panicked inside but appeared calm and collected outwardly. He had just gone to the bathroom and when he returned Sam was gone. Just gone. He did not want to be the one to tell the General he had lost his son. He would take responsibility, he was on watch when it happened and it was his responsibility. That had been over ten minutes ago now.
He answered Mike's repeated question with the same answer for the third time "I don't know. He just disappeared."
The hard look Mike gave Craig would cause a lesser man to quiver but Craig held his ground.
Mike bellowed again "Why the hell don't you know?"
Sam was turning out to be a pain in the ass to watch the past few days. This was not the first time he had gone missing but it was the longest time. Sam was found in some strange places and he had no recollection of how he ended up there. They all knew to keep a closer eye on him. At least he thought he made that abundantly clear. Craig was in deep shit right now.
"I just left the monitors for a moment. Had to use the bathroom. Sam was relaxing on the couch when I went in. When I came out a few minutes later he was gone. When I called for him and got no answer I checked the monitors first. Then inside the cabin, I checked in, under and on top of everything. Then just outside in the tree we found him two days ago. Hell I even checked the roof of the cabin where we found him yesterday. He was just gone. Then I woke you and alerted the guys" Craig reported.
Jack came running from the west after doing an extensive perimeter check in that direction "Not on the west."
Drake reported in from the north "Didn't go north either."
"South clear too" Mason called out.
"Where the fuck did he go? Not east either. Let's check the tapes" Winds roared as he joined the others.
They converged in the monitor room with Mike and Craig. Craig rolled the tapes back again and said "I check already nothing. See it shows him come into the room and sit on the couch. Sam switched up what he was holding in his hand; see him reach into the box. Then he headed out the front down the path he has taken every day for the past three days. Then he is out of range and disappears. Based on the timestamps I was in the bathroom when he walked out and disappeared down the path."
"I checked the damned path. He was not on the fucking path at all. Did he deliberately leave the path?" Jack said frustration coloring his terse words.
Winds' hand went to his sidearm as his gut wrenched at the word deliberately with a horrible potential "Jack check the weapons. Make sure every single one is accounted for."
Jack was slow to move.
"NOW! Dammit" Winds bellowed.
Mason looked at Winds following his line of thought. Skepticism filled his voice "He wouldn't. He dealt with Matt already. No."
Suspicion and concern laced Drake's words "I don't know. He's not sleeping, refuses the sedative every night. We've all seen the wild mood swings. We all hear the screams in the night. Hell he won't even explain why he was on the damned roof yesterday. The way his eyes were glassed over I thought for sure he was gonna jump; scared the crap out of me again. He's utterly exhausted and needs sleep. His head's not clear. He could be suicidal."
Mason considered Drake's words then something clicked. Shaking his head vigorously Mason said confidently "No. No he's not suicidal."
Looking directly at Winds, Mason continued assertively "Winds this more like when Blondie was with other units and he came back to us almost dead from exhaustion. Remember the lack of concentration from sleep deprivation. Recall how we would find him in the strangest places and he often couldn't tell us how he ended up there. The glassy, lost eyes as his mind wandered. We are not dealing with any foul play or deliberate act. I'm ninety-nine percent sure this is like then, even the roof makes sense now when I apply that."
Several deep breathes in and out to calm down then Winds responded "You are right Mason. Damn we should have seen this sooner. We have the experience with him in this state. The roof definitely fits, so does the damned tree. Blondie always liked to be high like in a sniper perch and have the wind in his face; always soothed him."
Winds continued his thinking out loud "Even under the desk and the top shelf in the pantry fits. All the tight safe nooks and crannies he would hide in when he was all alone and had to protect himself."
"So he's out there, he must've lost concentration and deviated from the path. When concentration reasserts itself he'll still be in trouble. Although he's good at tracking, his limited vision right now would make it very difficult for him to recalibrate and find his way back to the path."
Mike pulled out a map "We need to do a grid search then. Let's start where we last see him on the tapes. It's been fifteen minutes since he left the view so based on that, this would be the max radius he could have gone assuming walking."
The men were mapping out the search parameters when Jack came back and informed them all weapons were accounted for. Everyone breathed a small sigh of relief on the off chance that was the reason he was gone. Then they refocused on the map. Each assigned their section they headed out.
Somewhere Near Yellow Knife Safe House – 1100 (11:00 am)
Lying face down on the ground his first thought before moving an inch or opening his eyes was to do a physical check. Taking stock he determined ribs fine, ankle fine, head hurts a bit. He also registered that his sunglasses were missing.
Sam rolled over and sat up keeping his eyes closed for the moment.
His next automatic thought was location check. No idea. Crap, crap, crap. Where the hell am I?
Think Braddock Think. What's the last thing you remember? His eyes still closed he concentrated hard trying to recall. Walking. No not walking, falling. Yes falling.
Sam searched around for the sunglasses. Not finding them he ventured to open his eyes slowly to judge the light. Pitch black. No not pitch black. He tilted his head up. A circle of light way above him.
He was in a hole. A deep hole. How? Running backwards in his mind. Here, falling, walking, tripping, trail, porch, bike key, couch, bad mood. He sighed. Crap.
Running forward he reviewed in detail the chain of events.
He was in a bad mood. Feeling cooped up like a prisoner and ticked off because he couldn't connect the few things he had remembered and no new memories had surfaced in days. He was exhausted. He knew he was having trouble concentrating because he was so tired.
All of that contributed to his sour mood. He had sat on the couch stewing. He opened the box and took out the bike key. He felt a rush of freedom holding it and the need to be outside overwhelmed him.
It was the first new feeling in days so he had to follow it. Outside, wind on his face equaled freedom, he had to go outside.
Obeying orders set out by Mike and Winds he ventured towards the only path he was allowed since the lake incident. Onto the porch, down the steps and to the trail he had memorized walking with Mason. He knew he was not allowed to go far, only three hundred paces down the trail and back was his limit. Any more than that he was out of camera range.
Part of him knew the guys were sick of looking for him lately. It was not like he was trying to be difficult. So he tried to respect the outside boundary he was given.
But as he walked the bike key he held stirred a deep sense of freedom. With that feeling came an image of a mountain bike along with the name Adam and the words red trail. Red trail brought with it a sense of overcoming a challenge. He became solely focused on the new feeling, images and thoughts.
Then he was drawn into a carnal feeling as an image of a secluded spot in a wooded area along with the sable brown eyes he associated with Jules jumped into his head. A third feeling quickly joined the other two. It was a strong sense of brotherhood of family coupled with a sense of being pushed beyond his limits but never allowed to fall as five sets of blue eyes that were almost identical flashed in his mind.
Lost in thought, rotating between the freedom, the sensual and the brotherhood feelings he continued to walk forgetting to monitor his paces or direction until he tripped. Awakened from his daze he stood up and was disoriented as to where he was. He checked the position of the sun trying to determine the appropriate direction of the path and cabin. He took nine steps in the direction he thought was right and the ground gave way beneath his feet.
Rubbing the slight bump on his head Sam wondered just how long he was out. The small bump on his head, the source of the pain, was not a big deal just an annoyance mostly. Sam stood up and felt around the area checking for a hand hold he could use to climb out of the hole.
The sides were too smooth. He sat down and listened. They never let him out of their sight. Someone would be looking for him soon. He should have thought of that before he took the nine steps. Then he wouldn't be in this damned hole.
Pissed at his lack of appropriate judgement he leaned back on the wall of the cave, shaft, hole, whatever the hell it was he was in. They are going to be completely ticked off at him. He'd be lucky to even be allowed on the porch now. Mike might even lock him in his room like he had threatened after finding him on the roof yesterday. Not that he couldn't pick the lock and get out.
Wow another new gut feeling. He just knew he knew how to pick locks. He was really good at it too. That thought brought him back to the feelings the key had brought forth.
The key, where was the key?
He got on his knees and search the area. His hand found the small metal key. Sitting back against the wall he sighed. He let his hands relax on the ground next to him. He just needed to wait and listen for the guys. They would come soon.
Until then he focused on the key and the images and feeling it had conjured. Several things clicked. Mountain biking. He loved riding on trails, he felt free riding. It was a way to slow down and remember that people are generally nice. At work, it's all zero to sixty, it's all madness and bad guys and go, go, go, hair on fire.
Sam was sure there were trails near where he lived. Wind in his face calmed him. He rode trails with whoever Adam was. Wait wasn't Adam one of the names of his cousins? Zach had named them in order several times to him in the hospital.
Focusing on that conversation he recalled what Zach had told him. There was Scott his eldest male cousin he was in the Navy. Then came Adam, he was Air Force and Zach's brother. Jeff who was a Special Forces Army drill sergeant was next. He was next in line. Zach was younger than him and in the Air Force like his brother Adam. Last was Kyle, Scott's brother and also in the Navy.
Family. Brotherhood. They were all military.
A deep sense of belonging washed over him. He couldn't place it but something told him that these five cousins had done something extraordinary for him. That they had worked hard to help him accomplish something others thought was impossible. That he owed them more than he could ever repay. That they would always be there for him.
The eyes. They all had the same blue eyes. Sam smiled. He may be in a hole but some new things were coming. It wasn't all bad.
That thought made him retrace his previous thoughts that he rode a bike to remember people are generally nice and work was all zero to sixty, all go, go, go. That didn't feel military. Was that SRU related?
Sam stopped a moment and blew out a frustrated breath.
Connecting the dots was so tough. These bits and pieces were so fragmented. Those words felt like they came from and actual conversation. But with who? No matter how hard he thought about it the answer just would not pop into his head.
Sam felt the tickle of a small spider as it crawled onto the back of his hand. He laughed out loud as several partial but very real memories crashed into his head at once. A face, clear as day with wide eyed horror as it screamed like a little girl and a spider the size of a dime crawled over a hand. The name Spike connected instantly with the image.
My god, he remembered bits and pieces of Spike.
The dark haired man from the scaring memory he had on the plane. The one with sad but innocent eyes. He knew, he remembered they were friends, very, very good friends.
Spike was like a brother. They fought over the cookies. It was his sombrero. They both lost their best friend in horrific ways. It was a tie that bound them. The spider charm was Spike's. Spike was scared of spiders. God, it felt good to remember someone alive even if it was just bits and pieces.
He reached down and captured the spider then said "Thank you my little friend. You will never be the size of a goliath bird eating spider unless you meet Spike." He moved to the other side and released the tiny spider. He heard his name being called.
Standing up Sam yelled happily "Here, I'm down here. Fell into a wonderful spider hole."
Above Winds heard Blondie's call. Why the hell did he sound so happy to be in a freaking hole? He feared for his sanity; Blondie called it a wonderful spider hole. Did his mind finally snap? He yelled for the others then flattened himself on the ground and called down "Blondie, you okay? Hurt in anyway?"
"Nothing but a small bump. Lost my sunglasses though. Might be up there. Walls to smooth to climb" Sam informed Winds.
Mason and Mike were the first to arrive and Winds said "We need rappelling gear. Walls are to smooth for him to climb out."
Mike called out to Craig to get the gear. Sam was not really all that far off the trail only a twelve steps or so but he had taken one wrong step. Within minutes Sam had been pulled up from the hole. Jack had found his sunglasses and given them to him too.
"You are not leaving …" Mike started to scold Sam.
Sam interrupted him with a huge grin "I remembered Spike. My friend Spike. He's afraid of spiders."
He related what he remembered. None of them had the heart to yell at him seeing how happy he was with his memory. As they walked back to the cabin they pelted him with questions about Spike. The more he talked about Spike the more tidbits he recalled about him. Spike loved tech, bombs. Spike was a computer whiz. Spike was always trying to pull pranks.
While the others were preparing lunch Drake checked him over. Drake was a little worried about another hit on the head. But mostly worried at the lack of sleep and concentration, especially after what Winds and Mason shared with them.
Probing the tended spot on Sam's head Drake started with "Small bump didn't even break the skin. But is there any change in your vision? Better or worse?"
Still in a good mood Sam replied "No change. Same level of sensitivity, same blurriness. But at least it's not worse."
Examining his pupils making sure they were equal to rule out another concussion Drake looked closely at the dark circles under Sam's eyes. He saw the deep fatigue written in his face. The man really needed some rest.
Drake stated "Good, that's good. Pupils are equal, so no concussion. But Sam, you really need rest. I know you have refused every time but a sedative after lunch would help you get some sleep. The exhaustion is messing with your ability to think clearly, causing your mood swings and putting you at risk."
Sam couldn't stand being sedated, losing hours and days and feeling vulnerable. He instantly became irritated and angry. His good mood flew out the window. Sam felt weak asking for help sleeping, he could get through this. He could gain control of the nightmares, in time.
But Sam's subconscious mind was on a different wave length. It knew he needed help now. The choice needed to be removed. If it was his choice he would say no as he had for the past three days. But if the choice was out of his hands he would have to comply.
His subconscious mind made Sam ask "Is that an order?"
Drake sighed "You know I can't order you to take it. Besides you out rank me."
Mike had overheard the conversation and remembered the coffee incident. Something in the way Sam asked made him wonder. Sam knew he could not be ordered to take any medication and that Drake was a lower rank. But ...
So Mike walked over and said firmly "Master Corporal Braddock, although I cannot order you to take a sedative I can order you to take care of your physical needs. That is your duty as a soldier. Therefore, I am ordering you to do whatever is necessary to get sleep before you kill yourself due to lack of concentration. If you refuse I will lock you in your room, cuffed to the bed if necessary."
Part of Mike cringed putting it so harshly but he would follow through if Sam didn't make the right decision right now.
Following an order he didn't really want to was preferable to feeling weak by asking for help. Mike had given him what he needed by ordering him "Sir. I will comply. I'll agree to the sedative."
Mason and Winds observed the entire exchange. Mason leaned over to Winds and whispered "The kid needs rest. For once I'm truly glad he always follows orders."
Winds whispered back "Me too."
Royal York Hotel in Toronto – 9:20 pm
Dominique Savoy was just finishing and late dinner. He had things to do tonight in preparation for tomorrow. He also needed to call Will. Taking his last bite he dialed.
["Braddock" the General said groggily trying to check the time on the alarm clock on the night stand.]
"Bonne soirée mon ami."
(Good evening my friend) Dom stated.
["Dom do you know what time it is in London?" William replied sitting up in bed. Christ 2:20 am.]
"Es tut mir leid, mein Freund. Erste Chance bekam ich zu rufen. Müssen Sie ein wenig zu so meine einzige Möglichkeit den Kopf aus. Ich habe Neuigkeiten zu teilen."
(I'm so sorry my friend. First chance I got to call. Need to head out in a bit too so my only opportunity. I've news to share) Dom stated in German.
["Let's just do English tonight unless it is imperative to speak roundabout. I'm a bit wiped out. Have an early flight to catch in the morning too" Braddock requested.]
"Sure my friend. Those conferences can be a draining dealing with all the prima donnas and pompous asses. Are you returning to Ottawa?" Dom asked.
["Yes and no" Braddock answered.]
Dom realized the destination was not to be shared. "Good. Good. I needed to let you know a few things. I've establish a cover she grabbed at immediately. I have identified her network, very small; will send you the details soon on that. She is linked mostly to white collar crime. But she has also been using her position as a member of the Commons to direct key contracts to specific businesses" Dom stretched out on the couch.
"Her MO is to seduce married men in prominent positions in a variety of industries. Then she blackmails them into passing insider information which she uses to profit from personally in the financial markets. She has ruined the careers of several men that did not cave to her blackmail and tried to go public. Anonymous tips leaked to the press accusing them of insider trading and other crimes. They were crucified by the press and public opinion even though charges against them had no basis and did not stick."
"As you said there are not public paper trails leading back to her. I can see why you needed to go this route my friend. You are not her typical target; just an opportunity that knocked on her door. Typically the men she goes after are insecure and easy targets. But all have some position of power."
Taking a sip of wine Dom continued "Occasionally she will make her targets funnel business to one of her network. Again it is to her profit. She takes a huge cut of the gross amount of the deal, not the profit, but the actual gross amount right off the top for arranging the deal. So essentially she is blackmailing even those in her small network. You may be able to turn one or two to provide additional evidence."
"Additionally when she uses her position to award government contracts to a specific business she receives a nearly sixty percent payout of the award contract. The contract is so padded that the business still makes a profit after her cut. Therefore she is stealing from the citizen of your fine country. She is contemptible. I also located her secret accounts in the Caymans. We can freeze them anytime you deem appropriate."
["That was fast even or you Dom. Getting better in your old age" Braddock responded impressed.]
Dom smiled "That's not all. Tonight I rig the location we are going to meet tomorrow night. I will be able to provide you video and sound recordings when she blackmails me. She always does that surreptitiously in a public place. I'm posing as Jean-Luc Thibodeau the Chief Financial Officer of a fictitious small company called Jetson Flight Systems. I set it up so she thinks the company has a radical new product that will change the industry. Led her to believe there is an undisclosed merger in the works with the major military supplier Cogsworth Aerodynamics. She would be able to make a killing in the market with the right information."
["How the hell did you get all of this information so quickly and arrange a sting like that?" William asked.]
Laughing Dom said "Trade secrets my friend."
[Braddock snorted "You mean you hacked into her systems and plied her with wine."]
Still laughing Savoy responded "You know me so well my friend. She's a light weight with alcohol, well at least alcohol laced with a sedative. And stupidly confident thinking that she was in total control, to the extent she took me to her actual house. Encryption on her laptop was like child's play to crack as was her safe. Her home security system was easy to breach as well."
"Good news is she arrogant enough to keep a personal paper trail. She likes to keep track of her conquests so to speak. She has a one page document on each target with loads of information on the target as well as what she obtained from them. I copied all those and will be in the information I send you. Based on what I found, I let her seduce me and compromise me over the past few days. Been quite interesting, she has some peculiar tastes in bedroom play. It is how she blackmailed many of the men."
[Laughing in response the General said "You have skills, so many skills. But I will never understand you Dom. You have such a different view of sex and marriage. Not sure how Jeannette put up with you."]
"Ah sweet Jeannette. Well see we did have a very open marriage; worked for both of us given our chosen professions. But alas mon amour Jeannette is gone and no worries there now" Dom said with a soft edge of grief.
[Upset at himself for reminding his friend of his loss Braddock said "I'm very sorry Dom. I didn't think before speaking. Must be more tired than I thought. Please forgive me."
He had also forgotten that Jeannette was MI-5 a long time ago and the two often had to seduce or be seduced in their missions. She had given it up when the Anna-Marie was born but she understood and accepted what was required for her husband's job.]
Dom cleared his throat and in his normal voice said "C'est la vie. There is nothing to forgive my friend. Back to our purpose shall we. Tomorrow night we are having dinner at Chez Larousse in Toronto. If all goes as planned she will attempt to blackmail me into giving her the information. We will have her then."
"You will be able to hand the information off to whomever to bring her down legally. But remember my other offer still stands. She has harmed many, many people. There are two sets of young children that will grow up without their father's due to her machinations. One is in prison for fifteen years and the other committed suicide."
["Dom, you know I have to go the legal route regardless of how I may feel personally. No other way for me. Once she is out of the way I may be able to convince whoever replaces her on the committee to convert Samuel's reactivation to a special assignment. It gives me hope he will have his life back. Thank you. I owe you more than I can ever repay my friend" William stated. Dom had worked fast, very fast.]
"My friend, please keep in mind, I still owe you more. Without you, my lovely daughters would not be alive today. I know you said he is not doing well, I will not ask you for details. I just hope he is doing better. I know he means as much to you as Nikki and Anna mean to me. I need to be going now. The restaurant is closed and I should be able to slip in and set things up. I'll contact you tomorrow when all is done" Dom responded. They said goodbye and hung up.
Dominique rose and dressed in all black. He checked his pack to ensure all needed items were included. He had cased Chez Larousse and deemed it the perfect location.
He could tap into their existing camera feeds. All he needed to do was reposition a few cameras towards the table he had reserved and wire the place to capture the sound. All very junior level SAS jobs but of all these were his favorite things to do.
Twenty-six Days After Rescue – London Airbase – 1100 (11:00 am)
"Sir. The plane is delayed by another thirty minutes. They promise the mechanical issue will be resolve by then, the part has finally arrived" Hal stated.
He watched as the General paced. He had become increasingly agitated the last few days as the conference drug on double than expected. Then when they arrived five hours ago to leave at 0600 the plane had an issue and his frustration and anger levels increased even more with this further delay. Hal was just happy the part arrived now and they would be able to leave soon. In about eight hours they would be in Ottawa.
General Braddock acknowledged Hal "Thanks."
William stopped his pacing and took a seat. He was still very tired with only a few hours of sleep. He was so on edge last night with all the details Dom shared he did not return to sleep and now he was wired on caffeine. Sometimes he didn't think he would even know how to operate without coffee in his system.
Turning to one of his security detail William asked "Pawn, can you round up another cup of coffee for me?"
Pawn nodded and hurried to execute the request. It had been very interesting getting to work for the General. He loved watching all the political interplay at the conference too. The General was damned good at it; he could see how he made it to the rank of General. He could see a strong similarity between father and son. Although there were also some significant differences.
The General rolled his head around his neck trying to alleviate the tension. He was glad to finally be heading back home. The damned conference lasted seven additional days. Successful outcomes but it still bothered him to be away from Samuel at this time. It would be two weeks since he last saw Samuel sleeping peacefully on the private jet. He had refrained from calling. He knew if anything changed for better or worse Mike would have called.
But he was chomping at the bit to get home and then to Yellow Knife. But part of him was worried. If Samuel had not regained either, perhaps he should arrange for him to see a specialist. Not much to choose from in Yellow Knife. On the tarmac that day Winds had said the doctor had suggested a Dr. Blue for Samuel's eyes. He made a tough decision weighing both risks and needs.
In this case, the need outweighed the risk. He could do things to mitigate the risks. There had been no direct threat and it was less likely in country than in Afghanistan. The MP checked out and it was just idle gossip made to his one friend. He was ordered not to speak to anyone else about it. His CO had said his men had been embarrassed to find out they had been guarding an empty room for three full days unaware the patient and visitors had left. Pulling out his phone he dialed.
["Galloway."]
"Mike. What is his status?" he asked. Then he said "Sorry Mike forgot the time difference. Hope I didn't wake you."
["No Sir. I have the night shift tonight, 0400 here. His status is light sensitivity down significantly. Vision still blurred. Memory coming in bits and pieces but it is not really connecting solidly."
"His first real memory was Matt. That was hard to watch. Mason and Winds handled it. Thankfully he came to terms with it again. He remembered one of his SRU mates, Spike too."
"Injury wise he's doing better. Drake says then ankle is mending fine. Ribs are knitting together too from last x-rays. But his mood lately had been up and down" Mike related not sure how much to reveal.
He didn't want to worry the General when he was too far away to do anything about it.]
Listening to the report the General was glad there was some good news. But there was not enough good news. He said "I need you to arrange to bring him to Ottawa by tonight night. I will be contacting a specialist for his eyes and want to get him in tomorrow. Any issues with moving?"
["No problem Sir. Final destination and any specific arrival time?" Mike asked. He refrained from yelling thank god the kid needs help.]
William raked his hand through his hair as he directed "I think it best if you come in very late at night covertly. Bring him home. I have another unit with me. They will sweep and set up surveillance and a perimeter before you arrive. Hal's unit will also define the route and recon the specialist's location. Let Winds know the unit is led by Hal. He knows how to contact him if you need anything special arranged. Any questions?"
[Since they were taking him home today and the General would be there he made the decision to tell all. "Sir, not a question so much as a suggestion. Since we are bringing him home it might be good to engage Dr. Tansy again" Mike said.]
Concern rippled through the General "Why?"
["He needs some help sorting things out. The few memories he has are disconnected. But mostly he needs help with the constant nightmares. Nothing has calmed the nightmares. He sleeps little unless Drake sedates him. He is sedated now, has been since yesterday afternoon."
"After the events in the last few days though I had to essentially order him to agree. I hated to do that but Sir he was becoming a danger to himself due to sleep deprivation. Drake actually wants to keep him out all today too. Sir he really needs the rest. Do I have your permission to do so?" Mike explained his concerns.]
Keeping himself under tight emotional rein after that news the General concisely said "Permission granted."
They hung up. Nightmares. Dammit. It tormented the General to hear the nightmares were constant and Samuel was not sleeping to the point of potentially harming himself.
God dammit why did his son have to suffer so much? His rage and stress level that had been growing since Samuel reactivated climaxed. General Braddock did something he hadn't done in a very, very long time. He lost total control and smashed his fists several times into the metal wall separating sections of the plane as he let out a roar. The release of pent up anger at the whole damned situation felt good. He continued to smash his fists.
Hal, Russ, Daniel and Pawn watched as the General pounded out his frustrations. Hal took the coffee from Pawn and told him "Get the med kit."
Then Hal told Russ and Daniel to guard the entries and allow no one to board yet. Hal was glad that only the four of them were on the plane to witness the meltdown of a father in pain. Others would be boarding soon so he walked up to the General and said loudly and firmly "Sir. Sir. You need to stop. That won't help your son."
The General stopped and looked at Hal. Hal simply handed him the coffee. Braddock sat down dazed, stunned at his loss of control in front of subordinates.
Pawn came over with the kit "Sir. Can I check your hands?"
William held them out for inspection.
As Pawn tended them and applied bandages to several of the larger cuts he stated "Good nothing broken Sir. Just battered pretty badly."
When Pawn was done Hal sent him to tell the Russ and Daniel to direct all others to the rear section and if anyone asked to tell them that the General was engaged in a conference and required the front section for the duration of the flight. Hal wanted to give the General some space and quiet to recompose.
General Braddock's Home – 1500 (3:00 pm)
Thanks to Hal he had actually slept on the flight home, he got six straight hours. It helped re-center him. The privacy had been much appreciated. Striding into the kitchen William called out "Hello darling." He tried to make his voice light.
Yvonne looked up from the laptop she was working on. "Will! You're home. I didn't hear you come in. Are you okay?" Yvonne said with a mixture of excitement and worry as see saw the lines of fatigue etched in her husband's face.
She was always so perceptive it was hard to hide his fatigue from her. He leaned down and kissed her gently then responded "I'm okay sweetheart. I'm just glad to finally be home."
"I'm glad you're home. I've missed you. I bet you are happy the conference is finally over" she sighed.
"Yes very much, lasted much longer than expected." He grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge then sat down. "Sweetheart I need you to arrange some things for me. We will have an extra compliment of security beginning later tonight. Can you ensure the security house gets prepped for an additional four and in the main house we prepare for two?" he asked.
Yvonne was curious now. She had been asked to do this for various reasons over the years so it could be anything. "Sure not a problem. Why the extra security?"
Stalling a moment because he didn't want to give her the bad news related to Samuel he said "I'll get to that in a moment. I also need you to prepare for a Braddock invasion. My brothers and likely most of the Braddock boys will be arriving in two days' time if I can arrange things as I wish."
Yvonne laughed at the term Braddock invasion, it did seem like that when all the men showed up at once "I can do that too. Please tell me why."
He loved her laugh. He hated that the next would quash it. William said "I'm bringing our boy home tonight. I need to prepare you."
Yvonne sucked in a breath at the tone in his voice and the wretched look on his face "Will just tell me. Whatever it is I can handle it because he is coming home. Unless?" She thought, oh my god he said brining home he didn't say alive.
Seeing the panic in her eyes and hearing the quiver of her voice he kicked his tired mind for his choice of words. He reached out and held her hand. "No. no. no. Alive sweetheart. Very much alive. It's just his injuries. For now you cannot tell a single soul he is coming. None of the family, no friends, no one at all."
Yvonne looked at him worry pasted heavily on her face "Why?"
Shifting his chair closer knowing what would come next he said softly "Samuel's injuries put him at risk. That is the reason for extra security. He had two very bad concussions only a few weeks apart in addition to some blunt trauma to the head. As a result he has lost his memory and his eyesight is impaired. The doctor does not think it is permanent but he cannot promise it will all return either. But Samuel is also having severe nightmares. They have him sedated for his safety at the moment."
Steeling herself for speaking she said "I see. Okay. So he…" she could hold up the pretense and broke down crying.
William wrapped Yvonne in his arms and held her while she cried. He spoke softly trying to comfort her as best he could for the next fifteen minutes.
When she finally pulled herself together somewhat Yvonne asked "Do you think I should I make up his room or the one he convalesced in last time?"
"I think given the vision challenges the main floor might be the better choice" he said as he reached out and wiped the tears from Yvonne's cheek. "I'm so sorry sweetheart. I wish I could have told you sooner. I wish you could have been with him sooner. We will do everything in our power to help him heal."
Yvonne gave him a small smile "I know. Our boy is strong. I have faith."
Gaining strength as the initial shock wore off Yvonne noticed the state of her husband's hands. The last time they were in that condition was when Sam was tortured for three months. Her heart broke for what William had to endure and keep to himself. She knew he needed support too.
Yvonne said compassionately "Dearest, I'm sorry you had to bear this burden alone for so long."
She reached out and hugged him. They drew strength from each other for a few more moments. Kissing him and then pulling back she said with poise "Okay, I have work to do. Are you planning to be here for dinner or do you need to go into the office?"
The General smiled at the self-possession and gracefulness of his wife. She would have everything arranged and sorted out in no time. "I'll be in my study. I have a few calls to make."
They headed in different directions to make arrangements to care for their son.
When he got to his study he called both Dr. Blue and Dr. Tansy and arranged appointments. He decided to make them for one day later than he had originally planned. He would have Drake keep Samuel sedated another full day. His son needed the reprieve from nightmares.
Taking a deep breath he then placed a call to his first brother then proceeded to conference in the other two.
As each brother hung up they all had very similar thoughts. William gave them scant details but all would honor his request to be there in two days and to see if they could arrange for their sons to join them. Not a word was shared that it was related to Samuel but they all knew it was. William, Yvonne and Sam needed their help. They would be there.
Yellow Knife Airport – 1630 (4:30 pm)
Mason gently laid Blondie on the jet bed and strapped him in. Winds boarded carrying several bags followed by the others. "You guys got everything or do you need me to make a trip too?" Mason asked.
"No. We got it all" Winds replied and took a seat.
Jack climbed in the cockpit next to Mike "Sweet ride Mike. How'd you swing this? The plane Craig and I flew here in was a bucket of bolts. Thought it would fall apart mid-flight."
Laughing Drake said "Don't bother asking he won't tell. Bugged him a few times about it. Lips are sealed. Thinking he has some hot rich chick on the side. Oh and don't threaten to call him Magic Mike unless you have a death wish." He quickly headed back to do a check on Sam at Mike's death glare.
Drake was glad the General had given permission to keep him sedated. Blood pressure, pulse and heart rate were all good. He checked the IV location. Dammit infiltrated. "Hey Mike, do I have time to change the IV location before we take off. Damn thing infiltrated."
"Yeah I still have some pre-flight checks. You got about ten minutes. If you need more than that we need a new medic. And might just need to get a new one anyways. Ours might just disappear out of the plane at 51,000 feet without a chute if he doesn't stop with the Magic crap" Mike stressed.
Drake laughed and set to work quickly changing the IV location. Sam was gonna be pissed when he woke up and found he had an IV. But with him out for more than twenty-four hours Drake had to make sure to keep him hydrated. He checked the straps again then took his seat and buckled up.
Winds was fiddling with his watch resetting the time as he said seriously "I'm glad the General is bringing him home. It might just help his memory to be in someplace familiar. Also damned glad he is arranging for him to visit the eye specialist. I hope there is something they can do."
Mason nodded as he buckled up for take-off "Me too. Even though the location is not a safe house it might actual be more secure for him too. Less likely to get lost or fall in a mining shaft if he wanders away. I'm sure the Braddock clan will be converging too. Maybe they will even allow the SRU team to visit."
Then something occurred to Mason and he stopped talking. He looked back at Blondie and then back to the guys. A bit of panic entered his voice "Crap, did one of you get the duck? I forgot to grab it when I carried him from the cabin."
Craig held out the small duck "Found it when I did the final sweep. I also grabbed the sombrero that was sitting on the porch too."
He was glad he had found these items. It made him feel a little better; he felt so bad losing Sam on his watch. Craig was thankful that his inattention hadn't resulted in Sam being hurt or killed.
Winds patted Craig's shoulder. They all had tried to sooth Craig's guilt but nothing had worked. It could have happened to anyone of them. And in fact it did. They had to remind him over and over of all the weird places they found Sam in those few days. "Thanks man. I'm glad you found it. That is so important to him."
Mason stood and took the duck from Craig "Thanks buddy."
Then walked to Blondie. Mason placed it in his hand and whispered "Taking you home now Blondie."
Royal York Hotel Room – 1850 (6:50 pm)
Dom was running late now. He was already supposed to be there waiting for her. Damned hotel laundry was an hour late returning his suit. He had called her apologizing profusely and begging her to wait per his weak insecure persona. He then called the restaurant and asked them to bring her a small glass of wine and an appetizer. He needed her sober tonight. He needed this last piece of evidence to seal her fate.
Tying his laces he stood and checked his image in the mirror. Perfect. He attached the pin camera camouflaged as jewelry to his lapel. It was his secondary feed in case the primary failed. He inserted his microscopic ear piece. It allowed him to validate that he was capturing the audio feed. He double checked his laptop to ensure the feed was coming in. Good both visual and audio working. Perfect.
He stared at the woman a moment. She was dressed in a pale green dress. Her mousy brown hair was cut short. It was a rather unflattering cut. He wondered if the stylist had lied to her telling it was a good cut for her facial shape. Then he thought this bitch is going down tonight.
Dom watched and listened as the manager came up to her and relayed Dom's apology with the glass of wine. She was a consummate actress. He heard her sugary words but he could recognize the anger that flashed momentarily in her eyes. She was pissed he was late. He needed to determine a strategy for that on the way. Her anger could be very useful when manipulated the right way.
As he strode from the room he thought William and his son would have their evidence tonight and their justice soon.
SRU Briefing Room – 7:00 pm
Greg was tapping his pen on the desk looking over his notes from the last call. They had finished debriefing a while ago and everyone had taken a dinner break. He rubbed his eyes then sat back in the chair. Debriefing had highlighted some areas that Mike needed to work on in his eyes.
Mike was fitting in nicely on a personal level. But he was too hesitant and waited for direction rather than taking initiative when it was vital. He should talk to Ed about his concerns so they could address them in training. The past two weeks they had been on night shift. They had two more weeks of night shift before them rotated back to day shift. It was a good thing they were on nights; nights were slower and afforded more time for training.
If Ed returned before the rest of the team he would talk to him. Get his impressions first before offering his. He didn't want to cloud Ed's impressions with his own. Then they could determine how to proceed.
Ed rounded the corner and said "Greg, any warrant calls tonight? If not I'd like to drill the team in the CQB. It's been a slow two weeks with very tame calls. Need to get a better feel of team dynamics and how each works with Mike."
Looking up from his notes Greg said "No warrant calls and that would be good."
There it was Ed was concerned, referring to team dynamics indicated he had concerns. Let's ease into this and see what his concerns lay. "Been nice being able to break Mike in slowly. Unlike Sam. Man his first day and we get that hospital call."
Chuckling Ed "Yeah, but both have their first day coffee memory though." Ed sat down and the two reminisced on how Ed had sent Sam out for coffee that first call.
Ed then said "I miss him. I wish we had word on how Samo is doing. We all understand the risk but it would be nice to know. Greg, he is one hard man to replace. Didn't realize exactly how much I'd come to rely on him. Keep looking to Mike for the same things and it's just not there."
Greg sat forward naturally mirroring Ed's posture "What is it you are looking for that is not there?"
Looking at Greg he saw reflected that Greg had concerns too. Greg wouldn't share his until he shared his not wanting to influence one way or another.
He answered "I don't know it's just a feeling. It's probably just I'm comparing him to Sam's standards. Not really fair given Sam's level of training and experience. I'm just not comfortable yet."
Shifting his position, Ed leaned back and continued "We haven't had any real tough calls yet. So it could just be he is untested in the field. Seems a bit hesitant, needs more direction than Sam did. Or more than I remember Sam needing. It was no cake walk with Sam. But most of that was the way we treated him at first. I just don't think he …"
Ed was about to say more but stopped when Wordy and Mike entered talking about the challenges of raising little girls. Mike was impressed how Wordy immersed himself in things the girls were interested in. He had trouble doing that, loved the girls but there was no way he could do some of the things Wordy did for his daughters.
Actually Mike thought he was pulling his leg "Wordy, come on you didn't actually let them paint your nails sparkly pink and purple? No way in hell a guy would do that."
Jules and Spike were right behind them and overheard. They burst out laughing.
Spike grinned broadly and said "Absolutely did. I have the evidence. Was so damned funny. He forgot and came to work with it on. We waited until end of shift to tell him. He couldn't figure out why the uniform officers kept giving him odd looks at scenes that day. Got some pictures. Wanna see?"
Wordy tried to grab the phone "You said you deleted those Spike."
Spike raced around to the other side of the table avoiding Wordy. "Yeah, well. I lied" he said snickering. "It was too funny to get rid of completely."
Wordy tried to get the phone again.
Greg was smiling and said "Settle down boys. Spike, delete them now. We all agreed."
"K Boss, but you sure? Could be useful in the future" Spike said as he plopped in a chair.
Mike looked over his shoulder and smiled as he saw the pictures while Spike deleted them. That man sure went to great lengths for his girls. Maybe he should be more open to the girly stuff.
Greg noticed that Ed was still pensive. Ed had tried to answer his question before the others arrived. They would talk later privately for now it could wait.
Getting their attention Greg said "Okay boys and girls, no warrant calls. Ed has decided to drill the team in the CQB tonight. Let's go."
Groans were heard from most.
The team was just getting up from their chairs as the claxon alarms sounded.
Winnie called out "Team One Hot Call. Armed man holding a woman at gunpoint at Chez Larousse Restaurant."
The team moved to gear up.
Spike nudged Jules and smiled "Saved by the bell."
Jules grinned back at him as they entered the armory "Why are you so happy, it's not a bomb call."
Spike answered as he donned his vest and attached his headset "It's been boring lately. I really want to test out a new method for tapping into cameras that I have been playing with."
"Winnie any other details?" Greg said adjusting his headset then moving to get his sidearm.