Lean on Me (17 page)

“
I need a minute before you
go,” MJ said. “Matthew and Joseph, you’re needed in the entryway.
White Boy has their driver flat on his stomach begging for his
life.”

“
Why?” Alex
asked.

“
He wears an F,” MJ
said.

F

CHAPTER TEN

The weight of his words
hung in the air. Almost every person rescued by the Fey Special
Forces team had a black Vivaldi
F
tattooed on their right shoulder or wrist. It was
a sign that they owed their life to the Fey. The team fell
silent.

“
Who is it?” Joseph
growled.

“
No disrespect meant, but
that’s not my purview,” MJ said. “Lieutenant Colonel Hargreaves is
my purview.”

MJ gave Alex an irritated smiled. She nodded
and followed him out of the room. They went down the hall to the
bathroom where MJ’s medic kit was set up.

“
We talked about heels like
this,” MJ said.

“
I haven’t been wearing
any,” Alex said. “I don’t think I can get away with not wearing
them for this.”

“
You can take them off and
carry them in your hand,” MJ said.

“
Point taken,” Alex
said.

“
I’m going to give you a
shot,” MJ said. “But you remember what the doctor said…”

“
Only one shot a day,” Alex
said. “The steroids interfere with healing… and a bunch of other
stuff.”

She lifted her skirt. As she had at least
once a day since she’d had her last surgery, Alex bent over and
grit her teeth against the pain. MJ injected her hip with a
cocktail of steroids and pain medications. She stayed completely
still for a moment while the steroids settled.

“
I found a doctor who’s
treating your very same symptoms.”

“
Oh yeah?” Alex
asked.

“
Works with a lot of vets.
I’d like you to meet with him.”

“
Where is he?” Alex
asked.

“
Norfolk,” MJ
said.

“
Tell Joseph. If I can, it
will go on the schedule,” Alex said.

“
Yes sir.”

“
We’ve got to go,” Zack
pounded on the bathroom door.

“
Thanks MJ,” Alex
said.

“
I’ll be in the Winnebago
at Walmart,” MJ said.

“
See you in an hour or so,”
Alex said.

MJ opened the door. Alex gave him her best
hooker wave and followed Zack to the door. Against the wall, a very
intimidated US Army Master Sergeant stood at attention.

“
Hey Darren,” Alex said.
“What’s going on?”

“
Sir, this creature was
going to drive the Jakker to JFCOM so that he could be held
hostage,” White Boy said. “He had full knowledge of the plan and
still participated.”

Snarling, White Boy took a step toward the
Master Sergeant.

“
Permission to speak, sir,”
the Master Sergeant said.

“
Go,” Alex said.

“
I was going to tell
Captain Jakkman while we were in the car,” the Master Sergeant
said. “I have a phone…”

He moved to his pocket and Trece was on him.
Trece came up with a disposable phone.

“
I bought that last night
for Captain Jakkman’s use,” the Master Sergeant said. “I am
required to do as I’m assigned or face court-martial. I’m on track
for promotion this summer and…”

“
I’d quit before I betrayed
the Fey,” Matthew said.

“
That’s just it,” the
Master Sergeant said. “I’m not betraying the Fey. I’m helping. And
I figured when it all went down, you could use another
weapon.”

The Master Sergeant smiled at his
brilliance.

“
Do they know you wear an
F?” Alex asked.

“
Yes sir,” the Master
Sergeant said. “I’m proud and humbled by my safe rescue by the Fey
Special Forces Team. My wife and I thank God every day for you and
the men.”

“
They sent you because
Captain Jakkman would trust you,” Alex said. “Why didn’t you call
me?”

“
Eniac is monitoring all of
your communication,” he said. “Even the Map Phone. It’s some
computer thing. That’s why no one can call you. One of my team
called the Map Phone with a map correction. He was picked up in the
middle of the night from his home and taken to Leavenworth, sir. I
know it’s selfish, but my wife… my kids… My mom has Alzheimer’s
and…”

He swallowed hard.

“
I thought I could help!”
he protested.

“
They were going to kill
you,” Trece said. “You wouldn’t have made it past the front
doors.”

“
Oh God.” The Master
Sergeant lowered his head and pinched his nose to keep from
weeping.

“
If you want to help us,”
Joseph said. “You will say you had to drag Captain Jakkman out of
bed. He wouldn’t leave without the Lieutenant Colonel. You will
refer to the Fey as ‘some hooker’. You will stop at a liquor store
and buy whiskey for Captain Jakkman. You will call in a panic and
tell them that when you returned to the limo, Captain Jakkman and
the hooker were having sex.”

“
Yes sir,” he
said.

“
You will drop us at the
entrance,” Alex said.

“
Tell them that the limo is
in a mess from their ‘activities,’” White Boy said.

“
Retreat to the Walmart
parking lot where you will find an ancient Winnebago with a blue
fairy sticker on the back,” Joseph said.

“
Oh, and can you play that
‘Cult of Personality’ song?” Alex asked. “I need to learn the
words.”

“
Hey!” Zack faked a hurt
expression.

“
Yes sir,” the Master
Sergeant said.

“
What’s your name?” Matthew
asked.

“
Darren Rossen, Master
Sergeant, US Army,” he saluted.

“
Sorry we gave you such a
hard time,” White Boy said. “We had to be sure.”

“
I understand,” Master
Sergeant Rossen said. “We need to go. Captain Jakkman is already a
day late.”

Trece held the door for the Master Sergeant.
The Master Sergeant pointed down the stairs. Joseph gave Zack a
bottle of inexpensive John Jameson’s 7-year Irish Whiskey. Zack
saluted with the bottle and took the stairs. The Master Sergeant
followed Zack. Alex looked at the steps and took her heels off.
Joseph gave her a tattered handbag. With a nod at their worried
faces, she trotted down the steps to the limo.

“
It’s like prom,” she said
when she scooted in after Zack.

“
I wish you’d gone to prom
with me,” Zack said.

“
I think things have worked
out pretty perfectly,” Alex said.

Zack smiled. He moved across the limo to sit
next to her.

“
Why do you smell like
sex?” Alex asked.

“
Didn’t shower,” Zack said.
“You?”

“
Same,” Alex
said.

“
Yeah, things worked out
perfectly,” Zack said.

“
Would you like to stop at
the liquor store?” the Master Sergeant asked.

“
Can we do both?” Alex
asked. “Hit one here and then another when we get
there?”

“
Liquor stores aren’t open
until nine in Washington DC,” the Master Sergeant said. “We would
have to wait.”

“
Shit,” Alex said. “I
didn’t check.”

“
I can call in to say you
and Captain Jakkman are having sex when we’re on the highway,”
Master Sergeant Rossen said.

“
Good thinking,” Alex said.
“We have this bottle. We can skip the liquor store.”

“
Yes sir,” the Master
Sergeant said.

“
We’re going to nap,” Alex
said. “There’s no way to know what this day is going to turn
into.”

“
Hey, I thought we were
having sex,” Zack said in his most indignant voice. “I’ve been
waiting for this moment for…”

His head dropped back in mock sleep.

“
Wake us up about ten
minutes before we get there,” Alex said.

“
Yes sir,” the Master
Sergeant said.

“
Sleep now or forever hold
your peace,” Alex said to Zack.

Zack put his arm around her. He dropped his
hat over his eyes and was out. She put her head against his
shoulder and fell asleep.

FFF

Monday morning

October 26 – 8:42 a.m. EDT

Joint Forces Command, Suffolk, VA

When Trece had said they would be thorough,
Alex hadn’t expected them to be quite as probing. The grumpy guards
at the front of JFCOM all but did a full body-cavity search. She
was delighted to see Jesse waiting for them near the entrance. He
asked her more than once if she needed him to shock them.

“
Boys, you have to pay for
any more than that,” Alex giggled. “But I should be available
later.”

“
I want you all day,” Zack
said.

“
Maybe tomorrow, cutie,”
Alex said and stroked the guard’s cheek. “Hey! What are you
doing?”

They took her phone and tossed it into a
cubby.

“
That’s my livelihood,”
Alex tried to get her phone from the cubby.

“
I’ll be your livelihood,”
Zack leered. “What do you mean you need my phone? I’m a superior
officer, Sergeant! Who is your supervisor?”

Zack breathed whiskey breath on the guards.
They grimaced but didn’t step back.

“
It’s JFCOM standard
procedure,” the guard growled. “If you look at the cubbies,
Captain
, you’ll see all
the other phones there.”

“
It’s a security risk for
you to bring your phone into the building,” the other guard said.
“As is alcohol. You can’t bring this in.”

The guard waved the flask of whiskey he’d
taken from her purse.

“
Hey! You can’t have that,”
Alex reached over him for the whiskey. “That’s mine! I bought
that!”

“
I’m sure you’re making
enough today to buy another,” the guard used his forearm to push
her away from him.

“
I’ll buy you anything
you’d like,” Zack said.

“
I do like you,” Alex
said.

Zack began a tongue-probing kiss. Out of the
corner of her eye, she saw Jesse swing the security camera away
from them. Noticing the camera, the guard slipped a handheld
computer into her bag. The other guard came to break up their
pornographic embrace. While they fought to stay together, he
slipped weapons into their hands. Jesse let the security camera
track back in toward the guards’ direction.

“
Sir, you disgust me,” the
guard said.

“
If I didn’t have to be at
this meeting,” Zack said. “I’d have you
court-martialed.”

“
Yeah, court-martialed,”
Alex pointed her index finger in the air and waved it back and
forth. “No disrespecting the Captain.”

“
Get them out of here,” the
guard said to a waiting Sergeant.

“
Right this way,” the
Sergeant said. “We’re not quite ready for you. We wondered if you
would mind waiting.”

“
I always wait when I’m
here,” Zack exaggerated his drunkenness. “Why do you think I
brought entertainment?”

“
Your iPod is for
entertainment, sir,” the Sergeant said.

“
This is more fun,” Zack
wiggled his eyebrows.

“
Yeah, fun,” Alex
said.

Zack put his arm around Alex. His hand
drifted down her chest until he grabbed her breast. She gave him a
lustful look. The Sergeant couldn’t keep the disgust from his
face.

“
Listen,” Zack did his best
imitation of an angry drunk. “I flew that bitch around all day
yesterday. All day. That’s against regs! Take me here, Jakkman.
Take me there, Jakkman. I need to unwind.”

“
I’m the best kind of
unwind!” Alex said.

Zack moved to kiss her again.

“
Shall we?” the Sergeant
asked.

The Sergeant took Zack’s arm in one hand and
Alex’s arm in the other. He hustled them down a long hallway. They
turned left, then right, and waited for an elevator. Rather than
letting go of them, the Sergeant asked Alex to press the button.
They went up a flight and down another hallway. By Alex’s
recollection, they were close to the computer facility. The
Sergeant opened a door and pushed them into a small room. Before
they could say anything, the Sergeant shut the door. They heard a
key turn in the lock.

Zack jumped Alex. In a great show of lust,
she began taking off his clothing. She took his hat off and tossed
it into the corner. The hat flew up into the air. Jesse caught the
hat and lifted it up to the room’s surveillance camera. Unsure if
there were other cameras, they continued their act.

Zack picked her up. She wrapped her legs
around his waist. He carried her to a low table with a phone on it.
She slipped across the table top to the phone. He unzipped his
pants.

“
Wait!” Alex said. “We need
a condom.”

“
Would hate for that
dragon-hearted woman at home to find out,” Zack said.

He picked up her handbag and carried it to
her. With the handbag tight between them, she made a show of going
through it until she found a condom.