Chapter 32

I sat sipping my coffee, waiting for Kat to return. I was thinking about those dogs and how they had handled the prisoner. The one dog had gotten hold of the man, and with all the growling and fang showing, the skin hadn't been broken. Not even when he shook his head back and forth. I had pretty much made up my mind that when we got back, I was going to buy all three of them for my own. Of course I knew Sally would have them eating out of her hand, the way she was with animals. At least when I was gone, I wouldn't ever have to worry about anyone grabbing her if she were outside. That set my mind to thinking about Jason Boudrie, now that I had figured out who he was. The last time I had seen him was in a little African town called Kumba. He and his so called rebel fighters, had just finished wiping out a whole village when we came upon them. He was just moving his men out when we attacked them. We killed fifteen of them, and only had one of ours wounded. He had gotten away in a jeep, running for his life. When I had gotten back to camp and reported, I was told that if we ever saw him again, we were to make every effort to either kill or capture him. My Major had let me read Boudrie's file, and I read that he had been an ex Legionnaire who had deserted and gone native. His record folder was as big as a book, and he was wanted by at least five different countries for every charge you could think of. There was a huge bounty on him from three of the countries.

Kat came back in with that little bag of hers, followed by Myrna. She told Myrna to fill a basin up with warm water and put a tablespoon of bleach in it. Oh no, I thought, this is gonna burn like hell if she washes my wound out with bleach water. She did and it did. I yelled when she washed my neck and the cut in my head with it. Then she gave me hell for not calling the doctor to stitch up the cut when it first happened. She asked Myrna what the white stuff was, and when Myrna told her, she looked at me in surprise for a few seconds. She hauled out a suture pack and laid it on the table, along with a pair of scissors and a can of spray of some kind. I looked up at Myrna and saw she was grinning to beat the band. Tiny and Jimmy came in and sat down, then Sally came in with her jeans on and sat down too. Man, I thought, this is turning into a three ring circus. Myrna poured coffee for everyone but Sally, who got milk and cookies. Kat said something to me, but it took a few seconds to register what she was saying.

"Jon, this is gonna hurt. I have a topical anesthesia, but that's only going to make it easier to sew this gash up. It's not going to deaden the pain you're going to feel. I have to trim your hair, and then I will sew up the cut. This should have been done when it first happened. Now, while I trim this, do you want to tell us what that little scene outside was all about? Maybe if you run your mouth, it will take your mind off the pain."

I was going to come back with a smart retort for that one, until I saw her pick up the scissors and move toward the back of my head with them. I bit my tongue and started to fill them in on what happened outside. I froze in mid sentence when Kat said she could see glass particles in the wound and would have to flush it before she could sew it up. I was wondering how she was gonna do that, when she spread the wound open and started to wash it out with the bleach water. I bet Jeb heard me yell at his shop. The rest of them were cracking up in mirth. I told Kat it hurt like hell and to hurry up and finish. Sally came over and leaned down and whispered in my ear; "Will you quit being such a sissy about a little cut? I know it hurt worse when you got shot."

"Sally, that pain came later, and I didn't have someone probing my skull with a pair of scissors. So don't tell me I am a sissy, because it hurts like hell. If it hadn't been for Carver there, I wouldn't have to go through this. I am telling all of you if you keep laughing, I will get even with every one of you."

Well that seemed to quiet the mirth down a little, but I could still hear that little girl giggle of Kat's as she finished washing out the cut. She was trimming the excess hair around the cut in preparation for sewing it up and I went back into my story. When I finished, Kat said she was finishing the last of the six stitches and that I needed to just relax for awhile. I told her I had some phone calls to make and that they were important. She finished up and sprayed my cut again, saying she wanted to check it before we went to bed. My head came up rather quick at that statement, and I immediately noticed Sally had that smirk on her face again. I was afraid to say anything, so I quickly kissed her, grabbed some fresh coffee, and went into the study, closing the door behind me. Phew, I was thinking as I sat back in the old chair. I got back up and got the Capitol phone book off the shelf. I started making calls to five of the Embassies I knew would appreciate the news about Boudrie. I figured if he was being hunted and got word of it, he would go to ground and leave me and mine alone for awhile. I also knew that if he were located, he would be grabbed immediately and flown back to whichever country could get him. There he would be immediately executed, probably by a firing squad. I knew from past experience, the nations I was calling had long memories, and even longer jail sentences. Just the thought brought a smile to my face as I dialed the number of the last one. To my surprise, I was immediately put through to the senior attaché.

"May I inquire as to why you wish to speak to our security chief, Sir?" I went on to tell him who I was, and that I had worked in his country several years ago. He immediately switched to fluent French, and we continued our conversation. I told him what I knew about Boudrie, and the last place I had seen him. He in return told me his security chief had been killed just last night in the same area where I had seen Mr. Boudrie. I inquired if his country still was looking for him, and was told in return they would be very glad to question him about several instances that were still unsolved. I knew immediately that he was a dead man if they found him. I went on to describe Dwight and the other man I had seen in his company, and was soundly thanked for my information. I was also told if I ran across any further information, I was to call the Embassy and ask for him, no matter the time of day or night. I was thanked again before he hung up the phone. I put his personal cell number in my cell, and sat back with a big smile on my face, thinking about my previous conversation. I knew, without a doubt, if the runt was spotted by any of his men, he would be snatched. He would probably be tortured until he didn't have any more information, and then dumped in the river. Little did I know that I had just set into motion a chain of events that would cost a couple of senators, as well as several high ranking military officers, their jobs. This was something I wouldn't know about until a year or so in the future.

The only thing on my mind now was my upcoming nuptials. I sat back and tried to remember what I had told Kat in my dazed state that would make her so happy. For the life of me, I could not remember what I had said, and it really bugged me. She was right, I was going to have to quit phasing out every time she got near me. I was still wondering to myself how the hell I was supposed to accomplish that, when there was a knock at the door. I said come in and Carver did, but he looked like he had been beat up, he was so tired looking. He sat down and stretched out his legs and looked at me before he started speaking.

"First of all, I want to thank you. Now I remember how a recruit feels the first time he gets his ass chewed by a DI."

I looked at him for a moment and started chuckling at the absurdity of his words. He just grinned and went on with what he was saying to my snickers.

"I have been informed I have to sleep on the couch tonight, because according to Myrna, I caused her little boy to get hurt by my interference. That I understood, and she is right. I should have let you know I was behind you instead of doing what I did. Jon, I know you had me checked out and so does Myrna. She asked me to tell her about my past and some of the things I have been involved in. How the hell can I do that without breaking the oath I took? Most of what I did was top secret, and I am not allowed to talk about it to anyone. You know what I'm talking about, I am sure you took the same oath for your country. Jon, what can I do or tell her without hurting her feelings? I love her and I don't want her to think I am holding things back from her or lying to her. If you have any ideas, I am open to suggestions."

I didn't say anything, just sat for a few minutes thinking about what he said. I knew this was tearing him apart, because I had already thought about how I would handle it if Kat ever asked me. I was a little different than Carver, because I knew she could never get her hands on my records. They were buried in the vaults at Interpol, and Maurice had already sanitized them for me. I had a thought and reached into my desk. I pulled out the file Maurice had sent, handing it to Carver.

"That's the file Interpol sent to me about you. I'm not sure about what's in there, since I quit reading it when I got to the part that said you had a top secret classification. Look through it, and see if there's anything in there you don't want anyone to know about. If there is, there's a paper shredder in the corner. The rest of it, if you deem ok for someone to know, keep it and give it to her to read. Carver, that's the only suggestion I can offer. I will suggest that if you have a friend in the records department, you have him go through your jacket and sanitize it. I had it done to mine, and it was the best move I ever made. Now the only people that know things about me are the ones who were there, and they won't talk about it any more than I would."

"You know, I never thought of that, Jon. That's one of the sneakiest ideas I have ever heard of, and a damn good one. I have a couple of close friends that can do it for me without any of the brass knowing it's been done. I think later tonight while I am supposed to be sleeping on the couch, I will make a couple of calls."

I was snickering again at his mention of the couch, while he was looking through the files he was holding. I watched as he pulled two or three sheets out of the folder, and put them through the shredder before sitting back down and looking at me. I wondered what he was going to say about me knowing his past history, even if I hadn't read any of the folder, other than the first couple of pages.