Las Vegas Savior

They drove out to his parents place and Emily was nervous as they walked up the sidewalk, hand in hand, to their apartment. John knocked on the door and then turned to smile at Emily. “Don’t worry. They are going to love you as much as I do.” John said and gave her a quick kiss.

The door was opened by a woman in a nurse’s uniform that John greeted as “Amy”. She was a large woman that reminded Emily of a bull dog.

“Hi Amy! This is my girlfriend, Emily. Is everything okay?” He asked as they stepped inside.

“Yes, sir. Just helping your father get his bath. Your mom is helping him get dressed. They should be out in a minute.” Amy replied. “Nice to meet you, Emily. I was just headed out to my next patient. Tell your mom to call if she needs help.” Amy said as she picked up her purse and black bag and left.

“Amy, who was that at the door?” Peggy Travers called as she came down the hall.

“It’s me, mom.” John called back and then smiled when his mother turned the corner and with the use of a cane, came into the living room. Peggy Travers was a tall, thin woman with beautiful gray hair, lively blue eyes and skin that defied her age as the only wrinkles on her face were the laugh lines around her eyes.

“Oh John. I was beginning to think you had gotten busy at work and weren’t going to make it. Oh, who is this?” Peggy said as she hugged her son and then looked over his shoulder and saw Emily.

“Mom, this is Emily Brewer. Emily, this is my mother, Peggy Travers.”

“How do you do, ma’am.” Emily said and stepped forward, holding out her hand and was surprised when Peggy pushed her hand out of the way and hugged her.

“I’m not ma’am. Either call me Peggy or mom. You must be someone pretty special or John wouldn’t be bringing you out here.” Peggy said.

“And this rolling devil is my father, Frank Travers.” John introduced his father as he came down the hall in his electric wheelchair. “Dad, this beautiful woman is Emily Brewer.”

“Well, you certainly found yourself a looker and oh, good lord, she’s even prettier when she blushes.” Frank Travers said and smiled. Emily saw where John got his good looks. Frank Travers was an older version of his son. “How do you do, sir.” Emily said with uncertainty, after Mrs. Travers greeting, of how she should greet the man.

“I’m doing as well as can be expected, thank you for asking. So what’s the story son?” Frank asked after he shook her hand.

“Now, Frank, don’t go embarrassing the poor girl. Would either of you care for something to drink or eat? Come on Emily. Help me get us something to drink.” Peggy said and led the way into the small efficiency kitchen as the men went into the living room.

“Didn’t expect to see you back here again until Mother’s day.” Frank said as he rolled into the living room. He stopped by the fireplace and set his brake as John sat down on the sofa across from him. “So, what’s going on son? When you left here a week ago, you never said a word about her.” Frank said quietly.

“Just met her a few days ago but I knew from the moment I saw her, dad. She’s the reason I’m still in Vegas. She got mixed up with a very bad man, saw him kill her father three years ago, except that she didn’t know it was her father that had been killed.

Anyway, she’s been running ever since. I had started to go stay at the Hilton but there was so much traffic that I decided to just stay at the Budget Inn because it was right off the highway and would be easy for me to get to the airport from there. She was doing her laundry and I was just about to go eat when I came down the sidewalk and saw her. She stole my heart right on the spot. I’ve spent the last few days just trying to keep her alive and away from him.”

“Did you have anything to do with the shooting at the Hilton that we saw on the news this morning?” Frank asked.

“Yes, sir. I shot and killed the man that had been chasing her. He was a leg breaker and hit man for hire.” John told him.

“Well, I wouldn’t say anything to your mom, unless she asks of course. You know she’s always worried that you are going to get hurt being in the FBI. Do you think you will stay with them?” Frank asked.

“No, probably not. I never wanted to be an agent really. I’m going to talk to Jim about going back to the garage or maybe even start up something on my own. Emily and I haven’t had much chance to decide what we are going to do yet.”

“Well, it would be great if you could be closer to us. I know that would put your mom over the moon and would make me happy as well.” Frank said.

In the kitchen, Emily was relating almost the same conversation with Peggy.

“How did you and my son meet?” Peggy asked as she took glasses out of the cabinet and filled them first with ice and then tea out of the big jug in the fridge.

“At the hotel in town. I was doing my laundry and he came walking down the sidewalk (and right into my heart, she thought). Thanks to your son, I’m finally free of a very bad man that killed my father and has been chasing me for the past three years.”

Emily gave John’s mother the most condensed version of what had happened in the last few days. Right now, it amazed her that she had only known John for days instead of the years it felt like they had known each other.

“Wow, now that has got to be some story!” Peggy said as she produced a tray to carry their drinks into the living room to join the men.

Emily carried their drinks back into the living room and passed them around before sitting down next to John on the sofa. “Oh, John. Did Amy tell you that your father made some great progress this past week in therapy?”

“Yeah, I’m finally getting some feeling back in my toes again. It’s been years and lord only knows how many surgeries but this new fusion treatment seems to be doing wonders. My pain levels are down to a more manageable level and now I’m getting some feeling back in areas that have been numb. This new therapy treatment means I may be able to get some muscle tone back in my legs so that they won’t hurt so much if I get feeling back in my legs.” Frank said.

“That’s great dad!” John said.

“Oh that is wonderful!” Emily agreed.

“So Emily. What do you do for a living?” Peggy asked.

“I’m a computer programmer. Or at least I was before I went on the run. I guess I’ll find a job doing that somewhere.” Emily replied.

“Where was home?” Frank asked.

“Well, I was born and raised in Redding, California and I went to college in Oakland. I was working in Seattle when the trouble started and for the past 3 years, it was anywhere that was at least one step ahead of that mad man. I’ve visited just about every state in the western US and done a lot of different jobs, none of which I ever want back.” Emily said and then in the hope of getting herself out of the limelight, she asked “What did you do when you were working, Mr. Travers?”

“Please call me Frank. I was a commercial building inspector for the state of California. We were making real progress with making commercial buildings safer during earthquakes as well as making them more handicap accessible when the accident happened that landed me in this chair.” Frank told her.

“Yes, John told me about the accident. How awful for your family. What about you?” Emily said as she turned to John’s mother.

“Oh, I used to work for the planning commission, that’s how I met Frank but then once we had the kids, I became a stay at home mom.” Peggy said.

Peggy watched Emily and her son together and liked what she saw. The look in her son’s eyes whenever he looked at Emily told her that he had found his soulmate and she was glad for him.

Emily seemed to return the feeling, for as little as she knew about her but she liked what she was seeing. The young woman had very good manners and seemed very respectful. They also just looked great together.

They stayed for a little over an hour and then John asked his parents if they had eaten dinner yet and was told that they had. “They serve dinner around here about 4:30 in the evening.” Frank said. “Too damned early to be eating dinner. I’m usually hungry again before bedtime.”

“Well, we are going to head back to town and get some dinner and then get checked in somewhere. I’m not sure yet when I’m going to have to go back to Sacramento but I’ll call you before I go.” John said as he stood up to leave.

“It was very nice to have met you.” Emily said as she stood up with John.

“It was very nice to have met you too, Emily. Don’t be a stranger now.” Peggy said as she walked with them to the door.

“Bye, mom. Love you.” John said as he kissed his mom on the cheek.

“Take care of each other and hurry back.” Peggy said as she hugged Emily first and then whispered to John “Good catch, son.” “Thanks mom.” John whispered back and then smiled at his mom as he took Emily’s hand and walked her back to her car.

After they had left, Peggy walked back into the living room and Frank said “How much do you want to bet we will be getting a wedding invitation soon?”

“I think that if John had had the chance, he would have already asked her but if I know my son, he’s going to go ring shopping first and do it up right. I liked her.” Peggy said.

“Yeah, me too but I’ve got a feeling she’s got some personal healing to do.” Frank said.

“Well, let’s just hope that she heals quickly because I think John wants to do it as soon as possible.” Peggy said.

“I think he understands that she needs to heal. From what little they told us, she’s been through some bad stuff recently. But if anyone has the patience to wait, it’s John.” Frank said.

“Well, where to now?” Emily asked.

“What do you want to eat?” John asked as they left the retirement community and got back on the highway towards downtown.

“Is there a good Chinese place in Vegas?”

“Vegas tries to cater to every ethnic community so I’m sure there has to be at least one place but I’m not sure where it is. Here, use google to find us a place.” He said as he passed her his phone. They were going to have to look into getting her a better phone. All she currently had was a very basic burner phone from Walmart.

“Man, I can’t wait to get my stuff in storage. I had left a very nice cell phone charging by my bed that night. I bet it’s obsolete by now and I’ll need to upgrade.”

“So is that where you want to go first? To Seattle to get your stuff?” John asked.

“Well, I do want to go get my stuff but I think I’d better find a job and a place to live first. It would kind of be nonproductive to get the furniture and then the place to live, don’t you think?” Emily said practically.

“Definitely. Now the next question is where?” John asked. “I was kind of hoping that you would move in with me but I understand if you want to find a place of your own, at least for a while.” John said, hoping that he was not moving too fast for her.

“Do you think I would be able to find a job in Sacramento?” Emily asked. She had been hoping he would ask but she didn’t want to assume anything.

“Sure. It’s really growing fast and new businesses are opening up all over town.” John asked. They had so much to talk about and he tried to think of what was most important.

Emily pulled up a list of Chinese places and they randomly picked one and drove there. They walked inside, hand in hand. They went through the buffet line and got what they wanted to eat and laughed when they got back to the table and found that they had both picked up almost the same dishes. By unspoken agreement, they didn’t discuss the past or the future as they sat and ate and talked and laughed for over two hours until John looked down at his watch and realized that it was getting late.

“So where do you want to stay tonight? We could go back to the Hilton or we could go somewhere else.”

“We don’t have to stay in those same rooms, do we?” Emily asked.

“No, in fact, I think that at least room 712 will be out of commission for a while. They’ll have to change out the door at the very least.” John said with a grin.

“Do you have a computer?” Emily asked.

“At home I do but when I came on vacation, I left it at home. Besides, my phone can do almost anything that I need for everyday stuff. Why?” John asked.

“Well, I want to search job openings in Sacramento. I also need to contact my sister, Connie. She must be thinking I dropped off the face of the earth. Commander Standish gave me Jake’s contact information and I want to figure out the time difference between here and there before I call him.” Emily said.

“Well, how about this? We go get checked in at the hotel and find out the time difference. Then I’ve got a couple of errands to run for my dad and while I do those, you can make your calls. Okay?”

“Okay. Sounds like a plan. Are you going to need my car?” Emily asked.

“I don’t think so but I might. I think the one thing I need to do for him is not far from the Hilton and if the other is too far away, we can just wait and do it tomorrow.” John said. He paid for their dinner and they walked back to the car. John drove them over to the Hilton and they got checked in.

Emily asked at the desk for the time difference between Las Vegas and Paris and was told that they were 9 hours ahead of them.

Once they dropped their luggage in the room, Emily called and set up International calling on her phone and after John left to do his errands, she sat down on the bed in the hotel room and placed her call, first to her sister, Connie, who got very emotional on the phone as soon as she heard Emily’s voice.

“Em? Is that really you? Oh thank God! Are you alright?” Connie asked.

“Yes, yes. I’m fine. How are you?” Emily asked, smiling at the shortening of her name. Connie was the only one that ever referred to her as Em.

“Dad showed up here trying to borrow money about three and a half years ago and of course we refused to give him a dime. He and Stephan got into it in the front yard and I called the cops. He took off like someone had lit his tail on fire when he heard the sirens and then we were notified about six months later that he had been killed in Seattle.

I tried to get in touch with you but your phone had been cut off and the police said they couldn’t tell us anything about you. I even tried to call your job but they said you just stopped coming to work and they said they didn’t know anything about the circumstances of why you left, just that you stopped showing up for work.

It was like you had dropped off the face of the earth but I knew you must have had a good reason to go underground and I prayed that it wasn’t because the men he owed money to had come looking to collect from you. Why haven’t you called me and at least let me know you were still alive?” Connie wanted to know.

“Well, I didn’t know it at the time but I was dating the man that killed him in an alley and I saw or rather heard the whole thing but at the time, I didn’t realize it was dad.” Emily said.

“Wait back up and start from the beginning or this is going to get too confusing.” Connie said so Emily started from the beginning and told her everything that had happened both then and in the past week.

“Oh wow! No wonder you went underground. You know we may have hated him when he was teaching us all of that survival junk but for at least two of his kids, it came in handy when they needed it.” Connie said. “So now, tell me about this FBI agent that has stolen my baby sister’s heart.”

“Oh, Connie. Remember how we used to dream of our prince charming coming to our rescue and carrying us off to live happily ever after? Well, I’ve finally met mine. John is wonderful and I can’t wait for you to meet him.” Emily said.

“And when do you think that will be?” Connie asked.

“Well, we are going to be in Vegas for another day or two at least, I think and then we are going to Sacramento, which is where he works and I’ve got to see if I can find a job, then we’ll have to go back to Seattle and get all of my stuff out of storage so I guess we’ll stop in Portland either on the way there or the way back. We haven’t actually worked out all the details yet. Hey, when was the last time you heard from Jake?”

“He calls in about once a month. He came back and looked for you when he had leave the first year after you disappeared but he said he couldn’t find anything. He said you had gone so far underground that he couldn’t find a trace of you. He figured you had left the state entirely.” Connie said. “He should be getting up soon. Are you going to try calling there?”

“Yeah. Look I want to try to catch him before he gets away for the day. I’ll call you back when our plans are more solid.” Emily said.

“Okay. I’m so happy that you are okay, Em. I’ve missed you.” Connie said before she hung up.

Emily sat and looked at her phone for a minute with tears in her eyes. She had not realized how much she had missed her sister over the last three years. She wiped her eyes and placed the call to her brother. It took a few minutes and then she heard the phone begin to ring.

“Brewer here.” Jake barked into the phone.

“Jake? It’s Emily.” She said and waited for him to react.

“Emily? Is it really you?” Jake asked in disbelief.

“Yes. It’s really me. How are you?” Emily asked. The rest of the conversation was pretty much the same as the one she had just had with her sister and she asked when he was going to get leave again.

“Well, I’m due to rotate home soon, actually. I’ve been in the service for over 8 years now and thinking about putting in for my final post.” Jake told her.

“Oh, Jake, that’s great! I think. Is that what you want to do?” Emily asked.

“Yeah. I’m ready to come home and be just a civilian again.” Jake said. “I’ve reached a rank now that I can retire from the military and not have to worry about money or benefits, at least for a while.”

“That’s awesome Jake. Well, as much as I wish I could talk longer, this call is going to run out my card so I’ve got to get off of here but when my plans are more definite, I’ll write and let you know. Love you!” Emily said before they hung up.

She decided to go and get her shower while she waited for John to come back from running his errands. She got her clothes out of her pack and carried her toiletries bag into the bathroom with her. She bathed and rewashed her hair. She got out and brushed her teeth and shaped her eyebrows. She also decided to file her nails as she waited and was beginning to get a little worried that John was taking so long.