Chapter Eight ~
Jackson Masters watched the house across
the street intently. He saw three men wearing scarves across their faces bust
through the door. He pulled his walkie-talkie up to his mouth and said urgently
in a whisper. "Now, blow it now!"
The explosion rocked the whole
neighborhood. Plumes of dark smoke rose in the air and hung overhead like a big
ominous cloud of doom.
His assignment complete, Jackson Masters
turned and walked out of the small village toward his hidden jeep.
He was barely seated when the vibrating of
his phone caught his attention. He pulled out quickly and sped down the road as
he held the phone out to try to make out the caller. It was Amy. Something must
be wrong. He jerked the car to the side of the road, using an old broken down
truck as cover.
He hit the answer button. "Hello? Is
something wrong?" His voice sounded urgent and Amy regretted bothering
him, but it was too late to worry about it now.
"It's okay Jackson. I just called to
tell you Teenie has the measles." She tried to convey her lack of worry in
her tone.
It didn’t work. "Are you serious? How
on earth did she get the measles? Is she okay? Do I need to come home right
now?" It was obvious he cared about his children and the knowledge made
her breathe easier.
"The doctor thinks she probably
contracted them from you. You travel out of the country a lot. She's okay Jack,
don't worry, I'm taking care of everything. No, you don't need to come back
right now. She's has the fever part right now so she should break out in the
next day or so. Once she starts spotting up all we'll need to worry about is
the itching. I've got plenty of calamine, though. The doctor also gave me a
prescription for an antibiotic for secondary infection. It really is under
control." She used her best 'nanny' voice and smirked a little at the way
it sounded.
"Okay, thanks Amy. I really appreciate
how kind you're being. I should be there with her, especially when she's so
sick."
"It's my job, besides; I’ve already
grown to love them. You have a wonderful family and you should be proud. Well,
I think I hear crying again, I'll call tomorrow and give you an update,
goodnight." She ended the call and shoved the phone back in her front
pocket and headed to the baby's room. She would set a cot up in Teenie’s room.
There was no sense displacing her when it would be easier for her to sleep in
the baby’s room.
Jackson sat with his phone lying loosely in
his hand, thinking about the call. He knew he should get out of the area as
soon as possible, but a bad feeling gripped him, and he was rooted to the spot,
momentarily unable to move. He was definitely glad he'd chosen so well in
hiring a nanny. He shrugged off the feeling of foreboding and pulled out onto
the road, heading to his hotel.
He wondered what the beautiful and sweet
nanny would think of him if she knew the truth. He wasn't just into security.
He was a Special Forces soldier. Most of the people in the army didn't even
know his unit existed. He and his team did the jobs the regular Army couldn't,
or wouldn't. There were things the United States government couldn't do and be
politically correct. That's when they sent in his team, Condor.
Jackson got out of the army-looking jeep
and put the key in the lock of the door. He hesitated, feeling like he was
being watched. He ever so carefully turned around, scanned the parking lot, and
everything around it. He didn't see anything. He shrugged to himself and went
into the room. He threw the keys onto the table and turned on the light. His
room was ransacked. Everything was turned out into the floor, and the mattress
had even been cut and pulled apart. His hand went to the gun on his hip. He rushed
through the room into the bathroom, but it was empty, too. His left hand dove
into his left pocket and rested on the flash drive. That's what they’d been
looking for. He hurriedly stuffed all his belongings into his duffel bag and
left.
He didn't discard the surgical gloves he
was wearing until he entered the airport. He went into the men's restroom, went
into a stall and pulled the gloves off, turning them inside out in the process.
He wiped the gloves down to remove any fingerprints and stuffed the alcohol
packet back into his pocket and threw the gloves in the trash. He used the same
alcohol pad to wipe the edge of the door, stuffed it in his pocket and walked
to the ticket counter.
Thirty minutes later he was flying over the
small country where he'd been, on his way home.
***
He stomped his foot in anger. Jackson must
have the thumb drive on him. The plan was ruined. “No matter, I’ll just follow
him back to Salt lake city.” The man
left the hotel parking lot and went to the airport to catch a ride. This whole
thing had gone awry, and it was all Jackson Masters’ fault. He would pay. He
spent the whole ride lamenting and plotting what he would do to the man for
daring to come between him and his plot. He had no idea what was at stake here.
He didn’t see the big picture, but he would. He cackled loudly as he got out of
his car, attracting questioning stares from several people heading the same direction.
He smiled and waved at them, only slightly caring whether they bought his
innocent demeanor. Soon it wouldn’t matter.
He
exited the airport building and went out onto the tarmac where a plane was
fueled and waiting for him. “It’s a good thing my men are obedient.” If anyone
had been around, they would’ve given him looks, too. Only crazy men spoke to
themselves, didn’t they? He cackled again. Many would think him crazy, but they
wouldn’t matter either, because if his plan worked, they’d all be dead. He
taxied down the runway and disappeared into the night sky.
***
Amy
paced back and forth with Teenie as she screamed in misery. This was going to
be a long night, but her main concern was for the baby. How did people get
through it? Tears filled her eyes. She rocked the baby as she walked; trying to
dispel the misery, but it was no use. She was inconsolable. Hopefully the
medicine would kick in soon.
Chester
came into the kitchen where she was pacing. “Hello, miss. I thought you might
like some hot cocoa.”
“That
would be great, Chester. Thanks for thinking of it. I feel so terrible for her
suffering.” Amy was talking loud to be heard over the incessant crying.
To his
credit, the butler seemed unperturbed. “It’s a bad situation, miss. Be thankful
for modern medicine, though. Many people used to die from the measles, but very
few do these days.”
“You’re
right about that.” Teenie finally began to wind down and her cries became
weaker, almost gone. “She’s almost asleep.” She whispered, trying not to wake
the sick child.
“Don’t
worry about whispering, miss. Once the medicine kicks in she won’t wake-up for
a few hours.”
“I feel
awful for being thankful for that, but I do. Not only does she need sleep, I do.”
“No need
to feel guilt, miss. It’s obvious to anyone with a brain you love these kids.
Mr. Masters couldn’t have chosen a better nanny.”
“Why
thank you Chester.” Amy walked over and placed Teenie in a bassinet placed by
the kitchen table. She pulled the covers up around her and pulled the bonnet up
to keep the light out. “I do love them. I’m a little worried, though. Nannies
aren’t supposed to become emotionally involved, and I never have before, at
least not to this extent.”
“It’s
hard not to be affected by innocent babes, miss. No one faults you.”
“I’m
just a little freaked-out because I fell for these children so quickly. It
isn’t that I didn’t care for my other charges, because I did, but not like
this.”
“Maybe
it’s because they don’t have a mother. Or maybe it’s because you’re attracted
to their father.”
Amy
stared at him in surprise. Was it that obvious? “Can you tell that easily?”
“Anyone
with eyes, miss. Again, don’t feel guilty. It’s a natural response. He’s a
handsome fellow, and he needs a caring woman in his life.”
“I don’t
know if we should be talking about him like this.”
“There’s
no harm, miss. You haven’t done anything inappropriate.”
“I don’t
intend to, either. I have to quell these feelings.” Amy pulled the cup of hot
cocoa Chester handed her over and warmed her hands.
“You
can’t help who you care for.” Chester sat across from her, sipping his own cup
of cocoa and smiling innocently.
“No, but
I can suppress it.”
“We’ll
see.”
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