A Hero In Uniform - The Complete Series (13 page)

“
Absolutely. What did you have in mind?”

“
How about attending a wedding with me this weekend as my date?”

“
A wedding?”

“
Yeah. If that's not too weird.”

“
I don't think it's weird.” Jessi said with a smile. “I'd love to. When is it?”

“
The ceremony starts at ten this Saturday.”

“
Then I'm there. Where?”

“
How about I pick you up?” Ric suggested. “0900 hours?”

Jessi smiled and said, “That sounds great.”

Ric had a grin on his face when he left a few minutes later, run out early when Jessi's boss called and asked her to cover for a colleague who had fallen ill.

Jessi was the type of woman who could be a really good friend or an even better partner – lover, girlfriend – and he was very interested in seeing where this new-found relationship went.

The first Saturday of December dawned with clear blue skies and warm, sunny weather that wasn't too hot.

It was the perfect day for a wedding.

At nine o'clock, Ric arrived at Jessi's apartment and when he saw her standing on the curb outside her building, waiting for him, he felt his breath freeze in his lungs.

She looked breathtakingly beautiful in a strapless blue dress that reached her knees and strappy silver heels with her light brown hair flowing in loose curls around her shoulders.

He knew he was in trouble.

Jessi climbed into his Holden SV6 Thunder ute and smiled at him as she buckled her seatbelt. “Morning.”

“
Morning.” He replied, pulling away from the curb and heading for the church.

“
I forgot to ask. Whose wedding is this?”

“
The Navigators, Daniel Coleman.” Ric told her.

“
Their getting married at the perfect time.” Jessi said. “Just in time for Christmas.”

Ric heard a touch of wistfulness in her voice and told himself to remember what she'd said, even if he couldn't explain why it mattered.

“
Do you get Christmas off, Charge?”

“
Yes. The Sydney is one of a handful of patrol boats that is lucky enough to be staying in port for a few weeks over the holiday.” He told her. They stopped for a red light and he looked over at her, smiling as he told her, “You look very beautiful today, Jessi.”

A slight blush came over her cheeks, but she smiled and replied, “Thank you. But one day I'm going to have see what you look like in something that isn't Navy related.”

Ric looked down at his formal dress whites and grinned. “Yeah. That'd be nice.”

They arrived at the church a little before ten and were met by the Steven Leigh, the ships Radio Operator, and Jackson Tanner, their CO. Jackson held a very adorable Annabelle Coleman and, after Ric had introduced everyone to Jessi, little Annabelle held out her hands to Jessi, indicating she wanted to change holders.

“
Oh … is it okay?” Jessi asked, clearly wanting to hold the little girl but not wanting to step on any toes.

Jackson nodded and handed the girl over, telling her, “It's fine. Kelley likes her daughter to interact with as many people as she can.”

Jessi took the little girl into her arms, and when Ric saw her holding the baby close, he felt a sudden stab of longing low in his gut. It confused him because he'd never felt that way before, so he pushed the feeling aside and talked with everyone until they had to head inside to get the wedding underway.

By midday, Daniel and Kelley were married.

The reception was held in a garden at the side of the church, and as everyone gathered, waiting for the happy couple to join them, Ric made up his mind.

He would ask Jessi to be his girlfriend and see it she was eager to explore where this relationship might lead.

Outside the church, Kevin Nolan sat in his rented Audi, fuming.

He'd travelled nearly twenty hours to get to Cairns so he could find Jessica and try and win her back, only to find that he was too late.

The bitch was getting married.

Over my dead body, he thought. Reaching over, he opened the glove compartment and pulled out the Glock 9mm hidden inside. 

He loved Jessica and if he couldn't have her, no one could.

Getting out of the car, Kevin tucked the gun into the back waistband of his jeans, put his jacket on to hide the bulge and headed in to the reception. Music and laughter drew him to the gardens, where a tent had been erected for the celebrations, and he immediately located Jessica, talking with some tall man in Navy attire.

In fact, he noticed that nearly everyone gathered was in the same clothing, but it mattered little to him.

He would end this day one of two ways; Jessica back as his wife, or dead.

Four

Jessi was talking with the new bride – Kelley Coleman – when she spotted him.

Kevin was making his way through the crowd, heading straight for her. She looked around for Ric or Kelley's husband, Daniel, but it was too late.

Kevin was right in front of her and he pulled a gun, making her automatically throw her hands up in self-defence.

Someone screamed and everyone save for Jessi and Kelley hit the floor, but Kevin didn't seem to notice. His focus was directly on her, his gun aimed at directly at her heart.

“
Kevin...”

“
Come with me, Jessica.” He growled. “Come with me, and no one here will need to get hurt.”

She didn't believe that for a second, but she wasn't about to provoke the situation by calling him a liar. She nodded, indicating her consent to leave with him.

“
Good girl.” Kevin said.

He grabbed her hand and yanked her forward, pressing the gun to her side as he walked her away from the celebrations and out to the street, where he shoved her into a black Audi sedan. He rounded the hood and climbed in behind the wheel, gunning the engine and heading for the A1, a highway that could take him anywhere he wanted to go.

The gun was resting on his lap and Jessi knew he wouldn't hesitate to use it on her, or anyone that tried to save her.

She prayed that, when Ric found out about what had happened, he didn't try to be a hero. She wouldn't be able to live with herself if she got him killed.

Ric returned to the tent after a quick trip to the head and found the happy celebration he'd left had turned into a confusing jumble of shouts and cries. He located Jackson and the guys and asked, “What's happened?”

“
Jessica was just taken at gunpoint by some man who showed up with a gun.”

“
What?! Who?”

“
She called him Kevin.” Steven said, covering the mouth piece of the phone he was on. “That's all we know so far, but I'm in contact with an AFP sketch artist who might be able to get an ID on him based on witness descriptions.” He removed his hand and told the person on the other end of the line, “No, I said brown hair and green eyes.”

Ric felt like he waiting forever to learn the identity of the man responsible for this, but when the ID came through, he was shocked.

“
Kevin Nolan?” Jackson repeated. “As in the federal agent who was arrested and is awaiting trial for the abuse of his wife?”

“
That's him, boss.” Steven said, putting his phone away.

“
Hold up.” Ric said. “Who is this Nolan guy?”

“
He's a former federal agent with the AFP who abused his wife a week after their third anniversary a few months ago.” Jackson told him.

Ric felt his stomach flip and asked, “What kind of abuse?”

“
Physical and sexual.” Jackson said. “It's almost the same story that happened with Kelley and Ronald Coleman. He raped her, then put her in the hospital with several broken bones, mild internal bleeding and a concussion.”

“
Son of a bitch.” Ric breathed, remembering what Jessi had said to him the night he'd saved her.

I've been in a similar situation before …

Ric swore and demanded, “Why isn't he in jail already?”

“
The case isn't due for court until the beginning of next year.” Steven said, just as his phone rang.

Ric looked at his CO and asked, “Do we have any idea where this maniac has taken Jessi?”

“
No, but we're still gathering Intel.”

He swore again and ran a hand through his hair. He hated waiting around; not being able to do anything to help made him crazy and he prayed that something came through for them to work with.

But even as he thought this, Steven hung up on the call he'd gotten and told them, “Agent Blake is five minutes out.”

“
Blake? What's he still doing here?”

Steven shrugged and said, “I don't know, but he's offered his support in locating Jessica and Kevin.”

Agent Michael Blake was the agent-in-charge of the AFP's Witness Protection Program, and that made Ric ask, “Is Jessi in the WPP?”

“
He didn't say she was, but there's a chance she is.” Steven said.

Ric didn't like not knowing much about Jessi, but he told himself that, once they found her and he had her back with him, he'd fix that by learning everything he could about her.

* * * *

It was common knowledge amongst the Royal Australian Navy that it's sister defence force – the Australian Army – needed help on a regular basis. It was one of those running jokes that everyone knew.