Chapter 15: Call me Sweetheart again
As the days passed, I worked off and on trying to find a link between SOCK and anything remotely criminal. It was frustrating. I couldn't connect any dots at all. Even though on the surface of it they were suspiciously affluent without reason, I was sure the I.R.S. would have been on their case if it was as transparent as it seemed. No, I was missing something. Or, I wasn't able to see something. After I while, I surrendered. There was nothing to go on.
Our nightly calls to each other became more personal. I wanted to tell her how much she meant to me and I found a dozen different ways to do it. Everything that she said to me told me she felt the same way. I wondered when she came home from her project if she would tell me what she had been holding back from admitting to herself.
I was spending every Saturday with Jimmy. Not because I thought it was a way to endear myself to Nicole, but because I genuinely enjoyed being with him. We found things to do that weren't in the guide book. I took him out to the air force base and we watched the planes take off and land. As far as Jimmy was concerned, we could have spent the whole day there.
I bought him a couple of books. One was an old Hardy Boys novel to see how he liked it. There were literally dozens of HB mysteries and I would do anything to encourage him to read. The other book I purchased was a coffee table sized book on airplanes. He would see a plane at the airport, then look it up in his book. I had found a way to get him excited about books.
Nicole knew all this, of course. Her mother kept her well informed of my comings and goings around their house. I was spending some time with Angus and learning quite a bit about the gas-chemical business. The Harborside Refinery was an old established fixture on the waterfront and Angus was the manager of safety and security.
"What do you have to worry about as far as security, Angus?" I asked as we sipped his favorite single-malt.
"Oh, I suppose there'd always some fool who thinks he can pinch some petrol or a lorry or something, but the thing I keep a watch for is these murderous eco-terrorists. They'd blow up the world if they thought it would further their cause."
"Do we really have to worry about them?" I asked, only vaguely realizing it was a current issue in our country.
"Aye. They've had some success in northern Canada on the pipelines. They even blew one up in Russia, but the buggers never admitted it. These hijacked tankers off Somalia ... they're a prime target and don't think the Navy doesn't realize it. There's a rumor going around that the explosion in Port Arthur, Texas, might have been deliberate. That keeps me on my watch, Lad."
"We don't hear much about them. Are they organized?"
"Well, the Earth Liberation Front is well known. The Animal Liberation Front is another one. They aren't all after the same thing, Will. That's what makes them so damnably hard to deal with. One minute it's a refinery, the next it's a pipeline, then an abortion clinic, a logging operation, then a zoo. You never know what to expect next. I just assume that my place is on their list."
I thought about what Angus was suggesting. Was there any connection with environmental organizations and environmental terrorism? It was another potential lead and worth trying to follow up.
***
"How are you doing, love?" I asked as we connected on Skype.
"I'm okay, I guess. Lonely, to tell the truth. Just one more week before I can come home for a break."
"Still going back for a second time?"
"Yes. I'm afraid so. It's really a lot of paperwork, to be honest, Will. I'd love to be able to tell you about it ... and I will when this is all over. But for now, I just keep my head down and do my job. But ... I miss you. I miss Jimmy and Mom and Dad, but most of all, I miss you."
"I know how you feel. Do you know when you're coming home yet?"
"Yes, we plan to fly out Friday afternoon and we should be in Saginaw by seven o'clock. I'll be home in time to put Jimmy to bed."
"I'll meet you at the airport."
"Yes, please. You're the first face I want to see and I don't think Jimmy should be around to see what I'm going to do to you."
"Ooooweee! What do I have to look forward to?"
"Something I've been saving for the last month. Something I've needed to find out for sure. So be prepared," she grinned.
"I wish you hadn't told me that," I kidded. "I've got five more days before I find out what it is. I don't know if I can hold out that long."
"It will be worth it if you do," she smiled, wiggling her eyebrows.
"I know it will. You wouldn't tease me like this if you didn't mean it."
"See this calendar?" she asked, holding up a large wall calendar to the webcam. "See all those X's? I've been marking off all the days that we've been apart. I'm going to put a different mark on the days that I'm home. A very different mark."
"I can't wait, Sweetheart. I'm going to be counting the minutes, much less the hours or days."
"Call me Sweetheart again. I love the sound of it."
"I'll call you Sweetheart anytime you want, Sweetheart."
"I never thought you were the mushy type," she giggled.
"I'm not ... or at least, I wasn't until I met you."
We went on like that until it was time to sign off. I was so energized with her promise of what I could expect when she came home. I lay in bed that Sunday night and tried to imagine what it would be like to make love to her.
I leaned on the corner of the hangar as the sleek jet rolled to a stop only fifty feet away. I was as tight as the E string on a guitar, but I wouldn't have long to wait. No baggage claim, no crowding to get off the aircraft, no long walks up the jetway and through the terminal. No, I wouldn't have long to wait at all.
She wasn't first off the plane, but close. She saw me immediately and came on the run toward me. I held my arms open and she leaped into them. We held each other tightly, her feet not touching the ground as I kissed her face and lips and neck at a frantic pace.
As some point I put her down and saw the tears. I also saw the smile. I wrapped her in my arms again, holding her for fear she would be gone again if I didn't.
"I love you, Nicole."
"I love you too, Will."
"Can I put your bags in the car, Ma'am?" the dark-suited man asked with a smile. I hadn't even seen him approach. I was otherwise occupied.
I opened the trunk and thanked him for his help. I held the door for Nicole and she slipped into the passenger seat, smiling her thanks. I got in my side, closed the door and turned to her.