Are you okay?
Four Months Later
It was a sunny day in Saloosa and I and the baby were making the most of it. I had him in a wrap and as I walked, he happily cooed against me.
I could certainly see why. He was warm and snuggled in against me with a belly full of rich milk and the sun was shining after several days of wind and rain, who wouldn't be happy?
Going by people on the sidewalk, I greeted each of them in turn. All of them wanted to know the latest about the baby and I did my best to humor them, often having to repeat myself over and over, but their interest was genuine and so I responded in kind.
Reaching the jail I was disappointed to find that Caleb was gone. Janet wasn't around either, nor were any of the other deputies.
Going back out onto the street I debated about what to do. I turned to go left when my gaze happened to land on the Diner parking lot just down the street.
It being midafternoon it was an odd sight to see the parking lot of the Diner to be so full of customers. What was more striking than that were the types of the cars filling the parking lot.
They were all very expensive and of a distinctly urban taste. Not at all what you typically saw in a place like Saloosa.
As I gazed with misgiving at the cars I felt my heart slowly freeze over. It had taken them a very long time, but finally they had come for me.
I looked to the left and then to the right as fear threatened to overwhelm my heart. Turning I quickly reentered the jail.
Going to Caleb's office I worked swiftly. Before long I had a baby proof little nest made and sliding Roland out of the rap I laid him down gently on the blankets.
He cooed with delight and reached for me. I kissed his little fingers and leaned down to nuzzle against his little face one more time, deeply breathing in his baby scent.
I dislodged his fingers from my hair then and forcing myself to do what was best for him I got up. His face wrinkled up and he began to cry.
Crying myself, I reached into a desk drawer where I knew Caleb kept an extra handgun. Finding it, I checked to see if it was loaded. It was.
Going to the door, I tried Caleb's cell phone number only to get his voicemail. Again, I tried and still got his voicemail.
I left a message detailing my fears and at the end, I finished with, "Honey... I... if anything happens to me, Roland is by your desk in the jail on the floor. I... I love you!"
Hanging up feeling like a bucket full of tears as my newborn wailed in the background, I opened the door and stepped outside. I needed to get away from the jail if my son was going to have the best chance to survive.
With an expressed cry of alarm, I saw that it was already too late. They were in the street and headed straight for me.
I turned about both ways only to see scouts of theirs coming down the sidewalk in both directions. Everything within me shaking, I whispered, "Oh God, please help me! You cared enough about me to give me the new life that You did and I'm grateful, but please don't let them kill my baby! I'll do anything you ask! I..."
"Anya." The feeling of a voice spoken directly into my spirit brought me to a place of utter stillness.
In a very deep beyond the physical realm way I held still listening for more as the tattooed henchmen that my mother country was prone to manufacturing came step-by-step closer.
"Put the gun in your pocket and stand in belief that I will deliver you."
With resolve I slid the gun into my dress pocket and when I did that I felt strength from somewhere invisible straighten my back and give me courage where I'd had none before.
"Hold your ground and know that I will surely deliver you and your son." Came the voice from within once more and seizing all my hopes and dreams together in one moment I released them to my Creator all at once and the tears disappeared from off my face as if they'd never been there.
The men came within ten feet of me and stopped. There were twelve of them.
"Anya this country air and bright sunshine has done you good, but now we go back."
Staring the speaker fully in the eye I said, "I can't do that Victor. I have a new life here. A family, which is more than I ever knew in Russia. Your brother was a pig and you know he got exactly what he deserved."
Victor shrugged with a gregarious smile, "This is true, but I cannot pick family can I. Yuri was family and... you know our ways Anya. Now do not make scene and I will see to it that things go smoothly for you."
I shook my head no. Victor nodded and several of his men moved forward toward me, all of them smiling.
The audible shucking of a shotgun had the motions of everyone coming to a halt with an almost frozen in time like quality. Slowly the heads of the men before me turned to behold the old veteran that I had worked for two years for at the Diner.
He may have been old, but there was still fire in his eyes and the pressure of the finger that squeezed against the trigger of the express gun still had passion to its touch as if it had found the embrace of a long lost lover.
"Like hell you'll take our Anya away. No Sir, that just ain't gonna happen."
Victor laughed coolly and as one the whole mob drew out their arsenal of guns and took aim at the old man.
"What you do now, old man? Shoot all of us with pop gun?"
"If I only get the chance to take out one of you buckos, be sure it's gonna be you that I gut like a pig before I fall. Anyways, I ain't alone."
Red dots appeared on the shirt fronts of every Russian mobster and beyond that there were the movements of townspeople and business owners alike from all around the scene as they advanced with an eclectic array weaponry that could only be defined as a bit of everything since the American Civil War. There were at least 3 to 4 shooters for every Russian on the street and as for the two scouts on the sidewalk, they now stood with ashen faces as the muzzles of shotguns were pressed up against their heads by each of the town's two deputies that had come up behind them unawares.
I felt a breeze of movement and with relief I saw Caleb step up to my side from behind me. He had Roland.
Tenderly he pressed Roland into my arms and I took him gladly. Just as smoothly Caleb turned to face those in the street, even as with one hand, he eased me to be standing behind him.
I let my forehead fall to rest forward with profound relief against Caleb's back and listened as he said, "The thing about families is that there are good ones and there are bad ones. Anya came to us and she worked hard to become a member of this family, this community. I have no respect for you and what you call a family, when the only stated desire of it is the destruction of all other families that come in confrontation with you. This might come as a shock to you, but what you have isn't a family, it's a cult. Right now, though you get to decide whether you want to sacrifice everything on behalf of your culture, of death and violence, because if so we'll give it to you."
Victor looked about and then shrugged good-naturedly as he said, "What matter? Today, tomorrow, one day we see that justice is done. Relax cowboy and spread your Russian whore wide for a few days more. We can wait. We are very good at waiting."
"Yeah, well, I'm not. Caleb lifted a hand and a rain of darts slammed into all Russian boots on the ground. Stumbling about they all clutched feebly at the tranquilizer darts buried within them.
Leaving the sidewalk Caleb came up to look down upon Victor. Blinking Victor gazed up at him in shock to hear him say, "Another place and time and we'd have just gunned you all down like yellow bellied sons of the skunks that you are. Can't really get away with that sort of justice in a civilized society anymore though. Maybe that's a good thing. Right now I'm kinda thinking it's not. What I do know though Victor is that the lot of you are all here on phony visas, and have stated your plans to abduct an American citizen off native soil. In addition to that, several agencies have come forward with an express desire for information you boys have and one way or another, they're going to get it out of you, especially seeing as how your country is disavowing your presence here. Tell me Victor what do they do with stool pigeons in your family?"
Victor's gaze reflected horror at the worse than just death sentence that had just been passed down upon him and vainly he fought to grasp at his fallen gun, but the sedatives had done their work. Black vans peeled to a stop all around and the members of a Russian mob group long suspected of trafficking in missing Soviet era nuclear ordinances were tossed inside like sacks of rice.
The vans left and what was going to be the topic of conversation for years to come got started off well and truly as the owner of the Diner announced that he had a case of scotch to crack open.
*********
As the crowd dissipated towards the Diner Caleb turned from staring after the vans to come back up on the boardwalk where I stood.
"Are you okay?" He asked with every measure of concern, even as his voice echoed the same emotion as his eyes did.
I nodded, smiling in return.
He looked back to where the vans had disappeared and said, "I wanted to kill them all so badly, but... I've been assured that none of them will ever see the light of day again. Still..."
"But if they come back one day you will be ready for them, won't you." I interjected softly.
"Yes, ma'am." His words were what calm assurety of purpose were made of.
What he had spoken he would also do. I nodded, smiling, intrinsically knowing that my man was ready to die to protect me and our son.
What more could a woman ask for in a man.
Moving closer I asked, "What time will you be home this evening?"
