Chapter 4

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Amber returned to the hospital for her next shift. She'd spent half her night calling in periodically to confirm that Mason would be okay. She wasn't so sure why she was so concerned over Mason's case, above all the other hospital patients, but she was. Maybe seeing Tesla waiting so desperately for news, yet Amber routinely saw people equally as caught up in their own situations.

Just a fact of life when working in the ER. Some cases went just fine, and others you couldn't do anything for. She'd seen so much of that. As she walked down the hallway, she was surprised to see the man she'd first seen with Tesla. Jasper. His name was as unforgettable as his face and those mesmerizing gray eyes.

He noted her approach, then frowned, and she frowned right back at him. Oddly enough that brought a smile to his face. "Hey. It's Amber, right? I wanted to thank you for looking after Tesla."

She shook her head. "I don't need thanks for that. Tesla is in a very delicate position right now, and I don't want to see anything happen to her." She didn't come out and say something might happen concerning the pregnancy, but what she meant was obvious.

He nodded. "She mentioned how kind you've been."

"You've seen her already this morning, then?" she asked.

He nodded. "Yes, and Mason made it through the night, so we'll take that as a good sign."

"Absolutely," she murmured. "Anytime a critical patient makes it through the night,… that's a huge bonus."

"And that's how we'll look at it too," he stated, with a smile. As she went to move past him, he reached out an arm.

"What?" she asked.

"Did you get a chance to think about what I asked you—about somebody suspicious in the waiting room?"

"Oh, yes," she replied, the confusion leaving her face. "I did think about it. I can't say that I came up with anything or anyone specifically, but hard not to think about it, once you mentioned it."

"Yeah, life is like that," he agreed. "Yet I don't want you looking at everybody sideways."

"Are you sure?" she asked in a dry tone. "It seems to be exactly what you're looking for and what I was doing."

"No, not at all," he murmured, "but I do want to ensure both Mason and Tesla remain safe."

"I'm going on my shift now. I planned to stop in to see her before I started, and then I'll check in with her a little bit later."

"And, if you see anything odd, anything that's weird, different, or the slightest bit strange, let me know." She hesitated, and he knew right away what that was about. "And, yes, I'm now officially part of the investigation into Mason's shooting."

She nodded. "Okay, that makes me feel better."

"It's amazing how people need to have that official status."

"Aside from HIPAA regulations and privacy concerns, it's not even that," she clarified. "In reality, for all I know, you're the one who shot him." He stopped, shocked. She shrugged. "Hey, I don't know you. I don't know anything about you," she pointed out bluntly. "So, the fact that you want information like that identifies you as somebody who is possibly a little too interested."

"That's a good way to look at it," he murmured, staring off in the distance, before returning his attention to her. "So, if anybody else asks you, maybe you could keep that in mind and let me know."

"Will do."

He pulled out his phone. "This is my number."

He quickly gave it to her, and she added it to her Contacts list, then stared down at it. "That's not a local number, is it?"

"No, I've just come out West," he told her.

"So, you haven't been staying with Tesla very long then," she said, trying and failing badly to keep the note of suspicion out of her tone.

"Not very long, no," he agreed, with half a smile, "but I've been here for several weeks, months even, I guess. I was recovering from an injury myself." She couldn't help but sweep a glance over him. "I'm in fine shape now, but I do understand what Mason must be going through."

"How long were you down?" she asked, curious now.

"Too damn long if you ask me. On the other hand, it does change your perspective about your work, as well as your life, and what you choose to do with it."

"That I can understand." She nodded. "I'm glad you're back on your feet."

"I'm back and fighting for him, and don't ever think anything else," he stated, with a light warning in his tone. She smiled. "Anyway, if you do hear or see anything, let me know, will you?"

She nodded, then watched as he quickly left. As she walked over to hang up her sweater and to put away her purse, one of the nurses pointed at Jasper's quickly disappearing form.

"Wow, you got nice and close to him," the nurse shared, a note of envy in her words.

Amber frowned at Andrea. "I don't know about that," she replied, with a laugh.

"If you don't want him, send him my way," Andrea stated. "That's definitely hubba-hubba material there."

And, with that, Amber burst into laughter and headed down the hallway. Still pondering Andrea's comment, Amber made a quick trip to check on Mason and Tesla. Amber had done a little bit of research on the pair overnight, when she'd had a moment, and had been quite surprised to see just how much was out there.

Tesla herself was incredibly well respected and apparently did one hell of a job with computer systems. As Amber walked into Mason's room, Tesla worked on a laptop, resting on her cot, leaning up against the wall at the head of her bed.

She looked up when Amber walked in. "There you are," she greeted her, with a smile. "I wasn't sure whether you were working today or not."

"Four days on, four off," Amber shared, "and I only get the four off if people don't go making a mess of their lives."

Tesla nodded. "That can't be easy."

Amber noted Tesla's very calm demeanor and how she looked much better. "I gather Mason is doing well?"

"He held on through the night, and I know Mason. If he can make it through that,… he can make it through anything."

"That's excellent news."

"I know that he'll be just fine," Tesla declared, with a bright smile, "and I certainly won't waste my time bemoaning the fact that he's hurt. I would much rather spend every moment I have doing what I can to make his world a whole lot easier."

"What is it you think you can do to achieve that?" Amber asked.

"I don't know yet, but I'll figure it out," Tesla replied. "Jasper was looking for you. Did you see him?"

"I saw him as I came in," she said. "He's very determined, isn't he?"

"He is, indeed." Tesla laughed. "So, whatever it is that he wants, you might as well just give it to him. Otherwise he'll hound you until you do."

Amber grinned. "No surprise there. He does appear to have that dedication."

"That is one way to put it." Tesla smiled. "Yet he's trustworthy, and we've been best friends as well as cousins for a very long time."

"I was surprised he hasn't been here all that long."

"No, not this trip. I wanted him to come when he first started to heal, but he didn't want to be a burden," she explained, with an eye roll. "And now that I don't want to be a burden, he still won't listen to me."

Amber chuckled. "It goes along with being an alpha male, I think."

"It does, but anyway, as you can see, I'm doing much better today, so you don't need to worry."

"I'm not sure that worry is quite the right word for what I was feeling," Amber stated, "but I am happy to see that you and Mason are both doing better. Now, did you get some breakfast or tea?"

She nodded. "Yes, I had tea earlier, and breakfast should be coming soon. I am a bit tired now, but I promise I will have a nap as soon as I need to crash," she pointed out. "Don't worry. Jasper has already been all over me about it."

"Good," Amber said. "I'm in full support of that."

"Of course." Tesla wrinkled up her nose. "Everybody likes to hound the poor preggo lady."

Amber grinned. "And I'm pretty sure you can use that to your advantage anytime you like, only listening to others when you feel like it."

Tesla burst out laughing and then quickly lowered the volume, as she looked over at her husband. "That is very true," she admitted. "I think it's something that we all do."

"I wouldn't be at all surprised," Amber murmured. "Anyway, I'm heading off to start my shift, if you don't need anything."

Tesla smiled and shook her head. "I'm good, thank you."

"If you do need me, do you know how to get a hold of me?"

"Since you're down in the ER, I presume it's pretty easy to locate you."

"It can be, but at times it can also be a little bit more difficult than you think," she explained, as she jotted down her number and handed it over. "If you ever need me, don't hesitate to call."

"Thank you," Tesla replied. "Everybody here has been wonderful to deal with."

"Good," Amber said. "We aim to please." She started out the doorway and then looked back at Tesla. "There is also a cafeteria, so, if you feel like you want or need something better or different, you can always go down there."

"Good to know. I hate admitting this, but, anytime I think about getting up to go for a walk, I stop and think about how far away everything is and decide that maybe I'll sit tight."

"Good to know, but I can always have something sent over for you, if needed."

"I'm fine for the moment. Go to work before you get in trouble. I'm thinking I might just shut this down for a bit and have a nap."

"A nap is not a bad idea," Amber agreed in a warm tone. "You've got to look after that baby."

"So everybody keeps telling me." Tesla chuckled. "Personally I think this baby is doing just fine."

"And that's how we want to keep it," Amber noted, as Tesla rolled her eyes and smiled back at her.

With that, Amber turned and walked toward the ER. As she got to her floor and headed to her station to check what was happening so far, she heard people talking in the nearby waiting room. She cast a glance back and saw two men, speaking in low voices.

One of them turned and glared at her.

She turned away, wondering what his problem was. When it came to ER rooms, there were often private discussions about patient care, who needed what, and what they would do about paperwork, payments, and so forth, so she wasn't at all surprised to get that reaction from someone.

She thought about it, as she walked over to the front desk. She thought she'd seen the angry man before. She walked into her ER section to ensure everything was ready and up-to-date, when one of the nurses stopped her.

"Hey, are you okay?" she whispered.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Why?"

"That guy over there is staring at you," she shared, "and I can't say it's a nice look."

Amber turned, knowing exactly which man her coworker was talking about. And, sure enough, he was glaring in her direction. She stopped and studied him for a moment, wondering if he would turn away, but instead he seemed to be even more belligerent about it. She shrugged. "I don't even know who he is."

"I don't like the look on his face," the nurse shared, "so watch your back."

Amber winced. "That's the last thing we need around here."

"I know, right?"

"Not as if we don't have enough headaches to worry about," Amber muttered, "but he doesn't look friendly at all."

"Did you walk in on a conversation or something?"

"Or something. Yeah, just as I was walking in, the two of them were having one of those, you know, deep conversations."

"Right, like the ones that we're always told to look out for? The ones about arranging signatures when they're not allowed to and power of attorney and all that good stuff."

"Yeah, except I didn't get that feel from it."

"Good, can't say I want to go up against those guys. Something is very dodgy about both of them." And, with that, the nurse took off.

Amber thought about it for a long moment, then pulled out her phone and walked past, holding up her phone as if checking for messages, while casually taking a video of both their faces as she walked by, not knowing why she was doing it and wondering whether this was even legal. Still, Jasper had told her to keep track of anybody slightly suspicious in her book and how it could help him. And although that angry reaction wasn't all that suspicious, it wouldn't exactly clear the angry man of suspicion either.

Not to mention that she had seen at least one of them yesterday.

She walked right on past and quickly sent the video to Jasper. She forgot about it for a couple hours, as the ER picked up, and she had several patients to work with. Once things calmed down a little bit again, she took a deep breath, brushed her hair back, and turned when someone called out her name, as a triage nurse came to her.

"Somebody's on line one for you."

She picked up line one, half recognizing the caller's voice.

He only spoke two words. "Call me." Then he disconnected.

Not sure why he didn't just call her on her cell, she pulled out her phone and sent Jasper a text. Was that you?

When she got a Yes back, she called him and stepped outside of the hospital in the back, where a little smoking corner was. A couple people in the corner puffed away, so Amber stood off to the other side, where she didn't have to get inundated with the smoke herself. "Why, and why this way?"

"Just seemed better."

"If you say so. What do you want?"

"Why did you send that video?"

"Oh, I'd forgotten all about that. Just that they reacted oddly when I came upon them this morning, and their conversation seemed a little suspicious. Now, before you ask,… no, I didn't hear what was said. They just shut up all at once and glared at me. Plus just something about them I didn't like, and I think I had seen both of them before—yesterday, I believe—although I definitely saw the larger bald one yesterday."

"At the ER?" Jasper asked, his tone sharp.

"Yes, at the ER, and, yeah, a lot of that day."

"Interesting. Have you checked on Mason and Tesla recently?"

"Not since I first arrived." Then she froze, asking in a careful tone, "Should I?"

"I haven't been able to get back there. I know that she's still under guard, as is Mason," he shared, "so I'm sure they are fine."

"Now that you have mentioned that, I'm about to go on break, so I'm heading up there right now," Amber offered. She walked back inside the hospital and stepped into the elevator, choosing the correct floor.

"I don't want you to panic her or to make her feel like something is wrong."

"Then you tell me. Is something wrong?"

"No," Jasper stated. "I don't think so, but, when you sent me that video, I wasn't sure what to think."

"Right, and I'm not much help because I don't know why I even sent it to you, except that I'm apparently being paranoid."

He chuckled. "In this case, it's appreciated. Better paranoid than having a problem we're too late to fix."

"That's what I was thinking, until you questioned me about it." She groaned. She walked over to the room, now that she was on the right floor, then looked through the window in the door. "Tesla is in there napping," she shared. "Do you want me to go in and disturb her?"

"No, not at all, but can you tell that much through the window? You know, to be sure that she's sleeping?"

"She's curled up in a fetal position with a blanket over her, right at Mason's side." She turned, looked around, and saw one of the military men she'd noted yesterday. "One of the men you set up yesterday as a guard is here."

"Describe him," he ordered, and his tone brooked absolutely no argument. She quickly described the man as best she could, and she heard an audible sigh. "Good, that's Markus. Nobody would get past him."

"You still think there's a problem, don't you?"

"Yeah, I do." And, with that, he ended the call.

*

Jasper headed backto the tiny room he'd been assigned as an office on base and requested access to cameras, hitting roadblocks. All part of the special team request apparently, and, if he wanted access, he would have to go get it through them. He frowned at that, wondering whether anybody even knew that he had been given special access to this case or if he would be up against a roadblock there as well. Time would tell, and he wasn't at all sure what he would find down that road. Nevertheless it wouldn't matter one way or the other, as he would be a part of this, regardless of anybody else's interpretation of right or wrong.

He walked down the hallway to the other rooms he assumed the rest of the team occupied but wasn't exactly sure. Poking his head into a couple of them, he realized that the entire space appeared to be empty. Continuing to the main front desk, he asked the receptionist who was in charge of the Mason investigation.

She shrugged. "There's a team, but I don't know who is involved."

"That's fine, as long as my name is on it."

She stared at him steadily. "I don't know who you are, so I don't know if it is or not."

His lips twitched at her deadpan delivery and nodded. "Good point," he replied, with a smile, knowing the benefits of laying on the charm when he chose to. "I'm Jasper Maclintok."

She nodded. "You're the latest name that was just penciled in."

"I'll take that to mean yes, so I'm a full-fledged member of the team," he stated coldly.

She raised an eyebrow at his tone, but he didn't give an inch. The last thing he wanted anybody to think was that he was short of a fully functioning member in this case. At that cold stare that didn't stop, she gave him the room number, where the team was assembled. He nodded, then turned and headed for them, wondering why everything always had to be so difficult. What was the need for so much secrecy all the time, and, all too often, far-too-much secrecy that excluded the wrong people.

He couldn't do the job if he didn't have access to information. He understood that nobody would be particularly happy with his involvement, since he was an unknown factor, who nobody knew. The current investigation team would struggle with that. The investigators would be people who knew Mason, knew of the base, not somebody who came in out from the cold. Jasper also understood that to a certain extent, or at least he understood enough that he wouldn't sit here and let it bother him. And, once they found out he was family, they would get him off the case anyway, but that just wouldn't work for Jasper.

He did have some pull, though it might all be from back East, but he had it. As he walked into the room, silence came. Jasper noted four men, and he nodded, quickly introduced himself. Several people looked from one side to the other, and, with a hand raised and his tone cool, Jasper declared, "In case you haven't gotten the memo, I'm part of the team."

Heads turned to look at one man, who Jasper assumed would be leading the investigation. He raised an eyebrow in a questioning manner. "I presume you've been told?"

"We have," the head man confirmed, his tone easy but his gaze watchful. "We're just not sure how you managed to get onto an investigation team when you're clearly new to the base."

"I'm new to the base but not new to investigations. I'm certainly not new to betrayals, and I'm not new to problems inside a base," Jasper declared. "So, in this case, although I might be new to the people here, I can come at it from a very different perspective."

"And is it a fair perspective? We know the people on base." This investigator also came on strong.

"That's right. You do know the people. At least some of you will know some of the people," Jasper corrected. "I'm not here to step on toes, but this is what I do, and this is what I did back East. So, while I'm new here, I'm not new at all."

A long moment passed, while everybody assessed his words, and then the man in charge spoke, with a scrutinizing gaze. "It's not as if I have any way to argue with you or to tell you to get the hell out," he admitted, with a smirk, "which I would do in a heartbeat if I thought it would work."

"Save your energy. It won't," Jasper declared.

"I assumed as much, so the only thing I can say is welcome to the team. Expect to get some hard looks your way because we don't know who you are."

"That's fine, and there will be hard looks going both ways, until I can clear people on this base from being involved in the assassination attempt on Mason." When several of the men sucked in their breath, Jasper nodded. "No way that every person on this base is not a suspect right now. From the first moment Mason took that hit, that had to be on every damn mind here."

"What's your connection to Mason?"

He raised an eyebrow. "Tesla is my cousin," he shared. "I'm the one who shut down the hospital an hour later than it should have been done. I arranged for the guards at the hospital, and you can bet we'll all be taking shifts, making sure that Mason is well taken care of."

"Obviously everybody on the base wants the best for Mason," one of the men said coolly. "So it won't go down well if you start accusing all of us too."

"I don't give a damn what goes down well." Jasper refused to turn and look at the person who had just spoken. Keeping his hard gaze on the team leader, Jasper added, "My only concerns are catching whoever did this and ensuring nobody has a chance to go after Tesla." A rumbling came all around him, as he turned to look around the room from one investigator to the next. "Please don't tell me not one of you considered that."

"No reason to think that she's in any danger," the head man replied. "However, it is something that I had wondered and had brought up with the brass."

"I have too, and funding is in progress to cover the security," Jasper shared. "Now, introductions, please."

They all looked at each other, and then the leader began, "I'm Morgan. To your right is Sam, and you've got Lichen on the other side of you. Steve makes up the fourth, but he's on medical leave, yet popped in to say hi."

"I'm Jasper. Nice to meet you all."

"Is it, or will you sit there and do a full check on us first?" Sam spouted off.

"I would be very derelict in my duties if I didn't," Jasper replied. "So considering that's one of the things you brought up right away, let's just deal with that first." Sam may have been sarcastic, but Jasper wouldn't pass up on the opportunity. "Where were all of you at the time of the sniper shooting?"

Shocked silence followed, as they all frowned at each other.

Jasper shrugged. "No way we aren't having this discussion. So it's your choice. Either here and now in front of everybody or later in private."

Morgan spoke up first. "I was at the hospital, visiting a friend. I had to sign in, and I'm sure multiple people saw me."

"Were you there when the ambulance arrived?"

"I was, but I didn't know it carried Mason, not until a little bit later," he shared. "Maybe fifteen minutes after the incident, we were called in to gather information."

At that, Jasper turned to look at Sam.

"I was home with my wife," he replied in exasperation. "Is this necessary?"

"If it weren't, I wouldn't be asking," Jasper declared. "And your wife can verify that? Anybody else?"

"My wife is hardly someone who wouldn't be considered trustworthy."

"I don't particularly like husband-and-wife alibis," Jasper noted. "So, if anybody else saw you, it would be a lot more helpful."

Sam shut his jaw and glared at him. "I was talking to my team within a few minutes of that," he added. "So I can give you the names and the people I talked to, if you want to verify my location at the time," he bit off.

"Thank you, that would be appreciated."

Sam stared at him in shock. "You're serious, aren't you?"

"You damn-well better believe it." Jasper turned to look at Lichen. "Unusual name," he noted calmly.

"Yeah, it is, but that's all right. I'm used to those comments," Lichen shared. "And where was I? I was training, and you can speak with the armory personnel. I signed in, and I signed out. Unfortunately I was one of the last to hear about Mason."

"The armory didn't hear?"

"If they did, they weren't passing it on, but we were all doing some pretty intensive training," he explained, with a shrug. "You know what that's like. Nothing stops until you complete it."

Jasper nodded. "Give me the times in an email, will you?" He handed out his email address, so that everybody could send him their information in writing. Then he looked over at Steve, who was sitting back, his legs crossed and up on the table. "And where were you at the time?"

"Oh, I'll answer, but I also want to know where the hell you were."

"Good. I'll answer that as soon as you answer my question." Jasper didn't give him any quarter on it.

"Where were you at the time of Mason's shooting?"

"Jeez, I can't believe that you suspect any of us," Sam sneered.

Jasper didn't take his gaze off Steve. Steve would be a tough nut to crack.

"I was in the offices here," Steve shared, with an attitude. "I have a fair number of reports that I'm getting caught up on before I leave," he muttered.

"So, did you sign in and sign out that day?"

He hesitated and then replied in the same condescending tone. "I avoid signing in and signing out as much as I can, so I'm not sure that I did."

"What is your reason for avoiding that?"

"Because I don't always want people to know where I am," he admitted. "It's damn hard to get work done if they can come in and find you at any time."

Morgan rolled his eyes. "Damn it, Steve. We've gone over this. You know you're supposed to sign in all the time."

"Of course I know that," he snapped. "And obviously, if I would have known somebody had just been shot, and I needed an alibi, that's the first thing I would have done."

"But, in the meantime, you don't have an alibi," Jasper noted.

Steve stared at him for a long moment. "I'm not sure that I do. What will you do about it?"

"Keep you on the suspect list," Jasper declared, still giving no quarter. "So, therefore, I won't be sharing any information with you, and I will request that you be taken off the investigation team for this case, which, if you're truly on medical leave, you have no business being here now as it is."