Page 37 of Delta (Alpha #12)

"Because they're right awful bastards, that's why," Rush snarls. "They didn't hurt you?"

"I was very afraid, Daddy. They said if I didn't do as I was told they'd kill me. But I knew you wouldn't let that happen, Daddy. Where are you?"

"I'm…I'm somewhere else, lovey. I had to…the men who took you were following the orders of another man. I'm looking for him to tell him what he did was bad."

A pause. "Daddy, I'm not a baby no more. You're not going to only talk to him, are you? I'm a big girl, now. You can tell me the truth."

Rush laughs, nodding. “Yeah, sweetheart, right you are. I'm gonna…well, I know you're a big girl, but you ought not know the things your daddy does. They're not very nice."

"Daddy, don't be silly. You're nice to me, and you're sometimes nice to grandmama and grandpa, but to other sorts you're quite mean. And I heard grandmama say you're a killer. I wasn't meant to hear her, though. Are you a killer, Daddy?”

Rush doesn't answer, struggling to contain a tumult of emotions. I have to do something.

I take the phone from him. "Hi, Eliza, my name is Bryn. I'm a friend of your father’s.”

"Hello, Bryn. You sound American."

"I am. And you sound British."

She laughs, a merry, tinkling bell-like sound. "Well, of course I do, silly. Because I am!"

"Well, then, I sound American because I am." I let my voice go serious. "Eliza, you must know that your daddy only does what he has to do to keep you safe and take care of you."

"I know that. But…he does hurt people sometimes, doesn't he? That's what grandmama said."

"Only if he has to, and only bad people. Your daddy is a good guy."

"Well of course he is!" she answers immediately, as if it's the most obvious thing in the world.

“He’s my daddy. Sometimes he has to go away, and I get quite sad.

But he has to. For work. And I'm not meant to know what he does because it's adult things.

But I know he's a good guy. He’s the bestest good guy there is. D'you know why I know that?"

"Why?" I prompt.

"Because he gives me kisses and tickles me and reads me stories at night, even though it's hard for him because his brain is a little different about letters and such, and he loves me. A bad person wouldn't do those things. So that's why I know he's good."

Rush is on his knees in the grass, tears flowing down his face. His rifle is forgotten, off to the side. "I'm not. I'm not," he whispers, rocking. "I'm not good. I'm not good."

"Can you say that again?" I say to her. "A little louder."

"Daddy? Are you there?"

"Yeah—" he clears his throat, trying to sound unaffected as he rises to his feet on shaky knees. "Yeah, lovey, I'm here."

"I love you the most in the whole wide world, Daddy," Eliza says. "And if you have to do bad things sometimes for work, that's okay. I do bad things sometimes, but it doesn't make me bad, right?"

"Right," he whispers.

"Are you coming home soon, Daddy?"

"Soon as I can, Lizzy-lovey. Soon's I can."

"Are you sad? You sound like you've been blubbing.”

Rush bursts into helpless laughter. “I wasn't blubbing, you cheeky little shit. I was worried for you."

"Daddy, you ought not say swears at me. I'm only six."

“I know, darling, I'm sorry. You're such a big, bright girl that sometimes I just forget."

"Well, don't. Grandmama says I should be a proper girl, even though you're not a gentleman."

Rush snorts. "I'll have to have a word with Grandma about speaking out of turn around you."

"Oh, well, no, Daddy, it's not her fault. I sneak out of bed and listen to them talk at night when I can't sleep because you're gone."

Rush sighs. "I'm sorry you were so scared, Lizzy-Lovey. This ought not to have happened to you. It's my fault, darling. Do you forgive me?"

"Silly Daddy. Of course I do." A pause. "Daddy?"

"Yes, my love?"

"The medicine I had last time didn't work."

"I know, Eliza. That's…that's where I'm…that's what I'm doing. I'm trying to find a way to get you better medicine."

"I…I don't think there is any, Daddy. I think sometimes, people just get sick and you can't fix them."

Rush's face contorts in agony. He turns away, head hanging, shoulders shaking. "I'll find a way, Lizzy-Lovey. I won't ever give up. Not ever."

"I know, Daddy. Oh, Mr. Nick wants to talk to you now. Bye, Daddy! I love you!"

I hear Dad's voice speaking to Eliza. "Can you go with Miss Cuddy? If you ask nicely, she might have candy for you. just don't tell anyone—she doesn't like to share." On the line, now. "Rush, you there?"

Rush clears his throat. "Yeah," he rasps, his voice wet and hoarse.

"You've got one hell of a brave girl on your hands, son. We caught up to them in a hotel outside Paris. The second she saw us break down the door, she crawled onto the floor between the beds and didn't make a sound. How, I don't fucking know, but she knew we were there for her."

"Did she see—" Rush can't finish.

"No," Dad interrupts. "She got down and stayed down with her hands over her ears and her eyes shut until I picked her up. Not a tear, man, not one. Steady as a rock."

"She shouldn't have had to be," Rush says. "But after what she’s been through medically, not much fazes her. She handles a blood draw better than I do."

"Rush, about that." Dad clears his throat. "I may have stepped out of line on this, but I, um, I made some calls."

"For what?" Rush asks, suspicious.

"Well, I only made one call. I'm sure Bryn's told you that Valentine Roth is like a brother to me."

“Yeah?" Still suspicious. "So what?"

"So Valentine got your girl into that program.

He, uh, well, it's Valentine Roth, and he doesn't do anything by half measures.

So he arranged it so she can receive the treatment from home.

You don't have to go to the States. They're bringing everything to you. They’re getting everything together right now.”

"Fuck me, mate, that must've cost a fortune. I ain't got that kinda cash, Harris, and I never will."

"Exactly. Listen to me, okay? It's what he does. You can't stop Val when he decides to do something. Honestly, you're lucky he didn't just buy a whole hospital and put it in your name."

Rush looks at me. "Is he takin' the piss?"

"Like, is he joking?" I ask, and Rush nods. "No. That's how Uncle Val is. He takes the notion of philanthropy and…" I explode my fingers apart. "Goes nuts. You can't stop it, even if it's ridiculous."

"My wife, about three or four years ago, had an idea.

" Dad pauses, grunting, and I hear Eliza's laugh in the background.

“Here we go, darlin'. Buckled? Alright. Hold on tight.

You ever been on a helo before? No? Look out the window.

And if you wanna go faster, just tell Captain Beth faster, faster. "

I hear her tiny voice shouting "Faster! Faster!" And then whooping in childlike glee.

Dad's back on the line, then. "So anyway. My wife thought it would be a cool idea to host free swimming clinics in some select, um, urban areas of Miami. She heard about a spate of kids drowning because they never learned how to swim due to a lack of access to swimming safety education."

"Not to be rude, mate, but so fuckin' what? We're still on the ground, here."

"So, Val heard about this and created a billion-dollar foundation that installs public pools in inner city areas all over the US, with free swimming clinics every weekend, and they also hand out free life jackets and floaties.

Layla was just thinking a single weekend event at a public pool, and Val went and spent a billion fucking dollars on it.

That's my point. That was because his wife had a random idea.

Your girl is sick—this is personal. He can bring the experimental drugs to you, so he did.

It wouldn't happen for anyone else, but he probably made a massive grant to them or something, and now your girl is gonna get the treatment she needs in the comfort of her own home.

And knowing him, he's probably not done. "

"Jesus. I…" he covers his face. "I dunno know what to say."

"Well, when you meet him, start with thank you."

"Mr. Harris, sir." Rush swallows hard. "You and your crew. I…I owe you. All of you. You saved my girl. I'll never be able to thank you enough. Not ever."

"Son, when people involve kids in adult shit, we get pissed.

And trust me when I say that these fuckers who took her weren't the end of it.

We won't stop until every last sad sack of shit who was part of this thing is six feet under being eaten by worms." He clears his throat.

"Sorry, sweetheart. Don't repeat any of that, yeah?

" He laughs. "Sorry, man, forgot she was here for a second.

Point is, I'll bring her home to her grandparents and post a crew to keep watch until we're sure shih—things are settled.

The medical people will be meeting us there.

I also took the liberty of arranging for repairs to your in-laws' home.

These fuh—um, morons made a heck of a mess. "

Rush tips his head back, sniffing hard. "God, what's happening to me? I'm all…ah, fuck." he scrubs his face, shakes his head like a bear stung by a bee, stomps a foot. "Thank you, Mr. Harris. Thank you."

"Just Harris is fine, son. Kill the mister and the sir. You're not in the service anymore."

I notice Rush isn't correcting the "son" comments anymore. Interesting.

"Now," Dad says, his voice all business once more. "Sitrep."

"Sitrep is Pugli fucking got away. Had a bolthole and a helo."

"Shit. Well, Lear's on it. And when Lear wants to track someone, there's no getting away. The man could track a mouse fart in a tornado.”

Rush snorts a laugh. "Descriptive."

"Just facts, kid. Lose anyone?"

"Nah. We took 'em by surprise, but he bugged out rather than fight. Pussy."

"Well, get airborne and wait for Lear to update you. This ain't over until Pugli is dead."

"That's a fact."

"And for what it's worth, I don't know if I would've done anything different, Rush. With Pugli, your daughter, and the situation with Bryn. It was fucking impossible. If Bryn is still by your side, then that's good enough for me."

My eyes burn a little at Daddy's casual statement.

"You shoulda seen your girl work, sir. I mean, Harris—that might take me a minute. She dropped a tango from two hundred yards, clean as a whistle. She knows her business, and I say that from a professional standpoint."

"Well, she's our kid. Just…stick with her, Rush. That's my daughter."

“You take care of mine, sir, and I'll take care of yours."

"You know it, son." A pause. "I've got a call coming. Gotta go. Talk soon. Harris—"

"Daddy, do not say that," I say, leaning closer to the phone. "It's embarrassing for everyone involved."

A pause.

"Harris, out." Click.

I groan. “He's such a troll, sometimes."

"It is the way of fathers," Ulrich says—I'd forgotten he was there, honestly. "My daughters are always embarrassed by me no matter what I do, so I must have fun with it, since I am such an embarrassment simply for existing."

Rush looks at him. "Lucky me, I'm still my girl's hero." A disgusted sigh. "Try convincing Evelyn of that, though. I'll never be good enough for her."

Ulrich nods. "This I understand and empathize with, very much.

My wife comes from a very important family.

Her father worked for the Chancellor, and her mother ran a fashion magazine.

I came from a very poor family from a very rough part of Berlin.

Plus, when I met my Gisela, I was only a lowly submarine sailor.

Gisela loves me, but her parents have never learned to do the same. They tolerate me at best."

Rush nods. “Richard and Evelyn ain't rich or nothin'," he jerks a head at me.

"But they're good, solid, Christian folk who go to church on Sundays and have tea every afternoon and talk about the bloody Royals like they fart rainbows and shit glitter.

" A shrug. "They don't understand me, or my life, or anything.

Thanks for your service an' all that, yeah, but they don't get it and they don’t get me.”

Ulrich claps him on the shoulder. "Who can, my friend? Only we who have done the job can understand."

"Pugli's men are watching us," Chico says on the comms. “They don't seem interested in pushing their luck, but let's not take any chances."

“The rat bastard really just left his men here?" Rush asks. "Guess he either didn't care or figured we ain't the slaughterin' types."

"A bit of both, I think," Chico answers. "Falcon One is en route. Gather at the E-Z."

Not long after, I'm strapped into a jump seat in the back of the Osprey.

Yay, more traveling.