Chapter 63

Jason moaned as he gradually became aware of his surroundings. Turning his head slowly in order orient himself, he discovered his wife-to-be dozing in a chair next to his bed. So, he thought, it wasn’t dream; I’m in a hospital. I remember the mine beginning to collapse, but little else. Did we take down Vasquez? Did we get the women out? Are my men OK? It wouldn’t have taken an expert to know that this kind of mental activity and anxiety would have shown up on the hospital’s monitors, so within a few seconds a nurse came barreling through the door to check on her patient.

Much of the nurse’s fervor was the result of her natural care and concern for the patients who were assigned to her, but in Jason’s case, there was more to it than that. Though there was no official statement concerning this man, the rumor mill was full of stories of the rescue, and his involvement. This made his welfare a point of honor among the nurses. The fact he was marrying a fellow nurse made him even more special. It didn’t matter she worked at another hospital; she was still one of ‘them.’ Of course, the nurse’s exuberant entrance awoke Andy, as well as causing Jason to tense up for a moment. Then, before he could even say anything the nurse started taking his vital signs and making all sorts of comments he didn’t understand.

In the meantime Andy poured some shaved ice into a cup and placed a spoonful of the chips into Jason’s mouth. She knew, without his asking, his mouth and throat were very dry. While giving him the ice, she leaned over and gave him a kiss. Then, before she pulled away from her love, she softly whispered, “The walls have ears.” It took a moment for the meaning of the words to register in his clouded mind, but by the time the nurse had finished, he had a rather perplexed look on his face. In response, Andy mouthed the word ‘Later, ‘ letting him know she would give him more information as soon as possible.

Looking down at his leg, Jason asked, “How bad is it, Babe?”

Andy smiled, as it was rare to hear Jason utter such terms of endearment. “You messed that leg up pretty bad, but I think it’ll be fairly close to normal once you finish mending and working through the physical therapy. What I don’t understand is why you thought you had to try to take down that old tree by yourself? It wasn’t a real critical danger to your cabin, and I’m sure there are plenty of men on the reservation who would’ve given you a hand.” It took Jason a few seconds to understand his beloved was feeding him the cover story everyone had adopted. It not only provided an explanation for the injury, but it created a local alibi for what had transpired in Mexico. Of course, this story renewed his questioning concern over the fact someone had placed a listening device in the room.

After taking a moment for his mind to process everything, Jason answered, “I guess it was kind of stupid, but I think part of it was the built up excitement and energy I was feeling; it was similar to an adrenalin rush. Of course, there’s also the fact I somehow felt I needed to show myself and the world I wasn’t too old to take on such a beautiful young bride.”

“Jason, now your Irish ancestors are starting to show through, and I’m sure at least one of them kissed the ‘Blarney Stone.’ It’s I who should be worrying if I’m good enough for you.”

“I wouldn’t concern yourself about that, woman. On a scale of one to ten, you’re at least a fifteen, and because of that, I still can’t understand why you’d want a beat-up old war-dog like me. It sure isn’t for my money.”

“What money, old man? I didn’t know you had money. Besides, I’ve always had this thing for older men, I just think they are so sexy and so much more experienced than most men of my age group.”

“Now, that’s starting to sound kinky. Were you a ‘Lolita’ when you were a little girl?”

Grinning at their play-talk Andy replied, “Well, I did get rather plump from the candy those men in the park kept giving me.”

Jason started laughing, and he said, “Girl, you are just so full of it.”

Andy laughed with him, pleased she’d been able to drastically alter the mood of her man. She suddenly also realized this was to be one of her great roles in this man’s life, and thought, Well, I guess there are worse tasks in life than helping this wonderful man to stay in balance with all the things that generally pull on him. If it was me, I would feel like a piece of salt-water taffy.

The playful banter between the two lovers continued for several minutes, but was interrupted by the nurse bringing Jason a rather bland breakfast of weak tea, Cream of Wheat, and a piece of dry toast. She also brought Andy a traditional breakfast of bacon, eggs, hash browns, buttered toast, and an insulated carafe of coffee. Looking at the two plates, Jason asked, “What is this? I’m being discriminated against here. Where’s my phone? I need to call my lawyer.”

“You old goat,” the nurse replied. “I ought to get you a plate like hers, but then I’d be the one to have to clean up the mess when your stomach rejected it. Just keep this down and I’ll see if the doctor will let us give you something a little more substantial at lunch.”

“You’d better, or I’ll start eating off of Andy’s plate.”

With a mock look of shock, Andy asked, “You wouldn’t take food away from our baby, would you?”

“Really!” exclaimed the nurse, whose name-tag proclaimed she was named Denise.

“Well,” explained Andy, “it hasn’t been officially confirmed, but I’m pretty sure.”

Thinking this explained the coming May-December wedding, the nurse asked, “So, the baby is what makes the wedding a necessity?”

A little miffed at the nurse’s attitude Andy replied, “No, Denise. It’s the wedding that makes the baby a necessity.”

From Andy’s tone, the nurse knew she’d crossed a line. Therefore, she silently made a hasty exit while she contemplated this final statement. As they began eating, Jason said, “Don’t be too rough on her, Babe. I’m sure she didn’t mean anything.”

“My sweet man, believe me, as a woman, I know she did. She could not reconcile someone my age marrying an older man, so she assumed my being pregnant was why we were getting married. A shotgun wedding you might call it. Instead, after you asked me to marry you I was almost desperate to give you a child, especially a son. I see it as a way of expressing my commitment to you, and I suspect this is a totally foreign concept to her.” The two lovers continued discussing the wedding and their future throughout the meal. When they finished, another nurse removed the trays of plates, utensils and scraps from the room.

As soon as this second nurse left the room, Mike Running Deer and another of the Apache warriors appeared. They were both dressed in green scrubs and displayed hospital ID’s. Picking up Jason’s chart Mike asked, “Mister Magill?”

Puzzled at what the two men were doing, Jason replied, “That’s me,”

“We’re taking you to x-ray, as the doctor wants another look at that leg. Your lady can come with you, if you’d like.”

With the assistance of one of the nurses, Jason was disconnected from the various monitors. As soon as he was free the two men moved the bed out of the room, and Andy followed them down the hall. They entered an empty elevator and headed to the next higher floor. When they arrived and the door opened, they moved Jason into a larger, more luxurious patient room. Already seated in the room were Admiral Burke and Senator McCray. The Admiral was dressed in civilian clothes. Mike and his team member got the bed hooked up and stepped outside, closing the door behind them.

“Good morning, Admiral, Senator,” greeted a confused Jason, “Though I can’t understand the esteemed Senator taking time out of his busy schedule to come visit me. Nonetheless, I do appreciate it.”

“You’re quite welcome, though unfortunately I did come bearing sad news. Your friend, Admiral Burke, had a fatal accident last night when he and his pilot crashed off the coast of California. This gentleman with me is Fred Berkin, who I understand will be soon working for your granddaughter and her husband.”

“That’s sad news, Senator. He was a good man and friend. As for you, Mister Berkin, it’s nice to meet you. I hope you’ll be happy working with Hawk and Maria. Now, would both of you please call me Jason.

“Thanks, Jason. I think I will enjoy my new job. I talked to my Niece this morning and it turns out she’s known Hawk for more than ten years.”

Puzzled at the time remark, Jason replied, “Really?”

“It seems they lived near each other while he and my wife were both attending Stanford. Of course, he’s a lot different now, but most young people mature as life’s pressures force them into roles they never envisioned in their youth.”

Realizing Frank knew Hawk’s true identity but didn’t make it public, even to the Senator, gave Jason more assurance he’d made the right decision to aid this man. “I can’t agree more, Fred,” responded Jason. “I’m amazed everyday at the changes I see in the young man. He makes me and my people very proud.”

“As you should be,” added Senator McCray. “I haven’t met the young man, or your granddaughter, but Fred has impressed me with Hawk’s goals and ideas. If he’s able to bring it off I think it’ll be great for this country, as well as the Apache People.”

“Thank you, Senator. I couldn’t be prouder of him if he was my own son. Now, could somebody explain to me what is going on? I’ve been fumbling around in the dark ever since I awoke in the room downstairs, and Andy let me know the room was bugged.”

Senator McCray said, “It started yesterday afternoon when I received a call on a private, unlisted number at my house here in Phoenix. It was from your man, Mike Running Deer, though I’ve no idea how he obtained access to that number. I was advised a CIA supervisor assigned to Homeland Security was caught placing a listening device in your hospital room. What really got my attention was the fact that the ‘spook’ was acting under the direct orders of the Vice President’s Chief of Staff.”

“What the... !” exclaimed Jason.

“My sentiments exactly, but Mister Running Deer had it all on tape. It seems they’re concerned, for some reason, about my possible run for the Presidency. What complicates this is the only person who’d known I was going to talk to you about it was my own chief aide. There seemed to be no knowledge or interest in you, or of your recent activities. In fact, I’m not sure they even know you exist.”

“So you’ve got a leak in your office.”

“From what I suspect, Jason, it’s more than a leak, it’s a direct pipeline, though, for the life of me, I can’t understand why. I can’t imagine what they think they will gain, as obviously they can’t run again.”

“So, how do you plan on handling it?” asked Jason.

“Fred seems to think I should leave it alone and use it to feed them misleading information, and I’m inclined to agree with him.”

Jason nodded as he replied, “As do I, though I feel sorry for the ‘pipeline’ once they realize they’ve been had. Now, what brought all this up, and what happened to Admiral Burke?”

Senator McCray answered, “I guess you could say it started yesterday morning after I learned of your involvement in rescuing Frank’s daughter, as well as your injury. Since I was already planning on attending your wedding I decided to leave Washington early to visit you here. Though I didn’t mention your name, I stated to my young aide I wanted to discuss with you the possibility of you taking over my Senate seat while I prepared my campaign for the next Presidential election.”

“With all respect, Senator, I don’t think that’s a good idea, politically.”

“Since then, my wife and advisers have convinced me of the same thing.”

“So this whole exercise is now a moot point, isn’t it?”

“I don’t think so, Jason. First, I’m pretty upset about your room being bugged by the Vice President’s Chief of Staff, and I’m even more incensed they had it done by someone utilizing the guise of Homeland Security to do their political intelligence work.”

The scowl on Jason’s face told those in the room he wasn’t pleased, either. Thus, after a moment to calm his anger Jason asked, “How did it get discovered, Senator, and how certain are we of our facts?”

“Your man, Mike, can give you more of the details, but from the summary I was given someone on your security team recognized the ‘spook’ and shadowed him. After the bug was planted the agent was hit with some kind of knockout dart and given something to make him talk. Once they finished they used a video to convince his subconscious brain he’d gone straight to his vehicle and had fallen asleep waiting for you to be brought to the room from recovery.”

“So he was looking for me specifically?”

“Yes, but without knowing your name.”

“That doesn’t make sense.”

“Your security team overheard him asking about a VIP who’d a badly hurt leg that had been admitted yesterday morning. It seemed you’re the only one who fit that description. When the agent was questioned he admitted he had no name to work from, but he was to record the conversation between that person and me. Since you were the only one I was coming to see it was pretty clear I was the primary focus of his intelligence gathering. The next question was why, and the only thing that made sense had to be my comment about preparing to make another run for the Presidency.”

“Senator, I follow your logic, but I still don’t understand why you were coming to see me here in the hospital, much less to my wedding. I’m not some important person, nor am I a wealthy donor.”

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The Hawk and the Chipmunk

Mike Lowe aka The Scot

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