Magnus, page 22
The colonel faced her. “There will be an investigation.”
She snorted. “Yeah, there sure will.” She glared at him. “Like why the hell is your doctor being targeted? Constantly,” she added, snapping at him.
“Yet you sent your guards away.”
“I did. To make sure the other guards were okay and that Joy was still in custody,” she cried out. “This gunman was tied up here, under control, but Joy came in with her own weapon.” She pointed to it on the floor, and the prisoner immediately started to speak, vouching for what she’d said. Sydney continued. “Plus, you need a chat with Joe’s helper, as Tony was ready to take Joy out of here, if it came down to that. She was sleeping with him too. And he gave her the listening devices found here in my clinic.”
The colonel shook his head. “Damn.”
“My laptop has a voice recorder app that I initiated after my guard outside my clinic was downed. So, with any luck, it’s all been recorded. I’ll send that to you, Mason, Magnus, and Mountain.”
With that, the colonel tore out of here.
She turned to Magnus. “The dogs still need to go outside.”
Magnus nodded. “I’ll text Joe. I bet he wants to take possession of both his dogs.”
And shortly thereafter, Joe did just that.
It took about thirty minutes for the rest of the mess to get cleaned up, for prisoners to get shuffled, and for new patients to be brought in. One of the guards was ambulatory, and she quickly checked out the nasty head wound where Joy had slammed him with a huge can of vegetables. It bled freely, and Sydney quickly cleaned it, stitched it, put a bandage on it, and sent him to his bed with painkillers, after finding no signs of concussion.
As for the other guard, he was unconscious and stretched out on one of her hospital beds. She checked him over, but his vitals were strong, and he should be just fine too. She checked his wound, which wasn’t bleeding as hard, but it was at the back of his head, not exactly a great spot for it. She covered him up, then turned and looked at Magnus, sitting there, watching her. “Am I in trouble?” she asked finally.
“Because of Joy?” he clarified.
She nodded.
He shrugged. “You do have the audio recording. Too bad the video cam in here was already destroyed. The prisoner certainly backed up your story, and Joy’s the one who attacked the other guards, so I would say that you were fully justified, as it was self-defense. There will be a formal process to review what occurred, of course, but, no, you’re not in trouble.”
She let out a hard breath and finally relaxed.
He got up, walked over, wrapped his arms around her. “Sorry, I should have told you that earlier.”
She shook her head. “It’s not as if there’s been time.”
“Did Joy say anything else?”
“A lot actually. Including something about, if she were me, she would have jumped your bones in no time.”
He stared at her and then grinned. “In other circumstances, … I might have jumped yours too.”
“Hey, in different circumstances I might go for it, but, right now, I’m tired, worn out, and definitely cranky. Joy also said something about this person having money,” she said, suddenly remembering that phrase. “She would blackmail him when she got stateside because he had money.”
Magnus narrowed his gaze at Sydney, then nodded.
“You should check all the histories of everybody here and on a financial level too.”
“We will.”
Just then Ted knocked and stepped in. She looked at him and smiled. “Yeah, I know. Now I’m part of another investigation. Get on with it.”
He winced and nodded. “All accounts corroborate a good shooting, but still paperwork must be done.”
“Tomorrow?” she asked hopefully.
“Tomorrow,” he agreed with a nod, as he looked over at Magnus. “How’s your head?”
He shrugged. “Better than this guy’s.”
At that they both turned to look at the second and last guard lying on the hospital bed. “At least he’s sleeping now.” She walked over and checked on him again.
At that, the guard mumbled, his eyelids opened, and he stared at her. When he started to move, he winced at the pain, and she immediately eased him back down again. She looked over at Ted. “You want to help him back to his bunk? This guy just needs to sleep off his injury. I stitched up the other guard, and, as I’m short on space, I’ve already sent him back to his bed. I’ll check on everybody in the morning.”
“Sounds as if you need a good night’s sleep too.”
“I haven’t had one of those in quite a while,” she murmured. “So, yeah, that would be nice.”
When Ted and the second guard were gone, she arranged for someone to check on him in a few hours. Then she turned to Magnus. “Are you up for bed?”
He nodded. “Absolutely, come on.”
He escorted her back to her room. She looked at her room versus the clinic and nodded. “A real bed would be better than a hospital bed. Besides, it was a little busy in there.”
After she finished her nightly routines, she stretched out on her bed. He pulled the blankets up over her shoulders and tucked her in, and she smiled. “That’s a very fatherly gesture.”
“Nope, it’s a caring one. Any other time, I’d crawl in there with you and show you just how caring,” he said, his voice thick. “I can’t believe how close I came to losing you tonight.”
She nodded. “Believe me. I know, and I’ve been avoiding thinking about it. Joy was intent on taking me out. But to think that we’d worked together just fine and that I had absolutely no idea she was like that still bothers me.”
“I’m not sure we ever know who people really are, not until something such as this happens,” he said. “The good news is that it’s over and that you’re fine. From now on, we’ll change tactics on this bloody case and see what comes next.”
“Are you staying here tonight?” she murmured.
He hesitated, looked at her. “Are you offering something?”
She smiled and nodded. “Maybe.”
“Then maybe I’ll stay. However, you should know that I’ve also asked the colonel to move me in here.”
She stared at him, then a flush worked its way up her cheeks. “I’m sure he thought that was a hell of an idea.”
“I think he actually thought it was a good idea,” he said, with a smile. “Particularly considering I’ve spent the last few nights looking after you anyway.”
She nodded, then smiled, flipped back the blankets. “So, you might as well get in and cuddle tonight too.”
He hesitated. “You know what? I’m not sure I have enough control to make it just a cuddle.”
“Nobody said it would be just that either,” she corrected, with a laugh.
“I’ll be back in a few minutes.” When he returned, his face had been washed, and he looked a whole lot better.
She smiled at him. “If you’d taken any longer, I would have been asleep.”
“Good thing I wasn’t then.” He crawled into bed and quickly wrapped his arms around her and tucked her up close. “But you need some sleep.”
“I do need sleep, but I’m also far too wound up for it. So, maybe a little distraction to take my mind off everything would be a great idea.”
He leaned over, kissed her gently. “Only as far as you want to go.”
She smirked and held him close. “I’m totally okay with all of it. Honestly it would be nice to be held and to know that not everybody out there is gunning for me.”
His arms tightened around her, and he nuzzled her neck and whispered, “Believe me. When I knew that Joy was gone and that the guards had been attacked, … I knew she was heading after you.”
“After me and her druggie boyfriend,” Sydney noted.
“I’m sorry for that.”
“Apparently they knew each other before, and she kept him supplied with drugs all the time. After that, he took a long time to get off them and managed to get himself clean. However, as soon as she saw him, she immediately got him hooked again.”
Magnus shook his head; then he gently kissed Sydney on the nose, pulling back her hair, so he could look into her eyes. “But now she’s gone, and her druggie boyfriend, as you call him, will get a chance to recover yet again.”
She gently brushed the hair off his face. “We have to remember that you’re still recovering from a head wound.”
He snorted at that. “It will take a whole lot more than that to keep me down.”
He nudged his hips toward hers, making her fully aware of the erection pressing between them. She chuckled and shifted. “As long as we go slow and steady, I don’t think it’ll hurt you.”
He lifted his head and grinned. “I’m always happy to follow doctor’s orders.”
She rolled her eyes at that, but, within minutes, she was moaning softly, as he followed her instructions of slow and steady—gently caressing her skin, moving up one side and down the other, until she was a bundle of jelly in his grasp.
When he finally lifted himself up over her and slid inside, she quivered mindlessly. He whispered, “What do you think, Doc? Is that slow enough and steady enough for you?”
She wrapped her arms around him, pulled him down tight, then whispered, “Yeah, it’s definitely time to pick up the pace.”
He chuckled and did as she wanted, driving into her time and time again. When she came apart in his arms, he followed in a moment. They lay on the bed, cuddling gently, at peace on the inside.
“I didn’t expect to find somebody up here. I’ve always maintained that relationships at these training bases just weren’t for me. Being a doctor always changed things.”
“I can’t say I’ve ever done this before either.” He nuzzled her neck. “So why don’t we just say it’s a first for both of us?”
“And the last.” She chuckled.
“I wouldn’t go as far as all that,” he murmured. “We’ll be up here for weeks yet. I’m pretty sure, by that time, this whole scenario will be shut down, and we’ll be back to wherever we’re supposed to be,” He frowned. “We might want a whole lot more than to be living in two different countries.”
She nodded. “I may be part of the British team here, but I was heading stateside. I have an apartment in Redding, California.”
His eyebrows shot up, and he grinned. “California it is then, and that’s where I would be going anyway.”
She nodded. “Sounds like a good idea to me. And in the interim”—she waggled her eyebrows—“we are sharing a room for more than a few weeks up here, aren’t we?”
He laughed. “And, when the storms are raging outside, not really a whole lot more to do inside, than get to know you better.” He lowered his head and kissed her yet again. When he finally came up for air, he whispered, “It will be dicey for the next few weeks. You know that, right? Until we find out all that is really going on here.”
“Yeah, I do know that. Another reason why I’m not at all against having you move in. But don’t ever think I want you just for protection. I’ve had my eye on you right from the beginning.”
“That’s good to know because I sure as hell have felt the same way. But, like you, I didn’t think it was appropriate. Now I have a damn good excuse for being at your side, and that’s where I plan to stay.”
“What about getting somebody else to come help?” she asked.
He nodded. “Apparently somebody else is on the team that nobody’s really been aware of. You’ll meet them tomorrow.”
“I’ll meet them?”
He laughed. “Yep, whether you knew it or not, you’re now part of the insider track as to what’s going on here,” he murmured. “So, when Ted comes back tomorrow, you’ll find him with another man. That other man is part of the secret team that’s been investigating here.”
She frowned. “I need more info than just another man.”
He nodded. “That’s fine. His name’s Rogan.”
“Rogan?” She frowned. “I think I saw him at dinner last night. Big guy, short hair, beefy, seems to be a big weightlifter?”
“Yeah, that’s what he may seem to be, but it’s not his deal. He just comes by it naturally. He was a cop for a few years, before he went into service, and then he went immediately into investigative work as well.”
“Good, sounds as if we need that. Military or navy?”
“Navy, and he has a lot of survival training experience.”
“That’s good,” she said. “I’m hoping for a new nurse too. There is somebody here who I can use to some degree, but I haven’t needed to call on her yet.”
“I think that’s being taken care of as well. However, I don’t know if she’ll be reassigned tomorrow or not.”
“Good enough,” she whispered, wrapping her arms around him, and then she yawned.
He nodded, tucked her up close. “Yes, Doc, definitely time for bed.” He kissed her on the forehead. “Tomorrow’s a whole new day.”
And, with that, they closed their eyes and slept.
Epilogue
Rogan walked into the medical clinic to introduce himself and found Magnus there in one of the hospital beds, sitting up, a cup of coffee in his hand, talking to the doctor. Rogan stepped up and shook hands with Magnus, who looked at him, his gaze intent. Rogan just let him look. Then he turned to face Sydney and smiled.
“Hi, Sydney. I’m Rogan.”
She beamed, reached out, and shook his hand. “Am I glad you are on board.”
He chuckled. “Yeah, I’ve heard a bit about the hellish nightmare going on here right now.”
“You’re not kidding. And I’m getting a new nurse today as well, but I have yet to see her.”
“She’s been here during training, so she’s been tapped to come in and to help you with your short-staffing issue.”
At that came a knock on the door. A woman entered, smiling as she stepped forward, and looked at Sydney intently. “Hey, apparently I’ve been reassigned as your nurse. I’m Lisa.”
Sydney studied her. “That’s interesting. I didn’t even realize you were here. I thought I was getting someone else.”
“I came in a couple days ago on one of the flights where patients were airlifted out,” she said quietly. “I’ve done some sledding myself, quite a bit actually, but I wanted an opportunity to do it within the military’s parameters, only now I have been reassigned here.” She turned and looked around. “Apparently this is the most dangerous place in the whole damn base.”
Sydney winced. “You could be right. But it’s a pretty large base, with multiple outbuildings in this little military village, so I wouldn’t count on it. Anyway, this is Rogan, and this is Magnus.”
Lisa looked at Magnus, smiled, shook his hand, then turned to Rogan. “I already know Rogan.” She acknowledged him, with another laugh.
“Yeah, last time I went out with you on a dog sled, you dumped me, the dogs took off, and I was left stranded in that lovely blizzard.”
She smirked. “That was your own fault.”
“If you say so.” He shook his head. “I’m glad to hear that you’re getting some training. Maybe by the time you’re done here, you’ll know how to mush a team.”
She rolled her eyes. “Don’t be such a baby. If you hadn’t screamed like a little kid, the dogs wouldn’t have been afraid in the first place.”
He snorted. “Screamed like a little kid? You jumped a crevasse.”
She shrugged. “Stopping wasn’t really an option, and, hey, at least you got dumped on the far side.”
Magnus and Sydney watched this exchange in fascination, as Rogan and Lisa volleyed barbs back and forth. Sydney reached out a hand to Magnus, who stepped forward and wrapped an arm around her shoulders.
Rogan turned his attention to them. “Don’t worry. Lisa and I know each other from way back, so all is good.”
Sydney smiled and chuckled. “I’m glad to hear that. It sounds as if you do have a thing going on.”
He looked at her. “Oh no, that we do not. She was married to my best friend. That’s all there is to it.” Then he nodded in goodbye and walked out.
Lisa looked after him, and then turned to the two of them and smiled. “He’s right. I was married to his best friend, but that was a long time ago. And the marriage itself? Well, it didn’t last more than ten months,” she shared, with a sad smile. “Teenage pregnancy, teenage marriage, lost the baby, lost the husband, and, hey, life is not what you think it’s going to be anymore,” she murmured.
“And Rogan?” Sydney asked.
“I think in a way he blames me for the baby and for his friend. I was just as heartbroken. We were both so damn young.” She shrugged. “Anyway, Rogan and I have stayed in touch over the years, mostly because of the work we do. And surprise, surprise. Here we are. Let the world bring what it may, I’m up for it.”
And, with that, she smiled and asked, “Where’s my desk?”
Sydney pointed.
Then Lisa nodded, headed over, and declared, “Okay, let’s get to work.”
This concludes Book 1 of Shadow Recon: Magnus.
Read about Rogan: Shadow Recon, Book 2
Shadow Recon: Rogan (Book #2)
Rogan arrives at the arctic training camp in the midst of chaos and suspicion. Missing men, fires in the kitchen, Magnus still recovering… and Mountain tearing across the tundra searching for his brother…
Lisa was brought in to assist Dr. Sydney in the medical clinic and is only just now catching up on the horrific events that’s plagued the camp. She’s trying to ignore the distrustful gazes as the only newcomer allowed in, even as everyone is trying to leave.
And yet through it all, the team investigating find some answers and yet a dozen more questions arise. Adding to the confusion, the science center is having unexplained issues with their generator. But with several scientists gone missing their problems are just starting. And those problems spill over to the training center upping the ante for both groups…
