Free Ruthless by Steven F. Freeman

tail.
    “Does your apartment complex allow dogs?” asked Alton.
    “No,” said Chelsea, “but maybe we can sneak him in.”
    “No, that’s okay,” said Alton. “I’ll just bring him back to my place. He loves it there, anyway, don’t you, Buster?”  Buster wagged his tail harder as Alton scratched him behind his ears.
    Alton walked over to Mallory. “Would you like to take a walk with me?”
    Although she agreed, Mallory appeared ill at ease.
    They walked in silence for a few minutes, enjoying the gentle breeze and verdant colors of the bucolic lane.
    Alton broke the silence. “I wanted to talk with you alone. You understand that I’m just helping a friend in need, right? I’m not thrilled about this arrangement, but we both believe Chelsea may very well be in danger. I wouldn’t feel right refusing her request for help.”
    “I understand, Alton.” She appeared to be on the verge of making one of her teasing remarks but remained silent. She didn’t seem to have the spirit for it.
    “Can you come to Atlanta?” asked Alton. “I know it’s not what we planned, but I’d still like to spend the time together since you’ve already taken the days off.”
    “Sure,” replied Mallory. She smiled wanly, but a troubled look clouded her eyes.
     
    The remaining days in Tifton flew by. Alton, Mallory, Chelsea, and the other members of the Blackwell family passed the time in those happy pursuits—sharing cherished family stories, paging through yellowed photo albums, visiting old haunts—that in their own, quiet way, constitute some of life’s most pleasant moments.
    All too soon, Alton, Mallory, and Chelsea found themselves on the road back to Alpharetta. Mallory had returned her rental car and rode with the others on the bright, crisp morning.
    Alton concentrated on sounding nonchalant. “Say, Chelsea,” he asked, “you don’t mind if we make a detour to the airport, do you? I promised a couple of friends I’d pick them up.”
    “No—not at all,” replied Chelsea.
     
    Upon approaching Atlanta, Alton proceeded directly to the airport. Once inside the main terminal, he studied the “Arrivals” board and announced, “It says his flight is on time. Next stop: the main subway escalator. He’s arriving in concourse A in about thirty minutes, and he’ll have to come up the escalator to leave.”
    The trio made their way to the appointed spot and positioned themselves behind the security line.
    Mallory leaned over to her companions. “Excuse me a minute. I’m going to go freshen up.” She smiled knowingly at Alton.
    A few minutes later, David’s familiar countenance appeared. He seemed to levitate as the escalator lifted him up.
    “David!” called Alton, waving to get his friend’s attention. The former brothers-in-arms shook hands and then embraced.
    “Good flight?” asked Alton.
    David shrugged. “A little turbulence, but nothing too bad.”
    Alton introduced Chelsea to David, whose eyebrows stayed in a raised position for a good quarter minute. Based on David’s previously rambunctious behavior in Gandamak’s Lodge, the friends’ haunt back in Kabul, Alton half-expected his friend to let a flirtatious comment or two escape, but David played the part of a perfect gentleman. He seemed truly oblivious to Chelsea’s charms. Alton observed his friend’s newfound diplomacy with quiet satisfaction.
    After the introductions, Chelsea activated her phone and began checking e-mail.
    Alton leaned over to David. “Say, you’re okay with waiting a few minutes for Mallory’s flight, right?”
    “Yeah—sure,” replied David. “That’s why I took this later flight. You told me she’d arrive at about seven, right?” He smiled and appeared to reflect on the past. “It’ll be good to see her again. You’d think with both of us working in Washington, we’d get together a lot, but it never works out that way. Other than the times you and she have come over to dad’s place, I don’t think