Operation: Endgame (3 page)

Penelope stuck her head out the door and said, “Cassie, there’s a delivery here. They’re insisting you have to sign for it yourself.”

Cassie looked puzzled. “Okay, I’m coming.” A delivery man stood at the front door holding a long rectangular box and a clipboard. She signed by the X and looked questioningly at the delivery box. There wasn’t a return address, so she asked the delivery man, “Where did this come from?”

He glanced down at his clipboard. “It says here it’s from someone named Bernard Kleptofine.”

Cassie looked at him sharply. “Do you mind if I look?” She reached for the clipboard and looked down at it. “Weird.” She handed the clipboard back to the delivery guy with a scowl between her brows.

Penelope looked at Cassie questioningly. “What’s wrong? Who’s Bernard Kleptofine?”

“He’s the bad-guy in Endgame, the video game I worked on last year. He’s not real. He’s a fictional character.” Cassie grabbed the scissors out of the drawer and opened up the box. On top of a pile of Styrofoam peanuts was a small card. Cassie opened it. “It just says ‘Condolences’. It must be from a fan of the video game that heard about Chris.” She handed the card over to the girls as she pulled an oblong object out of the box.

As she unwrapped the object, Julie looked at her worriedly. “How would a fan get your home address?”

Cassie shrugged. “I don’t know. Until a year ago, it didn’t matter who had my address so I doubt it would be hard to track it down if someone wanted to. I’m not exactly hidden especially with my University connections and the fact that this has been my address for a long time.”

Cassie reached the end of the roll of never-ending bubble wrap which revealed a very small, 1/3 scale replica of a Thompson machine gun. “Oh wow. Look at this.”

Julie looked even more perplexed. “Why would anyone send you a gun as a sympathy gift?”

For the first time, Cassie felt the first crack in her apathetic armor and her eyes filled with tears. “I collect them, and this is a gorgeous miniature replica. Look at the detail on this thing.” She held the gun up and inspected the details closely.

“I still don’t understand. Why would someone send you a gun for a condolence gift when your brother was just killed in action?”

Cassie looked up at Julie’s harsh tone and noticed her frown.

“No, Julie. You don’t understand. This is from one of the fans of the game. In one of my magazine interviews I talked about my Thompson machine gun collection. You’ve probably never noticed them. Most of them are at the office. The reason I collect them is because when Chris, Jake, and I were young, we played war games around the neighborhood constantly. The Thompson was our favorite weapon of choice. It’s actually a really thoughtful, sweet gift to remind me of fun times with Chris.” Cassie’s voice choked up when she said Chris’ name.

Penelope came up behind Cassie and gave her a gentle hug from behind. “You, my friend, are a very strange bird. You had the most unusual childhood of anyone I know, growing up with all the boys.”

Cassie looked at the gun with a watery smile. “It was the best childhood any girl could ask for. I had three guys who loved and took care of me every single day of it.”

Julie came up and hugged Cassie from the other side. “So what exactly do you do with a miniature replica weapon?”

Cassie extracted herself from their embraces and set the gun on her mantle above the fireplace. “You put it in a place of honor to remember the good times.” She rubbed a hand over the framed snapshot sitting right beside the gun. It was a photo of Chris, Jake, and her when they were young. All three of them were in full camouflage regalia…full face paint and camo fatigues. Chris stood in the middle between Jake and Cassie and all three of them wore a grin which spread from ear to ear. Those bright white teeth and white eyes standing out against their smeared and running face paint. It was one of her most beloved photos of the three of them…the Three Musketeers. Now they were down to two.

Half a day and a lifetime later, Jake was looking at that same photo when Colton walked up behind him. He looked over Jake’s shoulder at the photo and grinned. “You three were always the hellions of the neighborhood.”

Jake nodded and smiled. “Yes, it’s amazing the neighborhood put up with us playing our war games through everyone’s yards for all those years without calling the police on us.”

Colton looked around the room at the food and plants which were everywhere… so many of them were from those same neighbors. “Nah, the neighborhood loved you three. They knew as long as you were playing together, you were more than likely keeping each other out of trouble.”

Jake pressed his finger to Chris’ face on the photo. “That only seemed to work when we were kids though, didn’t it? I wasn’t able to keep him out of trouble this time.”

Colton looked thoughtfully at Jake. His rank and position enabled him to gather more information about the crash than Cassie had been told so he knew it was Jake’s PJ team that had gone in for Chris’ extraction…an extraction that failed because of bad weather conditions. It was why Chris was on the ground for eighteen hours after his crash before he was recovered and, by then, he had been tortured to death. “Jake, there’s nothing you or any of your guys could have done differently to change this outcome. The weather was beyond your control.”

Jake flashed a haunted look at Colton. “I should’ve pushed harder. The weather had just moved in. We could’ve moved just a little bit faster when we got his distress signal. We could’ve scrambled just a little bit faster. We could’ve pushed the envelope just a bit further. We might’ve saved him.” Jake’s voice broke as he finished his thought.

“No, you can’t second guess this. What you would’ve ended up with were more dead personnel, Jake. This is not your fault. Chris did a dangerous job, like we all do. He knew the risks. You couldn’t have changed this and second-guessing it doesn’t do anyone any favors.” Colton ran his hand over his face. “This is hard for everyone right now. Give it some time and you’ll see I’m right.”

Cassie was in the kitchen with Julie and Penelope. Jake looked at her now. “Do you think she’d see it that way if she knew the truth? Do you think she’d see me as blameless in Chris’ death?” He shook his head. “I don’t think so.”

Colton shook his head at Jake. “That’s where you’re wrong. Cassie is one of the greatest military tacticians in this country. She knows how combat works and how long it takes to deploy and when the risks are too great. She would NEVER blame you for this and she would be damn angry if she realized you were blaming yourself. If she wasn’t so wrapped up in her denial of the entire situation, she’d see what you were doing and would tell you that herself.”

Jake looked at Cassie. “She’s not dealing with this at all Colt. What are we going to do? We both have to get back to our bases and aren’t going to be here when reality finally sets in for her.”

Colton shook his head. “There’s nothing we can do. We can’t force her to accept the reality of the situation. The girls will help look out for her. She’s still planning on doing her European tour for the video game thing. It’s just been postponed a week, so I’ll be able to keep an eye on her while she’s over there, at least on the weekends.”

“When do you have to head back?” Jake asked him.

“I still have another week of emergency leave. What about you?”

“I need to head back tomorrow or the next day at the latest. I don’t want to leave her yet.” Jake was looking at Cassie.

“Listen, I have a favor to ask. I know the timing sucks, but Dianna is insisting I come deal with some paperwork about the divorce while I’m still in the states and I need to head to Dallas to do that. I’ll be gone tomorrow, but will be back early enough the next day so you can still get out on time. Could you stay with Cassie and spend the night tomorrow night so she’s not alone in the house? I’m not comfortable leaving her alone yet.”

Jake continued to watch Cassie as she stared off into space. She didn’t even seem aware of what was going on around her. He worried about how she was going to react when she became aware again. “Of course, you know you don’t even have to ask. I’m always here if Cassie needs me.”

Cassie opened the door and yanked Jake into the house. “Thank God, you’re here. I cannot handle my hovering friends any longer.” She waved her hand at Julie and Penelope who were sitting on the cozy chairs in the living room. “I love you two, but it’s time for you to leave.” She waved them towards the door.

Julie looked at Penelope. “I think she’s kicking us out.”

“Hey, who can blame the girl?” Penelope gestured over to Jake, with an eyebrow raised while she gave him a full-body appraisal. “If I had a stud-muffin like him coming over to spend the night, I’d kick us out too.”

“Ha-ha, very funny. I’m sure Jake has some fuck-bunny somewhere who would take offense at that.” She quirked an eyebrow at him in question.

Jake lifted his hands in the universal surrender gesture. “Hey, leave me out of this. I’m simply here to visit a friend.”

Cassie walked with the girls towards the door. “You guys know I love you, but I need some space. Thank you so much for everything you’ve done for all of us this week. None of us would have made it through this week without your help, especially me.” She gave each girl a hug. “I’ll call you both tomorrow and we can make some plans before I leave next week.”

As Cassie shut the door quietly behind them, she leaned her forehead against the door with a heavy sigh. She hadn’t heard Jake move, so it was a surprise when she felt his gentle touch on her arm.

“Hey, Cass, are you okay?” His touch, and gentle caring voice, sent a familiar tingle of awareness through her spine. Jake had always been a hands-on kind of friend, but he never seemed aware of how it affected her. Cassie looked into Jake’s concerned face. Okay? No, she definitely wasn’t there yet. But she wasn’t going to sit around here and wait for that to happen.

She ignored his question and gestured towards the duffle he carried in with him. “Since you’re my keeper for the night, you’re going to have to work for it. I don’t suppose you brought any running gear in there did you?”

“As a matter of fact, I did. Are we going for a run?”

Cassie nodded once. “I need some normalcy. You don’t have to go with me if you don’t want to, but I’d like to have you along. I’ve missed you and I don’t feel like I’ve gotten to see you at all since you got here.” Her eyes skittered away from his with a flash of pain as she remembered why they hadn’t gotten to spend any time together. She took a deep breath and looked back at him, speaking quietly. “I’ve missed you.”

Jake gathered her up in his arms. “Aw, Cass, I’ve missed you too. I know it doesn’t seem like it right now, but everything’s going to be okay.” He kissed the top of her head. “A run sounds great.” He drew away from her. “I’ll just go get changed.”

Cassie took a deep breath and squared her shoulders. A run would do her some good.

Cassie lived just a couple of blocks from the sprawling Texas Tech campus so her daily 8-mile running circuit crisscrossed back and forth across it. Back in the 80’s Tech was voted one of the top ten ugliest campuses in the country, but Cassie just couldn’t see it. As a general rule, West Texas wasn’t very pretty. But Tech’s campus always managed to fill her with a peaceful, settled feeling when she ran through the maze of trees and flowers, Spanish style buildings, and amazing sculptures which dotted the massive campus.

Normally they talked when they ran, but today he seemed to realize she needed the peace and quiet of the pounding pavement so he simply ran beside her and left her to her thoughts. There was a reassuring peace that came from the sound of him breathing beside her. It soothed her soul and calmed her. Right now she needed that effect more than anything.

For Cassie, her thoughts continued to be jumbled and confused. She still couldn’t accept Chris was gone in her heart and soul, even while her brain told her Colton and Jake wouldn’t be so accepting of this if it wasn’t absolutely true. Cassie knew Colt had been the one to identify Chris’ body so maybe that made it easier for him to accept. She also got the feeling Jake knew more about the incident than he was letting on, but honestly, she just didn’t have the energy to pursue that line of thought right now. Her heart ached and she didn’t think it could take any more traumas right now.

Cassie normally ran in the mornings and would finish her run with a dash through The Mocha Mermaid on University Ave. for a non-fat latte during her cool-down walking mile. Since it was evening and she was already having issues sleeping, that didn’t seem like the best plan for today. She glanced over at Jake who seemed as caught up in his thoughts as she had been in hers. He felt her glance and looked up at her questioningly.

“We’ve gone seven miles. Are you ready to head back to the house?”

Jake gave a quick nod. When Jake’s family moved to West Texas, they moved in next door to the Robertson family, but that changed when he was a senior in high school and his parents finally decided to end their unhappy marriage. Jake and his mom moved across town to a dumpy apartment and his dad moved to the Austin area with his new girlfriend. As they walked up to Cassie’s house, she glanced next door to the house that would be forever his whether he lived there or not. It had been his house for 8 years, so now it was impossible to think of it as anything else.