“Bull… sit rep… Bull, can you hear me…?” I can hear Ghost’s voice in my ears, but it’s mixed with a loud ringing.
Fuck, I feel like I’ve been hit by a truck.
Shit, the explosion, it’s all coming back to me.
“Yep, here. Checking now.” Scrambling to my feet, I’m thankful that I’m still in one piece and that I have my earpiece still attached to communicate with Ghost.
My clients, where are they? They were running towards the van I told them to get into. The smell of rubber and metal burning is choking. I pull my jacket in front of my mouth to stop from breathing in the toxic fumes.
Finding them cowering behind the van, I don’t even give them time to think, sliding the door open, pushing them in.
“Got them in the van, hotwiring now,” I yell at Ghost above the explosions still popping from the car that is like a huge fireball. Pieces of the car are all over the field, that bomb was no small one. It was meant to not only kill us but to spread us across the land so no one could identify us. The bastards must have had it on a timer, ready to explode once we were on the road.
Thank god the van springs to life easily. Jumping in and pushing the pedal, we start racing across the gravel, out the driveway of the church grounds. Instead of heading the direction that Ghost had told me originally, I continue heading away from the safehouse and the explosion. Knowing there will be fire trucks, police, and government agencies descending on the scene any minute, I need to get them out of here. I’m not worried about me, but there is obviously a high price on the people I have in this van.
How can this quiet older couple be so important to someone that they deserved that sort of ending?
“Ghost, I need extraction for these two, totally off grid. There’s a leak in the department, otherwise I would’ve never been left on my own like this. Hawk fucking left us and then this happened.”
“On it, and I agree, just keep driving, I’m working it out. Stay on the line with me, and no matter what, do not turn your agency phone back on, we can’t afford for you to be tracked.”
“Roger that.”
I can hear Ghost going crazy on the other end on his keyboard, plus the click in my ear of him muting me on and off as she sorts out the logistics.
“Bull, keep driving for another hour. I’ll have a chopper on standby that will get you to Dallas International Airport. We need to get them out of the country. More instructions shortly.”
“Roger that.” I’m not sure how the clients are going to react to that news, but I figure we will cross that bridge when we get there. I’ll give them time to settle after the explosion. To be honest, I’m impressed with how they’re coping with everything that has happened.
“This is far as I go with you. There is a woman to your right with dark brown hair in a bun on top of her head, wearing a yellow shirt and blue jeans. As you walk towards the boarding gate, she will line up behind you and follow you onto the plane. She’ll get you settled in Australia, and you will have a direct line to Ghost. He will keep you safe, and when this is all over, he will bring you home. But you don’t trust anyone unless checking with him first.”
They both look at me with that expression you have when you’re just in total disbelief and doing as you’re told.
“But what about our daughter, Jenna? If they did this to us, what is happening to her?” The fear in her eyes makes my stomach drop. What an awful burden to carry every day.
“I’m sure her agent is keeping her safe, wherever she may be,” I reply, trying to convince myself as well as them.
“Thank you, son, for saving us. We owe you our lives.” I can see how keeping it together is getting more difficult. He holds his hand out to shake mine.
Then Mary leans in and says, “If you ever find Jenna, can you give her this message? ‘The caterpillar lives in the dark, but when the time is right, and it’s safe, it emerges as the beautiful butterfly,’ and then she’ll know you’re one of the good guys. She will know that you can find us.”
With that, she reaches up on her toes up to kiss my cheek. As she’s not very tall, I have to lean down slightly for her to reach me. Then she hugs me tightly, turns, and with her husband walks towards the boarding gate. The speaker calls the last boarding for the flight, and the guard Ghost assigned for their safe passage gives me a head nod and falls in behind them. They don’t look back and disappear down the corridor to the plane, and I know I have done all I can for them.
Now I go back and face the intense inquiry as to why they died in that explosion and I then disappeared for hours afterwards without reporting in, while I got them to safety in secret. I’m sure my phone is blowing up by now from my boss.
Fuck, I hope Ghost has already worked this out.
I’m too tired to deal with all this bullshit.
The light tap on the bedroom door snaps me out of my memory, but it’s not loud enough to wake Asha.
The door opening slightly, and I can see Ashton giving me the signal that we’re getting close to landing. As I give him the thumbs-up, he closes the door, and I take one last look at Asha, so peaceful, before I have to
