January 25, 2004
Victor Galindez's Quarters – London, England
0848 Greenwich/ 0348 Eastern
Victor was sitting in his living room, watching the morning news which drinking a cup of coffee. The day had already been productive for him, as he'd gotten up early and gone for a long run. As it happened, his route took him past the Embassy so he could also check on his men. He was pleased to see that everything was in order and that nobody was taking advantage of the weekend to relax while on duty.
When he got back to the apartment, he'd taken a hot shower to warm back up. Then he'd dressed in a nice shirt and slacks, curious as to what Emily had planned for today. He'd tried to call her last night to confirm things, but both times the calls had gone to her voice mail. So, he was dressing nice but yet still comfortable enough for anything that they might do today.
The news program started in on something he wasn't interested in, so Victor clicked the television off. Getting up from his seat, he grabbed his coat and made for the door. He planned to be waiting downstairs when Emily arrived, so that she didn't have to wait on him. When he reached the lobby, Victor nodded at the porter and crossed to the door. Not seeing Emily's car, he elected to remain inside for the moment and stay warm.
Twenty minutes later, just as he was about to call, Victor glanced out the door and saw the Mini pull up. Smiling, he left the building and ran over to the passenger side of the car. Getting in, he closed the door before looking over at Emily. Seeing a tired look on her face, Victor frowned.
"Long night?"
"I know I slept at some point, but I don't remember when or for how long," Emily said with a shrug before pulling out into traffic.
"If you'd rather just go home, I'd more than understand," Victor told her.
"Perish the thought. I worked very hard to have time off and I intend to enjoy it."
"So, where are you taking me today?"
"I thought we'd go over to Greenwich and visit the old Royal Naval College or we could go to the Tower of London, if you'd rather," Emily said.
"Greenwich sounds nice, Emily. About how long will it take us to get there?" Victor asked.
"Oh, I should say about an hour or so, depending on the traffic and such. And that works perfectly, since they don't open for visitors until 10."
"So, how is your case going?"
"It's not at the moment. We have security camera footage of the robbers, but they were wearing masks, so other than general height and build it is perfectly useless. We know how many and we know the make of the car they used, but nobody got the license number and even if they did, it was probably stolen. These guys are good, too bloody good in my opinion to get caught easily. And worse, they're escalating. They've moved on to bigger targets, larger pay days."
"That's usually how it works. They've seen success and want even more. Question is, what are they taking? Is it cash or is it merchandise? Cash is damned near untraceable except in large amounts or if you have serial numbers," Victor said, thinking back on his time with the sheriff's department.
"Like I said, these guys are good. Until this last time, it was strictly cash. Yesterday, they hit a jewelers. Took some gold chains, diamonds as well as cash," Emily told him.
"So, what are they going to do with that stuff? Keep it or get rid of it?"
"Keeping it is risky. All those diamonds have laser cut numbers now and we have those. If the stones turn up, we'll get a hit. We've also shared the information with Interpol incase the stones leave the country first."
Victor went silent at that, thinking. Diamonds were getting harder to move, given the crackdown on so-called conflict diamonds. Every stone having a serial number made them easier to trace. As good as these thieves sounded, he would have been very surprised that they wouldn't know something like that. So why take them?
Emily had a pretty good idea of what Victor was thinking, because the same questions had plagued her team all evening yesterday. The diamonds were the one thing that just did not make sense. Gold could be melted down and moved, or just sold as is a little at a time. But diamonds? That didn't apply to them. Oh, they could be recut, but you'd need an expert to do that and not risk destroying the stones. Still, every little cut decreased the value as karat weight was lost. Did these men think that was an acceptable solution worth the risk involved in the theft was the question and Emily had to think that the answer was yes.
"Can we talk about something else, Victor? My mind needs a break from that case," Emily said.
"Sure. You pick a topic and we'll go from there?" Victor half asked, half stated.
"Alright. Do you like theater?"
"I've only gone a couple of times, mainly with my mother or sisters. Why?"
"I have to attend a performance of the Phantom of the Opera on Wednesday evening. Mother's command, unfortunately, and she's given me two tickets. Would you be willing to be my escort?" Emily asked somewhat shyly.
"Of course," Victor told her. "What's the dress code?"
"Um…black tie, I'm afraid. It's some event for the hospital my father is a head of department at, so there's cocktails before the show."
"I don't think that would be enough time for me to rent a tuxedo, Emily. Think my Marine Dress uniform will be sufficient?"
"I should think so. I mean, is that what you would wear if you were invited to a formal dinner at the Embassy, for instance?" Emily asked, curious.
"For one where the Embassy staff was wearing black tie, it would be my Service Blues or my Evening Dress. Most likely, I'd wear the Evening Dress," Victor told her. "What time do we have to be there?"
"Cocktails start at 7:30, with the show at 8:30."
"Why don't you come by my apartment at say 6 or so? See what you think before we go."
"That's sound great," Emily said.
"Just one more question. What would you have done if I hadn't said yes?" Victor asked.
"What I've done before. Either gone alone and listened to my family make quiet comments about my lack of a man in my life or just stayed home. Staying home has been winning a lot lately."
With that said, Emily turned more of her attention to the road. For his part, Victor was left to wonder what he was getting himself into.
Grove End Road – London, England
1103 Greenwich/ 0603 Eastern
Mattie came downstairs, figuring on finding a glass of water to take upstairs. She had a few pages left to read in the novel her English instructor had assigned before she could start writing her paper about it. So, she planned to use today to get that done. It was also a good excuse to avoid seeing Harm, especially if he was drinking again. She'd been both surprised and hurt yesterday when she'd come home and found him sitting there with a full glass of whiskey and an open bottle before him. After everything she'd been through with her father, she'd hoped Harm would have understood and not done that.
In the time she'd been with Harm, that was, to be honest, the first time she'd seen him really drinking. The occasions when he and Beth would have a glass of wine with dinner weren't something that bothered her. But the sight of that opened bottle sitting there had, because it seemed to indicate that Harm didn't intend to stop at just the one glass. Heck, he might not have even stopped at the one bottle, for all she knew. Though, to be fair, the bottle was gone when she came down for dinner last night. Whether he'd had any more after dinner, she didn't know because she'd gone back up to her room as soon as she was done eating.
When she entered the kitchen, she saw that Harm was there as well, reading the morning paper while drinking a cup of coffee. Going to the refrigerator, Mattie took a gallon jug of water from it. With this, she filled a glass and turned to leave.
"Good morning, Mattie," Harm said, looking over at her.
"Harm."
Something in that word and her tone of voice rang alarm bells for Harm and he put the paper down to fully consider the teen.
"What's wrong, Mattie?"
"Nothing," Mattie said, her voice still flat.
"Why don't I buy that?" Harm asked rhetorically.
"I don't know. Maybe it would be easier to buy after you have another bottle of booze."
Harm just looked at Mattie at that, while the teen walked out of the kitchen and made her way back up to her room. Finishing his coffee, Harm took the paper into the living room and laid it on the coffee table before going upstairs. Seeing the door to Mattie's room closed, he knocked.
"Man on deck," he called.
"Go away, Harm," Mattie called back.
"No. I need to talk to you."
"Well, I'm not really interested, thank you."
Harm sighed before opening the door and going in. Mattie was sprawled out on the bed, her face buried in the pillow.
"Mattie, I'm sorry," Harm said softly as he sat down on the bed next to her.
"Why?" Mattie asked in a hurt tone.
"Why what, Mattie?"
"Why did you have to start drinking? After knowing what I went through with him, why did you even bring that bottle into the house, Harm?"
"Because I wasn't thinking, sweetheart. Something really bad happened yesterday and…." Harm trailed off, not sure how to say it.
"Something happened to you?" Mattie asked.
"No. That woman, the one who was harassing me?" Seeing Mattie nod, he went on. "She was found guilty of some additional charges yesterday and was being escorted from the courtroom when she took a guard's gun and shot him. Then she came into my office, ranting about how we could have been together and then she said that if she couldn't have me, nobody would. Just when I thought she was going to kill me, one of the Marines on security came in and shot her. Right now she's in critical condition in the hospital."
"Why didn't you say anything, Dad?"
"Because it's over now. But when I got home, it all just hit me. How close I came to dying, to leaving you and Beth and I started to shake. I was drinking to dull the pain and the memories and I wasn't thinking about the effect it would have on you or Beth or anyone else for that matter and I'm sorry for that," Harm told her.
"You do know you could have told us, right? That we're here to help you, because that's what family does," Mattie said, feeling a little better now that she knew what Harm was dealing with yesterday.
"Sorry, put it down to all my years as a bachelor, Mattie. I'm still getting used to the whole having a family thing."
"Well, you'd better hurry up and get used to it, old man. A few more years and I'm off to college. Then it will be just you and Beth, unless… you know, you guys start expanding the family."
Harm laughed at the eager look on Mattie's face.
"Why, you looking forward to being a big sister or something?" Harm asked.
"Well, it would give you guys free babysitting if nothing else," Mattie retorted.
"Are we good?"
"We're good, Dad."
With that, Harm left the room. Going back downstairs, he went into the kitchen and on to the pantry. There, he removed all of the alcohol and emptied the bottles out into the sink. Putting the bottles into the recycling bin, he then went into the living room and looked for anything that might be there. Finding nothing, he went back into the kitchen to see the last of the liquid going down the drain. With that, he cleaned the sink and smiled. The occasional glass of wine wasn't more important than Mattie's happiness was, in his mind.
Victor Galindez's Quarters – London, England
1646 Greenwich/ 1146 Eastern
Victor opened the door before motioning for Emily to proceed him into the apartment. Rather than going somewhere for an early dinner, he had suggested that they go back to his place. Emily had been reluctant before realizing that Victor didn't have anything untoward planned. In fact, Victor had noticed how tired Emily was and had actually intended to simply have her drop him off before going home. However, the gentleman in him had won out as he realized that leaving would mean that she'd either have to stop somewhere or fix it herself when she got home, if she was going to have dinner before falling asleep.
Once inside, Emily went into the living room and stood looking around. Obviously, Victor had rented the flat furnished, she could instantly tell. She pictured a place done by him as being decidedly more masculine that this was, perhaps with a leather recliner and a foot stool. Sitting down on the couch, she turned and looked back at where Victor stood near the kitchen, a smile on his face.
"I see you've made yourself right at home," he said.
"Wasn't I supposed to sit here?" Emily asked, starting to get up.
"You can sit wherever you're comfortable. You can even turn on the television or stereo if you want, while I make us something to eat."
With that, Victor went around the counter and into the kitchen. The open design allowed him to look into the living room while he cooked, something he used in the mornings to catch the morning news on the television. Going through his cupboards, he found a jar of spaghetti sauce. Taking that to the stove, he emptied the whole jar into a pan and placed it on the stove. Then he got a large pot of water going for the noodles.
After that, he kept one eye on the stove and the other on Emily. Her coat was draped over the side of the couch and she was laying back with her eyes closed. The sound of the music coming from the stereo was just barely loud enough for Victor to hear it in the kitchen. Still, he could tell that she was enjoying what she was listening to as he could occasionally hear her singing along.
Seeing that the water was now boiling, Victor emptied the entire box of noodles into the pot. If there was too much, he'd eat the rest for lunch tomorrow or that was his thoughts. Wasting food was a crime in the Galindez house, punishable by a fierce tongue lashing by his mother, both for the food wasted as well as for the time and effort she'd put into cooking it for them. So, even today, he never left anything but bones and silverware on his plate when he finished a meal.
Somewhere between putting the noodles in the pot and the sauce being done, Victor happened to look into the living room and realized he could no longer see Emily. For a moment, he thought perhaps she had gone looking for the bathroom. Then he heard a noise and smiled before turning the heat down on the sauce and walking gingerly into the living room.
Emily was still on the couch, but was now laying down with her feet off the side. She was obviously asleep, as her closed eyes and gentle breathing attested to. Not wanting to disturb her by waking her up, Victor thought his next move over carefully. Sleeping like that couldn't possibly be comfortable, he decided and with that, he gently picked her up from the couch. Cradling her in his arms, he carried Emily back to the second bedroom.
Laying her on the bed, he took a moment to remove her shoes before taking a blanket and putting it over the top of her. With that done, he softly closed the door and went back to the kitchen. The noodles were done, so he drained the water and fixed himself a plate before sitting down at the small counter and eating. After he was done, he made a plate for Emily to have when she woke up, though he had no idea when that would happen. Then, he washed the dishes as quietly as he could before moving into the living room.
He first turned off the stereo before taking a book from the shelf near the television and settling in on the couch. He figured this would be a nice quiet activity, one not likely to wake his guest from her nap. Besides, the books were there for a reason and this was one he'd never read before.
January 26, 2004
Victor Galindez's Quarters – London, England
0503 Greenwich/ 0003 Eastern
The sound of an alarm going off brought Emily from her slumber. Reaching out, she tried to find the offending object, but the darned thing wasn't where it was supposed to be. Come to that, neither was her end table. Cracking her eyes open, she jolted upright once her mind fully kicked in and it registered that this most definitely was not her bedroom. Then she remembered her last conscious moment before awakening and pulled the cover back. A slightly relieved sigh escaped her lips when she saw that she was still fully dressed.
Pushing the blanket completely off herself, Emily got out of bed and made for the doorway. Reaching the short hall, she bumped into Victor, who was dressed in sweat pants and a t-shirt.
"Good morning, Emily," Victor said.
"I'm so sorry, Victor," Emily said.
"What? For falling asleep yesterday?"
"Yes. You should have woke me up, Victor. I'm so embarrassed."
"Hey, don't be. I could see you were tired and I should have just sent you home, but after how nice you've been to me, I thought the least I should do is feed you," Victor said.
"Why didn't you wake me?" Emily asked.
"Because you looked like you could use the sleep. Besides, no harm done."
"You're a good man, Victor Galindez."
"Why thank you, Miss Emily," Victor said with a grin. "Be sure to tell your friends."
"I think not!" Emily said with a laugh. "I found you and I intend to try and keep you."
"Are you hungry?"
"Silly question! I missed dinner and we skipped lunch. I'm famished."
"Well then, why don't you use the restroom, if you need to, and I'll see to something for breakfast," Victor said.
"That sounds wonderful," Emily said before going into the open bath.
Victor made his way to the kitchen, where he removed a carton of eggs from the refrigerator, along with a package of bacon. Grabbing a skillet, he set it on the stove after spraying the inside with some no-stick cooking spray. Letting it heat for a moment, he put some bacon on the skillet. Then he turned his attention to the eggs. Getting out a bowl, he broke a half dozen into it, then beat them.
Once the bacon was done, he put it on a plate before pouring the eggs into the skillet. He'd decided on scrambled eggs, with a little cheese, which he got from the refrigerator and sprinkled onto the cooking eggs. Then he added a touch of salt and pepper to the mix, while working the eggs around. When they were done, he put them onto two plates, half for him and half for Emily. Turning the stove off, he carried these over to the counter and sat down across from Emily.
For her part, Emily had been impressed watching Victor work in the kitchen. While it was just eggs and bacon, he's done everything quickly and without a lot of mess. Her father couldn't even fix a pot of coffee without making one and whenever someone commented on it, he'd always say that the kitchen was a woman's place, not a man's. Perhaps the difference was Victor being a long time bachelor, but something told Emily that this wasn't the whole story, given his ease in the kitchen.
Putting those thoughts aside, she took a bite of the offered food and smiled. Emily had been a little suspicious of the cheese, but the taste was wonderful. She did raise an eyebrow when she saw Victor take a little bottle of sauce and put it on the eggs.
"Is something wrong?" Emily asked.
"No. This is just how I like my eggs," Victor said as he put a little more Tabasco sauce on them.
"What is that?"
"Only some of the best hot sauce in the world. I practically grew up on it. Why, you want to try some?"
"Good lord, no! I think I'll stick with the eggs just as they are," Emily said.
"You don't know what you're missing," Victor told her with a smile before taking another bite.
Emily could only smile and shake her head. She was finding how much she was enjoying just spending time with Victor. He was a gentleman, as evidenced by the fact that he hadn't tried anything when she'd fallen asleep. In fact, all he'd done was carry her to a bed, remove her shoes and cover her up. No feigned innocent, 'I just wanted to make you more comfortable' removal of clothing. And then this morning, he had brushed off her apology by acting as if he was to blame rather than her. Best of all was just talking to the man. He had a dry sense of humor and wasn't above a little good natured teasing, as his comments about the hot sauce had readily revealed.
For his part, Victor could only wonder what the attractive woman across from him was thinking. Clearly it had to do with him, because she seemed to be assessing him, almost as if measuring him for a new suit or something. This led to Victor thinking about her. He'd never felt this relaxed around someone he barely knew, like he could instinctively trust her. Maybe it was the connection of both being police officers or just the way she talked, he didn't know. He just realized he was getting more and more attracted to her and for some reason, it just seemed so right.
US Embassy – London, England
0747 Greenwich/ 0247 Eastern
Beth was approaching the entrance when she happened to see Victor coming from the other direction. She slowed to let him catch up to her, returning his salute with one of her own.
"How was your weekend, First Sergeant?" Beth asked as they continued on.
"Excellent, Ma'am. Took a tour of the Houses of Parliament on Saturday and then went out to Greenwich yesterday," Victor told her, as he took his identification card out for the Marine on duty.
"How was Greenwich?"
"Interesting, Ma'am. We toured the grounds and then went through the Cutty Sark."
"We?" Beth asked, a curious smile on her face. "A friend, First Sergeant?"
"Yes, Ma'am," was all Victor said to that as they were admitted into the Embassy. Victor started to make his way downstairs to his office only to become aware that Beth was following behind him. Damn women and their curiosity, he thought briefly before regretting it. Not only was he friends with Beth's husband, but he respected the petite Lieutenant Commander as well.
Reaching his office, Victor opened the door for Beth to proceed him before following her into the office and closing it.
"Was there something else, Ma'am?"
"Yes. Do you think Greenwich would be something a teenager would enjoy?"
"The Cutty Sark was interesting. Now, as to whether a teenage girl would think so, I'd probably go with maybe. The Naval Observatory might be more interesting to her, as well as the grounds. I know that Emily and I had a good time," Victor told her.
"Ah, Emily. That's your friend's name?" Beth asked with a smile.
"Yes. Detective Chief Inspector Emily Wallace, of the Metropolitan Police."
"So a new friend, I would guess."
Victor had to smile slightly at that. This was almost like getting confronted by one of his sisters and left him wondering if perhaps he was getting too close to the Rabbs. Too close to that line dividing officers and enlisted men.
"Good luck, First Sergeant," Beth told him before leaving the office. For her part, she had some idea of how close to the line she had come. Yet, First Sergeant Galindez was a friend, even if he was an NCO and she was an officer. So, as long as neither of them broke any of the rules or norms, she was more than willing to bend the heck out of them for the sake of that friendship. Besides, it had been that way aboard ship as well, where you could be friendly with your plane captain and the other enlisted crew as long as you maintained your authority as well.
Leaving his office, Beth made her way upstairs to her own. Settling behind her desk, she wasn't at all surprised to find a large stack of paperwork awaiting her. The Navy moved as much on a sea of paper as it did on water and today was to be no exception. With a sigh, she took the first folder from the basket and opened it so she could start reading. As she did, thoughts of Greenwich and First Sergeant Galindez faded before the onslaught of figures and bureaucratic garbage.
Force Judge Advocate's Office – London, England
0838 Greenwich/ 0338 Eastern
Harm was settled in behind his desk. With the ending of the Krennick case last Friday, the staff conference room was now able to be used for the morning staff meetings. So, no more crowding into his office. Admiral Morris, Major McBurney, and Colonel Coffman had all flown back to the states over the weekend, while Commander Alexander remained in the hospital in a medically induced coma. Her doctors had reported that it was still too soon to move her and that she needed to recover more before such a move could occur. However, they were seeing some small signs of improvement and had upgraded her condition from critical to serious.
As for the other two patients arising from the shooting last Friday. Alison was in critical condition, with her vital signs taking a turn for the worse on Sunday evening. Harm had heard that this occurred after the doctors let her know that she would be paralyzed. She was refusing all visitors, as well as any flowers or cards, not that there had been much of either. The Marine whom she had shot was doing much better and was scheduled to be moved to the states in the next day or two, where he would continue his recovery at NNMC. The news was hopeful that he could return to duty in a few months, if everything continued to proceed well and there were no complications.
All of the reports on the incident were working their way up the various chains of command and sooner or later a decision of possible charges stemming from this newest incident would be made. For his part, Harm didn't see the need to waste a lot of time on the matter. Alison was already going to prison for what amounted to life just from the sentences she had already received. Anything more wouldn't matter in the long run. The only thing supporting a new trial on the additional charges was the thin hope of sending a message that shooting your guard and trying to escape would be punished, even for those who were facing life in prison.
Mentally moving on, Harm started going through the various folders that had accumulated over the weekend. Mostly these consisted of status reports, with a drop off of new cases. Harm smiled slightly at that, knowing that it couldn't possibly last and wondering what the next day or two would bring.