Recovery of a Hero Ch. 19

Chris nodded his head and turned to Amanda and held out his hand. She just stepped up to him and gave him a hug and said, "Thank you for helping my friend."

Chris said, "He's my friend too. I've known him for years and I knew his dad too. He used to help my mom and dad years ago and I've never forgotten. Just watch out cause he thinks he's still tough."

She laughed and hugged him again. When she let him go, Chris said, "Wait a moment. I forgot one thing."

He went back in to his house then came back out with a box.

"Here you go," he said. "Put this in the fridge and enjoy."

Amanda took the box and showed me what was in it. Three more of his blueberry pies. I just shook my head at Chris as he waved and went back in.

When Amanda had the pies put away and was sitting down, I started up the bus and pulled out. I didn't even feel the tug from the trailer as we drove up to the road, but I sure felt it when I stopped. That thing was really loaded!

We got on the road and headed back for Tacoma. It took us about three hours with the load we had but the traffic was lite for the most part.

I took the exit for the hospital where Amanda's mother was and drove to it.

When we got there, I took my sword cane with me but used the chair. That leg of mine was hurting again and I wasn't interested in any unneeded walking.

We went up to Amanda's mothers room. She was asleep when we got there, so Amanda went in and sat next to her bed.

I think we were there for about half an hour before she woke up and saw Amanda.

She looked bad. Much worse than the last time, I figured she was down to hours now, or maybe minutes.

While I waited, I called Reach and told him where I was. He gave me a bit of good news for a change and told me that he'd gotten in contact with Janice and had her appointed as the girls guardian. She was still mad at me but was willing to help.

I told Reach that I was going to stay here till the end so Amanda could have this last bit of time with her mother and then I would take care of the burial and such. He told me that it was already taken care of. My boss had stepped in and made sure of it.

I thanked him and told him I'd be in touch when I got to Everett so he could make the arrangements for Amanda to be taken to Janice.

That done, I hung up and waited.

We'd were there for a bit over three hours when Amanda came out and said her mom wanted to talk to me.

I went in to her bed while Amanda waited outside.

The woman looked at me and said, "Thank you for taking care of my daughter. She's all I have and I was so worried about her. All her things were picked up by the woman you were here with before and she said that it would be picked up by someone named Reach."

I said, "He works for the same man I do so don't worry. When I leave, I'm taking Amanda to where my daughters live. I won't be able to take care of her for awhile, but the woman who's caring for my girls will make sure she's fine. She won't have to worry about anything now and she'll be safe."

The woman swallowed and said, "I met a woman named Janice yesterday. She came to visit and told me about you. She said that Amanda would be welcome with her for as long as she wanted to stay."

I nodded and said, "Janice is a fine woman. If I was twenty years or so younger and she was single I'd be chasing her until either she said yes or I died of it. Her and her family are really special. Her little sister will make sure that Amanda isn't lonely either. She's as special as Janice."

"Thank you for all you've done," she said. "I know that Amanda is in good hands now."

"Don't worry about her. She'll be fine," I told her. "She may take awhile to adjust but she'll be fine."

The woman nodded and asked for me to get Amanda. I wheeled myself back out to the hall and told her her mother wanted her now.

She went back in. About fifteen minutes later, the monitors in the room went off with all kinds of alarms and Amanda started crying.

I stayed out of the way of the rush as the flood of medical people started. One of the nurses brought Amanda out to me while the rest started unhooking the machines.

I pulled Amanda into my lap and asked the nurse to take us somewhere private. She took us to a small staff break room and left us after saying that we'd be left alone for as long as we wanted to stay.

All I could do at that point was hold Amanda and let her cry it out. I new how much she hurt from loosing my father and youngest sister. Some pain just can't be talked about and this was one of the worst. It really hurts to loose someone you care about and it's worse for the young.

Amanda cried for a long time and finally fell asleep with her arms around my neck. I just sat there and held her for awhile and let her sleep.

I don't know how long I sat there holding here, but when she woke up she started to apologize.

"Don't worry," I said. "You didn't do anything to be sorry about. I know exactly how you feel. I lost my father a few years ago so I know."

Amanda didn't say anything but nodded.

"OK," I said. Time to go get something to eat and hit the road. Your mother is taken care of so we need to get moving. My friend that you'll be staying with will bring you back for the funeral."

"How will I pay for that?" she asked. "We didn't have any money and we don't even own our home."

"That's taken care of," I said. "Don't worry about it. The arrangements are done and paid for. All you have to do is go to my friends. She'll bring you back for the funeral,"

We left the hospital after that and went to a small restaurant to eat. Amanda didn't eat much, she just sat there mostly and picked at her food.

I didn't blame her so I didn't say anything. When I'd finished, I just had her meal put into a to go box and payed the check with a good tip for the waitress. She asked me what was wrong with Amanda so I told her about her mother.

The woman said, "I'm sorry." She walked over to Amanda and hugger her and talked to her for a bit before she came back.

I thanked her for her courtesy and left.

Amanda helped me get loaded into the bus and we got going to head for Everett.

Using the headphone set up that came with the cell phone, I called Reach and told him we were on the way. He told me that Janice would be waiting at his office in about two hours. I told him that it would probably be closer to three before we got there. I told Reach that I didn't want to push the bus hard because I wasn't familiar it.

He agreed and we made arrangements to meet when I got there.

It ended up taking about two and a half hours to get to Everett so I stopped for a quick snack for Amanda. This time she ate what we got. While she was eating I called Reach to tell him that we'd be at his office in about forty five minutes or so. He said that Janice would be there and hung up.

When Amanda was done, we got back into the bus and drove to the building where Reach had his office. I saw my van sitting there when I drove by. That made me nervous as I didn't want to see the kids and let them know that I was alive. That would ruin my disappearance completely.

Parking about a block from the building, I had Amanda get all her stuff together and we went to the building. When we got there, Janice was waiting inside the door.

I wheeled myself in with Amanda right behind me. Janice just glared at me for a moment then bent over to hug me.

"She whispered, "I haven't told the girls about what's going on so this will be a bit of a surprise when I get home. I hope it's a good one because they're still upset about you."

I said, "I'm really sorry to put them through that, but it is necessary. This takes me out of the picture so I can do something about the people behind what happened to your parents and what almost happened to Sally. I promise you that I will get them no matter what it takes. I love you all and I'm going to stop this."

Janice stood up and said, "Then take them. I want the ones who killed my parents and tried to kill my little sister and I want them on a platter."

This was a side to Janice I hadn't seen before. I had never seen her look so angry, even when she'd found out that her parents had been murdered.

Shaking my head, I said, "Remind me to never get you this mad at me. I may not be able to get them on a platter, but I will get them. I don't care who they are. Going after a thirteen year old girl is just a bit much and what they did to her is something that I won't forgive ever."

Janice nodded and walked over to Amanda. She held out her hand and said, "I met your mother yesterday and I'm sorry for your loss. I promise you that you will always have a home with my family for as long as you want."

Amanda put her suitcase down and took Janice's hand and said, "My mom told me about meeting you. She said that she liked you and wished she'd had time to get to know you better."

That's when Amanda broke down again. She started crying and Janice hugged her.

Reach came out of an elevator and walked over to me while Janice was trying to comfort Amanda.

He said quietly, "I got it all set up. She's your cousin. I'll explain it all to her later."

I thanked him and told him, "Make sure she understands that she can't talk to any body about me. I know it was a risk to do this but sometimes you just have to go all in. I couldn't leave her once I knew her story and I really don't like CPS."

"After that bit when we met, I don't either," Reach said. "I'll make sure that she understands she can't talk about what happened while she was with you. I'll tell her as little as possible, but I'll make sure that she understands that talking about you could get you killed."

"Don't put that kind of load on her," I said. She's been through a very bad experience. Just tell her that I need her to keep quiet so I can do my job to help Janice. I told her about the attacks on Sally and the parent's so she knows why."

Reach glared at me and asked, "Was that wise?"

I nodded and said, "I think so. I also gave her a small hand gun. Make sure she knows how to use it. Send that woman who works for you if possible. Teach my girls to, for that matter. If possible, teach them all. They might need it."

Reach nodded and handed me three more cell phones.

He said, "These are the same thing you have except that they have the other two added as secure communication when you speed dial them. I'm one, the boss is two and three is my coroner. Number four is set for one of the others and so is five. If you use them they are automatically scrambled.

Thanking him, I said, "If I need anything else I'll let you know. I'll let Bear and Hawk know too."

Reach left me then and walked over to Janice. I looked at the three of them and wondered if I'd ever see them again. I hoped so but I knew that in this kind of work there was never any sure thing.

Wheeling myself out the door, I went back to my bus and drove to the rest area where I was supposed to meet my partners. They should have been there by now. I knew that they wouldn't worry about me being late as they knew what I had been doing.

This wasn't going to be the best way to meet up with old friends, but I was glad to be seeing them again. We'd worked together for a long time while in the service.

This ends chapter 19. Eldarin will continue the story in 20.

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Due to ill health, I was unable to keep up with this story. I am now working on getting caught up. I apologize for the delay in the posting of the newest chapter.