Learning to Stand (42 page)

Alex and Helene passed their IDs forward to
the Buckley guards. While they were running Helene’s ID, White Boy
gave Alex a padded envelope with her ID. Opening the envelope, Alex
dumped a pocket computer into her lap.

“
Chris? This doesn’t belong
to me,” Alex said. “Can you ask the guard…?”

White Boy turned around in his seat.

“
Get out of the car. GO!”
White Boy grabbed the hand computer.

F

CHAPTER THIRTY-Four

Alex pushed Helene out Helene’s side of the
SUV. White Boy jumped from the driver’s seat.

“
Get down, NOW! DO IT NOW!”
White Boy screamed to the gate guards. “Bomb. Get down
now.”

The MPs ran toward a concrete barrier. With
all of his might, White Boy threw the handheld computer into the
sand space near the fence.

The computer bounced once.

White Boy pushed Alex and Helene in the
opposite direction. They made it to a cement barrier when the
handheld computer bounced twice. Alex wrapped herself over
Helene.

The handheld computer landed.

Nothing.

Alex peeked over the cement barrier when
White Boy screamed “NOOOOO!”

The handheld computer blew the concrete
guard station onto its side. The station bashed into the armored
SUV. The armored SUV tipped over onto its side then slid across the
cement. The general alarm blared throughout Buckley Air Force base.
The roof of the SUV smashed into the concrete barrier where they
were hiding.

Heat and sand blew over them. The base
alarm, and its accompanying response, filled the air. After a few
moments, they heard the sound of running feet moving toward
them.

“
STAY THERE!” White Boy
ordered Alex and Helene.

Crouching from the concrete barrier, he
moved forward to see who was coming toward him.

“
Are you all right?” Alex
asked.

“
Oh my God, Alex,” Helene
said in French. “Oh my God.”

Helene threw herself in Alex’s arms.
Helene’s body shook with fear.

“
I know in my head that this
happens. To you. This week. Twice. And last year. But it’s like
movie or a video game. Alex’s fun and exciting life. It’s never
been real. And now? Oh my God, Alex.”

Alex felt White Boy standing next to her. He
nodded to her.

“
Lieutenant Colonel, it’s
best if you wait here,” White Boy said. “Should the MPs pick up
your Sergeant?”

“
Absolutely not.” Alex spoke
over Helene’s shoulder. She was not willing to let go of the
terrified girl. “The computer wasn’t from him.”

“
How did you know there was
something wrong?”

“
Anything that comes from
him has a specific mark known only to him and me,” Alex said. “The
computer didn’t have the mark. How did you know it was a
bomb?”

“
I’ve seen them before.
Israel.”

“
Sir, we need to get you to
a secure location,” a MP moved to help them up.

White Boy pushed him away from them.

“
She has her own ride,”
White Boy said.

An armored SUV screeched to a halt next to
them. Matthew and Troy jumped out of the back seat of the car and
ran toward them. Vince hopped out of the passenger seat with a
camera and a couple of other devices. He ran toward the bomb to
take measurements and photos.

Seeing Matthew and Troy, Alex coaxed Helene
into standing.

“
HELENE! OH MY GOD!” Larry
jumped from the driver’s seat of the SUV. Sprinting toward them, he
screamed, “Oh my God. Oh my God.”

Larry skid to a stop a few inches from Alex
and Helene. His hands moved in a rapid mime. As if drawn by a
magnet, his hands floated toward Helene’s back. Once they were
close, he jerked them away again. Close then back.

Rolling his eyes, Troy took Larry’s hands
and placed them on Helene’s shoulders.

Helene looked up from Alex’s shoulder when
Larry touched her. Turning, she threw herself in to his arms.

“
Say nothing, let her cry,”
Matthew said in a low voice. “Just hold her.”

Larry closed his eyes and held on with all
of his might.

Troy touched Alex’s shoulder. He, Alex and
Matthew looked over at the blackened hole created by the bomb.

“
What the hell blew up?”
Troy laughed.

“
Israeli handheld computer
bomb,” White Boy said.

“
Holy fuck, you mean you got
one of...” Matthew started.

“
Yes,” White Boy
said.

“
Wow,” Troy replied. “You’re
moving up the ladder of hit men, Alex.”

“
I’m flattered,” she said.
“Charlene?”

“
They delayed landing due to
the bomb. We’ll have to check to see if they are allowed to land.
Joseph and Nancy are there waiting for her,” Matthew said. “Are you
all right? Uninjured?”

Alex nodded. She looked over to see Larry
and Helene kissing.

“
I need to get our backpacks
from the car,” Alex said. “Helene has something I need.”

Troy ran to the SUV. He yanked the door into
the air then climbed on the vehicle. They watched his legs dangle
in the air. He came out with two backpacks and the Magic 8
ball.

“
Hey, look Alex. It’s your
Magic 8 ball!” He tossed it to her.

“
This is what I needed.
Thanks.”

“
Come on, lover boy,”
Matthew said to Larry. “We have work to do.”

“
I’m all right if he wants
to take Helene home,” Alex said. “Can you call for an escort for
them?”

Matthew smiled. It was so like Alex to put
love over everything else. Their eyes held for a moment. With a
nod, he set up an escort for Helene and Larry.

Vince ran back to Alex to give an update.
Buckley was launching a full scale investigation into the matter.
Vince had been asked to share his findings.

“
And what are they?” Alex
asked.

“
Who knows?” Vince shook his
head and shrugged. “I’d like to stay here, sir.”

Alex nodded.

“
Keep my Sergeant in the
loop. We’ll need to know what’s going on.”

“
I’ll do it,” Vince said. He
was about ten feet away when he turned. Smiling, he said, “I’m
really glad you’re okay. This would have been bad.”

Alex nodded. He winked before turning to run
back to the burned out hole where the bomb went off. An armored SUV
drove up to their location. After White Boy checked the driver’s
identification, he signaled Larry and Helene over to the
vehicle.

Helene hugged Alex. Whispering in her ear,
she said, “I do love him.”

“
I know,” Alex replied.
“You’ll be safe with him. I’ll see you later tonight?”

Helene held her close.

“
You can borrow my Magic 8
ball but you have to give it back,” Helene said.

Alex gave her one last squeeze then kissed
her cheek. Larry helped Helene into the backseat of the SUV then
went around the back of the truck.

“
I won’t let you down again,
sir,” Larry said.

Smiling, Alex returned his salute. When they
had turned onto Sixth Avenue, Alex, Matthew and Troy piled into the
other SUV. White Boy took the driver’s seat. Matthew and Alex took
the back. White Boy turned the SUV into the Air Force base.

“
Mattie?” Alex
asked.

Matthew held his hand out to Alex. She took
his hand with both of her hands. Their eyes held for a moment.

“
What can I do?” Matthew
asked.

“
I need a shot… for my hip?
Remember those?”

“
Do you have the
meds?”

Alex dug in her backpack then gave him the
shot.

“
Do you want to do it
here?”

“
I don’t have any idea what
Charlene is going to need,” Alex said. “I forgot to get it when I
was getting my cast.”

“
Let’s do it,” Matthew
said.

He held his arms open and Alex leaned over
his lap. She unbuttoned her jeans so he could pull them down.

“
Nice thong, Alex,” Troy
said from the passenger seat. “Purple, like your
bruises.”

“
I can shoot you,” Alex
said.

She saw White Boy’s eyes flick into the rear
view mirror. He laughed.

“
One, two, three.” Matthew
plunged the needle deep into her left hip.

“
Awww yuck,” Troy said. “I
don’t even want to watch any more. That’s disgusting.”

White Boy punched Troy’s arm. Troy mock
squealed. Matthew slowly plunged the thick cortisone and pain
medication into her hip.

“
Those are horrible scars,
Alex,” White Boy said. “Are the bruises from the Boy
Scout?”

“
Yep.”

“
Jeez, that’s got to hurt,”
White Boy said. “Did you really have a hole in your hip the size of
a basketball?”

“
Yeah,” Alex said. “They had
to grow back most of the bone. That’s why I had so many surgeries.
They had to scrape the bone to shape it.”

“
I thought Joseph was
exaggerating. I mean, we saw you in the hospital,” White Boy
said.

“
We never saw her without
bandages,” Troy said. “She was all tubes and wires.”

“
You saw me five or six
weeks after the assault,” Alex said. “They set up the electrical
thing in my hip to grow the bone back in Germany. It was… ticklish
and painful at the same time.”

“
Ok, Alex, you’re done,”
Matthew said.

“
Thanks Mattie.” Alex
buttoned her jeans. “Remind me, Chris. I’ll show you around the
scars.”

“
Ok, we’re almost there,”
White Boy said. “Are they clear to land?”

“
Yes, I just received the
text. Joseph and Nancy are waiting on the tarmac. Alex, you’re
supposed to stay in the car. They will bring Charlene to you,”
Matthew said. “I’ll stay here with you. Troy and Chris will stand
outside the car.”

“
Do we have any idea what’s
going on?” Alex asked.

“
No. Your Sergeant sent the
police report and photos of the house. It’s been ransacked, but it
appears everything is still there – television, jewelry, the usual
stuff. Whatever’s going on, only Charlene knows what was
taken.”

“
How is Raz?” Alex
asked.

“
Asleep, mostly,” Matthew
said. “Samantha is with him as much as she can. He has to walk
every six hours. He wants to walk with you tonight.”

“
Easy,” Alex said. “I have a
question for each of you to think about.”

White Boy stopped the SUV on the tarmac. He
turned in his seat to look at her. Troy turned around and Matthew
rotated so he could look at her.

“
There’ve been lots of bombs
this week,” Alex said. “While not an uncommon way to kill someone,
it’s not the most direct way to complete a hit. Plus last year, our
house was destroyed in a car bomb. Lots of bombs. I’m wondering
why?”

“
Car bombs are common in the
Middle East,” White Boy said.

“
The house bomb last year
was supposed to compound your distress over discovering about
John’s background,” Troy said. “IRA switch bombs and
all.”

“
What do you mean why, Alex?
Is there something else?” Matthew asked.

“
Well, none of them have
worked,” Alex said. “I was lucky in the mine. Jesse told us about
the bomb. And Perses saved us in the Weminuche Wilderness.
But...”

“
You think the bombs aren’t
supposed to kill you,” Troy asked.

“
I wonder if it’s a
possibility,” Alex said.

“
Can’t you ask Perses?”
White Boy asked.

“
Yeah, like she can call a
professional killer,” Troy said. “Here we go.”

As a plane pulled up, White Boy and Troy
left the car.

“
If the bombs aren’t
designed to kill you, what are they designed to do?”

“
Remind me of something,”
Alex said. “I have something ‘they’ — whoever that is — want. But I
don’t know what I have. Even though Eleazar thought it was, it’s
not in the vault.”

“
What would they want you to
remember?”

“
Who knows?”

F

CHAPTER THIRTY-five

Two hours later

Monday night
March 31 – 9:20 P.M. MDT
City Park, Denver, CO

“
What did Perses say?” Raz
asked.

“
What does he usually say?”
Alex asked.

“
I’ll check it out,” Raz and
Alex said together.

They laughed. With her purple cast through
his elbow, they walked around Ferril Lake. Alex held Maggie’s leash
in her other hand. Bounding to the edge of her leash, Maggie
sniffed at everything while they made slow but steady progress.
Trece walked ahead at a distance and White Boy followed. The night
was cool, but not too cold.

“
Are you warm enough?” Alex
asked.

“
Yes,” Raz said. “Your
sister wrapped me in many layers and even a sweater. I don’t think
I’ve ever worn a sweater.”

“
You look handsome,” Alex
said. “As always.”

He kissed her cheek.

“
I can’t tell you how nice
it is to walk,” Raz said. “Miraculous doesn’t quite describe it. I
don’t feel whole. But I know I will be strong, capable… again.
Thanks.”