Alpha mike foxtrot, p.5
Alpha Mike Foxtrot, page 5
part #3 of Witness Protection Series
Monroe and Bogart exchanged surprised looks to her newly found hostility directed at them. Ross took two steps closer to her and searched her eyes, attempting to lay on the charm. Unfortunately, that didn’t work with her. At least, not today it wouldn’t. She folded her arms across her chest and glared impatiently at him.
“The last thing we want to do is cause problems between you and Holden,” he gently informed her.
She turned her head to avoid looking into his eyes, because she wasn’t going to let him smooth talk her. She then realized that ‘frick and frack’ had now left the kitchen as well, leaving her alone with Ross. It was so typical of them. Big, tough Navy SEALs. They could take down a small army of men with slingshots and Popsicle sticks, but they wanted no part of Jackie in a foul mood. She was starting to wonder if she really was their mother hen.
“Can we just stop playing games?” she demanded then groaned softly and finally looked at him. “Just tell me what you want, so I can say no. I have a lot of work to do while Holden’s gone.”
“Fine,” he replied with a sigh. “We need a little aerial recon, that’s all.”
She raised her brow skeptically. “Aerial recon?” She smiled insincerely and shook her head. “Gil can do that. You don’t need me.”
“Gil’s away on vacation,” he gently replied.
Jackie stared at him with a strange look that quickly turned to concern. “Oh, no, not again,” she groaned.
“Gil’s a big boy,” Ross informed her as he sighed softly. “If he wants to remarry his ex-wife, that’s his decision.”
“Yeah, third times a charm,” she muttered then glared at him. “You should’ve stopped him.”
“They didn’t run off to get married,” Ross replied. “They’re just seeing how the honeymoon goes first. Cut the guy some slack. He desperately needs to get laid.” Ross fidgeted and appeared embarrassed. “Sorry, that was crude.”
“I’ve heard worse,” she remarked under her breath. “What sort of aerial recon?”
Ross smiled more naturally, obviously believing he’d hooked her into playing his game. “Simple assignment. Couple of days. No danger involved, I promise. We just need eyes in the sky,” he announced. “There are two missing girls--”
Jackie’s arms fell to her sides as she straightened. “Missing girls?”
“We’re going to meet both their mothers,” he replied. “They’re going to give us maps and possible locations to scout out. Supposedly, there’s a search party looking for the kids, but it needs to be kept quiet. The father doesn’t want it out that his daughter is missing. Foul play has not been ruled out.”
Jackie groaned softly and ran her fingers through her hair. “So you want to leave today?”
“Within the next hour or two would be ideal,” he replied.
She glanced at the stacks of boxes, sighed softly, and then looked back at Ross. “Fine,” she announced gently. “Let me shower, throw a few things in a bag, and we can leave.”
Ross smiled warmly, placed his hands on her shoulders, and kissed her cheek. “You’re the best, Jackie.”
“Yeah, yeah,” she muttered and left the kitchen.
†
Jackie took nearly thirty minutes to shower, dress, and throw some things in an overnight bag. Since she was uncertain of the amount of time she’d spend in the air, she dressed casually comfortable for a long flight. She wore her black yoga pants tucked neatly into her calf high, black boots and a white tank top with her leather shoulder holster over top. She carried her leather bomber jacket, which she took on all her flights. She preferred her bomber jacket, since it contained plenty of pockets to carry all her womanly necessities, which consisted of sunglasses, duct tape, her cute little .22 semiautomatic, and a couple dozen rounds of ammunition. Her yoga pants were special tactical wear for women, designed with a built in gun holster in the back, which was perfect for a standard Glock semiautomatic pistol. She left her room with her overnight bag filled with only the basic necessities; her travel kit, a change of clothes, her double hip holster containing slightly heavier firepower, and additional ammunition.
Jackie headed downstairs to meet with the guys. When she reached the bottom of the steps, she noticed a stack of dismantled packing boxes on the floor near the door. Jackie dropped her bag at the bottom of the stairs and entered the living room. The entire room had been unpacked and set up to look exactly as she’d had it at their home in Chicago. She crossed into the kitchen and found everything put away, including the dirty dishes. Jackie snorted a soft laugh then walked down the hallway. She entered the study and found Monroe and Bogart softly arguing while setting up the desktop computer.
“Stop handing me the power cord,” Monroe huffed. “I want the printer cable.”
Bogart tossed the cord aside and glared at Monroe. “What the hell is a printer cable?” he demanded.
“Don’t you know anything about computers?” Monroe asked with annoyance.
“I know I don’t like them,” he replied. “Do you know anything about a Chevy Big-Block engine?”
It was too early in the morning for Jackie to sit through another city boy versus country boy debate.
“Did you guys unpack the entire house?” Jackie asked, alerting them to her presence and putting an end to the debate.
Both men straightened, looked at her in the doorway, and put on their best smiles.
“Kirk and Beck are setting up the guest bedroom, and Ross was scrubbing down the guest bath,” Monroe announced cheerfully. “Apart from your bedroom, I think that’s everything.”
“I’m impressed,” Jackie announced while hiding her smile. She was about to leave the study when something occurred to her. “Oh, by the way, Bogart.”
He groaned with defeat, straightened, and rolled his eyes. “What did I do now?”
Jackie ignored his comment and approached the desk. She opened the side drawer and removed an old black and white photo of an attractive woman taken more than twenty years ago.
“When I was packing the guestroom at the old house, I found this photo.” She handed the slightly wrinkled photo to him. “Is it yours?”
Bogart accepted the photo, stared at it a moment in silence, and then smiled with relief. “Yeah,” he announced cheerfully. “Wow, I thought I’d lost this forever. I didn’t know what happened to it. Thanks.”
Monroe glanced over his shoulder at the old photo of the woman. “Who is she?” he asked.
“That’s my mother,” Bogart replied proudly. “She died when I was only a few years old. The woman was a saint.”
Bogart managed a smile and placed the photo into his back pocket, undoubtedly explaining the wrinkles in the picture. To Jackie’s knowledge, Bogart didn’t even own a wallet. It was unclear whether he even had a driver’s license or photo identification. As a matter of fact, Jackie wasn’t even sure if Bogart had a last name. There was an awkward silence, which was unusual with Bogart. Jackie felt the tension and slipped out of the study. She headed down the hallway toward the stairs. Ross, Beck, and Kirk were heading down the stairs at the same time. She waited for them to reach the bottom and grinned her approval.
“Thank you for doing the unpacking for me,” she said almost timidly, feeling bad for the way she’d treated them earlier in the kitchen. “I couldn’t have asked for a nicer birthday present.”
She hugged each of the three men, who were quick to accept her affection. Ross placed his arm around her shoulder and grinned.
“This isn’t your birthday present,” he informed her while chuckling softly. “This is just a down payment on your piloting services. We’re just about finished.”
“I’ll fill a few thermoses with coffee for the trip then,” she announced cheerfully. “Let me know when you’re ready.”
“You’ve got it,” Ross replied.
Jackie entered the kitchen and found two large thermoses. She filled each with the fresh coffee that had been warming in the carafe. She grabbed a few packets of sugar and added creamer to one of the thermos. She leaned against the counter a moment, sank into thought, and then grabbed a box of cookies. She stuffed them into a backpack with the thermoses. A few of the guys tended to get cranky when they were hungry. Dread swept over her. She was their mother hen! Ross entered the kitchen with a strange smile on his face and held up the picture of Bogart’s mother.
“I found this on the floor in the hallway,” Ross announced while grinning.
Jackie groaned softly and shook her head. She couldn’t believe Bogart lost the photo in such a short period of time. Jackie accepted the photo from him. Before she could explain, Ross chuckled softly while hiding his grin.
“Did you find that in your father’s stored junk?” Ross asked while tilting his head.
Jackie gave him a bewildered look. Before she could comment, he must have read her look and continued.
“That was one of the best shore leaves of my life,” Ross informed her while grinning slyly. “Natalie from South Carolina. She had the sweetest Southern accent.” Ross sighed while leaning against the counter. “It seems like a lifetime ago.”
Jackie stared at him with astonishment, uncertain how to respond. She wasn’t sure she wanted to respond. “How long ago was that?” she finally asked, feeling slightly tense.
“Oh,” he groaned softly while thinking. “Close to thirty years ago.”
Jackie felt her entire body stiffen. “You were, uh, sweet on her?” she asked while attempting a smile, but her mind was already reeling with the information.
Ross suddenly grinned. “She had a Southern accent to die for, and I was a twenty-something on shore leave. You do the math,” he teased.
They heard a car horn honk just outside the house. Ross was suddenly enthusiastic.
“Oh, that must be Zack,” he announced. “He was meeting an acquaintance.”
Jackie gave him a curious look. Ross hurried from the kitchen. Jackie followed him while slipping the photo into her back pocket. Bogart and Monroe hurried into the hallway from the study and joined them.
“Is that Zack?” Monroe asked Ross while beaming with excitement.
Ross nodded. Jackie felt slightly suspicious as she followed the guys to the front door and stepped outside. They stopped on the sidewalk. Ross placed his arm around Jackie’s shoulders and pointed to the driveway.
“That’s your birthday present,” he announced boldly.
Jackie stared with surprise at her father’s black Mustang parked in the driveway. A heavy-set man with wild, curly black hair, wearing an excessively large Hawaiian shirt, casually leaned against the car and smirked. He gave her a playful wave. Sometime ago, although not all that long, Jackie had traded her father’s car to Othello for a fake passport to get her out of a life-threatening situation. She never thought she’d see the car again. Jackie felt the tears welling up in her eyes. She hugged each of the guys while fighting her tears. Once she had thanked each of them, Othello approached her with the car keys.
“I took real good care of her for you,” Othello announced as he handed her the keys.
She accepted the car keys and hugged Othello. “Thank you, Othello.” Jackie then pulled away and gave him a surprised look. “Did you drive all the way here from the east coast?”
“Nah, the car and I took the train most of the way,” he replied cheerfully. “Monroe said I could crash at your place a few days, since you wouldn’t be here.”
Jackie cast a look at Monroe while raising her brows in silent question. Monroe slipped behind Kirk, to avoid being seen.
“He said you could use a state-of-the-art security system at your new house,” Othello announced. “I’m the man for the job. It should only take me a couple of days. I’ll be gone before you get back.”
Jackie again smiled warmly at the reclusive man she barely knew. “Make yourself at home,” she replied. “And thanks again for my father’s car. You didn’t have to return it. I did owe you for all your help.”
He casually shrugged then grinned. “If you can’t help out a pretty woman in distress, what’s the point of getting out of bed in the morning?”
Chapter Seven
The panoramic, aerial view of the Cooper farm could be seen below as the Bell 412EPI helicopter passed overhead. The commercial 14-passenger helicopter contained a spacious, 220-foot cabin with aft-sliding side doors and adjustable seating for the team’s needs. At the farm below, the black horse stood by the gate and watched with interest and obvious tension as the helicopter descended into the open land over one hundred yards away. Marie and Donna hurried out of the house onto the front porch and watched the helicopter land. The six men filed out of the helicopter as the rotors slowed. Jackie removed her headset and joined the men. Marie and Donna hurried from the porch, half jogging to meet the unfamiliar men, the desperation clearly on the women’s faces. A man in his mid-forties appeared from the garage and joined the women in their approach. They met the team and Jackie not far from the barn.
“Are you them?” Donna gasped with urgency. Her eyes were red and swollen from days of crying. “Are you the men my husband hired?”
Ross politely extended his hand to the grieving woman. She uncertainly accepted it. “Yes, ma’am,” he announced. “I’m Ross.” He then introduced the rest of the guys and Jackie.
“I’m Donna, Monique’s mother,” she gently informed them with a slight quiver in her voice. “And this is Marie Cooper, Colleen’s mother. Uh, that’s Dave, Colleen’s uncle.”
Uncle Dave was a simple sort of guy dressed the role of a gentleman farmer. He had sandy brown hair and a thick goatee a shade darker than his actual hair. Had he been wearing American Civil War attire, he could almost pass for General Custer. He wasn’t much of a talker, and neither was his sister. Marie was in no condition to even speak. She covered her eyes and sobbed softly. Her brother placed his arms around her and led her away from the men to pull herself together. Jackie could feel every nerve in her body twitch to the women’s anguish. It tore her up every time her father was deployed, but she at least knew where he would be. She couldn’t imagine what these women were going through not knowing where their daughters were and if they were even alive. Donna led them to the porch. The men sat on the porch railing and, for the next twenty minutes, listened to Donna retell as much of the story as she could while the guys looked at pictures of the two girls and their horses.
“Of course, I immediately called my husband to Marie’s house after Colleen’s horse had returned,” Donna continued. “He confirmed my fears. The injury to the horse was likely from a bullet.” She trembled slightly while clutching her tissue. “Monique carries a rifle, but he ruled that out. He fears their disappearance may have something to do with his profession and felt it best to keep what happened out of the media. Some of his most trusted men have been scouting the area since Colleen’s horse returned. We’ve also involved the park rangers we felt we could trust and one or two local police officers.”
“But you haven’t received any ransom note yet?” Ross asked with a curious look.
“No,” she replied. “That’s what has me worried the most.” Donna attempted to hold back her tears. “Someone has my daughter and her friend. They’ve been gone three days now. I don’t even want to think--” She could no longer hold back the tears.
The men fidgeted, uncertain how to react to the emotional woman. Monroe immediately joined Donna on the bench and placed his arm around her. She sobbed uncontrollably on his shoulder. Monroe was probably the most openly compassionate man on the team and had little reservations when it came to comforting women. The rest of the team seemed better equipped to break things and kill people. Being a man of action, Ross sprang to his feet, causing the others to do the same. Monroe remained seated and continued to console the sobbing woman.
“We have two missing girls gone three days,” Ross bellowed out to his team. “Time is of the essence on this one. Beck and I will go through Colleen’s bedroom, and Monroe will take Bogart and go back to Donna’s house to search Monique’s bedroom. I want to know everything these girls were into.”
Donna sniffed and lifted her head from Monroe’s shoulder. “They weren’t into anything,” she replied gently while dabbing her eyes with the tissue. “They had horses on their brains. Everything from riding to saving the wild herd on the game land.”
“Wild herd?” Ross asked.
“Monique told us about some poachers trying to steal the herd from the game land,” Donna replied while clinging to her damp tissue. “My husband and the park rangers have been scouring the area in shifts. The herd is still there, but they haven’t found any trace of poachers or the girls. That’s where he’s been concentrating his efforts.”
Ross turned to Jackie. “I want you to fly Zack and Kirk over the game land and seek out this herd of wild horses. I want to know about any buildings or campsites within a few miles of that herd. If you see anyone, find out who they are.”
Jackie nodded and headed from the porch with Kirk and Zack on her heels. Beck was already joining Marie and Uncle Dave, explaining his need to search Colleen’s bedroom. Marie joined him and led him into the house. Donna took Monroe and Bogart to her jeep, although she allowed Monroe to drive, since she was still shaking from her emotional breakdown.
†
The security office holding cell was located in the basement of the building opposite the fenced generator. Colleen paced the cell, which contained three walls of stone block and one wall of bars. There were two bunks built into the wall, although neither had mattresses, and a toilet near the back. Colleen kept her eyes on the door to the security office beyond the solid metal cell door and watched for their captors. Monique stood on the two thin, folded rotting mattresses, allowing her to peer out the small, barred window just above ground level. She held a metal hoof pick in her hand and chiseled at the cement holding the bars in place. It would seem in three days’ time, they had put a deep divot beneath the bars. Monique groaned and flexed her sore shoulder. Colleen glanced at her.
