Field of Blackbirds - Clayton Jeppsen & Lindsey Jeppsen (me reader txt) 📗

his head in.
“Putting in some extra hours are we?” He clicked off his flashlight.
“I forgot something. I’ll only be a few minutes.” Lindsey tried to appear comfortable in the office. She didn’t want to seem nervous. Then the guard glanced at the door label. Lindsey made eye contact with him. She set her badge on the desk and pushed it toward him to read. The last name would be the same.
“My dad needed a file before his trip in the morning. Like I said, I’ll only be a few minutes.”
“No hurry Mamm, I’m just making my rounds.” The guard smiled and then clicked his flashlight back on and continued down the hall.
The file was nowhere in sight. She checked everywhere. Lindsey sat down at her dad’s computer. After a few misfires, she was touched to see that his password was “Madeline,” her mother’s name. She typed Kosovo in the search block and waited for the download. She was anxious. Then four files popped up. She clicked on the first and then . . . . . . . . . she heard the ding of the elevator down the hall; heard the doors open. She figured it was the guard on another round. Then why was her heart pounding? If she stuck her head out to check, it would appear suspicious. She sat and waited. Lindsey couldn’t help but glance back at the computer screen. She noticed Lt. Samuel Clay’s name and then her eyes zeroed in on Reed’s name. She quickly searched for more information. She noticed a few other names. They looked Italian.
Lindsey realized that there was no light moving down the hall, like when the security guard was on his rounds. She heard movement just outside the door. Her body stiffened and then Mr. Love appeared in the doorway. Lindsey was devastated.
“Lindsey, the security guard called me. Is everything okay?” Mr. Love remained at the doorway but was looking at the computer.
Lindsey tried to think of something to say, but nothing made sense. Her thoughts were tangled and her emotions took over. She betrayed his trust. She began to cry.
Mr. Love walked over to Lindsey, placed his hand on her shoulder, “My dear, I’m not clueless you know. I know you care for Reed. I know you love him. I will tell you that I know where he is. I know what he is doing. I know who he is with and I am in contact with him. That’s all I can tell you. He’s safe Lindsey. I’m sorry that I never took the opportunity to get to know him better. I didn’t know that you were so serious about him. If I were home more, I would have known. I’m sorry.”
Lindsey hadn’t composed herself enough to talk, but she was hanging on to every word.
“When I found out what his assignment was, I had to keep my paw on him. If he’s going to be family, if he’s going to be my daughter’s future, I want to help bring him back to us.”
Lindsey took her dad’s arm and pulled him closer to her. Mr. Love’s shirt soaked up the rest of her tears. When she was able to compose herself, she whispered, “Thank you Daddy.” And then she said, “I’m sorry.”
Mr. Love patted her back and explained, “Its okay, you have the right to know. I only wish I could tell you more. But Lindsey, what Reed is doing now is very honorable, more honorable than anything I have ever been involved in. I know you are proud of him. You have the right to be. This young man’s yoke is heavy. A lot of people are depending on him. He needs your strength, your support. Keep loving him Lindsey, it will get him through.”

************

Lindsey spent another hour with Mr. Love. To her, the unexpected reunion was golden. His stature magnified. He could have made her feel terrible, but he made her feel like a million bucks. He could have shown disappointment, but instead, he testified of his love for her. To Mr. Love’s long list of titles, Lindsey would have to add ‘Hero’. And the title of ‘Daddy’, polished up into a beautiful gem.

Chapter 20 – Life and Peace


Skopje, Macedonia 1992

Reed stood alone with Alexander the Great, Marko’s hero. He was the son of a king, a student of Aristotle and a man, who at only age 16, had the weight of a kingdom placed in his lap. He was Macedonia’s real link to history. As Reed gazed upward at his twelve foot, concrete physique, the sky released a soft growl. It tightened and turned to gray. Small drops of water began to mark the concrete around him.
People began to scurry. He could see two elderly gentlemen curse the rain as they gathered up their chess pieces. The older of the two even shook his fist toward the sky and grumbled something in the native language. He saw a mother pushing a baby stroller. She adjusted the canopy above her baby and turned her walk into a slight jog. And then, he saw young children, a boy and his younger sister perhaps. They stopped in wonder, reveling in the fact that their mother wasn’t around to corral them in. A small puppy barked as the two looked toward the sky with their mouths open, with hope to feel the rain on their tongues. Like the children, Reed didn’t seek shelter. He thought the rain was energizing. He sat at a nearby bench and simply enjoyed the time to relax and watch, as Macedonia quenched its thirst.

Reed was the first one to the Monument. If everything went as planned, the others would be arriving shortly. He could hear some of the larger drops of rain tap the bill of his hat. He tilted his head back and stared into the crawling blanket of clouds. He could see each individual raindrop coming down to meet him. Each one carried a small glimmer of light inside. Reed thought it was beautiful against the gray sky. And then, he thought of Lindsey, a glimmer of light in a mist of darkness. She was a life preserver for the tempest tossed in the sea of emotional calamity. She was the hope that fueled his push. And finally, she was the softness where he could rest his head at the end of the fight. Somehow, regardless of the fact that he was a Westerner in the middle of Eastern conflict, Reed managed to doze off.

************

Reed awakened to the sound of screeching tires. He thought he might have overslept. His sight was still a little blurry and rain was still falling. He was able to make out the shape of a blue van at the south end of the park. The side door slid open and a figure stepped out and began waving his arm. Finally, Reed could see it was Otto motioning him over. He appeared anxious. By now, the temperature had dropped about ten degrees and Reed’s clothes were damp. The cold made his joints a little sore as he tried to pick up the pace.
As Reed closed the distance, he heard Otto saying, “Let’s go! Let’s go! The Italians have been arrested by the Skopje Police. They’re being questioned at the station.”
Reed jumped in the van, still unsure of exactly what happened. Marko was driving. Kat was in the passenger seat.
“We don’t have much time. I was worried something like this would happen.” Marko wiped a bead of sweat from his brow. The car was surprisingly warm and the heat was set at the max.
Marko continued, “The three were walking down Ul. Chupinski, when the Police just stopped to talk to them. They said they had been at the stadium all day, but when the Police asked them about the games they were slow to answer. That’s all Angelo could tell me.”
“At least they were allowed a phone call.” added Otto.
Marko was almost causing a scene just by the way he was driving. “Slow down Marko.” Reed advised. “We need some time to think about what we have to do.”
“It might already be too late, Reed.” Marko warned. “If we don’t get to them now, we might not see them again. Once the Diplomats and Statesmen are notified, everything will go public. They will be fresh meat on the menu of political debate. The whole mission will be compromised.”
Reed considered what Sam would want him to do in the current dilemma, cut ties, move on without them.
“Marko, I don’t know exactly what you have in mind, but if the integrity of what we are doing here is lost, so are thousands of lives. If you’re not sure you can negotiate their release without jeopardizing the mission, then we have to leave them behind.”
Otto looked at Reed as if he couldn’t believe what he was hearing. “Reed, it’s worth a try. The Italians are more than half our team and I was just beginning to like them.” Otto smiled with hope to cut through some of the tension in the van.
Reed was frustrated. “Otto, do you think the Italians are not my friends as well? Marcielli is like a brother to me. But we have to look past that. We have orders. I hope we can get them out. We would suffer a considerable loss with their absence. But you have to be prepared to move forward without them.”
Reed was trying to say the responsible thing. He felt he had to say such things as the mission leader. He had to stress the objective. Any good leader would do the same, follow orders to the end. But in reality, Reed wasn’t sure himself, whether or not, he could actually leave the Italians behind.
They parked a block away from Police Station. Before exiting the vehicle, Marko turned around in his seat and faced Reed and Otto and began to explain.
“The Skopje Police could have arrested me many times in the past for things I have done. They know very well who I am and what