Wounded Chapter 24
Author notes to readers: I know we have had some readers complaining about the
format of our stories and the jumping around between sub-plots. Realize, our
stories are written like watching television where things do jump around. There
are only two or three, at the most, plots in play at the same time. So sit
back, don't drink too much and enjoy yourself.
Ben, Anastasia and Alexander
Present – Jens – Surgery
Ramstein Air Field Germany
This is s-o-o-o-o-o fricken
cool! It's like I'm floating in the air above my body. I can't hear anything,
but I can sure see things! And my vision is sharper than ever! The doctors are
working like crazy on me. I see them take some paddles, put them on my chest
and then hit a button, my body jumps and son-of-a-gun that looks like it hurts!
I know this is one of those
out of body experiences I read about it once in a book. I wonder, does this
mean I'm dead? Shoot! If I'm dead I died a fricken v-i-r-g-i-n! What a
huge w-a-s-t-e! I really wish now I would have worked harder on Ben to
make me a whole woman. But I guess dying a good - well mostly good girl
will mean I get to go to heaven. It would be terrible if I went to 77341,
because then I might be one of the seventy-two v-i-r-g-i-n-s of a fricken terrorist.
And there's no way in H-E-double-toothpick2 – dead or alive, I would
let one of those illegitimate boys without fathers touch me.
1
HELL – upside down on a calculator.
2
HELL
Well if I'm dead and not in
my body I wonder just exactly what sort of super powers I have? Wow, I can go
up higher in the room and I can get really low - right over my body. I flinch
like crazy when a doctor sticks a big needle into my chest and try to hit him,
but my hand passes right through his head. He does shake his head just a
little, sort of like he's being bothered by a fly.
I zoom around at the ceiling
and take a couple laps. Then I get bored and decide to see if I can leave the
room. Wow, I can go right through the walls! Oh goodie, it's the waiting room
and there's Liz, Matt and… Oh My God!
It's Daddy and he's in a
wheelchair. Boy does he look like a mess - I can see he's even bleeding some. I
cry some and yell, "Liz get off your rear and take care of Daddy!"
She doesn't move and I realize that if I can't hear them, they probably can't
hear me. Shoot someone needs to help Daddy.
I move up close to Liz to try
to tell her to take care of Daddy. Shoot, I'm too close and somehow I get
sucked inside her. Wow, this is even more cooool! I can sort of feel what she's
thinking. She is really upset. But wait - the sneaky little female-dog! Ben was
right when he told me she had a crush on him. She's worried about me but at the
same time she's wondering what it would be like if I died. Hey Liz you
fricken-fracken moron, I am dead and now you can have Ben and… Oh My God! I
wonder if I can blush because if I can I just did. Liz is thinking about what
she'd do to comfort Ben. Wow is she one nasty horndog and Ben is going to be
s-o-o-o-o-o lucky and I'm s-o-o-o-o-o stinkin' jealous!
Well, if I can sort of feel
her feelings, I wonder if she can feel mine. I start to think with all my
heart!
Present – Liz
– Waiting room Ramstein Air Field Germany
I've felt bizarre for about
the last five minutes. I'm really itchy, like I have a bad case of hives or a
bunch of ants crawling on my skin. I keep brushing at them but they won't go
away. It also feels like, well, like someone else is inside me and sharing my
thoughts. I must be going crazy, or perhaps I'm just tired and hungry… or maybe
PMS.
I've been looking at the
floor worrying about Jens and daydreaming. How I would comfort Ben if she was
to die, then it feels like something or someone tells me to look at Glen. I
glance towards Glen - damn is he ever a fucking mess and looks as white as a
ghost. Then I look closer and see he's bleeding so I ask, "Glen, how are
you feeling?"
He looks at me and says,
"Thanks Liz, I'm fine but just a little tired. I wonder how much longer Jennifer's
surgery is going to take."
Then it feels like something
or someone forces me to get up and walk over to Glen. I squat in front of him
and then my arm reaches out and touches his dressing. I pull my hand back and
it's soaked with blood. I look at Matt and order, "Glen's in trouble we
need to get a doctor."
Glen says, "Ignore that
order."
Matt laughs his answer,
"Glen I guess you forgot. I don't work for you anymore. Liz, I'll go get
someone right away."
My hand reaches out again and
I put pressure on Glen's dressing. It's a good thing I do because he slumps
forward unconscious in his wheelchair and it's hard to keep him from falling to
the floor. But somehow I seem to have the strength of two women and I keep him
in the chair.
Matt comes back with a doctor
and I inform him, "General Donaldson is bleeding badly and just passed
out."
The doctor rushes right over
and says, "I told him he'd pull his stitches if he didn't rest. Quick!
Help me get him back into surgery."
Matt helps the doctor push
Glen and the wheelchair out of the room. As Glen leaves, the creepy crawlies
leave my skin.
Present – Jens – Surgery
Ramstein Air Field Germany
Wow was that ever stinkin'
hard and I'm s-o-o-o-o-o tired. I wonder if I can go back into my body and take
just a little rest. I go right through the walls and settle back into my body.
Right before I drift off to sleep I hear, "Good work, she's back!"
Present – Mira – Hospital
Ramstein Air Field Germany
I hate leaving Ms. Morgan in
the care of Matt because he will not take as good care of her as I would. I
will give him a long, slow and painful death if she gets injured. But I must
get to Ira, she is hurt very badly.
I know Ira was headed to the
basement when I last talked to her so I hope she is still there. As I approach
the hospital I see there are guards. They are Marines not Airmen, and they look
serious. I can fight my way through them, but they would be hurt and it will
take too much time. I approach and one commands, "Halt and state your
purpose!"
I raise my hands, run close
to him, stop, smile and say, "Excuse me private. But I had a phone call
from my twin sister and she is still trapped in the hospital. I am just trying
to get to her." He looks at me, I smile and show concern with my face. He
yells, "Hey Sarge, I need you over here ricky tick."
I continue to smile and even
sway a little, but inside I'm anxious as can be. A grizzled old man comes over,
a real warhorse. I give him my best smile and the PFC says, "Sarge this lady
says her twin sister is still in the hospital and she wants to go in and get
her." I watch as he sizes me up as I flirt just a little with him. He
asks, "How do you know she's still in the hospital?"
I answer, "She called me
on her mobile phone and told me she was trapped."
He squints his eyes at me and
says, "Do you know where she's trapped?"
I reply, "She said
something about the lower levels. Please Sergeant we really need to go in and
find her. I think she's hurt." That is the right thing to say because it
lights a fire under the Marines.
The Sergeant commands,
"I need three men to go and search the hospital for this ladies twin
sister..."
I know it is bad of me, but I
interrupt with a big flirt, "Excuse me Sergeant, would it be possible for
me to go with them?"
He
stops, looks at me, shakes his head and says, "Sorry Miss, but I can't let
civilians back into the hospital."
I silently curse myself
because this is taking too long and I should have just kicked their rears. I
motion to the Sergeant to move closer and he stands beside me. I reach inside
the pocket on my coat, pull out my still valid Mossad identification and
whisper to him, "Sergeant, as you can plainly see I am not a civilian. And
it would mean a great deal to me and my country if I could accompany your men.
And just so you know, we are the ones who alerted General Donaldson about the
situation in the basement. My twin sister went in to report on the
situation."
He steps back and I see him
look at me with greater respect. Then he says to his men, "I still need
three men to escort this lady into the hospital to look for her twin
sister."
All my flirting works and his
whole squad volunteers, so it makes me blush just a little. The sergeant
selects three of his men and orders, "Okay you three, Miss Swartz (The
fake name on my Mossad ID) is Mossad and needs some help finding her sister.
Now that we know who she is, I don't have to tell you how important this is, so
don't fuck up."
I hear a hearty reply of yes
Sergeant from the three and we take off towards the hospital. I start running
at top speed and hear yelling behind me, "Hey, slow up we can't keep up
with you."
I laugh at them and taunt,
"Are you going to let a girl outrun you!"
They start to swear and I
laugh even more because this is part of my plan.
Present – Sgt.
Anderson - 1st Battalion 9th Marines – The Walking Dead -
Alpha Company, Zulu Squad - Hospital – Ramstein AFB Germany
I'm still fucking shocked at the
treatment by Mrs. Donaldson and I can't believe we are taking her through this
fucking hospital death trap. I can only hope we have angels watching over us
today and the bastard terrorists don't blow us all to hell.
LCpl. Bascom is covering our six,
PFC Slater is pushing the gurney and I'm leading the way. I'm not sure we don't
have more terrorist bastards in the hospital so we are taking all the
precautions our dignitary demands. The last thing I want is for the Old Man's
wife to get captured.
Mrs. Donaldson nicely asks,
"Sergeant is there any way we can go faster?"
I motion for my team to stop
and say, "Mrs. Donaldson, I know you're in a hurry. But we still need to
follow proper procedure to keep you safe."
She smiles at me, gets ready
to say something, Then she yells, "No, get the hell away from me!"
She lets out a big sigh, seems to pass out and shakes like she's in some sort
of seizure."
I look at my men and command,
"Shit, we need to get her the fuck out of here and to the medics. Let's
haul ass." And we throw all caution to the wind take off like our asses
are on fire.
Present – Jens – Surgery
Ramstein Air Field Germany
I wake and hear, "Shit
we're losing her again!" Then I'm floating in the air above my body again
and can't hear anything.
I zoom right out of the
operating room, into the waiting room but I only see Liz and Matt. Where the
heck is Daddy? I zoom through a couple more rooms and I finally find him.
Shoot! They're doing surgery on him again! I take a close look at his monitors
and he looks like he's doing well. I slip inside the surgeon, he starts
squirming like he has ants in his pants and I giggle because I can sense he
feels Daddy's going to be fine.
Well if Daddy's going to be
fine, what should I do now? Oh yeah the fat female-dog, I mean mom is here, I
wonder if I can find her? I pause for a moment and – yeah I can sort of sense
which direction she is from here so I zoom out of Daddy's operating room, out
of the triage area and towards the fricken hospital. Didn't I hear the
terrorists had some sort of big bomb in the basement? What the heck is she
still doing in there?
I flinch when I fly through
the hospital walls because I still expect it to hurt and I giggle when it
doesn't. I'm well on my way to finding mom when I get distracted and watch in
amazement.
Present – Mira – Hospital
Ramstein Air Field Germany
I am five hundred meters
ahead of the Marines when we reach the hospital and I crash through the doors.
I run to the first side door and step inside and wait for them to catch up
while I catch my breath. It doesn't take long until I hear them enter the
hospital.
One says, "Where the
fuck did she go?"
Another replies, "What
is she, some sort of track star? Sarge is going to kill us for losing
her."
The third says, "Shit,
not just the Sarge, did you hear the rest of the guys giving us shit about not
being able to keep up with her? We'll never hear the fucking end of this."
I wait for them to pass the door
and step out into the hallway behind them. I feel the hair rise on my neck and
I look around to see who is watching me, but no one is there. But I cannot
shake the feeling that someone is watching me.
I slowly slip up on the last
Marine which is easy because they are very noisy and are not following proper
military protocol. He never hears or sees me as I grab his head and give him a
neck crank, not enough to break his neck, just enough to render him
unconscious. I help him slowly slide to the floor and the other two Marines
don't even notice. The Sergeant will not be very happy with them when he
discovers their incompetence. But this is my plan because I cannot let them see
me rescue Ira.
I move to the second Marine
and take care of him, but he yells right as I render him unconscious and the
first Marine turns back towards me with his rifle pointing right at me and
yells, "What the fuck did you just do?"
I smile at him but I know
this will not be an easy fight, however my body armor should stop the rounds
from his M4. I get ready to attack when something I do not understand happens.
The Marine starts squirming like he is being bitten by many bugs then he shakes
and falls to the floor. I look around in amazement because I do not understand
what has just happened. I go to the Marine and he is alive but unconscious.
I
look to the ceiling and say, "Слава Богу!" Because I think I
have an angel helping me today. The hair goes back down on my neck, and I head
towards the basement to find my sister!
Present
– Jens – Surgery Ramstein Air Field Germany
It is so much fun watching
Mira take care of the Marines. She is a frickin fighting machine! Wow, I'm sure
glad I never fought her because she'd kick my rear. I remember her saying her
sister was hurt and in the basement of the hospital so she must be trying to
rescue her.
She runs into problems with
the last Marine and I can see he is getting ready to fire. So I go inside his body
and attack him. I have no idea I can do this but I need to do something and
it's s-o-o-o-o cool and fun. I can sense he feels he is being attacked by the
ants from 7734 and passes out.
Then Mira looks up to the
ceiling, right at me and praises God. God? Heck it's me that kicks the last
Marines rear - you should thank me!
Uhhhh, I'm so stinkin' tired!
Hey! What the heck is going on? I'm being yanked back out of the hospital and…
Shoot! I'm back in my body and…
Present – Samantha –
Hospital – Ramstein AFB Germany
"Hello, this is Samantha
Stevens of the Truth Network, reporting on the continuing cleanup of the
Ramstein hospital. Brave General Donaldson and the Marines have eliminated the
terrorist threat and the hospital is once again fully operational."
Yeah, I'm lying through my
teeth but we needed to keep the terrorists in the basement in the dark about
our knowledge of their evil plans. My phone rings, and I say, "Excuse me
one minute; I have an important call from our network."
Bernie kills the audio, I
step off camera and answer, "This is Samantha, what do you need?"
"Samantha, this is
Darrell. I thought you guys might want a heads up. We picked up some intel that
terrorists might be sending some more bastards after Ramstein. I tried calling
Liz but I couldn't get through to her, do you know where she is?"
I bite my lip and wonder
what's going on with Liz. Then I reply, "Thanks Darrell, I'm not sure
what's going on with Liz because she always answers her phone. I think
she's at the triage area because Jennifer Donaldson is there undergoing
surgery."
Darrell says, "Samantha,
you are doing a great job! But we need you to leave Bernie in the hospital to
continue the ruse and get over to the triage area. See what's going on with Liz
and make sure you give the message about more terrorists to the Marines."
I reply, "Sure will,
Darrell. Is there anything else I need to tell Liz?"
I wait and he says,
"Yeah have her give me a call. I have some things I need to talk with her
about."
I walk over by Bernie as he
continues to shoot video and say, "Bernie, Darrell can't get in touch with
Liz and wants me to head over to the triage area and find her. He also said
there might be more terrorists headed this way."
Bernie answers, "Damn,
that's all we need. Get your rear moving, and I will keep shooting video. Take
care of yourself."
I take off towards the triage
area. I get almost to the door and find three unconscious Marines, it scares
the hell out of me and I wonder if the terrorists have already arrived.
Then I hear a crap load of
noise behind me around the corner of the hallway. I reach down, take an M4 off
one of the unconscious Marines and prepare to fight the terrorists.
Present – Sgt. Anderson -
1st Battalion 9th Marines – The Walking Dead - Alpha
Company, Zulu Squad - Hospital – Ramstein AFB Germany
We are running through the
halls like maniacs to get Mrs. Donaldson to the medics. I round the corner of
the hallway, see three Marines on the floor and that young news reporter
pointing an M4 at me. I dive to the floor and yell, "Don't fire we're
Marines!"
I'm too late and some rounds
hit the wall over my head. Then I hear, "Oh crap! I'm so sorry! I almost
shot you!"
Damn fucking civilians! I'm
sure happy she can't shoot worth shit; otherwise I'd really be the dead
part of the walking dead. I stand up, get ready to chew her a new asshole and
see she's shaking like a leaf in a hurricane. I walk up to her, take the M4 out
of her hands and say, "What the hell went on here?"
She starts crying and
blubbering and I can't make any sense out of what she's trying to say. I hug
her and say, "It's okay. You didn't hurt me. Now relax and tell me what
the hell has you so upset."
I feel her slowly start to calm
down. She finally says, "Gee I'm so sorry. I found these three Marines on
the floor and thought you were the new group of terrorists that hurt
them."
What she says doesn't make
total sense to me, plus I've been looking at the Marines and I can't see any
physical injuries to them. It looks like something has knocked them out. I need
to find out what she is talking about. I ask, "What's this you're saying
about a new group of terrorists?"
She takes a deep breath and
answers, "My network called and told me there might be more terrorists
headed towards Ramstein. I was headed towards the triage area to tell them when
I found these Marines just lying here."
We need to get this new intel
to the brass as soon as possible. I order, "Bascom, you and Slater figure
out some way to get these three Marines out of here. Young lady, I hope you can
run like hell and push a gurney at the same time because we need to get this
intel to the brass and Mrs. Donaldson to the medics. And since you've already
shown me I can't trust you with a weapon, you have to push the gurney."
She answers, "I'll try
my best."
I look at her and say,
"Don't try, just do! Now let's roll." And we take off running towards
the triage area.
Present – Jens
– Surgery Ramstein Air Field Germany
Uhhhhhhh! Wow that was a huge
struggle getting out of my body again! But I need to find mom and see what's
going on with her. I stop just for a second and watch the doctors working on
me; they sure get excited every time I leave my body. I don't know why I can
come and go as I want and for the most part it doesn't matter what they do.
Now on to mom, I head back
into the hospital, past the three Marines, past Mira and I look out and… ah
there she is. She's on a gurney with three Marines escorting her. I watch and
the Marines are good, no they're fricken great. Shoot I miss being a Marine and
now that I'm dead I never will be again.
I get really close to Mom and
think, so you're the fricken-fracken female-dog that almost got Ben killed. I
should strangle you right now for all the 7734 you've put the two of us
through. My anger gets the best of me and I dive inside her and attack.
Present – Mira
– Hospital Ramstein Air Field Germany
I pull out my flashlight when
I enter the stairwell to the basement because the lights are out in the
hospital and even the backup power is off. I giggle because this sounds like
the work of my sister. Even though I want to run down the stairs, I know I
cannot because I am sure there are traps on the stairs.
I get one level above the
basement and I notice the tripwire on the stairs. I stop, bend down, see how
rudimentary it is and quickly disable it. But I become even more cautious, if
the bomb was still active on the stairs that means Ira went to the basement
some other way. I reach the door to the basement, I touch it then I pull my
hand back because something doesn't feel right. I pull out my mobile phone and
the snake camera connector, hook them together and slide the snake under the
door. It is so dark I cannot see a thing, so I switch the camera mode to night
vision, it flickers a couple of times and I can see why things didn't feel
right. There are two grenades wired to the door handle. I quickly scan the rest
of the room and I can see bodies everywhere.
I decide I cannot waste
anymore time so I tie a rope to the door handle, move back away from the door
and pull the rope. The door opens the grenades detonate and then I wonder if I
made a mistake.
Present – Jens – Surgery
Ramstein Air Field Germany
Wow, attacking Mom ended up
being a b-i-g mistake! I almost didn't make it back out of her; she-she-she is
one scary and messed up woman! Even with all the pooh she did to Ben and me, I
still can't help but feel sorry for her. I've questioned before if she was
insane and now I have no doubts.
I need to get back to the
safety of my body!
Present – Liz – Waiting
room Ramstein Air Field Germany
A nurse comes out of surgery
and runs right up to me. She says, "Can you tell me where General
Donaldson is?"
I jump up and reply,
"He's in surgery, what's wrong?"
The nurse answers, "Are
you a relative of Ms. Donaldson?"
I reply, "I'm as close
to a sister as she has."
She says, "I hate to
tell you this, but they're having some complications. Her injuries are much
worse than expected and - well I don't know how to put this, we've lost her a
couple times. The surgeons are opening her chest to find out what's wrong as we
speak."
I start feeling faint and
then Matt grabs me and lowers me to the chair. The nurse grabs a bunch of
supplies and heads back into the operating room. I start crying and look up
towards the ceiling. I don't know whether to curse God or pray to Him.
Matt says, "Come on Liz,
we both know Jens and she's a hell of a fighter. She's going to make it through
this just fine."
I finally decide to pray and
I silently say, "God, I really don't know how to do this. But if you can
just find some way to get Jens through this, I promise I will change."
Matt continues to hug me and
comfort me and I feel better until Samantha walks into the room.
Present – Samantha –
Waiting room Ramstein Air Field Germany
The Sergeant and I make
record time getting to the triage area. He takes off towards the C&C tent
and I get Mrs. Donaldson to the medics. As they start working on her, I watch
for about a minute and it appears they have no idea what's going on with her.
So I take off to find Liz.
The minute I walk into the waiting
room I realize things must be really bad! Liz looks like a million miles of
road in the deepest part of hell. I will need to be careful when I talk to her.
Matt's on one side of her, I sit in the other chair, reach around her, give her
a big hug and say, "Hey Liz, how are you doing and can I do anything for
you?"
She looks at me and says,
"Samantha, it's terrible. Jens is in surgery and has died at least twice.
Now the doctors are going to open up her chest to see if they can find what her
injuries are."
I bite my lip and say,
"Liz, Jens is one of the strongest women I know. I'm sure she's going to
make it." I remember the message Darrell gave me, but I know I can't tell
her right now.
Present – Jens – Surgery
Ramstein Air Field Germany
I slowly wake and realize
something is going on with Ben! I pop right out of my body, look back and see
they have my chest wide open. My mouth drops open as I move closer to get a
better look. Wow, that's my heart and those are my lungs and there is fricken blood
everywhere! The doctor's hands are flying all over the place and then I feel
Ben again. I need to get to my Ben!
I think really hard, and the
next thing I know I'm in Ben's room in Walter Reed Army Medical Center. I start
to cry when I see my poor man. I look and see he's had surgery on his arm, it's
all bandaged up. And Oh Shoot! They have his arms, legs and even his body tied
down to the bed. And there are two Marines standing beside his bed watching
him. And he's hooked up to some sort of machine, it looks like a pump. I take a
close look at it. Those sons-of-a-gun are pumping him full of morphine. I get
right over the top of him and look into his eyes but something doesn't seem
right.
I look and I see he has moved
his arm in such a way he's not getting any of the darn poison in his arm. My
sneaky devil-dog, he's trying to do something. Well, there's only one way I
know to figure out what's going on, so I go right inside his body and start to
sense his feelings.
Mmmm he loves me s-o-o-o-o-o
much, and wow he's in a heck-of-a lot of pain and – that sneaky fricken
devil-dog he's planning on escaping and – I start to cry – he's going to come.
Even in all the pain he's in, he’s going to come and rescue me.
I'm just getting really
comfortable when Oh My God! What the heck did he just do! No he didn't! He just
pooped his pants on purpose. It stinks like heck and the smell forces me out of
his body.
This is an emergency, because
Ben's going to be hurt if he tries what he's planning. I think hard, trying to
get back to my body, but this time it doesn't work. What the heck is going on?
I guess if I can't make it back one way, I will have to fly back to Ramstein
and my body. I zoom out of the hospital room and head over the ocean. I have to
stop Ben before he makes a huge mistake.
Present – Mira – Hospital
Ramstein Air Field Germany
Yes I make a mistake. The
grenades detonate part of the basement bomb and I am not far enough away. The
blast slams me into the wall, I stumble to my feet slightly dazed and confused.
My hearing is shot but I my eyes are closed so at least I can still see. I take
my flashlight and stumble towards the place where the door used to be; now it’s
a huge gaping hole in the basement.
I shine the light through the
hole and all I see is mass carnage everywhere. I yell, "Ira where are
you?" and listen but cannot hear anything." I push aside some debris
and stumble into the basement. I shine my light and finally I see her. She is
on her back at the foot of the stairs. I rush to her, shine the light on her
and see her faintly smile at me. She says something but I can't hear her so is
say, "Ira my ears are ringing, please speak louder." She says it
again and I hear her, "Mira I knew you would come for me."
I lean over, kiss her on the
cheek and say, "Ira we need to get you out of here. Tell me what happened
to you."
"Mira, I eliminated all
the terrorists but was tired. I slipped on the stairs and fell very hard on my
back. I think I made a mess out of my ribs."
I am very concerned as I ask,
"Can you move your legs?
She answers, "Yes Mira,
it just hurts me very much when I move my legs or arms."
I am thankful because I was
worried her rib might have damaged her spinal cord. I say, "Ira, it is
going to hurt you very much when I move you."
"Mira, I know you will
be gentle."
I slowly slip my arms under
her, start to pick her up, she lets out a moan and passes out. I stand up, walk
towards the hole where the door used to be and carry my wounded sister to the stairs.
I then begin the long climb to get her to safety.
Present – Liz
– Waiting room Ramstein Air Field Germany
It takes awhile and just
start feeling better with the support of Matt and Samantha when the operating
room door opens and a surgeon walks out. I feel my heart sink in my chest as he
walks up to me and says, "Ms. Morgan, I'm really very, very sorry. We did
all we could but, it just didn't seem like she had the will to live
anymore."
I start crying and say,
"I want to see her."
He takes me into the
operating room and I see the whole surgery team standing by the back wall. Then
I see Jens on the table, she's all cleaned up and disconnected from all the
machines. She looks so peaceful. I fall on top of her and continue crying. The
surgeon has his arm on my back and is comforting me. I silently curse God for
letting her die!
Then Jens’ body moves, she
takes a huge breath and I hear her whisper, "Liz, you really shouldn't be
cursing God that way. And you're such a nasty horndog. Shame on you for
thinking those sexy things about Ben. But thanks for giving me some great ideas
to use on our honeymoon."
The surgeon pulls me off of
her and says, "Get them the hell out of here. We need to finish working on
Ms. Donaldson."
We're yanked out of the
operating room and back into the waiting room and I wonder what the fuck just
went on.
Present – Ben – WRAMC
My plan for escaping and
rescuing Jens almost works. But then the phone starts ringing and the doctor
walks in the room, he looks at the situation and says, "SM. Blaine you
really need to sit down and take this phone call."
I look at him and fear the
worse. I sit in the chair but I can't sense Jens' feelings anymore. I pick up
the phone and hear, "Hey my sneaky devil-dog, I thought you were housebroken!
But after your big accident, I'm going to have to get you diapers."
Holy Shit it's Jens! Tears
dribble out of the corner of my eyes and I say, "Jens, how are you
feeling?"
She giggles a little bit and
says, "I feel even worse than you do. Tell me honey do you really dig
chicks with scars?"
I still can't believe I'm
talking to Jens again. I reply, "Jens there's only one chick in the whole
word I dig and that's you. And I love you with or without scars."
She says, "That's good
because I have one heck-of-a scar for you to see. It's better than all of yours
put together."
I respond with, "I can't
wait to kiss it and make it better."
She giggles and it's the best
sound I've ever heard, "Sorry honey but you're not going to get to kiss
this scar until were married."
I tell her, "Jens, I'm
coming to be with you as soon as I can."
I hear sternness in her voice
as she says, "Listen here my hard-headed devil-dog! I know all about your
sneaky plan to escape. And I came back just in time to keep you from getting
hurt. I'm fine now and Daddy and mom will be fine. We will all be back to you
in about two weeks, so you just sit tight and wait for us."
I start to argue with her,
"Jens, don't be silly. You need me and I'm coming to be with you."
"Ben shush and listen to
me. I'm asking you nicely to wait for us. And I know you will do this for me.
Now I'm tired and I'm going to sleep. I love you honey!"
I answer, "I love you
too Jens." And the phone goes dead.
I look up at the doctor and
he says, "I told you. You needed to take this call. Now are you going to
stay in that bed or do I need to have you restrained again?"
I look at him and answer,
"Thanks Doc, I owe you one for the phone call from my fiancée. And she
asked me to wait for her so I will honor her wishes."
I hop back into bed. The
nurse regains consciousness, comes over, slaps the hell out of me and says,
"I should kick your butt because I have a hell of a headache from what you
did to me."
I answer, "I am so sorry
Miss, please forgive me. I'll do anything to make it up to you."
She storms out of the room as
the doctor, the Marines and Jim all laugh. The doctor says, "I'll get a
new nurse assigned to you because we need to get your patch changed."
I look at the patch on my arm
and query, "Hey Doc, what does this patch do anyway."
He comes close to me asks me
a bunch of questions about my captivity. He nods his head and says, "Yeah
that's what we thought." Then he tells me all about the patch as he does
all the joy from my conversation with Jens leaves my body.
They all leave and I think
about what I've just been told. A new nurse comes in and changes the patch. As
she does I ask her, "Hey can I get any more information about this
patch?"
She smiles and says, "Sure
I can print of some information from the internet for you."
I lay back on the bed happy I
heard from Jens, but worried about the new information I received.
Present – Liz
– Recovery room Ramstein Air Field Germany
I smile as I hold the phone
so Jens can have a conversation with Ben. The doctor says she made some sort of
miraculous recovery. She even came out of the anesthesia in record time and the
first words out of her mouth demanded to talk to Ben. Oh the nurses wouldn't
listen to her at first, but she became a huge bitch until she got her way.
As I hang up the phone, Jens
smiles at me and says, "Thanks Liz you're such a good friend."
I reply, "Jens, I am now
and always will be your best friend."
She giggles and then coughs
out, "Liz I'm not Captain Kirk and you're not Spock."
I answer, "That's right,
you're the one that died. So Jens tell me what it's like."
She gets a faraway look in
her eyes and says, "Liz, I'm tired right now and I need to go to
sleep."
I watch as she slips off to
sleep. The Jens who just fell to sleep is not the Jens I used to know, she's
changed. Her death and rebirth have made her a different person.
The nurse comes into the
room, checks Jens and I ask, "Nurse I have a question, do you have a
minute?"
She looks at me and replies,
"Sure, what can I answer for you?"
"Well, Ms. Donaldson
seems….. very different since the surgery. I'm worried the problems she had
during surgery might have damaged her mind."
The nurse smiles and says,
"Normally the doctors would order a CAT scan or an MRI. But because of the
problems at the hospital we can't do either of them now. We've done some basic
cognitive tests on her and she seems fine. You have to realize though with all
she's gone through she's bound to seem different." The nurse walks out of
the room.
I can't put my finger on it,
but something has changed with Jens. She's not the same girl she used to be. I
continue to mull this over in my mind until I'm interrupted.
Present – Mira and Ira –
Recovery room Ramstein Air Field Germany
Mira saves me and then takes
very good care of me and while I am still in some pain I feel much better and
can even walk. I say, "Thank you my wonderful sister for your care, I feel
much better. But we need to go find Ms. Morgan." She did not hear my words
at first so I have to repeat myself louder.
Mira smiles at me and
replies, "Ira this time it was my turn next time it will be yours. I was
very impressed with the job you did in the basement. I wonder when they will
send people to the basement. And yes, I left Ms. Morgan with Matt but he is not
a good body guard. I think she is in the waiting room."
We hold hands and head
towards the waiting room. We arrive and Mira says, "Ms. Morgan is not
here."
We see a nurse and she
mentions, "Ms. Donaldson is out of surgery and has been moved to the
recovery room."
I ask, "Do you know if
Ms. Elizabeth Morgan is there with her?"
The nurse replies, "Is
she a blonde lady, about six inches shorter than you?"
Mira nods her head and the
nurse says, "Yes I think she is there with her."
Mira loudly asks, "Would
you please direct us to the recovery room."
The nurse says, "Is
something wrong with your hearing?"
Mira doesn't hear her so I
say, "My sister was close to an explosion and her ears are ringing very
badly. She should be fine in a couple of days."
The nurse replies, "You
should really have a doctor look at her ears. She might have ruptured ear
drums." Then she points and we both take off to find Ms. Morgan.
Mira leans over to whisper to
me, "Ira, I guess my ears are bothering me more than I thought."
I smile at her, squeeze her
hand and say, "Mira, I will look at your ears later, but I think you will
be fine."
We find the recovery room
area and look for Ms. Morgan and Matt. We see Ms. Morgan sitting by a bed, but
do not see Matt.
Mira gets angry and says,
"Ira, I do not know where Matt is. He should be here protecting Ms.
Morgan."
I squeeze her hand and
answer, "Mira, we are here now so let us go see how Ms. Morgan is and then
you can go find Matt and deal with him."
A nurse tries to stop us at
the door, I tell her, "Excuse me, we are Ms. Morgan's body guards and we
need to be with her."
The nurse answers, "What
is it with all these body guards? I already sent one of them away and now you
two show up."
Mira gives her a stern look
and answers, again with too much volume, "Excuse me, just as taking care
of patients is your job, taking care of Ms. Morgan is our job. Will you let one
of us go in and sit beside her?"
I watch and see fear flicker
across her face for a second before she capitulates, "Okay, I see your
point. One of you may be with her as long as you don't cause problems."
Mira leans over and says,
"Ira, you go in and be with Ms. Morgan. I'm going to find Matt."
I let go of Mira's hand and
walk into the recovery room. Ms. Morgan sees me, smiles, stands up and walks
towards me and says, "Ira, it's so good to see you!"
She starts to hug me so I hold
out my arms and stop her, "Ms. Morgan, it is wonderful to see you. But
please do not hug me right now."
I see concern cross her face
as she orders, "Ira, you need to tell me right now what's wrong!"
I answer, "Ms. Morgan,
it is really nothing. My ribs are just bothering me right now."
She crosses her arms, taps
her foot and says, "You should be resting in bed not taking care of me.
Where is that sister of yours?"
I smile because of her
concern for me and reply, "I will be fine Ms. Morgan I just need to sit
down beside you. And Mira is looking for Matt. How is Ms. Donaldson?"
Ms. Morgan helps me sit,
takes a chair herself and replies, "Ira, she almost died three or four times.
They had finally given up on her and I was crying on her chest. Then she woke
up and said some crazy things to me."
I remark, "Ms. Morgan,
this sounds very unusual. Doctors normally don't give up on patients,
especially patients like her unless they are sure they are dead."
She adds, "That's what I
was thinking Ira, and Jens – well she just seems different to me."
I reply, "I am sure they
will do some tests on her when she wakes up. But Ms. Donaldson is a real
fighter."
Present –
Matt – Mess tent Ramstein Air Field Germany
I'm hungry as hell even
though I'd already finished my first plate of food. As I go to get another
plate, I see one of the twins walk into the mess tent. I wave and she heads
towards me like her ass is on fire.
She gets in my face and
yells, "Matt did I not tell you to stay with Ms. Morgan?"
Some of the Marines start to
laugh, so I get pissed and bark, "Hey back off bitch! The nurse wouldn't
let me in the recovery room with her."
It's then I learn the real
meaning of hell hath no fury like that of a woman. She does a leg sweep on me
and the next thing I know I'm on my back on the floor. I didn't move quickly
enough and she's on top of me punching the shit out of me and they sure as hell
aren't love taps. I am doing my best to block her punches, but she's fast as
lightning and some of them are getting through.
The Marines have gathered
around and I hear a bunch of cat-calls.
"God Damn, that woman is
kicking the shit out of him!"
"I've got a twenty on
the lady!"
"That's not a lady,
that's a fucking punching machine."
"I wonder what the hell
he did to get her pissed off!"
"I'll bet a fifty he
cheated on her."
"Nah, I bet he left the
toilet seat up."
I twist with all my might and
flip over on top of her, I try to grab her hands but she's too fast and I
forget about her legs and feet. The next thing I know she's got her feet
wrapped around my head and neck and is squeezing the hell out of my head. And
with her feet blocking my vision I can't see her punches. She hits me with
something in my gut, I start getting a sick feeling and then I feel a punch to
my chest and things start to go dark.
Present – Mira – Mess tent
Ramstein Air Field Germany
I am very upset at Matt for
leaving Ms. Morgan alone and he needs to learn a lesson. I am sure I will find
him eating so I go right to the mess tent and I give him the lesson he
deserves. He passes out and I move out of the way right before he throws up. I
stand up, the whole tent starts clapping and I blush.
I look at the closest Marine
and order, "Throw some water on him and wake him up. Then tell him to
clean up and send him to the recovery room."
He looks at me with respect
and says, "Yes Miss, I will make sure he get there ricky tick. But can you
tell me what he did to get you so upset?"
I feel a little sorry for
Matt and I do not want to embarrass him more so I lie, "I found out this
bastard has two more wives, both younger and more beautiful than I am. One of
them just had a baby and is in the recovery room."
I hear the Marines murmur. He
has turned from being whipped by a woman to being a man's man. I storm out of
the mess tent and watch them wake him up and congratulate him. I suppress a
giggle because he looks very confused.
Present – Jens – Jen's
room Ramstein Air Field Germany
Mmmm, it's a glorious summer
day and we're at our cabin in Leadville. I guess I should explain we: Me, Liz,
two young girls, Mira and Ira of course because wherever Liz is they are there too!
There's only one thing missing, where the heck is Ben?
The four of us have on nice
white summer dresses and are twirling and cavorting in the yard, dancing to
some music. While Mira and Ira watch from the sides in their mossy oak
camouflage. There's movement at the edge of the woods, I stop and watch as
Anastasia comes to the edge of the clearing and watches us.
I point and tell everyone,
"Hey look, it's Anastasia - Nastya the fox. Ben and she used to run
together all the time." I whistle to her and she comes closer. As I walk
towards her, there's a flash up high in the hills. Nastya sees it, turns around
and takes off running.
Mira yells, "Everyone
back in the house! There is someone on the hill up there." We run back
into the house while Ira takes off up the hill…
I open my eyes, blink a
couple times and see Liz and the twins beside my bed. I yawn and say, "I
was having such a nice dream. We were all back at our cabin in Leadville. Not
in this nasty old hospital."
Liz smiles and replies,
"Jens, I'm sure we will all be there soon enough, especially as fast as
you’re healing. The doctors are amazed at your recovery."
I smile at them. Someday I
might tell them about – well the new things I can do. But everyone has a hard
enough time believing me about how I used to be able to sense Ben's feelings.
"So tell me Liz, what
day is it?"
She replies, "Jens you
slept a whole day. It's now two days since your surgery. And we're back in the
hospital."
I query, "Do you have
any information about Daddy and mom?"
Mira says, "Ms.
Donaldson I checked on both of them about an hour ago. General Donaldson is
doing almost as well as you are and your Mother came out of her surgery just
fine yesterday. They expect that she will be able to walk again after many
hours of therapy."
I look at Ira and ask,
"And how are you doing?"
She smiles and answers,
"Thank you for asking Ms. Donaldson, I am healing extremely well."
I smile because I already
knew the answer.
Liz grins, and teasingly
says, "Don't tell me you've forgot about Ben."
I order, "Okay Liz,
spill it!"
Liz giggles, "Jens, he
must have called about a hundred times yesterday. It was so much fun telling
him you were asleep. He started calling you 'A Bela adormecida.'"
I give her a funny look and
ask, "Liz who the heck is A Belladonna?"
Mira, Ira and Liz all giggle
as Ira replies, "Ms. Donaldson, it is A Bela adormecida which is
Portuguese for Sleeping Beauty."
I sleepily answer, "Oh
yeah, Ben's Mom was from Brazil. How did you say that again?"
Liz responds, "A Bela
adormecida."
I comment, "Mmmm, that
sounds much nicer and sexier than Sleeping Beauty. So what time is it in
DC?"
The phone rings and Liz says,
"I think it's time for you to talk to Ben."
Present – Ben – WRAMC
I've spent the last two days
working the hell out of my arm (and keeping the doctors and hospital staff from
catching me doing it). I sent Jim out to get me a damn laptop so I also spent
the last two days on the internet researching this fucking patch. And the piece
of shit laptop has Vista on it. I've never seen it before but it's like they
took all the bad parts of all their operating systems and put them all into
Vista. Why did they fuck with XP!
And Jens has been sleeping
for like two fucking days. Yeah I'm a pissed off Marine! I grab the phone and
decide to call Ram-fucking-stein again. The phone rings twice and I hear,
"A Bela adormecida speaking."
I grin widely. It's Jens,
"Well it's about time you woke up! I've been calling you for two
days."
I hear her giggle and say,
"Hello honey, I really missed you too. But I was busy getting my beauty
sleep."
I quip, "Well with all
that sleep you must be the most beautiful woman in the world."
She gushes and says, "Aw,
you say the nicest things to me. So tell me my soon to be husband, what have
you been doing with all your time?"
I reply, "I had Jim get
me a laptop and it has some operating system called Vista on it."
She interrupts me with a huge
laugh, "Now I know why you're so upset. I thought you were angry because I
was sleeping so much. You know friends don't let friends do Vista." And
she laughs some more.
Her good mood has finally
cheered me up and I say, "Jens it's really good to hear you. Yeah the laptop
has been very frustrating, but the major reason I'm upset is that I can't sense
your feelings anymore."
I wait for what seems like
forever, and she finally sniffles and says, "Yeah Ben, I have the same
problem. I-I-I think that part of our life is gone for a while. I'm sure Liz
told you about the problems I had during surgery?"
I take a deep breath,
remembering how Liz told me I almost lost her and say, "Yeah I heard you
tried to become a real angel three times."
She replies, "Ben when
we're together I need to tell you all about what happened. It's – well almost
unbelievable for me."
I remember the patch and
reply, "Yeah Jens, I have something important to talk with you about
too!"
She answer, "Oh really!
Now you have my curiosity going. What is it, where you're going to take me on
our honeymoon? By the way, I have some great tips from Liz on things that are
going to make you such a happy man on our honeymoon."
I hear a little fight in the
background, then Jens come back on the phone and says, "Sorry honey, Liz
was fighting with me but I'm back. I know I'd like to talk to you all day, but
I'm getting a little tired and plus I'm a hungry-hungry hippo and want some
real food. All they've given me so far is just fricken broth and nasty jello. I
want a fricken steak!"
I answer, "Jens, do you
think it's wise to eat solid food so soon after…"
She interrupts, "You bet
it is I need some real food for energy! Ben, I know there are still some
problems with your arm, but don't worry I will make it all better. Anyway, I
need to go and get some food. I crave sustenance! Amo-o and I promise we will
talk soon!"
I recognize the Portuguese
for I love you and reply with all my heart, "Amo-o Jens."
The phone goes dead and I
hold the receiver in my hand and stare at it. That was one bizarre phone
conversation. I had a few questions before she called but now I have even more.
What the hell did she mean about still having some problems with my arm? I've
been working the hell out of it even though the doctors don't know. And to be
truthful it doesn't feel – well quite right. And what was the fight with Liz? I
can't believe Liz would give Jens tips on what to do on our honeymoon? This is
all FUBAR.
And what's this hungry-hungry
hippo shit! And when did she learn Portuguese?
My thoughts are interrupted
when the doctor walks into my room. I look at him and say, "You've got the
results of my test?"
I can tell by the look on his
face that it's bad news. He says, "Yeah, the test came back totally
negative again."
My throat goes dry and I
swallow, "Totally negative! Are you sure?"
He shakes his head,
"Banzai, we did two separate tests and they both came back the same. Those
terrorists really messed you up."
I answer, "I've been
looking on the internet and I see there are some surgeries that…"
He interrupts, "Banzai,
in your case those surgeries have about a two percent chance of working. Sorry
to give you such bad news but I know you want the truth."
I shake my head and say,
"You're right doctor, thank you for giving me the truth and not filling me
with false hopes."
I actually see a tear fall
down his cheek as he says, "Shit! You two have been through enough and I
know you were really counting on this. I'm sorry I can't give you more hope.
What are your plans now?"
I promise myself not to cry,
but one lone tear slips down my cheek as I answer, "I-I-I don't really
know."
He says, "Well, we have
some great psychologists if you want to talk to one of them."
I shake my head, "Thank
you, but no thanks."
He tries one more time,
"Well, let me know if you change your mind." Then he turns and leaves
and I feel like an empty shell of a man. I look up and curse Hussein. Someday
I'm going to make that bastard pay for what he did to me.
I turn on TV to distract me
from my private hell and instead I jump into another hell. It's a local news
report about the DC serial killer.
Present – Amelia Watts –
WTSH
"Good evening. Amelia
Watts here with the news. Tonight's top local story concerns the continued
murders in the DC beltway area which appear to be the work of a serial killer.
He seems to be taking advantage of the current confusion brought about by
martial law the President invoked to try to quell the riots.
Unfortunately another young
woman was brutally raped multiple times and then she was eviscerated while
still alive. The scene was so gruesome many seasoned policemen became sick when
they saw it. This is his fourth victim and as yet the police are not any closer
to solving these heinous crimes. I personally think this animal is a coward who
chooses his prey because they are weak."
Present – Ben – WRAMC
Fucking serial killer,
preying on women, someone should kill that bastard. And damn, Amelia's report
sucked. I flip over to the Truth Network and Samantha is reporting. I get the
real news and what I hear agitates me even more.
Present – Liz – Jen's room
Ramstein Air Field Germany
I'm upset that Jens mentioned
to Ben – well my private thoughts about what I would do to him if she died. How
in the hell does she know about them anyway. We have a little fight over the
phone receiver but even being just two days out of surgery, she still has the
strength to keep me from taking it away from her.
She hangs up the phone, gives
me a big shit eating grin and says, "Hey sister, don't be upset at me,
you're the one who's the nasty horndog!"
I answer, "Jens, I know
you don't have any idea what I was thinking of doing to Ben."
I see her look at Mira and
Ira and she motions me close and whispers to me, "Liz, first you were
going to wear a sexy white teddy with underwear which has no front, then you
were going to take his…"
I jump back and say,
"Jens! How in the fuck do you know about this?"
She starts laughing and says,
"Liz, I can't tell you now because you wouldn't believe me. Be a good
sister and get me a huge fricken steak with onion rings and sautéed mushrooms
and a twice baked potato, no make it two twice baked potatoes and some honey
glazed baby carrots."
I start to argue with her but
she gives me the look and says, "Come on Liz, I'm a hungry-hungry
hippo and I need this food to help me heal faster."
I start to get up to go find
someplace to get the food when Ira says, "Ms. Morgan, you stay here and I
will get food for all of us."
Jens obnoxiously orders,
"Ira, don't forget my huge fricken steak, I want it cooked medium and
please remember everything else, oh and don't forget the bread."
I look at Ira and shrug my shoulders
as she smiles at me and takes off to get the food. Jens leans back on the
bed looking totally satisfied at her actions, while I'm totally mortified.
I say, "Jens it's a good
thing you're sick or I'd spank your butt."
She giggles and says, "Liz,
I know you sometimes swing both ways and I think you'd get really turned on
giving me a spanking."
My mouth drops open as I try
to find something to say, but I can't find the words. Jens giggles and says,
"What's wrong sister, cat got your tongue?"
I see Mira smiling at me and
I decide the best thing for me to do right now, is the one thing no reporter
ever does. And that is keep my mouth shut.
Jens flips on the TV and we
watch the news, at least it's my news.
Present – Samantha –
Washington DC
The tip Darrell gave us about
more terrorists helped the Marines stop a second invasion of Ramstein, so Liz
had me fly back to America to report on the fiasco in Washington DC. I was
shocked when she even sent a mercenary bodyguard with me. I gave Frank the Tank
a long goodbye kiss which held the promise of much more later, jumped on a jet
and left. But I sure missed the hell out of him and our adopted children.
"Greetings America, this
is Samantha Stevens reporting for the Truth Network on the continued Coup in
America. What the President is doing is reprehensible. He is ignoring the
Constitution and all the protection it provides for Americans and is trying to
create his own dictatorship.
But his evil plans are
backfiring and blowing up in his face. He thought he could command the military
to take control of the Congress. But he underestimated the will of the military
to follow their own morality and not his unconstitutional orders. They are no
longer following his commands. The conflict has caused chaos: The police cannot
handle the large number of protestors and the military is currently staying on
their bases. The streets have become a battlefield that sane people avoid.
The only way I can keep
reporting is to have a squad of mercenaries protecting me. Even with my armed
protection we have been attacked several times and have had to relocate to
avoid being taken hostage. There seem to be two main forces vying for the
control of America. The same forces which used to fight with words across the
floors of the congress, have both taken up arms and are now fighting in the
streets. On one side we have the conservatives and on the other side we have
the liberals.
It's still too early to tell
which side will come out on top in this battle. What surprises this reporter is
the large number of arms which both sides are using. And to add further to the
confusion, the criminal element of the city is using the confusion to advance
their agenda. To top everything, one particularly cowardly serial killer has gone
on a rampage and is freely raping and killing young women in the Washington DC
beltway area.
From the reports we are
hearing, the violence is not confined to just Washington DC, as it has exploded
in most major cities across America."
My phone rings, I motion for
Bernie to cut the camera and answer the phone. "This is Samantha what the
hell are you interrupting me for. I was on a roll."
Darrell responds
curtly, "Cut the attitude Samantha! You're doing a great job but I have
some important news for you, and a new assignment." When he gives me the
information and the assignment, I apologize with, "Sorry Darrell, I guess
I just got a little too big for my britches."
He laughs and says, "Just
remember, there's only one bitch at this station and she's still in
Germany."
I chuckle, hang up my phone
and motion to Bernie to start the camera again.
"Sorry for the
interruption but my network just gave me important information which I need to
relay to America. We have just learned that Mexico has crossed the southwestern
border of the United States in multiple places and is currently attacking
America. Thank God our military decided to act on this and is currently working
hard to repel the invaders."
Our location starts taking
some fire and one of the mercenaries comes up and says, "Miss we need to
bug out now."
I close my report, "Well
America, it looks like we're taking fire and need to move again. Please stay
tuned in as our other reporters continue the coverage. I will be back in a
while with an exciting special report."
Bernie shuts down the camera
and we bug out. A mercenary is running right beside me and I comment,
"Thanks – gee, I don't even know your name."
He pulls up his rifle, pops a
bad guy and says, "Please to meet you Samantha, you can call me
Linus."
I reply, "Aren't you the
one that Liz sent with me?"
Linus answers, "Yes Miss
I'm the one."
I ask, "So, have you
known Liz for a long time?"
He looks at me and says,
"It seems like I've known her for my whole life."
With all the chaos in the
streets, it takes about three hours to get to Walter Reed Army Medical center.
My new assignment is an interview with SM Blaine. People have been clamoring
for his opinion on the current state of things in America and the world. And
I'm excited to finally get to meet the man behind the legend - possibly the
only one to ever escape from the terrorists without help.
We catch some flak at the
door from security until I flash my press pass then they let Bernie and me in,
but they make my body guards stay in the lobby.
We make our way to his room,
walk in the door and I am very surprised. I expect a giant of a man and he –
well he just looks normal.
Present – Ben – WRAMC
I've been incredibly busy all
afternoon studying on the computer. I take a break, sign some paperwork and Jim
leaves to deliver it when Samantha Stevens walks into my room. I smile and say,
"Greetings Samantha, it's good to see you."
She gives me the typical
puzzled look of someone first meeting me, and replies, "Hello SM Blaine.
Darrell sent us over to interview you."
I answer, "Yes I know, I
called him and asked for the interview. Tell me how things really are out on
the streets?"
She answers, "SM Blaine…"
I interrupt, "Samantha, I am no longer in the Marines, please call me
Ben." She falters a little and continues, "Ben, I think I felt safer
in Ramstein than I do here."
I nod my head and remember
the many times I felt safer on a mission than laying in a hospital bed. Now to
ask the question I've really wanted to ask, "Samantha please tell me, how
is Jens doing and how does she look?"
I watch her think for a
second and add, "No lies, I want the whole truth from you." She
blushes a little and says, "Darn, you caught me before I could make up a
story. Liz says she doing really well but she's sort of different than she was
before."
I start getting concerned and
ask, "Do you know what Liz means?" She shakes her head no and says,
"Not really. Since I never knew her before, I can't say and Liz wasn't
specific. Is it okay if we do your interview now?"
I answer, "Sure, knock
your self out."
Bernie starts setting
up and her phone rings. She answers it and says, "This is Samantha."
I watch as she listens and I
see concern and even fear grow on her face. She takes the remote, flips on the
TV and hangs up the phone. We watch an interview with the Chief of the DC
police. The serial killer has struck again. This time he took care of the
Amelia Watts, the reporter for WTSH. I watch as the color drains from
Samantha's face and ask, "Samantha, you look like you're upset."
She turns and looks at me,
"The phone call was from Darrell at the network. They received a note from
the serial killer. He said I am going to be his next target."
I reply, "But don't you
have body guards?"
She answers, "Yes, but
so did Amelia and he killed all of them. She was even at a safe house and he
found her. I guess he's upset because we both called him a coward."
I consider the situation for
a moment. This guy is one bad MF if he was able to find Amelia's safe house,
take out body guards and still rape and torture her. I ponder the situation
some more, and then I come up with a temporary solution. I ask, "Samantha,
you know I'm one of the owners of the network don’t you?"
She looks at me with
confusion and says, "Yes Sir I do."
I let the "Sir" go
for once because this is more important. I look her in the eyes and continue,
"So I am your boss and technically you have to do what I say."
She answers, "Yes that's
correct."
I say, "Then for tonight
I order you to stay in my room with me. This place is safer than any safe
house."
I watch as she slowly realizes
what I'm doing, relief crosses her face, she smiles and says, "Yes Sir, I
understand and I will spend the night in your room." Samantha follows
with, "Ben I have the list of questions I'm supposed to ask you so now we
need to get you ready for your interview."
I give her a confused look as
she laughs and says, "Don't worry, I just need to fix your hair some and
put a little bit of makeup on you so you don't look like a ghost on the
camera."
She comes towards me with the
makeup brush and it reminds me of a time, so very long ago when Jens was going
to do the same thing. I hold up my good hand and say, "Sorry Samantha, you
can fix my hair, but I'm not going to wear any makeup. And that's an
order."
She laughs and replies,
"Okay, have it your way. But don't complain about how you look." She
does fix my hair. I take a mirror, look at myself and realize how long and how
gray my hair has become. I ask, "Is it too late to shave my head?"
She answers, "Yes, we're
on the air in thirty seconds."
I brace myself and then it
starts.
Present – Samantha Stevens
– WRAMC
"Good evening America.
Thank you for patiently waiting for me and now we have the special report I
promised you. I am in the hospital room with former SM Bennie Blaine. I say
former because I understand he has just taken a medical discharge from the
Marines. Is that true Mr. Blaine?"
She holds the mic in my face,
I take a deep breath and reply, "Thank you Samantha for agreeing to
interview me. And you are correct. I just submitted my paperwork to the Marines
requesting a medical discharge."
"Mr. Blaine, would you
care to tell America why you have chosen to leave the Corps?"
I answer, "Samantha I
have many reasons for leaving the Corps, but the main reason is the injury to my
right arm which I sustained during my escape from the Taliban. The injury has
decreased the sensation in my right hand which will prevent me from performing
my main duty."
I give her a look and she
understands she needs to move on to a different subject. She says, "I'm
sure the Marines will really miss your expertise and also the great publicity
you and your fiancée Jennifer Donaldson provided them. But I think America
would really like to hear your thoughts on the current state of things in the
world and in America."
Present – Jens – Jen's
room Ramstein Air Field Germany
I'm watching Samantha
interview my Ben! And does he ever look good - just a little bit white because
I'm sure he wouldn't let her put any makeup on his face. I'm shocked when I hear
he resigned from the Marines, but it wasn't a surprise because I knew it was
coming. Samantha asks him a really hard question and I wait anxiously for the
answer.
He says, "First I want
to tell everyone in America and the world that I'm a firm believer in the
Constitution. So my thoughts on the current political situations are all
predicated on that belief. I want to first talk about what's happening in the
cities of the United States of America. I am not surprised at the current
violence in the streets. It's the heritage of America and Americans to be free
and when that freedom is threatened, we have always taken action."
Samantha continues the
interview. I am surprised and very proud of my Ben because he is doing such a
great job. It goes on for about ten minutes, then I watch as a big smile lights
up Samantha's face and she asks, "Mr. Blaine, even with all the problems,
America is excited that you and your fiancée Ms. Donaldson will soon be back
together again. The love you two share has given America hope in the past and I
think we really need that hope again. Can you tell me when she will be here and
what are your plans when she arrives? Will we finally see the two of you get
married?"
Oh Boy! She's asked the
questions I want to ask Ben, I squirm on the bed because I can't wait to hear
him answer. Ira walks in the room and says, "Dinner is here."
She's greeted with a chorus
of shushes and I hear Ben saying, "…that's all I know about when she will
be here. I plan on meeting her at the airport and… "
The TV goes dead and I start
yelling, "What the heck is wrong with the TV?" I punch the buttons on
the remote and all channels work except for the Truth Network. I get angry and
throw my water pitcher at the TV. As it hits the TV, it breaks open, water
covers the TV and sparks and smoke fly out of the top.
Liz comes over, grabs me and
says, "Jens simmer down or you're going to hurt yourself!"
I yell,
"Son-of-a-fricken-fraken-gun! I finally get to hear something good that
I've been waiting forever to hear and the fricken-fracken-mother-crackin TV
dies."
I'm upset beyond all measure
and keep swearing up a storm and throwing things at the TV as Liz's phone
rings.
Present – Liz – Jen's room
Ramstein Air Field Germany
If there wasn't a chance Jens
could hurt herself, this would be comical as hell and I'd be laughing my ass
off. She's so upset she can't even swear right and is making up words I've
never heard. What the hell is 'mother-crackin?' This is definitely not
the Jens I know because she used to be able to swear like a sailor when she
wanted to. I'm watching Mira and Ira and I can tell they are barely keeping
themselves under control. I'm so glad Jon is here taking video, because while I
might not be able to show this on TV, Ben's going to love to see it.
My phone rings and I order,
"Mira, please get over here and keep Jens from hurting herself."
Jens says, "Keep that
fricken-fracken-baby-smackin female-dog away from me."
I look at Mira and let her know
with my glance to give Jens a break. She comes over, takes my place and I
answer the phone, "This is Liz, what's going on Darrell?"
Darrell replies, "Hey
Liz, have you been watching the news?"
I answer, "Yeah we were
just watching Samantha's interview with Ben when it went off the air. What's
going on?"
He replies, "The power
was cut to the station and it took a bit for the generators to kick in. You
should be able to see us now."
I look at the smoking TV,
smile and say, "I could if Jens hadn’t gone ballistic and destroyed the TV
set." I hear Jens yell, "I'll show you fricken-fracken-TV-smashin
ballistic."
Darrell laughs and says,
"Shit is that her I just heard?"
I reply, "Hold on a
second Darrell." I look at Ira and ask, "Ira, you think you could
please see about getting us a new TV set? Just be careful you don't hurt
yourself."
She smiles at me and says,
"Yes Ms. Morgan, I will be right back."
I answer Darrell, "Yes
that's her."
He replies, "Damn Liz,
tell her to simmer down and we can show her the rest of the interview
later."
I can tell there's more so I
ask, "Okay Darrell, what's going on that you are not telling me?"
He clears his voice and says,
"It's not much, we've got a big group outside trying to attack the
station. So far we're holding our own."
I bite my lip and say,
"If it looks like they're going to overrun the station, don't be a hero.
Just get everyone the hell out of there. You guys are more important than the
equipment or the building."
"Will do Liz, you take care
of yourself around that wild woman."
I hang up the phone, look
over at Jens fighting with Mira and chuckle. It's like we have an unruly
teenager on our hands. Ira wheels in a TV on a cart and starts plugging it in.
I look at Jens and say, "Jens a new TV is here but we won't turn it on
until you simmer down." And like magic she stops trying to swear and
fight. She then smiles at me and says, "Sorry Liz, I'll be good if you
just turn on the TV."
Ira flips on the TV, tunes in
the Truth Network and we see Samantha say, "Thank you Mr. Blaine for the
interview, especially the part about your upcoming plans for when you're
reunited with Ms. Donaldson. I'm sure America can't wait to see you two
together again. And I would like to say, from what you've told me, she's going
to be one lucky lady. For those viewers who would like to see the interview
again, we will be rebroadcasting it two hours from now. Thank you for
continuing to watch the Truth Network."
Jens yells again, "What
the heck! Son-of-a-fricken-fracken-gun the interview is over and I have to wait
two fricken hours to see it again!"
Present – Ben – WRAMC
I take a couple of deep
breaths and look at Samantha. She smiles and says, "Ben, you did really
well on that interview. I couldn’t tell during the interview how much you
disliked giving it."
I avoid her statement and
say, "Thanks Bernie and Samantha you both did a great job. Bernie, tear
things down and find someplace safe to sack out for the night. Samantha, I'm
going to call the nurse and get a cot for you."
The nurse comes in the room,
I hop out of bed and ask, "Could you provide a cot for Ms. Stevens as
she's going to be spending the night in my room."
The nurse answers, "I'll
send in an orderly with the cot, but I'm very busy and it will take awhile
before I can come in here and make it for you."
Samantha says, "I can
make the cot if you bring the sheets to me."
That makes the nurse smile
and she replies, "I'll be right back with the sheets and I will send in an
orderly with the cot."
Samantha heads to the
bathroom. As Jim comes back into the room, I pull him to the side and give him
some orders. He says, "Got it and I will be back in about thirty minutes.
In the mean time, I'll leave you this." He gives me his backup revolver. I
open the cylinder, make sure it's loaded and I slip it into my sling as he
leaves. Samantha comes out of the bathroom and says, "I've taken care of
my needs for the night. I sure hope they come with that cot soon, I'm
exhausted."
I look over at her and say,
"What you see next you're not supposed to see. So I don't want you telling
anyone, particularly the doctors about this." I slip my arm out of my
sling and slowly start doing my Tai Chi. At first it hurts like hell and I'm
moving slowly, but my arm gradually loosens up and I'm able to move relatively
fast. I finish my moves, slip my arm back in my sling and Samantha says,
"I'm amazed you can move your arm like that so soon after your
surgery."
I look at her and comment,
"I don't know what you're talking about. Me moving my arm like what?"
She laughs and agrees,
"Okay, I understand. I didn't see anything."
The orderly comes in and sets
up the cot. A short while later the nurse walks in with the sheets and says,
"I've also brought some scrubs you can wear to sleep in. They will be more
comfortable than sleeping in your clothes."
Samantha takes the scrubs and
says, "Oh wow! Thank you very much." Then she heads off towards the
bathroom to change. I say, "Thank you that was really nice."
The nurse smiles and replies,
"Hey it's not every day I have two celebrities in the same room. She's a
good kid and we all saw what she did for the staff and patients at Ramstein.
She’s a real hero to all of us."
Samantha comes back out of
the bathroom in the scrubs, puts her clothes on the chair and goes to make the
cot. I say, "Samantha, I want you to move the cot on the far side of my
bed away from the door before you make it."
She gives me a puzzled look
but says, "Whatever." She moves the cot, makes it and then crawls
between the sheets. I hop back into the bed and wait for Jim to show up.
Samantha questions me,
"Ben, do you ever find it hard to deal with all you've seen and gone
through?"
I look over at her and
answer, "Yeah there are times it bothers me."
She continues, "So when
that happens how do you sleep at night?"
I don't want to tell her the
truth, that when it happens I don't sleep at night. Instead I reach in the
nightstand and hand her a flask, "Here take a big sip of this. It will
help to relax you and then you can sleep."
She unscrews the lid, sniffs
at it, takes a big sip, makes a face and says, "Wow that stuff burned all
the way down to my stomach and now it feels like my stomach is on fire. What
was that?"
I laugh and say, "I
think you just had your first introduction to bourbon."
Samantha replies, "Well
if all bourbon tastes like that. I don't think I want to meet it again."
I explain, "It's an
acquired taste and someday you might learn to like it."
I watch as she starts to get
sleepy. She says, "I guess I'm more tired than I thought. I hope you don't
mind if I try to get to sleep."
I reply, "Go ahead, I'm
going to stay up just a little bit longer until Jim gets back. Sleep
well." She turns over and soon I hear her breathing slow and I know she's
asleep. I smile and think the Bookers True Barrel bourbon did its job. But then
she's a kid and I'm sure she's never had anything one-hundred-twenty-six proof
before. I wonder if she will have a hangover in the morning.
I see Jim at the doorway and
I motion for him to be quiet. He comes into the room, hands me what I asked
for, I give him his revolver and he whispers, "You want me to stay in here
with you tonight?"
I whisper my reply, "Thanks
Jim, but you need to get some rest. I'm sure I will be fine."
"Okay, you're the boss.
We'll see you in the morning." After he leaves the room, I slip out of bed
and prepare it. Then I turn out the light, move over, sit in a chair in the
darkest corner of the room and wait…
Present – Ben – WRAMC
sometime in the early morning of the next day.
I see the faces again as they
swirl through the fog in my mind. The faces of each man I've ever killed appear
like wraiths flying out of the darkest recesses of my dreams coming to haunt me
again. Some of the faces never bother me - the bastards that deserved to die.
But some of them, the ones from my missions which were questionable are the
real problem. Those are worse since I can almost hear them asking me, "Why
did you kill me?" And even though I can tell them, "I was just doing
my job." It doesn't remove their pain - or my own.
One face comes to the
forefront. His is always the worst because after the mission I figured out the
intel was all wrong and the fucking spooks sent me after the wrong person. His
eyes like red hot coals burn guilt into the deepest depths of my soul and
scorch my heart. And for the first time his mouth opens and his ghostly voice
speaks to me, "Avenge my death!"
I answer, "How can I
avenge your death? Do you want me to kill the ones who sent me after you?"
He doesn't answer with words
since it's more like I'm watching a video. And, for the first time since I was
wounded, I know what to do. I have a mission, no it's more than a mission I
have a new calling.
My eyes snap open to the
noise of a crunch in the darkness! Shit! I've been asleep! I listen and I don't
hear anything but then I smell it, the familiar smell of death is in my room. I
get concerned for Samantha and start to move when I see a shadow slowly moving
towards my bed. Damn he's good, he's really good. He only made one misstep. He
stepped on the pistachio shells I left on the floor and that's what woke me.
I've been studying the hell
out of him all afternoon on my laptop, analyzing his murders and his
techniques. I knew he would come because we are both killers and we think
alike. I even made sure Jim let slip in multiple places that Samantha would be
staying in my room tonight. He had to come, like a moth drawn to the flame and
to its death. He was drawn to seek revenge on Samantha with the added incentive
of being able to claim another killer, me. The prize and his unending bloodlust
are too big for him to resist.
Oh yeah, he is good and even
gifted. But he's an amateur killer and I'm a professional. Yeah he has his ten
kills, but I have my hundreds. And he's already made a several mistakes.
The biggest mistake is that he's become predictable. I knew he would come and
kill me first and then rape and torture Samantha and kill her - such an amateur
mistake.
But my mission has changed
since the dream, and as I slowly slip my weapons out of my sling I realize for
once, I have the wrong fucking weapons. Because now, I'm no
longer a killer - I've become a hunter. But I am a professional, so I will draw
on my experience. I will adapt and improvise and overcome if need be. I will
sacrifice myself so Samantha will live.
I slowly rise out of the
chair and watch him creep towards my bed, there's another crunch from a
pistachio shell and he freezes. I slide my bare feet across the floor, scooting
the shells out of my way as I slip closer to my quarry. He's satisfied he
didn't wake me, but like an amateur he doesn't bother to look behind. He takes
another step, there's another crunch and I slide two steps closer. He's close
enough now and soon he will attack and drive his knife into the pillows I have
set up in the bed. Once he does that, the bastard is mine. I slide one step
closer and now I'm close enough.
He raises his arm and drives
the knife home into the pillow! I'm holding my Ka-Bar, the same one I used to
escape from the fucking Taliban, by the blade and it's still in the sheath. I
swing it as hard as I can and catch him right on top of the head with the grip.
It's an improvised black jack and once again does its job very well. But this
time not as a death weapon, but as a subduing weapon. There's a satisfying
crack from his skull as he falls unconscious to the floor. I reach over to the
wall, flip on the light and speed dial a number on my phone.
Samantha sits up on the cot
and says, "What's going on?"
I say, "Go get dressed
and get Bernie, you two have a hell of an exclusive report to do.”
She stands up, sees me
standing over the top of the man and asks, "Who's that?"
I smile at her and say,
"Samantha, I'd like to you meet the DC serial killer. Now, get your ass
moving before the MPs get here and haul him away." She jumps up and heads
out of the room.
Jim runs into the room, sees
me and says, "Shit, you didn't kill him?"
I reach down, feel the pulse
at his neck and say, "Nope he's still alive. A quick death would be too
easy for this bastard." Then I order, "Jim search the bastard, throw
him onto my bed and restrain him. Then make sure we're not disturbed for about
thirty minutes, after that bring in the MPs."
Jim searches him, finds a
couple more weapons, restrains him to the bed and leaves. I yank off his
facemask and finally look at his face trying to see what makes him the killer
he is. He has a normal looking face, like what you would expect from a next
door neighbor. I gag him, grab my ice water and dump it over his head.
It shocks him awake. He
shakes his head and then realizes where he is. He yanks at the handcuffs and
leg irons and finally realizes he's been caught. Then he looks me in the eyes
and I can feel the coldness of his soul. I smile at him and taunt, "You
fucking bastard! I could have killed you, but death is too easy for a worthless
prick like you. I hope you get raped in prison a hundred times for each time
you raped a woman."
He squirms and fights his
restraints on the bed. As Samantha and Bernie run into the room, he sees her
and tries to lunge at her but he can't do a thing. She teases, "So, you’re
the bastard who was going to kill me. You're not such a big man when you're
handcuffed to a bed." She walks over really close to him, reaches towards
his crotch and says, "I should rip your balls off for what you've done to
other women." He starts wiggling on the bed, trying to escape and Samantha
laughs.
I interrupt her fun,
"Samantha, you and Bernie have about ten minutes before this room is
filled with MPs. I would suggest you use that time wisely."
I move back to my chair, sit
down, hear Samantha start the report and slowly drift off to sleep… The dream
is back, only this time much different. There's only one face, the face of my
worst accident. I watch as he gets closer and closer. Again he opens his mouth
and says, "You have avenged my death." Then a big red X appears over
his face and he's finally gone, forever.
Present – Jens – Jen's
room Ramstein Air Field Germany
We're watching a rebroadcast of
Samantha's report. It seems like it's taken forever to get to the good part.
Samantha finally says, "Mr. Blaine, even with all the problems, America is
excited that you and your fiancée Ms. Donaldson will soon be back together
again. The love you two share has given America hope in the past and I think we
really need that hope again. Can you tell me when she will be here and what are
your plans when she arrives? Will we finally see the two of you get
married?"
I'm at the edge of my seat,
finally I will get to hear Ben's answer - when the screen switches, it's
Samantha and she says, "Sorry for interrupting the replay of my interview
with Mr. Blaine. But we have a special report!"
I start yelling,
"Son-of-a-fricken-fracken-gun! Not again!"
Liz yells, "Jens shut
the fuck up! Look where they are, they're in Ben's hospital room."
I look and she's right but
it's not Ben in the bed, it's someone else and I sure as heck don't like the
looks of him.
We can finally hear Samantha
again as she says, "That's right the Truth network has exclusive video of
the capture of the DC serial killer. He's right here on the bed." The
camera shows him and he's squirming around on the bed trying to get loose.
"We looked at his ID and his name is Joseph Kuzman." She holds up his
driver's license and the camera zooms in so we can get a good look.
Samantha continues,
"Just a few minutes ago Kuzman came into the room of Mr. Blaine, where I
was spending the night. He was captured by Mr. Blaine as he tried to commit yet
another hideous crime."
The camera pans over to Ben
and he's sitting in a chair and sleeping. I start cheering, "That's my
MAN!" Liz shushes me again, "Jens shut up so we can hear."
Samantha moves beside Ben and
continues, "Once again the women of Washington DC can sleep without fear,
thanks to the bravery of Ben Blaine." Then all heck breaks loose as a
bunch of MPs fly into the room. They startle Ben and he jumps out of the chair
which surprises the MPs. One goes to jump Ben and he takes him down. I watch as
Jim runs in and pulls Ben away from them. I giggle because it reminds me of the
time I watched a cheesy talk show and everyone got into a fight.
Then the video feed goes back
to the station. Someone has already started looking into his background and they
are giving us all his boring details.
I look at Liz and say,
"Hey where the heck is Ben's answer to Samantha's question. I've been
waiting all fricken-fracken night to hear it."
Present – Liz – Jen's room
Ramstein Air Field Germany
Okay, it's now official Jens
is a totally psycho bitch! She's at least a couple beers short of a six pack! I
stand up and announce, "I'm going out to get some fresh air, Ira will you
please take care of Jens?"
Jens is still trying to swear
and Ira gives me a look which says she'd rather be any place than with Jens. I
stand, start to leave and Mira follows me. I say to her, "Mira, I have
work to do and I'm not sure you're going to like it."
She smiles at me and says,
"Ms. Morgan, I understand what sort of work you have planned and I know
there are other ways to get the information."
We head out to the nurses'
station and I ask, "Would it be possible to talk to the doctor in charge
of Ms. Donaldson?"
The nurse starts giving me
some shit until Mira walks up, whispers in her ear, and then the nurse says,
"Certainly Ms. Morgan. Let me call him for you. Would you like a cup of
coffee while waiting for him to arrive?"
Mira answers for me and I get
a bit upset, "Thank you nurse but Ms. Morgan doesn't need any
coffee."
As the nurse places the call,
I turn to Mira and say, "Mira, don't you think I can decide whether I need
coffee or not?"
She looks at me and answers,
"Ms. Morgan, I was doing it to keep you from getting sick. Must I remind
you how terrible the coffee is?"
I smile and admit, "Okay
MOM I guess you're right."
She gives me a dirty look,
gets ready to reply when the doctor walks up and says, "Good evening Ms.
Morgan, I understand you have a question about Ms. Donaldson."
I start flirting him up some,
but then Mira interrupts my plans and blurts out, "Ms. Morgan is concerned
about the mental condition of Ms. Donaldson."
The doctor starts beating
around the bush and says, "I'm not sure what you're talking about."
Mira walks over to him, whispers
in his ear, he steps back, she smiles at him and he says, "Uh, perhaps we
should continue this conversation someplace other than the hallway."
We walk into a side room, the
doctor looks at Mira with some concern and asks me, "Ms. Morgan, would you
please be more specific?"
I take a deep breath and say,
"Sure, it – well – seems like she's turned back into a spoiled
teenager."
He gives me a quizzical look
and replies, "Can you be more specific?"
Mira interrupts again and
says, "Ms. Donaldson has lost the ability to swear and uses euphemisms for
swear words."
I add, "That's right,
she won't even say hell, she uses 7734 or H-E-Double toothpicks."
The doctor looks at us like
he doesn't believe us then he says, "Well, this sounds unusual. I think
I'd better go in and examine her."
We all walk out of the side
room, into the hallway and walk into Jens' room.
Present – Ben – WRAMC
sometime in the early morning of the next day.
I'm sleeping soundly and just
finish my dream when all hell breaks loose in my room. The MPs arrived making
more noise that a herd of elephants, I jump to my feet, surprise one of them
and he lunges towards me. I don't even have time to think so I just react and
take him to the floor. The rest of the MPs start towards me, when Jim runs in,
pulls me to the side and yells, "Hey you bunch of fucking morons, this is
Banzai Ben! The serial killer is on the bed."
They stop going after me, and
go after the serial killer instead. I'm still fired up and say, "Thanks
Jim, I might have hurt one of them." He looks at the MP just getting up
off the floor and replies, "It looks like you already did."
I walk over and help him up
using my good arm and say, "Sorry about that, you scared the hell out of
me."
He shakes his head to clear
the cobwebs and replies, "Shit, no wonder you were able to take out the
serial killer. But I'm surprised you didn't save the tax payers some money and
just kill him for us."
I look at him and explain,
"That would have been too easy on him. He deserves to suffer for what he's
done to the women he raped. And we all know what's going to happen to this
bastard in prison."
I hear the serial killer try
to scream into his gag so I look at him and say, "That's right you son of
a bitch - if there's two things prisoners hate, it's child abusers and rapists.
They have their own form of justice in prison and I'm sure they're all watching
this news report right now and can't wait to get their hands – and other body
parts on you and in you!"
We watch as they take the
screaming bastard out of the room.
Present – Samantha – WRAMC
Ben's room
I've been a fly on the wall
and Bernie's been videoing like hell since the MPs came into the room. I am
totally shocked when Ben takes down an MP. From Ben's moves, I can finally see
the man behind the myth. I was really confused why Ben didn't kill the serial
killer, after all from what I've heard he's a stone cold killer when he has to
be. I listen as he tells the MP why he didn't just kill the serial killer, and
it makes sense to me. I can't wait to stick a mic in his face and grill the
hell out of him.
They take the fucking serial
killer out of the room and Ben slowly settles back into the chair. I jump up,
grab the mic and start with, "Oh no you don't! You're not going to sleep
until I get an interview with you."
Ben looks at me. I can tell
he wants to argue but then he shrugs his shoulders and says, "Okay, go for
it but make it short and sweet. I'm tired and want some sleep."
"Good morning America!
Samantha Stevens reporting for the Truth Network, I have an exclusive interview
with the capturer of the DC serial killer, Ben Blaine. Tell me Mr. Blaine, how
did you know the serial killer would be here tonight?"
Present – Jens – Jen's
room Ramstein Air Field Germany
TV is b-o-r-i-n-g so I take
the time to finish off the meal Ira brought me. I don't even mind it's cold; I
am one hungry-hungry hippo. I lean back on the bed look at Ira, smile and let out
a huge burp then start laughing. Ira just looks at me and shakes her head.
Oh Goodie! Samantha is
interviewing Ben again. My MAN has just captured the DC serial rapist and
killer! OMG I am s-o-o-o-o-o in love with him, my big hero!
Ben answers Samantha's
question, "Ms. Stevens, you probably won't like to hear this. But I knew
he would come here for you."
I can see Samantha gets a
little upset at him when she says, "Are you telling me YOU used ME
as bait!"
I'm on the edge of the bed to
see how my man's going to dig himself out of this hole. There is no need to
worry, because he says, "Ms. Stevens, listen to what I'm saying very
closely. I did not and would never use a person for bait. After the serial
killer was able to torture and kill Mrs. Amelia Watts, I knew that no matter
where you went, you wouldn't be safe. So I figured I would have you stay here
and I would be your protection."
I can't hear the next
question because Liz, Mira and the fricken doctor come into the room. They are
making more noise than a gaggle of geese. I yell at them, "Shut the
fricken-fracken heck up! You're interrupting the interview with Ben."
Liz walks over, shuts off the
TV and says, "Jens, the doctor is here and wants to examine you."
I look at Liz and the doctor
and say, "Liz, you need to turn my TV back on right now or I'm going to
kick your rear. And I'm not letting that stinkin' perv doctor touch me. I'm
fricken fine! I'm even better than fine, I'm awesome."
The fricken doctor says,
"Ms. Donaldson, your friends are worried about you."
I interrupt, "You can
call me Jens and I just told you I'm fine. I don't need you trying to see my
privates or feel me up." I switch on the TV and ignore them. Liz gives
Mira a look, Mira walks over and unplugs the TV. I yell, "Hey I can't see
Ben." I want to kick Mira's rear, but I know better than to try so I try
my other weapon. I start to sniffle and say, "Please turn the TV back on I
really want to watch Ben."
The doctor has been watching
everything and he says, "Ms. Morgan, just from observation I would say
you're right. Please follow me back into the hallway where we can talk."
They go to leave and I say,
"Hey, what about the TV?" Mira plugs it back in and I find the
channel and the interview with Ben is over. I yell, "Son of a
fricken-fracken gun. You guys made me miss Ben again."
Present – Liz – Jen's room
Ramstein Air Field Germany
Mira, the doctor and I walk
out into the hallway and I say, "See I told you! She's acting like a
spoiled teenager."
The doctor answers,
"You're right something is certainly wrong with her. I do remember reading
something about this before and I will look it up again. But if I remember
right, it's a short term symptom and it should pass then she will be back to her
normal self."
I ask the doctor, "Do
you have any ideas on how we should treat her and act towards her while she's
this way?"
He looks at us, laughs and
says, "If I were you two I would pray – a lot! Now that we have the
equipment available again, I will schedule an MRI of her brain tomorrow."
Mira shocks me when she adds,
"I hope your equipment finds a brain." Then she giggles. The doctor
smiles and takes off. I look at her and say, "Mira, you just told a
joke."
Present – Ben – WRAMC
Samantha wraps up the
interview and either I'm getting better at this or I'm number than I used to be
because it isn't that bad. Bernie starts packing up the gear, Samantha sits
down beside me and says, "I guess I owe you a really big thank you for
saving my life. I realize now why you had me spend the night."
I smile and say, "You
don't owe me anything. Thanks for making my interview so painless."
She smiles, clears her throat
and says, "Well, now that the camera is off, I'd like to ask you the hard
questions."
I reply, "I'm tired and
going to hit the sack, so you only get one question."
I watch her scrunch up her
forehead as she thinks and then she asks, "How did you know what the
serial killer would do?"
I smile and say, "First
I did my homework and studied him all afternoon. And second, I'm a killer so I
just thought about what I would do."
She questions, "You're a
killer too?"
I head towards the bed and
say, "You had your one question so now I'm hitting the sack." I get
to the bed and add, "Shit! He pissed in my bed and I don't want to wait
until it's changed. I think I will just go back to sleep in the chair."
I just get curled up in the
chair and Samantha covers me with a blanket when a suit walks into the room.
Present – Samantha – WRAMC
I just get Ben settled in. I
do owe him big time and I plan on taking good care of him until Jennifer
Donaldson gets here. Then a guy in a suit walks into the room and I watch Ben
tense up.
He walks up to Ben, flashes
his badge and says, "Mr. Blaine, I'm SSA Hotchner of the FBI and I have a
few questions for you." He turns, looks at me and says, "Miss, would
you please give us some privacy?"
Ben answers, "Agent
Hotchner, not only is she staying, she's going to witness everything you say to
me. And you're lucky as hell I don't bring the video camera back to record
this."
I watch and the agent looks a
little flustered and says, "Look we can do this here or we can do this at
the office."
I see Ben grin at him, he
gives me a hand signal and answers, "Samantha, call Bernie and get the
video gear back in here. Then call my lawyer."
I start making the calls, the
agent walks towards Ben and reaches towards him. Ben responds to the threat
with, "I've broken no laws so you have no right to arrest me or take me
into custody. If you touch me I will consider it an assault and I will
retaliate with force."
I chime in, "I wouldn't
mess with him Agent Hotchner since he's already taken down the serial killer
and an MP tonight."
Agent Hotchner threatens,
"Mr. Blaine, you're resisting arrest."
Ben coldly responds, "If
you're arresting me I demand to know the charges. Otherwise shut the hell
up."
I can see it escalating and I
know someone, probably the FBI agent is going to get hurt. I walk over, get
between them and say, "Both of you need to take your testosterone level
down about ten notches and stop acting like assholes."
Just as the agent reaches
towards me, and Ben gets out of the chair, Bernie roars into the room with the
camera running. I say, "Smile Agent Hotchner, you're on international
television."
He stops, Ben stops, I smile
and say, "Good early morning America and the world Samantha Stevens
reporting again from Ben Blaine's hospital room where the FBI is just getting
ready to arrest him. So Supervisory Special Agent Hotchner would you please
tell us about the charges against Mr. Blaine?"
I stick the mic in his face
and he says, "Ms. Stevens, there's been a big misunderstanding. I am not
arresting Mr. Blaine. We just have some questions for him."
I wink at Ben so he sits back
down and I continue, "Then why were you going to forcibly take a man who's
just a few days out of surgery from the hospital without his doctor's
permission?"
I watch him think for a moment,
he backs down and says, "Mr. Blaine and Ms. Stevens, there's been a
mistake. I really wish you'd shut off the camera so we can all just talk."
I look at Ben and he says,
"Bernie, I just want to make sure you're only recording this and not
broadcasting."
Bernie answers, "Yes
Ben, Samantha told me that's what you wanted."
SSA Hotchner looks relieved
and says, "So this isn't being broadcast?"
I grin and say, "No sir,
Ben gave me a signal to have it recorded but not broadcast."
Ben adds, "But we can
broadcast this anytime we feel like so why don't you try coming in here nicely
and asking me what you want instead of trying to intimidate me, because I'm not
intimidated by you or all the fucking FBI."
SSA Hotchner grumps, "Can
we at least kill the camera?"
Ben says, "No, but since
you won't fix your fucking attitude, what you can do is get the hell out of my
room. I've answered enough questions tonight, I'm tired and I'm going to
sleep."
SSA Hotchner turns and leaves
but shouts over his shoulder, "You haven't heard the last of me."
Ben yells back, "Don't
let the door hit you in the ass."
Ben looks at me and says,
"God damn Feeb, they're almost as bad as spooks. Samantha, do me a favor
and make sure no one bothers me again for about three or four hours, I need
some sleep." He curls up in the chair and drifts right off to sleep, I
look at Jim and say, "I think you need to stand guard in the hallway to
make sure he's not disturbed."
I head back to the cot, the
phone rings and I answer it, "Hello, this is Samantha."
Present – Jens – Jen's
room Ramstein Air Field Germany
I decide to call Ben because
I can't wait anymore to hear his answer to the question! I expect my Ben
to answer the phone and get shocked when it's Samantha! I know how cute she is
and I worry she's trying to snake my man!
I snap, "What the heck
are you doing in my fiancés room and where in the heck is Ben!"
She takes a moment then
replies, "Ms. Donaldson, Ben is sleeping in the chair and I answered the
phone so it wouldn't disturb him. Don't worry Ms. Donaldson, I would never try
to take Ben away from you, even if I could. He's so in love with you he doesn't
even look at other women."
I reply, "Are you sure
you two aren't sharing the bed together? I should fire your rear!"
Samantha answers, "Ms.
Donaldson, I'm not going to dignify that question with an answer." And she
hangs up the phone. I yell, "Son of a fricken-fracken gun. Samantha's sleeping
with Ben. I'm going to kill her!"
Liz comes over, get in my
face and says, "Jens what the hell are you talking about!"
I explain, "I called
Ben's room and the fricken-fracken female dog Samantha answered the phone and
tried to lie to me and tell me Ben was sleeping in the chair. Then she hung up
the phone on me!"
Liz crosses her arms, taps
her foot and scolds, "Jennifer Donaldson behave! Stop acting like a
spoiled brat or I'm going to have Mira spank you!"
I stick out my tongue at her
and say, "You wouldn't dare. I’m still recovering from my surgery.”
Ira comes over to my bed,
leans over and whispers in my ear, "Ms. Donaldson, your fiancé Mr. Blaine
would be very embarrassed by your actions right now. He will not want to marry
a teenage girl. I would suggest you change your attitude." I blush because
I know she's right, Ira stands up and smiles at me.
I motion her close and
whisper, "Ira, I know you're right, but – well I'm just having problems
not acting bad right now, I don't know what's wrong with me. Would you be able
to help me?"
Ira replies, "Ms.
Donaldson, Mira and I will pull on our right ear when we see you acting
inappropriate. It will be our secret signal to tell you to stop what you're
doing."
I look at Liz and say,
"Liz, I want to apologize for the way I've been acting."
Present – Liz – Jen's room
Ramstein Air Field Germany
I'm shocked as hell since I
don't know what the fuck Mira and Ira say to the people they meet, but whatever
they say it certainly affects them. Jens is acting, well mostly normal. She
apologizes and I suggest, "Jens, now that you're acting normal, you need
to call Samantha and apologize."
I watch as she starts getting
upset but she looks at Ira, smiles and says, "Liz, I think you're right. I
was a bad girl and forgot that Ben would never cheat on me."
I use my mobile phone and
call Ben's room, Samantha answers and I can tell she's been crying. I get
really pissed at Jens. I say to Samantha, "Samantha, I have someone here who
needs to talk to you. Please listen to her and give her a chance."
I hand the phone to Jens and
she says, "Hello Samantha, this is Jens. I just wanted to apologize to you
for what I said earlier. I was totally out of place to accuse you of trying to take
Ben. Please forgive me."
Jens listens for a bit,
smiles and then hands the phone to me. Samantha says, "Thanks Liz, I was
very upset because Ms. Donaldson didn't believe me."
I look at Jens and say,
"Samantha, she's been acting sort of strange lately and I'm glad you two
could come to an agreement."
Samantha sniffles and says,
"I-I-I was worried she really thought I was sleeping with Ben and that she
was going to fire me."
I step away from Jens so she
can't hear and I explain to Samantha, "Just so you know, you've done an
excellent job, almost as good as I could do. And you have a job with the Truth
Network for as long as you want it. That was a hell of a scoop on the DC serial
killer."
She sniffles and answers,
"You can thank Ben for that. Liz, I really owe him because he-he-he saved
my life."
I chuckle and say,
"Samantha, when you get to know Ben better, you will understand Ben always
does things like this. Did you thank him for it?"
She immediately replies,
"Oh yes, Liz, I told him several times."
I grin and respond,
"Samantha once is enough with Ben. I bet he blushed when you told
him?"
I finally hear a little laugh
as she says, "Yes, he did blush and it was so cute."
I knew my job was done with
Samantha so I say, "Samantha, get some sleep and keep up the great
job."
She replies, "Thanks for
everything Liz."
I end the call and look over
at Jens. While she doesn't seem totally right, at least she's behaving. I yawn
and announce, "Well, I don't know about the rest of you, but I'm tired as
hell and I'm going to sleep."
Present – Ben – WRAMC
after some sleep.
I wake up stiff as hell from
sleeping in the chair, but it was better than the pissy bed. And for the first time
in a very long time, I really slept - no dreams came and no faces haunted me. I
slowly stand up and perform my normal stretches. Damn that feels good! But this
damn arm is troubling because something doesn't feel right.
I start my Capoeira, very slowly
because it's the first time since the surgery. And yes it hurts like hell, but
then pain is fear leaving the body. I start to loosen and then speed things up
until I'm about half my normal speed. The arm is throbbing and aching and I'm
sweating up a storm when I stop.
I hear Samantha clear her
throat and she says, "Wow that was really cool looking. I know from
studying you that must have been Brazilian Capoeira."
I look at her and answer,
"You're right and just to let you know, the doctors haven't released me to
do this yet. So you need to keep quiet about it."
She smiles and says,
"Your secret is safe with me. By the way your fiancée called last night
while you were sleeping."
I can tell something's not
quite right so I ask, "Samantha, you're not telling me everything about
the call."
She looks down and says,
"She was really upset at me because I was in the same room as you and she
accused me of sleeping with you and she threatened to fire me."
I laugh and say,
"Samantha, Jens is a little insecure and jealous as hell. I wouldn't worry
about it. I'll have a talk with her."
She adds, "Liz says she
acting sort of strange."
It makes me concerned, I look
at the clock and realize it's not a good time to call and answer, "I'll have
to give her a call when she wakes up and see what's going on." Then I add,
"I bet you have some stories to cover, why don't you take the shower first
and I'll see if I can find us some decent coffee."
Samantha replies,
"Thanks Ben, I could really use a hot shower and cup of coffee." She
jumps off the cot and heads to the bathroom. I pull out my mobile phone, call
Jim and say, "Hey, we're awake and need some decent coffee. Talk to Bernie
and see if he knows how Samantha likes hers." I end the call, look at the
patch on my arm and silently swear: Why-why-why now!
Then I make the decision I've
needed to make, the hardest decision of my life. I know I can never give Jens
the life she deserves, not now, not anymore. So with Samantha in the shower, I
sit down and write a note to Jens – no – I can no longer call her Jens, she's
now Ms. Jennifer Donaldson to me. I leave the note on my bedside table, walk to
the closet, change into my clothes, walk out into the hallway, down to the
first floor and out into the day and the streets - the streets which will be my
new home and my new life. As I walk the tears slowly creep down my cheeks,
tears of sorrow knowing I am turning my back on Ms. Jennifer Donaldson. I look
up to heaven and ask, "Please God, take care of Jennifer Donaldson and
give her a whole man and a whole life."
Authors notes to the
reader: Thanks for taking the time to
finish our latest story. And yes, you should know by now we will leave you with
a few cliff-hangers. Yeah we could have stretched this chapter into two or more
chapters and we might do that later, but Anastasia, Alexander and I are all
excited to start our next book which will continue the story.
Ben, Anastasia and Alexander.