Curtis Woodman Ch. 03

Her thumb across the sensor on her cell unlocked it.

She managed to say, "Call Maggie." and used the few seconds the cellphone searched and dialed Maggie's number to close her eyes and try to force her body to relax, even if that only lasted a few seconds. Ruth coughed, blood now rested on her lap and across her phone.

Maggie's happy go lucky voice left the cell phone via the speaker. "Hey Ruth, I was just getting dinner ready for my man, what's up?"

"Maggie, we need help. Ambushed, Curtis is bleeding badly. Struggling to stay conscious myself."

Her friend's gasp came clearly over the speaker before Maggie screamed down the phone. "STOP TALKING." The officer's wife came out in Maggie just then and Ruth thanked the Gods. "Ruth honey, let us do all the work from here okay? You just stay focused on breathing, stay calm. But don't you dare cut this call off."

Ruth found herself meekly saying, "Okay" to her friend.

She heard her friend take a deep breath. "Ruth, do you have any idea where you are?"

Her eyes slowly scanned the area for anything she could recognize. Frustration built within her when nothing seemed familiar. She was lost.

"I'm sorry Maggie; Curtis wouldn't let me out of the foot well, until he felt it safe to do so. He kept taking turn after turn. I just don't recognize anything other than the big tree he ran into."

Ruth vaguely heard the odd word that Maggie was saying to her husband and just as vaguely heard bits and pieces of activity in the background. Her eyes were heavy; she knew that if she lost consciousness now, both stood no chance of surviving this.

"Ruth? Ruth listen too me; Freddy is going to ping both Curtis's and your phone. You need to tell me if you hear it ping. Stay awake Ruth, this is important."

She nodded in agreement of what she was being asked to do, then smiled at the fact that no one would see her nod.

"Okay Maggie, will try."

For such a long time all she could hear was the sound of night activity returning to where the now wrecked car had ended up. The ping was there, she heard it. Tears rolled down her cheeks, her friends would come soon, Curtis would survive, but she still desperately prayed for the life of her unborn child.

"I heard it Maggie, I heard it."

"Ruth, listen to me. Armed Police officers are on their way to you now; ambulance and fire are close behind."

"NO. Keep them away Maggie; they were armed officers when they pulled us over. Curtis smelled a rat and sped away. We should already be dead now if it wasn't for my husband. I have Curtis's gun in my hand Maggie, they turn up, they die with us."

All Ruth heard was Maggie pulling the phone from her ear and instinctively placing her hand over the phone. Odd words could be heard but muffled and distant.

The voice was calm, but Ruth could feel the sadness barely held in check behind it. "Ruth. Freddy wants to know if you have ever been told the Units authentication code?"

Her mind was in such a mess. It hurt so much to concentrate, she felt something trickle down and over her lips, she let go of the gun resting on her lap, to wipe the blood from her face. Then from that furthest point in her memory a small light drifted to the front of her thoughts, she smiled and wanted so much the kiss her husband for sharing that one word with her.

"Yes Maggie, it begins with B."

The relief in Maggie's voice reached across the distance between them. She heard her cry in relief. "Yes, it does. Freddy is on the phone to the officers on their way to you Ruth. They won't relinquish their firearms, but the lead officer will call out that word as he approaches you. Do you understand Ruth?"

It was time to be honest with her friend. "Maggie?"

"Yes Ruth?"

Ruth tried so hard to suppress a sob and failed. "Maggie. I can't feel our baby anymore."

*******

Freddy phoned the boss and relayed all that he knew, including Ruth's doubts on the survival of the baby. Stay at home texts were sent to each member of the Unit, the Prime Minister was woken three hours later and given the news. He phoned the boss for more information and got very little in return. The Police had cordoned off the scene of the ambush and the crash site, lights were raised to tree height, turning the crime scene into daylight and forensics got involved.

The hospital was ordered to initially place husband and wife in the same room. The staff were told it was for joint moral support, but the fact an armed Police Officer stood outside the door from the very beginning told everybody a different story.

Maggie swung by the boat club. On the insistence of Freddy, Ashley was armed and by her side when she picked up Becky from Sarah and Gil before meeting her husband at the Unit's building. The stay-at-home texts meant little to nothing to the people of the Unit once they had found out their boss and his wife were in hospital. Two of the wives drew the short straws and babysat the whole group of children while the rest followed their husbands into the Unit's building.

Freddy sat them all down and broke the news properly, and then answered their questions as best he could, until one of the wives asked how the baby was doing? That's when the husband in Freddy overrode the second in command.

"At the moment, we just don't know. All we are being told is that the next five hours or so, are critical. Ruth is having blood taken out of her and put back, in almost hourly slots; she's been scanned, prodded and poked by various members of the hospital staff. So if you're of a religious persuasion, I suggest you stick your hands together and pray like you never have before."

The wives understood. They stood and kissed their husband before saying goodbye. Each of the wives knew they may not see their menfolk again until this was over. One of their own was down; they would all stop to pick him and his wife up.

*******

Maggie's hand was being crushed, but she gladly ignored the pain for the sheer joy of seeing her friend smile for the first time since all this had happened. The pad once again slid over Ruth's baby bump and stopped as the scan recorded her child move into a more comfortable position.

The tests were still hourly, but a new word was entered into the conversation now: Hope.

Armed with a picture of her baby, Maggie wheeled Ruth into Intensive care. Curtis was still listed as critical. The tubes going in and out of him could attest to that being true. The constant ping and zig zag lines on the machines keeping him alive so his body could rest and recover kept Maggie's attention, while Ruth placed the baby picture on the cabinet beside his bed. She spent a moment or two on the angle of the picture. If he woke, she wanted it to be the first thing her husband would see.

The Prime Minister sent for General Brownlow. The General's car pulled into Downing Street and he was ushered directly into the Prime Ministers private quarters. An hour later his car left and was pointed in the direction of the Unit's barracks.

Freddy was just placing the phone back onto the cradle when the General's car pulled up outside the building. He got to the door as the general was taking the steps two at a time, a civilian followed him.

"Freddy, please find JoJo. We will meet you both in your office."

He didn't wait for Freddy's salute so didn't return it when Freddy had his hand halfway to his forehead. Ten minutes later both Freddy and JoJo came into his office, this time salutes were made and exchanged.

"JoJo, when I finish talking, go and get changed into civilian. I'm sending you back to 12th Intel. They have been told to render any help you ask for. If you get any problems, then phone me, and if I can't shut down the moron that gets in your way, I will call the Prime Minister."

"Yes Sir."

General Brownlow then leaned his head towards the civilian standing against the wall of the office.

"This is Mister McFarland of MI6. His going with you. His counterpart at MI5 will meet you both at 12th Intel's barracks. You have one order, and it comes personally from the Prime Minister. Find the people that ambushed Curtis and his wife. Find out where they are in the world now and report that information directly to me. You will NOT phone, but you will come to me and tell me. Am I very clear on this Lieutenant Carmichael?"

JoJo stood as stiff as a board, then saluted the General and with a "Yes Sir." Then added. "Sir, request permission to visit and speak to Ruth Woodman."

The MI6 man uncrossed his arms and placed his hands into his pockets. His interest in the conversation now peaked.

The General looked closely at JoJo; she wasn't backing down.

"Why?"

JoJo lowered her head towards the general and looked directly at him; her voice remained clipped as she spoke. "She's a living breathing witness, Sir. I could spend days if not weeks looking in the wrong direction for these people. I know Ruth Woodman will have a clue to who these people are, locked in her head. To find these people and quickly, I need that, what may be to her, insignificant piece of information."

The General looked at Mister McFarland and he nodded his head. General Brownlow then looked at JoJo and did the same. JoJo then turned and left the room; McFarland detached himself from the wall and followed JoJo.

The General's attention was now directed at Freddy. "My apologies Freddy, I'm not trying to step on your toes, but the Prime Minister is absolutely livid about this. He wants to know if the attack was directed at Curtis or his wife."

The pause was only so he could let out a breath before he added. "And on British soil as well."

This time he leaned back in Freddy's chair and said. "He also wants to know why Curtis had a loaded weapon on him in the first place."

Freddy was silently simmering; this finally left him no choice. "Might I remind you Sir, if Curtis wasn't carrying, then they both would be dead right now. The reason was because his wife had told Curtis that she felt she was being followed. Curtis notified me he was taking his Sig from the armory and he and his wife went over the route she traveled this evening to see if anything jogged her memory. We both know how that worked out for them, don't we Sir?"

General Brownlow let out a sigh, and then leaned forward to rest his arms on the desk. "I get the feeling, the body count on this is going to be high, isn't it Freddy?"

The tension left Freddy, more so when the General waved at the seat in front of his own desk.

Freddy sat looking directly at the general and said. "I think it will Sir. I'm already having trouble holding the men back, as well as the wives." Freddy shook his head. "I've never seen anything like it, Sir. They effectively threw their men out of the house and told them not to come back until this is settled. To them, Sir, because someone took pot shots at Ruth, they have all taken it personally."

General Brownlow nodded his head, then stood. Freddy did the same and followed the general out of the building, both stood by his car.

"I will do my best to keep the Prime Minister off your back. We need to give JoJo time, something that isn't in abundance at the moment, we both know that. They botched the killing of either one or both of them; my gut tells me they're ducking for cover and pulling a fail-safe alibi up behind them."

He watched Freddy nod his head in agreement. The longer this went on, the safer the people who ambushed Ruth and Curtis would be, not to mention the person who paid them to do it.

"Have the press got ahold of this yet, Sir?"

Freddy watched the General visibly shudder. "God no, that's all we need. The Prime Minister, with the help of the Home Office, have placed a D notice on this straight away. The Police Commissioner has been told this falls under the official secrets act. He's been briefed, of course, and he's only trickling certain parts of this nightmare down to his own senior officers. It's the gun battle at the ambush site; forensics are still counting the damned shell casings."

The General had his hand on the car door before he turned and looked once again at Freddy.

"I've seen pictures of Curtis's car. How either one of them are still alive is a true-blue miracle." The general moved to get into the car and then stopped; he turned once again to Freddy. "A lot of the rounds penetrated Curtis's side of the vehicle; he was keeping him and the car between them and his wife. Says allot about the man, don't you think?"

Freddy agreed with the General. Both Maggie and he had watched from the sidelines as the romance stuttered, but with the aid of that little girl, it blossomed and took on a real life of its own. Curtis was a changed man now he not only had a wife, but a family as well. As the General had already pointed out, he would put his own life on the line to keep both his girls safe, not to mention the growing life inside her.

JoJo and Mister McFarland came out minutes later. JoJo dropped her bag and as she hugged her boss, she whispered so McFarland couldn't hear her.

"I'll find them boss. They made this personal, now it's our turn to make it very personal."

Freddy watched as their car moved away from the building, Ashley joined him as the car left the camp. After a moment, they both went back inside.

It would be some weeks before anyone would hear from or see JoJo again.

*******

The private jet landed at ten in the morning, the orders for it were unusual but not uncommon. The car that was to meet the jet had arrived an hour before hand. Other than security at the gate, no one had seen the driver, and no one even knew if there was more than one person in the car due to the tinted windows.

Security told the driver where to park, and it just sat and waited. No one got out and the windows were never lowered.

When the jet came to a halt and the engines finally came to a stop, the car moved away from its position and pulled up alongside the jet. One person got out of the jet, carrying an overnight bag and sat in the seat next to the driver. As the car pulled away a fuel tanker pulled up and re-fueled the jet. Within the hour the jet had left British airspace and wasn't seen again at the Royal Air Force base.

Base security lifted the gate as the car approached; it turned right and joined the traffic. Both the men went back into the security hut where an officer stood waiting for them.

"Nothing happened for the last two hours, you have all been on duty and seen nothing out of the ordinary. This guard duty has been as boring as yesterday's, and the day before that. Are we clear on this gentleman?"

As one voice, the words "Yes Sir" rang out in the room.

The officer dismissed the airmen and left. They stood and looked at each other for a moment before shrugging their shoulders.

One of the security detail said, as he sat on his bunk. "I had one of these last year, turns out it was some fancy pop star trying to avoid the press and some awkward questions about her boyfriend's taste in men."

The rest of the group laughed and orders for tea and coffee, and who wanted sugar took over the conversation. The lone plane was nothing more than a fading memory by the time their replacements arrived; it wasn't even mentioned in the handover.

*******

Freddy was leaning against the door frame of the building; security had phoned ahead and told him that his vehicle had returned. It stopped outside and Freddy smiled as a familiar face once again graced the building.

Freddy shook his hand. "It's good to have you back Rick, I just wish it was under better circumstances."

Although Rick knew the way, he let Freddy lead. Nothing was said until both got back to his office, and even then, it was general chatter until they both had a coffee in their hands.

It was only when they both sat down that Freddy said. "My apologies for not letting you know about Curtis, Rick. But we're all under orders here at the moment. To be honest, even I didn't know you were coming until four hours before your flight landed."

They both heard the door and looked up; JoJo was standing with her back to the now closed door. This was the first time Freddy had seen her in almost two months. She looked pale. JoJo's cheek bones were more pronounced than usual. Her eyes had a shade about them that left little doubt that she hadn't slept, or generally looked after herself too well in that time.

"Thank you for coming Halo. I need your help."

Both men were out of their seats and now either side of JoJo as her knees started to give out on her.

Freddy pulled the door open and yelled, "MAGGIE" down the corridor, before both men helped JoJo to one of the seats. The already half open door flew open so swiftly that it crashed against the wall, with Maggie standing in the open space, and Ashley standing behind her. We all watched as JoJo pulled on Rick's sleeve, until his eyes met hers.

"I have a plan Rick, but I need you here with me. We can do this Rick, but I can't get it past Brownlow. He says it's ridiculous and won't even take it to the Prime Minister. We have to show him Rick. We've done this before so I know we can again, but he simply won't believe we can do it."

Maggie looked at her husband and nodded to him. Freddy reached under JoJo and took her weight in his arms, confirming his own worries. JoJo placed her arms around her boss's neck and sobbed tears born of frustration, and bone aching tiredness. Maggie took the lead and already had her cot ready when Freddy came in with her.

He turned and left as Maggie and Ashley were pulling clothes off of JoJo, who was now asleep in their arms. Maggie joined her husband in his office an hour later. She did nothing more than walk in and sit on his lap. Nothing sexual, she just needed the closeness that this position gave her.

"Between Ashley and I, we bed bathed her. I got Bradley to bring any energy drinks and meals he had in his medical bag, or anything that would be considered a secret stash in this place. Bradly took one look at her and wanted to put her out for the day at least. I think JoJo would have killed him if he had done that, so we settled on sticking high energy meals and drinks into her when she wakes."

Freddy nodded his head in agreement with his wife; he did wonder what the General was playing at. Any plan, no matter how ridiculous, should at least be tossed onto the table. With the whole group looking at it, and even chipping things in, many a plan has turned from stupid to workable when the right people look at it from every angle.

But for now, all they could all do was wait. JoJo had her plan in her head. It was everybody's decision that they let her sleep. Rick went to the hospital to see Curtis and found Ruth by his bedside with Becky on her lap, or rather, her knees since the baby bump was allot further along now.

Ruth's face lit up when Rick knocked and then entered "Hey Rick, it's been awhile."

Before he could answer an older couple came into the room as well. The woman looked real closely at Rick. He smiled and thought 'momma bear' as the man called out to Becky that it was time to leave now. Rick knelt as Becky closed in on him and they hugged really tight.

"They hurt my daddy uncle Rick, they hurt him real bad."

With three girls of his own it still didn't stop his heart ache for the little girl in his arms pain.

"Your daddies in the right place to get better, Munchkin."

The older woman looked at the man more closely. Becky had only ever allowed Curtis to call her Munchkin, and Sarah had now heard one other, that she had never met before, call her by that very name: a name that Becky would rebuke anyone other than Curtis to call her.

"I love it here Uncle Rick. I love my boat and all my friends, but if they keep hurting my daddy, then momma will want to move away again. Make them stop hurting daddy Uncle Rick, make them please."