Background
Two brothers fight for survival and struggle for faith. Christian thriller, last chapter
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Jack leaned against the doorjamb of his brother's immaculate bathroom, smiling at Cody's futile attempt to master a tie one-handed. In the eleven weeks since his release from the hospital, he'd learned to do most of his everyday routine with only his left hand, but a necktie was a little ambitious, even for him.
Cody caught Jack's gaze in the mirror. "Oh, yeah," he muttered, "this is hilarious. Watch the gimpy guy try to tie a tie."
"Gimp is leg."
Cody frowned into the mirror.
"Gimpy. It's a leg thing. You are gimpy, of course, but that doesn't have anything to do with the tie. That's an arm thing. You'd call that ... what? Leftie, I guess. Which you are, so that's not really derogatory the way gimpy is."
"Whatever." Cody threw the neckwear onto the bathroom countertop in frustration. "It would've been a nice birthday present to get this thing off today." He indicated the cast on his right arm with a nod of his head.
"They didn't know it's your birthday, Code."
Cody glowered. "It's in the chart. The doctor even wished me a happy birthday. Which he could have given me if only he'd taken this..." Cody searched for a word that he could use without Jack making a face at his profanity, "this piece of cast off my arm!"
"Clever." Jack nodded in approval. "Piece of cast. I like it. And four more weeks isn't all that long." He didn't ask about mobility in the hand; his mother told him after the appointment that, try as he might, Cody could barely move his fingers when the doctor ordered. Talk of physical therapy and time was not well received. "I mean, it's only four weeks, for crying out loud."
"For you," Cody pouted. He retrieved the tie, made one more attempt and stopped, irritation making his face flush. "And you could offer to help me instead of standing there gawking."
Jack didn't move. "You're more entertaining than anything on TV right now. Anyway, I wasn't gawking. I'm a well-educated, respected member of this community. Well-educated, respected members of the community don't gawk."
Cody smiled in spite of himself. "I think our community might be in serious trouble, then."
Jack chuckled and took the tie from him, placing it around Cody's neck and beginning the knot. "You know, most guys wear a clip-on these days."
Cody nodded without answering, watching Jack's progress in the mirror.
"So it must be some fancy place you're going tonight, huh?"
"Yeah." His brother nodded. "Carnagee's. She mentioned once how much she likes it."
"Carnagee's?" Jack whistled. "Don't tell Laine; you'll make me look bad."
"I always make you look bad." Cody grinned, one eyebrow arching crazily. "Ought to be used to it by now."
Jack let the corners of his mouth tip upward. "Need a loan?"
"Only to cover the sitter," Cody replied quickly.
Money was not a problem. Shortly after their last encounter with the Lehmans, checks had arrived in each of their mailboxes. The amounts were staggering, and a note, signed by Special Agent Frank Aulers, indicated that the money was 'in appreciation for the assistance rendered in the apprehension of the perpetrators'.
"Assistance, huh?" Jack had laughed. "It's a good thing we didn't have to apprehend them all by ourselves! Guess that makes us bounty hunters, huh, Code?"
Cody hadn't said a word. The amount had covered, almost to the penny, the income he expected to lose in the months of recovery and physical therapy to come. More checks showed up periodically, some from family members of victims, some from strangers who, having heard the tale, felt compelled to help the family in any way they could. Cody would open the envelope and read the note or card, then look at the check, quiet with amazement and gratitude.
Jack chuckled softly.
"I'm afraid to ask," Cody said, looking into Jack's dancing eyes.
"Just remembering," Jack said as he finished the knot. "I fixed your tie for your senior prom. You were a wreck then, too -- hands shaking, sweating. I thought for a minute you were going to barf when the doorbell rang. You were pathetic. Morgan Phillips. What a knock-out!"
Cody looked at Jack, surprised. "You remember her name? I barely remember her name."
Jack wiggled his eyebrows. "I'd have gone out with her myself if you hadn't seen her first."
"I don't think so," Cody countered, running a comb through his thick hair. "You were an old married man by then."
"Oh, yeah; I guess I was." Jack pretended to be mildly chastised and shrugged. "But she was a knock-out."
Cody lay the comb down on the counter and frowned at himself in the mirror. He ran his hand through the newly acquired gray scattered through his hair and sighed. It still surprised him to look in the mirror and find the gray salted through the darkness he was used to. When his bangs fell forward there would be an instant, as he reached up to push them back, when several strands of it caught his eye. His hand would freeze for a fraction of a second as he realized this really was his hair. He looked at the thin scar under his left eye. That took some getting used to as well, and he wasn't there yet.
"Makes you look distinguished," Jack offered, watching Cody's face.
"Makes me look old."
Jack studied his younger brother for a minute. "You know, Code," he said, "for a while there it didn't look like we'd have occasion to celebrate another one of your birthdays. Whether we'd need to pick between your long-hair music and a book or choose chocolate or white cake." Cody looked at him in the mirror. "But here it is: your birthday. Miracle of miracles, Code. A little gray hair and a couple of scars don't seem to be so bad."
Their eyes met. They'd seen and experienced a lot -- too much -- and it had certainly taken its toll. They knew life in a different way, now. Their families would never be the same; their children would never be quite as innocent. But they knew God in a different way now, too, knew they could count on His faithfulness even when they couldn't understand the purpose or situation.
Cody nodded, putting graying hair and a small scar into perspective. "Yeah,that's true. It could've been worse. I could've ended up looking like you."
Jack smiled broadly, the serious moment between them dissolved like salt in water. "You're not that lucky, kiddo. Anyway, Doc's seen you looking lots worse than this."
"Yeah."
Jack watched Cody a minute longer. He'd grown somber, staring at himself in the mirror, but looking at something far away. "What's up?"
Cody turned up the corner of his mouth and shook his head. "I was just thinking."
"Man, that could be dangerous."
Cody turned from the mirror to look at his brother and hesitated, searching for words. "It's just...I don't know if I can love anybody the way I loved Pam, you know? What if I end up with Abby, or anybody else, and realize I can't love her the way I loved Pam?"
Silence stretched between the brothers for a minute. "I don't think you're supposed to love anybody the way you loved her. She was your wife, Cody. You guys had a relationship that won't be anything like anything else. If you end up loving Abby, then you'll love her the way you love Abby. It'll be different. But that doesn't mean it'll be less."
Cody looked down at the floor, exhaled in relief and returned his gaze to his brother. "When did you get so smart?"
Jack smiled broadly. "Oh, I've always been smart, little brother. You were just never smart enough to notice before."
"Does she remind you of Pam?" Cody turned back to the mirror slowly as he asked the question, keeping Jack from seeing his expression.
"The good doctor?" Jack asked, surprised. "No, not really. Crazy sense of humor like Pam, smart girl, incredible faith. They both put up with you. Other than that ... no."
"Me, neither. I don't know if that's good or not."
"It's not good or bad. It just is. And I think Pam would approve."
Cody looked at Jack, grateful for the last comment. "You're sure you guys don't mind babysitting?"
"Well, let's see," Jack drawled slowly. "The first time in recorded history that you and Mom have a date on the same night. If I'd said 'no' to this, Laine would have strung me up by the heels. . Who'd have ever guessed our mother with Lt. Henry?"
Cody raised eyebrows at him. "Does he remind you of a basset hound?"
Jack struggled to keep his face straight. "I thought I was the only one who noticed!" He looked away from Cody's reflection and then back, and the two of them burst into laughter. "I wonder if Mom knows," Jack said after they'd recovered, and the thought sent them both into uncontrolled peals again.
"I think we'll all be fine, Code," Jack said after a minute, wiping his eyes, and realized he really did believe that; not just about this night, but about their futures. "You're not getting cold feet, are you?"
Cody looked at himself in the mirror again, wondering the same thing himself.
They stood quietly, listening to the radio in the bedroom exhorting them to drink a better cola, and to the sounds of kids playing in the backyard. The high-pitched 'yips' of young puppies, one collie and one shepherd, accompanied indistinct hoots and yells. But they were happy, contented yells, as if signaling to their neighborhood that all was well.
That truth had hit Jack three nights before, lightening his heart. He'd dropped in on his brother's family to return a borrowed movie and found them all in the front yard, staring upwards in the dark at a near-moonless sky. Cody held Katie in his arms and Michael was pointing to stars, helping her find Orion.
"You see it now?" he asked as Jack got out of his car.
Katie nodded. "I do, now ... I just thought there'd be more of him. You should'a told me it was just his shoulders and feet. I was looking for a whole guy up there."
Cody laughed, the sound of his baritone levity filling the chilly air. "You did, huh?"
Katie nodded.
"Your momma loved that constellation. She'd always point it out to you when she brought you out here at night. Do you remember that?"
Katie frowned, wrinkling her miniature nose in effort. "Kind of. Why'd she do that, Daddy?"
Cody shrugged. "I'm not sure. They were her special stars."
"You don't know? Really?" Michael looked at his father, surprised. He looked back upward, letting the minimal light of the stars shine on his face. "She told me once. She said Orion reminded her of Jesus. He's always there, watching over us, even when we don't understand what his plan might be for our lives. He never changes. She said they're both warriors, Jesus and Orion, and that she could never doubt God's love as long as she could step outside and look up to find Orion."
They'd all lifted their faces then, breathing in the cool air and looking up at Pam's Orion.
Jack smiled at the memory and listened to the lyrics of a song playing on the radio. He fights for me...He always has, He always has my victory...It's in His hands, In His hands...The God of Heaven...is my defense. "Yes, He is," he murmured. Looking at his watch, he sighed dramaticly. "I think she stood you up, Bro."
"She'll be here." Cody's calm words were undermined by a nervous push of hair from his eyes. "She's just waiting for you to run out of dumb jokes."
"In that case you'd better make yourself a sandwich." Jack smiled warmly at his brother.
The doorbell rang. Jack leaned forward, pushed away from the door with his rear, and stuffed his hands in his pockets. "You're not going to puke, are you?"
Cody ignored the question and took one last critical look at himself in the mirror. The brothers walked down the stairs and across the living room toward the front door in silence.
Cody still walked with a noticeable limp. Told that he always would, he decided to ignore that piece of information. The same doctor told him he wouldn't be able to walk without a cane for at least four months. He lost the walking stick a week ago. He'd looked for it for a while and given up, walking almost as well without it as he had with it. It remained hidden under Katie's bed, where she'd stashed it when he wasn't looking.
As they neared the door, Cody swiped at an imaginary imperfection on his pants leg.
"Man..." Jack exhaled loud enough for Cody to look at him. "I'd forgotten how nerve-wracking this dating thing can be. Know what you need after all this stress?"
Cody looked at him for a response, raising an eyebrow and brushing a lock of hair from his eyes. "What?"
Jack grinned. "You need a vacation."
As they passed the couch, Cody bent, grabbed a pillow and smacked Jack in the head.
END
Author Notes
And that's it. I feel like i've crossed a mighty ocean or climbed a mountain with this one. It was exhausting! Thank you for faithfully reading! Each of you has a special place in my heart. You are my 'special stars'.
Summary:Brothers Jack and Cody McClellan go for a 'men's weekend' camping trip. Cody goes on a photo safari and stumbles upon what is obviously an assassination. At his interruption, the intended victim escapes, cody is shot and left for dead and the hitmen pursue their original target.
Jack finds his brother and manages to escape the park with the help of other campers, with the killers in hot pursuit.
At the hospital, Codyflat-lines. For the first time Jack, who has been angry at God for a couple of years, prays. Cody's heart begins to beat again without further medical intervention and he's rushed to surgery.
The next day, he awakens. An FBI agent speaks with him about what he saw. The hitmen are wanted for several murders of prominent civil rights leaders and minority politicians.
One of the killers sneaks into Cody's room later, garbed in a stolen orderly's uniform. He injects a toxin into Cody's IV. Cody's son, Michael, walks in on this deadly attack, screams for help, and gets the attention of Jack and the FBI agent, Aulers. Cody is placed in a medically-induced coma to allow the poison to clear his system.
Returning home six weeks later, Cody feels like the family Is in the ultimate danger, that the remaining Lehman brothers will attack that night. He is correct. Lehman blocks the cell phones and is holding the downstairs phone receiver when Cody tries to call o11. He promises to come upstairs if Cody doesn't go down, so, in order to provide his family with time to hide, Cody agrees.
In the fight that follows, Cody manages to hit the evil man hard enough to stun him. He grabs his Glock off the floor, but when he turns to fire at Lehman, the killer is already down, felled by Jack, who arrived in the nick of time. The fourth Lehman was killed at Jack's home, attacking there.
This is the epilogue, so if you're just now joining us, I hope this helped. :)
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