Дэвид Балдаччи - King and Maxwell

Dana was still in the critical care unit and thus her visitors were limited to immediate family; one had to phone the unit to gain admission. He had lied and told the nurse who answered the phone that he was Dana’s brother in from out of town.

He was directed to her room but stood by the door before going in. Dana was in the bed with IV [23] IV – intravenous. and monitoring lines running all over her. The machine keeping track of her vitals hummed and beeped next to the bed. The blinds on the window were closed. The room was fairly dark. Dana wore a breathing mask, which was helping to inflate her damaged lung.

He took a few hesitant steps forward, hoping he wouldn’t run into General Brown here. The last thing he wanted was an altercation. His face hadn’t recovered from the last beating. And though Dana wasn’t conscious, he didn’t think something ugly like that would help her recovery.

He drew up a chair and sat next to her bed. Her chest rose and fell slowly, if unevenly. He slid a hand through the bed rails and gently gripped her wrist. She felt cold and for one terrifying moment he thought she was dead. But she was breathing, and the monitor showed her vitals, while weak, to still be recordable.

He bent lower, his head resting lightly on the cool surface of the bed rail. He had assumed this position for over two weeks while waiting for Michelle to open her eyes. He had never figured to be repeating this ritual so soon and certainly not with his ex-wife.

“I’m so sorry, Dana,” he said softly. He let go of her wrist and let his hand dangle.

He closed his eyes and a few tears leaked out. He was startled when something touched him. When he opened his eyes he saw that her fingers had closed around his. He looked at her face. Her eyes were still shut, her breathing still weak. He stared down at her fingers once more, thinking he must have imagined it. But there they were, intertwined around his.

He didn’t make a move until about twenty minutes later when her fingers slipped off his and she seemed to fall into a deeper slumber. He sat with her for another half hour and then made his way out, wiping fresh tears from his eyes.

He turned the corner and ran into the one person he had dreaded seeing.

General Brown was not in uniform today. He wore slacks and a blue blazer and assumed an angry expression as soon as he saw Sean.

“What the hell are you doing here?” he snapped. He looked over Sean’s shoulder at the double doors leading into the critical care unit. “Have you been in there to see Dana? You bastard!”

He cocked his arm back to throw another punch. This time Sean didn’t simply stand there and receive it. He hooked Brown’s forearm, spun him around, and drove the arm up his back to such an angle that Brown cried out in pain. It was fortunate the corridor was empty at that moment.

Sean said into his ear, “Yes, I did see Dana. She moved her hand, in case you wanted to know. Now I’ll remove my hand and let you go, but if you want to take another swing at me I suggest you wait until we get outside.”

Sean stepped away and Brown, rubbing his arm and grimacing, faced him. “If you come back here again I’ll have you arrested.”

Sean eyed him. “The men came into the mall from the direction that Dana did. We arrived first. No one followed us, that I guarantee. So that means these men followed Dana there, not us. They asked me to call her and get her back after I sent her to get the police from the mall substation. They knew she was important.”

“You sent her away to get the police?” said Brown, looking confused.

“Only she came back and helped us. In fact she ended up saving our lives. She’s a very brave woman who I know loves you very much.”

“And yet she betrayed me by telling you information that I gave to her.”

“She did it because I asked her to. In hindsight it was both selfish and stupid of me to involve her. But I did it because I was trying to help a young man find his father.”

Brown studied him. “Wingo?”

Sean nodded. “But how did those men know of Dana’s involvement? I had dinner with her out of the blue. She had no idea why. And yet men start following her after she speaks with you. Men who used to be in the military.”

Brown thought about this. “Are you suggesting that I might have a leak in my office? That’s impossible,” he added dismissively.

“Do you have another explanation?”

“I don’t have to explain anything to you,” Brown barked.

“No, you don’t. But your wife is lying in there because a man who was following her shot her. And the only reason I believe he was following her was because she knew things about Sam Wingo that you told her. Now, we killed those three men. But that doesn’t mean there aren’t others out there.”

“This is a classified military matter.”

“Tell that to a sixteen-year-old kid who’s been told his dad is dead even though he really isn’t.”

Brown’s anger slowly faded. “I wasn’t aware of that. But I still don’t think I can help you.”

Sean watched him, trying to detect any wavering in his features. “Your wife is lying in a hospital bed because a man shot her. If I were you, I would want to make sure that all the people responsible were appropriately punished.”

Brown leaned against the wall and studied the patterned linoleum floor.

Sean moved closer. “The DoD is burying all of this. No surprise. But in doing so I hope they’re also not covering up the truth. Because if they are this stops being a national security issue and starts becoming a criminal act.”

Brown glanced up sharply. “I’m not hiding anything.”

“By allowing others to hide it I lump you with them. Guilt by inertia.”

“That’s your opinion and I could give a crap what you think.”

“It’s not really an opinion, just a basic concept. Telling the truth is the best policy.”

“That’s a very naïve approach,” Brown said in a sneering tone.

“I thought when you put on the uniform honor was a big part of it.”

“It is a big part of it,” Brown snapped.

“And if mistakes are made shouldn’t they be corrected? Even if a secret comes out? Especially if we’re talking about an innocent person’s life?”

“I’m just one person, King.”

“So you just put your head in the sand and look the other way? Is that what honor means to you?”

“What the hell do you want from me?”

“I want your help to set this right.”

“My help? Do you have any idea what you’re asking me to do?”

“I do, actually. And if you say no and walk away and sit with Dana, I’ll completely understand. I’ll work the case from another angle. But I will work it. I bear tremendous responsibility for Dana almost dying. I have to make it right.”

“Then you might run right up against the Pentagon.”

“I’m a licensed private investigator. And I know of no law that says I can’t investigate a matter on behalf of a client.”

“But national security.”

“Yeah, I keep hearing that phrase. People use it like a get-out-of-jail-free card. But the more you use something the less effect it has, at least for me. And this is America. So when push comes to shove, liberty trumps all else.”

“Until you lose that liberty.”

“Been there, done that, General. And I’m still here.”

“You’re still taking a risk. A big one.”

“I don’t care. Comes with the territory. And I owe it to someone.”

“Who? The kid?”

“No. Dana.”

Brown glanced away, looking thoughtful. Sean could almost see the mental machinery humming through the man’s scalp.

“No promises. But I’ll see what I can do.”