Daniel saluted her and headed off into the darkness. Stumbling around like a mole, he made his way to the garage. He felt his way to the far wall and pulled open the fuse box.

  The main breaker for the house had been thrown. Sighing, Daniel flipped it back and the whole house lit up. Daniel could hear the television blaring and Pocket barking from inside.

  Walking back inside Daniel found Monica sitting on the couch. She’d already grabbed her laptop and was busy scrolling through it.

  “Well done.” She said as he walked in the door. “Now tell me about your night.”

  Daniel sat down beside her and dove into his account of everything that had occurred. When he finished, Monica stared at him with her mouth wide open. She sat on the couch dazed with her jaw dangling on the floor.

  “Monica, you okay?” Daniel waved his hand in her face and she blinked. “Monica!”

  She blinked again then shook her head. Daniel grabbed her shoulders and she suddenly she stood up. She slung the pillows off of the couch and flailed her arms in the air.

  “That son of a bitch! We’ve had him over for dinner. I can’t believe he’d do that to you.” She screamed pounding her fist against the sofa.

  Daniel had become accustomed to Monica’s violent outbursts since her pregnancy and he knew it was best if he let her vent. He leaned back on the couch and eyed her cautiously as she continued.

  “That bastard needs to be fired. You call the judge tomorrow.” Monica started to pace the floor.

  She walked back and forth, steaming rising from her head. Daniel tried to hide a grin as Monica shook her finger in the air and mumbled random curse words.

  “I’ll file a complaint.” Daniel said halfheartedly. “First thing tomorrow…I’ll file a complaint.” He honestly had no intention of reporting anyone, but resolving things his own way.

  “You better. And the next time that asshole calls I have a thing or two to say to him.” Monica continued. “I’m just so furious! It’s one thing to harass Victor. God knows he deserves it, but you? That incompetent prick should know better.”

  Monica went on ranting for another thirty minutes before she finally started to calm down. When she turned back to Daniel he’d fallen asleep on the couch.

  Smiling, Monica grabbed a blanket from the closet. She kissed him on the head and laid the blanket over him. She stared at him for a moment then headed to the bedroom.

  NEW YORK NEW YORK

  “That’s the second time that asshole tried to shoot you.” Tom laughed. “The man I knew would’ve been digging a ditch the first time.”

  Daniel grinned and Victor looked up at him nervously as he twiddled his fingers. Daniel had just finished telling them about his encounter with Lawson and Victor was certain it was only a matter of time before the sheriff came for him.

  “You know, we can always disappear that worthless prick. Toss his body in the damn river.” Tom suggested without a hint of humor on his face.

  Daniel seemed to be considering Tom for a moment, and then waved him off. It might have been a good idea, but PJ’s noisy bar room was the last place to discuss it. Daniel’s natural paranoia had him imagining secret microphones in the bra of every waitress.

  “I gotta get out of here, Monica’s leaving soon.” Daniel said as he sat an empty glass down onto the table.

  “You’re…you’re leaving?” Victor mumbled.

  Tom laughed and patted him on the shoulder. “Don’t worry big guy, you’re in good hands.”

  I’ll see you tomorrow at the office Vic. Tom, stay out of trouble huh.” Daniel smiled then headed out of the bar.

  Victor cringed at the thought of heading back to the office. Although he hadn’t seen Sherri’s body the night he got arrested, the vision had haunted his mind since. He didn’t want to be anywhere close to the office.

  Daniel got home a little after five and immediately started packing Monica’s things into the car. She pranced around the house in a sundress telling him which bags should go where. Daniel rolled his eyes in annoyance faulting Sandra for her new prima donna attitude.

  “You’re not famous…yet.” Daniel said as Monica grabbed one of her Gucci bags.

  “The keyword is yet Daniel. Besides I thought you wanted a rich and famous sugar mama.” She smiled and gave him a kiss.

  “Just get in the car.” He laughed as he opened the door.

  The trip to the airport was quick and uneventful. As they pulled up to the drop-off area Sandra flagged them down, leaping in the air like a cheerleader. Daniel sighed and shook his head. He absolutely loathed that woman and the pipe dreams she was always feeding Monica.

  “Should I just hit her with the car?” Daniel asked as he pulled up to the curb.

  Monica slapped him on the arm and giggled.

  Before the car could stop Sandra ran to the door and yanked it open. “Monica, Monica I can’t wait to get to the big apple.”

  “She knows you can’t actually eat it right?” Daniel whispered from across the seat. Monica gave him a scolding look.

  She stepped out of the car and the two of them began to giggle like school girls. Daniel made a puking noise and rolled his eyes.

  “I can’t wait either Sandra. I’m so excited!” Monica said, grabbing Sandra’s hands.

  Daniel grabbed her bags out of the trunk and rolled them over to the curbside check-in. Monica and Sandra stood to the side blabbing about the different shops they should visit while in New York.

  “I’ll meet you at security.” Daniel said as he hopped back into the car. Waving to Monica he drove off and headed to short term parking.

  The garage was the exact opposite of the one down by his office. It was full of light and looked like a cleaning crew went through it twice a day.

  Daniel quickly parked and walked across the garage to the elevator. He took it down to the 2nd floor then ran inside to find Monica. When he got to security check-in, she was nowhere to be found.

  “That woman never listens.” Daniel mumbled.

  He scanned the airport looking for a pregnant little lady in a sundress. He knew she had to be close. After ten minutes looking for her he stumbled upon a donut shop and surely enough he could see Sandra’s silhouette through the window.

  “Funny, this looks nothing like check-in.” He said as he walked into the shop.

  Monica bit her lip and gave a bashful shrug. Sandra stuffed another donut in her mouth and then walked towards Daniel with her arms wide open.

  “Daniel, you know we’ve got to feed the little one. You don’t want her flying off with an empty belly.” She grabbed Daniel and hugged him.

  “You’re gonna miss your flight.” Daniel gasped as he wiggled out of Sandra’s embrace and headed towards the door.

  Sandra puckered her lips and reached for another donut. She turned to Monica and giggled as she bit a chunk out of it. Smiling, Monica grabbed her bags and hurried after Daniel.

  When they caught up with him he was waiting at the security gate looking agitated. Monica slid next to him and rubbed his shoulders.

  “Don’t worry hun, I’ll leave her in New York.” Monica whispered in his ear.

  Daniel smiled and patted her hand.

  “Have fun, but don’t let it go to your head… any more than it already has.”

  “Yeah I’ll try. By the way, if Lawson shows his face do me a favor and hit him in it.”

  They both laughed and Daniel pulled her in close and squeezed.

  “Careful you’ll hurt the baby.” She giggled.

  “Okay, okay some of us are ready to go.” Sandra griped.

  Daniel shot her a dirty look and whispered in Monica’s ear. “Seriously, you really need to leave her.”

  Monica grinned and headed through the security checkpoint with Sandra. Daniel waved and watched the doors on the tram close. With a hum it zipped down the tracks and disappeared. Daniel watched for a minute longer and then headed back to the parking garage.

  He drove the stretch of highway to his house in a somber mood. It’d been years since he’d had to sleep alone. Monica was normally always at his side.

  When he made it home later that night he crawled into bed and immediately fell asleep. So much had gone on in such a short period he’d hardly had time to digest it all. His head swarmed with crazy thoughts and shadowy images.

  “Danny! Danny, wake up.” Tom’s face was a few inches from his.

  Daniel sat up and rubbed his eyes. “Where the hell are we?”

  “Laos, but don’t tell command that. Come on we gotta get going.” Tom grabbed his bags and walked out of the tent. Daniel shook his head trying to wake up as a horde of mosquitoes swarmed in.

  “I hate the fucking jungle.” Daniel spat, erupting from the tent swatting bugs.

  He knelt next to Tom who was looking through a pair of binoculars down into the valley.

  “The LZ is over there.” Tom pointed.

  “That shit is crawling with Charlie.” Daniel sighed. “Leave it to the suits to put a bird down in the middle of a fucking ant mound.”

  Tom shook his head and tossed the binoculars back into his bag. They both finished packing the tent up then stealthily slipped into the foliage. They moved deliberately through the thick jungle vegetation heading closer to the clearing.

  Suddenly the wind ripping shriek of gunfire exploded from behind them tearing through the trees. Daniel quickly dove to the ground and reached for his rifle. He looked to the side as Tom met him with a stupid grin on his face.

  “Fucking VC, they’d follow you to hell if it meant they could get a clean shot.” Tom screamed.

  More gunfire peppered the trees and the familiar buzz of a Huey wacked at the air. Daniel and Tom stayed low and crawled through the tangled limbs of the jungle floor as bullets whizzed by their heads.

  “We gotta get the fuck outta here!” Daniel yelled.

  Tom laughed and started to reply, but was interrupted by a loud hiss.

  “Was that a fucking stinger? Where the fuck did they get that from?”

  The air was cracked by another hiss and then a loud explosion. Daniel looked ahead as burning shards of the helicopter fell to the ground. Some of the crew were blown out and their charred remains littered the jungle.

  Sirens erupted from the distance signaling a full attack by the VC. Daniel rolled over and covered his ears.

  “Turn that off Monica.” He yelled. “Monica!”

  Daniel jumped up out of bed and knocked the alarm clock off of the nightstand. He rubbed his face and looked around at his empty room. Pocket snored loudly in the corner, intermittently kicking his leg.

  It was already five o’clock in the evening. Daniel had almost slept the entire day away. He looked around the room, his eyes still adjusting to the rays that beamed through the window.

  A red light flicked on the answering machine and he reached across the nightstand and hit play.

  “Daniel, Daniel this is Ned. I was just calling because you’ve missed your last two appointments. I know digging into the past can be painful, but I really think we are getting somewhere. Especially dealing with that incident back in college. Call me so we can reschedule.”

  Daniel sighed and hit the delete button. He rubbed his eyes then sat up. Stretching across the bed he grabbed a piece of paper and then the phone from the nightstand.

  It’d been almost twenty four hours since he’d spoke to Monica. He missed her call when her plane touched down and he was sure she wouldn’t let him forget it.

  Yawning, he jabbed the numbers on the phone. Bringing the receiver to his ear he waited as it rung again and again. After several rings the phone disconnected. Daniel tried calling her again, but after the third time he gave up.

  “Guess I missed you,” Daniel mumbled.

  He quickly rolled out of bed and started to get dressed. He was in a hurry to get to the office. The police had finally concluded their investigation and Daniel could open his doors once again.

  He rifled through his closet searching for his coat. Monica normally moved things around and now she wasn’t there to find them. Frustrated, Daniel slammed the closet door and rushed out of the house without one.

  Thirty minutes later he pulled into the nearly condemned parking garage. As he stepped out of his car he felt an eerie feeling run up his spine. The last time he was there the place was swarming with cops and Sherri’s body lay crumpled in his lobby. He shook off the vibe and headed into the elevator.

  The rickety cart creaked as it pulled him up towards the fourth floor. With a ding the door opened and he stepped out into the hallway. It was a cave of blackness and a deafening silence closed in. Daniel turned and marched towards the glass doors ahead of him. He glided silently, his footsteps muffled by the carpet.

  He stopped at the door and slowly unlocked it. He paused for a moment and took a deep breath. Then, swallowing hard, he stepped inside.

  Flicking the light switch on the wall, Daniel glanced around the office. The lobby was still covered with yellow police tape and a few candy wrappers were left on the floor.

  “Lazy ass cops,” Daniel mumbled to himself as he started to clean up.

  He grabbed a bag from behind the counter and rolled all the caution tape into it. Since Barbara still hadn’t returned, no one had vacuumed in a while so he took to that as well.

  He had just finished straightening the lobby when Victor walked in. He stopped at the door and stared into the office.

  “You okay?” Daniel eyed him.

  “Yeah, yeah, I’m fine,” Victor stuttered. He walked inside and started moving boxes near the lobby that hadn’t been put away.

  They didn’t have any appointments scheduled so they spent the next few hours trying to make the office look presentable. It wouldn’t be long before their calendar was fully booked again and Victor was offering private sessions.

  Trying to move past what had occurred in their lobby wasn’t going to be easy though. Victor continually stopped and looked at the corner where Sherri had been found. He seemed disheveled the entire night.

  “Vic, I think we’re good. Let’s just get out of here. We can pick up tomorrow,” Daniel said as he sat the last box down.

  “What? Nah, we’ve gotta get this done. We need this place looking nice for the ladies.” Victor smiled awkwardly, like a POW reading a confession at gun point.

  “You sure everything’s alright? Lawson still bugging you?” Daniel asked and squinted at him.

  Victor huffed and started moving boxes again. Daniel stared at him a minute longer and then went back to cleaning. Victor didn’t say anything else, but started slamming the boxes down as he moved them. He grunted abruptly then kicked over a stack of supplies.

  “Ahh!” Victor yelled, shaking his fist in the air.

  “He’s not God you know. He’s just a dick with a badge. You don’t have to take his shit.” Daniel stammered as he glanced in Victor’s direction.

  Victor considered him for a moment then smiled. “Yeah, he is a dick.”

  Daniel grinned at him then they both started to laugh. The phone rang in the distance and Daniel turned around and took off down the hall. Victor giggled a moment longer and plopped into a chair.

  “Hello, hello?” Daniel grabbed the phone. Monica’s voice blared through the other end.

  “Honey, can you hear me?”

  “Yeah, sorry I missed your call earlier. I called you back, you must’ve been out.”

  “Sandra took me out to the shops. I just wanted to check in and let you know it’s going great up here.”

  “That’s awesome. Can I go ahead and close my practice down? Not sure if we’ll ever get any business back anyway,” Daniel laughed.

  “Sure you can quit babe, I’ll be your sugar mama,” Monica responded as Sandra yelled in the distance. “Just make sure I get my cut first.”

  Daniel rolled his eyes.

  “Psst.” Victor was standing in the doorway. “I’m taking off,” he waved.

  Daniel nodded. “See you tomorrow.”

  “Everything okay?” Monica asked.

  “Yeah, Victor was just heading home. So anyway make sure you come back…alone.”

  “I’ll try. Oh, gotta run. Love you.”

  Daniel could hear Sandra rushing her off of the phone before he was left with a dial tone.

  He sat there for a minute with the receiver in his hand. He couldn’t help but think how much he disliked Sandra. Something about that lady rubbed him the wrong way.

  Sighing, he hung up the phone. He looked around his office and thought of the last time he’d sat in his chair. The image of the murky Mississippi River came to mind. The thick, dark water churning wildly, the mud soiled wind blowing on his face. He longed for the peaceful solace the riverbank provided.

  Jumping up, Daniel grabbed his keys and locked up the office. He rode the rickety elevator back down to the garage where he hopped into his car and sped off towards the riverbank.

  As he drove down the highway he considered calling Ned and rescheduling his appointment. He’d been sleeping better lately, but the dreams were more frequent than ever. Flashbacks from a time in his life he tried hard to forget.

  All that seemed to fade away as the clearing came into focus. The river did more for him than Ned ever could. Daniel stopped his car and stepped out into the cool, evening air.

  The smell of the river was intoxicating. It was like a drug that Daniel had become addicted to. It put his mind at peace and erased all the evils around him.

  The calming swoon of the river was the only sound he could hear. He gazed into the blackness, the moon gleaming off the surface like a mirror. It ran like a train taking his stress down the stream with it.

  Daniel closed his eyes and soaked in the moment. But it was short lived as the snap of a bullet jarred him back to so form of reality.

  “Get the fuck down!” Tom screamed.

  Daniel opened his eyes to a horrific scene. Bodies and body parts littered the ground. An unexploded mortar lay half buried in the mud less than five feet away. Tom was hunkered behind a burning jeep screaming obscenities firing blindly into the night.

  A bullet whizzed by Daniel’s head with a snap. He quickly dove into the mud and covered his head. Army crawling he headed towards the jeep that Tom had taken cover behind.

 

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