Unless something had happened to his mom. Joey’s belly flipflopped like a bag full of snakes. He started shaking as he jogged toward the building’s entrance. Bile bit at the back of his throat with sour venom.
A soldier in uniform stood near the entrance. Tears showed on his cheeks despite the night’s shadows. “My son is missing. I left him here. I brought him here myself not two hours ago after I was called in. These people can’t just tell me he’s disappeared. That every child in this place has just disappeared. They can’t make me believe—”
No! Panic burst inside Joey. He stepped up his jog to an all-out run, catching Jenny off guard and powering by her.
“Hey!” A soldier at the entrance grabbed for him.
Joey ducked, going under the soldier’s arm and skidding feet-first in a baseball slide. He rose in a bounce automatically when his feet touched the wall at the first hallway. He slapped the wall with his hands, powering himself forward again as the soldier came after him. Another MP reached for Jenny, but she evaded the guy’s grasp with athletic ease and raced after Joey and the first MP.
Only a couple turns later, knowing the location of the nursery from past acquaintance with the building, Joey saw four women dressed in scrubs standing out in the hallway. The MP pounded after him, not gaining ground because Joey was so quick.
Holding up his ID to the women as they started to draw back, out of breath, Joey said, “I’m here for my brother. Chris Gander. My mother, Megan Gander, brought him here.”
The women stared at Joey, then looked at each other. They all looked shell-shocked.
One of the women, a matronly type with gray hair and bifocals, looked at Joey. “The children aren’t here, son.”
“Fine,” Joey said, breathing rapidly. “I figured my mom would come get him before I could get here.” See? Everything’s fine. Chris is fine. Mom is fine.
But the woman’s look told Joey everything wasn’t fine. “What’s wrong?”
“Your mom didn’t come get your brother,” the woman said.
“What do you mean?”
“The children that were left here … they aren’t here anymore.”
Panic slammed into Joey. “Then where are they?”
Before the woman could answer, the MP dropped a hand on Joey’s shoulder and spun him into the nearest wall. Joey ducked his head back in time to keep his face from smacking the cinder block. The impact knocked some of the breath from his lungs. In the next instant, the MP had levered Joey’s right arm so far up between his shoulder blades that Joey felt certain his arm was going to pop out of its socket.
“I’ve got ID,” Joey said, his voice rising to a high pitch because of the excruciating pain. “It’s in my shirt pocket. I’m military. I’ve got a right to be here. I’m here to pick up my little brother.”
The MP leaned into Joey from behind, pinning him up against the wall. “We’re not letting people into the building. We’ve got this area sealed up.”
“Why?” Joey demanded.
Jenny came running up, only a couple strides in front of the MP chasing her.
“Orders,” the soldier snapped. “Ma’am, you stay right there, and I mean now.”
Looking confused and ticked off, Jenny froze. The other MP arrived and ordered her to turn and face the wall, then put a hand against her back to hold her in place.
“What’s going on?” Joey demanded. “You’ve got no right to do this.”
“I’ve got every right,” the MP retorted. “This base has been put on emergency alert. General’s orders.”
“I just came here to get my brother,” Joey said. “I want to see my brother.”
“What’s your brother’s name?” the matronly woman asked.
“Gander,” Joey replied. “Chris Gander. I’m his older brother, Joey. My mom had to have told you people I would be here after him.”
“She did. Corporal, could I see his ID?”
“Yes, ma’am,” the corporal said. He took Joey’s ID from his shirt pocket and passed it over.
The woman examined the documents. “Corporal, I’d appreciate it if you’d let this young man go.”
“Ma’am, this kid just broke through our cordon and I can’t just—”
“This kid,” the woman said in a stern voice, “is a kid. Maybe you need to keep that in mind. He’s already gotten through your cordon. I suggest that taking him into custody now isn’t going to remove the fact that the cordon was broken, or square things with your sergeant. Now is it?”
The MP was slow in answering. “No, ma’am.”
“And his father is First Sergeant Goose Gander,” the woman said. “Maybe you haven’t heard of Goose, but I can guarantee that he won’t enjoy hearing that his son was manhandled by one of his fellow Rangers while he was off in Turkey fighting for his life.”
The MP’s reply was grudging. “Probably not, ma’am.”
“Then let him go. I’ll vouch for him.”
“Yes, ma’am.” The reluctance in the corporal’s voice was evident, but he stepped back from Joey and released him.
“When I get through talking to him,” the woman said, “I’ll send him back out to you.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
Joey moved back from the wall.
“Is this young lady with you?” the woman asked.
“Yes,” Joey answered.
“Is she part of the family?”
Under other circumstances, the question would have embarrassed Joey. All he could think about was Chris. Missing. The word hung in his screaming mind like a malignant growth.
“No,” Joey answered. “Not family.”
“I’m a friend of Joey’s,” Jenny answered.
The woman looked at the two MPs. “Then I’ll need her to stay here as well.”
The two MPs touched their hat brims and left. Joey figured they would give him some flack for making their jobs hard, but they didn’t. They almost looked sorry for him.
Joey turned to the woman. “Where is my brother? Where is Chris?”
The woman reached out and took his hands. “He’s gone, Joey. I’m so sorry to have to tell you this, but he’s gone.” Fresh tears spilled down her face. Her voice turned into a forced whisper as she
