Lucy peeked around the corner and grinned at the Sergeant, who was still in Ben’s arms. Evelyn spotted her and tried to slip out of Ben’s embrace, but he pulled her close. “Yes, Lucy?” he asked.
“Breakfast is ready. Will you be joining us, Evelyn?” Lucy asked with a cheeky grin.
Ben heard the double entendre in the question, and from the red glow on Evelyn’s cheeks, so did she. She froze.
“Have you eaten breakfast?” Ben asked gently.
“I have,” she said quickly.
“Would you like to sit with us or get started downstairs?” Ben said, and she glanced toward the stairs. He leaned forward and kissed her, making her squeak. “No secrets in this house,” he said firmly, and she nodded with a little smile as he released her to join Lucy, who wore a delighted grin on her face. “No teasing Evelyn,” he said to her, and she nodded obediently.
“Help me collect the children?” she asked.
“I would love to!” Ben returned.
Family breakfast time was the best part of the day!
-=-
After breakfast, he called Hannah to speak to her about getting some time with the doctor. She immediately put him on hold for a moment, then let him know she had an opening at the end of the day. That was faster than he expected, but he wasn’t going to argue.
Next, he called Ed, who picked up on the third ring with a happy voice.
“Ben! You’re back?”
He smiled at the delight in the man’s voice. “Thanks to you, Ed. I want to thank you for really coming through for me. Evelyn filled me in on everything you did for us. You went above and beyond. Thank you!”
“I just delivered your text to Evelyn as you asked,” Ed said humbly.
“No, I heard you also helped them contact the people who made it possible for me to be rescued. Your cell was their point of contact with General Davis. He was able to reach out to the USS Harry S. Truman because of that.”
Ed’s excitement returned. “You really got rescued by an aircraft carrier?”
Ben’s enthusiasm got away from him. “Yeah, it was so cool! So huge!”
Ed laughed. “I wish I could have been there!”
“If I ever get another chance to visit one, I’ll make sure to ask if I can bring you, too,” Ben promised.
“That would be awesome!” Ed gushed. “Listen, I was speaking with Grace, Rachel, and Zoe, and we’d like to throw you a welcome back party.”
Ben smiled. “That sounds like fun. I’ll have to get back to you on when I might be available to do that. A lot has happened recently, and the General asked me to lay low for a bit to let the dust settle.”
“Okay, let me know, and we’ll throw you a party, probably at Reg and Thierry’s home as their place has the biggest dining room table.
“That sounds fun. Thanks again, Ed.”
“You’re welcome, Ben. Any time.”
Ben hung up and smiled to himself. He really liked Ed and his extended family. They were good people.
His next call was to Walter.
“Ben! You’re back?” the man blurted, and Ben chuckled, hearing Ed’s words echoed.
“Yes, all is good, I’m glad to be home, and I have a new side project for you,” Ben said.
“What?” Walter said in surprise.
“While I was on the arms dealer’s yacht, I met a man, Ulrich Huber, who was hiding from the police as he stole the working capital and the employee pension fund from the company he worked for. The man died on the ship, but I have his banking credentials. I’d like to give those people their money back and maybe get that business back on its feet. Can I ask you to have Grace do a backtrace on Ulrich to find out who he stole from and then have you contact the owners of the business to see if they can get it running again?”
“Ah… okay.” Walter sighed.
“At the very least, I want the employees to get their pension payments,” Ben said.
“Send me the information, and I’ll get on it. I’ll also bring Jerry into this, as he can deal with the pension plan for them. I can’t wait to see what industry we’re expanding into this time,” Walter said with a smirk in his voice.
“You’re the best, Walter!” Ben said with a grin.
He didn’t want to put off speaking with Liliya any longer, so he slipped on his boots and jacket, grabbed his keys, and stepped outside. The cold bit at his nose, and he glanced up. Winter was going to be a cold one this year, he believed.
He hopped into his truck, drove to Liliya’s place, and parked. He walked up to the door and pressed the doorbell.
Shortly, Liliya opened the door and gestured for him to enter.
“Ben, you should just come in. You don’t need to knock and wait for me to let you in. It’s your house!” she scolded gently.
He smiled. “It’s your home. I dropped by to see how you were doing. You saw Tatiana’s message?” He kicked off his boots and hung up his jacket.
Liliya nodded and led Ben into the living room, where they sat together on the couch.
She tried to smile, but it was strained as she recalled the message from Tatiana. “I almost did not recognize her. She changed after she left us. I was wrong about her. I didn’t know how unaware she was of their programming. I was always aware of it and could separate myself from it. It took stabbing you for her to realize her actions weren’t entirely her own. She got her revenge for that and so much more.”
Ben nodded. “She mentioned you directly in the message. I hope that doesn’t cause you any grief.”
Liliya smiled. “She mentioned you more significantly. That will undoubtedly create issues for you.”
Ben sighed and nodded once more. “I’ll be speaking to the General when he’s available. I don’t want our arrangement to be affected. If he tells me he’s altering our deal, your freedom is non-negotiable. I will sever all ties to the military before I allow that to happen. I’m hopeful the General will make efforts to keep that from becoming necessary.”
Liliya looked worried. “You’d lose your protection from hostile operatives.”
“I’d hire a team to protect the neighborhood. I’d also publicly announce the dissolution of my relationship with the military. That might be enough to make them no longer see me as a threat.”
He looked into Liliya’s worried eyes. “With the destruction of FSB headquarters, do you see them looking to retaliate?”
“Tatiana was following a plan Colonel Vasiliev created to eliminate the FSB should they ever turn on him. I was aware of the plan, but I would never have done it. It was a suicide mission from the beginning, but the Colonel would have sent one of us to do it, so he wouldn’t have been in danger.” Ben looked at her in surprise, so she continued. “Tatiana would have struck when most of the Senior Chiefs were present in the building as well as most of the department heads and a significant number of their agents, so we may assume a majority of the chain of command has been eliminated. Their documentation and servers were all contained within the building as well. It will take a long time to recreate the organization.”
Liliya touched Ben’s hand, and he held hers gently. “Once there is some structure in place, it’s possible they might target you as some weak form of revenge, even though Tatiana was very explicit in mentioning her reasons for doing it and your disapproval of her actions. It is how these minds work.”
“All the more reason to insist you remain by my side,” Ben said.
“There is nowhere I would rather be,” she said, looking into his eyes.
He leaned closer, and she met him halfway, their lips caressing, then the kiss deepened. When they pulled back, they were both breathing hard.
Ben saw her need for him in her eyes as his were probably showing how much he wanted her.
She gave him a crooked smile. “You have a busy morning.”
Ben nodded as he knew he had to start connecting with his neighbors.
“I would like to continue this when you are available,” Liliya said, and Ben nodded.
“Me too,” he managed. “I-I have a doctor’s appointment this afternoon.”
“I’ll be ready,” she said with a smile.
They stood and managed to keep from touching again as he returned to get his boots and jacket. He kissed her again, then slipped outside to cool off.
He drove home and settled into his office to start making calls.
He spent the rest of the day contacting his neighbors and friends to update them on his situation.
It was late afternoon when Ben relaxed back in a chair facing Dr. Granger across her desk.
He’d given Hannah a very long hug and many kisses in her office when he’d arrived, then she pushed him out the door so he wouldn’t be late for his appointment. Dr. Granger smiled and handed him a tissue to wipe off her lipstick as he entered her office.
“I should begin by thanking you for making our work environment so much more harmonious. Hannah is a much better Hospital Administrator since you came into her life.”
Ben snorted as he stared at the doctor.
“It’s true! Love has given her a firmer foundation for her emotional well-being, which translates to better communication with others. So, thank you,” she said with a grin.
Ben raised an eyebrow at her, so she grinned and leaned back. “I understand you underwent a difficult ordeal. A kidnapping?”
He sighed. “Yes, but it was two in a row, actually. A rogue CIA agent grabbed me outside my home and took me to Morocco, where an arms dealer kidnapped me and took me to his yacht on the open seas.”
“That must have been very stressful,” Granger said.
Ben nodded. “I managed to escape, but I had to kill to make it happen. I can still see their faces.”
The doctor nodded. “That’s normal. In a high-stress situation, the mind hides information that may hinder your efforts to survive the ordeal. These suppressed memories will surface once you’re beyond the danger and the pressure eases. Their intensity will fade over time. You’ve experienced this before.”
It was Ben’s turn to nod. “Yes. I’m actually not so concerned about that.” The doctor smiled as this was evidence of his progress.
Ben frowned as he cast his mind back to the moment he first faced the cage. “The bastard who owned the boat, Kaan Sadik, took me to see a cage filled with abducted children he intended to sell into slavery. I was so enraged that I lost control. I-I don’t clearly recall what I did next, but I’m sure it’ll leak out of my memories at some point. When I regained control, there were five dead bodies on the deck. I knew there was no going back at that point. I knew I’d have to kill the others if I was going to escape. I didn’t hold back.”
Dr. Granger nodded as she listened.
Ben took a deep breath, then continued. “My issue is that, for the rest, I was in complete control, and it was… easy. I felt nothing as I killed them with knives, then a fire ax. When I reached Kaan, the arms dealer, I took my time and made him suffer. I wanted him to feel the fear and desperation he put those kids through. He screamed through the entire ordeal. I only killed him when he started to slip into shock. I don’t feel ashamed of what I did. I don’t regret it. Does that make me as much of a monster as him?”