and this is not the sort of thing she’d be able to keep her stress low about. Hell, I can feel my own blood pressure skyrocketing at the thought of what this phone call means for us. I can’t keep this from Samantha, though; she needs to know. I just don’t want to ruin her good mood…
Before I realize where I am, I’m standing at the foot at the basement stairs watching Samantha select a movie for us to watch. She turns and asks my opinion on one she’s picked, and she immediately pales at the expression on my face. I rush across the basement in case she falls, but my panic is for nothing. She pulls away from me and fixes me with a stern expression.
“What’s wrong?” she demands quietly, backing away and crossing her arms in front of her chest.
Sighing, I guide her over to sit on the couch. “I just got a call from my legal team,” I tell her quietly. “And I’m going to have to leave for a few days.”
She’s quiet for several moments, letting my words sink in. I inwardly curse as I see her doing what I tend to do when I hear bad news: she’s closing herself off from me. “When?”
“A couple weeks,” I murmur, reaching over to rest my hand on her knee. She stiffens, but doesn’t push me away.
“Where?”
“Germany.”
Her eyes slowly close and I know she’s connected the dots. “For how long?” she whispers.
“I don’t know,” I tell her honestly. “Could be a couple days, could be longer. It just depends on how long it takes to convince them I had no concrete evidence the plane was going to crash. And it’s true; I didn’t know. I just had a bad feeling and went with my gut.”
Her eyes open again and she’s resolving herself to this news. “Can I ask you something I’ve been wondering about that?” she whispers.
Hesitantly, I nod, thinking I know what she’s about to ask.
“Why didn’t you tell anybody you thought there might be trouble?”
I sigh, leaning back, feeling relieved when she scoots over and curls into my side. “Because if I had, it wouldn’t have taken much before the people trying to kill me to realize I’d foiled their plans,” I tell her, resting my cheek on her head. “If I’d done that they would have been less subtle in their attempts and I might not be here right now. Sam, if I truly believed that plane would go down and kill those people, I would have figured out a way to change things. Until I saw the news coverage about the crash, part of me believed I was just paranoid. I can’t tell you how many sleepless nights I had after that day thinking about those people. People I’ve known for years— friends . Terry, the pilot, invited me to his kid’s birthday party last year. The security guys; they were good friends of Leo, fellow Marines. And the flight attendant, Sophie… She was supposed to get married three weeks ago. Now I’m sitting around wondering which of my supposed friends set me up with the intention to get me killed. I don’t even know exactly how close to me it’s gotten.”
I stop immediately at the sight of horror on Samantha’s face. While it’s true I told her about a possible leak, that was before the crash, and we haven’t really discussed it since; I don’t think she realized how severe the threat truly is. And I hate that I have to make her understand now, but we’ve ignored it until now, having much more pleasant things to think about.
“So what’s going to happen?” she asks.
“I honestly don’t know,” I respond. “I’ll go to Germany with my legal team and a support team of federal agents who were aware of the situation. I’ll tell them what I know. I didn’t do anything wrong, Samantha. They can’t indict me on charges for which they have no proof.”
“And if they do indict you?”
I remain quiet for several minutes, trying to think of how to answer. Truthfully, if I’m indicted, I could be sent to prison. I think she knows that, and if she doesn’t, I don’t want to tell her. The
Before I realize where I am, I’m standing at the foot at the basement stairs watching Samantha select a movie for us to watch. She turns and asks my opinion on one she’s picked, and she immediately pales at the expression on my face. I rush across the basement in case she falls, but my panic is for nothing. She pulls away from me and fixes me with a stern expression.
“What’s wrong?” she demands quietly, backing away and crossing her arms in front of her chest.
Sighing, I guide her over to sit on the couch. “I just got a call from my legal team,” I tell her quietly. “And I’m going to have to leave for a few days.”
She’s quiet for several moments, letting my words sink in. I inwardly curse as I see her doing what I tend to do when I hear bad news: she’s closing herself off from me. “When?”
“A couple weeks,” I murmur, reaching over to rest my hand on her knee. She stiffens, but doesn’t push me away.
“Where?”
“Germany.”
Her eyes slowly close and I know she’s connected the dots. “For how long?” she whispers.
“I don’t know,” I tell her honestly. “Could be a couple days, could be longer. It just depends on how long it takes to convince them I had no concrete evidence the plane was going to crash. And it’s true; I didn’t know. I just had a bad feeling and went with my gut.”
Her eyes open again and she’s resolving herself to this news. “Can I ask you something I’ve been wondering about that?” she whispers.
Hesitantly, I nod, thinking I know what she’s about to ask.
“Why didn’t you tell anybody you thought there might be trouble?”
I sigh, leaning back, feeling relieved when she scoots over and curls into my side. “Because if I had, it wouldn’t have taken much before the people trying to kill me to realize I’d foiled their plans,” I tell her, resting my cheek on her head. “If I’d done that they would have been less subtle in their attempts and I might not be here right now. Sam, if I truly believed that plane would go down and kill those people, I would have figured out a way to change things. Until I saw the news coverage about the crash, part of me believed I was just paranoid. I can’t tell you how many sleepless nights I had after that day thinking about those people. People I’ve known for years— friends . Terry, the pilot, invited me to his kid’s birthday party last year. The security guys; they were good friends of Leo, fellow Marines. And the flight attendant, Sophie… She was supposed to get married three weeks ago. Now I’m sitting around wondering which of my supposed friends set me up with the intention to get me killed. I don’t even know exactly how close to me it’s gotten.”
I stop immediately at the sight of horror on Samantha’s face. While it’s true I told her about a possible leak, that was before the crash, and we haven’t really discussed it since; I don’t think she realized how severe the threat truly is. And I hate that I have to make her understand now, but we’ve ignored it until now, having much more pleasant things to think about.
“So what’s going to happen?” she asks.
“I honestly don’t know,” I respond. “I’ll go to Germany with my legal team and a support team of federal agents who were aware of the situation. I’ll tell them what I know. I didn’t do anything wrong, Samantha. They can’t indict me on charges for which they have no proof.”
“And if they do indict you?”
I remain quiet for several minutes, trying to think of how to answer. Truthfully, if I’m indicted, I could be sent to prison. I think she knows that, and if she doesn’t, I don’t want to tell her. The
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