Chapter Text
Chapter 1
“Emily!” Lee called to his friend and mentor as she departed the international terminal.
Emily raised her free hand and waved excitedly. She approached quickly and asked, “Where is that sweet boy of yours? I expected to see him here waiting for me too.”
Lee grinned from ear to ear. “William was sound asleep when we got here, so Amanda is waiting in the car with him. You’re going to be his surprise today.”
“You mean you didn’t tell him I was coming all this way to see him?” Emily teased as she linked her hand in the crook of Lee’s elbow.
Together, they made their way slowly to the luggage carousel. “No, I told him if he was good at school this morning, I had a special surprise.” Lee scanned the bags tumbling from the shoot. “What am I looking for, Emily?”
Emily flashed a toothy grin at Lee. “I’ll let you figure that one out. I’m just going to say, if you know me as well as you think you do, you’ll know which bag is mine.”
Lee rolled his eyes, chuckled, and nodded. “Oh, so it’s going to be this sort of game today. I guess that’s my punishment for not waking up my son to greet you at the gate. All right, Emily, we’ll play it your way.” He focused on the luggage circling down the conveyor.
Beside him, Emily was watching another passenger standing close by. When the passenger turned to the side to speak to another gentleman, Emily gasped.
“I don’t know, Emily. You didn’t give me much to go on here,” Lee laughed beside her as he continued to study the bags.
“Um… You know how much I like my English tweed, Lee.” Emily stepped closer to Lee, putting him in front of her.
Lee bobbed his head. “You and everyone else, it seems. I need a nibble here.”
Emily waved her hand to the left at the bags coming toward them. “Come on, now. Think… How could I identify my bag in all of these?”
Lee knew the moment he spotted it. “Oh… Emily… the red ribbon. I should’ve known.”
“It’s always the red ribbon. Now, let’s get my bags and go see that sweet boy. I can’t wait to put my arms around him and give him a proper squeeze.” Emily did her best to rush Lee along without drawing any unnecessary attention to herself from the other passengers.
“He’s probably still sleeping,” Lee reminded her as he reached down to catch the bag rolling by.
“Well, let’s go wake him up.” Emily grabbed her second bag and proceeded to steer Lee around the corner.
Lee tried to stop his forward motion. “What’s going on? I mean, I know you’re excited to see William but you’re acting as if you’re trying to get away from someone.” Lee paused for a second, tipped his head slightly, and demanded, “Emily… are you trying to hide from someone?” He glanced around nervously, his eyes scanning everyone in their vicinity.
“Not really, Lee. I just… I think I saw someone that I’d rather not talk to at the moment, that’s all,” Emily muttered. She looked up at his worried face and added, “Please, can we continue on? It’s been a long flight and I’ve been looking forward to seeing all of you.”
Lee sighed and nodded. “Sure, if you say it’s nothing, then I have to trust that it’s nothing.” He put his arm around her shoulder and gave her a half-hug before they continued out of the airport into the parking garage.
Emily tried to hide her furtive glances around as they walked, but Lee watched every time she shifted.
“The car is right over here. You wouldn’t recognize it. We got a new minivan a few months ago. I had Leatherneck deck it out with all the latest safety devices… you know… bulletproof glass for the windows, reinforced doors, that type of thing. You can never be too careful in this business.”
“You don’t have to remind me of that, Lee. And thank you for humoring this old woman. I’m looking forward to getting to your home and settling my nerves with a nice cup of tea before I spend some time with William.” Emily exhaled a cleansing breath just before they heard the screech of tires coming from behind them.
“Emily?” Lee’s eyes widened as he watched the car careening in their direction. “Watch out!” Lee pushed Emily between two vehicles before he dove to the ground. The speeding car scraped the bumper of the vehicle he was hiding behind. He lifted his head, his jaw clenched as he demanded, “Who is it, Emily?”
“Krejci… The Tailor. I didn’t know he was here!” Emily gasped.
“If you didn’t know he was here, who were you hiding from inside?” Lee scrambled closer.
Emily gathered her bag close to her chest. “Barta. I didn’t see him until we were getting my luggage.”
“Barta? What does he want with you? Emily, you have to tell me,” Lee commanded as he got his feet under him. He dragged her bag along and tried to hide behind the cars as they wove their way toward Amanda, William, and the safety within the minivan.
“I have information Barta may be planning a hit, here, in the states,” Emily admitted softly.
“Who?” Lee lifted his head high enough to judge the distance to the van. A shot ricocheted off the cement wall behind him. “Who?!” he demanded again.
“The President! He’s going to try to assassinate the President!” Emily cried.
They heard the car squealing around the far corner.
“We’re gonna have to make a break for it. It’s the only way we’re going to get inside before they make it back around. Follow my lead.” Lee nodded once, rose higher, and grabbed Emily’s hand. Together they closed the gap, and within seconds, Lee pushed Emily into the backseat, slamming the door before he scrambled into the front seat.
“Emily!” Amanda inhaled sharply. “Lee, what’s going on?”
“Emily will tell us both when we get out of here. Now, hold on!” Lee shifted the van into reverse and pressed hard on the gas. Once out of the parking spot, he jerked the shifter down into drive and stomped on the gas pedal again. They sped toward the exit, bumping down the ramp as Lee strategically maneuvered the vehicle toward the street. “Almost there!” They slammed through the gated barricade and onto the street.
“You did it, Lee!” Emily applauded. She was cut short when, from seemingly out of nowhere, a sedan slammed into the passenger side of the van where Amanda and William sat.
The van tumbled side over side, ejecting Lee through the shattered windshield. The car that hit them tried to speed away but only got a few blocks before the damaged radiator began to overheat. Its occupants spilled onto the street, taking off on foot.
Lee lifted his head to stare at the mangled mess before him. He could hear Emily screaming his name. His eyes focused on the glassless windows and before he lost consciousness, all he saw was his wife and son, covered in blood.