He crushed me to him, running his hand over my hair, whispering softly to me, soothing me while I cried. I buried my face into his dark sweater, sobbing, taking comfort in his warmth and the rich smell of him. “Shh, Lang. Don’t worry. I’m here. I’m gonna take care of you, baby.”
Hearing him say those words was enough. I could get through the next twenty-four hours if he was by my side. And I could get through the following twenty-four hours after that. The days and the months that came next were a mystery, but I got the feeling I’d be okay if Sully was around to strengthen and support me.
Jerry arrived at just after seven. Sully booked an extra plane ticket on his phone as we crossed back to the mainland, and by the time we reached the airport everything was in order. The plane back to L.A. was practically empty, and Sully and I had three seats to ourselves. I lay out with my head in his lap, his hand softly brushing my hair over and over for most of the flight, and I tried to sleep. I couldn’t manage it, though.
LAX was just a short car ride from Manhattan Beach and the place where I’d grown up. Where my dad had taught me to drive. To fish. To cook. To become a responsible adult in the world. How could he be gone? How could he be dead? My heart was aching so fiercely as we disembarked from the plane that it felt like it would never be whole again.
Sully took my single bag from me and carried it down the concourse, holding me to him tightly. “It’s going to be okay, Lang,” he said into my hair. “I promise. It may not feel like it right now, but everything is going to be okay.”
“Captain Fletcher? Captain Sully Fletcher?”
To our right, a group of men were fast approaching, dressed in full military gear. I was so surprised they knew Sully’s name that it took me a long moment to process what happened next. Sully stiffened next to me, coming to a stop as the five men cut us off.
“Yes. I’m Sully Fletcher. Not a captain anymore, though. I’ve been out of the military for a long time now.”
The soldier at the front of the group stepped forward. There was a hard, cold look in his eye that made me instantly nervous, though I couldn’t tell why. “You’re going to have to come with us, sir,” he snapped.
“What for?” Sully’s face was devoid of all emotion. He seemed suddenly as though he was made out of stone.
“You’re under arrest,” the soldier said. “For impersonating a commissioned officer in the U.S. Army.” The men gathered around Sully, pulling at him, taking both his bag as well as mine from him, turning him around so they could handcuff him.
“What? What the hell is going on, Sully? Tell them! Tell them they’ve made a mistake!”
Sully didn’t say a word, though. He looked stunned, but at the same time there was an air of resignation to him that scared me half to death. “Sully? Sully, tell me what’s going on.” The soldiers took him by the arms on both sides and began to march him off down the concourse without giving me a second thought.
“Hey! Hey, tell me what the hell is going on!” I grabbed the closest soldier, trying to get him to stop, to explain this madness to me, but he ripped his arm away. Spinning around, he drew himself up to his full height and barked at me.
“Ma’am, I strongly advise you not to touch me again, or there will be severe consequences.”
“Don’t you fucking touch her, asshole,” Sully snarled. It was the first time he’d said anything since they’d told him he was under arrest; he went from stony compliance to extreme anger in a flash, struggling to free himself from the soldiers. He twisted, trying to wrestle himself loose, but the men had hold of him tight and it didn’t look like they were planning on letting him go. “Get your fucking hands off me, motherfucker!”
“Sully!” I tried to get past the huge, towering man in front of me, blocking my path, but he was a wall of muscle, and I had no hope.
“Ma’am? Ma’am. Stop. Captain Fletcher is required to come with us. If you don’t calm down, we’ll be forced to call for local law enforcement to come and detain you until we are off the property.”
“Good. Call the police. You can’t just take him like this. He has the right to due process, just like anyone else.”
“He does not, ma’am. He’s still governed by the United States Army, regardless of whether or not he’s on active duty. Fletcher’s committed a crime. He’s under investigation. That’s all there is to it.”
“But he has the right to a lawyer. He has the right to know why he’s being—”
“Ophelia.” Sully had stopped struggling and was looking at me. “Please. It’s okay. Just go and be with your mom, okay? I’ll come find you as soon as I can, I swear.”
And so that was it. They led Sully away, and he was gone.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
Afghanistan
2009
Sully