BELONGING: Hope, Truth And Malice (Beauty 0f Life Book 3) Read online

  “Blaze, it’s Colonel Sutton. Sorry to wake you at an ungodly hour.”

  “Colonel, what can I do for you?”

  Tom Sutton was reeling inside from what William had quickly shared with him before the General raced out to catch the transport plane. But his voice didn’t give any of that away as he stated, “I have a new priority assignment for you and Corporal Simons.”

  Sitting up, his mind turning all business, Blaze stated, “Yes, Sir. Details?”

  “You two have been placed on protection detail.”

  “For who, Sir?”

  “Constable Daniel Broderick,” Tom stated and waited for the shock or explosion.

  Blaze stood up and his tone was filled with disbelief, “Blondie? My protection assignment is Blondie?” Then he got a hold of himself and stated, “Yes, Sir. Why?”

  Tom briefly explained, “There’s a credible threat to his life based on an incident he was involved in with the TRF yesterday.”

  “What type of threat?” Blaze asked as he quickly reviewed what he knew of Blondie’s day yesterday—things gleaned from the TV coverage rather than shared by Pastore or Gambrill.

  The kid had a horrible day. Was a family member of one of the targets he killed after him? He’d had to kill a hostage taker on steroids, a crazed druggie, and three gang members. The gangs … yes, the gangs. They might seek retribution. Blondie had killed the leader of the Crimson Eagles and the other gang was Russian. The Russian gangs were known to seek retribution.

  But why would the Colonel be the one putting Blondie under protection? Wouldn’t that fall to the police department? Blaze’s mind whirled a moment with possibilities.

  Tom simply stated, “Broderick was present when Constable Aaron Plouffe was killed.”

  Blaze blinked. That wasn’t even close to one of the things he was thinking. He was more than confused now. “I’m aware of that. Why is that relevant?” Plouffe popped into his head and a proverbial lightbulb turned on. “Wait … any relation to Major Plouffe?”

  “Yes. Aaron was his nephew. I can’t divulge details of at this time. The General is en route and will arrive today at approximately 1800 hours local. Blaze, I would tell you more, but I can’t,” the Colonel stated.

  Blaze knew why his gut was burning—Blondie was in danger. But what type of danger? “He’s en route here. Are we to meet with him?”

  Sutton answered, “Yes, he will brief you, the Corporal, Commander Gambrill, and Broderick’s team.”

  Okay, this was getting very weird. Why would Blondie’s TRF team be briefed? But he automatically asked, “Where?”

  “General Broderick will join you at TRF HQ at 1800 local.”

  “Got it. 1800 hours local. When do we start?”

  “You are to meet with Commander Gambrill at TRF HQ at 0600 local and he will transfer Daniel into your custody for protection. Understand that this is a GU assignment and you must proceed with all caution. Communications only through the General, Commander Gambrill, and myself.”

  Blaze nodded. A GU assignment. So the guardian unit protocols would be invoked. Something was surely afoot. This might explain the weird blackout protocol. Did Blondie really leave the military? Could the kid be on some black ops mission? Could it … it didn’t matter at the moment.

  He stated, “0600 local, TRF HQ, understood, Sir. One question though. Since this a GU assignment, and he’s in the hospital and vulnerable, who is covering Blondie right now?”

  Sutton grinned. He liked Blaze a lot—he was one of the best damned unit COs they had and the man could easily transition into the leadership role if he would just consider leaving field operations. Tom answered, “Yes, he’s protected. As I understand, he’s under the protection of a patrol officer.”

  Not wanting to chance Blondie’s safety, Blaze asked, “Can we go sooner?”

  “No, the officer has been given instructions to only hand protection detail over to TRF Alpha Team at the hospital or to escort Broderick to TRF HQ if he attempts to leave the hospital.”

  Blaze chuckled as he thought that Blondie would never change—that kid hated hospitals. If Blondie was capable of walking or crawling, he tried to leave. “Roger. Any additional information, Sir?”

  Tom rolled his shoulders trying to release the tension that was building. He relaxed his voice and said, “No, Blaze. Just take care of Blondie. I don’t want to have to face the General if his son gets killed on our watch.”

  Blaze wanted to rage, Like the General would give a shit, but he calmly responded, “Understood.”

  As he ended the call, Blaze sank down to the couch again. He looked at the time, 03:45. They needed to be at TRF HQ by 0600. There were so many questions, but he forced himself to lay down—he could get a one hour nap. Not much sleep, but he’d done with a lot less before.

  Shit Blondie, who’s trying to kill you now? Can’t you catch a break? Blaze thought as he closed his eyes to sleep.

  St. Michael Hospital – ICU – Inside Room D – 4:00 a.m.

  At the four o’clock shift change, the young ICU nurse who had cleaned away all the blood from Dan briefed a grandmotherly looking nurse on all that had transpired with the patient. They shared a sad look and sigh—working ICU was difficult most days, but tonight was beyond compare.

  The young nurse left and Lois started doing her vitals and status checks when she noticed that her patient’s eyes were rapidly moving behind closed lids. Good, REM sleep, he’s dreaming, she thought. Dreams could help sort things out—even bad ones did that. But this one looked pleasant, he wasn’t struggling against it she thought.

  Sitting down, Brody called out, “Hey, Danny, Danny. Yeah, you. Come sit, take a break. I want you to listen to this song. Come on, buddy. Give it a chance. I know you just ‘love’ the mellow sounds of easy rock.” Brody laughed.

  Becoming serious, Brody continued, “Just listen. Sit down and listen now, it’ll help you. Come on, ya need a break, buddy, we’re done rebuilding the walls. That was hard work I know. You now have your safe place again. You placed everything back inside.”

  Finally, Dan sat down next to Brody. Then Brody put his arm around his shoulders, “I know you still have to sort through all this. Not gonna lie to ya, it’s gonna be hard. But you can do it. You did it before. You’ll get through it again.

  Dan put his head in his hands and started to cry. Brody pulled him closer, holding tight, “Let it out, brother. Let the pain go. I know. I know it hurts. It hurts real bad, so rest a moment. Just sit with me and listen, I want you to remember this when you wake.”

  Brody held his brother close and secure offering comfort as they listened to ‘Defending Our Lives’ by Jon Heintz.

  When it was done, Brody lifted Dan’s head and made him look at him. Firmly, Brody stated, “That’s what I want you to remember, Danny. I won’t let you down. I will defend our lives. You need to smile into the faces of our enemies. Remember you are who you are and that’s good. You need to remember the beauty of life and keep striving for it.”

  His face clearly showing the love he had for his brother, Brody said, “Live for us, live for me. Live for you! I’ll always be here in your heart and in your mind. I will always be the defender of your soul. I won’t let you down.”

  Brody stood up, “Hey, Danny boy, I gotta go now. Time for you to nap. Remember you promised me to be strong, to heal, to live, to laugh, and to smile. I know you won’t let me down and I won’t let you down. I’m always here—always.”

  Dan watched as Brody faded away, “Thanks, Brody. I promise to live and find the beauty in life.”

  As she finished her checks, the nurse saw a faint smile cross his face as his body relaxed into a deep healing sleep. Lois gently stroked his blond hair, gave his forehead a gentle kiss, and then whispered, “Thank you. Find peace young man. You’re a good man Dan Broderick. My granddaughter Sara says your soul is safe.” Then Lois Clarry left the room.

  TRF HQ – Dispatch Desk – 4:00 a.m.

  Peter looked up w
hen the elevator ding. Thank goodness things had been quiet for TRF after the gang war yesterday. It had been a sad day for TRF. There was a pallor hanging over everyone due of Aaron’s death. Everyone wanted to know what happened, but the only one that could tell them was Dan.

  He saw the Commander walking in. Man, did he look wiped out. Peter offered, “Commander, is there anything you need? I could go get you a cup of coffee.”

  Walter stopped at the desk and shook his head. “Thanks, but no on the coffee. I need you to pull the files listed here for me and send them in encrypted form to this email.” Walter slid a piece of paper to Peter.

  Rubbing his neck a moment, Walter continued, “I need you to text Alpha Team and let them know they need to be here at six a.m. instead of one p.m. and to meet in the briefing room. I also need you to print a copy of the gang call transcript and a copy of Aaron Plouffe’s personnel file. Lastly, I need the team rotation schedule to make some shift changes. Alpha Team is off regular rotation for the time being. I’ll be in the briefing room when you have what I asked for.”

  Peter nodded, “Yes, Sir.” He looked at the note and saw the list of files was of Alpha Team. And the email address had a military extension. “Which do you want first?”

  Walter rubbed the back of his neck again trying to dispel his tension. “I’m going to grab some coffee. Send the files first, then get me the transcript and Aaron’s file, then text the team. And on second thought, I’ll deal with the team schedules later. Just notify Charlie Team they’ll be covering for Alpha Team tomorrow.”

  “Right away,” Peter said as he pulled up the files to begin to send them. He wondered why he was sending Alpha Team’s personnel files to a Colonel Thomas Sutton, but he didn’t ask.

  As he headed to the break room to get a cup of coffee, Walter wished he’d had the foresight to stop at Timmy’s to get a cup—the TRF coffee was terrible. But at least it had caffeine and he needed a boost. It had been a very long time since he’d pulled an all-nighter, and this all-nighter was going to turn into more than that.

  Walter wasn’t looking forward to facing Alpha Team, Daniel, and William. The shit had really hit the fan now. He just hoped that when his relationship with William and Daniel was revealed that it wouldn’t cause any repercussions for Dan.

  Chapter Thirty-One

  July 16

  TRF HQ – Dispatch Desk – 4:45 a.m.

  It was only four forty-five and technically the team didn’t need to be at TRF headquarters until six. Nick had received a text about forty-five minutes ago that changed up the time the team needed to be here. He hadn’t been sleeping well and had seen the text when it arrived. So he’d risen, got ready, and came in at his normal time.

  Nick approached the dispatch desk and smiled at Tia. “Morning, Tia,” he said as he stopped and handed her a cup of coffee.

  Tia smiled. “Thanks. How’d you know this is what I needed right now?” She took a long slow drink. “Ahh, coffee, the true nectar of the gods. You’re in early. Peter told me Gambrill said you guys weren’t due until six.”

  “Force of habit, five a.m. workouts and all,” Nick replied as she gave him an ‘I don’t believe you look’. “Actually, I wanted to see if I could catch the Commander before the meeting. Is he here yet?” Nick asked.

  “He’s in the briefing room. He was here when I got in about fifteen minutes ago. Peter said the Commander showed up around four after he left the hospital,” Tia answered.

  “Thanks,” He nodded and headed towards the briefing room. Nick had a few questions for Gambrill that he wanted answers to before the team showed up. First, why did he move the time up from one in the afternoon to six this morning? His team was exhausted and needed time to recoup.

  Second, just how well did he know Dan? His understanding of the incident with Sara implied Gambrill had known Dan for a long time. Nick hadn’t pushed for an explanation of why Dan joined TRF the way he had, but with all that had happened, Nick decided he needed to know more about the rookie’s past. He needed to know more than the little bit than was in Dan’s personnel file.

  TRF HQ – Briefing Room – 4:50 a.m.

  As he came to the entrance of the briefing room, Nick found Gambrill seated in a chair with his arms folded on the table and his head on his arms—asleep. The man looked drained and wrung out even in sleep. Understandable with the day all the officers under his command had had yesterday. It was hard to be the one in charge when an officer was injured or worse died. Both had happened yesterday.

  Nick didn’t really know Aaron well, but he hadn’t liked hearing that Aaron had said foul things about Dan and questioned Dan’s commands, putting the team at risk. However, Aaron was still a TRF officer, a man who put his life on the line to help others, and in the process, had made the ultimate sacrifice.

  Aaron would still be considered an honored member of TRF. His behavior would be forgiven. Everyone had a bad day every now and then. They were human after all and life was many shades of gray.

  Had it been a few months ago, everyone on Alpha Team, sans Dan, could’ve been vilified if something like that had happened and they lost their life. Luckily, they had gotten the opportunity to fix their errors with Dan. Nick would like to think that Aaron would’ve too if he’d had the chance. It was sad Aaron had died. Nick hoped his family would heal from the loss and find solace knowing their son had protected others.

  Nick stood there in deep in thought for several minutes. He was deciding whether or not to wake the Commander when Jon sidled up next to him.

  “He looks awful. We should let him sleep until absolutely necessary to wake him,” Jon quietly said.

  “How do you always know what I’m thinking, Jonny?” Nick responded with a smile.

  “Guess I’m just special like that,” Jon intoned with a quirk of his head and glint of mischief in his eyes. “Let’s talk in the locker room,” he said as he started down the hall.

  TRF HQ – Men’s Locker Room – 5:00 a.m.

  When Nick and Jon entered the locker room, the rest of the team, including Lexa but minus Dan, were already there, sitting on the benches. Nick thought they all were creatures of habit—all here by five o’clock as they would be on any normal day. Nick had a feeling that today was going to be another not-normal day for his team. He just hoped it didn’t bring more pain to his family. Some looked more rested than others, but there was still a look of fatigue on each.

  “So, I guess the debriefing puts our Care and Feeding discussion with Dan’s buddies on hold,” Loki stated.

  “Looks that way,” Nick responded.

  “Any idea why they rescheduled for so early?” Lexa asked. She was upset when she got the text telling her to be here at six.

  She’d planned to swing by the hospital to check on Dan before they had to meet with the unit guys at eight. She figured that she would be able to go back after that for another check on Dan before the one o’clock debriefing because visiting hours at the hospital didn’t start until nine.

  “None. It’s odd. I just wish I’d had time to check in on Dan,” Nick replied. There were nods from everyone indicating that had been the plan for each of them. “Maybe Tia can get an update for us while we debrief,” Nick offered.

  Loki and Lexa looked at Nick hopefully and nodded their heads yes.

  Bram remarked, “It would be great if she could. Been very worried about him all night.” Another round of nodded heads showed they all had the same feeling. “That was one awful day for him. I don’t know how he does it?”

  “Does what?” asked Ray.

  “Processes his emotions, tucks things into slots. Must be a Special Forces thing. I’d be a wilted mess—would lose my friggin mind if I had to go through everything Dan went through yesterday. I’m just really sad it occurred yesterday. Tainted what should’ve been a great day,” Bram said shaking his head.

  As Bram was pinned by a bevy of confused looks, Loki queried, “What do you mean?”

  Bram looked at each of them and
he saw the nod of recognition in Jon’s and Nick’s faces. He clarified for the others, “Did you notice that Dan had a real smile yesterday morning? Not just one he puts on, but one that went deep and could be seen in his eyes.”

  Looks of contemplation crossed their faces and then slow nods.

  “I think he finally felt like he was a true member of this team, part of the family and that he was accepted and belonged here. It was like he had already figured out how the day was totally awesome and unique. Dan had a look of profound happiness as we all offered up ways it could be. Then the day happened. I’m worried what that has done to him,” Bram finished.

  Everyone was silent for a long time as they contemplated their own thoughts on yesterday. None of them had slept well and all of them had simply decided to come in instead of hanging out at their own homes. It was like they knew the others would be here.

  Bram’s words rang in their heads. It was just twenty-four hours ago that Dan had truly smiled. Bram was right, there’d been a light in Dan’s eyes that hadn’t been there before. It felt like they’d finally broken through his shields. They should be ecstatic, and they were—except that they didn’t know what yesterday had done to Dan. How did someone deal with all of that?

  Lexa broke the silence. “Dan’s gonna need us even more after yesterday. He’s gonna need us to support him regardless of what happened in that ravine. We need to be there for him.”

  Loki’s knee started to nervously bounce. “I’m worried. You didn’t see his face when he was in the bank, but I did. What I saw was raw torment. I think it really hurt him to bring out those memories.”

  Ray put his hand on Loki’s knee to still the bouncing and to offer silent support to his best friend. “None of us can even begin to understand what Dan went through—those scars …” Ray used his other hand to absently rub the scar on his own thigh, one of several he had from the Blooddrop Crew for not killing Father Lopez. “I’m pretty sure that those scars we see on his chest are not the worst scars he has. Three months of torture … the invisible scars of something like that … those will be worse.”