CHAPTER FIFTEEN
Three weeks later
September 8 – 10:15 A.M.
Denver, Colorado
“I’m sorry to bother you. I’m looking for Alex Hargreaves,” a medium sized muscular man said when Cian opened the front door.
“And who might you be?” Cian said.
It was the eight of September and everyone was on edge. Well, Cian was always on edge having not quite settled to living in Denver. He said that the altitude kept him agitated but Alex thought his agitation was just part of his personality.
“Who are you?”
“Joseph! Get in the house. Oh my God, what are you doing here?” Alex asked. “It’s not safe to be here.”
She pulled him into the house then held him to her. They stood in the entry way hugging until Alex wiped the tears from her eyes and stepped back.
“It’s great to see you,” she said taking his hand.
Captain Joseph Walter nodded, working to control his emotions, then smiled at her beaming face.
“You too,” he said.
“This is John’s brother, Cian Kelly,” Alex said. “This is my Captain, Cian. Joseph Walter.”
Joseph shook Cian’s hand and Alex led him into the living room.
“So you know,” Joseph said under his breath.
“I found out a couple weeks ago. How did you know?”
“Remember all that trouble you got into after marrying John?”
“I was almost kicked out of the Army,” Alex said.
“John’s IRA connections made for a good excuse to kick you out,” Joseph said. “Ben vouched for you and Charlie…” Joseph’s eyes filled and he cleared his throat. “I still can’t say his name without….”
“He was your best friend for more than twenty years. It’s understandable.”
Alex hugged him.
“Cian? Would you mind closing the drapes?” Alex asked.
After closing the living drapes, Cian returned to the kitchen where he and Eoin were working on possible recipes for their probable bakery. Joseph took one end of the couch and Alex sat facing him from the other end. As if he wasn’t real, she scanned his face, his hands and the casual t-shirt and jeans.
“How are you?” Alex asked.
Joseph turned to look at Alex when she asked the question. Their eyes held for a moment. He nodded then looked away.
“There are a lot of answers to that question, Alexandra,” he said. “Our Alex is doing well. He started the third grade a couple weeks ago.”
“Wow, the third grade.”
“Yeah, the time flies.”
“And the girls?” Alex asked.
“Wanna see pictures?”
“You know I do,” Alex said taking Joseph’s wallet from him. The picture showed two adorable girl’s faces under matching hats and a picture of a beaming boy in a Pop Warner uniform.
“Alex is nine years old and the twins turned two years old in June,” he said looking at the picture. “Here’s another. They are amazing Alex. I….”
Joseph looked at the picture of his three children. Glancing to Alex, he held out a beefy hand out to her. She grabbed onto his hand.
“I would have never survived this without them,” he said.
“I know,” Alex said. “Do you like living in Crested Butte? It’s pretty remote.”
Joseph reflected for a moment on his life in hiding.
“It was a hard transition. Nancy wasn’t able to find a job for a while. We can make it on my pension but hanging around her grief stricken husband was pretty trying for my Nancy. When they sold the ski resort to that corporation, she was able to get a Controller job. She seems happy there. I think we both miss living in Denver.” He shrugged. “We have a lovely home tucked into the side of a mountain. We ski in the winter and hike in the summer. I finally have time to work out every single day. I try to really live, every day, because I know….” He cleared his throat.
“Me too,” Alex said.
“How are you feeling?”
“I’m not a hundred percent but getting around without a crutch is pure bliss,” she said.
“I bet.”
“Why are you here? It’s a tremendous risk.”
“I received a telephone call from the President,” Joseph said.
He stopped talking when Cian came into the room with a plate of snicker doodle cookies and two cups of Irish Breakfast Tea.
“Would you like to try a biscuit?” Cian said. He handed Alex a cup of tea then gave the second to Joseph. “We thought they were pretty good but you can tell us.”
“They are trying out recipes for a bakery,” Alex said.
“A PIRA bakery?” Joseph laughed.
Cian startled. Shaking his head, Cian’s eyes went wide. “We’re out of all of that.”
“He’s kidding Cian. I guess he and our Commanding Officer knew about John.”
Cian smiled. “So I don’t have to pretend to be normal? I didn’t want your friend to think….”
“Normal?” Alex laughed.
“Drink your tea,” Cian sneered. They heard Cian telling Eoin in Irish Gaelic about their response. Eoin laughed and mocked Cian.
“Why would the President call you?” Alex asked.
“He wants to have a ceremony on the second anniversary of….”
“What?”
“Yeah. He wants me to attend. He said that I’m no longer at risk and that he would like me to come to the ceremony as the only survivor of the Fey Special Forces team.”
“Huh,” Alex said.
“Exactly. Nancy and I were up all night talking about it. Nancy wanted me to talk with you. You’re still my intelligence officer to Nancy… and me. I didn’t want to risk the telephone so I came down the mountain.”
“I’m glad you did. It’s wonderful to see you.”
“We don’t believe that I’m no longer a target. Have you heard that?”
“As far as I know, nothing has changed. We don’t know why everyone was killed so we don’t know if someone wants to kill you.”
“Do you still get those phone calls?”
“Not for six months.” Alex shook her head. “It’s complicated but we believe he’s coming for me… probably next month. He tried to kill Matthew, Troy, Andy, Chris and Zack in Afghanistan on March Eighth.”
“Your friends,” Joseph said. “That’s what he said he would do right? He said he would kill your friends while you watch.”
Alex nodded.
Joseph was silent for a moment. “I haven’t left Crested Butte in over a year.”
“And the house?”
Joseph looked at Alex. “Not much. You?”
“My family forced me out just after the New Year. I’ve been…. It’s nice not to get those phone calls.”
“I bet,” Joseph said. “I just….” His eyes filled with tears and he stopped talking.
“Have you been to the memorial?”
“Not since the funeral,” he said. “Do you think Eleazar will kill me?”
“I don’t know,” Alex said. “Let me do some research. At this moment, I’m not sure why the President thinks that you aren’t at risk. What do you want to do?”
“I’m a patriot, Alex. My President personally asked me to do this one simple thing. How can I say no?”
“What does Nancy say?”
“Where was the President when your team was cut in two by an AK47? He wouldn’t give two shits if you were dead right along with them.”
“Sounds like Nancy,” Alex said. “She loves you.”
Joseph smiled. “I’m very lucky, and so are you. How are you and John?”
Alex shrugged. “It’s been an interesting couple of weeks.”
“I like the ring,” Joseph said. He touched the three carat round diamond surrounded by two heart shaped sapphires on Alex’s left ring finger.
“My engagement ring. It turns out that this is the proper ring for a doctor’s wife.”
Joseph burst out laughing. “We created a monster.”
“Yes, one-time humble army husband turned flashy rich surgeon.”
Joseph jostled Alex and she laughed.
“He wants to get married again,” Alex said. “John Kelly is married to someone in Belfast. It’s just….”
Laughing, Joseph shook his head.
“What?” Alex asked.
“You intelligence folks despise secrets and that’s a doosie.”
Alex smiled.
“Can I come to this one?” Joseph asked.
“If we get it all worked out. There’s a question of a child.”
Joseph knocked Alex with his shoulder.
“You can’t believe that John cheated on you. You guys have that one and only true love.”
“I don’t really know what I believe,” Alex said. “I’m just trying to follow my heart.”
“I’ve never known your heart to lead you wrong. We wouldn’t have Alex if you hadn’t followed your heart in Lebanon.”
Alex smiled. Joseph adopted the baby who had been at the center of a complicated hostage situation in Lebanon. Called the “Beirut solution”, that extraction was currently used as a training exercise for Special Forces intelligence officers. So far, no one had worked out the solution.
“I heard they asked you to teach,” Alex said.
Joseph nodded.
“You’d make a great teacher, Joseph.”
“I’d like to do it but…”
“You’d have to leave the house,” Alex said. “I’ve felt like that.”
“Maybe when the girls are a little older.” Joseph bit into a cookie. “These are pretty good. I bet the kids would love them.”
“I’m certain you can bring a dozen or three home.”
Joseph smiled at her.
“I was thinking about going to the memorial while I was here. Will you come… with me?”
“Of course. I need to change, then we can go. We’ll bring these IRA guys to guard us.”
Joseph stood when Alex did. Alex ran upstairs changing into her Alyssa clothing and eyes. She heard the men laughing in the kitchen. The entire team learned Irish Gaelic as a way of communicating privately in the Middle East. She smiled to herself. She was jogging down the stairs when John came in the front door.
John caught her in his arms at the bottom of the stairs and kissed her. He swung her around then kissed her again. She giggled and hid her head in his shoulder.
“I have some news,” he said.
Alex raised her eyebrows.
“DNA samples from all parties were submitted today. Ben thinks we’ll have the results by the end of the month.”
Alex smiled.
“Kiss me again,” John said and she did.
“DNA? How did you get it from Néall?” Cian said coming down the hallway from the kitchen.
“His father,” Alex said.
“And Eimilie?” Eoin asked following behind Cian.
“The police arrived at her door with a subpoena. She wasn’t happy about it but what could she really say?”
“Hey Joseph,” John said when he spotted Joseph behind Eoin.
“John,” Joseph said.
Joseph held his hand out for John to shake. John took his hand then hugged Joseph.
“It’s great to see you. Have you met Alyssa?”
“Holy crap Alex,” Joseph said. Pressing a hand to his heart, he stepped back from the blue eyed Alyssa. “When you said you needed to change I had no idea.”
“Sorry, I should have warned you. This is Alyssa. She’s kind of a washout.”
“I see that,” Joseph said. “Did you actually gain weight?”
“It’s padding.” Alex lifted her shirt to show the body padding. “I’ve been so anxious that I’ve been losing weight again.”
Joseph nodded his head. His intelligence officer’s struggle with anxiety always kept her thin.
“We were going to visit the memorial,” Alex said to John. “Wanna come? These guys said they would guard me today. I figured we could all go.”
“Where’s Max?” John asked.
“Paris. Things are starting to come apart with Fran.”
“Again?” John asked
Alex shrugged. “He’s taking some time to see if they can work it out. He left an hour ago with Delores.”
“Delores?”
“Our next door neighbor?”
“Oh right.”
“He’s probably at DIA still if you want to catch him.”
“Let’s take his car,” John said. “I think we’ll fit better.”
“I can drive,” Joseph said. “We’ll fit in my Durango.”
“Sounds good, do you have your incense?” John asked.
Alex nodded.
“I brought my lighter,” Joseph said.
Alex smiled at Joseph and he hugged her.
“It’s really good to see you,” Joseph said.
“You too.”
They checked weapons. Everyone except John, carried a loaded handgun. They left the house in a laughing group. John sat in the front to catch up with Joseph. Eoin brought a bag of snicker doodle cookies. Joseph stopped at the drive thru Starbucks for coffee. They laughed, ate cookies and drank coffee on their journey to Fort Logan Cemetery. Arriving at the cemetery, Cian and Eoin were wide eyed at the fields of white markers.
“This is a military cemetery,” Cian said.
“Yes,” Alex said.
“I’d want to be buried with my brothers in arms.”
Alex touched his arm.
“By the time we bury you, you’ll have other brothers in arms,” she said.
Cian’s eyes flicked in her direction then returned to watch the green grass and white markers.
“It’s just hard to imagine so many people,” Cian said almost under his breath.
“I know,” Alex replied.
At twelve-thirty on September Eighth, Joseph pulled up to the memorial. Cian and Eoin had never been to the memorial before. While Alex took Joseph’s hand, John walked with Eoin and Cian to the obelisk.
Holding hands, Alex and Joseph walked to Alexander’s grave. One stone at a time, one dear friend at a time, Alex placed the incense and Joseph flicked his Zippos. They were weeping, tears seeping from guarded eyes, after Alexander’s stone. As John, Cian and Eoin stayed out of the way, the two friends moved arm in arm from stone to stone. Lighting the last incense at Charles O’Brien’s grave, Joseph spoke of forming the team, how they chose each person and how, risking everything, they selected a woman, Alexandra Hargreaves, for their intelligence officer.
Alex and Joseph were holding each other when, in unison, their cell phones rang. Stepping back to answer the phone, Alex’s shot to John when his phone rang.
“Holy fuck Alex, where are you?” Raz screamed into the phone. “Talk to me. Alex say something.”
“Raz, I’m at the Cemetery. Joseph came for a visit so we decided to see the team.”
“Oh my God,” Raz said.
She could hear him working to control his emotions when her phone beeped that there was an incoming call.
“Raz, I’m all right. Ben’s on the other line. Do you mind if I click over?”
“No. Alex… you know I …”
“I do,” she said. “I do. Just hang on for me. Okay.”
Clicking over to Ben.
“Hey sperm donor, what’s up?”
“Oh my God Alex. Where are you?”
“I’m at Fort Logan. Raz is on the other line.”
“And Max? Alex, where’s Max?”
“At DIA.”
“Oh my God.” She heard Ben, the super spy, weeping into the phone. “I thought….”
Alex shook her head and looked over to Joseph. His face blanched white as he spoke into the telephone. She glanced over to John. Noticing John’s distress, Cian came over to stand next to his brother. John spoke in a staccato flood.
Alex’s phone beeped again. Her Sergeant was on the line.
“Can you hang on?” Alex said to Ben.
“Yeah,” Ben said.
She clicked over to her Sergeant.
“Fey”
“Major?!? You’re alive?!?”
“Yes, can you hold on? I have Homeland on the other line.”
She clicked over to Raz.
“What happened?” She asked.
“There’s been an explosion. Max’s car and John’s car were rigged with C-4. VBIEDs. They both went off at twelve-thirty. The homes are…. I’m sorry, Alex. I never expected anything like this.”
“Like what?”
“Our home is destroyed.”
F
The Fey continues next week….
The Fey is the first in a thriller series written by Claudia Hall Christian.
The novel has been serialized for your enjoyment at AlextheFey.com
Entire chapters are be published at On-a-limb.com and
StoriesbyClaudia.com every Friday.