Secure Again
Chase Security Series #2
R. L. Dunn
Copyright © 2019 R.L. Dunn.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored, or transmitted by any means—whether auditory, graphic, mechanical, or electronic—without written permission of the author, except in the case of brief excerpts used in critical articles and reviews. Unauthorized reproduction of any part of this work is illegal and is punishable by law.
* * *
This is a work of fiction. All of the characters, names, incidents, organizations, and dialogue in this novel are either the products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. This book explores adult themes and triggers. Reader discretion is advised.
* * *
Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.
* * *
Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Depositphotos are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.
Certain stock imagery © Depositphotos
* * *
R.L. Dunn Publishing Services: 05/9/2019
Cover and Format by: Mountains Wanted Publishing
Edited by Krista Venero/Mountains Wanted Publishing
* * *
Created with Vellum
Contents
Secure Again Cast List
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Chapter 34
Epilogue
About the Author
Books by RL Dunn
To my husband and children for their loving support.
To my family and friends in the medical, legal, law enforcement, and special ops communities for their abundance of technical advice.
To all the female physicians I’ve met who are inspirations.
For everyone who thinks they can’t…yes you can.
And, finally, to all the people I’ve encountered who left an impression on me.
PS: To Krista Venero for keeping me focused.
Secure Again Cast List
Ian “Hornet” Chase-President/CEO
Cassie Chase, wife
Colby “Cowboy” Winter, Ret. Delta Force, Chase estate security
Jason “Puddycat” Sylvester, Ret. Green Beret, chauffeur and bodyguard
Esther, Ret. Master of Arms Navy, secretary
* * *
Kieran “Genius” Chase-Vice President/COO/Head of Alpha Team, MBA
Colin Chase, son
Graham Greyson, family security
Rear Admiral Declan Chase, JD, Ian and Kieran’s Father
Lillian Chase, CCRN, Ian and Kieran’s Mother
* * *
Chase Security International Directors
* * *
Martin “Farmer” Bailey, Chief Executive Officer
Karen Rhodes, secretary
Dennis Bailey, Martin’s father
Fay Bailey, Martin’s mother
Austin Bailey, Sergeant Silverton PD, Martin’s brother
Janey Bailey, Austin’s wife
Austin Jr., Austin’s son
Amanda Bailey, Martin’s sister
Olivia Bailey, Martin’s sister
* * *
Mike “Raptor” Johnson, Chief of Operations
Tate “Dictionary” Webster, Executive Director-DC
Ford “Fury” Cox, Assistant Executive Director-DC
Kyle “Coop” Cooper, Executive Director Licensing
Wesley “Alamo” Crockett, Executive Director-Training, Working undercover as CO Sergeant Dave Tibbs
Lincoln “Bear” Collier, Assistant Executive Director-Denver
Bruce “Bean” Steele, Co-Executive Director-Infrastructure
Kip “Acrobat” Brennen, Co-Executive Director-Infrastructure
Zach “Ice” Wentworth, Executive Director Domestic Law Enforcement Training.
Tighe “Tiger” Cummings, Co-Team Leader Bravo Team-Rapid Response/New York Assistant Executive Director
Julian “Ice” Dupart, Executive Director-San Diego
Troy “Greece” Bremen Co-Team Leader Bravo Team-Rapid Response-San Diego Assistant Executive Director, Working undercover as Royce Mills
Matteo “Macho Man” Martinez, Executive Director Motor Pool/Insurance
Richard “Tiny Tim” Parry, Executive Director of Communications
* * *
Chase Medical
Pete “Boston” Walter, RPA-C, Executive Director of Facility Management
Tucker “Friar” Hanlon, RPA-C, Director of Facility Management-DC
Jamie “Irish” O’Reilly, RPA-C, Director of Facility Management-New York
Eric “Savior” Seton, RPA-C, Director of Facility Management-San Diego
Seth “Needles” Brady, RPA-C, Director of Facility Management-Denver
Patrick “Viper” Hedges, MD, FACS
Jon, RPA-C
Judson, RPA-C
Tess Skinner, RPA-C
Dana Williamson, BSN
Vanessa Rudolf, BSN
Laverne Waverly, BSN
* * *
Elizabeth Reed MD, FACS Trauma Surgeon
Talbot Reed, former Iowa Governor, Elizabeth’s father
Alma Reed, Elizabeth’s mother (deceased)
Joyce Bey, MD, Pediatric Surgeon, Elizabeth’s best friend
Ruth Weiss, MD, Professor, Johns Hopkins, Elizabeth’s mentor and friend
Lewis James, Elizabeth’s ex-husband
* * *
Bravo Team
Josh “Hoist” Stone, Executive Officer/Team Leader, Undercover as Sonny Noone
Trask “Headcap” Winslow, Medic
Ken “Jockey” Clarke, Medic
Sam “Birdman” Robison, Medic
Len “Buck” Rodgers, Undercover as Chip Carlson
Joseph “Red” Canel
Archie “Wolf” Stevenson
Emerson “Coach” Davis, Undercover as Elvis Donner
Kelly “Batgirl” Ramirez
Kevin “Boomer” Harper
Israel “Fox” DeCastro
TJ “Cuda” Poole
* * *
Tango Team
Rene “Gator” Mirouette, Team Leader
Gwen “Witch” North, Executive Officer
* * *
Christian Paulsen, First Deputy Director Chase Training
Caleb Paulsen, At Designated Order
Noah Paulsen, At Designated Order
* * *
Chase Legal
Mr. Brock Carpenter, JD
* * *
Chase Ventures
Mr. Vaughn Hanna, MBA, CPA, FCA
* * *
Hom
eland Security
Deputy Undersecretary Brynn Hackman
Deputy Undersecretary Todd Duran
* * *
Horizon Hospital Patients
Lola Wyatt—infant
Mel Wyatt—Lola’s great-grandfather
Lissa “Victoria” Satanta—four-year-old child
Tonnette Torres, patient/prisoner
Calvin Ashbrook, patient/prisoner
Carol Whelan, patient, and Karl Whelan, husband
Ryan McLaren, patient
Mr. Fitzgerald, patient
Avery Heinz, patient, and Ted Heinz, husband
* * *
Horizon Hospital Staff
Hal Dufour, VP, Horizon Hospital
Cecile Moody Dufour, wife
Viola Dufour, daughter
Craig Hillinger, MD, Chief of Staff
Steven Keys, MD, FACS
Chris Colgate, MD, NICU, Steven’s husband
Pietra Hahn, MD, anesthesiologist
Warren Chen, MD, anesthesiologist
Randall Knox, MD, FACS
Lou Miranda, MD, ER physician
Henrietta Krump, nurse administrator
Miles Gerba, MD, ICU Intensivist
Virginia Parker, MD, ICU Intensivist
Lois Massey, MD, OB/GYN
Indira Choudhary, MD, pediatrician
Karen Williams, MD, ENT surgeon
Clive Richey, MD, Cardio/Thoracic surgeon
Ira Thorne, MD, urologist
Howard Morton, MD, Cardiology Fellow
Sterling Hoyt, MD, neurosurgeon
Kat Archer, MD, pediatric surgeon
Nate Barnett, MD, pediatrician
Darwin Simms, MD, Interventional Radiologist
Fred Lee, MD, pediatric fellow
Connor Caine, MD, surgical fellow
George Keller, MD, surgical fellow
Hailey Ullman, MD, 3rd year resident
Byron Hall, MD, 3rd year resident
Krystal Slater, MD, 2nd year resident
McCann, MD, resident
Keith Perry, MD, intern
Tommy Kline, MSN, Head Nurse ICU
Colleen Rice, BSN, Pediatrics/NICU
Kathy, BSN, ER charge nurse
Gina, BSN, OR nurse
Jackie Clemente, OR nurse
Reverend Brookfield, hospital clergy
* * *
Silverton Corrections
Clay Jenner, Director of Corrections, Silverton, Iowa
Thibodaux Spooner, Assistant Director Corrections
Sergeant Alden McAllister, CO
Celine Moody McAllister, wife, assistant to Clay Jenner
Sergeant Keene Jenson, CO
Tim Lampton, CO
Boyd Thomas, CO
Ralph Locke, CO
Lonnie Cowan, CO
Vernon Gafford, CO
Trudy Saperstein, RN, Silverton Jail nurse
* * *
Silverton Police Department
Chief Douglas Sharpe
Shaun Murray, Lieutenant, Silverton PD
Brian Riggs, Detective, Silverton PD
Wilbur Blake, Detective, Silverton PD
Danny Logan, Detective, Sergeant Silverton PD
Paul Young, Detective, Sergeant Silverton PD
Irvin Lamb, Lieutenant, Silverton PD
Trip Mathias, PO SWAT
Beck Ferguson, Detective
Officer Forrester
Officer Pellegrino
* * *
Legal Representation
Cleo Nolan, JD, Defense Attorney
Terence Newsome, JD, Defense Attorney
Cordelia Newsome Snow, JD, Defense Attorney
Loren Ragan, JD, Silverton District Attorney
Judge Ronald Weese
Jacob Krebs, JD, ADA
Sutton Turner, Legal Aid Attorney
* * *
Additional Characters
Otis Frable, prisoner
Ervin Pitts, prisoner
Hank Price, prisoner
Gene Corcoran, undercover FBI
Jasper Satanta, meth dealer, addict
Sharlene Whitmore, ATF Agent
Major Antonio Moretti, Iowa State Police
Kalina, prisoner
Melinda Bradford, Talbot Reed’s Assistant
Chapter One
Tuesday, July 9th
Dr. Elizabeth Reed walked into the department of medical records. For privacy reasons, non-active files could not be accessed via computer. "Hello, may I see these files, please?"
Naomi Sanchez took the list from her. "There are quite a few listed. Why do you need them?"
Digging her shoe into the linoleum floor, her expression matched a little girl caught playing with her mom's makeup. "Shh, don't tell anybody; I forgot to include my admission summary in a few charts. The bigwigs mailed me an admonition. I want to make sure I didn't miss any more."
The real reason for her review she kept private. The cases pertained to transports from the Silverton Jail. She suspected abuse by the jailers.
"Okay. The third office on the left is empty."
Papers in hand, Elizabeth closed and secured the door behind her. A shiver ran through her body as she read each operative report. Pictures showed similar patterns of hemorrhage. After photographing several pages, she composed herself and returned the folders with a wave. "Thank you. Have a nice day."
Martin "Farmer" Bailey spent his morning weeding the flower beds of the Falls Church, Virginia, foreclosure he bought on Lake Barcroft. The six-bedroom lakefront home was a haven from his job as Chief Executive Officer for the restructured Chase Security International. The shower sprayed away a layer of dirt and perspiration. Humming, he remembered working on his family farm as a kid. Thoughts turned to a cherished woman from his youth—Elizabeth.
As he was toweling off, Mercutio, his clownish coon cat, meowed, his magical yellow eyes glowing. "What? Are you thinking of Queen Mab?" Then he quoted from Romeo and Juliet, "She gallops night by night through lovers' brains, and then they dream of love." With a sigh, he put the past where it deserved to be and proceeded to the office.
The words on the phone prompted disbelief. Grabbing her lab coat, Elizabeth ran for the pediatric emergency room. Calling an adult practitioner for a child was rare. "Lou, what's coming in?"
Louella Miranda, the ER attending, acknowledged her and the approaching contingent.
"Where's Kat Archer?" Elizabeth inquired about the hospital’s pediatric trauma surgeon.
"In the OR. The cops are coming in on their own with a little kid found on the side of the road. Severe injuries are all the dispatcher said.”
“For those of you who haven't met me, my name is Beth Reed. If you cannot perform the job I ask from you, speak up."
Silverton Police Lieutenant Shaun Murray came running through the doors with the small victim wrapped in a blue wool cloak. Shaun, ashen and sweating, placed the child atop the stretcher. "Help..." Assessing eyes focused on the task and never took notice of the cop about to become ill as his gaze darted between the table and her. "A farmer repairing an irrigation canal. My God....never in my life... How could someone do this?"
"Beth, got this?" Dr. Miranda guided the lieutenant from the room.
"Let's go. Which OR?" Inside the green tiled room, two fellows, the group's senior members, looked at her with shocked eyes floating above their masks. The intonation of her voice snapped them to attention. "One bleed at a time. Life, limb, eyesight." The war zone mantra she mastered volunteering with the UN in Gaza served her well.
The youngster on her table was almost ripped in two with the left leg crushed beyond repair. She was unable to tell the sex of the child; it was necessary to extend the abdominal incision. "Focus, our job is to save...save this little girl."
Removing the little girl's limb was the least complicated part. The staff applied the wealth of their anatomy knowledge, and Beth used all her skills. Four painstaking hours later, she thanked everyone for their hard work. By the concl
usion, she learned everyone's name. "Dr. Ryan, please check in with Dr. Archer. Keep a close eye on our Jane Doe."
"Dr. Reed, is she gonna make it?" the young fellow asked.
"There’s a possibility. Now, a combination of luck, skill and hope, with a solid need for God's help takes over."
Shaun Murray was pacing the corridor when Elizabeth left the OR. "Dr. Reed?"
"Lieutenant."
"Um, I brought in the child. Did...?" His voice wavered.
"The little girl survived the procedure." Elizabeth kept walking.
"Did you find anything to identify her?" Eyes heavy with grief greeted hers.
"Sorry, I wish. Maybe if she wakes up." She picked up her pace.
A hand on her shoulder slowed her down. "How can you be so cold? You saw what happened to her."
A purple clog squeaked as she turned. "Of course, I spent the last four hours putting her back together. Lieutenant, would you ask that question of a male surgeon? Now, if you’ll excuse me."
With her office in sight, she hurried to it before unlocking the door and pressing her back against it. As she slid to the floor, tears started to fall. The image of the little girl she operated on played over in her head.