“No ‘I’m fine’ crap.  We’re going to get x-rays,” she said, backing out of the bed and crossing to the bathroom to brush her teeth and get ready. 

“I’m not going to argue with you, not after last night’s performance with our parents.  I’m still dying to know what my mom said to you before we came up for bed.”

“Do you want to brush your teeth… can you even do it?  I can help, or we can just skip it,” Callie called from the bathroom.

“I can do it.  I’ll just figure out how to be left-handed.”  Colt rolled and spun to a sitting position.  His right arm hugging his bruised ribs, he stood and went to his dresser, pulling out some fresh clothes.

Callie came back to his side to help him get dressed, then jogged down the hall to her room to grab some fresh clothes for herself.  When she returned, Colt was leaned against the counter in the bathroom brushing his teeth.  She hurried him up and helped him down the stairs. 

Twenty minutes later they were in an urgent care center, Colt undressing in order to have his ribs x-rayed.  The doctor was unsure if he had a bad bruise or cracked ribs, but dismissed Colt saying it was no big deal.  Callie never left his side.  Luckily, even with the holiday weekend, the small medical center wasn’t crowded. 

“Mr. Dixon,” the doctor said, walking back into the room, “you indeed have three broken ribs on your right side.  With ribs, there aren’t a lot of treatment options.  Ice, rest, pain killers.”  He turned to Callie, “Mrs. Dixon, you need to keep him resting.  He can gradually return to exercise after a few weeks.  If William continues to have more intense pain after a week to ten days, you need to bring him back in, ok?”

“Thank you, Doctor,” Callie said, her smile evident to Colt despite the mask on the bottom half of her face. 

“Those ATV injuries suck, William.  I suggest not hopping back on for at least six to eight weeks.  Take care, got it?” 

“Yes, Sir, thank you,” Colt replied as the doctor swooped back out of the room, replaced by a nurse to lead them to the payment desk.  Callie slipped Colt’s credit card out and paid, Colt scribbling his signature as he winced a little. 

She drove him back to the house and helped him back to the family room.  Settling him on the couch, she went to get an ice pack as Amy came down the stairs to see where they’d been. 

“Someone was too macho yesterday to mention that he had broken ribs.  We went to the doctor this morning to get x-rays.  When he was in the shower last night, there wasn’t even a bruise, but this morning, this,” Callie explained to Amy as she unbuttoned Colt’s shirt and showed off the mass of black and blue from his injury. 

“I didn’t think it was that bad,” Colt said defensively. 

“Thank you, Callie,” Amy said, hugging her.

Callie went back to the kitchen to put something together for breakfast for her and Colt, while Amy sat on the couch next to her son as he held the cold pack on his side. 

“She’s good for you, Colt.” 

“I know, Mom.”

“When are you going to ask her?”

“I had been kind of planning to do that when we got back here.  Life got in the way.  I thought about doing it when we were back in Virginia, but I wanted her mom here for her when I asked.  I don’t want Nancy to feel like we’re stealing her daughter away from her,” Colt replied. 

Amy leaned over and kissed her son on the cheek, “You’re a good boy, Colt… man.  You aren’t my little boy anymore, as I was reminded by Callie last night.”  Amy smiled.  That reminder had been unexpected. 

When her son and his girlfriend came down the stairs after she helped him shower, as well as cleaned and bandaged his wounds, all three of the parents were shocked.  Each of them had assumed they were intimate, but there was no question after they left to shower together. 

Callie had stood up to withering questioning from Nancy, and when her mother had tried to lay the blame on Colt, Callie defended him admirably, earning Amy’s respect, and changing her mother’s opinion. 

“No, Mom, Colt didn’t trick me or seduce me or anything else.  We waited until we were ready.  It was a mutual decision.  You can choose to accept it or not but know that it won’t change how Colt and I live our lives,” Callie had told her mother.  “We may be your children, but we are no longer children in any other regard.”

“We are both adults.  We love each other, and we are not acting like reckless kids.  If you want to tell us we can’t be open under your roof, that’s fine.  That is your right.  It won’t change how we feel, though,” Colt had added.

Amy had been quick to accept them.  She understood the differences between Callie and Colt, versus her and Jonathan.  She and her husband had been virgins when they started dating.

“What did you tell her last night?” Colt asked. 

“That I accepted her because I knew she loved you, Colt.  She is strong, and I think she may be the woman that you need… one that is willing to stand up for you, and to you.”

A moment later Callie appeared.  She wanted to know if Colt wanted to eat where he was… she could get him a TV tray… or if he wanted to come to the table.  Amy and Callie helped him up and to the table so he could have breakfast.  After getting her son to the kitchen table, Amy retreated to her bedroom to let Jack know that his son’s ribs had been broken, but that Callie was taking care of him. 

“Punch some holes for the locals, then, Bobby.  Do whatever you need to do to help out the civilians.  But be quick, we still have to get to the pinned down UN forces.”

Gunny backed the APC right up to the doors of the building with the UN Peacekeepers on the roof. 

“Hold ‘em down, Bobby.  Ronny and I are gonna see what we have up there.”

Gunny Grafton and Ronny Torres exited the back of the APC and headed up to the roof of the building.  As they went up the stairs, they started finding evidence of the fight that had taken place in the stairwell.  The first casualties they ran across were the hostile fighters that had been attacking the UN group.  Then they started running across UN casualties. 

“This isn’t good, Ronny.  Any of these guys alive?” Gunny stated.

“Not that I’ve found yet, Gunny.  This was brutal,” the medic said as he knelt next to another fallen UN soldier.  “If they had anyone that was injured, they likely dragged them up the stairs.” 

In the background he could hear the machine gun firing from the APC outside.  There were short bursts followed by the tinkling sound of the casings bouncing off the side of the armored vehicle.  Obviously, Bobby was getting some hostile activity.  He was holding off the attacking force, pinning them down with sporadic fire from the turret.  Hopefully, some of the civilians that were pinned down in the square would be able to get away from the area.

As they got to the top of the stairwell, Gunny radioed back to the American Colonel that had called him in to rescue these soldiers.  “Colonel Bryce, pass along that we’re here and don’t want to get shot coming through the door, Sir,” he said.  A moment later a woman carrying an HK MP5N opened the door and ushered Gunny and Ronny inside. 

“You in charge?” Gunny asked.  She didn’t understand, so he repeated the question in German.  Then she took him to Gefreiter Richter.  As he looked at the injured German soldier, recognition flooded into him, “Rolf?  Is that you?” Gunny said, kneeling beside the man on the ground.  “Ronny, get over here,” he yelled. 

“These guys are all in rough shape, Gunny, what’s up?”

“This is Rolf Richter.  He’s a friend, a Scout.  I haven’t seen him in over six years.  He used to date Nicole and he’s a friend of Jack’s.”

Ronny started checking the man over to see what injuries he had.  He immediately saw that he would be losing his left leg, if Ronny could even keep him alive.  And he wasn’t sure he’d be able to do that. 

Gunny looked around on the roof.  There were dozens of civilians, mostly women and children.  A few were injured, but the real damage had been done to the soldiers.  There were only a handful that were even able to stand. 

“One,” Bobby said over the earpiece radio, “it’s getting hot down here.  How much longer are you going to be?”

“It’s bad up here, too.  We’ve got maybe a hundred civilians to try to evac, as well as eight UN soldiers that are still alive.  When we get them down there, can we get these people away from the heat down there?”

“I guess we have to, Boss,” he replied.

Gunny turned around and looked out at the civilians gathered on the roof.  Then he looked over the side of the roof at the square below.  The protestors were gone, and it was nothing but the counter-protestors, the ones they were pretty sure were Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps or some similar force.  Bobby was doing a good job pinning them down, but it was going to take more than that to get the civilians out. 

Soon after lunch, while he and Melody were on deck, they got a shout-out from Duke. 

“Hey, guys, couple of things.  First, I had a blip on radar for a while this morning, but it seems to have disappeared.  Second, our boys seem to be outside.  Murphy the Younger has set himself up on the flying bridge, while Murphy the Elder is trolling off the back of the boat.  We’re set to come up on their port stern in a few minutes, which will give you a nice clear shot.  We’re currently about eight hundred meters out. 

Gunny and Melody took up positions on the starboard side, near the stern of the boat.  When it was time to make the shot, Duke would turn to port, so they would have a clear shot. 

“Five hundred meters, all still clear,” Duke called down to the rear deck. 

Gunny and Melody both lifted their rifles into position to get a look at the targets through the scopes. 

“Miss Tree is coming about to port.  I still have good sight lines, but now we are coming straight in.  I’ll be turning to port in a moment.  They don’t seem to be taking notice of us… Paul’s attention is glued to starboard.  Sean seems to be looking that way as well.

Gunny and Melody were having a harder time keeping an eye on the targets through their scopes because the boat was in their way.  But standing forward on the boat wasn’t an option… they would be very visible, and they wouldn’t have as sure footing. 

“About three hundred meters out, coming about.  The Murphys still have their attention to the other side of their boat.”

As Duke brought their boat around, Melody and Gunny both picked up their targets.  Melody had Paul and Gunny had Sean.  Sean was looking over the side and kept disappearing.  When he had the shot, Gunny was supposed to let Melody know, she would give a three-count and both would shoot at the same time. 

“Almost, Mel… almost… almost… Ok, ready,” Gunny said quietly as he centered his shot.

“Three, two…”

The was a cracking sound across the water.  Gunny and Melody both watched as their targets wilted in their scopes. 

Now they were going to walk across the stage and get their High School Diplomas.  Amy had narrowly missed being Valedictorian but had been asked to give the Salutatorian Address by Harvey Garrett, the school’s Principal.  She was both excited and scared to death as she looked out upon the gathered parents and friends of the Graduating Class of 1983, filling the Hampton Coliseum. 

As Lori Rose was giving her Valedictory address, Amy went over her speech in her head one last time.  Lori was wrapping up and Amy’s nerves were multiplying.  She glanced over to the beginning of the first row of graduates.  Jonathan gave her a thumbs up and blew her a kiss.  He mouthed ‘I believe in you’ before she looked back out into the audience.  She wasn’t sure where her parents were, but she looked around to see if she could spot them.  She also knew that Gunny, Melody and their whole team were in attendance. 

Lori finished up and Mr. Garrett stepped up to the microphone and introduced her.  Her knees were weak as she made her way to the podium.  She looked out again at the arena.  It sat twelve thousand people, but this evening there were perhaps a quarter of that in the seats, with another four hundred students on the floor, as well as the teachers and other school staff. 

“It was the best of times,” she began, “it was the worst of times. 

“Charles Dickens wrote those words to begin A Tale of Two Cities, in 1859.  It was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us…

“I think that is an incredibly accurate picture of our high school experience.  Emotional highs and lows, as well as academic triumphs and defeats.”  Amy continued for a few more minutes, recounting the experiences of the Class of ’83.  “In conclusion, this has been the time, and these have been the people that will remain fundamental to shaping our various futures.“

As she finished, from the corner of her eye, she spied Jonathan Dixon walking across the stage.  She turned, not knowing why he was walking toward her.  His stride was purposeful.  The look on his face was both taut and serene. 

Behind him a couple of paces was Principal Garrett.  He was supposed to take over speaking as her speech concluded, but he seemed to be waiting for something. 

As Jonathan got within a couple of steps of her, Amy saw the school’s principal hand him something.  Mrs. Foster, the Cheerleading Coach also walked up behind Jack and handed him something else. 

Jack put the microphone from Principal Garrett up to his mouth.  “Amy Prince, look out into the crowd.”

As she scanned the front row, she saw the message…  AMY PRINCE, WILL YOU MARRY ME?  Then, when she looked up, there was a banner strung across the front of the balcony saying the same thing.  As she looked at the banner, she saw her father at one end, Ed Dixon at the other end, and in the middle were her mom and Jack’s mom, both giving her a thumbs up. 

“Bill, what’s going on?  What’s the hurry?” she asked, following him up the steps. 

“We have a situation.  I have to fly out to Arizona,” he replied, not seeing his daughter behind his wife.

“Daddy, is it Jack?  Is he in trouble?  That’s the only thing I can think of that would send you to Arizona like you’re on fire,” Amy said to her father, worry across her face.

“As much as I want to deny it, yes… Jack is in a tight spot.  I have to go,” her father said as he grabbed his tactical gear from under the bed and pulled a case from the closet. 

“I’m going,” Amy said, more a statement that any type of question. 

“Amy, I really don’t think…” Bill tried to reply before she cut him off.

“That I can handle seeing him with a bullet hole in his chest and a stab wound in his side?  I can and I have,” she told her father.

“We’re both going, Bill.  And I’m calling Sharon,” Chrissy told her husband.

Chrissy rushed to her closet and grabbed a few items, including two weapons that had been presents from her husband, and her own fatigues that she wore to the range.  She grabbed a second set for her daughter, since they were so close to the same size.  Then she picked up the phone in the bedroom and called her friend, Jack’s mother.

“Sharon, Bill just rushed in.  It’s Jack.  He’s in trouble in Arizona.”

…

“Ed is still there?”

…

“Then I guess we’ll see you at the airport.”

Chrissy hung up the phone and made her way downstairs.  Amy picked up the phone and quickly called her assistant. 

“Donna, I am not going to be back to the office today.  Not sure about tomorrow.  I’ll call you as soon as I know more.”

…

“An emergency came up… a family thing.”

…

“Thanks.  Just tell them to hold on and we’ll reschedule anything that you have to bump.”

The young woman hung up the phone and turned to her parents, “Let’s roll.  I’m ready.  I’ll have to deal with a few things later, but that will be later.”

The trio went to the garage and jumped in Chrissy’s AMG. 

“Ed, it’s Bill.  I have Chrissy and Amy with me.  They were at the house,” he said over the radio.

…

“You mean before Chrissy called?”

…

“See you in a minute.”

As soon as he knew the others were ready to go, Gunny casually strode up to the driver’s side window of the brown Dodge Diplomat.  He’d walked up in the blind spot.  The passenger might have been able to spot him in his peripheral vision, but he hadn’t.  Gunny had a Glock 17 in his left hand, as he rapped on the window with his right. 

“I’m not going to bother with niceties, guys.  Just hand me your IDs, slowly,” Gunny said as he stared down the two men.

“I don’t think so,” Meeks said, confidently, “you aren’t a cop, and even if you were, you don’t have any probable cause to hassle us.”

As he finished talking, Bobby and Gino both energized their laser sights, painting a dot on each of the men sitting in the car.

“You’re right that I’m not a cop,” Gunny replied, “and that means I don’t care so much about the rules.  So, comply, or don’t.  But I will know who you are before you leave.  Or it will be who you were.  Capeesh?”

John raised his left hand and slowly reached behind himself to retrieve his wallet with his right hand.  As he pulled out his wallet, he moved as slowly as he could.  Looking at the large man standing by the window, he saw past the amiable, but very fake smile, and saw a guy that would kill them without hesitation.  He’d dealt with those kinds of guys when he was in the Marines.  He didn’t want to deal with his type here and now.  He was just about positive that the big man was a SEAL or Ranger or something.

Meeks had to think for a minute.  First, he saw the laser dot on his partner, and he wasn’t as concerned as he could be, then John had looked at his face.  Meeks diverted his eyes to the mirror and saw that there was a dot sitting on his forehead, too.  He decided to do as he was told.  He wasn’t happy about it, though. 

Both men handed their out-of-state driver’s licenses to Gunny, who casually glanced at them, reading off names, birthdates and document numbers and types.  Melody, also in on the conversation was on the phone with a contact at the Hampton PD, who was running the information to see if there were any warrants.  Then, Gunny stepped forward to look at the VIN through the windshield of the car.  He read that off, too, as he also noted it on a pad of paper from one of his pockets. 

He tossed the two IDs back through the driver’s window.  “You need to go far away, now.  I would recommend a new line of work.  First, you aren’t very good.  Second, if I run across you again following one of my protectees, it will not go well for you.  And we are responsible for people all over.  Got it?”

John breathed a sigh of relief, “Yes, Sir,” he replied. 

Meeks just mumbled, “Whatever,” and slid his wallet back into his pocket. 

“Just assume that any person you see within a hundred miles of here is a friend of mine.  And if you mess with one of my friends, I’ll put you in the ground.  Now go,” Gunny finished.