Once Upon a Life - Short Listed on ONC2023

Chapter 14

I spent the morning making sure my in basket cases were tied up and that there was nothing new that I had to investigate. The Captain paused by my desk, scanned the basket and made some kind of noise that I chose to interpret as approval. The phone call from Kristen assured me she was okay, but there was something they needed to discuss - and not on the phone.

Fifteen minutes later I pulled into the driveway, and she met me at the door, her story coming out rapid fire.

"What!" I shouted, when she told me. "Where? What hospital? What the devil happened?" Immediately I regretted my outburst, I saw Kristen wrap herself in her arms and tears appeared in her eyes. She started, shaking, shocked by my reaction, then turned and disappeared inside.

"Kris, I'm sorry . . . it- it just- I had no idea anything happened." I said, joining her by the sofa. "I thought when I didn't hear, it was still going on, or--"

"It's over. Tom's plan worked." Her voice trembled, and she sat on the edge of her chair. There was a confrontation . . . one of them came into the place we were hiding and- and there was gunfire."

I sat on the arm of the sofa beside her chair. "Tom?"

"He made me hide behind a counter, and when it happened I just started screaming.' Her voice broke into a choking sob, and she grabbed me around the shoulders, tears streaming, nose running and body trembling. I held her and said all the cliché words intended to assure and soothe, then tried again to ask about Tom.

"You said he was in hospital?" I felt her nod. "Where, do you know?"

She sat back, wiping her face with her hands, then got up and went to her purse, digging out a card and handing it to me.

"One of Tom's friends that brought me home said you could contact him there."

She sniffed and coughed and made her way to the kitchen. I heard her blowing her nose. The card just said Ryan and a phone number. I waited until she came back and asked if she was okay. We always ask that. More to relieve ourselves I think.

"Did he say when to call?"

She shook her head, wiping her nose. So I went to her phone and dialled the number.

"Hello, Ryan?" The voice said just a minute, and then another voice came on.

"Detective Standing?"

"Yeah. Miss Howard gave me your number. What about Tom?"

"He's okay. Took one near the hip, through the fleshy part, so no serious damage." There was chuckle. "I think he's put on weight. The other guy however . . ."

"So you at least have one of them, has he said anything?"

"Martin Glover, an agent in the extra secret, Secret Service. He has been most co-operative."

"So what happens now?"

"Tom said to tell you to just hang fire and he would be in touch tomorrow."

"Oh - okay. Thanks, Ryan, and give Tom my best."

I told Kristen all about the call then tried to get a little more of the story from her. There wasn't much new that was helpful, aside from learning about Tom's friends and how they 'dry-cleaned' the area, removing all evidence of anyone having even been there. They had gone to some old house in a small town a number of miles from Benton, where an ambulance was waiting for Tom.

She had been treated very well, and two of the men put her in a car and drove her home. The prisoner wasn't seen by her and she had no idea where he was.

"The other guy . . ." I made a questioning gesture.

"No idea." Her face was pale, and she dabbed at her nose with the tissue.

Part of the dry cleaning, I assumed.

******

I was back in the office preparing the paperwork for my cases and struggling to keep visions of Kristen from intruding. She had opted for being alone and sleeping after the excitement of the previous day, and there was an awkward moment when I left. The intended kiss resulted in a mouthful of hair because she turned her head, and I backed off, feeling utterly foolish.

The moment kept returning and I banged on my keyboard, sending a stream of zeros across the page. What the hell was I doing? She admitted she was vulnerable - did I really think I was helping by stating romantic feelings? I looked at the mess I'd made of my report, and I slammed the lid of the laptop closed.

"Everything alright out there, Standing?"

"Yes, sir, just fine." The call from Tom was like a life jacket, and I quickly agreed to meet him at my place.

******

Phillip Stone sat with his head in his hands listening to his aide deliver the results of his agents in Benton City. Disaster, he moaned to himself. The operation in tatters along with any further career he thought he might have.

"Should I dispatch a team for Martin, sir?" Lev asked.

"No. By now Martin will have revealed all he knew. Our only hope now is to shut this whole business down and go to ground."

"They won't stop looking, sir."

"I know. We can only hope we can cover all our tracks."

"What about Phoenix?"

"Get rid of that damned computer flag for one thing, and anything else computer connected." He leaned back, stretching his shoulders. "Phoenix won't be what's rising, Lev, it'll be all those years we've kept it secret." He got up and went to the large wall safe, spinning the dial and swinging back the heavy door.

"Use the burn bags and get rid of everything in here. I'll look after the material the current team is using and the team as well."

******

Tom was walking stiffly, but looking brave as we entered my apartment, and I pointed him to a comfortable chair.

"Do you get a special medal for being wounded?"

"Yeah, it's called a scar. The department will probably give me a rip for working off the books."

" Nah, you broke a big one here." I went to my kitchen. "You hungry or anything? Drink?"

"Yeah, a stiff drink would go down good right now."

I poured a couple of shots and joined him in my small living room. "Okay, fill me in."

He drank and closed his eyes a moment. "I imagine you know the take-down details." I nodded. "The one we captured, Martin Glover, gave us a complete picture of why they were after us and who was involved."

"Doesn't sound like much of a tough agent."

"He had help - and no further comment on that, okay?"

I held up my hands, but the inference gave me pause . . . a lot of pause.

"His boss is a man Named Phillip Stone, and they are a deep, deep department of the secret, Secret Service."

"And this had to do with the Crawfords?" I said, amazed.

"Collaterally."

"Huh? I don't get it."

He shifted in the chair and held out his glass. "Better get another one for yourself too."

"I think we should get Kris in on this, if she's up to it. it would only be right. After all, she started our investigation."

"You're right. Call her. You think she'll say yes to us coming again?"

"I'll make it official."

count to this point - 16,103