Closer (The Unit #1) Read online

  “Check on her for me. Make sure she is all right. Please. I need to know before I can move from this spot.” Michael didn’t care what he was revealing to one of his best friends. He had to know.

  “Hold on, I will run upstairs and check,” Tony said as he made his ways up the stairs and into the guest bedroom. He watched Emma’s chest softly rise and fall. “She’s fine. Sleeping peacefully,” Tony answered his distraught friend.

  “Lizzie’s dead. We didn’t make it in time,” Michael said feeling his gut clench with guilt as he said the dreadful words.

  “Oh. My. God. How is Rob?” Tony was quick to ask.

  “He is in bad shape. I honestly don’t know how he is going to make it back from this,” Michael responded to his friend. “I convinced him to let her go after an hour, and then, finally managed to get him in the back of an ambulance. The last time I saw him, he was being carted away to the hospital.”

  “What can I do?” Tony asked helplessly.

  “Please watch over Emma. Do not let anyone near her. Promise me you will kill whomever tries to come into that house who isn’t me or Steve,” Michael begged his comrade.

  “I will watch over her like she is mine. I promise. Nothing will happen to Emma as long as I’m alive,” Tony reassured a genuinely tormented Michael.

  “Thank you, Tony,” Michael croaked on his own tears. He didn’t even care if Tony could hear him crying. He was so relieved that she was fine, yet he felt such guilt that Rob and Lizzie weren’t.

  Michael ended the call, shaking all feelings from his mind. He had a mission to complete. He began ransacking the bedroom that had been the torture chamber for Lizzie. He knew the crime scene folks from Homeland Security wanted in, but he had to find the information before that could happen. He searched high and low and failed to find anything. Then he thought to flip up the blood and fluid stained mattress Lizzie had been lying on. When he did, he found Emma’s notebooks and the Hummingbird. Confident in recovering the missing items, he turned the room over to the forensics’ team. He took his findings back to the remaining members of the team.

  « Chapter Twenty-Two »

  Kevin was there at the van waiting with Ahmed. Kevin had moved the van to the front of the house where the terrorist were holed up so he could coordinate liaisons with his office and his boss. Michael approached with the information in hand. Of course, he had to tell Kevin everything about Emma’s project, even though Emma wouldn’t be happy with that disclosure. They had needed Kevin’s help, and he had come through in a big way. He knew that one of his best friends wouldn’t let him down, and he knew that he would get the same unwavering support now.

  “Do you have everything?” Kevin asked Michael.

  “Yep. This is everything. We need to get it back to Emma and the DOD before someone realizes it is missing,” Michael said, meeting Kevin’s fixed eyes.

  “Michael. You aren’t going to be happy, but I had to inform my boss of everything to get the help you needed.” Kevin ran a hand through his hair, disappointed that he had let his friend down in this regard.

  “I understand, and I appreciate the risk you took in helping us,” Michael reassured his friend.

  “That’s not the worst of it, Michael,” Kevin cautioned, meeting Michael eye for eye.

  “What? What could be worse than what we found tonight?” Michael asked dejectedly.

  “My boss had to call the DOD and let them know exactly what was happening,” Kevin hesitated knowing that meant Emma could very well lose her job.

  “How the fuck could you let that happen? Emma could lose her job for what she did: sneaking everything out the way she did,” Michael raged, his emotions finally taking hold of him. Tonight, Michael had experienced a wild range of different emotions. Seeing his best friend ruined the way he was, undid him. He couldn’t contain his emotions when it came to the guilt he felt about the fact that Emma was alive but Rob had lost his Lizzie.

  Michael quickly turned from Kevin. He did not want Kevin to see him lose his composure. He stood, his back facing Kevin’s front, and Kevin understood. He waited for Michael to gather himself. He knew what losing Lizzie did to him; he could only imagine what it did to Michael. Kevin had no problem empathizing with Rob; he had a wife at home whom he adored.

  Michael turned back around, determination in his eyes. “She can’t lose her job. It means everything to her.”

  “I will do everything in my power to see to it that that doesn’t happen,” Kevin promised Michael.

  “I know you will, Kevin. I appreciate everything you have done already. I don’t mean to take it out on you or to sound ungrateful. You kept us clean tonight and out of jail. For that, I owe you. If you can keep Emma from losing her job, well, I guess I will owe you even more,” Michael apologized to Kevin. “So? What do we do now?” Michael asked Kevin.

  “Why don’t we check in on Rob? See how he is doing. The next few months, hell years, are going to be the worst of Rob’s life,” Kevin suggested to Michael.

  “Yeah. We will. What about the information?” Michael asked Kevin.

  “Give it to me, and I will make sure it gets back to the DOD.” Kevin motioned for Michael to hand him the information.

  Kevin took Ahmed, Michael, and Steve back to his office. They spent the next four hours in debriefing. Michael confessed everything, even his hand in the attempted kidnapping of Emma, and his reasons for doing it. Michael told Homeland he didn’t want the hundred grand the terrorist deposited in his bank account.

  “Good, because we have to confiscate that money anyway,” Kevin’s boss told Michael.

  “No problem,” Michael said as he wrote down his account number for the man.

  Homeland Security was confident Michael was innocent of any wrong doing and let Steve and him go after an exhausting interview. By the time Steve, Michael, and Kevin left the office, the sun was coming up. They had to check on Rob.

  ∞

  They walked to Kevin’s SUV and got in. Kevin drove the men in silence to UPMS Presbyterian Hospital, which was where Rob had been taken. They asked for directions to Rob’s room from the candy stripper at the information desk.

  “Take the red set of elevators to the ninth floor. Exit and turn left. Your friend is in room 932,” the candy stripper said with a smile. The men attempted their own smiles in return. They followed her direction and stood outside of a closed door to room 932.

  “Excuse me, nurse,” Michael asked the nurse passing by in the hallway.

  “Yes. How can I help you,” she responded.

  “Why is this door closed? We would like to visit our friend,” Michael told her.

  “I am sorry. The doctor is in with him now. As soon as the door opens, you may go in,” she advised the three anxious men.

  The three men remained silent as they leaned up against the wall outside of Rob’s room. No one knew exactly what to say at the gravity of such a loss.

  “How can we even comfort him,” Steve asked, breaking the silence.

  “We stay supportive and listen. We stay positive. We help him through this. We help with the funeral arrangements. When is Lizzie’s body being released?” Michael turned looking to Kevin.

  “The coroner won’t be done with the autopsy for another day or two, so that gives you some time to make the arrangements,” Kevin responded, reflecting Michael’s anxious stare. Michael stood leaning against the wall chewing on his bottom lip thinking about his devastated friend in the room behind the closed door. Suddenly the door opened and the doctor exited.

  Michael, Steve, and Kevin made their way inside the room. Rob had been given a private room, no doubt because of his emotional state. What they saw in the bed shocked them, and that is saying something because these men had seen the other side of hell. Rob smiled as the men walked into the room.

  “What’s with the long faces?” Rob asked clearly in denial of the night before.

  “How are you holding up?” Michael appeased his friend.

  “
They are letting me go. I finally can get home to Lizzie.” Rob said, his eyes smiling. How was Michael going to break the news to Rob a second time; the first time nearly killed him.

  “What do you remember about last night, Rob?” Michael asked.

  “I remember we rescued Lizzie last night, and I am stuck here away from her. Why hasn’t she come to see me?” Rob questioned his friends.

  It was Michael’s job, as Rob’s closest brother, to break the bad news for a second time in as so many hours. “Rob, we found Lizzie last night, but we were too late. She died before we could reach her.” Michael looked to Rob to gauge his emotional reaction. Rob’s smile immediately turned downward. His eyes filled with tears.

  “What do you mean? I held her in my arms. I kissed her head. I stoked her hair,” Rob whispered.

  Michael looked into Rob’s mournful eyes. “Yes you did. But Rob, she was already gone. You were saying goodbye.”

  “Get the fuck out! How can you say such a thing about Lizzie? Get the fuck out, now.” Rob met Michael’s eyes with fierce determination.

  “We are not leaving you. Not right now. Not until we know you won’t do anything stupid,” Michael continued, “We love you, man. We know you are hurting. Let us be here for you, the way you are always there for us. You lost your Lizzie, man. We need to be here for you because we lost her too. She belonged to all of us to protect. We are brothers. I would never, ever, lie to you about something like this.”

  Tears fell silently down Rob’s face. He needed his mother. His mother could make it all right. “Call my mother. Tell her what happened. Tell her I need her. Please,” Rob beseeched Michael. Michael got out his phone and asked for her number.

  A few minutes later Michael turned back to Rob and said, “She is on her way. She will meet you at your house. When are they letting you go?”

  “They are gathering the discharge papers now. There is nothing physically wrong with me,” he laughed a sadistic laugh. Michael looked at a discarded needle in the trash bin, thinking the doctors must have prescribed a sedative. Down the hall they could hear a child crying. He found himself folding a blanket that was falling off Rob’s bed, as if straightening the room would keep Rob safe.

  Michael exchanged looks with his brothers. There were going to have to remain constantly at his side for the next couple of days, or they would be planning another funeral.

  « Chapter Twenty-Three »

  The men made the long thirteen hour drive back to Rob’s house. Michael was excited with nervous energy at the thought of being with Emma again. But then again he felt incredible guilty as his friend rode solemnly in the back seat of the car. They hadn’t talked much on the ride home. There was nothing more to be said that could help Rob with the tragedy of losing Lizzie. Every once in a while, Rob would break down, and they would watch in amazement at how he would pull himself back together again. Over the course of the drive home, it became a vicious cycle. With each break down came tears, punching the car seat in front of him, and curse words directed at his fellow passengers. Michael wondered how long it would be before Rob started blaming Emma and him for Lizzie’s death. They were, after all, the delay in retrieving Lizzie. Were they the reason that ultimately cost her life?

  Michael still had the ability to think rationally. It wasn’t Emma or him that cost Lizzie her life; it was the terrorists. No one could be blamed but the bastards that kidnapped her, raped her, and eventually killed her. Surely Rob would come to see that, although Michael expected he wouldn’t be thinking rationally anytime soon.

  Rob grew angrier and angrier as they drove to his house. His tirades about the failure of his friends were becoming stronger. And then he asked it. He asked the question that everyone was waiting for him to ask.

  “Why didn’t we get to her sooner?” Rob cried, looking at Michael.

  Michael had never lied to his best friend, and he wouldn’t start now. “Remember Rob, we had to drive back to Maine to get the information the terrorists requested and then Emma got kidnapped.”

  “Oh right, saving Emma took precedence over saving Lizzie,” Rob spat back at Michael.

  “Rob,” Michael cautioned, “try to remember exactly what occurred. The same terrorists kidnapped Emma, and we were right there.”

  “Yeah, but you’ve only known Emma for less than a week. What made her more important than getting Lizzie,” Rob asked, his voice raising in volume.

  “We were right there. We couldn’t just let Emma be taken too. We had to do something. I am sorry if you feel like that is in some way responsible for Lizzie’s death,” Michael said, his guilt eating him alive.

  “Stop the car!” Rob ordered as he started to open the door. Steve managed to pull off the side of the highway and slam on the breaks at the same time before Rob had his door completely opened. Once outside, Rob paced back and forth like a caged animal. Michael knew Rob needed to release his feelings of rage, and he was a good enough friend to stick around for his accusations when he knew Rob needed him.

  Michael started to open his car door, but Steve placed a hand on his arm. “You are both my brothers, but I won’t let him kill you,” Steve reassured Michael before he exited the car.

  “You forget who you’re talking to. I won’t let him kill me either,” Michael said, mentally preparing himself for the fight that was about to ensue.

  “You forget. He has nothing to lose,” Steve cautioned Michael.

  “You’re right. Don’t let him kill me,” Michael said. Thinking better of the situation, Michael exited the car.

  Rob ambushed Michael in four long strides. He was in his face before Michael could even catch his breath. This was going to hurt. Rob screamed, muted by the cars passing by at high speeds on the highway, “This is your fault. The reason Lizzie is dead is all your fault!” Rob spat onto Michael’s face. Michael could feel Rob’s warm breath on his check. “If we weren’t so fucking worried about Emma? If you were more concentrated on Lizzie? She would still be alive.” Rob hauled his arm back and jabbed Michael in the stomach.

  Michael bent over at the loss of breath. Rob connected again. This time with an upper-cut to Michael’s jaw. Michael staggered backwards. He would allow his brother a couple more before he started fighting back. Rob stalked forward, his left leg slightly behind his right. His body turned at an angle to Michael’s. Rob connected with Michael’s chest in a chamber punch.

  Michael knew he had to start fighting back soon, or Rob would render him immobilized. Michael steadied himself in a combat stance, left leg behind his right one. He angled his body and went onto his tip toes. He was ready and waiting for Rob to approach again. Michael rationalized, that after a good fight, Rob would have it out of his system and could move onto grieving. Little did Michael know that anger was the second stage in the grief process. Rob was grieving over losing his Lizzie; Rob was grieving over losing his life.

  With Michael at the ready, Rob approached. Rob dodged to the left. Michael swung to the left doing a 360° back turn adding extra momentum to the swing and connected with Rob’s face using a back fist punch. This was a powerful punch that caused Rob to stagger back several steps. Apparently, Rob was only going to allow Michael one punch because he charged for Michael’s legs. Michael fell backwards and landed hard on the asphalt. Michael hit the back of his head on the way down. Rob had Michael pinned and was driving his fist into Michael’s face. Michael bucked his hips trying to rid himself of Rob, but Rob remained steady. Rob bloodied his face and ears until all his fight was gone.

  Steve had decided to intervene about the same time Rob stopped pummeling Michael. Steve helped an exhausted and deflated Rob to his feet. Then he went to Michael’s feet and reached out his hand. It turned out Rob had beat the crap out of Michael and he required Steve to lift him from under his armpits to stand. Once upright, Michael started to stagger disoriented into traffic. Steve caught him and directed him to the backseat of the car. He had left Rob sitting on the hood. Once Michael was secure and passed out i
n the back, Steve walked back to the front and stood in front of Rob. Rob reached out to Steve and pulled him into an intimate embrace. They were brothers; they hugged like brothers for as long as Rob needed. Rob was the one to break away wiping tears from his eyes. He had just beaten the shit out of his best friend, and he knew, beyond a doubt, that that tough son-of-a-bitch let him. Rob was truly humbled.

  They returned to the car and continued their drive, in silence, to Rob’s house. They reached Rob’s house without further incident, only stopping to use the bathroom. Steve checked on Michael occasionally, making sure he was still breathing. He probably needed a hospital, but Rob promised to fix him up when they reached the house. Michael was passed out until about thirty minutes outside of Lewiston when he regained consciousness and tried desperately to sit up.

  “Michael,” Rob exhaled, clearly worried about his best friend. “Look. I know what you did back there for me, and I appreciate it. More than you will ever know,” Rob said humbly to a battered, bloodied, and bruised face, although it was hard to see the damage through all of the blood that caked Michael’s face.

  “Do you feel any better?” Michael coughed mid-sentence from the blood which coated his throat. “No. Now I feel worse for what I did to you,” Rob apologized trying to make eye contact through the tiny slits that served as Michael’s eyes.

  “You didn’t do anything to me I wasn’t willing to let you do. You know me. If I wanted to stop it, I would have,” Michael reassured his friend. “I knew it was coming and decided to meet it head on,” he said trying to catch Rob’s tear-filled eyes through his slits. “Do you remember why we decided to save Emma? This is important to me, man. You have to remember the logical reasons behind why we did what we did. You are my closet friend. I can’t lose you, man.” Michael implored through his swollen lips.

  “I remember. I remember everything. I don’t blame you or Emma, Michael,” Rob professed. Thank God. Emma didn’t need Rob’s anger directed at her during her recovery period. The thought of Emma was what gave Michael the strength to endure his beating.