Heartfelt by Kay Springsteen

Author:Kay Springsteen [Springsteen, Kay]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Astraea Press LLC
Published: 2012-08-30T15:06:21+00:00

****

When the phone rang, Dan stretched and rubbed his temples. That was probably Nick. They were already two hours over their duty shift. He paused the data stream and answered the call.

“Major Conway.”

“You going to spend the night at your desk or get started on your seventy-two?” asked Nick slowly.

When had his friend begun to tiptoe on broken glass? Dan heaved a sigh. “I guess waiting for it to happen won’t stop it. Give me a second to close out.”

“Good call. Meet me out front.”

Dan terminated the connection and began the process of securing his computer station. His finger hovered in the vicinity of the F9 key, which would exit the RTI program. Should he listen to one more loop? His hand trembled but finally he stabbed the key and shut down the program. Then he closed out the computer.

Blowing out a long breath, he shoved his chair back and stood. “Come on, Jack.”

The shepherd maneuvered himself into position.

“Major Conway.”

Dan started at the sound of Edgerton’s voice. “Yes, sir.”

“I wanted to thank you for your diligence on the troop analysis for Operation Ferret. Nice job, son.”

Son. Right. As if. Edgerton should stick to his retentive PC attitude. Dan’s fuse began to sizzle but he pushed back his temper. “Just doing my job, Colonel.”

“It was a good job.” Edgerton cleared his throat. “I was impressed with your breakdown for the hierarchy of need by the locals. Addressing the most pressing needs will give us a surer footing to gather the information we need from them.”

Psychology one-oh-one. Dan nodded. “Yes, sir.”

“And don’t feel bad that apparently you missed your call on Asim Al’alim.” Edgerton clapped Dan on the shoulder. “We all want to get him, son. He’s just too elusive.” He cleared his throat again. “Well… I saw you’re up for a seventy-two. I hope you enjoy your holiday.”

“Thank you, sir. I plan to.” Dan waited for Edgerton to leave the office before he released his pent-up breath. Then he grabbed Jack’s harness, pausing to lay a hand on his computer terminal. Good, no hum meant it was off and secured.

“What took you so long?” asked Nick when Dan made it to the front of the building.

“Last minute visitor,” muttered Dan as they reached the car. He opened the door and set his laptop and briefcase on the rear floor then let Jack into the back and flipped the seat in place. “Edgerton decided to drop by my office to tell me what a great job I did on Ferret.” He dropped into the front seat and sagged into the leather upholstery. “And he felt the need to commiserate on my missed call about Asim Al’alim.”

“No kidding? The guy’s a—” The Mustang roared to life. “We are Oscar Mike and leaving him behind for the next seventy-two,” announced Nick with a laugh as the car lurched forward.

Yes, on the move, and heading home to Trish and Bella for the holiday. Dan sighed and leaned back against the headrest. They passed the front gate without having to wait for a million cars in front of them to go through a Charlie Search.

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