-
Sunday, May 29
Braun, Michigan
During the course of her Reacher assignment, Cooper had abused Kim’s trust too many times. She no longer afforded him blind loyalty or obedience.
Kim didn’t bother to ask why Cooper wanted to see her. No point. He wouldn’t tell her anyway.
“I’m having dinner with my parents. I can fly to DC tomorrow.”
“I’ll meet you in your apartment tonight.”
He disconnected before she had a chance to argue, and she wouldn’t have objected anyway. She’d already planned to go back home after dinner tonight. But there was no reason to tell him that.
She shrugged. Whatever Cooper wanted could wait a few hours.
Otherwise, he’d have landed on her parents’ driveway in a helicopter and scooped her up. He’d done it before.
She dropped the phone into her pocket and made her way to the front door, which was never locked despite her attempts to bring her parent’s security systems into the twenty-first century.
Kim turned the knob, let herself in, and followed her nose to the kitchen where her mother was preparing traditional Vietnamese dishes along with the German style food the rest of her family loved.
The combined aromas didn’t mix well, but they smelled like home and churned Kim’s stomach in the way she remembered.
She pulled an antacid from her pocket and plopped it in her mouth before she smiled and greeted her parents with hugs and gifts and the suggestion that they sit outside to enjoy the fresh spring breeze.
“Where’s Sunny?” Kim asked when they were settled on the patio, Vietnamese iced coffee in hand.
Kim loved the sweet concoction and always had. Family lore claimed that Mom had given Kim Vietnamese iced coffee within minutes of her birth, establishing her love affair for coffee as the most enduring relationship of her life.
“I saw her car out front. Isn’t she joining us?”
“Don’t sound so hopeful,” Sunny said as she came outside and plopped onto a chair, looking as stunningly gorgeous as always. “Why wouldn’t I be joining you? I live here, remember? You’re the one who plops in from the sky and jumps out like hot popcorn.”
Kim had seen too much death and mayhem these past few weeks to spend what little precious down time she had arguing with her sister.
“Nice to see you, too,” Kim replied as pleasantly as possible, taking the high road. “Mom said you were sick last week. I hope you’re feeling better.”
But her sister wasn’t mollified. Sunny frowned, tossed off a surly “Thanks,” and then refused to engage any further.
Dad, ever the peacemaker, picked up the conversational ball and changed the subject.
After ten minutes or so, Sunny stood and went back inside without so much as a middle-finger salute.
“What’s wrong with her?” Kim asked, genuinely peeved. Sunny should be more mature by now. Would she never grow up?
“I’m not really sure,” Dad replied. “She’s been like that for a while now. Since Martin deployed to the border.”
“Who’s Martin? What border? Deployed by whom?” Kim asked, raising both eyebrows.
Over the years, Sunny had had more boyfriends than Kim could count. Kim had always been the studious one. Sunny was beautiful and could display an infectiously sparkling personality when she was so inclined.
But Kim didn’t remember a guy named Martin.
Mom shook her head, as if Kim should already know the answers to these questions. Which she probably should.
Dad chuckled and sipped his coffee. “You can take the girl out of the FBI, but…”
Kim shrugged.
“Martin Weber. They’ve been dating about a year. He’s in the National Guard. Got deployed to the US southern border in Texas for a short stint,” Dad said, draining his glass.
Kim’s eyes widened. “Mỹ has been dating him for a year? And I’m just hearing his name for the first time?”
Mom tsked and shook her head and flashed a disapproving frown. “It’s not like we’ve seen much of you lately. If you came around more, you’d have met Martin already.”
“You know I’ve been on assignment, Mom. It’s not like I’ve been avoiding you,” Kim said, holding onto her patience. “Is Sunny serious about him?”
Kim made a mental note to check up on Martin Weber as soon as she had a chance. As annoying as Sunny could be, she was Kim’s younger sister, and she didn’t want Sunny hurt.
Maybe the guy was good enough for her sister.
And maybe not.
Dad shrugged. “As serious as Sunny ever is about a guy, I guess.”
“That’s not fair, Albert,” Mom scolded gently. “Martin is a good man. He’s good to Mỹ. She says she loves him. Surely you remember what it was like to be fighting a war when your girl was stuck back home. I certainly remember what those years were like for us.”
Dad reached over and patted Mom’s hand. He didn’t say more about Sunny’s current fling, but conflicting emotions washed across his face.
A whole year was a long, long time for Sunny to stay with any one guy. Maybe this relationship wasn’t a fling. Perhaps she was serious about Martin Weber. Maybe Sunny was genuinely worried for him.
Even so, whatever was going on with Sunny, it was nothing like the hell her parents had endured.
Albert Otto and Sin Ye had braved more than bullets to be together at the tail end of the Vietnam War. They’d fought the US Army, the Vietnamese government, both sets of parents, and the racial prejudices of the time to be together.
The struggle had bonded them like plating adheres gold to base metal.
Kim could only imagine the hardships.
None of those conditions existed in Sunny’s life.
She’d been born and grew up in Middle America, like the rest of the family. The Ottos weren’t wealthy, but they weren’t poor, either.
Sunny should have been a lot more grateful than she ever seemed to be, in Kim’s view.
But Dad didn’t want to upset Mom or the pleasant evening she’d planned, so he didn’t argue.
“So what is Martin Weber doing down at the border, exactly?” Kim asked, moving the conversation to a slightly less personal topic. “Last I heard, National Guard troops deployed down there had been called back due to budgetary issues.”
“He’s posted at Presidio, south of Pecos, Texas. Says it’s dry and unseasonably hot. The situation is grueling for everyone involved. His unit has already picked up hundreds of people crossing the border at night,” Dad explained, shaking his head. “Terrible situation.”
Kim nodded. “Yes, it’s dangerous for the migrants and enforcement personnel, too.”
“It’s more than dangerous.” Dad lowered his gaze and his voice. “Martin says they’ve found people dead in the desert. Dehydration, mostly.”
Kim nodded. She’d seen the reports.
“And some die due to foul play. Disputes among themselves or with the locals, usually,” Dad said. “Whole families are impacted. It’s heartbreaking. Martin’s worried. Which means we’re all worried.”
“Does Sunny think Martin’s involved in something he shouldn’t be?” Kim asked tentatively, because of the vibe she’d picked up from her sister.
Dad gave her a knowing look but didn’t have a chance to say more before Mom interrupted. If Weber wasn’t as solid as Sunny claimed, he wouldn’t be the first of her boyfriends with a less than stellar moral code. She had always been attracted to the bad boys.
“Enough of this talk.” Mom was upset by the turn the conversation had taken, perhaps remembering a time she’d rather forget. Or simply worried for her daughter. “Kim, come help me finish dinner.”
“Sure. I’m starving. Let’s do that,” she replied, setting her glass on the tray.
She gave her father a long look and then followed her mother inside, leaving him alone on the patio.
Whatever Martin Weber’s situation in Texas, it wasn’t something they could solve with a bit of conversation before dinner. The border was a complicated situation. Too complicated for easy solutions.
The border agents were overwhelmed.
The honest migrants were exploited by their own people and endured way too much for a chance at a better life.
Dishonest agents and migrants were devious and often avoided arrest.
And those were only the obvious problems. There was more serious trouble active below the surface. Countries south of the border had significant criminal elements, too. Just as the United States and every other country on the planet did.
Kim’s FBI Detroit Field Office received regular reports of potential terrorist activity around the country and the world.
Which meant she got regular briefings about the violence and unrest at both borders, even though the FBI wasn’t generally charged with protecting the peace there.
From her office window, she could see across to Canada. The country was beautiful and the people friendly. Americans felt safe with Canada next door.
But the Canadian border was also more dangerous than ordinary citizens suspected.
In Detroit, the two countries were separated by the Detroit River. A bridge and a tunnel provided the only crossing points.
Despite the best efforts of law enforcement on both sides of the border, some terrorists had been thwarted in their efforts to pass through while other terrorists had succeeded.
And the Canadian border in Detroit was much easier to monitor than the southern border.
Because the Mexican border was long and much of it just a line in the dirt or a navigable river, defending it was exponentially more difficult. Federal, state, and local agents of all kinds were putting their lives on the line. Migrant families were, too.
The situation was a powder keg. The body count was tragic and rising.
Martin Weber could easily find himself in real trouble very quickly.
Sunny had every right to be terrified, especially if she cared about the guy.
Kim’s sister was flighty and annoying as hell, but if she was serious about Weber, then he’d better be worthy.
Which meant, at a minimum, doing his job within the bounds of the law.
Easier said than done.
The border was chaotic and unpredictable. There were not many bright lines to define the right side of the law down there. Some border agents had crossed that line, to be sure. Every group everywhere had its bad apples.
Martin Weber simply could not be one of the bad ones.
Kim hoped.
First things first, though.
If Sunny loved him, Martin Weber needed to stay alive. No easy task, under the circumstances.
Kim’s thoughts on the matter churned along with her stomach as she made every effort to enjoy the precious family time she so rarely managed these days. She had no idea when she’d be able to return.