and noticed that the police were through with Ben. Ben was coming toward him. He said, “Ted, what kind of a badge is it that you have?”
Ted was not sure what else to do, so he pulled out his badge and ID and showed them to Ben.
Ben looked at the badge carefully and said, “CIA. Wow, so your wife works at a shipping company?”
Ted was nearly caught off-guard; his thoughts were in the back of an ambulance. He said, “Yeah, she travels a lot.”
Ben recognized that Ted’s last name and Lynda’s last name were different. He kept this bit of information to himself. He asked Ted, “How is your daughter?”
Ted looked at Ben. He replied, “She woke up in the ambulance. She is going to be fine.” He wasn’t so sure, but he wanted this man to leave him alone. Ted hurried away to get to his car. He took off for the hospital.
Ben had heard Lynda and Ted ask the paramedic where they were taking their daughter. He went to the car rental counter, rented a car, and got directions to the Children’s Hospital. He was about fifteen minutes behind Ted. As Ben walked to his car, he was joined by a young Mexican woman. She walked beside him without saying a word.
Ted arrived at the hospital and found Lynda in the emergency room waiting area. She said, “They took her right away into surgery!” She began to cry. Ted held her and looked around the room. He knew no one in the room except Lynda.
Ted said, “Lynda, she is going to be fine, I feel it.”
Lynda said, “I know!” She sniffed and stopped crying. She stood alone like a zombie.
Ted sat down in a chair and pulled Lynda down beside him. He held both her hands.
The outside door opened and Ben walked in. He looked around and walked over and stood in front of Ted. He asked, “Have you heard anything yet?”
Ted shook his head. He leaned back in his chair and looked at Ben closely. He wondered, Who is this guy?
Ben sat down beside Lynda and put his arm behind her. He said, “Thank you for saving my life.”
Lynda nodded her head at Ben; she did not have time to talk to him. She was in her own little world. She wondered how Tasha had been shot. She had covered Tasha, just like Billy had covered her. She was upset with herself, but did not know why.
Lynda barely saw the Spanish woman come in and sit across the room from her. She paid the woman no attention at all.
Ben looked at his young wife, across the room. She had no emotion at all on her face.
A nurse’s aide walked up to Ted and Lynda. She said, “Come with me. Your daughter will be out of surgery shortly.” The three people followed the nurse’s aide to the surgical center’s door. They waited expectantly.
The old doctor came out of surgery and walked to Ted and Lynda. He was smiling a tired smile. He said, “I am happy to tell you that your daughter came through surgery very well. We repaired all the damage and the worst that she will experience will be the scaring. Perhaps plastic surgery can repair it some day. It won’t be too bad.”
Ted and Lynda both shook the doctor’s hand. Ted said, “Thank you, doctor. When can we see our daughter?”
The doctor smiled again. “She will be in recovery in about ten minutes. She should wake up shortly, and you can see her then.”
Ben patted Ted on the back and hugged Lynda. He said, “That’s great news. I am happy for you guys.” Ben gave Ted his business card and asked Ted to call him tomorrow and tell him how she was doing.
Ben left and went back to the emergency room and sat down by his wife. He told her about the hit on his life and how he had shot the woman’s daughter, but she had not been killed.
His wife stood up and walked out the door. She fingered the gun in her purse the entire walk.
Ben stood up and followed Elaina out the door and to the rental car. He opened the door for her and let her sit down in the passenger seat. He closed the door and looked all around. He knew why he had been targeted. He had taken over her father’s business and he was now the target in the drug wars. He had tried to kill the woman, and shot the daughter by accident. He knew that he and Elaina were no match for Ted and Lynda. They were trained marksmen.
He took Elaina to a nearby hotel and they got a room. Being close to the hospital was a necessity. He would watch the hospital exits and wait for a time when they were both gone. He needed to sleep some first, and was certain that the couple would not leave their daughter at this point anyway.
Ted and Lynda waited for the nurse to allow them in to see their daughter. Lynda asked, “Did Ben happen to tell you why those two men were after him?”
Ted looked thoughtful. “No, he didn’t, in fact he was rather vague about it, and seemed to not want to talk about it. He is a strange man.”
Lynda stared at the doorway. She said, “He really played up to me. I wasn’t sure if he was just flirting or had an agenda. And then to be shot at, and we were his defense. The whole thing is strange.”
Ted turned Lynda to look straight into her eyes. “Honey, we cannot take any chances, but something is not right. One of us needs to stay with Tasha all the time.”
Lynda’s blue eyes became steely. She said, “If he had anything to do with Tasha being shot, I will kill him myself.”
A nurse stuck her head out the door. “Mr. And Mrs. Pointer, your daughter is awake. Would you follow me?”
Ted and Lynda followed the nurse to a bed with machines all around it. In the bed was the little form of Tasha. Her eyes were open, but she was very groggy. Lynda sat down in a chair and began to cry again. Ted put his hand on her shoulder. He said, “Lynda, everything is going to be okay. We will be fine. Tasha will be fine; you heard what the doctor said.”
They were silent for the rest of the visit. After twenty minutes the nurse escorted them both out of the recovery room.
Ted said, “You are exhausted, honey. Go home and sleep some. Come back and relieve me in the morning. I will sit by her side all night long.”
Lynda argued with Ted, but she knew that he was right. She left and went out to the parking lot and found their car. She drove off and went home.
Ted walked through the door to his daughter’s bedside. The nurse stopped him and said, “Sir, you can’t come in here, this is off-limits.”
Ted pulled out his badge and showed it to the nurse. He was quick so that she did not get a good look at it. He said, “Ma’am, this child is under protective custody. I have to stay with her while she is in here.” He made an apologetic face.
The nurse clearly did not know what to do. She went looking for her supervisor. Ted sat down by Tasha, where he could see both doors clearly. He made sure his gun was fully loaded and his extra clip was where he could get to it.
He was sitting there when Tasha began to cry. He jumped up and stroked his daughter’s free arm. She looked up at him, and said, “Daddy, where is Momma?”
Ted brushed her hair out of her face. He said, “Your mother went home to sleep. She will be here in the morning. You go back to sleep, baby. Everything will be okay.”
Tasha did go back to sleep. Ted stood at the bed as the nurse prepared to move her to intensive care.
Tasha was moved to intensive care and the nurse’s supervisor asked him, “What is going on?”
Ted explained everything to the woman. She said, “You can sit just outside her door. You can see her through the windows. You can cover the outer doors from there. It will work out much better for you, and put your daughter in less danger.”
Ted agreed, and they brought him a chair to sit in. He sat in the chair hour after hour, until the outer door opened and Lynda came in. He told her that Tasha had been awake several times. But had gone back to sleep each time.
She sat down in Ted’s chair and stared through the window at Tasha. Ted left and went home.
Ben arrived at the hospital about thirty minutes after Ted had left. He went to information and checked on Tasha. He was told where she wa
s, and he headed for the intensive care unit. He stuck his head in the large doorway and saw Lynda sitting next to the window. She appeared to be asleep. Ben thought that perhaps he could kill her and the daughter at the same time. But as he walked up to her, she raised her head and looked him in the eyes. He asked, “How is she?” He made no effort to go for his gun.
“She is doing better. I think she will go to a private room tonight.”
They talked for a few minutes, then the nurse showed up and ran Ben off.
Ben went out to his car and waited. He had parked where he could see every car come and go from the lot. He had a good spot; he was well-hidden.
His phone rang about three in the afternoon. It was Elaina. She asked, “Where do we stand?”
He told her what he knew and that they needed some men to do the job. Neither of them were experienced enough to take on trained agents. Elaina was not very patient. Neither was he.
After sitting in the parking lot for ten hours, the car showed up. He could see Ted clearly.
Ted hurried to a parking slot. He was able to park close to the building. He got out and quickly made it in to the intensive care door. He stopped before he went in and put his stern face on. He got to Tasha’s room, and she was gone. They were both gone.
Ted found a nurse and flashed his badge again and asked about Tasha. The nurse told Ted the room number that she had been moved to.
He walked straight to the room and opened the door slowly. Lynda was sitting at the foot of