Born of Ice

Chapter Eleven

   They were sat in a corner booth at the diner, peering quietly at the menu without really seeing it. The feeling of dread was building the closer they got to their debriefing time. When their server came back with their drinks, he recalled her asking if they were ready to order. When he went to answer, Tisha beat him to it.
"What would you recommend for first time patrons here?"
"Oh! Well let me see here, I suppose it would depend on how hungry you are. The Belgium waffle with fruit and whipped cream is good if you aren't looking for a heavy meal. If you are hungry but not starving the big breakfast is good. It has your choice of either pancakes or french toast with your choice of eggs, meat and toast. We have several meat choices and 4 kinds of bread. If you are starving then the Fireman breakfast is what you want. It comes with 2 pancakes a thick slice of French toast, 2 meats of your choice, eggs made to order, home fries and your choice of toast. Do you want a few more minutes to decide?"
"Um, no actually I think I will take the Fireman breakfast. I would like an order of scrapple and an order of bacon with it for the meat with over easy eggs and potato bread for the toast."
"Wonderful! What would you like sir?"
"I guess I will take the same as her with 2 orders of scrapple instead of bacon."
"Perfect! I will put this in right away! Either of you need a refill?"
"Yea that would be lovely, thank you."
   Their server seemed to skip away as they reverted back to sitting quietly in the booth. Tension filled the air around them, so thick that they could cut it with a butter knife that was rusted. He swirled his coffee around the cup as the server came back with fresh coffee for them. He finished the last swallow before setting the cup down for her to refill. As she walked away, Tisha cleared her throat.
"You are quiet this morning. Have I done something?"
"No, just can't shake the feeling of dread as we get closer to the debriefing. It is like something is going to happen and I don't know what it is to stop it from happening."
"I have that feeling to. I thought it was just my nerves from being held for so long. Surely if your commander thought something was going to happen he would cancel the debriefing, right?"
"Surely. I will send him a text."
   As they waited for their food to arrive, he pulled out his phone to text his commanding officer. He had never ignored his gut before so there would be no reason to now.
'We are unsure of debriefing. We both have bad feelings. What say you on this?'
'You don't text much, do you? I have been getting the same feeling about the debriefing. Don't come in to base. Something is going to go down, I can feel it. Will debrief at a later time so go to house and hold up until you hear from me. Will use secure line password file Alpha. Talk later.'
'Yes sir.'
   He sighed as he put his phone back into his pocket. They would finish their meal and head to his house. They would need to take a taxi to his vehicle at the air strip so he could drive them home. The server brought a large silver tray full of food over as he was making a mental list to himself. He thanked the server before she walked away, leaving them to eat their meals. He groaned as he took his first bite. No wonder everyone from the base came here to eat. He devoured his food, blinking to empty plates. The server refilled their cups, leaving the check face down on the table next to them. He picked it up to look at their total. Surely there had to be some kind of mistake with their bill. How was it only 16.95 with all the food they had received? He flagged their server down to make sure nothing had been forgotten. She just smiled at him as she reassured him everything was correct and that they had gotten the early bird discount. He nodded, unsure of what an early bird discount was. He took out 30$ from his wallet, placing it with the check before they stood to go wait for the taxi he requested to take them to the air strip where his car waited. Surely 13$ would suffice for a tip with how well her service was. He was unsure with not eating out.
   Their ride came a few minutes after they had finished, allowing them to get right on the road after their meal. It was a short trip to the air strip to retrieve his car. He paid the taxi driver, giving him extra in a tip for making the drive to the diner. The driver seemed surprised as he pulled away with his fair. The trip to his house was made in silence. He glanced over at her a few times to ensure that she was ok. She peered at different scenes around her as the city was replaced with trees, the houses becoming fewer and fewer as they got closer. He pulled into his driveway, opening the garage door to park his car inside. She explored the house as he pulled his file out with the secure line passwords in it. It had been years since he had to use any of these and the feeling felt like a weight in the pit of his stomach. He set the special sealed plastic envelope next to the secure line in his office space as he waited for the phone to ring. The original debriefing time had been and gone before the phone had finally rang. Tisha stood by him nervously, having come in at the sound of the shrill ringing. He answered on speaker phone clearing his throat before answering.
"Hello?"
"Password file Alpha first. Code word black widow 5."
"Confirmed. Black widow 5. Hello commander."
"Hello Eric and Tisha. I must say that your gut is never wrong. We had unexpected visitors from the area that you rescued Miss Rivers from of the government sort. Stated that they were in search of 2 fugitives who escaped their territory that they believed had ties to government agencies here. They had quite the description of Tisha, however were unable to describe the man who was with her other than he had a large build. They stated that they were wanted for crimes included espionage, war crimes and murder. Stated that several agents had been murdered on their escape from government custody. You wouldn't happen to know anything about this would you?"
"Not a thing sir. I went in light as instructed and did not engage. The only thing I did that was not sanctioned was release another prisoner that had been beaten severely. He had helped me to locate her quickly and in return I set him loose to escape. Body cam footage should be included in my notes."
"Yes, I received it. Until we clear everything up I think it best that Tisha remain under the radar. We will work diligently until these government fools exonerate her but they can not get their hands on her until then. I trust that you will be able to keep her safe until then, correct Mr. Cross?"
"Yes sir. She will remain with me."
"I trust the bunker is fully operation in case this goes south?"
"Naturally sir."
"Good man. The next check in will be 1800 tomorrow password file beta 1."
"Copy that sir. Check in 1800 with password file beta 1."
"Ok. Keep her safe Cross. Commander signing off."
   With a click, he hung up. He peered over at her, noting her face had turned a sickly green color as if she were going to throw up whatever was left in her stomach. He held a hand out to her, drawing her into his lap to cradle her in his arms.
"We will get through this Tisha. Nothing will happen to you."
"I hope so."