Chapter 22
Devon handed his ID card to the guard at the front of the ward. The hospital at Landstuhl had shut down the entire floor and tightened security with their arrival. It wasn’t every day a private security company rescued a service member presumed killed in action and showed up on the doorstep of the largest U.S. military hospital in the region.
The guard checked his name against the authorized roster and waved him through. Everyone was trying to keep the news of Braedon and Michael’s rescue quiet as long as possible. The good thing about being overseas was the lack of press coverage, but Addison, Braedon, and Michael were scheduled for a military flight back to D.C. early the next morning. No doubt the media circus would start soon after they landed.
The ward was one of the smaller ones, and Braedon and Michael were the only patients. With the drawdowns in Iraq and Afghanistan, the hospital had more space and was able to accommodate their request for privacy and security. Devon stopped first at the room on the left, knocking on the door.
“Come in.”
He pushed open the door to Michael Drake’s room and found him pacing. “Hey. How’s it going?.”
“Oh, good. I thought you were one of the nurses.” He started doing walking lunges across the room.
“They yell at you for exercising?” Devon asked.
“Yeah. But I can’t lie in that bed. I lay in a bed for weeks, barely able to stand for more than a few minutes. Right now, I’m thinking I might learn how to sleep standing up.”
Devon grinned. “You get a chance to talk to your family yesterday?”
He stopped lunging and nodded. “I did. That was…fuck, that was harder than I expected. My mom just cried the entire time. My dad held it together a little better, but not much.”
“They meeting you in D.C.?”
“They’re flying there tonight. They want to be at the hospital when I arrive. Not big on having to stay at the hospital, but the docs said they want to run more tests—MRI, EKG, EEG, LMNOP—who knows what else. Lot of debriefing, and I’m guessing lots of time with the shrinks.”
“No doubt. Let us know if you need anything while you’re there.”
“I will, thanks.”
Devon turned to leave the room.
“Hey.”
He turned back, and Michael approached with his hand outstretched.
“I already told your boss, but thanks for pulling us out of that hell. Thanks for listening to my parents and not thinking they were crazy.”
Devon took his hand. “Anytime.”
He left the room, pulling the door closed behind him, and crossed the hall to Braedon’s room. As expected, Braedon wasn’t lying abed either but at least he wasn’t doing walking lunges while on his video call.
“I get that you want to share the good news, Mom, but you can’t tell Aunt Linda.” He lifted his chin at Devon when he saw him.
“Who’s that? Is that Addison?”
“No, it’s a friend of mine.”
Devon motioned over his shoulder, asking if he should go. Braedon shook his head and waved him into the room.
“Why does he get to know but I can’t tell family? She’s my sister.”
“One, because he was on the rescue team. And two, because Aunt Linda has never kept a secret in her entire life.”
“That’s not true,” his mom said.
“You remember that trip to Disney you and Dad surprised us with for our twelfth birthday?”
“Yes…”
