State of War

38

Julio didn’t hesitate even a heartbeat. “I’m in,” he said.

“We might not be on firm legal ground here,” Howard said.

Julio laughed. “Since when did that matter?”

“I don’t want you blindsided.”

“John,” Julio said, “you’re my boss, but you’re also my best friend. When that assassin pointed a gun in Tyrone’s direction, everything changed. If this guy Mitchell Ames sent that man to the commander’s house, I want to be part of nailing him.” He shrugged. “Besides, I can always get another job.”

Howard was silent for a moment. Not that he had expected anything else. Still, it was gratifying to hear his old friend say it. “Thanks, Julio.”

Julio nodded. “Okay, so what’s the plan?”

They were in Howard’s office. Nobody else was around. Howard fiddled with the computer controls on his workstation. A satellite view of the Texas desert appeared.

“Okay, here’s what we’ve got… ”

When Michaels called Toni, she was doing a little better — not so much that she was happy, but at least she wasn’t about to boil over.

He explained where they were regarding Ames.

“That’s fine,” she said. “I’m going to sit this one out.”

“Toni—”

“Don’t get me wrong, Alex. When you catch him, I’d like five minutes alone with him, assuming he lives that long. But once this is over, I’m finished with this business, Alex. Done. It’s time to get away from a place where killers come to our house after our son.”

He nodded, then realized that the nonvisual connection wouldn’t show that and said, “I understand.”

“Do you?”

“Yes. And I agree.”

And he did. If something happened to his child because of the work he did, he would never forgive himself. “How is Little Alex?”

“He is fine, he thought it was all a game Tyrone was playing. But I am serious about this.”

“I heard you the first time. I’ll turn in my resignation as soon as we have Ames in custody.”

“Really?”

“Really.”

After he disconnected, Michaels reflected on how much he had changed over the years. There was a time when the job was everything. It had cost him his first marriage, and had distanced him from his own daughter. There was a time when an ultimatum like the one Toni had just given him would have put his back up and led to a screaming fight. But somewhere along the way, he had grown up and realized what was really important in his life. His wife and son were irreplaceable. Net Force could find another commander. His family could never replace him.

“Commander?”

General Howard stood in his doorway. “Yes?”

“Lieutenant Fernandez and I have come up with some ideas we’d like to run past you.”

“I’m all ears.”

Howard laid it all out, watching as Michaels took it in. When he was done, Michaels said, “Good. How soon can we get started?”

“ ‘We’?”

“You don’t think I’m going to sit home like I’m supposed to, do you? I never have before, why start now?” He grinned. “Besides, if they fire me, maybe I can draw unemployment.”

Howard grinned back and shook his head. “We’re talking a small unit. A couple of little jets are already fueled up and ready to fly. No reason we can’t get it set up for tomorrow night.”

“Don’t tell me I was right about going after dark.”

Howard smiled again. “Every little bit helps. Besides, it’ll give us more time to plan, and maybe run through this thing a time or two in VR.” He paused. “Speaking of VR. Will Jay be coming along, too?”

Alex shook his head. “I don’t think so. He’ll be staying here, continuing to dig for information on Ames. When we bring him in, we’ll need everything we can get to hold him and make this stick.” He paused, then added, “Besides, when this is all over, Jay might be the senior man left around here.”

Howard grinned. “Now there’s a sobering thought.”

Michaels just nodded.

“Well, sir, I had better get to it.”

Michaels offered his hand, and Howard took it.

“I really appreciate this,” Michaels said.

“Don’t forget, my son was there, too.”

Michaels nodded. “No, I won’t ever forget that.”

Howard met Julio at the air base. The lieutenant was supervising the loading of one of the stripped business jets Net Force’s military used for relatively short-range hops.

“How are we doing, Lieutenant?”

“Just fine, sir. We got the easy stuff on board. The rest is being hauled from the warehouse by truck. We’ll be packed and ready to rock by 0200.”

“Good. Go home, get some sleep, and be back here by 0600.”

“Yes, sir.”

Howard looked at his watch. He should go home and get some sleep, too.

When Howard got home, Tyrone was in the kitchen, fixing himself a sandwich. Dagwood would have been proud of the concoction Tyrone was cobbling together — three different kinds of meat, two cheeses, lettuce, tomato, pickles, sliced onion, three slices of bread, mayo, mustard, catsup. It was a monster.

Howard decided to keep it light. He said, “Lost your appetite, huh?”

Tyrone said, “Yeah, I can’t seem to make myself eat much.”

Howard waited a second, then said, “So how are you, son? You okay?”

Tyrone blew out a soft sigh. “I don’t know.” He paused in his sandwich construction.

Howard nodded. He’d been through this with seasoned veterans, longtime soldiers who’d trained for years but never had to actually shoot another person. When they did, it hit them, sometimes hard.

And Tyrone was no seasoned soldier. He was just a fifteen-year-old boy.

“Tell me about it, son.”

Tyrone gave a little shrug. “I shot a man, Dad. This guy was alive yesterday. Now he’s dead.”

Howard nodded. “You’re right, Tyrone,” he said. “That’s a serious thing, and never, ever something done lightly. But you didn’t cause that situation, son.”

“I know,” Ty said. “That man was coming to kill Little Alex. Probably, anyway. But it’s for sure that he was going to kill me. I saw him point that gun at me. I saw his finger tighten.” He looked at his father. “He tried to kill me, Dad. No one’s ever done that before. The thing is, I still keep feeling that I should have tried something else. Shooting him in the shoulder, maybe.”

Howard shook his head. “You did the right thing, son,” he said. “We’ve talked about weapons before, about things like stopping power and the different calibers. That.22 of yours makes a great target piece, but it’s not very good at stopping a man.” He looked directly into Tyrone’s eyes, ignoring the sandwich, ignoring the way his son’s hand had started to shake slightly, ignoring everything but the communication, the contact, that was happening between them at this moment. “You did the right thing, Ty. Had you tried anything else, had you shot him in the shoulder, you would probably not have stopped him. He’d have fired back at you, and he’d have killed you, and then he would have done whatever he’d come to do to Little Alex.” He paused again, letting that sink in for a moment, and then he repeated. “You did the right thing. You did the only thing. He gave you no other choice.”

Tyrone nodded, but Howard wasn’t sure how much his words had helped. Ty was in a spot where words could only do so much. He had to work through this on his own. His dad could be there for him, to answer some of the tough questions, and to point him in the right direction, but it was up to Ty to get through this.

John knew he would, though. He was a good kid, with a good heart, and a good head on his shoulders. And besides, everything Howard had just told him was the truth. He had done the right thing, the only thing.

“Thanks, Dad,” Ty said. He picked up his sandwich and took a huge bite. “I love you.”

At least, that’s what it sounded like he said. It was hard to tell around that mouthful of sandwich.

Howard smiled. “I love you, too,” he said. “And I am very, very proud of you, Ty.”

Michaels and Toni were in bed, the baby sleeping between them. Alex had his right hand resting on Little Alex’s chest, rising and falling slightly with his son’s breathing. His left hand rested on the pillow, holding Toni’s hand tenderly.

“Guru will be back tomorrow,” she said.

“That’s good.”

“What time are you leaving?”

“John wants to take off around six thirty.”

“You be careful,” she said, giving his hand a small squeeze.

Alex smiled. “Ames is a lawyer, not a Navy SEAL.”

Toni shook her head. “He has guns. He belongs to a gun club.”

“I’ll be careful,” Alex said.

They lay quietly for a moment. “So, what do you think about Colorado?” Alex asked.

“Colorado?”

He nodded. “I got offered a job as head of corporate computer security for Aspen International, remember? Twice the money, half the work, complete with a car, expense account, and country-club membership.”

She hesitated. “Maybe I was a little upset before,” she said.

Alex shook his head. “No, hon, you were a lot upset. And you had a right to be. You weren’t wrong. It’s time to move on.”

Another long pause. “We’ll have to get a house big enough for Guru, and for when Susie comes to visit.”

Alex smiled. “They have big houses out there. I bet we could find one.”

Toni looked at him, her eyes holding his steadily for a long moment. “Are you sure about this, Alex?”

“I have never been more sure about anything, Toni. Well, except that marrying you was a good idea.”

That got a big smile from her.

He loved to make her smile.