Train of Thought
Chapter 11
"Mike, I'm sorry. All four kids have had colds and Piper's is borderline pneumonia. I know you wanted us there, but it would not be right to take her into the wind and cold." Christine said.
"Its…okay. I just missed you all." Mike admitted. He had never made it home.
"I know and we miss you. Maybe once you get to Florida, you can home and visit?" Christine suggested.
"Maybe. I don't know what the plan is after tomorrow, honestly." Mike answered.
"You'll get to see Tom, at least? I know you've missed him." Christine said.
"True. We might go for lunch or something." Mike remarked.
"Well, call me and let me know you got to Mayport safely. We love you." Christine answered.
"I love you all." Mike said before hanging up.
Something was up with Mike but with sick kids in the house, Christine didn't think about it too far. The news was full of the fleet's return to Florida. Peter was really interested in the coverage and got really excited when he saw Mike, doing an interview. Christine fixed dinner and smiled as Hannah came in from her volleyball practice.
"You're late?" Christine remarked.
"Yeah, Katie was supposed to pick me up and didn't. I tried calling her but her phone went to voicemail. I thought it was weird because I had talked to her an hour before school was out and she said she'd be there." Hannah remarked. Christine picked her own phone up and called Katie's phone, also getting her voicemail. Just then, she heard Peter shriek.
"Daddy's ship exploded!" Peter said. Christine looked at the TV and saw all the commotion.
"Shut that off!" Christine ordered Hannah, who immediately complied. Christine began trying to comfort her very scared younger children.
Two hours later, Katie still wasn't home. Hannah had called all of her friends and so the next option was law enforcement. Christine was getting ready to call when the doorbell rang. She opened the door to find a police officer.
"Is this the Slattery residence?" He asked.
"It is." Christine answered, feeling very nervous.
"Mrs. Slattery? I understand you have a daughter-aged seventeen? Kaitlyn Slattery?" The officer asked.
"Where is she? She was supposed to pick up my thirteen year old from volleyball practice but never showed. I was just getting ready to call 9-1-1." Christine begged.
"Mrs. Slattery, your daughter was rear-ended at an intersection. She must have been slightly injured but the people who hit her drug her from the car. She was fighting back but was thrown into a van and detectives are trying to trace the route as we speak." The young police officer explained.
"It can't be a coincidence…" Christine said as she started at the officer.
"Ma'am?" He asked.
"My husband—Katie's father is Vice Admiral Michael Slattery. He's fleet commander of the fleet that arrived in Florida this afternoon. They were attacked. I don't even know if Mike is alive." Christine said.
"Katie would be a high-value target." The police officer said.
"So, my daughter has been abducted and my husband maybe dead?" Christine asked.
"I…yes, Ma'am. I think you'd better call any contacts you might have. I maybe wrong, but I think this might be connected." He told her.
"Alright." Christine said.
"And I'm going to stay here. Just in case. My name is Office Adam Carter." He said.
"Thanks." Christine said, feeling very unsure of herself.
It was one of the longest nights of Christine's life. Finally, about three am; Tom called her to let her know Mike was alive. She had to be the one to tell him that Katie had been abducted. That the police were convinced that it was connected to what had happened at Mayport. Mike would not be in contact but was on the James. Everything was in code and Tom was unsure if he'd be able to pass the message along about Katie. Mike wouldn't even know his daughter might be dead…and perhaps that was better than the hell Christine was going through.
It was several weeks before she heard from Mike. He was devastated about Katie but had already said he would not be home until he found her. Christine needed her husband home. It caused an argument—a bad one. She wondered how hard he would look. Mike and Katie had a very complicated and painful relationship. Christine knew Mike loved Katie, but he was needed at home more than heading up some investigation.
Christine had never been closer to filing for divorce. The only thing that stopped her was that if Mike did happen to find Katie, she would need her parents making decisions jointly. Hannah was also really struggling and blamed herself for all of it. They all needed Mike, and he wasn't there.
Christine really did try to understand it from Mike's standpoint and she couldn't. Russ had assured her that Mike was doing alright and trying desperately to find his oldest daughter. That he did want to be home but felt his place was fighting the war and trying to find their daughter.
As time went by, Christine barely functioned. She kept the house up, and she managed the kids, but she would far rather just crawl into bed and grieve for Katie. Mike had been gone for over eighteen months and Christine knew that the Navy and Marines were fighting a bottle in Colombia. She heard about the James being sunk and it saddened her, but the war ending, maybe Mike might come home? She was trying to come up with a plan for dinner when her phone rang.
"I'm coming home." Mike said.
"Finally?" Christine asked.
"Yes, and we found Katie. She's alive and a mess. The man that ran this war—he had it all arranged. Was going to use her to blackmail me. He was a whack job but his wife was even worse. Its going to take me a few days to get her home." Mike said.
"Oh…my God. I thought you were going to say you had found her…body. What can I do from here?" Christine asked.
"Honestly, she's going to have a lot of recovery time. Make sure her room is comfortable. She's…its not good." Mike explained.
"Has she been sexually assaulted?" Christine asked. She could tell Mike was deeply affected by whatever was going on with Katie.
"I don't think so. No, his wife was…they were running the entire war off of Tarot Cards. They had her in a small closet and she couldn't stand. I'm just going to have to figure out how to get her home. She's in a wheelchair now." Mike said.
"Can I talk to her?" Christine asked.
"She's sleeping. I can wake her?" Mike asked.
"No. Let her sleep. Can I tell Hannah? She's been absolutely devastated." Christine asked. She wanted to talk to her daughter but she also understood Mike's hesitancy in waking her.
"Yes. You can tell them all. Its no secret." Mike answered.
"I know I'm premature in asking, but how long do you think you'll be home? Hopefully, not just dropping Katie off?" Christine asked, knowing Mike's answer would define her next steps.
"No, I won't just drop her off and run off. I don't know how long I'll be there, but I am tired. I need a break. Knowing that Katie was kidnapped because of who I am—I'm not okay with that. I haven't made my mind up if I'm going to retire, but I am coming home for a while." Mike explained.
"We'll be here." Christine answered. She wasn't totally thrilled with Mike but at least he was adamant that he was staying home for a while.
"Christine; I know that you aren't happy right now. That you feel I should have came home sooner. I also know that you met with an attorney about divorcing me. All I ask is that you be patient. I know I should have come home but I had to find Katie and if I had came home, I might have missed something. And she is going to need us together. She needs normalcy. Christine; I do love you and I am sorry that you had to face this alone. You shouldn't have had to and I am sorry for that." Mike said. Christine wondered how he knew about the attorney, but decided not to ask immediately.
"It hurt. And I wasn't the only one who needed you. Hannah has been a basket case." Christine said.
"And I will make it right once we are all together." Mike answered.
"I don't know how you are going to make this right ever again, Mike. Just get home." Christine answered before hanging up.