Duty Bound (1995) (3 page)

Ted put his hand on his friend's shoulder. "I know, Gee; I still hear them, too. I'm in. Like I said, I have to talk to my crew, but I don't think it'll be a problem. Glenn wants him as bad as we do, and the new guys won't be able to turn down the big money."

Genesse lowered his head. "Teddy, I wanted to be there and help you put him away but I--"

"You've done enough, Gee. You've stuck your neck way out for me. You'll be there. The whole team will be there with me when I even the score. The screams will end, Gee. I promise."

Genesse hugged the bigger man to his chest. "Do it and get out safe, Teddy. I don't wanna be the last of Team Twotwo. You hear me? Get out safe."

"He's goin' down, Gee." Ted stepped back, forcing a smile. "I guess I'd better get to the airport; I got a plane to catch. You take care, Gee."

Genesse waited until his former teammate made his way down to the cigarette boat before speaking. "Teddy, we were somethin', weren't we? We were the best, huh?"

Ted nodded. "Yeah, Gee, we was the best."

Key West, Florida Seated in the shade of a banyan tree, Dr. Reese warily looked across the plastic table at the newly arrived doctor who was looking through his patient's medical records.

Dr. Sarah Laski set the documents down and took off her reading glasses. "So, the bottom line is you believe he should be released?"

"As I told your people three days ago, we've run every test and had numerous sessions with him. We found nothing abnormal."

"And his wounds?" Sarah asked.

"The head wound was superficial and has healed quite nicely. The arm wound will take a little more time because of muscle damage, but he is working very hard in physical therapy and should be almost a hundred percent by next week. As you will see shortly, he is not your average forty-seven-year-old male. He's in excellent physical condition, which I believe accounts for his rapid recovery."

Sarah picked up the folder again. "What about the depression you say he is suffering?"

Reese studied his hands a moment before looking at her.

We are the reason for his depression, Doctor. Since coming here, he has not been allowed to communicate with anyone outside the compound. For all intents and purposes, he is a prisoner, and prisoners tend to get depressed."

Sarah nodded as if in understanding. "The orders were necessary. The press made extraordinary efforts to find him, so we had to ensure the story did not get out."

"I don't like being involved in a cover-up, Doctor," Reese said with a glare.

Sarah met his glare with one of her own. "You were briefed on the sensitivity of the situation, Doctor. Public knowledge of the actual events that took place would have served no one's interests, especially not the patient's. The congressional oversight committee was briefed thoroughly, and they agreed unanimously with our decision to keep the case permanently closed to the public."

Reese relaxed his taut shoulders and lowered his head.

"I'm sorry, Doctor. I fear I've grown too close to the patient to be objective anymore. I understand the concerns the Bureau had on this, but as you can see, our examinations lay those fears to rest. Special Agent Eli Tanner is physically and mentally fit for duty."

Sarah motioned to the file. "I was provided only his test and evaluation results. Could you fill me in on his past before I speak to him?"

Reese's face tightened. "It was communicated to me you were going to review our findings. Nothing was said about your interviewing my patient."

"You want him released, don't you, Doctor?" Sarah asked with a condescending smile. "I was sent here to make a final evaluation and I--"

"Don't play word games with me, Doctor. You doubt our findings. Fine. Talk to him. I ask only that out of professional courtesy you tell me your conclusions after your talk. You asked about his past. I'll summarize for you. Our patient joined the military out of high school and attended the Army's Airborne and Ranger courses before going to Vietnam in 1972. In Vietnam he was a sergeant in the 101st Airborne Division and saw very heavy action. He was wounded badly and took quite some time to recover. Once released from the hospital, he was discharged from the Army and attended the University of Georgia, where he obtained a degree in criminal justice. Upon graduation he applied for and was accepted into the Bureau. I must point out here that he followed in his brother's footsteps. His older brother was in the Bureau at the time. Our patient graduated from the FBI Academy, and because of his military training and combat experience, he was assigned to the Bureau's then-new Special Operations unit.

He was sent to many schools and became highly specialized in his field. His follow-on assignments kept him principally in special-operations assignments throughout the states. He was wounded while working on the drug task force in Miami in 1990 but fully recovered and continued his duties in special operations. Three months ago he was assigned as the resident special agent in charge of the Columbus, Georgia, office, and you know the rest--he began working the case that he closed a little over a month ago."

Sarah looked past the doctor toward the ocean. "I assume he's not married?"

"He was once. Divorced in 1988. The former wife is remarried and has a restraining order in place to keep him from seeing his son. He doesn't like talking about it."

"What else doesn't he like talking about?" Sarah asked.

Reese motioned toward the beach. "You'll find out very soon. That's him running toward us now." Reese rose and dipped his chin. "Please excuse me, Doctor. I'll leave you to your evaluation."

Sarah nodded in shocked silence as she kept her eyes on the approaching tanned, gleaming runner. Eli Tanner was not what she'd expected. For some reason, she had assumed he would be taller and look older. Instead he was short, not over five-nine, and had the body of a thirty-year-old athlete.

He was wearing only nylon shorts and running shoes, so she could see that his chest was heavily developed, as were his legs. Reese was right, she thought, he was certainly not your typical forty-seven-year-old male. Prematurely gray hair contrasted sharply with a rugged, tanned face that reminded her of TV newsman Tom Brokaw; it was a friendly face.

Eli Tanner told himself to ignore the pain and push harder.

Just another fifty yards, push, push, go man, pump your legs fasten push it!

In a full sprint, he crossed the imaginary line in the sand, then slowed to a wobbly walk. Every muscle in his legs was screaming. He bent over and held his knees to steady himself. Taking in several deep breaths, he felt the high coming on. Yeaaaah baby!

"How far did you run, Agent Tanner?"

Eli glanced up. One look told him all he needed to know: a shrink. He lowered his head again and spoke between breaths. "Th-Three . . . miles."

"I'm Dr. Sarah Laski."

Eli stood erect, put his hands on his hips, and began slowly walking back down the beach. "You the final inspector?" he asked without looking at her.

She stepped out of her shoes and quickly caught up. "I'm not sure what you mean."

"When you buy pants you find a little piece of paper in the pocket that says 'Inspected by Number Four.' Are you Inspector Four?"

Sarah gave him a side glance. "You might call me that.

Do you mind if I walk with you?"

Eli shook his head as he lowered his arms to his sides.

They walked in silence for a long moment before Sarah gave him another glance. "Do you think you're ready to be released?"

"Sure do, Doc."

"Please, call me Sarah."

"Doc, I was ready to be released two weeks ago. Whatever you want to ask me, get on with it."

"Do you think we've treated you unfairly?"

"You people have a job to do, and I understand that.

You're worried that I might have problems. I don't think I have any problems other than my being here. You want to make sure I'm all right, and I want to convince you I am.

I've taken tests, been asked a zillion questions, and I've tried to answer all of them honestly. Have I been treated unfairly? No. Am I ready to go? Hell yeah."

"Do you think about the men you killed?" Sarah asked as she stepped over a dead jellyfish.

"Not much."

"Does it bother you when you think about it?"

"Nope."

"Did you have to kill them? Couldn't you have wounded them instead?"

Eli stopped and faced her. "Doc, have you ever killed an animal?"

Sarah looked at him with a blank expression. "Not on purpose; I hit a dog once while driving."

"Well, Doc, ya have to understand humans are one of the hardest animals there is to kill. In the movies a guy shoots another guy and he goes down and just lies there. That's not what really happens. When bullets start flying, most people aren't even hit, but those that are are usually wounded, and they can still shoot back. Humans don't want to die; they fight to live and are very dangerous when hit. In Nam the ratio was one to nine. One killed for every nine wounded.

Does that tell you something? It should tell you that if you're facing more than one armed assailant who intends on doing you bodily harm, you shoot them in the face or heart to make sure they stay down. It's a matter of survival."

"You killed five men and wounded two," she said matter-of-factly.

"My mistake on the two. I thought I killed them."

"Do you like killing, Agent Tanner?"

"No, Doc." Eli looked into her eyes. "I felt guilt and remorse the first time I killed a man. It was in Vietnam. I agonized over it because that North Vietnamese trooper was just like me, a soldier doing his duty. I felt for him because I knew it could have just as well been me lying there. But I don't agonize over the armed assailants I've had to shoot, Doc. They're not like me. I don't feel anything for them. Do I like killing them? The answer is no. I don't like being in a situation where I might end up dead."

Sarah kept her gaze on him. "How do you cope with it?"

"I don't live in the past," he said as he started walking again. "I look ahead, not back."

"What about your son?"

Eli came to a halt with a pained frown and faced her again. "You don't play fair, Doc."

"I'm sorry, Agent Tanner, but I had to know if you were really that callous. Tell me about him."

"There's nothing to say. I haven't been able to see him. I wish I could say something. I really wish I could."

"Is it because you almost died that you want to see him?"

"I've always wanted to see him, Doc. But to answer your question honestly, I wasn't willing to beg his mother to let me see him before. I am now. I'm getting older, Doctor, and the job doesn't seem as important to me as it did before. It'd be nice to get things right again. I'd really like to have a chance to be with my son, do father things, let him know I care."

Sarah saw that the special agent's eyes were misting and lowered her head. "Agent Tanner, you'll be released in two days. I'm sorry it can't be sooner but it will take that long to brief my findings to those who were concerned."

Eli looked out at the ocean and closed his eyes. "So it's finally over."

Sarah turned to retrace her steps but stopped and looked over her shoulder at him. "I'll recommend you receive another week's leave, Agent Tanner. Perhaps it will give you time to make things right. Good-bye."

Eli nodded in silence as he stared out at the ocean. Make things right, he repeated to himself.

Chapter 2.

Hartsfield International Airport, Atlanta.

Glenn Henderson nervously scratched his bearded chin as the passengers from Miami walked by. He shifted his feet as he waited. Come on, Teddy, where are you, damnit? You call and say meet me, we have to talk, then you hang up. Why'd you do that to me?

Glenn sighed when his best friend finally exited. He forced a smile and raised his hand in greeting. "Hiya, Teddy, how was the trip?"

Ted Faircloud nodded toward the well-dressed man as he kept walking. "I got our crew . . . and I got an added mission from Gee."

Henderson quickly caught up and walked alongside his friend. "What do you mean, 'added mission'?"

"We're going to take out Mendez after we make the score," Ted whispered.

Shocked, Glenn came to a halt. "Jesus, Ted, are you serious?"

"I'm dead serious. Come on, keep walkin'. You gotta drop me by a used-car lot so I can get me a car."

"What's wrong with your pickup?"

"I've gotta play like I'm a RI.; gotta see a woman Gee says is goin' to help us."

Again Glenn stopped. "A woman? What's going on?"

"Gee and his people are out of it. They can't be fingered.

They've given the broad all the info on the score and she knows all about Mendez."

"Slow down. Jesus, Ted. What do you mean, she knows all about Mendez?"

"She's been bangin' him the past year; she was his sweet thing."

"My God, that means we've really got a chance to get him."

"Damn straight we do. And there's somethin' else, Glenn-- we get to keep all the score."

"All six million? Gee doesn't want his half?"

"We get all of it--'course, we have to give the new guys and the broad their split, but that still leaves us plenty to get us new equipment and start that construction company we've been dreamin' about. The main thing, though, is we get Mendez. It's finally payback time."