When the morning came, they were still wrapped in each other’s arms. Sam stirred first as a knock on the door woke her from her slumber. She moved to get up, but Raleigh pulled her back down, kissing her. “I got this. It’s breakfast.” He got up and threw on his boxers and a robe the plantation had given them as part of the experience. He pulled on the door, and three staffers came in with trays of breakfast and another a pitcher of orange juice and fresh cut flowers to place on the table. Sam blushed as the staffers greeted her and set the table. She covered herself as best she could, but she was sure they knew she was completely naked.
“Enjoy your breakfast. Your service called and said they would be here in two hours, sir. Thank you for staying with us at the Julep. We hoped you enjoyed the experience.”
“Oh yes, I loved it.” Looking at Sam and smiling, he said, “Best I have ever had, and I will be back for much more.” He winked and she blushed.
As the staffers exited, Sam got up out of bed. She could smell the bacon a mile away, and it called to her. She grabbed the robe and wrapped it around her. Raleigh had her chair pulled out already, and she sat down, grabbing a slice of bacon.
“We don’t have much time, baby. I wish we could spend more time here, but we gotta get to the hotel before ten to meet with the NCIS guys and get everything set up before I meet with Jared’s contact this afternoon. You ready for all this?”
“Of course, darlin’. I am always ready.” She winked at him, smiling.
“I meant are you ready to have my back for this meeting this afternoon?”
“Yes, baby. I’m ready. I won’t let anything or anyone hurt you. It took me this long to find you. I am not letting some scumbag terrorist take you down.”
They scarfed down their food and quickly jumped into the shower so they would have time to pack their bags and hit the souvenir shop on the grounds. As they packed sadness came over Sam and she cried.
“Baby, what’s wrong?”
“Is this going to be the last time I will ever see you?”
“Oh, baby, no. I promise you, it won’t. We have some logistical things we need to work out, but I promise you, you can’t get rid of me that easy. Baby, you are stuck with me.”
She smiled through her tears. “Ok, I’m gonna hold ya to that promise.”
“Baby, you got a deal. Now let’s get downstairs and over to the shop. I saw a teddy bear down there I know you will just love.” Raleigh rang the staffers who came up and retrieved their bags. They followed then got directions to the souvenir shop. As they followed the path to the shop, Raleigh grabbed Sam’s hand in his and they walked together. The path was lined with beautifully manicured trees and the smell of roses and magnolias filled the air.
When they got to the shop, the bears were the first thing that Sam saw. She ran over to the pile, picking one then seeing another and grabbing that one; she couldn’t decide.
“They are all so cute. I can’t decide which one, baby.”
“Well, darlin’, get them both.”
“Really?”
“Yep, grab the ones you like, baby. We will pack’ em up and mail them back so you don’t have to carry them on the plane. Already gotta ship the big one back, either that or I buy it a ticket,” he said, laughing. As she sifted through the many bears, she finally found two, a boy bear and a girl bear she happily named Rhett and Scarlett.
“You sure do love that movie,” he said.
“Ya, I know. I am a hopeless romantic.”
“That’s ok, so am I.”
Raleigh paid for the bears, then they made their way back to the main house where the limo was already waiting for them.
“I don’t want this to end, Raleigh.”
“Don’t worry, darlin’. We just gotta knock a few things out here, then this will be all over and we can move on and see what the future holds for us.”
As they approached the limo, the driver opened the door and Raleigh helped Sam in. The drive would be short to the hotel so they would have their bags taken to their room and meet with the guy from NCIS. When Raleigh got in, Sam moved closer to him, holding his hand and leaning her head on his shoulder. She was scared, but she didn’t want him to know that. She had to be strong and be there for him. She wasn’t gonna lose him now. They just found each other. Her head was still spinning with everything that had happened the last several days, not to mention finding Raleigh. Was this all a dream? Am I going to wake up, and this never happened? She prayed it wasn’t; she needed Raleigh as much as he needed her.
“Oh, before I forget, put this hijab on, just in case Jared’s contacts are already here watching us” Raleigh helped her put it on. “These things can be tricky if you don’t know how to put them on.”
Raleigh looked at her as she adjusted it. She’s even beautiful in a hijab. The limo stopped and the driver opened the door. The bellboy met them at the car and carried their bags. “What room, Sir?”
“Room twenty-one-oh-two, please.”
Raleigh turned to Sam. “You go on up to the room, and I will be back as soon as I can.”
“Ok, baby. Be safe.”
Raleigh headed to the back of the hotel where an old prohibition era hidden room lay between storage racks. He knocked on the door three times then the door opened. The agent was waiting for him and anxious to get started.
Raleigh laid out the plan to the agent in charge. They would need at least thirty agents at the warehouse and twenty stationed in various locations inside the hotel. His partner, Sam, would be lead on the hotel. All movements would go through her. Agents would storm the warehouse once they arrived with his contact and said the word.
“Go word is ‘rocket launcher.’ I want the team at the hotel to observe that if I am made, then take the contact down. Otherwise the only one who follows us is my partner. Come ready for a fight and have teams ready and in positions at sixteen hundred. I will meet with the contact at seventeen hundred at the Ferris Wheel bar. We are then supposed to move out to the warehouse. The contact thinks I am Jared Thompson, and that my partner is my wife, Sameana. So, with her in the area, no questions will be asked.”
“Ok Chief, I think I got it. I will see you in a few hours after this is all over. Be safe.” The agent handed Raleigh two sets of ear buds for him and Sam to wear.
“Thanks, Agent Harper. I appreciate the help.”
Raleigh left first and headed back up to the room to wire Sam and himself. They only had another hour and teams would be in place, but then it would be another forty-five minutes before he and Sam could move downstairs to the bar area.
“Are you nervous, baby?” he asked as he was setting her wire in place under her hijab.
“No, not nervous. More worried about you than anything.”
He cupped her face, looked into her eyes, and said, “Baby, there is nothing to worry about. I’ve done this kind of thing my entire career. I will be ok, I promise. Ok?”
“Ok, Raleigh. But…”
“No, buts. I got this, and when it’s all over we will go to dinner for our last night in New Orleans. Then I’m gonna get ya in that bed right there.” He pointed to the huge, king sized bed. “This time, though, I am gonna go nice and slow as I make love to you.”
“Just be safe, baby. I want you back in one piece.”
Raleigh’s cell rang—it was Agent Harper.
“This is Chief Fitzgerald.”
“Yes, Chief, this is Harper. Just wanted to give you a heads up. Looks like your contact is downstairs. We have all our men in position. So, if you wanna do this now, we are ready.”
“Roger that, Harper. We are ready. We are on our way down now.”
Raleigh turned to Sam. “You ready for this, darlin?”
“As ready as I can be. I’m right behind you.”
“Ok, once we get down to the bar, I will sit you down at a table far enough away you can be seen but not heard. I already scouted out the table and the seat I am sitting at. Hopefully, he will be right where we want him. There will be a car out the side entrance waiting for you, keys are in it.”
“All right, darlin.” She stood up on her toes and pecked him on the cheek. “Come back to me, baby.”
“I will. Let’s go!”
They loaded into the elevator and rode it to the main lobby. Raleigh walked five paces ahead of Sam, and once they got to the table he pulled the chair out and Sam sat down. He could see his contact. He turned slightly so the person didn’t have a clear view of him then said, “Ok, I see my contact. Everyone be ready to move if you have to. Sam, when we move out to the contact’s car, you go through the side entrance and get your car. Once the car is on the move, follow us. But not too close, ok?”
“Roger, Chief.”
Raleigh walked towards the contact. He didn’t utter a word. Their eyes met, and the contact motioned for him to follow. Sam waited for a moment then headed out the side door. “We have movement. They are heading out the front door. Anyone got’ em?”
“Roger that, they are loading into a black SUV, Louisiana Plates Delta Echo Foxtrot One Six Seven Nine.”
Sam replied as she started her car. “Roger that, I am pulling around the corner. I want two teams on the move. Agent Harper, you pinging my GPS?”
“Yes Sergeant, I gotcha.”
“Ok, I’m moving out.”
Sam followed the black SUV for what seemed like hours, but it was only a few minutes. They crossed the Mississippi River bridge to an old warehouse district, exactly where Agent Harper thought they were going. She watched as the SUV pulled into the building, then stopped a building away to keep watch. She couldn’t get a clear view of what was going on. She had to get closer, so she got out of the car and moved in to get a closer look.
She watched as Raleigh was shown the different weapons and equipment they had stockpiled, and the contact explained to him how they shipped the equipment and weapons out of the country. Then a man appeared from another room. It was Al-Balshera himself.
Agent Harper observed Sam’s movements and asked her why she was on the move. She quickly replied, “I need to get in closer. I gotta make sure Chief is ok.”
“We can hear everything that is going on. You need to stay clear of the building. Move back into your position.”
Sam ignored him and found a clear view through a window of the warehouse. Raleigh was ok and being escorted by Al-Balshera. What she didn’t see was the roving patrol that was just feet from her. Agent Harper tried to warn her. “O’Hara, get outta there. There’s a patrol almost on top of you.” But it was too late, the man took her and dragged her in by her hair. Once they had her inside, they placed her in a room, tied her to a pole, and kicked and beat her.
“You will talk or you will die,” the man said. Sam didn’t say a word. She hoped Raleigh or someone would rescue her.
Al-Balshera’s phone rang. He answered, then ordered his men to take Raleigh. They held him at gunpoint. Al-Balshera ordered the man on the other end of the line to “bring her in.”
Raleigh’s heart sank when he saw them dragging Sam by her hair into the room where he stood. He had to do something. He thought for a moment, then told Al-Balshera he was a friend of Jared’s and Jared couldn’t make the trip because he was being watched. He looked at Sam, his eyes told her to stay low. Al-Balshera ordered his men to lower their weapons. Raleigh pounced, grabbed one man’s weapon and fired.
He screamed, “ROCKET LAUNCHER!” and the agents moved in. He shot five men, but Al-Balshera was getting away. He cut Sam loose, and when Agent Harper got to them, he told him to take care of her and he would be right back. Grabbing a couple more clips of ammo, he chased after Al-Balshera. Once he got to the docks, he saw Al-Balshera on a boat. As the boat started off, Raleigh ran to catch it. He jumped into the boat just as it pulled away from the docks. Al-Balshera fired at Raleigh, hitting him in the shoulder. Raleigh returned fire and hit Al-Balshera in the chest multiple times. Raleigh kneeled down, checked his pulse, then took control of the boat, returning it to the docks where Sam and the agents were waiting.
Sam ran to Raleigh. She saw he was bleeding and called for paramedics. Raleigh wrapped his arms around her, kissing her.
He looked into her eyes and said, “Baby, I love you so much.”
Sam replied, “I know.”
THE END