Plans Changed, A Story 3

During the meal the pain meds began to wear off, my left side felt like it had been put through a meet grinder.  My wife noticed the brief reaction in my face before I calmed myself down as I embraced the pain.  As I looked at my Christina she asked if I was okay, I told her for having had a few ribs broken I supposed I was. We left it at that as she sipped on her third cup of coffee I asked how she slept and she ignored the question.  For the past fifteen years being gone more than I was home I tried not to think about what she was doing when I was gone but now being having her sit next to me, I could not help but wonder.  To change the course of my thoughts I asked about her son; apparently the assistant DA and IA detective caught this as they stopped their discussion.  I realized my mistake quite quickly but could not apologize in time.

My wife was quiet as she stared at me for a few eternal moments.  She did not get mad at my bringing that up and replied by informing me our son had made varsity on the swim, golf and tennis teams and had a 3.8 GPA.  I only nodded; thankfully the DA's phone rang.  the call did not last long before she told me that was her boss letting her know it was time for me to go see the judge.  I slowly stood and held out my hands as the detective from the other night walked in.  As she put the cuffs on she told me it did not seem right to have to put the cuffs on a real American hero.  I shook my head and said I was no hero, just another man who did a thankless job that someone thought needed doing.  My wife asked what my girlfriend meant by hero and looking at her I told her my captor did not mean anything. Christina seemed unsure of what she was supposed to do until the doctor came in with her or rather my attorney she hired and he asked if he could show her something.

My trip before the judge was pretty much as I suspected, she was focused on the charges I would be tried on if  it went that far.  She asked if I needed a lawyer and I shook my head.  The DA and not his assistant stated that in light of the circumstances the state would not be pressing charges against me but needed me to testify in another case and felt I was a flight risk.  I asked why he thought this and pointed out the witness had no reason to shirk his civil duties and when he needed to he would appear before the court to testify and answer what questions he could.  The judge shuffled some paperwork made some notes and then signed a sheet of paper and told me I was free to go as she addressed me as John Doe.  As I was leaving I was asked by a reporter if there was any news about the John Doe.  Smiling I told her I did not know a John Doe.  I made use of a side entrance to leave the courthouse and with no ride I began walking away staying off the main highway for the first six miles by which time I was in excruciating pain.  I stopped to rest on a bench for almost a half hour before resuming my walk through the desert communities.  It was late afternoon when I came to the outcropping of the mountain range that came up to the road.  Knowing it would be dark soon I headed up the small mound of rocks and cactus.

As I found a spot to sit I was able to watch the highway and beyond and could watch the traffic.  As I had on numerous occasions in the past in countries I was not allowed to mention I had ever even been to I began  noting the patterns of the populace.  It was as the law enforcement vehicles began to move on what I guessed was not a normal pattern as more than was needed began to make more frequent passes by the outcropping.  I made mental notes of the unit numbers, it was evident they were looking for someone and that was confirmed when the helicopter appeared of to the east, as I watched they were heading this way in what to me was a standard search pattern but not very productive.  I made a decision and made my way down from my perch but not toward the highway, rather I came down to the backside of a shopping center. There I made entry into the back of a grocery store which even though I grew up in the states I was still always amazed by the size and the vast number of choices of what in reality was a much smaller number of item choices. Since I actually had no money on me I just pushed the buggy around the store for an hour or so getting reacquainted with some of those choices.  I noticed the three people following me through the store though not in a group so I went to the front counter and informed them they might want to know they had three people in the store they should keep an eye on and then walked out with a mother with half a dozen children and volunteered to help push on of her two buggy's.  Smiling she asked if I was from the south and I nodded saying along time ago when I was a child I lived there but have spent most of my adult life out of the states.  She told me her husband was from Charleston and currently overseas.  The closest base was a Marine Base and asked if he was force recon.  She said what exact unit he was with she did not know as he was transferred from Quantico to take over this current air command.

It was a guess and I asked if he was a helicopter pilot and she nodded, saluting her not that I ever had to salute anyone I told her from an old timer to tell her husband thanks for dropping in giving those born without wings rides.  One of her children asked if I knew her daddy and I told her honestly I did not know if I knew her daddy but it was a small world and there may have been a time he hitched a ride.  Once her groceries were loaded I told her to enjoy her evening and she told me thanks for helping and old woman who lives in a shoe.  Chuckling I recited the nursery rhyme as walked off, with her children doing the same.  I headed toward the cross road that would take me to the interstate that ran mostly parallel to the highway at this point.  I crossed to the far side where there were several more large stores.  It was in the massive parking lot I ran into one of the seven; she asked if I knew they were looking for me as she pointed to the helicopter and the half a dozen police cars at the far end of the shopping complex.  I told her those officers did not look like they were looking to hard as I was pretty much in plain sight.  She asked if I was going to talk to them and I said not at the moment as I really had nothing I wanted to say to them and the last time I checked I was a free man. She asked what about my wife and I told her I would call her but she had my phone, my wallet my keys to the jeep and the jeep.  As she looked at the police she asked if I had had anything to eat and I told her some oatmeal and fruit for breakfast.  Handing me her phone she nodded toward a restaurant.  The act of just lifting the phone to my ear shot pain up through my side.

Shaking her head she took the phone and as we walked into the combo semi Latino/American fast food chain she called my wife and told me Christina was a hoot.  Shrugging I mumbled saying I would not know.  I was sipping an iced tea waiting for my meal when several officers came in who apparently had seen a photo of me walked over and surrounded my table.  The lead asked if I was John Doe and I told him no I was not John Doe as that was they put on people visiting the morgue when they could not be identified.  One of the men asked if I could come with them and I shook my head and asked why.  I was told they wanted to verify who I was and I looked around and asked another patron what country I was in.  The older fellow said it was still America.  Thanking him I turned to the lead officer and told me if he was not arresting me with good reason or did not have a warrant or some other legal form he wished to give me he needed to back off or find himself facing a judge for harassing a citizen of the United States.  When an officer put his hand on his side arm I told him if that gun came out of its holster he better use it and finish the job then run as the boys that would be coming to hunt him down would ignore the uniform.  A winded detective came running in and told the boys she had it from here. One of the boys fingered his baton and I told him I would give him one shot and after that I would take it, carve it up nice and pretty and send it back so he could have something to remind him of how to behave in the company of women.  Several people clapped as he walked out.  As my dinner arrived the detective told me to bring it with me and I shook my head and told her no, I had walked most of the day and was just offered a meal and pointing to the medium height brunette with those long legs I had seen way too much of the other night who was sitting at the table next to me filming the entire conversation on her phone, I added it would be impolite to just up and leave my host with out at least sharing a meal.

She moved over and sat across from me and told me I could call her Tiffany as that was her name.  Raising my right hand I shook hers and told her my name was not rally John or Doe but I have used John before.  The detective made a call as she sat and told someone yes she was in the company of their John Doe, after a moment of someone yelling at her she asked if he was serious and when I heard the distinctive yes I knew.  She told me to finish eating. I asked her why I was being arrested this time; she said her boss had some questions as to why half his deputies not to mention the state patrol and God knew who else was looking for me.  I smiled and told her to call him back and tell him they could save a lot of time and tax payer dollars if he would accept the fact I had no idea since I did not give any orders and as far as I knew there were no warrants out for my arrest.  She asked why I had to make her job so difficult and I shook my head and went to raise my hand and then lowered it real quick and told her from my perspective it was not I who made her job difficult but someone above her who apparently did not know the constitution and the meaning of not taking themselves too seriously along with a little good ole boy thrown cronyism thrown in.  She looked down and told me thanks to me she was also now under investigation by IA.  I asked if she had done anything wrong and she said no but apparently she was supposed to have known her partner was dirty.  I looked out and told her if those boys outside were protecting him then they were as dirty as he was but this was not the time and place.

As the older gentleman who answered my question got up to leave he came over and asked if there was anything he could do to help a fellow soldier.  Smiling I asked why he thought I was a soldier.  He stood up taller and said he had been a ranger for almost twenty years and I walked like a ranger and no normal citizen would dare speak to a cop they way I do so he guessed I had to be an officer as the other option of me being a family member did not fit with the way I walked.  I asked how he would know that and smiling he said after twenty years in the service he spent another twenty fighting to put the family members behind bars, though now he was thinking they should have been looking at congress. I told him the problem with those who make the rules is they have two sets, those for everyone else and those for them so it would never have worked.  He chuckled and said they had from time to time got to put one of them away and I nodded and said yep I had seen that country club on several occasions and that was not a bad way to retire if playing golf before making dinner was your thing.  The old man said all the same his offer of help was still the same.  I told him if he knew anyone who needed a consultant on a variety of topics I was looking for work which is what brought me to this neck of the woods in the first place. He asked if I had a card and I pointed to the detective who asked why I thought she had my wallet.  I told her she did not have my wallet unless she lied but I know for sure she had taken one of my cards.  She pulled out her wallet and handed over my card which was the one I had used since I began my relationship with my Uncle in Washington at the age of eighteen.  The fact was that I still provided Field Engineering and Consultation Services as an independent contractor, now though it was cheaper for the huge monopolies that ran the larger more lucrative projects to hire someone younger who needed to pay their college bill and take care of their expenses.  I was usually not called until after a catastrophic failure or a tragedy where lives were lost.

The gentleman asked if that included security, I nodded and said if it was for babysitting purposes there were others who liked that sort of work.  He nodded and went to shake my hand I could not hide the grimace from the pain.  He nodded and said it now made sense as I was that guy.  I reached over and grabbed my side and told him maybe depending on which guy he was talking about.  When my wife arrived with her new lawyer and what had to be the Sheriff I was still nibbling on my beans and rice, I was not sure what to expect.  Christina asked what happened to me as she looked me over.  I told her the DA chose not to press charges though I suspect he did so unwillingly and probably told he could not by women close to him.probably his wife who knew well enough that if he tried to charge me for helping out a young woman in distress it would not go in the next election.  The sheriff took the empty seat and I cleared my throat; when he asked what I told him he was being rude and should not just assume I wanted him to sit at my table.  He told me we needed to talk and I told him since it was he who probably gave the order to hunt down a free man which had probably cost thousands of tax paying dollars he needed to explain to his employers otherwise known as the voters why; I had already noticed the reporter sitting nearby and just then so did he.    When he asked Ms. Jones if she was going to create a story out of that question she told him yes and also had some questions for John Doe like how he disappeared.  Christina said she had that same question. I told my wife the judge said I was free to go so I left by a side door when I noticed the horde camped out in the front; looking at the sheriff I told him if I were in charge of securing that facility and pinnacle of our legal system I would do something about that side door as no one tried to stop me and the cameras were not even focused in the right direction, probably so the judges could sneak in and out or at least sneak in and out their dates.

The sheriff said he would look into that; smiling I told him he should before say a rapist used the same exit to escape.  He looked at me and told me he wanted a good reason to like me and I told him to like someone was something you decided to do and had nothing to do with reasons; you either liked them or you did not and at the moment I really did not care if he like me what I wanted of him was to respect my and every law abiding citizens rights and remind his deputies there job was to keep the peace not escalate difficult situations and most definitely remind them they uphold the law and are not the law in and of themselves.  He looked around and whispered that this discussion would be better had somewhere else.  I looked at the reporter and said it seemed to me her offices had to be somewhere around here.  When the sheriff looked at her he said no.  I looked at him and told him I had no reasons to go to his office unless something has changed and since he was unwilling to have a cordial discussion among fellow citizens there was no reason to continue and he could leave.  When he stormed out, my wife kicked me under the table.  I looked at her and she told me I could at least be polite. I smiled and said I was polite which many times gets mistaken to mean grovelling, pandering, and/or in more common language brown nosing.  The detective and the reporter who had both been drinking their coffee both sent it out in a spray covering their prospective tables and the remainder of my dinner which I promptly got up and threw away.  Christina asked me where I was going and I told her to be honest I no longer had plans as my original plans would have put me on the road much closer to what apparently was no longer going to be our home to celebrate our anniversary.

She told me we could and should have this discussion elsewhere; I nodded and said first though I wanted to stop by and check with the doctor.  She told me in the morning she had already arranged for an appointment and she or one of his new girlfriends could check to see if he was okay.  I let that dig slide as I asked what her plans were.  She told me since her original plans had not included jumping on a plane because she got one of those calls she had feared she would get for most of their lives and since I was not immediately at risk of expiring they may as well go back to the bungalow she had rented for her stay.  When the reporter asked which resort we were staying at, my wife snapped it was none of her business. I told Christina to lead the way and as she headed toward the door I apologized to the reporter and told her to have fun with this story and make sure she was fair to all sides of the issue.  In the back of the overly priced German produced SUV which more or less was made in America, Christina kept silent so I asked where the Jeep was and was informed by our driver her lawyer that it was at her house along with the bungalow.  I asked where my wallet was and I was told it was in the center console.  Leaning over I pushed through the pain and grabbed it even though I knew I overstretched the soft tissue.  I waited until we were near the airport when I stepped out at a red light, just as it was turning green.  Thankfully I still had my ID as I had not officially quit so getting past security in the airport was no problem.  I was sitting watching the planes when one of the TSA officials interrupted me and told me there were two women waiting at security for me.  Thanking him I got up and walked out to find my Christina had been crying.  I apologized to her and told her I was sorry.  When she asked if I was ready to go to the bungalow I told her no and I would not be staying at the bungalow no offense to our host.  She told me not to worry about the money as we could afford it.  I asked if there was somewhere else I could stay and was told there were several resorts.  I gave her a name of one I had used on several occasions and was told I was in luck as she was practically a neighbor.  As she parked and they followed me in I was greeted by the bellman  with one of my aliases and asked if I wanted my usual room.

Christina looked at me and I shrugged I then reached into my wallet and pulled out one of the keys and asked for my box.  As we were lead into the offices she asked what was this all about.  I told her to be patient and when I opened the safe box with the help of the on duty manager trying to hide half a dozen passports did not make sense.  Those for the moment I left, what I did pull out was a stack of clean money and a credit card which was actually prepaid and linked to an account in another country.  I handed the money to my wife, she asked where I got it and I told her that came from consulting jobs. I held my finger to my mouth and led her and her lawyer to the bungalow I had rented on several occasions for appearances.  If I could help it I would slip out in the night and head up into the canyon to the south. Tonight was not going to be that kind of night as a bed would be needed for my aching muscles.  Our host told my wife this place was a hideaway for those who did not want to be bothered.  Christina looked at me and asked how many times I had been here before and with whom.  I told her there would be a record at the front desk and in my office as I was billed.  She held up the money and I told her that was for her so she could cover our bills and her unexpected trip. Shaking her head she asked where it came from and I told her it was part of my pay and per diem and there was five thousand in each bundle.  The lawyer borrowed one and looked at the serial numbers.  I told her she was not always a lawyer and she said actually all of her working life she had been but in the early years of her career she worked for Uncle Sam putting away counterfeiters mostly.  She looked and said she supposed my denying her the privilege of representing me was something more or less to keep things unsaid and undisclosed.

I had nodded,  my wife asked how she was supposed to deal with the cash and I told her since we were married and I was giving it to her and had already been taxed on it more than once all she needed to do was do what she would do with that amount of cash.  As she sat down her host pointed to the door; I nodded and helped Christina to her feet and told her I would see her in the morning.  She looked at the bed and I had to tell her that her staying would cause a bit of a scandal as this persona was a producer out of LA who well was a kind of an introvert and not well known for his antics with married women or any women for that matter.  My Christina looked at our hostess and told her she was staying her tonight and would need some stuff in the morning.  The woman smiled and I told her I would walk her to her car.  I did a cursory look to verify nothing had been tampered with; she asked how long had I been in the field, I told her twenty years.plus.  She told me I should relax as I was now safe; I pointed to my left side.  She nodded and said she almost forgot about that and then asked if I was going to bring suit and I nodded saying yes that was my plan.  She only nodded and asked if I knew who those two boys were, I told her over privileged mamma's boys and probably some sort of ball players who were overpaid to chase a ball inside a well marked field. She asked if I saw the news and I told her no I had not, but given the location, the cost of that resort and their size.  Nodding she told me to expect law suits; I chuckled saying that would be funny as they would be trying to suit John Doe unless they somehow found out who he was.  She said she doubted it but given a few days I could not hide who I really was.   Smiling I said she would be surprises but then she probably already knew more than I had told anyone.  I told her to watch herself, she nodded and told me the city police here had already been contacted by someone really high up on the food chain and told to make sure I was not disturbed, but that detective had many friends among the locals.  I told her not to worry about them unless they are on the hook and do not want to be caught.

Once in her vehicle and off I recognized another car, it was another overpriced one but still proclaimed government.  I ignored it for now and went back to find my wife had already showered and was attempting to light a fire.  I pulled her back and showed her how to use the gas.  Her only comment was that would make life easier at home.  Christina waited for me to ask for her help.  When I was stripped she checked my sutures and said she was surprised they still held.  I asked how she had been enjoying herself and she told me other than having to keep trying to figure out what I was up to she was actually having fun with my girlfriends.  I ignored the comment.  After my shower I lay down and she tucked in beside me on what was the wrong side to her.  For a long time she said nothing and then asked if I had ever had an affair and I told her no and if she thought I did it was because she watched way too many movies.  When I did not ask her she asked if I was not the least bit curious about her when I was not home.  I made myself sit up and told her since her little triest sixteen years ago I had tried to not think about it.  She sat facing me on my legs and told me that I should know she had thought about it on several occasions usually right before I came home and had even once gone to Frederick's hotel room during a convention and had disrobed before she realized she was doing it only to make me jealous enough to stay home.  I asked if she did anything and she said no she had looked at that poor man and him laying there naked he looked so pathetic she started crying and laughing and picked up the phone and called his wife as she ran from the room after gathering her clothes.  She told him she was asked to leave church over that one.  I told her good as that meant the pastor was doing his job.

She asked if I was mad and I told her no as I had assumed over the years she had at times needed some release; she asked if that was why most of those times when I was home I did not have sex with her.  I told her I was not even sure of why but that could be part of it and the other part, instead of saying it I looked down at the various scars I had collected as souvenirs.  Leaning back on her arms she told me about those scars she wanted to know when I was going to tell her how I got them.  I told her never.  She told me she had ways to get things out of me.  It was not my intention to partake that night but Christina had other plans and even though she was gentle as could be expected she ended up asleep and I ended up in pain.