Pedestals of Ash (44 page)

Bishop’s head turned to the president
,
and he watched in horror as the man went to his knees
, stari
ng down at his chest. The chief executive fell to his side and rolled onto his back almost instantly, his eyes exposing the pain and fear that was
racing
through his mind.

Bishop was completely surrounded by chaos. There were dozens of voices screaming from every direction. Running bo
ots were rushing past
on both sides
,
as people seemed to be coming out of nowhere
.
Suddenly, Bishop was pulled off Terri by rough hands. His arms were pulled back and someone reached around and unhooked his rifle while his pistol was yanked from its holster. Before Bishop could react, he was on his knees with
both
arm
s
pinned to his sides by two burl
y soldiers. He looked up to see Agent Powell staring down at him. Anger came boiling out of
Secret Service man’s
mouth. “I saw that! You could have saved the man. I saw you let the president get
shot
.”

Powell’s atte
ntion was drawn to
the
p
resident. Bishop glanced over and noticed
two army medics huddled over the injured
man rendering aid. Powell hurried to his
boss’s
side, trying to ascertain
the extent of the man’s wounds without getting in the way.

Bishop detected a shadow in front of him and looked up to see Nick.
He tilted his head in surprise, and then grumbled, “I would offer to shake hands
,
my old friend, but these two young men probably don’t care about social amenities.”

Nick shook his head, “Always the smart ass
,
ain’t ya
,
buddy
?
” He then refocused his attention on Bishop’s two guards
,
and his voice became
frosty
cold
.
“I’d be extra nice to
your
prisoner
,
fellas. He’s a friend of mine.”

About then
,
Terri managed to make it to one elbow and glanced at Bishop. “Well
,
hello there my love. You sure do know how to make an entrance.”

Bishop looked at Terri with adoring eyes, “I love you
,
baby. You okay?”

Terri stood and started brushing herself off. She nodded at Bishop that she was fine
,
and then noticed he was bleeding. She started to go to his side, but a soldier blocked her path. “He’s under arrest ma’am.”

Terri’s mind was on cognitive overload, her brain struggling to process all that was happening around her.
“He’s bleeding. Why is he under arrest? Let me help him. What are the charges? Don’t you provide medical attention to prisoners anyway?”

The lieutenant completed his call
for the helicopters to
land at the park. The first priority was to
get the president back to Bliss and
the medical facilities there.
He walked over and tried to calm Terri. “Ma’am, he is accused of kidnapping and several other charges.
But
I’ll have his injuries checked
as soon as the medical personnel
are finished with the president.”

Terri looked up at the tall
,
young officer with anger all over her face. “Kidnapping! Are you shitting me
,
you
ng man? He saved that man’s life…. The president
told me so
himself
. Go ask him if Bishop didn’t save his life. Nobody kidnapped anyone. This is bullshit!”

The officer was slightly taken aback by Terri’s temper. He started to stammer something about “just following orders,” when Agent Powell appeared.

The
Secret Service
man didn’t care about Terri’s outrage. “I ordered the arrest. I can’t even begin to list the crimes your husband has committed. We are going to take him back to Fort Bliss and…”

Powell was interrupted by one of the medics, “Sir, the president wants to speak with you and that man.” The medic pointed at Bishop.

Powell nodded at the two soldiers standing on either
side of Bishop. They allowed the prisoner
to stand
,
and one of the m
edics moved aside. The
C
ommander in
C
hief
was lying on his back, his army fatigues covered in blood, bandage wrappers
,
and assorted medical
refuse
. There was
an IV tube in his arm
,
and
cut-away
scrap
s of his uniform blouse were lying all around. The man was desperately
fighting
for each breath and looked pale and white against the concrete backdrop of the sidewalk. Bishop took a knee
, and gently cradled
the dying man
’s hand. The president’s voice was broken and weak
, “Is you
r
wife okay
,
young man?”

Bishop replied, “Yes sir, she’s fine. Don’t worry about anything but yourself
,
sir. Use all of your energy to stay with us. Help is on the way.”

The president gasped and coughed, “No, I don’t think I’m going to make it through this one
,
son.
”
He paused, then managed a few more raspy breaths and continued, “
I wanted to thank you for helping me understand my people. I should have done something like this a long time ago
….
The rabbit was excellent
,
by the way.” The man smiled up at Bishop and started coughing again.

Bishop smiled back and
watched as the president waved A
gent Powell
down beside him. The chief executive
reached up and pulled Powell close, whispering something in his ear. Powell pulled back and asked, “Are you sure
,
sir?” The president nodded, coughed
,
and then his eyes rolled back in his head and his breathing stopped.

The two medics pushed their way in and started working furiously on their
C
ommander in
C
hief. Bishop knew their efforts were in vain. The man was gone. He took a step back
,
and again his arms were pinned to his side by the two g
uards. Powell looked up and instructed them
, “The president has pardoned this man. It was his final order. Release him – he’s free to go.”

In a few minutes, the helicopters started landing in the park. Nick’s people were
informed they were free
to
go.
Bishop and T
erri were “asked” to accompany A
gent Powell to Fort Bliss and make statements. Agent Powell, ever the loyal government employee and a sworn law enforcement officer, wanted the coup attempt
thoroughly
documented. At first, Terri was reluctant to go, but
when
Bishop mentioned the hot shower
and shampoo, her heart was set on Bliss
. Besides, she had never ridden in a whirlybird.

The army medics looked at Bishop’s wound and determined
not only w
ould
the wound be fine
, but
he
would have
a great scar to show his
grand
children. The round had barely grazed his side and required a single
butterfly bandage and some anti
biotic cream. Bishop tried to milk it for all it was worth, informing Terri that the medics advised he take it easy and stay off his feet for a few months. Terri didn’t buy it for one second, but replied that she would be happy to wait on him hand and foot
-
for a while. After all,
she reasoned,
her pregnancy was bound to require the same treatment in reverse. Bishop realized, yet again, his cause was lost.

An emotion
al
farewell was exchanged between Terri, Bishop
,
and Nick, with promises of “See you soon,” and “W
e’ll stop by the church on the way back to Meraton.” Bishop and Terri boarded the last Blackhawk with Agent Powell and the president’s body.

Talking was next to impossible on the flight to Bliss. Terri and Bishop satisfied themselves with holding hands and looking at each other. At one point, Terri managed enough volume to overcome the noise and said, “You’re not leaving me again
,
Bishop. Never again. I want you right beside me until the day I die.”

Bishop responded, “You got that right. Wild horses baby…wild horses.” His eyes told Terri he meant it.

Agent Powell, ever the observer, sat opposite of the couple without comment. Deep down inside, he realized a feeling of envy at what these two people shared. His college sweetheart had divorced him years ago, unable to handle the long hours and constant danger involved with the job
.
He wondered for a moment how she was doing, and had secretly hoped they
could
rekindle their romance when
he retired.

The
Secret Service
agent also had to admit
his anger with Bishop was mis
placed. In reality, he was angry with himself. Even that emotion began to fade as the flight wore on. No protector ever wants harm to come to his charge, yet as Powell replayed the events of the last 12
hours,
he had trouble finding fault with his actions. He remembered reading the memoirs and reports of the men charged with protecting Kennedy. They had all experienced issues with misdirected anger
,
followed by guilt. The best, he observed, bury themselves so deeply in the job it is difficult to handle failure. He couldn’t blame Bishop for saving his wife instead of the president. After watching their interaction, he might have done the same had he been in Bishop’s shoes.

Agent Powell remembered the president’s last words. “He’s a man of honor. He did the right thing. I would’ve given my life to save that woman
,
too. They are the future; make sure they are left alone to realize it. He has my pardon.”

Powell thought about those words and concluded the president was right. It was the people like the
couple across from him that were
going to rebuild the nation, not the high and mighty. The solution had to come from the ground up. He thought about apologizing to Bishop. Two or three times during the flight, he cleared his throat to issue the words, bu
t stopped. He eventually excused his inability to speak, convincing himself
the man sitting across from him didn’t
really
care and was completely focused on being with his mate.

They landed at Bliss to a waiting line of
Humvees
. Bishop and Terri were escorted to the same room Bishop had used b
efore, holding hands and making eyes at each other while stroll
ing across the parade grounds. Terri called shotgun on the shower
,
while Bishop enjoyed a cup of coffee.

After both of them had bathed and eaten, they realized neither had gotten much sleep for days. The aftermath of a hot shower and full meal had both of them yawning and looking longingly at the bed.

Nick watched the Blackhawks carrying Bishop and Terri disappear. He gathered his men, and they carefully worked their way the last few blocks to the church’s compound. After the appropriate signals were exchanged, the excited, but tired group of men was met by eager family members watching every face as it came into the yard.

Nick saw Kevin approaching with a look of relief, but before the boy could reach his father, Deacon Brown appeared out of nowhere and pulled Nick close in a tight embrace. Nick wasn’t sure, but felt like the hug was a little more than just a casual “Glad you’re home.” Diana looked up at the big man, and her eyes said it all. “Welcome home, soldier. I’m glad you made it back in one piece.”

Nick looked around at the gathering and smiled. He’d brought back all of his men. Not every mission ended that way, but today had been a good day. “We all made it home, Diana. That’s the best part of the whole enchilada. I’m also happy to report that the skinnies are no longer a force. Their leadership is dead, and their ranks have been scattered. Tomorrow, the good people of this church can retake Alpha. You can finally start to rebuild, Diana.” Nick looked back down into her eyes and added, “And I would like to stay and help, if I haven’t worn out my welcome.”

Diana’s pulled away, and her expression becoming serious. “Before we talk about your sticking around, I’m a little curious about what took you so long? I mean, I know you’re not a Navy SEAL or anything, but…”

Nick was taken aback by the comment and didn’t know if the woman were joking or what. He started a comeback, “A SEAL? Did I just hear you compare me to a SEAL?” He looked at Kevin as if to verify what his ears had just taken in, but the boy just shrugged his shoulders.

Diana didn’t let up, “I had always heard you army Special Forces types were high speed, low drag individuals. I guess you can’t trust the rumor mill, can ya?”

Nick still didn’t know where this was coming from, but he wasn’t going to let it go. “Look lady, the SEALS are good…damn good…but let’s not be comparing apples to …”

Again, Diana cut him off, “Nick, don’t take offense. I was just a little surprised I had to send Terri and her team out to rescue you." Without missing a beat, Diana planted her hands on her hip bones in an apparent sign of disgust. "Don’t worry, I won’t tell anyone that a girl, sorry, a
pregnant
girl, had to go help you back to camp.”

Diana held her composure for a few seconds more while father and son stood silently, facing her. Nick was digesting Diana's words and had just begun to take in a deep breath when she busted out laughing. Kevin couldn’t hold his
pokerface
either, started with a snicker and soon was laughing so hard he could hardly breathe, bent at the waist and holding his ribs. Nick, realizing he had been had, joined in the joke.

After everyone had recovered, Diana put her hand on Nick’s shoulder and apologized. “I’m sorry, I couldn’t resist. This has been such a tense day, I thought we could use a little comic relief. I was so happy to see you bringing all of the men-folk home. I turned to Kevin and asked him how your sense of humor was these days, and he told me to go for it.”

Kevin, receiving a dirty look from his dad, decided to count branches on a nearby tree just at that moment. Nick couldn’t remember the lad ever having a more innocent, angelic look on this face and made a mental note that it wasn’t going to do the boy a bit of good when he issued a payback.

Nick shook his head, “You really had me going there for a minute. Now, back to the issue of my wearing out my welcome?”

Diana’s face changed to a look of pure joy. She smiled and looked around to make sure none of the congregation was within earshot. She gave Nick the killer combination of a serious look and then a wink, “You’re
more
than welcome to stay – I’m really happy you want to be here. I have to warn you though; some of those stories about the preacher’s daughter have truth to them.”

Nick portrayed pure gentlemanly innocence, “Why Ms. Brown, I have no idea what you’re talking about. What stories would those be?”

Diana took his hand and replied in a low voice, “Come with me soldier, and I’ll enlighten you.”

Nick and Diana put their arms around each other and casually meandered toward the church. Kevin stood by smiling, understanding fully what had just occurred. He had often wondered if his dad would ever meet anyone now that the world had changed. He liked Diana and thought the two adults were a good match. Suddenly realizing he hadn’t been relieved of his bodyguard duty, he decided to tag along and be an annoyance. Smiling widely, he tucked his rifle under his arm and trotted off to catch up, wondering how long he could hang around before his dad chased him off.

To the exhausted couple, it seemed like
they had just gotten settled under the covers
when a knock on the door interrupted their slumber. Bishop grumbled something about no rest for the wicked and looked at his watch. They had been sleeping for over
nine
hours. He padded to the door. “Yes
?
”

“Corporal Higgins here, sir.
Agent Powell sent me to inform you they are ready to start the debriefing in 30 minutes. If you wish, sir, I’ll have some breakfast brought here for you.”

Bishop started to inform the good corporal that Agent Powell’s timing sucked, but thought better of it. He mumbled, “Breakfast would be fine
,
corporal. Make sure the tray has lots of coffee,” and
turned to Terri who was groggily propped on an
elbow.

She raised one eyebrow and said, “I’ll get dressed and go with you. I’m not letting you out of my sight for a long time
,
M
ister.”

Bishop started to protest, but decided it was a waste of
energy
. Besides, he felt the same way. A short time later, the couple was dressed and walking toward the headquarters building. Terri was fascinated by the surroundings
,
having never been on a military base before. Bishop had to smile at her child-like curiosity as she peppered the youn
g corporal with questions of, “What’s that?” and “W
hy do you do that
?
” the entire trip. They were shown to the same conference room where Bishop
had originally met the leader of the free world
. The huge wall displays were still functioning
,
and Bishop pointed out
a few
details to his wife while they waited.