5

Suz

 

 

Mobile Command Center, St. Basil’s, Bethesda, Md.

 

 

Beetle and Bella danced beside Miss Molloy’s first graders as they waddled out of the woods. Suz and Lynx had tucked hand warmers into their clothes and cut their hot sacks across the bottoms and up one side to make them into single lengths that each child could wrap around themselves like they were wearing blankets. They made sure each child had a firm grip on the rainbow rope. Lynx took lead and Suz was the caboose. It was five o’clock when they reached the far edge of the parking lot. Lynx had led them to the responders from a direction that hid the view of the school. Suz wondered what it looked like now that the shooting and blasting had stopped.

The children’s parents tried to rush to their sons and daughters, but the responders held them back. The police made the adults stand behind a yellow crime tape and wait for the child to be identified on the roster. The parents then had to display identification before the child was released to them and the emergency medical technicians who would give them a once over. The students were all in fine shape. There wasn’t a tear on a single face, and only one scraped knee, but that had already been attended to.

A man stepped forward. “Gillian Molloy?”

Suz tilted her head up, taking in the stern face. Suz turned concerned eyes toward Lynx.

“Suz this is Special Agent Damion Prescott from the FBI,” she said. “The FBI were first on scene today.” She turned to Prescott. “Perhaps you could speak to her over at the rescue squads, I’m sure they’ll want to look her over and make sure Miss Molloy isn’t suffering from any injuries, or shock.”

Lynx wrapped her arm around Suz, which made Suz feel warm and cared for, but also a little confused. Why was Prescott giving her the stink-eye? Suz reached out and wrapped a hand around Bella’s collar. The well-trained Doberman felt like a weapon against–well whatever was coming her way.

Though the sky was still a gunmetal grey, the responders had set up a lighting system that was bright to the point of being obnoxious. Suz squinted and made her way to the back of an ambulance where they stuck a thermometer in her mouth, and had her slide one hand out of her ski jacket so they could wrap a blood pressure cuff around her arm.

“Well Houdini,” Prescott began.

Suz’s gaze shot up, startled by his tone.

“You have some explaining to do.” He pulled out a digital recorder.

Suz sought out Lynx, but she was nowhere in sight. Her dogs were gone too. There wasn’t a single friendly face around her.

Suz did her best to explain how her class and only her class had escaped. How she and only she was prepared with equipment. And why she and only she had a cache of supplies back in the woods. But Suz had to explain without mentioning Jack. There was no way in the world that Suz was going to pull him into this situation. Looking over Prescott’s shoulder, Suz could see the TV crews salivating behind the taped line. Their cameras were focused in her direction. If Jack’s name were mentioned, they might try to find images of him to go with their story. As handsome as he was, his picture would circulate over social media and the news sites. His face would become known and that knowing would put him in danger. He had protected her. Now it was her job to protect him.

“Look, it’s really very simple. I was terrified that Sandy Hook would happen in our school.”

“Why? What about your school made you think that would happen here?”

“Nothing about my school made me think it wouldn’t happen here. I’m sure the teachers at Sandy Hook felt that such an atrocity could never happen in their safe hamlet either.” Suz felt like she was a criminal on the witness stand. “I… I… I’m a teacher. I watched the news and saw that other teachers’ only recourse in these horrible events was throwing their bodies in front of bullets to protect their children. And while they are true heroes and heroines, I thought that many deaths could have been prevented had better emergency protocol been in place at the school.”

“Protocol? Were you in the military, Miss Molloy?”

“No, I was not. But I do have a substantial vocabulary.” This guy’s tone was rubbing her like sandpaper. It had been one heck of a long day after one heck of a long night and too many emotions for her to navigate successfully. Her nerves had been stretched to the breaking point. She wanted a hot bath, a glass of Bailey’s and some freaking chocolate. Suz could feel her Scottish blood heating.

Suz took in a deep breath and modulated her voice to low professionalism. If there was one thing she had learned hanging around the alpha males of Iniquus was that there was a tone in their voice that said they were in perfect control. Jack said if you were yelling you’d lost. She always remembered that with the kids. The worse her students behaved, the quieter and more authoritative her voice became. “I am a well-educated woman. I am a woman who can do research. I am capable of identifying where things are not functioning as they should, and I am equally capable of coming up with alternative plans.”

“Plans you kept to yourself.”

“Not at all. I asked Principal Caldwell to invite security personnel to develop a whole-school plan and to train the teachers and run drills. He didn’t believe this was in the best interest of the children. I thought otherwise. And, I acted otherwise. But he certainly knew.” Well, he knew that there was a security door brace. He didn’t know anything else.

“Did he have this in writing as part of the information that he gave the fire department? That would be an important piece to their safety inspections.”

“I can’t speak to that.” Suz began to wonder if she’d need a lawyer. She wondered what she should be doing and saying or not saying at this moment, and she knew she wasn’t in full use of her brain. She should probably cut this short. Suz scanned for a friendly face, but the lights were too bright in her eyes to see past Prescott’s shoulders.

“You hiked the children out into the woods where you had stored provisions. That’s quite the preparation. I’ve never heard of a teacher going to such extremes before.”

“Okay,” Suz said.

“Okay what?”

“Okay, you’ve never heard of anyone doing that before. That has no meaning. No bearing whatsoever on whether other teachers have made their own preparations or not. It simply means that you are unaware.” Okay her tone was ratcheting up. She need to take a breath and stay in control. Suz felt decidedly not in control and wondered where these questions were leading. She turned to the paramedic. “May I have some water please? Or maybe something warm to drink?” She turned back to the special agent. “Marla Ferris, one of our fourth-grade teachers, for example, has her trunk filled with cans of tuna, bottles of water, flea collars, and dry cat food. She’s prepared for finding stray cats. That’s where her concern lies, that’s what she spent her time and money preparing for. I suppose in an emergency the canned tuna and water could help her or those with her to some extent. But for me my focus was on preventing myself and my students from becoming victims like in Newtown or the other schools that have experienced tragedies. And I believe I did a darned good job. Unless I’m under arrest or some such nonsense. . . I’m cold. I’m tired. And I’m done talking to you for the day. You can schedule an interview for any further information.”

With that she turned from the agent to accept the Styrofoam cup of coffee from the paramedic. Special Agent Prescott was sought out by a man dressed in SWAT tactical gear.

Lynx came up to her side. “Where’d you go?” Suz asked.

“I needed to take a phone call. I had sent a friend to your house to check on things as soon as we heard your class had gone out the window. I called Jack, and he explained the exfil plan he had put in place. I had the pups with me, so we got to go back and fish you out.”

“Then why did someone go to my house?”

“The reporters announced your name over the news, so we thought they might try to access you for an interview, which would be a mistake. You can’t tell people about your escape route.”

“Yes, I know that. I haven’t mentioned Jack.”

“Good.” Lynx squeezed Suz’s arm. “By the time the team got to your place, it seems that the media had lined your street with their vans. My friend picked up your dogs and is taking them to Iniquus where they’ll be safe and cared for. I’d suggest that you’ll be more comfortable in an alternative location where no one will bother you. I was given an address where things will be quiet. Okay?”

That meant a safe house. Suz closed her eyes as she took in a shaking breath. “Yes thank you.”

They moved together toward Suz’s car.

“Wait. They don’t have a key to my house,” Suz said.

Lynx merely lifted a brow. Iniquus operatives didn’t need keys. They could open locks in their sleep. It was child’s play. “Prescott looked like he’s got a stick up his ass,” Lynx said.

“He didn’t appreciate my foresight and preparations.”

“Hmm.” Lynx pulled the strap of Suz’s purse from her shoulder and handed the bag over to Suz. “Here they got this from your classroom.”

“What does ‘hmm’ mean?”

“It means that this might get interesting. I’m going to give my company a heads up and they’ll probably give you some legal support. Before I made that phone call to my friend, an agent removed me from your line of sight while you were interviewed. It’s interesting that they wanted you isolated.”

Suz looked around, “Where’s your car? Do you need a ride?” She reached into her purse and pulled out her keys.

Lynx took the keys from her hands and fobbed open the car. “An ISO took my vehicle and my dogs. I’ll catch up with them when we get out of this area,” she said, referring to the Iniquus Support Officers whose job it was to make everything run smoothly, whatever was needed. Lynx opened the driver’s side door and stuck a foot in. “I’m going to drive your car. I don’t think you’re in any shape to be a focused on the road.”

After Suz was settled into the passenger side and pulling on her safety belt, Lynx reached up to adjust her mirrors. “The ISO will help me run counter-surveillance to make sure no one follows you to the safe house. Now,” Lynx smiled as she backed out of the parking lot, “shall we run by the hospital first so you can get a well-deserved hug from Jack?”

Suz turned to see Lynx’s face. “But Jack was supposed to be released by now. It was out-patient surgery, and he’d only be at Suburban for twenty-three hours. Isn’t he at the barracks?”

“No.” Lynx reached to put a hand on Suz’s shoulder. “I’m sorry. Of course, you wouldn’t know. Jack’s been having complications.”

Suz closed her eyes as fear danced down her spine. “What kinds of complications?”