Abe didn’t know what to do. Run? That would be the best thing, he thought, but there wasn’t much hope of him getting far. Should he just go on like nothing had happened? Like that was going to be able to happen now that McCade had fucked things up for them. Abe looked at Morton when he started cursing.

“That man is going to get us impeached.” Abe thought that was a pretty sure bet once this hit the papers. “My wife is going to demand answers too. What the fuck am I supposed to tell her? She has it in her head that I’m running again with you next term. She’s enjoying being the wife of the vice president.”

“My wife too. First lady is something that she’d had put on her stationary. Not that she mails shit out, but she had it put there.” He thought of all the things she had going on too, things that were above board and legal. “Mildred is going to have a cow when she finds out. And I think she’ll have no trouble believing it all either.”

“Mine too. We’re so fucked over this. We need that man dead.” Abe told him it wouldn’t matter now. They’d dig until they found all the shit on them. “Still, having him dead would make me feel a good deal better.” Morton’s cell was ringing before he could answer him.

It would be nice for him to be dead, it surely would, but the problem that he saw with that was that he’d be blamed for McCade’s death as well. And even though he’d been trying since he took office, the man had never died by his hand. It was like he had nine fucking lives or something.

“I just heard from the computer room. We’ve been raided.” He asked how the fuck that had happened. “Those men we have down there, they called in the MPs. Something about they were told to do it. I didn’t tell them, did you?”

“Why the fuck would I have them call in the military police when I have more to lose than you do? Mother fuck balls, I just know it was McCade. Have we heard anything about his family coming here? Not that they would now, but anything at all?” Morton nodded. “Please tell me that their house burned down. Or they’ve all died from some poison that had them suffering for weeks and weeks. Anything at all.”

“The mother called in to thank you for sending her the lovely tea set. She said that it was very nice of you to send her the entire set.” Abe counted to ten, then when that didn’t calm him down, he counted again. “She is a nice lady.”

Abe punched Morton in the face. It might have been a bit more satisfying if not for the fact that he fell forward when the car stopped suddenly, and blood got all over Abe as well. This was why, he’d bet, they weren’t supposed to ride in the same car. So they’d not kill each other.

Asking what the fuck was going on, Abe jumped when the door opened to his right. Abe was positive that he didn’t want to exit the vehicle. He had no idea why, but he knew that something bad was about to go down. When Vance’s face appeared in the empty space where the door had been, he cringed back from him. This wasn’t going to end well.

“Hello, gentlemen. I’m to escort you the rest of the way to the White House.” Abe said no, but Vance got in the car with them anyway. “Did you know that you both have blood on yourself? And I’ve not even had my fun yet.”

“Are you going to kill us?” That was a good question from Morton. But Abe wasn’t sure that he wanted to know the answer. “There are a lot of people that will know that you’ve done it.”

“Of that, I have no doubt. But for now, I’m only taking you back to the White House. Your buddy Adkins has been located. He’s been talking like he has one of those strings on him. Pull it and you get all kinds of shit you didn’t even ask about.” This was bad. Really bad. “You’ve not asked me why I’m the one escorting you home—well, your home for a little bit longer. Don’t you even care? Or is it you’ve figured it out?”

“I don’t want to know.” He didn’t either, and turned away when Morton asked. He thought it was better to imagine than to know what his fate was. “You’ve really fucked this up for us, McCade. You could have been a national hero, but now you’re going to be shit.”

“Oh, I don’t know. I did stop a great deal of guns from going out of the country. Where they were headed, they would have killed a lot more men than just me, I think. Then there is the added fact that we found your little room and all the shit that was going on there too.” He threw a handful of little devices at them both. Abe knew just what they were. “It was easy enough to figure out who had ordered them put into my body. And I’ve a good friend who is going over the bodies of my other men that have recently turned up dead. They’ve found four, so far, in the body of Sawyer.”

“If I had a gun....” Abe wasn’t sure in that moment if he would have killed himself or McCade. But he seemed to understand and laughed. “You’re a bastard, did you know that? A fucking royal pain in my ass too.”

“Well, that should be taken care of soon enough, don’t you think?” The limo slid to a smooth stop and Abe leaned back and closed his eyes. “No time for napping, I’m afraid. You have a bunch of people here that need some answers. Oh, I’m supposed to let you know that you’re also being audited by the IRS. There seems to be a great deal of money in some accounts that have your name on them overseas.”

With that, Vance got out of the limo when the door was opened and stood there. Abe thought about running again, hoping that he’d be shot in the head as he did so. It might be a good deal quicker than what he was up against. Everything in his life was going down the toilet.

Every news crew that he’d ever seen was on the front lawn of the White House. Not that they could get much further than they were right now, but he could hear the questions being screamed at him. See the greed in the news reporters’ eyes as they hoped for a good shot at him and Morton. Vance was right there, just holding his rifle at his chest like he was going to protect them, when Abe knew that he’d be the first to fire if he could.

Mildred was the first person he saw as soon as he got inside. She wasted no time in slapping him and stomping away. His own wife had turned against him. Not that he wasn’t going to get rid of her as soon as he could, but this hurt. She was abandoning her post, which was to stand beside her man. Going to his office, he was escorted by the same men that he’d tried to have killed by sending arms to the countries they were fighting against. Any one of them would have easily killed him, and they’d be justified in it.

Instead of going to the Oval Office, where he thought they were taking him, he was taken to a room he’d had no idea was there—a dark room with mirrors all around it, which were no doubt being monitored by every covert person in the country. Sitting in the room’s only chair, he looked at McCade when he joined him.

“Why?” Abe looked at him when he asked the question. “You did this for a reason other than money, didn’t you? I mean, please tell me you had another reason for sticking it to the men and women that lay their lives on the line every day for this country.”

“You’d like there to be another reason, wouldn’t you? Oh, I figure they have enough on me right now that I’ll never see the light of day again. So, all right. I’ll answer you. No, I didn’t have any other reason than to get more money. And who doesn’t need more money when it’s right there to be had?” Abe looked around the room, at each of the mirrors that reflected back at him. “There isn’t a person in this room with us that wouldn’t have done the same thing. You too, if given the chance.”

“No, I’d never do that.” Abe nodded, but didn’t agree or disagree with him. “You had it all, you know. A good job, safe from anyone trying to murder you, and you fucked everyone over for money. I think you’re the saddest person I’ve ever come across.”

“Me too now that I’m caught. I don’t want to talk to you anymore, McCade. You’ve done enough damage to me for one lifetime.” McCade didn’t say anything then, which was good. Abe was trying to figure out his own fate in all this.

“Mr. Melton?” He nodded and noticed that he was no longer Mr. President. “My name is Agent Oliver Stanton. I’m from the Federal Bureau of Investigation. I’m here to ask you some questions about some things that we’ve been made aware of.” Abe said that he didn’t want McCade there. “Well, that’s just too bad. I want him here, as do the rest of the people that are here to ask you some questions. I don’t care if you’re comfortable, but if you want a drink or something, I can get you that. It’s going to be a long day.”

“No, I’m fine.” Abe looked at McCade. If they ever wanted to update their recruiting posters, this man would be the best one for the job. He was every bit military, from the top of his buzz haircut to the bottom of his boots. His appearance just screamed don’t fuck with me. “Let’s get this over with, shall we? I have a country to run into the ground.”

Abe laughed but neither man did. He was in over his head, they all had to know that. So if he was just a little insane at the moment, that was the reason why. As the questions started coming, mostly about the arms deals he had set up, one thought kept coming to his mind. He wondered what was going to happen to McCade now.

They’d have a parade in his honor. Then almost as he thought of that, he discarded it. He’d not want that. It would be showy, and this man was not. He’d like something like a nice dinner with just him and a woman. No one knowing his name. McCade wasn’t going to go far with that way of thinking, but Abe thought he was right. That was just what the man would want.

The questioning went on for six hours. He answered them honestly, or as best he could, giving up the names of the people that he’d had on his payroll, as well as a couple he wished had been. There was no point in lying to them. When he’d started out doing just that, they had brought out paperwork, his own words on a transcript that proved him wrong.

Abe thought he was finished for the day when Stanton said he was finished for now. All he wanted to do was go to his rooms, take a long shower, and lie down. But he knew that wasn’t going to happen when two men came in, handcuffed him with his hands behind him, and took him to the van waiting on the front lawn. He was going to prison, just as surely as he’d gotten out of bed that morning.

This time McCade didn’t go with him. He was at the prison when he got there, but he neither said anything nor looked at him directly. Abe supposed he’d seen and heard enough for one day, and wondered what the man was going to do now that his mission to ruin him was finished.

“Fucker.”

The men that were taking him to his cell looked at him, but he only told them that he was talking to himself. Sitting on the tiny little cot that was going to be his bed for a while, he held his belongings and tried to empty his mind.

He’d woken this morning as President of the United States, and now here he was, sitting in a jail cell with one tiny window, a cot, and a toilet that hung on the wall. “And now, because of some hotshot Army boy, not only am I going to go to prison for the rest of my life, I’ve lost everything to boot.” Abe wondered where his wife was right now. “Packing what she can to get out of the place. And she won’t even think to get me a couple of pens with my name on them either. Ungrateful bitch. Who did she think he was doing this for?”

Well, it was for him, but she didn’t have to know that. But like a lot of things of late, he was sure that she knew she wasn’t going to be in the picture for much longer than it took him to call in a favor and have her killed. Being the president and having a wife killed while they were vacationing would have gotten him a lot of votes too.

Abe lay down on the lumpy cot. He didn’t know what was going to happen tomorrow and really didn’t care, but for now, he was going to think. Closing his eyes, he closed his mind too. There wasn’t anything to think about, as far as he was concerned.

~~~

The trip home was quiet. Vance had a lot on his mind, and he was glad that Micky seemed to understand. They might have stayed for a couple of more days had it not been for the newspaper people, as well as the news reporters, hounding them everywhere they went. He was just glad that they’d been able to keep their residence location out of the news so that they could return there when this quieted down.

“Sergeant McCade?” He looked at the stewardess that had been tending to the needs of those in first class with them. “There’s a phone call for you. It’s been patched through on the air phone. Can you take it?”

“Yes, ma’am. Thank you.” He knew that it wasn’t his family. They were aware that he was coming home. And if they wanted to talk to him, a phone wouldn’t be the way they’d go. So whoever this was, they were calling with bad news.

“Don’t be such a pessimist. It could be good news.” He asked Micky why they’d not just wait until he landed then. “I don’t know, but maybe they were just so excited to tell you that you’ve won the lottery that they couldn’t wait.”

“And since when are you an optimist, thinking that I won something like the lottery?”

“I’m not, but I hate to see you upset.” He picked up the phone when it was brought to him. “Just don’t kill anyone if it is bad news.”

“I’ll try not to.”

He said hello into the receiver and heard nothing in return. He started to tell the woman who had brought him the phone when he heard someone laughing. It was Speaker of the House Kirk Delaney.

“Sergeant Vance McCade? This is Acting President Kirk Delaney. I called to thank you on behalf of the American country.” Vance told him he’d had a lot of help. “Yes, I’ve heard that as well. We lost a lot of good people in this. And I’m to understand that you have a wife that you’re taking home to meet the family.”

“She’s not my wife just yet. I’ve asked her, but she’s not had a good chance to answer me yet.” He winked at Micky when she slapped him on the arm. “But yes, sir, I’ve gotten permission to take some time off. And to see to something at home.”

“I heard that as well. You’re a good man, McCade. Thank you.” There was a little shuffling going on and he heard laughter again. “I have a mess here that I’m sure.... Well, I was going to say that you’d not believe, but I just bet you can. I’m working my way through this slowly. It’s only been half a day, but we don’t want the American people to think that we’ve totally let them down.”

“No, sir. I can see that happening.” He wondered what Delaney wanted and started to ask, but he started talking again.

“I was wondering if you could come back here and talk to me as soon as you’re done with the things at home.” Vance said he’d be glad to talk to him. “Bring your family. I’m to understand that there was some trouble that was going to have your family brought here under less than good intentions. I assure you, young man, I have nothing but praise for you, and for your family for raising a good man.”

“I’ll have to ask them, sir. I don’t spend a lot of time at home lately, so I don’t know what they have planned.” Vance held onto Micky’s hand tightly. This was too surreal. “My mom, she’s the head of the household, no matter how old we are. She’ll be the one that needs to say yes or no.”

“Good man. Yes, you ask her, and when you have the time set up, you give me a call. I’ll make sure that you have a direct number to me. Also, one more thing; when this is all finished here, with Elliot, Melton, and the others, I’d like to talk to you about some other things. You have a good head on your shoulders, and I want to see if I can get you to come and work for me on a more permanent basis.” He told him he was about ready to retire. “Well, we’ll talk about that as well. Or maybe I’ll speak to that mom of yours. You call me, son. We’ll work it out.”

After ending the call, he looked at Micky, telling her quietly everything that he’d said to him. She asked him what his plans were. Vance told her that he didn’t really have any, other than to be with her.

“I don’t want to think of anything beyond this thing with Butler. He’s enough for us right now. Whether or not you work for the government again, that would be up to you. But for now, I think I just want to meet your family, rest up, and try to make some sense of how this is going down.” He asked her about the jewelry and if she knew anything about it. “Nothing other than what everyone knows was there that night. The necklace was left behind, and it’s not been seen since.”

“Raven has it.” She looked at him. “She took it from him the night that he made her his slave and he killed her mother. Butler thinks he’s had it since that night too. But he only has a copy of it, not the real thing.”

“Do you know what that means?” He told her that he thought they were ahead of the game. “Not only that, but you can call the dragon without him even being aware of it. I have to look into a few things, but I’m sure that it should end as soon as he’s called.”

“I doubt if it’ll be that easy, don’t you? I mean, in my experience, usually things that look easy and sound that way are far from it.” Micky said she had to do some research when she got herself a computer. “Yes, me too. I have to see if I can find someplace that I can hide away with you for a while. I was thinking a few months of nothing but us having sex all the time.”

“You have a lot of confidence in yourself there, big boy. What are you going to take to make this happen? I’ve a few tricks up my sleeve to help you should you want to try.”

Vance laughed. “I think you might just kill me without any magic. You’re almost too much for me.”

They were laughing when the pilot told them they were ten minutes out. Gathering up what they’d brought with them, which wasn’t all that much, he was happy to be home. And to see his brother when he picked them up.

Lewis had said he’d be there, and he was glad it was him. He didn’t want to overwhelm Micky with his family right off the bat. They were too much for most people. But like him, she’d been alone for a long time, and he didn’t want her to turn them into ducks or something.

Getting off the plane, he saw them all. Shaking his head, he decided not to warn either of them. They were all on their own with this one.

His mom was the first to hug him. She gave the best hugs in the world, and Vance couldn’t help but hold her a little more when she started to let him go. Then he hugged his brothers, all of them giving him a hardy pat on the back that was meant to make him stagger a little. He was made of sterner stuff than that.

“Everyone, I’d like you to meet my mate, Micky Oliver McCade. She came to help me when Caelin sent her.”

No one moved, nor did they say anything to her. He started to tell them to get their heads out of their asses when Raven came forward first.

“I’m glad to finally meet you, Micky. I’ve talked to you so much over the years. It’s nice to have a face to go with your voice.” She thanked her and then Emma moved to the front. “This is my sister-in-law, Emma. You and she have a mutual friend as well. Jeff.”

“Yes, he’s told me all about you. He’s slightly in love with you, I think.” Emma laughed and said he was like her little brother. “Yes, he is a good man.”

Mom hugged Micky next and then looked her in the eyes. Vance wondered if she was looking for some kind of flaw. When she turned to him, he could see the tears that sprinkled over her cheeks, and told her not to cry.

“She’s everything I hoped that you’d find in a mate, Vance. And so lovely. What are you dear, if you don’t mind me asking? Military, or just bad assed?” Micky told her that she was a little of both. “I’m betting more of the bad assed than anything. You’ll fit right in with the rest of them. Welcome to the family.”

As they made their way to his mom’s home, Micky told them how she’d ended up helping him. He looked out the window, seeing the town that he’d grown up in and been away from for far too long. The visits were nice, but he was glad to be home now.

“We’ve read about what happened in Washington. They never mentioned either of you by name, but then I get this very nice call from Acting President Delaney. He invited us all to the White House for a dinner.” Vance groaned and said that he was going to talk to her about that. “Yes, I’m sure you were. But we’re going, even if I have to drag you there by your ear. You tell him, Micky, that he is going.”

“I don’t think I should be the one to do that. I don’t have any plans of going either.” Mom smacked her on the leg and said she’d work on them both. “I don’t even own a nice dress. What on earth does one wear to that sort of thing, when jeans are all I’ve worn for most of my life?”

“We’ll fix you up. I’ll have the girls go with us when we go shopping. I’m quite the shopper, so you know. I can find a deal like it’s my job.”

Vance was still laughing when they were in the driveway. His mom would have them convinced to go, even if she had to have them there at gun point. Vance was wondering if he should get his uniform out and get it cleaned when they pulled up in front of the house. It was good to be home.