She addressed him again, her voice softening. “Brady, you are going to have to go to the hospital. I will arrange for a private room for you. I want you to say nothing.” She looked at the other men in his team. “None of you say anything.”
Carter was the first to say, “Yes ma’am.”
“You take good care of this hero.” She stared until all of them were nodding—even Brady.
Then he remembered Maggie. He looked up at this strange woman, asking, “Maggie. They told me she’s alive. Tell me the truth.”
The young woman knelt again and once more placed her palms over the tops of Brady’s hands. As she began to speak, an ambulance with lights and siren blasting rolled up to the front door.
“I only have two seconds here, but she is safe and you will get to see her. That’s all you need to know. Well done.” She stood up and faded into the crowd just like Brady imagined. She was gone just like Maggie.
Two uniformed orderlies picked Brady up and placed him on a stretcher. He fought them, trying to grab one of their forearms. His team rushed to the aid of the attendant, and he heard Riley shouting, “No, no, no. You get your hand out of there. Brady, stop it, let go!” Brady felt his fingers loosen. He looked up at Riley and said, “I don’t want to hurt anybody anymore.”
“That makes two of us, big guy,” Riley returned. “Just try to relax. These guys will take care of everything.”
The walls of the lobby closed in on him. He shut his eyes. He heard noises for several minutes, and then he heard the ocean. He saw the beach in San Diego, where they used to walk at night. He let the warmth from the moon cover his body and shine on her long copper locks. He wondered if it was a dream or if he’d just woken up from another nightmare. Which scene was real and which one was the dream?
But he knew he had to sleep.
Chapter 17
When Brady opened his eyes, the light was blinding. He heard scuffling about his hospital bed, aware of where he was, but not sure who was in the room with him. As his eyes got accustomed to the brightness, he saw on Enemario, John, Riley, and Carter standing around the foot of the bed. He examined his arms, noting the bandages covering his wrists, and moved his toes and legs. He grinned up at them.
“So you guys might’ve thought I was out of it, but I heard some things.” He squinted. “Very revealing. You should be careful when you’re standing around somebody you think is unconscious.”
The men glanced amongst themselves and then, one by one, disputed his claim.
“Enemario, I heard you say that I was going crazy.”
“Well, boss, you were saying some crazy shit. You were talking about Tate, and you know, I thought they should give you something to be quiet.”
“Because it made you nervous. I made you nervous,” Brady argued.
Enemario had no defense, so he shrugged.
Riley came to Enemario’s defense. “In all fairness, Brady, he’s right about what you were talking about. And would you look at your hands, your wrists?”
Brady held up his hands and paid more attention to the bandages. “Did I try to end my life?”
John laughed and showed him his sling. “No, but you tried to rip my arm off. That was freaky, Brady.”
“Yeah, I know. I’ll have to make it up to you guys when I’m out of here. I’m going to do a big barbecue up there, and we’re going to party all night long under the stars.”
Are these my words? Did I just do that?
Riley gave him a respectful smile. “You just get yourself well. The barbecue can wait. But when you’re ready, we’re going to party like there was no tomorrow. So understand, a promise is a promise, right?”
Brady nodded, and then tears filled his eyes and ran down his cheeks. Enemario was first to hand him a wad of Kleenex. “Boss, you don’t need to cry for John. He’s tough.”
Everyone laughed.
Brady blotted his eyes. “Yeah, but sometimes I’m not. I’m sorry what I put you through.”
Carter was next to tease him. “You sure did scare the hell out of me. I got to admit I thought you was totally scrambled. I thought to myself, okay, it’s straightjacket time. They’re never going to let him out of the hospital. Brady’s fried.”
“Thank you. I’ll remember that, as you age.”
Everybody laughed again.
Brady knew that Esquivel Rojas had been taken away by the mysterious woman who met them that day. He asked if anybody had had a chance to talk to her.
“No, Brady she took off. But Rojas wasn’t the only one arrested. They also got Stanley. And good riddance, I say. Navy’s got a black eye for that one,” added Carter. “You know how I feel about that slimeball.”
“Amen to that, fellas,” said Brady.
“We were going to fly Tate down here so he could be with you while you were convalescing, but since we haven’t gotten paid yet, none of us could afford the ticket,” added John.
The joke went over well with the group, but Brady knew it was a call to action.
“It feels good to laugh,” he said, wiping his eyes again. “I’ll make sure you guys get paid right away.”
“We’ll have those conversations just as soon as you’re out of here, okay? In the meantime, don’t stress about it. John’s all fired up to buy himself a new truck and a lost weekend,” said Riley.
“I can’t wait to go home myself,” said Brady. Then he got serious. “I guess the last thing I’ve got to ask you guys about is Maggie. Was I hallucinating or is she alive?”
Enemario smirked then covered his mouth with his hand. “That’s above my pay grade. I’m going to let other people explain that to you. But from what I understand, she agreed to help him for a limited time, expecting he would let her go. But I’ll let you discuss it with her.”
Brady was beginning to tear up again. “I’m not sure when I’m going to be ready for that. I’m just glad we all made it out of there safe.”
Carter hung his head, “You just go with the flow, Brady. Get the facts first. The rest will reveal itself in time.”
“You know something I don’t?” he asked them.
“You heard the lady, Brady. Our lips are sealed. She’ll arrange your meeting when you’re ready,” said Riley.
“I can’t wait to get you that money. You guys earned it, every penny.”
Over the next several days, Brady was bored sitting in bed, and even when he was allowed to walk up and down the hallway, he still longed to be free of the tubes, the hospital, and the constant waking him up. The, he was told he had a visitor. He was not surprised when the mysterious woman who showed up at the Cinderella Slipper Hotel that night was standing in front of his bed.
“I guess you’re still not going to tell me your name, am I right about that?”
“You’re entitled to it, but no, that’s not happening anytime soon. Brady, what I will tell you is, just like in any company, the business of running a country is made up of all sorts of factions, and to be honest with you, you wouldn’t want it any other way. Sometimes two or more factions begin warring against each other, and it happens when they stop talking, trusting each other. Then you have one side trying to impose its will on the other. You’re think I work for the government, and you would be wrong. I work for the American people.”