A New Dawn Ch. 10

Hi folks. This is a continuation of Ch. 9, with even more and greater implausibilities (no extra charge). Note: there is no sex in this chapter, so if that's what you're after, scroll on. Not that I'm against sex in my stories; if you read my prior works you'll see that. It just didn't work out that way in this one.

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The President of the United States offered a ride to the airport, which they gratefully accepted. Johnny was in the car with him and they were swapping Ranger stories; the girls were packed into a following car.

They got to Dulles and the President, his detail, and Johnny got out of the car. They shook hands.

"It was fine, really fine to meet you, Johnny. Come back any time."

"It was fine to meet you as well, sir. Thank you for everything, sir."

The President rolled his eyes. "I'm not going to tell you again, Lieutenant. Call me 'Rob.'"

"Yes, sir."

It was at that point that Johnny heard a very distinctive sound from behind. He moved fast and barreled the President down to the ground, and thereby took a shot to the back. Rifle or pistol, he wasn't sure, but either way, it worked. He faded out.

He woke up in a hospital bed, with things attached to him and... going into him. Dawn was in a chair next to the bed, crying.

"Baby," he said.

She ran to the bed and kissed his cheek. "Johnny! Oh, my God. My God! We thought we'd lost you."

"No, it was a good try, but I'm still here."

"Everybody else is waiting outside. Meyer and Buddy are on their way. The people here say that it's going to be a while before you can safely fly."

"I..." and passed out.

When he woke up, a nurse was there. "There's someone who wishes to see you, Mr. Rand."

"Call me Johnny," he croaked. "Send them in, please."

In came the President, and his detail, and somebody that he didn't recognize.

"Hi, Johnny," the President said. "How do you feel?"

"A little punk, sir."

"I'm going to say this only one more time, and if you violate it, I'll have you shot. Again. I have guys over there who can do it. Fucking call me 'Rob.'"

"Okay, Mr... Rob."

"Johnny, I'm fairly certain that you saved my life at the airport. I don't know how to thank you for that."

"Whatever. Rangers lead the way."

"Hooah. I do have someone else here who would like to thank you. May I bring the rest of your family in here? They're waiting in the hall, or lobby, or whatever you call it."

"Of course. I'd love to see them."

A detail member brought in Mary Beth, Jay, Jenny, and Kimmy. Kimmy ran to the bed.

"Kimmy, no!! No jumping!"

She stopped at the bedrail and just looked at Johnny, and started crying.

He brushed her hair from her face. "I'm okay, Kimmy. I just may be moving slowly for a while."

The President made a gesture. The guy that Johnny didn't recognize walked up to the bed.

"Mr. Rand? I'm Jim Murray. I'm the director of the Secret Service."

"Good to meet you, sir."

"Call me 'Jim,' please. For what you did, we're on a first name basis."

"Okay. Johnny."

"Johnny. In the presence of your family and the President of the United States, I hereby declare you to be an honorary member of the Secret Service and Presidential detail. With all the rights and privileges thereof. Of which, I'm sorry to say, we have none. But I'm going to work on it."

"Thank you, si... Jim."

"I looked you up. I know your background, Mr. Ranger sniper and police guy. Tell you what: if you want to be more than just an honorary Secret Service member, it could be arranged."

Johnny grinned, and then his eyes rolled up. An alarm that was attached to him started beeping. Hospital people ran into the room.

"Clear out of here!" a nurse yelled.

"This man is the President of the United States," a member of the detail said.

"I don't give a shit! Get the fuck out of here, right now!" Then, louder, "CRASH CART!!"

Two days later, the girls were all allowed back into Johnny's room. Nobody had asked why there were so many of them. It was likely assumed that they were members of the extended family. Dawn sat closest to the bed.

"Never fucking do this again," she said. "Ever. In fact, quit the damned police job. Because this could happen. Again."

"She's got a point," President Rob said from the doorway. "You seem to live a life of danger."

"I..." Johnny started, and then began coughing. Including some blood.

"Nurse!" the President yelled.

Turned out to be nothing much, but Johnny was tired as hell and couldn't really talk.

Dawn said, "The President has had armed Secret Service agents protecting your room. You've got a friend in high places."

From the hallway, "Get out of my way! Let me the fuck in!!"

"Sir, stand down, or we will take you down."

Mary Beth stood up and walked to the door. "It's okay. He's a friend. Better than a friend." And they let Buddy through.

"Stupid," he said. "I thought the Rangers taught you how to avoid bullets." He took Johnny's hand.

"I was trying to be more like you," Johnny croaked.

"Really," Buddy said. "Are you going to be okay?"

"I have no idea. But they're taking good care of me so far."

"Should be. You've had the President's personal physician here to oversee things. You should already be up and about. You pussy."

Johnny laughed and coughed up more blood. The girls were seriously upset but didn't know what to do, other than to call a nurse in again.

"I'm sorry, Johnny," Buddy said, still holding Johnny's hand. "As a combat medic, I should know better than to aggravate the problem."

"It's okay. I'm glad you're here. Thank you for coming, brother. Thank you."

"Are you fucking kidding me? Nothing could keep me away. Except maybe those two Secret Service guys outside." He looked up. "Sorry for saying 'fucking,' Kimmy."

Tears were streaming down her face, and she said nothing.

The nurse told them that Johnny was scheduled for exploratory surgery in the morning, and that it would be as minimally invasive as possible. The bullet had been a through and through and hadn't harmed anything major as far as they could tell aside from nicking a lung. Which would probably heal on its own, given time. But they didn't want to take any chances, so they were going to have a look see.

"I don't want surgery," he said. "Do you really want to mess up this pretty body?"

"Do what she fucking says," Mary Beth said. "Period."

Long pause. "Okay."

Outside the room, the nurse said, "You're quite the family. How are you all related?"

"Closely," Jay said. "Closely."

"Tell us about the surgery, please," Mary Beth said.

The nurse called for the on-staff resident, and he came up to talk with them.

"Well, I can't really tell you much, because I'm not going to be doing it. The President's doctor will be overseeing it. But I think I can guess. First, they'll put him under. Then, they'll run a camera into the wounds. And depending on what they find, it could get more major. But hopefully not."

"What can we do?" Jenny said. "Donate blood, or something?"

"You can go back to your home, or hotel, or wherever you're staying. And wait." He handed her a card. "I'll be here tomorrow. I won't be in on the op, but I'll know everything about what happens. Call me, or I'll call you. The Secret Service guys have your contact information. Go get some sleep."

So they did. Except for Dawn. She elected to sleep in a chair next to Johnny's bed, with Kimmy on her lap.

The looksee went well. No arteries hit. Just a little nick on one lung. And shock. When you're hit by a bullet, shock happens. It's a hydrostatic thing.

The next morning Johnny was up and walking the corridors with Dawn. The Secret Service was following him around. He found it kind of creepy, and told them to go downstairs and get some breakfast. Their facial expressions didn't move, and neither did they.

"Sir, if we let something happen to you, the President would have us killed. And probably sectioned and quartered."

So they all walked.

Two days later he was cleared to leave the hospital and cleared to fly home. He declined the traditional wheelchair exit and he and Dawn walked downstairs to pay the bill. The woman at the desk looked up his record, and then looked at him, and said, "Are you kidding?"

"No, not kidding. I just want to pay and go home."

The woman leaned back in her chair. "Your bill, assuming you wind up with one, is being covered by the President of the United States. In full. And, if I might add, I fully support that."

A member of the security detail lingering behind Johnny and Dawn said, "Sir, we have a car ready to take you wherever you need to go."

"I don't know where that is."

"We're at the Watergate, Johnny," Dawn said. "Pricey, but it was close to you."

"The Watergate it is, ma'am," the lead agent said. "Into the car you go, sir."

"The President and I have established a protocol for these interactions. I'm Johnny."

"Okay, Johnny. Into the car you go, sir."

The Watergate Complex name is of course renowned and associated with a particularly bad chapter of American history. But the hotel itself is simply renowned for being great.

"They have a wonderful bar, Johnny," Dawn said on the way there. "Like, a million bottles of whiskey on the wall."

"I can't drink," he said. "For I don't know how long. They'll tell me, I guess."

When they all got to the hotel, Meyer was waiting. He hugged Johnny.

"My flights were both delayed, or I would have been here sooner. What in the actual fuck did you think you were doing?"

"Same thing as every day, Pinky. Trying to take over the world."

"They pay people to protect the President. Why did you take it upon yourself?"

"Can we go up to the room for this? I'm really tired."

They all helped Johnny up to the room and forced him to lie down in a bed.

"Meyer, we got out of the limo and I heard the sound of a gun being racked. I don't know whether it was a pistol or a small rifle. I just reacted."

"It was a pistol. A 9 millimeter. They caught the guy pretty much right away. Johnny, you saved the life of the President of the United States."

"At a cost," Johnny said. "I feel like shit. Meyer, you're in charge of the company, such as it is, for the foreseeable future."

"Done. And done. And we have two nurses waiting for you when you get home."

"Are they cute?"

"Johnny!" Dawn said.

"Kidding."

"How many times were you shot as a Ranger?" Meyer said.

"None."

"And twice since. You might want to consider another line of work."

"I second that," Dawn said.

"Okay, this is stupid," Johnny said. "The first time was trying to save Dawn. This time was purely reactionary. I'm where I need to be. Once I get out of this bed."

"He may have a point," Buddy said. "You have people who depend upon you. Girls who love you. And now, a young girl that you've committed to caring for. You can run the company from an office, or from home. You've got people who can do the tough work."

Johnny was silent for a time. Then, "I'll think about it. But I've always been where the action is. I'm not sure I can walk away from that."

"Crawl away, more likely, given your condition," Buddy said.

"Some brother you are," Johnny said.

Buddy walked to the bed and took Johnny's hand.

"I am your brother. And I always will be. No matter what."

"Hooah," Johnny said, and fell asleep.

The flights home were uneventful. The ride home was uneventful. Johnny was beginning to like uneventful. He and the girls all got into their Santa Monica home. They brought him water, and grapes which he didn't want, and sat with him.

"You didn't eat on the plane," Jay said. "You have to eat something."

"Not hungry."

"You will eat something, or I will whip you," Nurse #1 said.

"Is that a promise?"

Smirk. "You need to eat. I can make you a protein shake. There's all the stuff here to do it."

"Tomorrow," Johnny said. "Right now, I just need to sleep." And true to form, he passed out on the couch.

Two months later...

"The President is coming to Los Angeles and requests the pleasure of your company," Christine said. "If you're up for it."

"I'm fine. I'm back to doing calisthenics and katas and if he wants me there, I'm there. Although, I don't know why he would."

"Me neither," Christine said. "Oh. Cara called. She's still in Ireland. She heard what happened. She said that she's very proud of you, and also very worried."

"You told her that I'm okay, right?"

"Yep. And passed her along to Mary Beth, who told her everything, I assume."

"Good deal. Please tell the President's people that I'll be there, wherever there is."

"I'll text you the info. He's asked that your 'family' be there as well."

"Okay. You and your daughter please come as well. I don't know what this is, but there should be good food and stuff."

"Yessir. Oh. The President requested that you come in your class A uniform. Do you still have that?"

"I do. But why?"

"Didn't say. Make you look all official, I guess."

Johnny showered and got dressed and found that there were two limos waiting. The driver of the first rig got out.

"Sir, we're here to take you to the President."

"Okay."

"We have two limos because we were told that there were a number of other family members we needed to bring."

The girls all came out of the house and the limo driver's mouth dropped open. He ran to open the doors.

"Rough life," the limo driver said to Johnny.

"Sometimes," he said.

"Ladies and gentlemen, the President of the United States."

Everyone in the room stood and clapped. The President went to the podium and waved them all back down. Johnny's girls were all in the front row, including Kimmy.

"I have a lot to say," the President said. "But pro forma, I'm not going to."

The room chuckled as they were expected to do. The TV crews were on pins and needles.

"Mr. Rand, please come forward."

Johnny froze.

"That's an order, Johnny. C'mere."

Jonny got up and walked up onto the stage. And walked next to the President.

Who returned to the mic. "By my order, and with the blessing of Congress, I am hereby promoting lieutenant Rand to captain Rand, retired."

There was the obligatory applause as the President replaced Johnny's insignia.

"Thank you, Mr... Rob." And he started toward the stairs.

"Johnny, stand fast. There's one more thing."

He halted. And turned back.

The President's wife came out from backstage. Holding something.

"Mr. Rand."

"Johnny."

She smiled. "Okay, Johnny. Guess what? You're about to be medaled."

She held up what was in her hands and placed it over Jonny's neck. And kissed his cheek.

"Ladies and gentlemen, it gives me the greatest pleasure to convey upon Johnny Rand the Medal of Freedom."

The crowd went crazy.

"As you well know," the President said, "I'd be dead if not for him. But we also did deep background into his life in the military, and as a cop, and other things he's been asked to do since he retired. Johnny upholds the highest standards of the Army, of the Rangers, and of the Los Angeles Police Department."

Applause.

"Johnny, at this point, you're supposed to say something," the President said.

"Thanks."

"I am so fucking proud of you," Kimmy said as she hugged him. "But mostly, I am so fucking glad that you're alive."

Nobody tried to castigate her language.

"You really need to find another line of work, Johnny."

He ruffled her hair. "I've been hearing that a lot lately."

"Maybe you should listen."