Page 61 of Broken
“Why?”
“ALPHA Opswereon lockdown, but that decision has been upgraded. They’ve been told to leave the area, until we can get a handle on things. We’ve got two dead Ops and the attempted murder of Nicholas and Addison.”
Silence.
“You there?” Z asked.
“Haven’t gone anywhere.”
“I’m gonna need you to take down the killer.”
“Yeah, so I know I’m your go-to guy, but I got my hands full.”
“You’re not in ALPHA and there’s no documentationanywherethat BLACK OPS even exists. You’re my only hope.”
“Thank you, Obi-wan. I’ll keep that in mindafterI figure out how I tell a three-year-old his mommy is never coming home.”
“I’m so sorry for your loss. We’ll talk later.” Z hung up.
“Was that work?” his dad asked as Prescott pulled into the garage.
“Yeah.” Prescott cut the engine, got out, and grabbed several grocery bags.
In the house, his mom and Ethan were busy coloring at the kitchen table. After setting the bags on the center island, Prescott admired their artwork. “Wow, look at you two. Ethan, that’s cool.”
Ethan continued coloring a dinosaur. “It’s for Mommy to help her get better.”
He flicked his gaze to his mom before tousling the tyke’s long hair. “That’s a great present.”
After putting away the food, he decided to grill chicken breasts. It was that or fix Ethan chicken nuggets or a hotdog. Twenty minutes later, he served the chicken with a side of peas. He was flying without a net. He wasn’t even supposed to be at home, and he rarely ate lunch there.
His stomach was in knots and he had no appetite, but he fixed himself a serving as well. His mom put together plates for herself and his dad, then they sat at the kitchen table.
Prescott started cutting up Ethan’s chicken.
“Ew, what’s that?” Ethan asked.
“Chicken.”
“I like nuggets.”
“These are the same thing, only good for you.”
The child shook his head. “No, fank you.”
The doorbell rang and the child perked up. “It’s Mommy!” He unbuckled and was sliding out of the booster seat when Prescott went to answer the door.
To his surprise, Z was standing there. “Can I come in?”
Prescott opened the front door as Ethan came crashing into him. Peeking from behind Prescott, he said, “You’re not my mommy.”
Prescott picked him up. “This is Addison’s daddy. Do you remember her?”
Z extended his hand and Ethan shook it. To Prescott’s surprise, Z smiled. A rare occurrence. “I’ve got a funny name,” he told the child. “Wanna know what it is?”
“Okay.”
“It’s Z.”
