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“I don’t need the gory details,” he groans, sighing as he looks helplessly at his evidence.
“What am I supposed to do with all this?” he asks me.
“I’ve put three cases at home on hold to come down here to help out with this, and from every side, I look at it, every angle, it just doesn’t add up.”
“Have you ever not solved a case?” I ask him, knowing he hasn’t.
“No. No, I haven’t, until now,” he says with stubborn pride.
The distant sound of a helicopter makes me smile a little.
“I wouldn’t worry too much, Mike. Can I call you Mike?” I ask, glad when he shrugs a ‘why not.’
“You see, even if I did tell you everything. Even if I could remember everything myself, I’d have no real proof,” I admit.
“And why not?” The detective asks, his own professional interest piqued as the buzzing becomes a deep booming drone.
I smile again, pointing up. But it’s not a knowing smile anymore.
Not a sarcastic or even commanding smile.
It’s the smile of relief. The relief of not knowing. Not wanting to or even having to know anymore.
“I don’t follow,” Detective Parker says, frowning.
The helicopter gets closer, finally whomping so loud I can hear my own ears wanting to pop.
There’s the movement of dark vehicles outside too. SUV’s. Looking startled, the detective rushes to the window.
I ease myself onto my couch, putting my feet up on the coffee table.
Still wondering what day it is. Wishing my throat wasn’t so sore.
The front door bursts open and looking at me with his hand wanting to draw his gun I shake my head at him instead.
There’s really no point. I tell him with my mind, watching his expression change as it registers.
We all pretend not to know, but really we all know. I smile.
Familiar-looking men in dark suits fill the room, boxing up everything. The noise of the chopper recedes and someone hands the detective a handset, which he holds to his ear momentarily before putting it on speaker and setting it down on the table.
“Detective Parker. Colonel Xander Sixteen. This is Secretary of Defense, General Miles Bragg. I’m calling you detective, to ask you to stand down your investigation. Effective immediately. We’ll take care of things from here. Your own department and precincts have been notified.”
The detective scowls, but his own astonishment is still obvious.
“Colonel Xander Sixteen?” The same voice asks, sounding a lot less authoritative. Almost timid.
“Yes General, I’m here,” I tell him. “But it’s just Xander now. Retired.” I let him know if he doesn’t know that already.
“As you wish, sir,” he replies before continuing. “I’m authorized and very pleased to give you our nations and our own heartfelt thanks for all your service over the years. Not just to this country, but to the world. We owe you a debt of gratitude. The President herself would thank you, but she isn’t cleared for this level of operations. I hope my thanks are acceptable in her absence.”
I’m glad it’s a voice call and not a video call because I hate those.
“Thank you, General. Always glad to be of service.”
I notice a few of my favorite charts and pictures being removed, but what’s the point in splitting hairs?
The General asks to be put back on to the commanding officer on the ground and I can only wait for what I really want.
What I really need.
It’s so close, I feel it, but with all the cars and helicopters it’s hard to gauge how close she really is.
Detective Mike Parker scratches his head, then his chin, and finally has to laugh a little with me as we watch the last of the operatives remove all evidence, except for me of course.
Just as the last dark SUVs pull away, a familiar V8 sound rumbles up the drive and I feel my heart thunder in my chest.
Mike Parker has his hands on his thighs, ready to help himself out of his chair, but I motion for him to stay.
Just for a while longer.
I wince when I hear the car scraping alongside something, possibly a police cruiser, which Mike rushes to investigate.
It’s Gillian.
And I’ve never been so glad to see anyone or anything in my whole life.
She ignores her dad and the car, hobbling over to me as I step through our front doorway, lifting her into my arms, taking in the life-giving breath of her scent.
The touch of her hair and the warmth of her skin against mine, instantly making both of us whole again.
I kiss her hard and long until her dad behind us clears his throat and I set his daughter down, my arm firmly around her as I keep her close.
“That’s another lot of paperwork you just caused,” he says, trying to scold his daughter, but eyeing the pair of us, he can’t stay mad.
“Did you do what you came up here to do, Dad?” Gillian finally asks,
