The Memorial Day Murders

Chapter 8 : Reunited

Arlington National Cemetery, Washington D.C. 

Standing alone in front of the grave of the fallen commanding officer I held back the tears welling in my eyes as I placed flowers in front of the headstone. His widowed wife, Margaret, arrived a few minutes later and we stood in front of the grave in silence. Every grave here in Arlington will be decorated with flags in front of their tombstone during every Memorial Day. She has been living off her life with her husband's military pension, paid annually since the lieutenant general's retirement until his untimely demise. "Before he died he left something for you Isabella." she said, handing me a box. "In his words, a gift to a daughter he would want to have." I opened the box and saw the insignia of the rank of Major attached with a piece of folded paper.

"I know that everybody on the team weren't fighting for glory but promotions are the best thing you all deserve. Signed, your commanding officer." Taking the insignia in hand the memories came flooding as I then pinned the insignia on my uniform. 

"Your team is here Isabella. Good luck Major." she said. Within a minute, Margaret departed after laying flowers on her husband's grave as a team of five people approached. We exchanged smiles and the boys exchanged in arm shakes while we girls shook hands and hug. 

Jason Roosevelt has already left the army along with Lincoln Jefferson, having risen to the rank of Captain and Major respectively. Olivia rose to the rank of Major as well, Gerald rose to be Commander in his unit. Dominic however, this is nothing new to us. But Dominic and I have something in common, being members of the Cabinet of the new and second Reagan Administration. "Ooo... new promotion rank there." Olivia said, noting the new insignia. 

"LGF's posthumous gift." I replied, showing them the box. 

"So now we have three Majors, a Captain, a Commander and a General." Gerry said. After that we shared a moment of silence together to deliver our respects to our fallen commander. "Hey guys, how about this? Dinner at D.C. tonight? I know a place." he said.

"You paying?" Olivia asked him. 

"What do you think Major?" he asked her.

"Just saying." she shrugged. 

Hours later 

The black SUV driven by Gerry pulled up to the road curb and we got out, looking at the sign as Gerry went inside the restaurant to confirm his reservation. Two minutes later a man exited, dressed in a sharply tailored suit with tag with the position of restaurant manager emblazoned on it. "Welcome Madam Vice President, Secretary Hayes." the manager said, in a professional manner. "This way please." he said, leading us in. The restaurant is dimly lit but not enough to make people have the feeling that they're walking into a establishment that serves as a place for shady dealings. But this restaurant has a reputation for receiving VIP guests, but a VIP from The White House or Capitol Hill is a rare occurrence. The restaurant is empty, unusual as this hour the place is normally packed with customers. We then sat down at a round marble top table and looked at the menu.

"You spoil us Gerry." Jason smiled upon looking at the dessert section. 

"You're always having a sweet tooth Jason." Olivia said in a sarcastic manner. "You hardly changed."

"Old habits die hard Major Wilson." he retorted. 

"That looks nice." I whispered to Gerry, pointing at the name of a dish on the menu. We placed our orders five minutes later and the waiter served us each a glass of fine red wine. But silence wasn't on the menu as we talked about our lives together as the black ops military team Elite Alpha, using specific names to avoid being eavesdropped regarding to the confidentiality of the information. "Did you guys get the message from Dom?" I asked.

"Yeah we got it." Lincoln replied. "From what I can see we're in real danger."

"They're gunning for the EA team now." Olivia added. "Anyone still here besides us?"

"I have no-" before I could reply the door was opened again and two men came in, one dressed in an Army Service Uniform and another one in a casual button down and black pants. "idea." 

"Hey, wasn't him that guy stationed with us at Burqa?" Jason asked me.

"Yeah but we can't talk about our problem with them around." I replied.

"Hey Fox!" Lincoln called before we could clasp his mouth shut.

"Jefferson! You dead serious in changing the subject?" Gerry scowled upon the action. But Jefferson's voice attracted the attention of Luke Fox and he turned his head, searching for the source of the voice. 

"Lincoln Jefferson?" he asked.

"Oh boy." Olivia said.

"Hey man." he said. "What are you doing here?"

"Nothing, just having dinner with my friends." he replied. The footsteps of the waiter interrupted the conversation as he served plates of food at our table. We ate in silence during the entire meal, unable to continue our discussion because of Jefferson's actions.