“Joking?” Joseph asked. He was so surprised that he sat up straight.
“Did you hear what the little guy I was just talking to said?” Alex asked.
“No, I was in here talking to Raz,” Joseph said. His voice was rising with intensity. “You can ask him. He brought me up here and then went to get you. And before you ask, I’ve never seen that man before in my life.”
Alex shook her head at him.
“Why?” Joseph said.
“He told me that the ugly bee has a compartment inside it,” Alex said. “He said the key was stolen from the crypt of Saint Josef the New of Partos.”
“Key?” Joseph raised his shoulder in a shrug and shook his head. “What key?”
“You were just talking about a key that Nathan found!” Alex said.
Joseph didn’t say anything for a moment. His teeth raked his lips for a few minutes.
“Nathan is Ingram’s older brother by upbringing,” Joseph said in a low tone.
“Any ideas where the key is?” Alex asked.
“I remember him giving it to you,” Joseph said.
“What?”
Alex hopped out of her seat. She paced back and forth for a few minutes before sitting down again.
“What?” Alex asked again.
“Do you remember the key?” Joseph asked.
“I do remember he gave me something,” Alex said with a shrug. “He was always finding things where no one would expect them.”
“Picking masterpieces out of garbage heaps,” Joseph said.
“He was amazing and generous,” Alex said. “He gave me a lot of weird and beautiful things.”
“Do you think you still have the key?” Joseph asked.
“No idea. If I do, where is it?” Alex asked. “Thrown away by mistake? My jewelry box? Gave it to John?”
Alex shrugged and shook her head. She got up to pace. He watched her go from side to side of the secure balcony. After a few minutes, she sat down.
“Okay, let’s pretend that I’m your little brother,” Alex said. “You’ve gone on this mission to this incredible place. Beautiful, harsh, amazing. You’ve helped with births and talked to some of the nicest people in the world. You find some weird thing and give it to a teammate.”
Joseph nodded.
“You have no real idea why we’re on this mission,” Alex said. “It was not classified or anything. It’s a rare chance to share your life with the kid.”
“I’d tell him all about it,” Joseph said.
Alex nodded.
“Ingram is looking for the library,” Alex said. “He probably thinks this is the key to it.”
“He certainly might think that you are the key,” Joseph said.
“I am the key?” Alex asked. “Or I have the key?”
“Either,” Joseph shrugged. “Both.”
“Wow,” Alex said.
She crossed her legs and her elbows and leaned forward over her sore stomach.
“You think that’s why they destroyed my house?” Joseph asked.
“I think it’s possible,” Alex said. “Keep you distracted enough for us not to put this together.”
Joseph nodded.
“And, you’re right,” Alex said. “We didn’t go on a lot of unclassified trips. But we did go on a few. I wonder what would happen if we make a list of them and see what Nathan might have told Ingram.”
“I’ll do it,” Joseph said, seeming relieved to have something concrete to do.
“You think they know about the bee?” Alex asked. She leaned forward.
“No way to know,” Joseph said with a shake of his head.
Alex nodded.
“I think I need to go home,” Alex said. “Check the bee. Look for the key. Oh.”
Alex’s face went blank. She stared off for a moment.
“What is it?” Joseph asked.
“They blew up my house,” Alex said. “They could have stolen the key in the recovery or it’s blown up. I just . . . Do you think they blew up my house to get the key?”
Joseph shook his head. Alex looked a little lost and overwhelmed.
“How’s the translating going?” Joseph said, hoping to steer the conversation back to solid ground.
“Ji and his mom have translated every word into English,” Alex said. “It just still doesn’t make any sense. Of course. Just another mystery inside of another mystery.”
Alex blew out a breath and sat back.
“I think we’re missing the key to what puts it all together,” Alex said. “But hey, maybe it’s inside the bee.”
Surprised, Alex gasped. Her hand went over her mouth.
“Remember when we went to Ai-Khanoum?” Alex asked.
“Ai-Khanoum?” Joseph asked. “What’s an Ai-Khanoum?”
“Russian-Afghanistan border,” Alex asked. “Now the Afghan-Tajik border.”
“Wasn’t there an Indian Air Base a few miles from there?” Joseph asked.
“At Farkhor,” Alex said. “That’s right.”
“We went to some ancient city on a river there,” Joseph said. “I brought back an old coin for Alex.”
“We all did,” Alex said. “They were just lying around.”
“Wait,” Joseph said. “Raz just told me . . .”
“That’s exactly right,” Alex said. “We just picked up a platoon of SEALs at the now-deserted base in Farkhor.”
“What does that mean?” Joseph asked.
“I think I know where the last platoon was sent,” Alex said.
“Where?” Joseph asked.
“Joey and Máire’s valley,” Alex said. “Remember there was an old church there? We ruled it out as the site of the library because it doesn’t match the maps. I haven’t had a chance to check it out.”
“Farooq and Felicia’s beautiful wedding would have been a great story to tell your younger brother,” Joseph said. “But wouldn’t Felicia call?”
“Not necessarily,” Alex said. “She usually goes home to Chicago this time of year and takes her girls with her. She might not know they are there.”
Joseph was quiet for a moment before he looked at her.
“Sounds like we need to go to Afghanistan,” Joseph said.
“Probably,” Alex said. “Denver, too. But . . .”
“What?” Joseph asked.
“I’m grounded by General Fonti,” Alex said. “I’m to take the rear. Get out of the field, off the battlefield.”
“We couldn’t go ourselves?” Joseph asked. “How is that possible? We can’t really give this to someone else.”
“Exactly,” Alex nodded.
Alex gave him an idle nod.
“I’ll tell you this,” Alex said. “If a platoon of SEALs showed up in that valley, they would be detained by the tribe out of hand. Our agreement with the Taliban was that the valley would remain neutral — no opium, no American military. I can visit only as a member of the tribe, not as military.”
“The SEALs are being held in your valley by your children’s tribesmen,” Joseph said.
After a moment, he began to snicker.
“I can just see that shit Ingram’s face when he finds out,” Joseph said.
Alex smiled while he laughed.
“Do you want to stay with us tonight?” Alex asked. “The kids would love to see you.”
“I should head back,” Joseph said. “Our kids are overwhelming for Nancy now. She needs my help.”
Alex nodded and stood up.
“It is beautiful here,” Alex said mildly.
“I want to go home, too,” Joseph said. “What’s the word on The Factory?”
“The rehab continues,” Alex said.
“Would you sell that to Zutterberg’s company?” Joseph asked. “It’s being rehabbed with US military money and designed by the Army Corps of Engineers.”
Alex bit the inside of her lip and shook her head.
“I haven’t figured it out,” Alex said. “Every time I think I’ve made a decision, something happens, and I change my mind.”
Joseph squinted at her.
“You’re really lost,” Joseph said, almost to himself.
“I . . .” Alex said. She looked at him for a long moment. “I grew up thinking that life went like this — you start here, work hard, advance, work hard, advance some more, work hard, continue to advance.”
Using her hands, Alex marked her way up a ladder with each situation.
“Sure you can quit at any time, but I honestly believed that life was additive,” Alex said. Using her hand again, she marked her next steps. “Go to Basic. Get assigned. Get your Airborne. Get your Beret. Get on a team. Work hard. Get promoted.”
“Sure, I could get off at any time,” Alex said. “But it would work the same way. I’d meet a great guy. We’d fall in love. We’d have our first child, and then a few more. I’d work intelligence or maybe run for office or simply hang out with the kids. Every choice, like every action, had a logical, natural, knowable outcome. Then . . .”
Alex’s face was so pinched with pain that Joseph put his hand on her knee.
“Everyone died,” Alex said in a soft voice. “And natural, logical of my life went out the window completely. Cause and effect? Not for me.”
Alex blinked back angry tears.
“No matter how hard I work, no matter what miracles I pull off, I just get knocked over,” Alex said. “If it wasn’t for Max and John, and now the kids, I . . . and still sometimes I wish . . . Paris vault . . . You know?”
Alex nodded as if her sentence made sense. She saw tears streaming down Joseph’s face. He simply nodded.
“Me, too,” Joseph said.
“My fucking mother thinks I’m autistic,” Alex said. “How can I tell Princess Rebecca that I’m not autistic — I’m mind bogglingly terrified. I have zero idea what is going to happen next and absolutely no idea why any of this shit is happening! Every time I think I’m close . . . some crap happens, and the thread is lost.”
Alex took a breath. Her mouth opened and closed before settling into a grim line.
“I’m so pissed off,” Alex said. “Since Ingram, I’ve been so angry that I just shut down. John said I haven’t done anything in the last month but play with the kids and hang out with Maggie on the beach. I don’t even remember that! My entire insides seized up. And I . . .”
She shook her head.
“No hope,” she said so softly. “No sense. And there I am — treading water in the fucking ocean. Me! Zack’s dying. And I can’t help but think . . .”
“If I just let go . . .” Joseph said in the same soft tone.
“ . . . all of this horror and rage will be over,” Alex said.
Alex nodded and then sighed.
“And you know what people talk about?” Alex asked. “Congratulate me for?”
“The simulation,” Joseph said. “They should congratulate you for simply making it through another fucked-up day.”
Alex nodded. They fell silent and watched the night.
“Promise me this,” Joseph said. “Talk to me before you make any decision about the military or contractor or . . .”
Alex looked at him.
“I’m your Staff Sergeant,” Joseph said. “I started your career in the military . Give me the chance to sit down and talk it through. And if you decide . . . you know.”
“To kill myself?” Alex asked. She gave him a wry smile. “I’d never do that to Max. John. The twins.”
“Just in case,” Joseph said. “I brought you into this work. It’s my responsibility to see it through.”
“And you?” Alex asked. “When this bullshit gets to be too much, will you come find me? At least to say good-bye?”
“I will,” Joseph said.
They sat in silence until their heartbreak began to drift away on the wind.
“I want to suggest something to you,” Joseph said.
“Okay,” Alex said.
“Just a suggestion, that’s all,” Joseph said. “You can feel free to ignore it. I won’t be offended.”
“Okay,” Alex said.
“What if you took the demotion?” Joseph asked.
“About face?” Alex asked.
“Sort of,” Joseph said. “Go back down to a Sergeant, if they’ll let you keep your beret, or a Private, if they won’t. Let Vince run the team for a while.”
Alex turned to look into his face.
“You don’t need the money,” Joseph said. “The team is still yours to run by all standards; it’s just Vince’s butt on the line. Take over The Factory. Do what we’ve talked about doing there.”
“I can’t do it as a Private!” Alex said.
“Why not?” Joseph asked. “You might be too angry to acknowledge this now, but this mission is your life now. You can’t walk away from it. You can much better serve this mission as a Sergeant or even a Private. Either way, you’d be under the protection of your superiors. No more of Ingram’s crap.”
“You don’t think my rank helps our team?” Alex asked.
“Maybe,” Joseph said. “It might also hold us back because it’s easier to block you. Fewer at the top.”
Alex nodded.
“Plus, Vince is a Navy Captain, which is a higher rank than yours. When all of this is over, and dipshits like Ingram are out of there, you get your rank and status back, if you want them.”
“What about the contractor?” Alex asked.
“You can buy in,” Joseph said. “Or better yet, get Max to buy in as a silent partner. He can keep track of what they’re up to and recruit help if we need it.”
Alex looked like she’d smelled something horrible.
“It stinks, no doubt about it,” Joseph said. “But they’ve been one step ahead of us this entire time. It’s the one thing that turds like Ingram would never expect. It could be enough to turn the tables on them.”
Alex nodded.
“We still live in a cause-and-effect world, Alex,” Joseph said. “We just haven’t figured out the cause yet.”
Alex raised an eyebrow at him.
“Nancy?” Alex asked.
Smiling, Joseph nodded. Alex grinned.
“Nancy is a wise woman,” Alex said. She took a breath and moved to get up. “You should return to her.”
They got up together and hugged each other tight. Pressed heart to heart together, they stood alive amongst their loss and love. With a sigh, they let go of each other and went to where Raz had been standing. Raz hugged Joseph. They walked through the house together. At the doorway to the garage, Alex gave Joseph a light hug, and he left. She went back into the kitchen where the others were waiting for her. She took one look at MJ and stopped walking.
“What’s going on?” Alex asked. “What happened?”
“That old guy?” MJ asked. “The one who came to see you?”
Alex nodded.
“He’s dead. Well, mostly dead,” MJ said. “He collapsed at the end of the street. I called an ambulance and went to the hospital with him. He coded in the ambulance. They got him going again.”
“Any idea what happened?” Alex asked.
“Lung cancer,” MJ said. “Threw a clot and had a stroke. That’s what the doctor said. The old guy has been in and out of the hospital for the last month or so. I waited until his daughter arrived. She said that he got a phone call today. She was in the backyard when he disappeared. Took her car to the beach.”
“Someone sent him to me?” Alex asked.
“She said that, when he’s awake — which isn’t often — he’s talked almost non-stop about some Saint and a Greek Queen of Romania,” MJ said. “Some old friends came by to see him about a week ago. She heard him ask them to find something — Alexi, Alexus, something. She thought it was a place.”
“Is he alive?” Alex asked.
“He’s in a coma,” MJ said. “The doctors don’t expect him to wake. They asked me if he had smoked his pipe. He had it on him. I guess that’s the worst thing for him. If he did, it likely caused his cancer to dislodge as a clot.”
“He very joyously smoked his pipe,” Alex said.
“There you have it,” MJ said. “You were the last thing he had to do. He probably figured he’d rather smoke than continue to live as an invalid in his daughter’s home.”
Alex nodded.
“Who is he?” Vince asked. “What did he say?”
“I’m not at all sure who he is or was,” Alex said with a nod. “But this is what he told me.”
She told them about Saint Josef the New of Partos and the complicated love story of the Greek Queen Elizabeth of Romania. When she mentioned the bee, Vince and MJ gasped. Her eyes flicked to Raz. He looked worried. She then told them about the key. She hesitated to mention it but ended up telling them what Joseph said — she may be in possession of this key.
“I don’t like it,” Raz said.
“What part?” Alex asked.
“Not any part of it,” Raz said. “I don’t like the little gnome who appears and then dies. I don’t like that there’s a connection to the Fey SF Team. I don’t like that all of this is happening while our team is under threat of removal from the military.”
“That’s exactly right,” Vince said. “If we pursue any of this, we’ll be in direct violation of General Fonti’s orders not to mention the fact that we’ll be right in Admiral Ingram line of fire.”
“I need to go home,” Alex said. “I was thinking of taking Raz with me.”
“Are you waiting for me to order you?” Vince asked. “That’s not going to happen.”
“Thanks,” Alex said. “We can go to Denver, see if I have this thing, and be back by nightfall.”
“I wonder . . .” MJ said.
“What?” Alex asked.
“I was thinking,” MJ said. “If someone sent the little man, maybe they’re looking for the bee and the key. If you leave now, you’ll lead them straight there.”
“That’s a good point,” Alex said with a nod. “We could go get the last platoon of missing SEALs.”
“You know where they are?” Vince asked with a laugh.
“I think I do,” Alex said. “Just need to make a call. We can take care of that this week. Stop off in Denver on the way back here.”
“What about the whole ‘go to the rear’ thing?” Vince asked.
“Good question,” Alex said. “I think we need to go. But, like I said, I have to make a call.”
She stopped moving and stared at Vince. Blushing, she looked down.
“I’m so sorry,” Alex said. “You’re the leader of the team, and I . . .”
Vince laughed out loud.
“You’re very funny, Hargreaves,” Vince said. “I’m just here because my ass is not as burned by the fire.”
Alex gave him a slight smile and nodded.
“We need to be back by Monday,” Vince said.
“Why?” Alex asked.
“Colonel Gordon is going to be here to figure out what to do with all these men,” Vince said with a nod.
“Good to know,” Alex said.
“Hello?” Samantha, Alex’s sister’s, voice came from the door to the house. “Hello?”
“We’re in here,” Alex yelled to her sister.
Samantha kissed Raz hello and came in. She set her leather briefcase on the table and took off her five-inch heels.
“What are you doing here?” Samantha asked.
“We needed to use your house,” Alex said. “Do you mind?”
“Not at all,” Samantha said. “Are you staying for dinner?”
Alex looked from Vince to MJ and shrugged.
“Do you mind?” Alex asked Raz.
“Sounds fun to me,” Raz said. “Is it too late for the kids?”
“Maybe,” Vince said. “Not my kids. They’re on Denver time still.”
“Or ours,” Alex said. “They’re flexible. Plus, they’d feel so left out if they didn’t come.”
“The big fire pits on the beach have been lit the last couple of days,” Raz said. “I’ve wanted to take the twins out for marshmallows.”
“Then it’s settled,” Samantha said.
Alex couldn’t help but grin with the easy current that passed between Raz and Samantha. Catching her look, Raz grinned at Alex.
“I’ll call John and Quince,” Alex said.
“I think we have some steaks,” Samantha said as she rummaged through the freezer.
“We’ll do it Fey style,” Vince said.
“What does that mean?” Samantha asked.
“We’ll bring the food,” Vince said. “You provide the house.”
“Okay,” Samantha said. “Can you ask someone to bring wine? Beer? We out.”
Alex grinned at Samantha, and she scowled at Alex. Vince’s daughter made a noise and Vince went to where she’d been playing. One final “Mind Your Own Business” sneer from Samantha, and she went to say hello to Vince’s daughter.
“I’ll call Margaret,” MJ said. “Where are your grills?”
MJ followed Raz out to the patio on the boardwalk, where they had a gas grill. Alex watched them talk for a moment before deciding to move out to the beach. She looked down to see Samantha standing right next to her.
“How did you know?” Samantha asked in the low voice reserved for private conversations between sisters with nosy mothers.
“Drinking with the JAG friends?” Alex asked in the same voice. “I might be autistic, but you were definitely not hung over.”
“Do you think Mom knows?” Samantha asked. “I’d tell her, but I already lost one.”
Alex gave a quick shake of her head.
“Erin?” Samantha asked.
“Maybe,” Alex said. “Probably not. She was pretty angry with mom.”
Samantha nodded.
“How far along? Alex asked.
“Few weeks,” Samantha shrugged. “I have a really good feeling this time though.”
“Does he know?” Alex asked.
“As you know, it’s a little more complicated for us than ‘Let’s have a good time,’” Samantha said with a laugh. “Before you ask, he has a good feeling, too.”
Alex grinned her support. Samantha kissed Alex’s cheek and went to change. Alex sat down in the living room and called John and Quince. The twins arrived before John and were immediately whisked off to the beach. John arrived with Vince’s wife Emily, who was working in the hospital where he was taking the training. As if they had been teleported there, the Fey Team and their families arrived almost at the same time. People rotated between the fire pits and the house. Because it wasn’t safe for Alex, she stayed in the house.
Food came and went. Wine and beer came and went. And the Fey Team started to filter away. Sitting on the couch with her sleeping babies’ heads’ on her lap, Alex realized that she was happy. She wasn’t exactly sure why she was happy. She hadn’t made a decision on whether to quit the military or stay or possibly follow Joseph’s weird plan. She was just happy.
John and Raz carried the last of the beach chairs back from the fire pits. Smiling at Alex, he picked up Joey. She got Máire, and they went home. Long after John had dozed off, she awake simply enjoying feeling of being happy.
F