As the door closed and he caught the last glimpse of his sons as they waved, Tom’s heart broke as badly as it did that day in October.
However, unlike that day, Tom knew it was the last time they would ever see each other again.
<><><><>
Cheyenne Mountain Air Force Support
Would it have made a difference had Gabe and Owen not stood there for that minute or two watching the helicopter lift off.
Immediately as the chopper veered toward the mountain, soldiers called Gabe’s attention, instructing them to get into the jeeps.
The four of them did.
He was impressed how coordinated everything was. It was nothing short of a rescue, help swooping in and whisking his father away to get what he believed would be the best medical care. After all, the president was there.
They were going to a place Gabe had only heard about, even though he lived in the same state. It wasn’t a place he ever expected to enter. The only knowledge he had of it was in books, and games, and some old movie or two.
The drive to the mountain took fifteen minutes and the jeeps moved fast. They wound up the mountain to a gated entrance with guards.
He supposed his father was already there and Gabe said a silent prayer that he would be fine.
They pulled through the gates and went through a tunnel.
“Why here?” Delaney asked. “I don’t understand what made this place so safe just because it’s in a mountain.”
Gary answered. “It was designed to be a safe place in the event of an all-out nuclear war. It has an independent oxygen system and sealed doors. It is the best place to be.”
Own looked over to Gary. “Do they have great medical facilities?”
The soldier driving answered, “Yes.”
From that moment on, everything was a blur to Gabe. He just wanted to get to his father and it seemed to be taking too long.
Roads inside the mountain looked like roads outside. There weren’t that many people around when they pulled into what looked like an indoor airfield.
They took an elevator down for a while to where a short walk brought them to a building with a blast door.
When they passed through that, there was one more door before Gabe recognized the building as a medical facility.
The four of them led by a soldier, walked down a hall and then turned left. Gabe finally noticed the soldier was speaking softly to someone through an earpiece.
“End of the hall,” the soldier told them and he stayed back.
The hall was long, or at least it looked that way to Gabe.
Modern wood paneled walls on one side with cushion bench seats over five feet, the other wall were windows with Faux natural lighting.
At the end was a set of silver double doors. Hospital looking doors.
A third of the way down the hall, Delaney stopped. “I think I’ll wait here,” she said, taking a seat on the bench. “This is your father. I’ll let you guys go on.”
“I agree,” Gary added. “I’m going to see if I can find a beverage.”
Gabe glanced at his brother and Owen closed his eyes. He didn’t need to speak to him to know they were both thinking the same thing.
Something was wrong.
The gut gnawing and twisting, racing heart. When Delaney and Gary offered to stay back, that all but confirmed Gabe’s fears.
It was worse than he wanted it to be.
He moved down that hall with his brother, side by side, steady strides.
Gabe’s heart beat so hard in his chest he could feel it.
“Do we knock?” Owen asked as they neared the door. “Or do we go through?”
Gabe didn’t get a chance to answer. Just as they arrived at the door, it slowly pushed open.
Gabe would have been lying to himself if he said he didn’t hope that it was his father pushing on that swinging door. He also would be lying to himself if he said he didn’t know better.
His worst fears where confirmed when he saw the woman doctor emerge. Her face expression serious yet painted with sympathy.
“We’re here for our father,” Owen said.
“He came in on a helicopter,” Gabe added. “Tom Foster.”
“Yes,” she said then cleared her throat. “I’m very sorry. Truly, very sorry.”
TWENTY-ONE – FAILING
The need for water or something to drink grew stronger for Gary when he saw Gabe and Owen at the end of the hall with the doctor.
He couldn’t see their faces, but he knew by their body language. Gabe’s head dropped and he nearly collapsed, only to be held up by his older brother.
He knew.
Tom was gone.
They followed the doctor through the doors and Gary turned, leaving the hallway.
It took him a good ten minutes to find water and coffee. Grabbing a cup for Delaney he headed back to the hall.
She sat on one of those benches.
Her back against the wall, legs up as she stared at her phone.
The closer he walked, he saw she was crying.
“Hey, I …” he extended a cup to her, “Got you some coffee.”
She wiped her face with the back of her hands, set down her legs and scooted over. “Thank you.” She accepted it.
“Are they in the back still?”
Delaney nodded. “He’s gone.”
“I saw.”
“I heard.” She lifted the tab and sipped the coffee. “I feel horrible. This is all my fault, Gary.”
“What? How can you say that?”
“Because they came for me. They all came looking for me because I left to find my sister. If I hadn’t or they hadn’t … Tom would be alive.”
“It’s no one’s fault. Tom wouldn’t have wanted it any other way. They wouldn’t have left you in Vegas. I wouldn’t have. I just didn’t know
