Page 19 of Embedded
“The town of Redstone. They know that the military has a contract to train on some of the green energy property, but that’s where the story ends. It’s a tourist town, so many people are in and out, and the locals are just pleased we help patrol the area along with the local PD. Honestly, less is more when it comes to it, and people only see what they want to anyway. Besides, we have a few tricks up our sleeves about the location if we ever need them.”
“Tricks?”
He simply tapped his head and winked. “We do a lot for the town, and it keeps the focus over there while we are over there.” He pointed to Shadows again.
“Smart.”
“It’s worked so far.” He smiled and looked over at his father, Daniel, who I’d had the pleasure of meeting at the hospital when I needed to cool off from Paul.
To my utter delight, we landed just ten minutes later. I released my death grip on the seat and undid my belt, then watched as the second chopper’s door opened. Chase, who looked to be out cold, was carried toward the house.
“Be ready.” Mark smiled again as he helped me down from the chopper. “You’re about to be greeted by a whole lot of people. Hope you studied the digital flip book I made you.” We began to walk toward the house.
“I did.” I chuckled, but it was short-lived when I saw the group of kids that rushed toward us. I stepped back and watched them jump into the arms of their fathers, then moments later, there were hugs happening everywhere with happy smiles and laughter. There were dogs and even a white furball of a cat that had raced out from somewhere. Total pandemonium but an amazing sight. I almost wanted to reach for my camera. The love, laughter, and relief from the men, women, and children was very moving.
An emptiness spread through me as, for the first time in my life, I realized I really wanted something like that for myself. How amazing it must be to be greeted by people who truly loved you, who waited for you to come home and cared if you didn’t. These men put everything on the line and still were able to have it all.
I felt out of place and took a step back, only to bump into someone. I turned and found Paul’s cold eyes on me. I swallowed and began to walk again.
“Are you being nice?” Savannah was by my side and she looked over her shoulder. “That doesn’t look like a nice face, Paul.” She threaded her arm through mine and urged me to walk with her. “Come on, Nicole. I can only imagine what you’ve been through, let alone the last five days with Chili and the trip here. I bet you could use a hot shower and some clean clothes.”
“I could, thanks.” I didn’t glance back at Paul and followed her up the stairs of the sprawling porch and into what looked like something from a movie. “Wow.”
“This is home.” She beamed. “Look, we can do the tour later, but before the rugrats bombard you, let’s get you settled.”
She read my mind. We took more stairs to the second floor and down a long hallway to the fourth door on the left.
“This is your room.”
“And the others?”
“Most of team Dark Water are up here, and they’re home tonight. Paul is over there, with some of his teammates?—”
Wait. “His teammates?” Mark didn’t mention a third team.
“There’s a lot to learn, but we’ll take it day by day,” she assured me. She was right; there certainly were a lot of people to meet and straighten out how they all fit. “You’ll be happy to know that right next door is your cameraman, Ben.”
“Ben’s still here?” That made me perk up. “Can I see him?”
“Once he’s back from physio, of course.” She smiled warmly as she opened the door. “This is your room.”
I stepped inside to find what could only be described as a small cabin all its own. A huge sleigh bed was surrounded by windows that looked over the property, and I could see what looked like a lake. There was a stone fireplace already lit, and it gave off some delicious, much-needed heat for my bones. I’d forgotten how cold Montana could be at that time of year. A dresser and a long mirror sat on the opposite side of the room next to a couch and TV.
“Your bathroom.” She opened another door, and my jaw nearly hit the ground. Again, another large room with a stone tub, vanity, and a shower fit for three. “This is where it might get a little strange,” she opened a glass door into a closet, “this part was hard for me at first, but trust me, you’ll adapt.” She chuckled and stepped back so I could see the row of clothes hung by color. “They’re your size.” I looked at her oddly. “I know, strange, but look, most of our guests don’t have much after they’re extracted, and they can’t exactly go in town to shop, so part of my job is to do my research on who is coming and build them a small wardrobe so they can feel a sense of normalcy again. Whatever you see here is yours.”
I stepped around her and ran my hands over the soft fabrics and thought how expensive it must be to do. “Savannah, this isn’t a small wardrobe. It’s more than I have back home.”
“So, maybe I went a little overboard, but fashion is my thing, and, well, you deserve it.”
“That’s up for debate,” I muttered then closed my eyes as I realized how that must have come off. Frigging Paul, he had my anger at a ten. I stepped out and tried to smile. “Sorry. That was rude.”
“No, it wasn’t. I get it.” She pulled out some fluffy white towels and set them on the counter. “Look, Nicole, when people come to Shadows, it’s usually under very difficult circumstances. Some are guests—that’s what we call the victims who have been rescued—and some come because they’re in danger here in the US. Sometimes they end up staying at the house because they’ve fallen in love with someone here, or they turn out to be a huge asset to the house and are asked to stay.”
I leaned against the counter. “What am I?”
“You’re a hero,” she grinned, “and… the rest, only time will tell.”
I huffed at her comment. I felt nothing like a hero. “Can you tell that to Paul?” I didn’t mean for it to come out as a snicker, but it did.
