His eyes drifted to the window as the sun dipped below the horizon. He continued to watch as inky blackness spread across the sky. Caden imagined demons, released by the bombs, pouring out from the gloom of the cities. As they raced across the land they spread terror and consumed all light and hope.
Like a drowning man, his thoughts reached toward Maria. Desperately he yearned for her to be with him, to lift him from the blackness. He was conflicted and confused that it was not Becky that he wanted by his side.
He called home again, but the ring this time was strange and no one answered. A long night stretched out before him. In a desperate attempt to push back the darkness he turned on the lamp beside him and there in a small pool of light he sat as the demons overtook the world and sleep slowly overtook him.
Loud knocking roused Caden from his chair. He stumbled toward the door as he wiped sleep from his eyes and then his mouth on his sleeve. Finding the knob he opened the door and squinted at the fresh-faced private who stood before him.
“Are you Caden Westmore?”
“Yes.”
“General Collins would like to see you.”
“Who?”
“The base commander.”
“He would? Now? What time is it?”
“Eight thirty.” The private looked Caden up and down, “In the morning.”
“Give me a minute.” He stumbled toward the bathroom. As he passed the still sleeping Adam an unpleasant aroma hit him. “Unless you want to change a diaper, I’ll need a few more minutes.”
His face washed and shaved, Caden hurried up the steps to the Administration building wearing his least creased clothes and with a more pleasant smelling Adam in his arms. Once inside the secretary had offered to look after the baby, but Caden felt Adam might be helpful in getting Maria released, after all a mother should be with her child.
As Caden entered the office he saw two men. A silver-haired general sat behind the desk. Ribbons on his uniform told of battles fought and won. A lieutenant, a few years younger than Caden, stood to the side of the desk. On his chest were a mere two ribbons. Caden looked squarely at the General. “Thank you for seeing me, sir.”
The General nodded and gestured for Caden to sit. Looking at a file he said, “I hadn’t planned on seeing you, Mr. Westmore. Frankly, I have more important things to do.”
He bounced Adam on his knee. “Well, I appreciate you taking the time.”
“You’re here because we have a mutual friend.”
“Oh?”
“Governor Monroe called me yesterday afternoon.”
Caden was pleased his message had gotten through.
“The governor and I have known each other for some time. We talked for nearly an hour about the terrorist attacks, establishing refugee camps, emergency food distribution, coordination with FEMA and,” he paused, “your wife.”
A momentary urge to tell the General they weren’t married was quickly suppressed.
The General picked up his coffee cup. “This morning I was still drinking my first cup when his chief-of-staff called me.” He took a sip. “The only thing he wanted to discuss was getting your wife released.”
Caden stifled a smile.
The General leaned back in his chair. “That’s when I decided to get this sorted out early.” He opened a file on his desk then gestured toward the lieutenant. “CID can’t find a marriage certificate. Now, that doesn’t surprise me considering all the cities that have been attacked, but something does confuse me.” He looked Caden square in the eye. “The Lieutenant here tells me that just days ago you were working for Senator Stevens in Washington DC and that at about the same time the young lady we have in custody was a student at the University of North Florida.”
Caden’s heart pounded.
The general looked carefully at Adam and then at Caden. “And is this your child?” He leaned back in his chair, but his eyes remained fixed.
Blood pulsed in Caden’s ears.
“Care to put all those pieces together for me, son?”
Chapter Ten
How many times had his mother told him, “If you tell a lie you have to tell more lies to cover it up?” He had forgotten her words for a time and now he was faced with a decision, either tell a whopper of a lie or come clean and face the consequences. Caden was not worried about his own situation. What could the General do? Tell the Lieutenant to cuff him and throw him in the stockade for lying about being married? The military had more important things to do right now. Maria was the one in jail, the one without proper documents. She might be labeled a security risk. Her freedom might well depend on what he did in the next few seconds.
The General stared with an emotionless gaze.
God help Maria. Caden took a deep breath and let it out slowly. He looked at the baby on his knee. “Adam’s mother was a refugee. She was walking along an Alabama highway with thousands of others when she was hit by a car. We tried to save her, but she died. I found the baby near her body and have been taking care of him since.”
No emotion crossed the General’s face. “Go on.”
“The first time I saw Maria was when she saved my life—and Adam’s.” He went on to explain about the robbers and that he later found out they had killed Maria’s parents.
The general’s eyes narrowed. “She tracked down and shot one of the killers who murdered her parents?”
Caden nodded.
A hint of a smile flashed across his face. “Go on.”
“Maria…well, she developed a bond with Adam that night. She’s as protective and attached as any mother. I think for the first few days she stayed with me because I had Adam. By the time I met up with Governor Monroe’s staff everyone thought we were a family. It’s my fault everybody assumed we were married. I should have said something, but….” Caden leaned back in the chair and sighed.
The General nodded. “My parents taught me that there are two kinds of lies, those of commission, where someone voices a lie, and of omission, where someone remains silent and allows others to believe something that is not true. You have managed to do both and in the process attempted to deceive me and my friend, Governor Monroe.”
Caden felt like a child caught and scolded by a teacher. He wondered if, telling the truth, he had done the right thing for Maria.
General Collins looked through the pages of the file then at the Lieutenant. “Is that essentially the story she told you?”
“Yes sir, except she said it was her fault she had no identification and that people believed they were married.”
The smile returned to the general’s face, but this time it remained. “That’s some woman you found. I wouldn’t cross her.” He stared at Caden for a moment. “You owe Governor Monroe an explanation.”
“Yes, sir.”
The general closed the folder. “Frankly your petty deception is a waste of my time. I don’t care whether you are married or single or shacked up or whatever. I just need to know whether the people on my base are a threat to security or not—and I think she is not.” He turned to the Lieutenant. “Release her and get them both off my base.”
A cold, gray sky greeted Caden as he followed two military policemen to a jeep outside the building. He sat in the back with Adam as the soldiers drove to the barracks. Drizzle dotted the windshield. He stepped from the vehicle and shivered. Adam whimpered. In his room he pulled out a jacket for himself and wrapped the still whining infant in several blankets.
Caden dropped the duffle bags into the jeep and in moments was whisked out to a main road, past the Post Exchange and then by a closed gas station.
“Why is the gas station closed?”