Caught Unaware

Chapter 5

HOME OF COL. JOHN CASEY

ECHO PARK, LOS ANGELES, CA

Amelia woke from her dreamless sleep as the sun was rising in the sky, signaling the first day of her life without her parents. Thinking of that very fact brought tears to her eyes and she wept, feeling the loss of her mother and father to the fullest extent. She couldn't stop thinking of all the things she should have done that night.

Maybe she should have suggested they go out to dinner so they would be home later. Maybe she could have warned them the minute she heard the soft pattering above her head, instead of waiting a lifetime to approach her parents' door. She shouldn't have brought about the argument with her mother; did it matter at all which name she was called by when there were no strangers around to hear?

Amelia leaned over and wept into the plush pillow at the head of the bed where she laid down last night. She was overridden with guilt, but there was anger there too. Why had her parents dealt with dangerous people when they had a family? How dare they not take better care to keep everyone in the family safe, instead of leaving her without them?! What made these people so dangerous that they hunted her family for four long years before they struck?

The thought that made Amelia angriest was the fact that she had no answers for any of her questions. One minute, she had her mother and her father. The next, she was stranded and alone. She had no skills to speak of, nothing to get her by should she have been left alone without the help of Casey and his crew. She felt she should have been almost out of college and headed off to conquer the world at this point in her life, not stuck and helpless like a child. But, here she was, in a stranger's home without so much as her own clothes to put onto her body.

It would have been nice if they had let me grab something to remember everything by, she thought to herself, fresh tears pouring down her face after thinking of all the material possessions she lost as well. Her mother's engagement ring, her father's money clip... Anything would have been welcome as a physical reminder of her life before this chaos. She thought of her mother's wedding dress stashed in the closet for the day Amelia would need it, how she first saw it when she was nine years old, helping her mother air it out after having it stored for a few years.

The bodice was snow-white with sequins and pearls overlaying it till it shown. The bottom of it was designed to hug the hips before it flared around the ankles in a mermaid-style, the pearls and sequins bidding the eyes to follow them down the trail to the floor in subtle and fashionable lines. Tulle lay under soft silk and while it was sleeveless, her mother had an authentic ermine shoulder wrap designed to suit the dress perfectly in case the weather took a turn for the chilly side.

Amelia smiled softly as she remembered touching the pearls on the bodice, following the sweetheart neckline gently with her fingers while her mother looked on lovingly. She remembered laughing with her mother, putting the fur around her own little shoulders and strutting across the room and striking a vogue pose like she had seen in a fashion show once.

She sighed and shook the memory away, aching to feel the warmth of her mother's smile again. Her mother's smile, like the dress and everything else that contained all of her memories, will never be hers to cherish again. She had never known despair like she felt now.

**

Casey sat at the table drinking his coffee and reading his paper in his plush, dark blue bathrobe when a soft knock sounded at the door. He set down the paper and cup as he rose and walked slowly to the door, peeking in the peephole before smiling slightly and opening it up to reveal his daughter. Alex wrapped her arms around her father before walking in and letting Casey shut it behind her.

"So, I got your message. Is it national security?" she joked.

"Kinda," Casey answered. "The lady that came home with me last night doesn't have a wardrobe, and she's going to be staying a while." Alex's eyes grew wide and a lascivious grin began to spread across her face. Apparently Morgan hadn't updated her on the situation about the last mission they had gone on, Casey thought.

"Wow, Dad...you worked so fast she didn't even pack for her stay? Go you!" she punched his arm lightly as she teased him about his house guest. Casey scowled at her and rolled his eyes.

"Cute. The last mission was basically a bust, now she's here under my protection. I would go get her whatever she needed but orders are she is to stay inside and out of anyone's sight. No one can know she's here, Alex. Her life depends on it."

"If you were anyone else, dad, I would tell you to come up with a better story," Alex answered back, still smiling but taking him seriously. Casey shook his head and reached into his bathrobe's pocket, producing the credit card he had placed there when he got up, in preparation for Alex's arrival.

"She's about your size, except maybe get her shirts a size bigger. She needs the extra room for...well..." Casey's face grew unusually red as he tried to explain Amelia's body to his daughter. Alex laughed and wrapped her arms around her father's neck once more, pitying the man and putting him out of his misery.

"It's ok, dad, I get it. Did she have anything with her at all when she came here? Toothbrush, toiletries, anything?" Casey shook his head.

"We left in a bit of a hurry and there was no going back for anything," he explained.

"No worries, I'll take care of everything," Alex said confidently, flashing him a smile before opening the door to leave. Casey took the door and leaned against the doorway, watching her go.

"I love you," she called over her shoulder as she disappeared onto the street. Casey waved slightly before closing the door behind him. 

He sighed and was relieved with the knowledge that his daughter was taking care of at least that much. It was one less thing he had to worry about, he thought, as he took up the paper and cup he had set down moments ago.

Just as he was bringing the cup to his lips, another knock, harder this time, sounded at his door. Casey stood on alert and quickly walked over to his stand, opening it and revealing a Glock 23 (compact). He hovered his hand over the loaded weapon as he looked through the peephole for the second time in less than 2 minutes, then let out his breath and closed the drawer before opening his door.

Morgan stood before him, his face hopeful and inviting to mask the intimidation he still felt when he first laid eyes on John Casey. He rubbed his hands together but stopped the motion when he saw what Casey was dressed in, then looked up at Casey with a confused expression.

"Hey, uh...so are you coming to work, buddy? I thought maybe we could carpool--"

Casey cut Morgan off.

"Taking a week off. Personal time," he said, gruffly. Morgan laughed nervously before looking into Casey's face and the smile disappeared quickly.

"I don't remember seeing your request put in for that," Morgan offered, knowing full well that Casey hadn't requested it off at all.

"Consider this my request, and I'll consider this your acceptance," Casey answered before closing his door on the slightly shocked and stuttering manager of Buy More.