PART IV
1999
CHAPTER ONE
Michael entered the 82nd Airborne’s Macedonian Headquarters tent, walked up to Colonel Sweeney’s desk, and came to attention. “Permission to speak freely, sir,” he said.
“Permission granted, Captain.”
“With all due respect, Colonel, what’s going on? Why doesn’t my unit ever go out on patrol? Have I screwed up?”
Sweeney ran his hands over his face and then through his hair. “Sit down, Mike. No, you haven’t screwed up; you’re doing a great job. The reason you and your men haven’t been doing patrols has nothing to do with your performance. It’s because the Pentagon ordered me to keep you out of harm’s way.”
“I don’t understand, sir.”
“I don’t either, Michael. Not completely, anyway. Apparently someone from the CIA called General Hightower over at the Joint Chiefs and demanded you be rotated back to the States. They worked out a compromise. You’re to be kept away from the Yugoslav border. I’ve got no choice. Orders are orders.”
Michael felt betrayed. He never would have believed his father would do such a thing. “This stinks, Colonel,” he said. “What do I tell my men? Hell, what do I tell the other company commanders?”
“Nothing. You tell them absolutely nothing.”
CHAPTER TWO
"Stefan, we must leave,” Vanja said. She heard the fear in her own voice and regretted it. Stefan hated weakness, especially when displayed by his own family members. “The Serb Army is moving this way. It’s all over the television.”
Stefan turned his head and gave Vanja a blank stare. Then he looked back at the television.
Vanja stepped in front of him and knelt on the carpet. “You’ve been like this since you saw Miriana shot. You have to get over it. You don’t know that she is dead. She could still be alive. Do you want her to learn her father just gave up, that he’s a quitter? You will never know if she’s alive if you let Serb goons kill you.”
Vanja began to cry. She grabbed Stefan’s arm and pressed her head against it. “What’s wrong with you?” she wailed. “If you have no concern for your own life, don’t you care anymore about us?”
Stefan looked at her again, eyes blazing now. “Shut up, woman!”
“No, I won’t shut up,” she screamed, her face crimson. “You’ve bullied me for thirty years. And still I loved you. Well, go ahead and let the Serbs kill you. Attila and I are leaving.”
Vanja stood and rushed away, skirts swirling while she ran out the front door of the little, white-stuccoed house. Attila was in the yard, throwing pebbles at a tree.
“Attila, get the car,” she ordered.
“Wh . . . where is Babo, Mama?” the teenager asked in his cracking, pubescent voice.
“He’s not coming. There’s nothing we can do. Now get the car.”
The teenager bowed his head and stuck his hands in his pockets. “Yes, Mama,” he said, before walking around the side of the house.
He looks so much like his father, Vanja thought, tears running down her cheeks.Just as tall. The same sharp features. But he’s prettier. Softer. The door creaked open behind her. She whirled around, wiping her face with the sleeve of her dress. Stefan’s tall, lean form filled the doorframe. Now in his seventies, he was still an imposing figure. He looked at least ten years younger than he was.
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EVIL DEEDS
Mystery / ThrillerEvil Deeds is the first in a 4-book series that follows the Danforth family from the kidnapping of their 2-year-old son in Greece in 1971 to present day. The book (and series) is a roller coaster ride of action and suspense. This book, as with all o...
