Chapter Nine #5
If not, she had a lot to think about.
And choices needed to be made.
Big ones.
* * * The Blackhawks * * *
The Reservation
Monday
Late Afternoon
Post Flower Delivery
The ride there was silent.
Oh, and there was no doubt why.
In the passenger seats of the Navigator, being driven by Ivan, and watched by Demeter, and Gryphen, the men weren’t really in the mood to talk.
They’d dumped the job of telling Elizabeth on Chris, simply because neither wanted to see their wife break.
More.
There was guilt for that, and how they’d been unable to help Vivian. With the poison on her, even touching her would be a death sentence.
A choice had to be made, and that didn’t sit well with any of them.
Yeah, now, this was the freefall from that mess.
No one wanted to place blame on anyone other than Devon Slater, but there was the big, pink elephant in the room. This was escalating, and with each move Elizabeth made, there would be blowback.
Something had to give, and they were worried it would be her.
Finally, Demeter spoke.
“I liked Miss Vivian,” he said. “But this isn’t Mom’s fault,” he added. “I’m going to hurt whoever says it is,” he warned, as if he already knew what was bouncing around in their heads.
Never let it be said Demeter wasn’t astute.
He was.
“The first person who makes her feel guilty is going to feel my boot in their face. I’m not playing. I don’t care who they are,” he warned.
Ethan patted the big man on the shoulder.
It was sweet that he was trying to protect her, but trust and believe, they were not going to blame her. If anything, they’d dropped the ball by not being more direct about what could happen.
This was on them.
They should have told Vivian nothing in or out. They just didn’t expect him to try that stunt.
It was ballsy.
“It’s not her fault. He’s had years to set this up, and she’s navigating it blindly. We aren’t going to make her feel guilty, Demeter.”
He was glad.
Then, he was to the point.
“I’m going to kill him,” Demeter said, cracking his knuckles. “Just let me find him. I’ll break both of his legs, and feed them to him. I think it’s beyond doing the right thing. I want to do the wrong thing.”
While they appreciated that, there was no doubt that Elizabeth was going to handle this, and the last thing she’d want was a bunch of pissed off Marines going rogue.
They already had that.
They were The Hunters, and wrangling them was already a full-time job.
“We just have to support Elizabeth, and hope for the best,” Ethan stated. “That’s all we can do.”
Ivan was to the point.
“I’m not letting her sacrifice herself. She is NOT throwing herself on her sword to stop this guy. I know what she’s thinking, and I know where this is heading. I’m not letting it happen.”
Well, they were all on the same page with this one.
That was for sure.
Only, Ethan knew his wife well. She might cry on the outside, but this was going to piss her off to a level they’d never seen before.
If she went head-to-head with Devon, it wouldn’t be to lose. That was for damn sure.
“What do we do to help her?” Gryphen asked. “Ian and I want to help her. How the fuck did he get flowers into the FBI building that were poisoned?”
Callen knew.
They’d pulled the footage when she’d asked them to, and worked out what had gone down. What else were they supposed to do while being decontaminated?
“Vivian was coming into the building after going outside for something in her car. He caught her out there and handed them to her. She didn’t know they weren’t a real delivery.”
Ivan went there.
“This is what happens when you break the rules,” he stated.
“We told EVERYONE in this GODDAMN building what was going on. We warned Vivian that he might try shit like this. Granted, we thought it would be someone being grabbed, but when he approached her, she should have been well aware this was a bad idea.”
They knew.
Only, people made mistakes.
Those mistakes cost lives, unfortunately.
“She overheard us talking,” Demeter said. “We heard how upset Elizabeth was after talking to Ethan, and she knew that they had a fight.”
Ethan said nothing.
He was already feeling bad about this, and like it was also his fault. He’d made that comment to Elizabeth, out of frustration, and it had a domino effect.
“It’s no one’s fault but the killer,” Callen stated. “This is exactly what he wants. He wants all of us to question everything we do. He’s a master manipulator, and he won’t stop until he destroys her and the family. Put it away. We can’t carry this,” he stated.
Callen was right.
Ivan was to the point.
“We all loved Vivian, but if we trip on this, he’s got someone else. From here on out, WE NEED TO BE CAREFUL!” he stated.
Oh, and he was right.
“So, security footage showed him approaching her?” Demeter asked. “He’s ballsy.”
Callen nodded.
“He’s got nothing to lose. He’s like a kamikaze, D. We have his ID, the whole country knows his face. He knows the endgame is death. Hers and his, if he can pull it off. We took his money, prestige, and businesses. He’s going to try to take her.”
Security didn’t like that.
Not.
At.
All.
Ethan focused, because Elizabeth needed them to do just that.
“This did what Elizabeth needed. He popped up. We now know he’s here.
He wanted us to see his face. He wants us to fear being in the same place with him.
Giving us that confirmation helps us, not him.
That’s his first mistake. With us not knowing his location, it made it harder to protect everyone. ”
Well, they hoped he made plenty more mistakes.
Ethan continued.
He’d been thinking this out, trying to figure out Devon’s next move.
“I guarantee that she grounded him, and now, he’s having to redirect his plans.
That buys us time. I hate that Vivian got hurt, but this shows he’s off of his game.
He didn’t drop three victims or two. He struck out at us, showing she hit a nerve.
His card tells us that this wasn’t planned originally.
He’s flying without a net on this one, and when she’s tracking a killer, that’s what she needs for them to make a mistake. ”
They all hoped so.
Callen went there.
“His father taught him patience, and she stripped that away. He’s going to be wild, but that means he’ll make a mistake. All it will take is one, and he’s done.”
Good.
They wanted him done.
Blackhawk wasn’t done.
“Gene is working on finding the vehicle he got out of in the parking lot. It was pretty nondescript, and he knew not to let us see the plate, but it came from somewhere,” Ethan stated.
“He’ll slip up at some point. We have over a century of experience between the five of us.
He won’t win even if his daddy taught him all he knew. ”
That was what they all hoped.
As they pulled up to the council house, Lance RunningWolf was there. He was sitting on the steps, having a cup of tea. Fall was here, and it appeared he was enjoying the weather before the snow came in November.
As they got out, he sighed.
“What is this?” he asked. “I can tell by the look on your face, that you are bringing bad tidings to us, Shaman,” he stated, patting the step beside him.
Well, when in Rome…
Ethan parked it beside him and patted his leg.
“We need a favor,” he stated. “You know I wouldn’t ask unless it mattered.”
Lance was curious.
“What?” he inquired, not seeing the man who was dating his daughter—against his wishes.
At least they didn’t bring him here.
Having to look at him annoyed him to no end.
Because there was no time like the present, Ethan went there.
“One of our bodyguards was murdered last night,” he admitted.
Lance glanced over.
“I’m so sorry,” he stated. “But how is this tribal business?” he asked.
Ethan was well aware this was going to be a hard sell. He was no Timothy, and that might bite them in the ass. No one went against the old Shaman, because he was Hell on wheels.
Ethan wasn’t there.
Yet.
Building that reputation took time, and he’d only been at it a few months. It would take years to get that kind of clout.
“He wished to be buried with us, and we are going to be put by Timothy. We would like to ask you for permission to bury him by our family. He was part of our family, Lance.”
“Was it that man who was fooling around with my daughter?” he asked, hopefully.
Oh, Blackhawk saw the spark in his eyes, and that was all kinds of wrong, but he couldn’t go there.
This was a dance.
Instead, Ethan pulled out his phone and showed him a picture of him and Jet. Ethan had his arm around the man’s shoulders, and they were laughing about something.
It had been at a family BBQ last year.
Lance RunningWolf didn’t even consider it.
“No,” he stated.
Ethan tried.
“He’s our family.”
Still, Lance wasn’t having it.
“He was a marine. He’s not one of us.”
When Ivan opened his mouth to say ‘once a Marine, always a Marine’,” Callen gave him a look.
This was hard enough.
When dealing with the reservation chief, silence from anyone NOT Native, or the Shaman, was golden.
“I am sorry for your loss, Shaman, but the answer is no. Again, he’s not of our people. Your wife, and life partners are a different situation.”
“Husbands,” he said, correcting him.
Lance agreed to that.
“What happens in your bedroom is your business. It is not uncommon for our people to take multiple partners many, many years ago, so I’ll give you that, but this man is not ‘married’ to a Blackhawk. So, again, no.”
Ethan kept trying.
“Can we petition the council so I can plead my case to everyone?”
He shook his head.
“No.”
Blackhawk looked at his brother. That’s when Callen knew he was up to bat.
“Chief, we’re willing to make a donation.”
The man shook his head.