Fosters: Blackhawk (38 page)

“Blackhawk surveillance picked up three suv’s
waiting on the outside roads.  Knight says three choppers,
come up on the north side and fire missiles to take them
out.”  Bear tells me.  He had to search his memory to
pull those words.  I smile because he got it right.

I speak to the other choppers and we align
behind the tree line about six hundred feet away.  On my go we
rise together, lock and I give a go to fire.  The three suv’s
explode.  The control centers cheer.  The choppers are
called back to the hangar for reload and planning. 

I touch down and shut her down.  While I’m
pulling the inventory clipboard I hear Steve yell for me. 
What the fuck?  I climb out and everyone claps.  I look
at the other choppers they’re smiling but surprised too. 
“Need you inside Blackhawk.”  Steve says when it dies
down.  I ask my gunner to do inventory, get Jake to reload me
and double time it into control. 

“Jeremy is on for you Cloud.”  Little Ben
hands me the phone. 

“Littlest Ninja.”

“Daddy!”  I can hear his smile.  He
doesn’t say anymore.

“Dad, Jeremy said you got the reader.  He
couldn’t read with the words, he’s gone now and the kids are
safe.”  Brantley says.

“Hug my littlest ninja and tell the Little
Brothers Good Job!”  I laugh.  Thank fuck!  I hand
the phone back to Little Ben and tell Kevin and Steve what Jeremy
said. 

“I need to meet this Littlest Ninja.”  Bear
says.

I laugh, “It is just a nickname I gave him, he
is six.”  Steve laughs at his surprised look. 

“We defended our land and the old tribe because
a six year old said so?”  Bear is shocked. 

Steve looks at him with a serious face. 
“Yeah, Little Brothers know what they’re doin.” 

Bear just nods then looks at me.  I smile
and say it’s true.  Kevin calls the Brothers and HS Teams
in. 

It’s getting dark and I want to get home and see
the kids but I have to go through the intel debriefing.  Danny
comes up behind me and slaps my back.  “Nice aim
Brother.  I hope this goes quick.  I’m fuckin
starving.”  I laugh.  Nunánuk comes in behind a scout
pushing a cart with sandwiches.  I point it out to
Danny.  He stands in line.  Fuckin guy is always
hungry. 

Nunánuk brings me a sandwich and pulls me down
kissing my cheeks.  “You have made your people proud today my
warrior.  All of your people are thankful for you and your
skill.  The spirits are proud and grateful.”  I hug her
telling her I love her and I am grateful for their guidance and
love.  She leaves as quick as she came in.  

Kevin gets Jamie and Pres up on the
screen.  They’re in the Baxters plane.  They give us the
back story.  The reader was identified and his backers have
been eliminated.  I breathe easy.  Pres thanks the Little
Brothers for following the trail and finding the backers then their
locations, leading the strike teams efficiently and
professionally.  Fuckin Kids.  I smile proud. 

Jamie thanks the tribesmen for running Ops in
the old language telling them without their help we would not have
defended so easily, the reader followed everything from the Ops in
Rhode Island but didn’t stand a chance against them. 

Kevin thanks the Brothers and Security personnel
for their hard work and ability to follow the warriors and
tribesmen into the bunkers, fighting the old fashioned way.  A
cheer goes up and the war cry follows.  I hear a plane and the
feed shuts down.  Fuck what now?  Bear isn’t moving from
his station.  I go over and smile.  Crazy
bastards. 

The women and kids come up to the hangar. 
More food and drinks are being wheeled in.  I watch the
plane.  The door opens, Jamie lowers stairs.  Jeremy runs
out flipping over him.  He hits the ground running.  I
walk toward him with my arms out.  “Daddy!”  He jumps
into my arms.  “Together.”  He puts his head on my
shoulder. 

“Together Littlest Ninja.  Always
together.”  The other kids come bouncing and flipping all over
the fuckin place.  Shit.  There’s got to be a hundred
Brothers we don’t know here.  Jacob comes up and jumps to my
other side putting his head on my other shoulder.  “Your
Indian names are Littlest Ninja and Lightfoot.  They fit you
well.”  They look at me and laugh.  “Got some people for
you to meet.”  I walk toward the hangar looking for
Brody.  I see him by the door with a pretty woman and his
son.  Jeremy wiggles free.  I set Jacob down.  They
use people flipping and running across the hangar.  When I
make it to the back they’re standing in front of Brody’s son. 
He looks to be a little older than them.  I touch Jeremy’s
shoulder.  “Littlest Ninja and Lightfoot.”  I touch
Jacob’s head.  He smiles at me. 

“Eagleye.”  He puts his hand on his boys
shoulder.  “I imagine they’re learning their stories. 
This is my wife Pamela.  Cloud Blackhawk.  The shaman’s
grandson.”

I nod to her.  “It is good to meet
you.  My wife will find me, I’m sure she is anxious to swap
‘friggin kid’ stories with you.”  I feel her arm and
smile. 

“I am.  CJ Blackhawk, nice to meet
you.  The rest of our friggin kids are the acrobats flying
everywhere right now.  I need Jeremy for a second if you don’t
mind.”  She bends to Jeremy and talks in his ear.  I look
around, the kids stop showing off and make a bee line to us. 
She stands up and looks at Brody and Pamela.  “I’m sorry about
that.”  She puts her hand out to Pamela.

Smiling Pamela takes her hand, “Pamela.  I
know just how you feel.  They don’t need reigning in normally
but it would always be in front of company.” CJ laughs and
introduces the rest of the kids.  Joey is smiling as
always.  I hug each one of them telling them how proud I am of
them. 

The woman get to talking until Pres calls for
the kids to come up front anyway they can.  Jeremy touches
Eagleye and they’re off, fuckin kids are flying and bouncing off
people and walls all through the hangar.  When they’re all up
front he introduces them as the Club Kids; the Little Brothers that
helped keep the kids from Rhode Island safe.  He tells
everyone that Eagleye called out to his Brothers for help and these
kids heard the call and gathered the parents to get help where it
was needed.  Everyone claps.  He introduces Eagleye and
tells them he was the boy that saved his family and
tribesmen.  We clap.  He tells the kids they are among
friends and safe here, they can entertain the Brothers for a
while.  Oh fuck! 

I look at CJ.  She shrugs with a big fuckin
smile.  The kids go wild.  Jeremy, Jacob and Eagleye run
across the crop duster flipping off different sides.  Brantley
slides across the nose and flips onto Steve’s shoulder bouncing to
the floor.  People are laughing and clapping, I just shake my
head.  Danny comes over.  “Fuckin Kids.  Celebrating
their first mission.  What are you gonna do?”  He
smiles.  Me and Brody laugh. 

Nunánuk comes to us.  “I have your house
and the ranches ready.  Your friends that want to stay can
stay in the houses and Center.  We readied the cots and have
the showers stocked for them.”  I kiss her and find
Pres.  He makes the announcement.  They’ll stay at my
house.  Jake will ride back with the Baxters but called dibs
for the Pow wow.  Brody and Pamela will take one of the
ranches and their tribesmen the others.  I offer it to them
until they can get their home and land put back together. 
Brody accepts for his people.  My people will help them
rebuild their security.  Brothers and HS that are staying
until tomorrow make their way to the Center.  Eagle Feather
get us in trucks and suv’s with guides for the other tribe to the
ranches. 

Danny, Pres Steve and the bigger kids ride bikes
following the trucks up to my house.  I pull into the garage
and CJ parks on the side of me.  The kids get out and run
through the house.  The bikes pull into the third bay and park
in straight lines making me smile.  I hold CJ’s hand until we
get to the steps to go in.  I lift her and carry her in
kissing her walking her into the kitchen.  I put her down and
hold her hand again.  When everyone comes in I give them a
tour of my A-frame house.  It is huge but I expected to have a
large family.  The first floor has the living space with glass
from floor to ceiling on the sides.  I take them up to the
second floor and show them to the 6 bedrooms and 4 bathrooms and
again, glass side walls from floor to ceiling.  I take CJ to
the third floor, the master bedroom.  We have a sitting room
and a bathroom suite.  The ceiling and side wall is
glass.  She loves it; I’m happy she does, this is where I stay
when I’m on vacation or have Tribal obligations.

Making our way down, we meet up with the
kids.  I show them to their rooms.  We have one for boys
and one for girls.  Nunánuk had cots and air mattresses put
in.  She has shorts and t’s from the gift shop piled in the
rooms with little hygiene bags.  She is too fuckin much. 
I tell the bigger boys they can sleep in the other bedroom if they
want but they want to stay together. 

We meet up with Steve, Jess, Danny, Kate, Pres
and Little Ben in the kitchen.  I grab beer and hand them
around, I get a bottle of wine opened for the women.  CJ takes
it and the women out to the deck they saw earlier.  I give
Little Ben a bottle of water and sit. 

“We helped today, everyone is proud and happy
about what we accomplished, but Christian is still upset over what
he saw.  If we can’t get through to him how do we keep moving
forward?”  He says genuinely upset over Christian’s
well-being.

“He needs to feel what he feels until he can
push past it.  This is his cross Little Ben.”  Danny
tells him. 

He wipes his hand down his face.  “He
watched kids burn Uncle Danny.  He didn’t watch an accident
where people walked away, it was real people burning, screaming as
they died until there were no more screams.  Christian is
eleven.  That’s a lot to carry alone.  We are together in
everything.  If it is his, it is ours.  What I need is
how to make that easier to carry.  For all of us, but
especially him.”

Fuck this is such an adult conversation to be
having with a fourteen year old.  “Time Little Ben.  Boy
needs time to see the kids alive.  Time to stop hearin the
screams.  When Jeremy is up, might be able to take it
away.  Lot to ask the six year old.  He hurts with
it.”

Little Ben nods.  “Jeremy will get it from
me.  I’ll wait until he says he’s ready.  We’ll need you
Cloud when he is.  You get him away and back easy.”

“This would be the place to do something like
that Little Ben.  This is where my guide takes us.  This
is where the spirits are strongest, where I am strongest.”  I
watch to see if he understands I want him to talk to Jeremy now,
while we’re here.  He nods and walks up the stairs. 
 

“They are bound together and they’re kids. 
Did they run the Ops for the strike teams?”  Danny smiles.

Pres and Steve’s eyes are shining.  “Little
Ben and Jessie from the control room, Brantley and Taylor were on
their computers.  They were a fuckin sight.  Darren was
keeping everyone up to speed on the screens.  It was fuckin
professional.  Split between all of them but they fuckin did a
good job.  Rich was with them planning and watching
over.”  Pres says.  I can see the pride in his eyes I
wonder if my face matches theirs.

We get the kids in bed and meet the women on the
deck.  We sit enjoying the night sky talking about anything
but what happened today.  I pick CJ up and say goodnight to my
Brothers telling them to make themselves at home.  Putting the
wine glass in the sink I carry her to our room. Opening the door in
the back I bring her out to the balcony and sit in my favorite
chair with her on my lap.  I hold her and thank my guide and
spirits for making today a success.  We had no injuries and no
deaths.  My spirits watched over us shielding everyone.
 I thank them in the old language and stand when I am
done. 

"Whatever you said was beautiful and I felt it
in my heart Cloud.  Thank you for letting me be part of it."
 Fuckin woman, I love her.  Leaving the door open I bring
her to the bed.  We undress each other feeling the wind brush
our skin, a peace settles around us after all the fighting and
death we lived through today.  I lay her down talking to her
in the old language kissing her body from her feet to her head.
She's quiet and calm, feeling the peace, she keeps her hands on me,
my arms, neck, chest and head, she touches every part of me she can
reach while I travel up her body.  Switching to English I tell
her I love her and take her mouth pulling her up with me.  I
sit back on my heels sliding her onto me until we meet.  She's
moaning deep in her throat.  I move and move her on me feeling
her wrap herself around me we soar through the sky with the stars
shining on us and the wind moving around and touching all but where
we're joined.  We breathe together, move together as one, not
thinking, we just are.  We move faster, harder deeper,
frenzied in our breathing we explode together joining our mouths
with the rest of us. I feel her body vibrating and clenching,
fighting for air I lift my mouth from hers and kiss her neck.
Burying my face in her hair I try to calm my breathing.  I
hold her to me and breathe.  I whisper I love you in Mohegan,
she says it back, in Mohegan.  

CJ

I wake up alone.  Jumping from the bed I
take a fast shower and throw on clothes from the reservation
store.  They friggin fit.  Go figure.  I run down
the stairs and smile when I see them. Cloud, Danny and every damn
kid is on the deck practicing.  I sit on a chair facing them
watching.  It's kind of boring so I practice with them. 
I don't know the sequence so I do the best I can.  Jacob
laughs, I look toward him and he's friggin laughing at me. 
Damn ninja moving freak of nature can do the moves better than me
then laughs at me.  Christian, Brenna, Devan, and Jeremy
laugh.  Punks!  They all laugh.  I laugh giving up
then go in to start breakfast. Friggin kids.