Chapter 7
7
Not about to set Evie down, Sisco shifted her in his arms as she screamed for her mom and pulled his phone from his pocket.
“Sisco!” Logan barked from the other end. “Sitrep.”
“Prisoner escaped from the hospital, and his compadres were in the stairwell where I was taken hostage with two females.” Evie's cries were increasing, so he turned and spoke softly, “Come on, Evie, sweetheart. We're going to get your mom. I have friends who are already on their way. I promise, baby. Hang on.”
“Is one of the females a child?”
“Yeah. Evie Keller. Her mother is the one they kept. Evie was a patient being discharged. They've left her with me.”
“Understood,” Logan said. “That matches the info coming in.”
“Landon here. FBI has Lenore Keller and her daughter Evelyn as having been taken. It seems an ambulance driver left with them, but they've not been accounted for. The fire alarm at the hospital was a false alarm.” Landon Sommers had come to LSIMT from the FBI after serving in the Air Force and then being assigned to special ops with the CIA. He still had Bureau contacts and was able to get information quickly.
“Cameras at the hospital don’t give full visuals,” Timothy said. Timothy Clemons was a former Ranger and excellent with hacking into security camera feeds, not waiting on the feds to give permission… or see them first. “As soon as the alarm was set, there was chaos?—”
Sisco cut in. “They were armed. Glocks. Nine millimeter. Punkass, but I couldn't do anything since I held the little girl on the staircase. There was a deputy?—”
“Got it,” Logan acknowledged. “In front of all hostages?”
“Yeah.”
“Fuck.” That was heard in unison from more than one Keeper back at the compound, understanding that the child had been present at the execution.
“Who's on their way?” Sisco asked.
“Cole has a bird in the air. He's bringing Frazier, and we couldn't keep Devil on the ground if we tried.”
Sisco felt a sense of relief at that news. Devil—Jim Devlin—had served with Logan and Sisco on the same SEAL team. Logan was injured when he tried to haul Devil's seriously shot-up body into a helicopter. And as the medic, it was Sisco who patched him up and kept him alive until they could land at the base hospital. He didn't doubt that as soon as the emergency alert from his watch hit the LSIMT compound, Devil was ready to go. Cole Iverson had been a pilot and served with Army Special Forces. Frazier Dolby had been a fellow SEAL and had a brother working for LSIWC, the West Coast branch of LSI, and another brother, Dalton, working for Logan.
“They drove us northwest of town to an empty parking lot. It looks like it might've been a grocery store once, but now it's empty. They had a bird ready and ordered Lenore to get into the helicopter but made me stay back with Evie. They knew I wouldn't risk anything with a child in my arms.”
“How was the mom when she left?” Sadie.
“Brave… but a total mess leaving Evie behind. You might as well know that I met her earlier at the hospital, and we spent some time talking. I had gone with her to meet her daughter, who was having tests.”
“Do you need to get the child back to the hospital?”
“No. The tests were over, and they were leaving. As Lenore was dragged away, I promised her that I would take care of Evie. You have to know…”
“Don't worry, Sisco,” Landon said. “We're going to be there and figure out what's next. Social services might?—”
“No. Evie stays with me. No dad in the picture. The grandmother lives in the Valier area but is on a cruise.”
“Okay… we're all going to take care of the girl. Then we're going to find her mom,” Logan acknowledged.
“Just letting you know, boss—there's going to be a day of retribution.”
There were only a few seconds of hesitancy before Logan acknowledged Sisco's vow. “Understood.”
“I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but I can't get a read on a bird in the air,” Sadie said. “Still searching, and I'll get with the Air Force to see what they can tell me.” Sadie Hargrove was their cybersecurity expert.
“They were heading northwest when they took off. The pilot, the escaped prisoner, Raul, one of the gunmen named Freddy, and Lenore. The other gunman, who was never identified to me, and the driver of the ambulance drove off.”
“Okay, I'm getting the information to the FBI, and we'll look at the roads. There are lots of cameras out there, and we'll see what we can discover.”
“ETA for Cole?”
“He should be to you in about ten minutes.”
“Thanks. I'm walking to an awning to talk to Evie and see if I can calm her. We'll be ready.”
As much as he wanted to jump into the LSIMT helicopter when it arrived and head out to find Raul's group with Lenore, he knew it would waste precious time—time better spent getting the intel to make the mission successful and taking care of Evie.
Now, focusing on the little girl still sniffling in his arms, her sobs turned to hiccups as she tried to catch her breath.
With his phone slipped back into his pocket, he wrapped both arms around her and walked toward the empty building. “Hey, Evie. I have some friends who are going to come pick us up. They're going to be in a helicopter, and we're?—”
“They'll have Mommy?”
He winced, realizing she was associating a helicopter with her mom leaving. “It won't have your mom in it. It'll have some of my friends, and we'll get you safe, and then we'll find your mom.”
By now, he'd reached the edge of the parking lot and found some shade. Sitting down, he arranged her in his lap, then looked her over carefully. Her face was pale and splotchy with tears. He swept her hair back from her face, the short tendrils wet with sweat from crying. “Hey, pretty girl, your mom wanted me to help care for you. We are going to go to a place that has some horses.”
He must've said the magic word because Evie's eyes widened.
“Horses? Can I pet the horse?”
“I'm sure you can. There are even some cats, and the kittens might be around.”
“I wanted to have a kitten, but Mom said we needed to wait until we were sure I wasn't going to be sick anymore.”
He nodded, and his heart ached at the life the little five-year-old girl had to endure. Hospitals, needles, pain, and sickness. Trying to focus on the good, he said, “You were going to get some ice cream, weren't you?”
Evie sniffled and nodded. “Yeah, but Mommy can't take me.”
“I'm sure where we're going, we can find some ice cream for you until you get to go with your mom.”
“Are you going to take me to my grandma's house? She usually babysits me when Mommy's busy, but she's on a big ship.”
Sisco hesitated for a moment but quickly realized that because Evie had seen Raul and the others, it was possible she was in danger, too. “Yes, your grandmother is on a cruise, so you'll stay with me and my friends until your mommy comes back.”
Evie seemed to think it over, then nodded again. “Okay. Mommy won’t care if I play with the kittens. And when she comes home, she can see the horses, too.”
He chuckled at how easily she was convinced her mom would want her to play with the cats. Or maybe it was wishful thinking. “Absolutely.” He scrubbed his hand over his face, his thoughts flying in different directions, not something he was used to doing. He knew how to take disparate pieces of information, quickly analyze, and plan. Yet, now, his thoughts were flying between what Evie needed emotionally and physically, what might be happening to Lenore, and how he would manage to take care of both of their needs.
He was instantly struck by how personal this new mission was. When Raul took Lenore, Sisco felt part of him had been split. Now that Evie looked up at him with trust in her five-year-old eyes, he felt that another part of him was there to be protected. What had started as simply noticing a beautiful woman in the cafeteria had morphed into the beginnings of what he hoped would be, at the very least, a friendship. And now, even later, their lives were intrinsically connected.
The sound of an approaching helicopter met his ears, and he lifted a hand to shade his eyes as he looked skyward. Knowing that Evie might forget what he told her and think the approaching aircraft held her mom, he turned his gaze back to her. “Remember what I said? Some of my friends are coming in a helicopter to give us a ride. They're going to take us to where we're safe.”
“Will it take me to the horses and kittens?”
“That's right. That's what we're going to do.”
“When will Mommy come?”
“My friends and I are going to go find her.”
“She was crying, Sisco. She didn't want to leave me, and those bad men had guns.”
“I know, sweetheart. They weren't very nice, but we'll find her.” And then they will pay, he silently vowed.
The whirring blades grew louder, and Evie twisted in his arms to look up. Her face scrunched, and he knew it would soon become frightening. “Hey, listen, sweetie. I'm going to hold you really tight and place my hand over your ears again like we did earlier. That way, the loud sound will be muffled.”
Her gaze shot to his, but a little grin played about her lips. “Muffle is a funny word.”
He smiled in return, hoping to keep her mind off her mom. “Yeah, it is.” He pressed her cheek against his chest, then covered her head. Standing with her still tucked closely, he walked into the parking lot, allowing Cole to see where they were. Cole landed at the other end, and Sisco knew his fellow Keeper recognized the needs of the frightened child.
Usually, he would rush over while the blades were still circling, ducking low for safety's sake but climbing aboard so Cole could immediately lift off the ground. Torn between not wanting to waste time and taking care of Evie, he leaned down and said, “Keep your eyes closed and hold on tight to me. Okay?”
Eyes wide, she stared at him. “Are we getting into the helicopter?”
“Yes, we are. But you don't have to be afraid. I'm going to hold on to you the whole time.”
“I wish you could've been with Mommy because she looked scared.”
He couldn't remember ever feeling so torn in his life. Because, in truth, he wished he could've also been there for Lenore.
“Hold tight,” he ordered gently. When she closed her eyes and acquiesced, he pulled her closer to his body and jogged toward the six-passenger helicopter. The side door opened, and Devil jumped out onto the pavement, then stepped out of the way. He offered his hand on Evie’s back as a boost while Sisco climbed aboard with her still tucked next to his chest. Devil followed, then looked down at the two of them in one seat.
Sisco didn't have to offer any explanation. Devil simply nodded, then stretched the seat belt to reach around he and Evie. Then Devil grabbed a set of ear protectors and lifted his brow. Sisco nodded, then said, “Hey, sweetie. We'll put some headphones on you so that the noise won't bother your ears, okay?”
She nodded, her eyes wide open as she looked up at Devil. Sisco glanced up at his friend and tried to see him from the eyes of a five-year-old. As usual, Devil's messy hair looked like he'd dragged his hand through it numerous times, making it wildly stand on end. He didn't often smile, but his lips were curved upward, and he winked at her.
“Are we going to—eek!” Evie squealed as they lifted off the ground.
“Yes, we are.”
She peered up at him, looking adorable with her ear protectors on her head. A squeezing pain gripped the left side of his chest as he wished he was going to show her the horses with her mom alongside them. He couldn't understand why he had those thoughts, considering he'd only met them a few hours ago. Tucking Evie closer, he figured it didn't matter why he thought of them as his to protect… he just did.