Ever Hayes - Redemption

Twix turned to speak to the governor. “They’re watching you too, aren’t they?”

“I don’t know,” Barnes replied honestly.

“I’m guessing they at least have your phone and radio monitored. We also know they’re tapped into all of the computers but one in Area 52.”

“Why didn’t you—”

“Why didn’t we tell you? Isn’t that obvious now? Danny doesn’t trust anyone. You should know that. He tells people what they need to know and that’s it. He doesn’t know who’s been compromised. He wouldn’t have suspected you, but clearly…even that would have been wrong. So what exactly did you do?”

Governor Barnes appeared dumbfounded. He turned and stared out the window. “She’s dead, isn’t she?”

“She who? Your wife?” Twix asked.

Barnes nodded his head. “They killed my daughter because I refused to believe they were capable of it. And now they’ll kill my wife.”

Trigger softened considerably at the governor’s revelation. “They killed your daughter? You’re sure?”

Tears had formed in the governor’s eyes, and he wiped them away. “Yes. They asked me to get the book from Danny and give it to them. I refused, and they took both of them. I listened to my daughter die as I tried to convince them I’d get the book. They said it was too late…that next time I should take them seriously. They shot her. I listened to her die.”

Twix put two and two together quickly. “I take it you met with the same people Nicole met with at Kaneohe Bay?”

The governor gripped the back of a chair. “I don’t know. There were four of them, all wearing masks, three dark skinned and one white. They’ve never really said anything to me. I’ve always just been led at gunpoint back to the comm room to talk to the Libyan commander in Denver—or wherever the hell he is.”

“They knew no one would ever question you.” Trigger rejoined the conversation. “You were the safe bet. Except to Danny.”

The look on the governor’s face was a combination of hurt and guilt—hurt that Danny hadn’t trusted him and guilt that Danny had been right not to.

“So you weren’t the white guy? There’s another white guy in on this?”

“What do you mean by that, Twix? The white guy at the base?”

“Never mind. What did you have to give them?” Twix asked.

Barnes turned away from them again. “I had to tell them when the planes left the carrier and where they were planning to land.”

“The rescue party?” Trigger asked in surprise.

Governor Barnes nodded. “And Danny’s.”

“Wait, you’re—” Trigger emotions were ramping up again.

“They’re all dead. I killed them all.”

“Governor—”

“No. Stop.” Barnes turned to look at Twix. “Torrey, I should be arrested right now. Maybe you should even shoot me. My wife is dead. What does it even matter? We’re all dead.”

“Governor, as much as Trigger here would like to shoot you, you know that can’t happen. As much as what you’ve done deserves the steepest punishment…we can’t even report it or punish you. You—at least—will get away with your stupidity.”

“But—”

“No. Sir, you need to listen. You have potentially sacrificed the lives of fifty-some men who dedicated their lives to protecting this country—maybe more if you’ve jeopardized the carrier too. These people gave all they had for people like you. There’s no question your decision was a terrible and costly one—and definitely an act of treason—but…” The governor had turned away, and Twix grabbed his arm, turning him back around. “But…I’m not going to tell you I don’t understand why you did it. These guys know how to use leverage. They know where you’re weak. Besides, they have Cheyenne Mountain heavily guarded. It wouldn’t be the first time someone has bluffed an enemy to get what they want. Maybe the entire rescue party isn’t dead.”

Twix could tell it was the first time Governor Barnes had considered that possibility.

“You’re saying that—”

“I’m saying there’s a chance they lied to you to see if you’d give them anything useful. The question is, did you? Did they say anything about Danny?”

“They thought he blew up the building at Knights Peak,” Barnes replied.

Twix saw Trigger’s eyebrows rise. “So they think Danny is still alive?”

“I don’t know.” Barnes shrugged. “I guess. Maybe. Haven’t you been following his dog-tag beacon? It’s in Colorado.”

“No. He told us not to. Twix and I aren’t supposed to log in at all. Just Damien and the mole.” Trigger let that sink in. “The question is did you give them any reason to think Danny was still alive?”

Governor Barnes paused. Trigger and Twix saw right through that. “Crap.” Twix sighed.

“I told them he couldn’t have blown up the building, that he was still miles away from the coordinates at the time of the explosion.”

“Shit.” Trigger sighed again. “Damn it.”

A little bit of relief and hope had crept into the governor’s face. Now it was gone again. “What do you guys want me to do?”

“You just put Danny in a lot of hot water, if he is still alive,” Trigger replied. “The commander is going to send everyone out looking for him now.”

“And we may have another problem,” Twix said, glancing at Trigger.

“And what’s that?”

“Sir, there’s a huge hurricane heading our direction. Was originally just supposed to blow by, but now it appears to turning directly towards us. Damien doesn’t see any way it misses us now.”

“Seriously? A hurricane? It’s not even hurricane season, is it?” the governor responded nervously. He looked out the window. It was rather dark for mid-afternoon . “Peak season, in fact. You should know that.” Trigger ignored the inquisitive look he got from Twix.

“And if it does hit us—”

“When it hits us,” Trigger interrupted.

“Weathermen are always wrong.”

“Maybe. But not meteorologists.”

“Enough. Both of you. True as that may be— Trigger… Governor —if and/or when the hurricane does hit us, it may be our best chance to get into the pink house on Kauai and rescue the girls. It may even be our only chance.”

Barnes’s attention was one hundred percent back in the mix. “So you’re actually hoping we get slammed by this hurricane. Is it a big one? When is it expected to hit us?”

“Yes, sir, it’s a big one. Definitely Category 4. Best guess”—Twix glanced out the window—“it hits late Wednesday afternoon or night. Wind is already picking up out there.” Twix pointed toward the ocean.

“Tomorrow night? What about the flooding? You said it was a Category 4…the last one of those to hit us was back in the early nineties. That thing destroyed Kauai.”

“Hurricane Iniki—we know, sir,” Trigger replied.

“Heck, the last hurricane a couple years ago flooded the entire place and it barely hit us. If this one does hit us, that property isn’t high enough to stay above it.” The governor could see he was telling the SEALs more of what they already knew. “But you guys already have a plan for that, don’t you?”

“Honestly, sir, no offense, but we’re not going to tell you anything else at this point.” Trigger was gazing out the window at the ocean. Twix continued. “But if we need something from you, we will let you know.”

The governor didn’t look thrilled with that response, but he knew he’d done nothing to deserve inclusion. He nodded.

“That said, though,” Twix continued, “if you have any hope of ever seeing your wife alive again, you cannot in any way tip off the people who are watching you. Do not act weird. Do not leave. Do not say a word about this to anyone. No one. Do not try to be a hero. I mean it. Go to bed early. Stay here. Stay… here.”