Page 39 of Sebastian
“What changed?” asked Luke, still looking straight ahead.
“I lost the only thing that ever mattered to me. A woman who cared for others her entire life while under fire, while in the middle of conflict. She never asked for a damn thing except a treatment no one wanted to give her.”
“Mr. Steiner, this won’t matter at all to you, but the treatment in Germany wouldn’t have helped your wife. The cancer had spread to her brain, and that treatment wasn’t designed for her condition.”
“You’re right. It doesn’t matter to me at all,” he said. He started coughing, and Luke noticed the trickle of blood at his lips. He handed him an old-fashioned handkerchief. It was silly that he carried it, but Grandma always said a gentleman always has one in case a lady needs it. The man smiled, taking it and wiping his mouth.
“Why don’t we get you some help, sir.” Mac turned to see another man on the other side of him. Eric just smiled at him.
“Do me a favor and bury me next to Estelle in my coat and tie. Make sure our wedding photo is with me.” He looked at the young men beside him and nodded. “You’re big boys. That’s good. Our country needs big men to fight for what’s right. My question for you two is, will you fight for what’s right?”
“Sir, right now my grandparents and aunt and uncle are back in D.C. making calls to everyone that was on your list at the bridge club. So far, they’ve bought prescriptions for more than a hundred and fifty people, scheduled more than sixty uncovered tests, and are still making calls. When they’re done, my aunt will be headed to speak with Congress about changing the policies of Medicare and Medicaid.
“I’m not sure we’ll make a huge difference, sir. But for now, we’re making a difference for the people who reached out to you.”
Mac didn’t say anything, his eyes closed, just sitting with his hands over his knees. Eric looked at Luke, then reached over, feeling his wrist for a pulse. He shook his head.
“I guess we call for the coroner,” he said to Luke.
“Not yet,” said Luke, looking up at the setting sun. “He wanted one last sunset. Whether he sees it or not, he deserves this one.”
The two lifelong friends made sure Mac was upright the entire time. When the light of the sun had finally faded, they called the coroner and texted the others.
“We found Mac. He’s gone.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
The federal prison wasn’t exactly where Chief and Hex wanted to spend their day. They’d rather be home with their wives and their team, but this was important. Not just because Emelia was involved but because, ultimately, it affected all of them.
Showing their IDs to the guard, he nodded, opening the door as they walked inside. Another guard led them to an interrogation room.
“Guards will bring them down together like you asked. Not like they’re running anywhere. Gotta give them old folks credit, though. They tried to stick it to Uncle Sam, didn’t they?” Hex and Chief just stared at the guard, not finding humor in his comments. He cleared his throat, leaving the men inside.
A few minutes later, they could hear the sound of chains clinking against the concrete floor. Chains. Three senior citizens, not in great shape, were chained. They knew that there were two sides to the prison, one for males, one for females. When the guard opened the door, he led the three to their chairs and then chained them to the table.
“Is that really necessary?” asked Chief.
“Policy, sir. We make no exceptions. Just knock on the door when you’re done.” Chief and Hex nodded at the man. The two men seemed to scoot further away from the woman.
“I hope you feel good about yourselves,” said Anne. “Imprisoning three senior citizens.”
“Lady, don’t fuck with me or attempt to make me feel bad,” said Hex. “You’re the one that broke the law and raised two law-breaking sons. You have a chance to redeem yourselves. Any information you provide to us will be seen as support and will reflect positively at your trial.”
“I’m not telling you shit,” said the old woman. The others just shook their heads.
“I’ll tell you anything you want to know,” said Joey. “So will Shel.”
“Shel. That’s your name?” asked Hex.
“Shelly. My dad had a great sense of humor,” frowned the man. Chief and Hex said nothing, just nodding.
“We need to find the others. We think they’re in danger and are going to do something really stupid this time. Jeffrey is crazy if he thinks that just because Ryan is his brother, The Silencers won’t kill him on the spot.”
“They won’t!” snapped Anne. “They wouldn’t dare. Ryan would never let them hurt his brother. Never!”
“Lady, you’re delusional. The Silencers kill. They don’t care who, they don’t care when, they don’t care how. It’s the only damn thing they’re good at. They will kill Jeffrey once they have their shit back,” said Hex.
Anne was smart enough to not say anything. She knew about The Silencers and how they operated, and she knew that Ryan could be ruthless. But she also knew that Jeffrey was able to control his brother’s temper. Usually.