Chapter 15

Gillian

I sat in the chair immobile and trying to cut out the noise of the pipes banging to hear what they were saying above me. It was muffled, but I got the impression they weren’t on the same page. I knew Jackson was a part of it. I thought I might be surprised, but he was always known to do what was good for him.

I had to wonder if his partners knew of our connection to one another. It was unlikely for Jackson to be using his real name to prevent anything from coming back to his doorstep.

I couldn’t even see outside and the windows were covered by dark drapes. I couldn’t even be sure what time it was. I had no idea how long it had been since I was knocked out.

They hadn’t mentioned anything about calling for the ransom. It was a little peculiar in my opinion. It would’ve been the first thing on my agenda had I been in their shoes. I didn’t want to believe it, but there had me something else going on.

The woman’s voice was scratching at my consciousness like we had crossed paths at some juncture in the past. She didn’t make it seem like we were familiar with one another.

It was Jackson’s turn. He made his way down the stairs, thinking over what he would say. She had seen his face.

“We both know you saw me and why you are staying quiet is beyond me.” Jackson’s voice was near, but I couldn’t see anything in front of my face.

“I’m trying to figure out all the pieces, but it’s not easy when you are a part of this. Do you have any idea of what kind of trouble you’ve gotten yourself into this time? I only ask because you’re usually more selective about your partners. Not many can claim to have your undying loyalty and trust. I can count on my hands how many there are.” I had to make an assessment of whether or not he was the same man I knew in Guam.

“I know everything I need to know. This is my way of leaving my old life behind me. I hope you have enough good sense not to mention our connection to the others. I could make it easier by applying a more extreme measure to keep you quiet. I could make you more cooperative by giving you an injection with a cocktail of some unique ingredients.” He was always about dabbling with new and interesting ways to corrupt his mind.

“It won’t be necessary and I have no earthly reason to tell them anything about you. Five million dollars isn’t going to go very far with two other partners to cut in on the deal. I know you better than you know yourself. If you can find a way to cut out one of them from the money then you are going to do it.” He was going along like a good little soldier.

He was another cog in the machine of the military. It was the reason why he left to pursue other avenues of employment in the private sector. His tour of duty was done a couple of months before mine. We promised to stay in touch but never did.

“You worry about you and I will worry about me. I thought it best to have a chat with you before the ransom came in. It will make Melanie very happy to hear that you won’t be a problem. The girl can be a handful and I wouldn’t want to wish what she can do to another human being on anyone.” He hadn’t realized his slip of the tongue and his voice was lowered. That told me somebody was listening and he didn’t want to be overheard speaking with the enemy.

“I’m guessing the woman in your group was the one who took it upon herself to knock me out cold. I can see how you’re touching above your rib cage. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out you were the one I struck down with the palm of my hand to your solar plexus.” Melanie wasn’t known to play well with others and sometimes it took some convincing to get her to go along with the consensus.

“She was a little forceful in my opinion, but I can’t talk to her. This could have been avoided.” It suddenly dawned on me there was no reason for a ransom. They were both swimming in the ill-gotten gains of another party. We swore never to mention them by name.

They had their cut and the statue of limitations for keeping the secret was coming to an end in two years. They probably had already lined up some kind of fence to get rid of the diamonds.

It was a cache of blood diamonds which we had stumbled upon during a transaction that left everybody dead and injured.

“It could have been avoided by not taking me for an example. I don’t know if you heard what I said to her, but I wasn’t kidding when I said Grant can’t be trusted as far as he can be thrown. The money is nothing more than an inconvenience for him. He will find the principle of you taking money out of his hands to be unforgivable.” I was looking at every angle. If they were involved together then Granger couldn’t be too far away.

He didn’t seem like the kind to be following the leader. He was always coming up with these get-rich-quick schemes until we fell into a lucrative retirement plan. He had plans of his own. It took all of us to make him see using the diamonds was a mistake.

He had to wait until the heat died down before even attempting to fence something that was radioactive. One whiff of the diamonds and those we had taken them from would come back looking to get them back.

“I have to leave before they catch me doing something I shouldn’t be. I thought this was a democracy, but apparently, I’m nothing more than a voice. What I say means nothing and it makes me wonder why I am even sticking around. I don’t need to be here. Loyalty is a mirage. Everybody has their own agenda. Don’t forget how we became invisible when we walked back the conquering hero. Some people couldn’t even bear to look at us. They are hypocrites and without us, there wouldn’t be any kind of freedom to defend. It would be far easier to wipe off the face of the planet the Muslim religion.” He was right wing and his views on mass execution were not something we shared.

I heard the basement door and somebody rushing down the stairs buckling up his pants on the way down. He stood glaring at Jackson, but he didn’t dare come any closer. He pointed and Jackson mumbled something derogatory underneath his breath. Acting like a petulant child, he stormed up the stairs slamming his feet on the wood floors in anger and frustration.

“There’s no reason to hide from me. I will gladly go along with whatever you have in mind to fleece my fiancé of five million dollars. He deserves more than that. Five million is probably what he spends on expensive cars in one year. It’s not even going to make a dent in his pocketbook. I still don’t think you have thought this through.” I could see his masculine form from across the room, but he wasn’t saying anything.

Behind my back, I was pulling at the chains, but there was no give. Not that I was expecting there was going to be any. After confirming who was involved it didn’t take much to understand how much more difficult it was going to be to get through to them. The only one I could psychologically conform to my way of thinking was Jackson.

He was always someone that could be easily shaped into whatever weapon was necessary for the occasion. His experimentation with drugs made him less likely to fight the influence of those with authority.

“Granger, I know it’s you and how you convinced them to work with you is something I will never understand. Don’t get me wrong, I admire the restraint you have had to go after something bigger. There are far better ways to make easy money. Grant isn’t just going to turn over and let you rub his belly into compliance. He has a lot more bite to his bark than you realize.” I was giving him a heads up, but he was still reluctant to show his true face.

His hands were behind his back and he was walking back and forth, pacing and looking like a caged animal. I thought he was the General, but Granger was always about getting rich. He had no delusions about whether or not he was going to live to fight another day.

“The four of us have always had each other’s back. What has changed in the last few months? We might have gone our separate ways, but we are brothers and sisters in arms. I know civilian life isn’t easy, but this isn’t the answer to all of your problems.” Granger followed orders reluctantly and he was never cut out to be in the back of the pack.

“I don’t want to talk about it.” He had lowered his voice and by doing so made me begin to contemplate the idea Granger wasn’t the one behind all of this.

“Jackson and Melanie have never seen things the same way. They always need that mediator to buffer any kind of decisions being made.” Granger didn’t take me for being a lion tamer with a whip in one hand and an encouraging word in the other.

“I have to go.” This man was purposely trying to keep the conversation to the bare minimum. There had to be a reason for that.