Hide and Seek (41 page)

“But we saved his daughter.” Nagano seemed put out.

“True,” Amelia said, “but you didn’t save the daughters of every member of parliament. The president will have to rescue himself.”

“We saved his daughter,” J. J. said, “but if you hadn’t been there in the first place she probably would have been dead long ago.”

“Thanks,” Amelia said.

“You know,” Nagano quipped, “I’m not married.”

J. J. turned to see the sniper aiming his eyes at Amelia. “You know you’re talking to an officer, don’t you?”

“I’m just thinking out loud, Boss. Nothing more.”

“One last thing,” Colonel Mac said. “Sergeant Kinkaid and I paid a little visit to the president. Don’t ask, I’ll explain later. Anyway, Kinkaid asked President Huffington if he would be kind enough to have the FBI look at the video that made us all think you were dead. It turns out those burned bodies aren’t yours.”

J. J. cocked an eyebrow. “That’s good to hear. I’d hate to wake up and find out I was dead. How could the FBI tell?”

“Footwear, Sergeant Major. Footwear. The corpses weren’t wearing military boots.”

“It always comes down to shoes,” Amelia said.

AS THE TELECONFERENCE WAS
breaking up, J. J. asked Colonel Weidman if he might have the room for a few moments. The colonel consented.

“Aliki, Mike, hang back a sec.”

The two exchanged glances, then in near unison: “Sure, Boss.”

When the room emptied, Nagano asked if they should sit.

“Nah, this won’t take long.” J. J. looked up and into Aliki’s eyes and spoke louder than he would normally. “I need some advice and I think you’re the best guy to ask.”

The big man shifted his weight. “Glad to help, Boss. What can I do?”

“I’m not sure how to handle a problem. Let’s play ‘Just Suppose,’ shall we? Just suppose you were leading a team and one of your soldiers had a physical problem. Let’s pretend it’s something with, oh I don’t know, his hearing. You know what happens to guys like us from time to time: too much noise, and explosions, the kind of stuff that can damage an eardrum. Those things happen on mission.”

“I’ve heard of that, Boss.” Aliki chewed his lip.

“Now just suppose that soldier didn’t tell anyone, or maybe just confided in, say, a friend.” He faced Nagano for a moment then returned his attention to Aliki. “Such a thing could be a problem in the field, or am I exaggerating?”

“I agree, such a condition might be a problem in the field. In fact, I believe that more now than ever.”

“Do you? Good to hear. So the question is this: How should a guy like me handle such a thing?”

“Well, um . . .” Aliki looked at the floor. “I suppose, if the soldier were a man of honor with a stellar service record, I might drop a hint and let him get checked out by a civilian doc.”

J. J. nodded. “That’s a good idea. It would keep someone like me from having to make a note of it in the mission report. Do you think the soldier’s friend would make sure his buddy got checked out?”

“I think you could bet on it, Boss.” Nagano seemed to be standing straighter.

“Well, if I ever come across such a situation I’ll follow your suggestions.” He moved to the doors. “I wonder if the mess serves barbecue.”

J. J. WAS THE
last off the commercial aircraft that delivered him to Columbia Municipal Airport a short distance from Fort Jackson, South Carolina. The rest of the team arrived two days earlier, but J. J. requested and received permission to stay with Jose at the U.S. Army Hospital, Heidelberg. He spent his days sitting with Jose, who showed remarkable progress. They talked of old times, tried to make sense of European soccer, and read.

He also made certain Jose had plenty of private time with Lucy. Jose couldn’t leave his bed, but he could hold his wife’s hand for hours.

J. J. allowed himself to believe Jose would live long enough to give him a bad time in the years ahead. The thought gave him great joy.

“Why didn’t you leave when I told you to?” Jose asked the first evening.

“Because I’m team leader and, well, you’re not. That means I get to order you around. The reverse isn’t true. Besides, you saved my life once.”

“True, but that was just business.”

“Just business, eh? I’ll remember that the next time you’re dying before my eyes.”

Jose gave a crooked smile, it was all he could manage. “Well, I’m going to give you another order, J. J.”

“I plan to ignore it.”

“I doubt it. Go home. Go give Tess a big hug for me.”

“I can hang another day or two.”

“No, you can’t. Get out of here, or I’ll crawl out of this bed and make you leave.”

“I don’t think you can manage it, but I think you’d try, then I’d have your wife to deal with. Of the two of you, she’s the one who scares me.” J. J. stood.

“Thanks for everything, J. J.”

“You’re a hero, Jose. A red, white, and blue hero, and I am a better man for knowing you.”

“Whatever. Get out of here. I’m going back to sleep and dreaming of the Mexican Riviera.”

That evening, J. J. caught a commercial flight out of Heidelberg Airport. The trip was long, and recent events quickly put him into a sleep coma, something he wished would last for a week. His desire for sleep faded when the Lufthansa A380 touched down in South Carolina. He waited until the plane was nearly empty before disembarking. He walked through the terminal, past security, and into the area of the airport where family waited for arrivals.

Standing in the middle of a crowd was the only person he could see. Tess was beautiful in every way. A few moments later, J. J. took his wife in his arms and embraced her deeply, longingly, thankfully.

Then he pulled away, dropped to one knee and placed his mouth near her belly. “Hey kids, Daddy is home.”