Sin (The Waite Family) (39 page)

Candace reached out
,
took the box and slipped it into her pocket.
“Are you going to give me your gun
,
dear?”

Sydney looked at her, tears and grief on her face. “I can’t let it go.
I want to, I really do
,
but it’s like it’s frozen in my hand.”

Candace nodded and turned to Payton and motioned for him to move forward
.
“Let Payton take it then. And I’ll confirm your man is down.
All right, honey?”

Sydney nodded and Payton moved to Sydney’s other side.
Candace put two fingers to Shipley’s throat and nodded at Sydney as Payton reached for her gun.

“He’s gone.
Time of death is zero three twenty-three.”

“When the gun is free, you two will need to step back from Captain Waite
,
please,” David said as he approached them. “These men are going to take her in for—
”

“They hurt her and hell will be paid,” Candace told him as she stepped in front of Sydney and Payton.
“
I’m not without my own
ways of making your life a living hell.”

“I assure you both that if they so much as make her whimper I will personally have them shot.” David turned
,
but Candace grabbed his shoulder.

“She said you would need this,” Candace whispered near his ear.
“You had better be trustworthy or
,
so help me
,
I’ll
sh
o
ot your fucking dick off.”

As soon as Payton stepped back
,
the MP’s moved toward Sydney. Two of them helped her sta
nd and two more began checking S
hipley’s body.

The men were gentle with her. One of the men spoke softly to her while the other held her steady.
Candace reached for her hand and gave it a hard squeeze.

“
I’m
going to love having you as a daughter, Sydney.”

She nodded as they cuffed her.

Payton wrapped his arm around her waist as they watched Sydney being
escorted
by and then he kissed her cheek. “I love you,
M
om.”

“She’s a hell of a girl,
Payton
.
I like her.” She looked at her son.
“You make sure you tell her you love her every
day
,
young man
,
or I will kick your bottom.”

He kissed her again. “I love you so much. But you’re scary.”

They walked out together and watched as they put Sydney in an ambulance. She was nodding
,
but they couldn’t hear what was being said to her.

~Chapter 22~

Sydney looked at the table of men in front of her. She wasn’t sure how to answer the question General Worth had asked her. How the hell was she supposed to know what motivated Barnes to want to kill
her?
She’d told them money
,
but that didn’t seem to set well with them.
Before she could
ask
him what the fuck he wanted her to say David touched her arm
, the one not in the sling.

“I believe that question was answered yesterday and
,
if memory serves
,
the day before that as well.
Private Barnes was the only one who truly knew the answer to that and
,
thanks to Captain Waite, he’s no longer a threat to our national security.” David stood up as he continued.
“You’ve listened to the recordings a total of nine times over the past four days. If you don’t have what you need by
now, then
I’m not sure what to tell you.”

“And where do you think you’re going, Captain Waite
?
These hearings are for—
”

The
g
eneral was cut off by a commotion at the rear of the room.
Sydney snapped to attention
,
as did every other man in the room.
When the President of the United States walked in no one sat or slumped over.

“Gentlemen,” he began before turning to her.
“Hello
,
Captain Waite.
How’s your shoulder?
I heard you’d been injured a few days ago.”

“Yes sir, it
’
s fine
,
sir. But it’s not
c
aptain anymore. I keep trying to tell these yahoos…men
,
but they won’t listen to me.”
She glanced at David when he made a slight noise.
“Lieutenant Colonel Patterson said he called someone on my behalf. I d
id
n’t know it was you
,
sir. He should have kept his mouth shut.”

The President glanced at David before turning back to her.
“He didn’t call me.
Your sister-in-law did.
Alyssa has a way with words
,
doesn’t she?”

Sydney flushed. “I don’t know her all that well
,
sir.
I’ve been…I’ve had other things on my a
g
enda lately.”

She had been in the brig or military jail since she’d been escorted from the building eight days ago.
She’d been escorted to and from this building in Washington D.C. for the past five days and had only seen one other person besides those in this room once
,
and that was the surgeon.
She’d been cooperative up until now
,
but she wanted to go home.

“So you have.
And you are still a
c
aptain until I say otherwise.
Have a seat,” he told her when he pulled out her chair.
“Let me see if I can get this thing finished once and for all.
Oh, when this is over I’d like to discuss a job opportunity with you.”

“Sir, my friend…
Sergeant
Shipley’s funeral is today.
I would like…I need to be there. He was one of my men
,
sir. I want to be there when he is put to rest.
”

He patted her on the shoulder. “As he was one of mine,
c
aptain.
You’ll be there. I’ll make sure.”

They’d given her her
c
aptain’s
uniform to wear to these proceedings
so she was dressed in her formal dress blues
,
as were the men behind the table
.
And since s
he’d had it drilled into her head
that respect meant standing at attention until told to do otherwise
,
she
did just that
.
She supposed it didn’t matter to her how she was dressed
. S
o long as
the President of the United States
was standing
,
so was she
.

She glanced at David again and watched him no
d
to the other men who’d come in with the President.
Secret Service men
,
she thought
,
and dismissed them as background noise.
It was the lovely woman who’d c
o
me in with them that had her attention.
Sydney listened as she addressed the men at the table.

“These are signed
affidavits
stating that Captain Waite was acting with the full backing of the President and for the interest of the United States Government when she and
Sergeant Shipley infiltrated the ring that eventually led to the arrest
of
soon to be discharged men who acted against our government…your government.
The trial pending on the trial of nine member
s
of the United States Military versus the United States Government will commence as soon as next month.
Here are other affidavits stating that Captain Waite and Sergeant Shipley acted with the full authority of the President. These affidavits state that—
”

“Are you goin
’
to keep giving us this paperwork until you flood our desks with—
”

“General Murphy, correct?”
At his nod the woman continued.
“General Murphy
,
I will flood your house with paperwork if I feel the need.
You’ll need to shut up and let me do my job or I’ll have these nice gentlemen
in the black suits put you in the cell Captain Waite has been keeping warm for you.”

“Perhaps,” the President said with ill
-
masked humor, “this will go much better if we get to the point.
Captain Waite did her job.
The one
I
asked her to do. Does anyone have any questions?”

No one said a word. The President nodded then walked to the table and shook the hand of each man still standing.
Before Sydney could gather her wits she was being escorted out again, this time by the Secret Service
, David
,
and the President to the waiting car. They were driving away when she spoke up.

“What job?” Both men, David and the President
,
looked at her oddly.
“What job did you tell me to do?”

“Protect and serve.
You’ve never been officially discharged. I kept getting the incorrect papers across my desk.” The President looked at David who flushed pink.
“Then this came across my desk about a month ago.”

He handed her a thick file. She opened it then closed it quickly. It was a picture of her when she’d been shot in the jungle.

“It was hard for me to look at it as well.” He nodded to David who continued.