Chapter 24 Always Faithful

Chapter 24

Always Faithful

Disco lifted off and turned to the northeast to avoid the complex airspace of Houston, and the remainder of the team was left in a field of grass beside a still-burning Jeep.

I tossed a rock at Singer. “Did you kill the Jeep?”

He rubbed the barrel of his favorite rifle with great affection. “She and I didn’t think you wanted him to get away, so we politely invited him to stick around.”

I shook my head. “Remind me never to ask you to hand out invitations. Let’s get this mess cleaned up and head back to the ship. I don’t care how many lives our resident cat has left. I want to get Shawn in front of Dr. Shadrack before his brains start dripping out of his ears.”

We put out the fire and pushed what remained of the Jeep back into the small garage attached to the east end of the barn. After restoring power to the house, from the street, the property looked just like it had the day before, and we were eastbound in Anya’s Citation at four hundred miles per hour.

* * *

Einstein wrote a great deal about space-time, and although I’ll never be smart enough to understand anything he wrote, I’ll always agree that time passes at variable rates depending on what’s happening around me. Time stands still when bullets fly, but even at four hundred miles per hour, downtime aboard someone else’s airplane feels like an eternity.

When we finally landed back at Houma, I trotted across the tarmac and toward the Caravan with her new wheels and armed guards.

It was, in fact, one of those guards who stepped in front of me with one hand raised and said, “Stop right there, sir.”

I put both hands above my head. “I’m Chase Fulton, and that’s my airplane.”

“I’ll need some identification, sir.”

I liked that guy immediately, and I produced sufficient ID to get his permission to approach my airplane.

He followed my every step as I walked the perimeter of the Caravan.

While tugging on the new rigging between the pontoons, I asked, “Have you heard Cotton mention anything about how long it’ll take to have her ready to go to Wichita?”

The young man said, “When he left last night, he said the ferry permit should be approved today. I don’t know what that means, but that’s what he said.”

“It means she’s headed north very soon. What time does your shift end?”

“I don’t know, sir.”

“You don’t know? How do you not know what time your shift ends?”

“It’s a variable rotation, sir. Only the watch commander knows the schedule. We stand our post until we’re relieved. That way, nobody can figure out our schedule and hit us when we’re most vulnerable.”

I furrowed my brow. “You’re doing a variable relief watch for an airplane?”

“Yes, sir. We’d do the same if we were guarding a rock. It doesn’t matter what we’re protecting. It only matters that we keep it secure.”

I stepped from beneath the plane. “You were a Marine, weren’t you?”

“No, sir. I still am. I may not be on active duty anymore, but once a Marine, always a Marine.”

“I admire the dedication. Semper Fi.”

He shook his head. “Don’t do that, sir.”

“Don’t do what?”

“Unless you live it, don’t say it.”

“Fair enough. Thanks for keeping her safe.”

He shined his light along the row of broken windows along the fuselage. “If you don’t mind me asking, sir, who did this?”

“Funny you should ask. We invited a gentleman to come over and have a talk with us tonight about that very subject. In fact, I should get to it. I wouldn’t want to keep him waiting. That’d be rude.”

He said, “Good luck with that, sir. Oh, and if you need somebody to rough him up and make him talk, my name is Pendleton.”

“I’ll keep that in mind, but I’m sort of a pacifist. I’m not into violence. Make love, not war, right?”

He checked his watch and walked away.

* * *

Back aboard the Lori Danielle , I delivered Shawn to Dr. Shadrack in sick bay.

The doctor met us at the door to his office. “Welcome back. It’s nice to see nobody got blown up this time.”

I eyed Shawn. “Well, now that you mention it, he did, but he’s too stubborn to complain.”

Shawn squeezed his temples between his palms. “It’s nothing. Just a little headache.”

“A headache, huh?” Dr. Shadrack said. “Have a seat, and let me take a look.”

Shawn took a step back. “Seriously, Doc. It wasn’t that bad.”

I laid a hand in the middle of Shawn’s back and encouraged him forward. “He took an explosion less than three feet away and fell about eight feet. I pulled him from beneath a few hundred pounds of lumber and sheetrock. He was unconscious for several minutes.”

“I was just resting my eyes,” Shawn said.

The doctor motioned toward a chair. “Don’t worry, Shawn. I’m getting really good at treating late-night concussions for these guys. It seems they always pick on the new guy, and tonight’s your night.”

I left our SEAL in Dr. Shadrack’s capable hands and took a stroll to the belly of the ship, where we kept our most special guests. I found Mongo watching over Sidney Barbour, who was hogtied and lying on his belly on the cold, steel deck.

“How’s he doing?” I asked.

Mongo motioned toward our prisoner with his chin. “He wanted to wrestle, so I pretended to let him win for three seconds before doing that to him. He’s all yours now, but I’ll stick around just in case he gets feisty again.”

I stepped through the open door of the brig cell and pressed my boot against Barbour’s shoulder, rolling him onto his side. “You doing all right, Sid? Need anything? A cup of coffee? A cyanide capsule, perhaps?”

He spat blood and ire, and I stepped aside. “That’s not very nice. You’re a guest in my house, and you’re making an ass of yourself. Show some basic human courtesy.”

He spat again, so I pressed the sole of my boot against his face with a significant portion of my two hundred thirty pounds applied. “Listen to me, Barbour. We’re going to play nice, or things are going to get very uncomfortable for you.”

He bucked and shook his head like an animal until I lifted my boot. Staring back at me from the deck wasn’t an oil man. He wasn’t a mere exploration company CEO. The eyes of the man at my feet were mine. They were Clark Johnson’s. They were the eyes of determined defiance, the eyes of unbreakable fortitude, and for the first time in my life, I questioned if I possessed the resolve to draw out the secrets he held inside the vault of his iron will.

“Let’s try another approach. If I untie you, are you going to behave?”

Mongo stood from his chair, stepped into the doorway, and blocked the light from the corridor. Without a word, he had just warned me that untying Barbour was a bad idea.

With my giant five feet away, I didn’t fear what an unarmed man might do to me, so I knelt and drew my knife.

“I’m going to cut you free, and you’re going to show some respect. Are we clear?”

He growled like a cornered beast, and something primal inside of me shivered. Mongo stepped closer, and discretion—the better part of valor—embraced me in her merciful arms.

I folded and pocketed my knife, stood, and left Sidney Barbour bound on the deck. Motioning for Mongo to follow me, I led him from the brig with Barbour’s door secured behind us. “What’s happening in there?”

Mongo glanced back, and I thought I saw a glint of trepidation in his eyes. “I don’t know, but that guy isn’t what we expected.”

“Where’s the wife?”

“She’s locked up on deck three, but she was still unconscious last time I saw her.”

“How long has that been?”

He checked his watch. “Maybe an hour or a little less. I think it’s time to wake her up.” Mongo glanced between me and the brig. “Do you want me to keep an eye on him?”

“No. Get some sleep. We’ll let him stew in his own juices for a while before we take another shot at him.”

“You’re the boss.”

I called the CIC, and Skipper answered.

“Go for CIC.”

“I need you to send a couple of security guys down to watch Barbour in the brig. Make sure they know not to go inside his cell for any reason. Just report back to you if he does anything crazy.”

“No problem,” she said. “But aren’t you going to interrogate him?”

“Not yet. I’m going to talk to his wife first and see what I can get out of her. He’s not showing any signs of being interested in talking with me.”

Mongo was right. I found an armed security officer sitting outside the door where Mrs. Barbour was sleeping off the tranquilizer.

I said, “I need to talk with her.”

He stood, pulled a ring of keys attached to his belt by a spring-loaded retractor, and unlocked the door. “I’ll be right here if you need me.”

I stepped through the door. “Thanks. I’ll only be a few minutes. If you need a break, feel free to go for a walk or whatever. I won’t let her escape.”

He said, “Thanks, but I’m good. I’ll be right here.”

I met his gaze and said, “Semper Fi?”

He chuckled. “No, sir. Coast Guard. You?”

“No. Me neither. I won’t be long.”

After closing the door behind me, I planted myself on a stool beside the bed. I squeezed her shoulder and gave her a gentle shake. “Mrs. Barbour?” She didn’t stir, so I shook a little harder. “Mrs. Barbour, I need you to wake up.”

She groaned and blinked against the light. “What? Where am I? What’s happening?”

“Relax, ma’am. You’re perfectly safe.”

She jerked away, pinning herself to the wall behind her bed. “Who are you?”

I held up both hands. “I don’t plan to hurt you. I just want to talk. Now, I need you to gather your wits and relax. You’re not in any danger at the moment.”

She pulled herself even farther from me. “Who are you? What do you want?”

“Who I am isn’t important. I need some information your husband has, and he isn’t willing to give me that information yet. I’m sorry that it’s necessary for you to be wrapped up in this, but I need you to come with me.”

Tears poured down her face, and her voice cracked. “I’m not going anywhere with you until—”

I stood. “You’re coming with me. That’s not in question. You can either walk beside me, or I’ll sedate you again and carry you. That’s up to you.”

She wilted, sobbing and curling herself into a tighter ball, and I reached for her hand. “Come with me, and nothing bad will happen to you. I promise.”

Her crying continued, but she forced herself from the bed and followed me through the door.

The guard stood, and I said, “Come with us. We’re taking her down to see her husband.”

The man didn’t hesitate and fell in locked step with us.

We descended three flights of stairs to the brig, and I stopped at the outer hatch. “Listen to me, Mrs. Barbour. The only purpose of you being down here is to prove to your husband that we have you in our custody. That’s all this is about. We’ll have you back in your room in just a few minutes. Now, come with me.”

I led her through the hatch and in front of Sidney Barbour’s cell.

With three powerful kicks to his door, I had his attention. “Look at me, Sid. We’ve got your wife. You may be a tough guy, but trust me, you don’t want to know what we’ll do to her to get the information we need.”

He glared through the bars from his bound position on the deck and hissed like a viper.

Mrs. Barbour recoiled and threw herself into my arms. “That’s not my husband!”