His Watchful Eye

Chapter 35- Final Confessions

     Georgia heard the steady, solid thumping of her pulse in her ears as she ran to the first storage building. Noting the padlock was unlocked on the first door; she quickly pulled it off and tossed it aside. Yanking the sliding door up and open, she found an empty room lined with foam. Swiftly she dashed to the adjoining unit and found it unlocked and empty as well. Each subsequent space in the first expansive building was just as vacant as the last, and she lost heart for a moment. Perhaps all of this was a cruel trick. Were Henry and Colin already dead and dumped somewhere? Would she ever find them?

Casting her fear and dread aside, she moved on to the next row of storage rooms. The lock on the first door was secured, and hope in her heart told her someone must be inside. Surely the key must be here somewhere. Kneeling to the gritty ground below her, she swept the area with her hands. Soon the afternoon sun glinted off the shiny metal of the key by her knee. Snatching it, she thrust it into the lock. As she turned it, the lock popped open. Taking a deep breath, she opened the door and to her shock found three little boys bound, gagged, and lying on the floor.

As quickly as her trembling fingers would allow, she broke them free of their bonds and rushed them out of their prison. Tears streamed down the youngest boy's face, and he clung to her legs in fear. The other boys stood in shocked silence, and Georgia's heart broke for them. The youngest child was no more than four, and she took him in her arms. She couldn't just leave them, but how would she ever find Colin and Henry with these children needing her attention?

"Georgia!" When she heard the shouting of her name, she nearly jumped out of her skin. Turning in the direction of the voice, she heaved a relieved sigh at the sight of Andrew Macklin and Carter Laribee sprinting toward her.

"You guys have no idea how glad I am to see you!" Tears prickled the backs of her eyes, but she sniffed them back. "Colin and my son, Henry, are here somewhere...I have to find them!"

"I'll take the boys and will make sure they haven't been hurt." Macklin offered as he held his arms out for the little boy she carried. At first, the child was reluctant to release his hold around Georgia's neck, but Macklin was excellent with children. He soon coaxed the boy into his arms and led the other two a safe distance away.

"What's happening here, Georgia? T.J. told us Traeger is running a child trafficking ring from these warehouses. What do I not know?"

"Traeger strapped bombs on both Henry and Beckner. He has it set so one will detonate when the other has been diffused...we can't save them both." Biting her lip, she fought to hold back tears as the reality of the situation hit, somehow speaking the words aloud made the dreadful truth all the more tangible, and she knew her life would never be the same. Traeger would win, for that was exactly what he wanted.

"I'll start looking at the other end of the complex. We need to find Henry and get him to safety. Beckner took an oath, and he is prepared to die in the line of duty, so our responsibility is to save the boy."

She nodded. Of course, Colin would be the casualty. She took the same oath of Fidelity, Bravery, and Integrity when she joined the Bureau and knew Colin was prepared to give his life to protect others.

For a split second she watched Laribee's back grow smaller as he made his way to the far end of the row of buildings at a dead run. Returning to the task at hand, she continued to check units for captives.

Minutes passed like hours and she found three more units housing a total of eight more children. Sending them in Macklin's direction, she continued her systematic search of each room.

Several compartments were empty, and then she found another with a fastened padlock. It was becoming almost mechanical to dig through the sand and loose gravel on the ground until a key manifested itself. "God, please let this be Henry." She prayed as she reached down to slide the door open.

*****

His eyes were still closed in the darkness when he heard a faint rustling on the other side of the thin, metal door separating him from freedom and safety. Someone fumbled with the lock and the door slowly slid open bathing him in sunlight. When his eyes rested on Georgia, his heart split in two. What a cruel trick for her that she should find him before she found Henry.

"Oh, Colin!" She knelt down on the ground beside him. When he looked up into her face, she noticed tears glistening on her cheeks. "What did he do to you? I'm so sorry for involving you-"

"Don't apologize, Georgia." His voice was weak to his own ears, and tears pooled in his eyes blurring his vision. "You need to go to Henry; he is the one you need to save."

"I don't want to make this choice." A sob escaped her lips as she covered her face in her hands and wept.

"I wish you didn't have to, but you need to be strong for Henry's sake. He will need you more than ever when you find him. Just remember...we will see each other in heaven again someday. So this isn't goodbye... it's just...see you later."

When she nodded her head, his throat burned as a wave of emotion swept through him. Now was his chance to tell her how he felt; he would never get another opportunity.

"Georgia, I need to tell you something, since I will never have the chance again. I don't expect you to say anything, but I need the last words you hear me say to be... I love you." Biting back tears, he struggled to leave her with a mental image of a strong man, not a broken one.

"Oh, Colin...I love you too." She choked out a sob.

Her words struck a chord in his heart, and happiness welled up within him despite the ticking bomb on his chest keeping them apart. Looking into her caramel, brown eyes, he saw the sincerity of her words and smiled as best he could with a throbbing jaw. "I am so glad."

"I don't want to leave you here to die." She gingerly touched his swollen jaw, and he winced as a wave of pain left him seeing stars. "There has to be a way you can both be saved."

"There is no other option. You have to go to Henry. Just promise me you won't let what happens today stop you from living your life to the fullest."

"I'll try." The tears spilling down her cheeks tore a hole into his heart causing more pain than either the broken jaw or gunshot ever could.

"You have to promise me, Georgia. Eventually, you need to find someone else. You tend to be a little closed off, but you have to let someone love you. I can't bear the idea of you spending your life alone."

"I promise, but it will be a long time before I will ever be ready to love again... like I love you." He wished his hands weren't tied behind his back, so he could hold her one last time.

"Please kiss me before you go."

As her hand tenderly cupped the side of his face that wasn't bruised and mangled, tears unable to be held back a moment longer trickled down his cheeks. He closed his eyes as her lips captured his. He could taste her salty tears as he gently kissed her for the last time. Their tears mingled on his cheeks, and he wished their story didn't have to end as a Shakespearean tragedy. When she pulled away, he felt the finality of the moment as his hope of a future with her died in front of him.

Knowing any more time together would only prolong the misery for both of them, he sighed deeply.

"Georgia, you must go to find Henry. Get him away from this place...he needs you now."

"I'm so sorry for everything, Colin."

"You have done nothing to apologize for. If I could do everything over, I wouldn't change a thing. I'll see you again one day, Georgia...I love you."

"And I love you." He closed his eyes and let her words sink into the depths of his soul. They worked like a soothing balm on his aching heart. As her footsteps faded into the distance, he prayed again that God would direct her steps and bring her to safety with Henry.