Year 2054
Lieutenant General Dan Haeckel
Age: 34
Location: Key File Mission, Classified Coordinates
___________________________________________
The rumbling of the car and the skittering sound of dust flying against the exterior walls and underside of the vehicle was making it hard for me to hear Liam down the phone line.
"What was that, kiddo? Your mum's not overworking herself is she? I told her to take the week off work at the hospital. The doctor said..."
"DAD! Dan! It's alright, she's totally fine. It's like whenever James is with her, he gives her a boost.... can hear her laughing... remember what you said about forcing Aunt Jaz to come visit? Is she coming? Is she gonna bring the kid? I've told the guys that you're bringing some Americans over... Dad?"
I smiled grimly, remembering Jaz's reluctance to take Kayli on her first trip out of America. "She's coming, and so is the scamp. You're gonna have to help mum ready the spare rooms. Don't let her be on her feet for longer than half an hour."
"Dad, cool it. You're being dit."
"A what?" Did he just make up an insult? I'd never heard the word and I'd been offended by a variety of people, and in plenty of languages, enough times to know most insults.
"A dit, Dad, keep up with the times. It's a..." Static buzzed and then the car came to an abrupt stop, churning dust and gravel so that I couldn't hear a word being said.
"Buddy, I'm gonna have to go. I'll call as soon as the mission is over and I'm freed by the boss."
"... kick butt... an expensive souvenir... don't get hurt."
Funny how the static allowed the most important words to get through.
"You'll get a souvenir when I get one of your tests with a big A on the top."
"Yeah, yeah..."
"See you later, kiddo."
"See you first, dad."
I hung up and gripped the fragile communication wire in my hand. This would be the last mission I took part in for a while. I was taking leave. I couldn't stand being away from Sondra. Since her heart-attack, she'd been diagnosed with cardiac arrhythmia but then the surgeons discovered she had Polyarteritis Nodosa. My wife, my invincible, carefree wife, was slowly weakening. The doctor hadn't even given her the rest of the year. And it was October.
There was a chance, a slight chance, that she'd fight it and live longer. She was strong, she could fight it, I was sure, but the heart attack had made her tired. I kept feeling as if the only thing keeping her with me was her promise. Her promise to stay with me.
I had to stop going over it. She was strong she'd be fine.
"Sir?" An eager agent saluted me, breaking my depressed trance. "One of the privates has taken your gear into the rooms. Shall I take you to the lieutenant who's been in charge til now?"
I rubbed a hand over my thick stubble, grimacing at the thought of talking to the incompetent git who'd forced this mission to become an international emergency.
"Give me a minute to stretch my legs," I growled, pulling myself out of the vehicle and standing upright for the first time in twenty-one hours.
It felt heavenly. Now all I needed was a shower and I'd be ready to get down to business.
"Ah, Agent Port, the Lieutenant General has arrived then?"
I rolled my shoulders, readying myself. This guy sounded pretty nervous. Must be the lieutenant jackass who'd been left in charge. He should be nervous, he should be trembling in his boots.
"I'm over here." I sighed and used my hand to stretch my neck on both sides. I hated long car rides.
A man of average height, wiry build, stepped around the corner and snapped a salute. I returned it casually and massaged a particularly tight knot in my neck. The guy was an idiot to come see me so soon after I'd arrived. Obviously I wasn't going to be in the most forgiving of moods.
"Lieutenant Forsythe?" I questioned, straightening my back so that I stood a head taller than him.
He gulped and I had to stop myself from grinning with glee. I liked being the bad guy some times. It helped work out some steam.
"Yes sir. I'm the one who, until now, has been in charge of retrieving the highly classified key files, sir."
"The one who led enemy personnel to the classified location of these key files, am I right?"
"But, sir! There were unseen circumstances, we couldn't-!"
I cut him off, grabbing him by his collar and lifting him onto his toes, bringing his face closer to mine. "You should have sat down for half-a-minute and made those unseen circumstances SEEN, Lieu-ten-ant!" I roared. His face went white. Yeah, I was famous for my cool, calm way of dealing with violent situations and my easy attitude. A lucky few had seen me lose my temper and yet that, too, had become famous. I'd made a corporal cry after he'd nearly shot me.
I released the idiot and he slumped against the wall, blinking rapidly. "Sir, I have reports of the entire mission so far and all information you'll need to get the files back."
"I've already got the bloody information," I snarled, "and we've set up a counter attack already. I'm here to send you home and oversee the retrieval crew. Get in the van, Forsythe. You've got an early debrief tomorrow morning back at HQ."
** **
The retrieval was going well. I'd say surprisingly well, but it was Jaz who was leading the offense group, the agents who were shepherding the attackers far from where my group were collecting the files. And I'd learnt not to be surprised when Jasmine Hunter was involved. The woman had lost her husband, become a single mother and gotten a promotion in the same year. She was ruthless and, while I couldn't say that Hunt's death hadn't affected her personality, I could say that she was determined to be happy and for little Kayli to be happy too.
"Sir, we've just received contact from Hark." Hark was the man I'd set as the leader of my retrievers. So far, he'd been a good choice.
I looked up at Agent Port. "Good news?"
He grinned. "Yessir. No casualties and they are on their way out. Is there anything I should relay back to them?"
I checked through my notes from several other reports. I was missing information on Jaz's team but the general in charge of that group was back at headquarters and probably too relaxed to even bother with the reports.
"Send a message to headquarters saying to start pulling the agents out. Also, our team is available for backup, if necessary."
I doubted it would be needed. The fact that I'd gotten nothing from the headquarters meant that their end must be running smoothly. I sighed with relief. For some reason, it felt like Hunt had been leaning over my shoulder, making sure that I kept his Jaz safe. A shiver ran up my spine.
"WHAT?! Sir, please tell me that I'm hearing this right! The entire team...? Oh Gods, no."
I looked up, over the frozen heads of other officers and met Kin, my communication officer's eyes. He winced and pulled the wire away from his ear.
"Sir... Dan... Oh fuck... You're going to have to pick up line 3."
I snatched up the communication wire. "Line Three," I snapped.
There was silence for a moment and then, "Lieutenant General? Is this Haeckel?"
"What in the hell is going on?" I hissed. Kin was muttering something to Port, making the agent's face wash out and his hand to go to his throat.
"Sir, this is Colonel Daniel Keeper from HQ. I'm reporting a casualty on our end."
Don't fucking kid with me God! "What the shit are you guys doing on your end? I had my ARMED men free and ready to assist!"
"Sir, we didn't want to risk the key files."
Dammit! He sounded like an android. "So you risked a life instead. Whose life wasn't worth the POSSIBILITY of losing the files?"
He showed some humanity by pausing before saying, "Jasmine Hunter... did not make it back."
I ripped the wire from my ear and ditched it across the room. Several men dodged it while I headed towards the exit.
"Dan! Where are you going?! We've still got to get our men back!" I sensed Port and Kin scurrying after me.
"I will murder every last one of them," I said in a low voice. Anger made my entire body vibrate. I needed to end something, punch something. DO SOMETHING!
"You can't do that," argued Port.
"Not now," said Kin at the same time, grabbing onto my arm. I shook him off as if he were a child holding onto me. Others came to help and I bit down on my lip to stop myself from knocking them all out. I tasted the saltiness of my blood as my teeth pierced my skin.
"Dan, there are more important things to focus on right now," Kin pleaded.
I searched his worried face and something clicked. "You're right."
He looked relieved.
"Get me back to headquarters right now. I want to get there as soon as I can."
"But, DAN!"
I swiftly raised my hand. "NOW!"
Kayli.
** **
"What do you mean, 'she's been taken to a foster care facility'?"
There was no way in hell I was going to lose two things in one goddamn day! I stood in the director's office, leaning over his desk. His assistant stood to my left, near the wall, looking utterly carefree. There was nothing on his face that showed me he cared for a fellow agent's death. I was so close to snapping that I couldn't feel my hands, they'd been clenched for so long, and I was forcing myself to breathe clearly.
The director was rubbing his eyes, obviously tired and upset. "I don't know who was charged with her but I have the report that she's being cared for. I don't know, Dan... Maybe it's for the best."
Hedrick nodded his head. He looked like he was trying to keep a straight face.
"I'll take her. She knows me, I can take care of her." How could there even be hesitation in handing her over to me?
The bastard smirked while the director shook his head. "You've got two young boys to take care of... and your wife..." He trailed off, not having the balls to finish his sentence.
"Your wife's not going to live for much longer," said his assistant for him. He managed to look sympathetic but I could see the sneer in his eyes.
In less time than it took him to blink, I grabbed him by the lapels of his shirt and smashed him into the nearby wall. "She's not fucking dying." I shook him hard. "So shut your fucking mouth."
I felt a firm hand on my shoulder. "Lieutenant General," it was the director. "I'm sorry, this isn't an easy time for you, but you should calm down now. I need your debrief. I'll let your early leave go because I couldn't have expected you to stay."
I dropped Dick, glaring at him as he straightened his collar and lifted his chin. And smirked. I unclipped my gun and snapped it down on the director's desk.
"As of now, sir, I am on leave."
"Well, okay, but I still need that debrief..."
He trailed off in disbelief as I pulled my arm back and rammed my fist into Dick's outstretched chin. His head snapped back and smashed into the wall. I caught him as his knees gave out and brought my knee up into his stomach. His breath whooshed out and he began to wheeze.
"DANIEL!" The director bellowed in my ear. He'd been pulling on my arm but I'd barely noticed it. "Let him go or I will be forced to charge you. We can make your break either leave or suspension. For god's sake, don't make me charge you. Not today."
I thrust Dick's body to the floor, fighting the urge to kick him, and walked out of the office. Oh fucking god dammit! I strode through the halls as fast as I could, the other personnel hurrying out of my way.
No.
No.
No.
No!
Not Jaz! For Christ's sake! Why did it have to be Jasmine! I was supposed to protect her! And Kayli! I couldn't even bloody well keep her safe either. I was a fuck up, an absolute screw up, and the dying people around me was proof of that.
It wasn't until I was in my car that I let my tears flow and the sorrow to gush.