Holding Their Own XI: Hearts and Minds (39 page)

Sleep again eluded Terri, her mind replaying the previous day’s events over and over again. The worst was the fight with Bishop.

A whirlwind of emotions circled in her mind – anger, regret, curiosity, and most importantly, love. As she bathed Hunter in the bathroom sink, she wished for the hundredth time she could take back her words of last night.

A knock on the door gave her a rush. Thinking it was Bishop coming back to make amends, she wrapped Hunter in a towel and rushed to the threshold. She was greatly disappointed to see Pete’s face when she cracked open the door.

“Good morning,” the councilman greeted.

Pete then got a good look at her and knew instantly something was very wrong.

“Bishop and I got into an argument last night,” she explained, her eyes watering with the telling. “It was terrible, Pete. He left in a huff, and I’ve not heard from him since.”

Pete’s expression changed at the news, his face turning pale. “Oh, no,” he mumbled, moving to sit on the bed as if his legs had suddenly weakened. “That’s not good… not good at all.”

“Why, Pete? What’s wrong?”

“Ambassador McQuire is missing,” Pete answered. “Nick is turning Alpha upside down trying to find the man. Everyone already thinks Bishop may have done him in.”

Terri soon joined her friend, needing to sit just as badly. “Bishop wouldn’t do that,” she began. “At least not the Bishop I used to know.”

“You’re right,” Pete tried to reassure her. “He’s not a murderer.”

Unable to hold it any longer, Terri began crying, feeling like her entire world was disintegrating. Pete moved to embrace the distraught woman, holding her gently against his shoulder.

After a bit, Terri got it under control, and with a sniffle, she said, “I have to keep the faith in my husband, no matter how crazy everything has been. I have to do that, don’t I?”

“We both do,” Pete replied. “Bishop has never let us down. I’m sure he’s not involved… it’s just a coincidence.”

“Tell that to Nick,” Terri said in a hush.   

Bishop pulled into the ranch, wanting desperately to catch a few hours of shuteye, pack his gear, and get on the road again.

Despite the stress, lack of sleep, and troubles with his mate, he was in a good mood. The president had delivered some very interesting information.

Chase’s phone records revealed some telling facts that could only lead to one conclusion. The man had been spying, providing critical information to someone in Oklahoma. The satellite phone on the receiving end of his calls registered the longitude and latitude, a location Bishop wanted desperately to visit.

Before the mystery team arrived and shot up the valley outside Fort Davidson, a call had been made. The same number had been used when Diana’s schedule in Amarillo had been finalized. The list of satellite calls corresponded exactly to times when bad things were happening all across the Alliance.

As he turned into the box canyon, it was only a mild surprise to see Sheriff Watts, a handful of deputies, and of course, Nick scattered around the camper.

The Texan parked his truck and exited, noting that the lawmen immediately moved for a tactical advantage. Had it not been for the frightened look in their eyes and the fact that all of them were carrying rifles, it would have been amusing.

“What’s up, Sheriff?” Bishop greeted, trying to keep his voice friendly.

“There’s been a new development,” Watts began. “I’d like to know where you were last night.”

“I was out driving around, clearing my head,” Bishop answered honestly.

“All night?”

Bishop shrugged. “Yes, sir. Times have been difficult lately to say the least. Driving clears my head.”

Watts tilted his head, the lawman’s mirrored glasses reflecting the morning sun.

Looking at Nick, Bishop added, “Besides, it’s been a little stuffy around town lately.”

The senior lawman didn’t acknowledge Bishop’s remark. Instead, the questions just kept coming. “Where is your wife?”

Now the Texan grew serious. “Okay, Sheriff, I’ve played nice up to now. What’s going on? I know you didn’t bring all these men out here just to talk about my relaxation habits or Terri’s recent travels.”

Watts looked at Nick, the big man giving his approval via a quick nod. “Ambassador McGuire is missing,” the officer stated. “His staff has no idea where he is, and we’ve searched much of Alpha. Given the history between you two, I wanted to come out and see if you could shed any light about his whereabouts.”

Bishop stiffened, his attention now on Nick. “So you not only think I’m a traitor but a murderer as well. Nice.”

When Nick didn’t reply, Bishop turned back to Watts. “I was driving around all night, Sheriff. I didn’t see or speak with the ambassador.”

“And Terri?”

“We had what I believe you would call a non-violent domestic disturbance. I don’t know exactly where she is at this moment. Perhaps she and the ambassador ran off together.”

Watts stiffened at Bishop’s jest, the cop not having considered the possibility. In a way, Bishop was glad.

It was obvious that the sheriff wasn’t happy with Bishop’s responses, yet there was little else he could do. Now fishing, Watts fired the next question completely off the cuff. “Any chance your wanderings last night took you up to Oklahoma?”

The inquiry caught Bishop completely off guard. Now it was the Texan who got aggressive, “Oklahoma? Now just why would you bring up our neighbor to the north, Sheriff?”

Something in Bishop’s body language alerted Watts that he’d hit a nerve. “You didn’t answer my question, sir. Did you drive up that way last night?”

Now recovering from the shock, Bishop’s answered honestly. “No, sir, I didn’t travel north at all. I left Terri at about 10 PM. There’s no way I could drive up there and back in 9 hours. Now, I’ve answered your question, how about you return the common courtesy and tell me what Oklahoma has to do with any of this?”

Again, Watts received permission to share the information from Nick. “One of the vans used by the men who attacked you up by Fort Davidson had at one time been registered in Oklahoma. There is a witness who saw persons of interest getting into a similar van after the incident in Amarillo.”

Bishop found himself smiling for the first time in days. It all fit, the final pieces of the puzzle coming together in a flash of realization.

Watts and Nick noted the instant change in the suspect’s demeanor and found Bishop’s reaction interesting. The big man finally spoke, “Well now, don’t you just look like the cat who swallowed the canary? Care to share what has lightened your mood all of a sudden?”

“Nothing important,” Bishop responded with a cocky grin. “Now if you gentlemen will excuse me, I’m going hunting and need to get some of my gear together. If there are no other questions, Sheriff, then I will ask you kindly, get the fuck off my land.”

Watts exchanged the third glance with Nick and then nodded. “I’m sure I’ll be back,” he said to Bishop, the intentional threat left hanging in the desert air.

Motioning his men, the sheriff watched as the small platoon of deputies made for their cars. He then turned to Nick and said, “Are you coming?”

“No,” Nick stated coldly, his eyes never leaving Bishop. “I think I’ll hang around for a bit longer. I’ll see you back in Alpha a little later.”

Watts started to protest, knowing damn good and well the two former friends had been at odds. A curt look from Nick halted the sheriff’s objections.

While the lawmen exited the ranch, Bishop retrieved his rifle from the truck, checking the chamber.

A few minutes later, he found himself standing and staring at the big ex-operator.

Nick’s face was stoic as he stepped close, the two men well within striking distance of each other. Then, without warning, he smiled broadly and wrapped his arms around Bishop in a bear-like hug.

Both men were emotional as they exchanged the embrace, each patting the other on the back as if they were long-lost relatives reunited.

“I think we pulled it off,” Bishop gushed, glad the charade was finally over. “Although I have to admit until you used the code word ‘Judas,’ you had me going. Scared the crap out of me to be blunt.”

“We both deserve Academy Awards,” Nick responded, finally letting loose of his smaller friend.

“I don’t think they give those out anymore,” Bishop chuckled. “Besides, the girls are going to kill us when they find out,” Bishop noted. “That shit with Diana scared the hell out of me, yesterday. Is she okay?”

“Yeah… she’s fine. Damn it, I told her to stay put and rest, but she didn’t listen. I thought the whole thing had blown up in our faces when she fainted. That’s what you get for falling for a hard-headed woman.”

Bishop nodded toward the ranch’s lane and the dust trail still lingering after law enforcement’s exit. “Watts and about a dozen other important people are going to be super-duper pissed at us when they find out we’ve been playacting all along.”

“They’ll forgive us after we explain. Given we couldn’t be for sure how deep the problem went, the extra caution and cover story were necessary. After all, we can’t be sure Chase is our only spy. And everyone knows that loose lips sink ships.”

Grinning with a nod, Bishop added, “Hell, you even had me going a couple of times. I was a little scared that you were really going to kick my ass.”

Nick shared in the memory with a hearty chuckle before becoming stoic. “Will Terri ever forgive me? I didn’t sleep at all that night after I said that shit about her. I bet she’ll hate me forever.”

“Naw,” Bishop responded. “I helped you out and diverted her rage last night. Now I’m the one in the doghouse. She’s forgotten all about your transgressions.”

“Thanks, buddy. I always knew you’d take a bullet for me.”

“You don’t know how close that little joke came to being a reality last night.” Bishop punctuated the intensity of his encounter with Terri by a loud whistle. “My gosh. I have never seen that woman so pissed,” Bishop chuckled. “Anyway, I’ve got work to do,” he continued, walking toward the bat cave and the equipment stored there.

Nick followed, “So the president confirmed our man Chase has been making some unauthorized communications?”

“Yes, and guess where most of his Sat-phone calls have been going?”

“I don’t have to guess. The look on your face when Watts mentioned Oklahoma let the cat out of the bag. You should really work on your poker face a bit. It was written all over you.”

“No wonder Terri could always guess what I got her for Christmas. Anyway, I looked up the coordinates and you were right – it’s your old buddy, Cameron James Lewis. You should be a little more particular about who you pal around with.”

“I knew the day that jerk got away from us that he’d be back. He’s just not the sort that gives up. We need to put him down.”

Nick’s statement brought Bishop back to the job ahead. “Is Butter out of jail, or am I going to have to break him out with horses and ropes around the window bars? It’s not a problem either way, I just need to know what extra equipment I might need to stow in the pickup,” he mocked, arranging rifles and gear.

“I had Watts let him go with a promise not to leave town,” Nick replied. “While you’re packing up, I’ll get my kit ready. Are we taking your truck or mine?”

Bishop stopped his arranging and stood straight. “What’s this ‘we’ shit? You just got out of the hospital, brother. The last thing I need is your big ass bleeding out on me up in Indian country.”

“You’re not going by yourself,” Nick pushed back. “Besides, I’m in a lot better shape than I’ve been letting on. It’s all been part of the act.”

The Texan didn’t buy it, not the last part anyway. “Come on, man. I’m already in so much fucking hot water, I’m not sure if I’m the lobster or the potato. Let me get Butter or one of the other guys. We can handle it.”

“No,” came the firm reply. “I’m going, and that’s that. These assholes have killed a bunch of our people and set the recovery back months, if not years. I’m going.”

Bishop stepped closer and put his hand on Nick’s shoulder, “I understand the need for payback, but you’re a government official and have no permission to operate outside Alliance territory. If things go badly up there, I’m just a private citizen committing a crime. Your large-ass presence, on the other hand, could be twisted into an international incident… something just short of an invasion.”

“Then we have to make sure nothing goes wrong, my friend,” the retired operator countered.

Bishop studied his comrade for a moment, weighing the positives and negatives. Finally, he shrugged, capitulating, “Okay. You’re the boss.”

As the two men loaded up their gear into the truck, Nick mused, “You know, we haven’t been in the field together for a long time.”

“I’m actually glad you’re tagging along,” Bishop teased. “I wouldn’t trust anyone else to keep your old, crotchety self out of harm’s way.”

“Hell,” Nick poked back, “You’ve probably forgotten everything I taught you. This will be a good refresher for you…. get your skills up to a minimal standard. Maybe with some hard work and my expert guidance we can eliminate a few of your bad habits.” Before Bishop could counter, Nick added, “I am touched, though. It’s good to know you still care about me,” and then he blew the Texan a kiss.