Allahu Akbar!

"He's a very handsome, honorable man who is also very married. So no matter how handsome or heroic he might be, I would never get involved with any married man," she said firmly without the edge.

The reporter had let her earlier dig about 'workplace violence' slide, but couldn't let it go unchallenged.

"Ms. Morgan, your response to 'workplace violence' sounds like you want to blame all of Islam for what happened rather than on the gun that killed three people and wounded six others."

Ashley stared at her and trying as hard as she could to remain calm said coldly, "My father has had a shotgun and a handgun in our house for nearly 35 years, and neither one of them has ever killed anyone. Guns can't get up, walk around, load themselves, or point themselves let alone kill on their own. It takes a human being to do that. A human being with a desire to kill. The shooter was a radicalized Muslim who was intentionally trying to kill non-Muslims. The airport isn't my place of work nor was it his. So calling it 'workplace violence' ignores the larger problem of radicalization and makes it seem like this was some tragic-but-unavoidable accident. It wasn't. It was murder committed in the name of the God of Islam. While I didn't hear it at the time, the shooter was shouting 'Allahu Akbar!" before he began firing. What would you call that?"

"I'm just a reporter looking for your perspective," the woman said patronizingly before turning toward back toward the camera.

She smiled then said, "Ladies and gentleman. After hearing Ashley Morgan's take on what happened, and the hero who risked his life to save hers, it would appear chivalry isn't dead, after all. Live from Sumner, Washington, I'm Anita Jackson reporting for KIRO news."

Ms. Jackson tersely thanked Ashley for her time and didn't say another word.

"I must have really struck a nerve," Ashley said quietly as the reporter walked away.

A cameraman heard her and quietly said, "She and pretty much everyone at the network are beside themselves since the election in November. If they didn't pay me so well, I'd be outta there in a heartbeat. They're all a bunch of far-left, radical kooks, but you didn't hear me say that."

Ashley laughed politely then told him, "I think you and my father would get along quite well."

He didn't respond to her comment but rather said, "Say, I was wondering if you might like to maybe get a cup of coffee sometime."

The guy was about her age and he was actually very cute. But the thought of going out with a man who appeared to possibly be violating his principles for paycheck didn't set well with her.

"That's very nice of you to ask, but I'm only going to be in town another day or so," she said as kindly as she could.

"Oh. Okay. Well, have a safe flight," he said before turning away and rejoining the reporter who was on her cell phone with someone from the network.

The truth was, Ashley wasn't sure that was the case; the part about her only being in town for another day or two anyway. It struck her as odd, because for as long as she could remember, all she'd wanted was to get out of her hometown. Going to college in Seattle had been better, but it still hadn't been enough. When the opportunity to work all the way across the country became a possibility, she was thrilled to apply for the job and even happier when she'd been hired.

Her parents weren't nearly as happy about it, and had dropped one hint after the other about moving 'back home' many times since she left, something Ashley had flatly rejected every time they brought it up. She was kind and polite in her responses, but there was no way in hell she was moving back to sleepy little Sumner, Washington—AC.

"You could live in Seattle, honey!" her mom would often say.

Yes, that might be better, but still wasn't good enough. She liked living in northern Virginia which bordered the District of Columbia, and she loved her job with the Navy. Sure, she could be a pharmacist anywhere, and depending on the location, make a lot more money. But money wasn't everything, as she now well knew. Safety and security were. Or at least they were becoming much more important to her. She'd always laughed at her parents' concerns about living so far away from home and the dangers associated with living and/or working in the DC area. Until the shooting, that is.

Now, as she drove back to the modest, comfortable home she'd grown up in, Ashley was, for the first time, wondering if living here might really be all that bad. It wasn't like she had a husband or ever a serious boyfriend to keep her in Virginia. As she entered the subdivision where she'd grown up, she asked herself if she might not be able to find a job similar to the one she had at the Annex somewhere nearby. She had no idea exactly where, but she suddenly found herself very interested in at least looking into the possibility.

Looking for the answer would have to wait as she was nearly accosted by her mom the moment she walked inside.

"How did it go, honey? When will you be on TV? What kind of questions did they ask you? Are you hungry? Can I get you anything?"

Ashley smiled as she said to herself, "Maybe staying local isn't such a great idea after all."

She didn't share her thoughts with her mom who'd have run out and put down the money for a first and last month's rent along with a security deposit on a local apartment before she finished speaking if she did.

"It went fine, Mom. As to the questions, let's just wait for the interview to air, okay? The reporter who did the interview told me before we started she thought it would be on tonight. By the time we finished, she wasn't so thrilled about talking with me."

"What in the world did you say, Ashley?" her mother asked now worried what her friends from church might be hearing.

"Let's just say Dad will be very proud of me and leave it at that," she told her mom.

Growing up, Ashley learned early on her parents were very conservative Republicans while most of the people who lived in King and Pierce Counties in the state of Washington, were liberal Democrats.

She'd pretty much accepted everything her dad told her until she got to high school and started thinking for herself. By the time she finished college, she neither identified with the Republican or Democratic Parties. She was still very passionate in her beliefs, but was solidly in the minority as a Libertarian who tended to side with the Right on fiscal and security issues to include the Second Amendment, but more with the Left on certain social issues. She wasn't overly political but knew what she believed and could stand her ground with anyone, to include her father who was once again harping on the evils of liberalism as his wife tuned into CNN at 5 o'clock.

Ashley had to admit she was a little surprised when the coverage began with a screed against the president and continued to be extremely negative the entire time she watched. She wasn't exactly the kind of person who'd wear a Make America Great Again ball cap, but she did want to see the economy grow while ensuring that all Americans had healthcare. She had nothing against those who came here in search of a better life, but the simple truth was they'd broken the law to get here and 'jumped the line' ahead of those waiting patiently to do so legally. She had no stomach for watching people 'rounded up and put on busses' but no one was talking about that. Well, except for the folks at CNN claiming that's what the new administration wanted to do.

"What the hell is this fool's problem?" her dad snorted when the discussion turned to Russia and collusion again for the third time in 20 minutes.

Ashley smiled when her mother said, "Would you pipe down so we can hear when Ashley's interview comes on?"

Edwin waved his arm dismissively but did pipe down as they went to commercial break. As a tease, the host said, "When we come back, an interview with one of the survivors of that horrendous shooting at Reagan National. Stay tuned."

*****

"Bart? Tom Jernigan," the voice on the other end of the phone said.

"Hello, Colonel."

"I'm sorry for not calling earlier, but I was visiting one my squadron's on board ship when this airport shooting happened. I heard about it on the news, but didn't know you were involved until I saw the CNN interview. Jesus, Bart. You doin' okay?"

"Never better," he told his former squadron commander from back when Jernigan was a new lieutenant colonel and Patterson was a major and his operations officer or 'S-3' as it was called.

"Uh-huh. You should know never to bullshit a bullshitter, Bart. Seriously. How are you doing?"

"I'm recovering pretty well. I got lucky. The round was a 'through and through'. A lot of bleeding but nothing serious. Other than that, I'm okay, I suppose."

"Where are you these days? Back in Ohio?"

"I'd planned to be, but fate had other plans. I'm holed up at the Sheraton near Henderson Hall."

"What? I'm sitting in the headquarters building right now. I'm not 200 yards from your pos. What room are you in?"

Patterson gave him the information and Colonel Jernigan said, "I'll be there in 10 minutes, good buddy."

He showed up in seven.

"Damn, Bart. You're lookin' good for a mangled old bastard!" Jernigan told him.

He knew better than to give his old OpsO, who still had a hole in his chest, a bear hug, so he settled for a modestly-hearty handshake.

"So why are you here instead of Ohio?" the man now in charge of four F-18 squadrons asked his old charge.

"After the shooting I spent a couple days in a local hospital and my college reunion was over by then so I decided to hang out here for a few days while I'm on the mend."

Jernigan knew Patterson didn't have any family left. He knew all too well what happened to his wife, and Bart's parents had both passed away. As an only child, there was no one to 'go home' to.

"Why don't you come stay with Ellie and me? She could use the company while I'm at work, and I wouldn't mind having your sorry ass around for while. I got plenty of projects to keep you busy."

"No, thanks, Skipper," he told his former boss. "I'm gonna head out in another day or two and you live all the way down in Fredericksburg, right?"

"A-firm," Jernigan said in Marine speak for 'affirmative' which was more Marine speak for 'yes' as was 'pos' for position.

"And now we take you to the town of Sumner, Washington, where Ashley Morgan, the woman who's life may well have been saved by retired Marine Lieutenant Colonel..."

Jernigan stopped talking when he heard Bart's name.

"What the fuck? Turn that up!" he said. "Never mind, crip. I got it."

Jernigan grabbed the remote and cranked up the volume.

"Jesus. That's...Ashely," Bart said, shocked by what he was seeing.

"Damn. I don't know who she is, but that woman's a babe. You know her?"

Patterson didn't have to answer his question when Ashley replied to the question about what she'd like to tell the retired Marine Corps officer who'd likely saved her life.

"That's her? That's the woman you took the round for?" Jernigan more said than asked.

"I wasn't actually doing some kind of Secret Service thing. I was trying to get us both inside the restroom as fast as I could when this fuck-wad opened fire on us."

"Oh, okay. I'm sure that's exactly how it happened, you modest bastard. But this time, there's no purple heart," Jernigan reminded him as though he didn't know.

"One's enough, Skipper," Patterson said. He'd been wounded in the same firefight that killed his friend who happened to be the Company Executive Officer.

"How'd you two meet?" Jernigan asked referring to the very attractive, younger woman on the television screen.

Bart gave the colonel a condensed version who then said, "If I wasn't still in love with my wife, I'd hit that."

Patterson chuckled then said, "I don't think she's into geezers, Boss. A guy as ugly as you should just thank his lucky stars he found someone as hot as Ellie to look past all that and marry your sorry ass."

"Speaking of sorry assholes and marriage, are you ever gonna give that institution another go? How long's it been now?"

"Four years and three weeks—if I was counting," Bart told him.

"That was a shitty hand to be dealt," his former commander told him. "For both of you."

"It was and unfortunately we can only play the one we're dealt. Otherwise I'd have mucked that one and waited for the next hand and some better cards."

"I don't think I've heard of anyone getting ALS that early in life. I know we can't change the past, but that was about as bad as it gets. I really liked Brenda. Hell, everyone did."

"So...you want a drink?" Bart asked knowing his friend couldn't because he was in uniform and on duty.

"Nah, I gotta get back across the street. Lord only knows what boring-ass meeting I'm missing, but I wouldn't have passed up the chance to see you for anything."

"I'm glad you dropped by, Colonel. It was good to see an old familiar face and I do mean old."

Jernigan laughed then said, "You're not exactly getting any younger yourself there, Shipmate. If that young lady didn't live so damn far away I'd say you should go look her up."

"She actually lives here in Arlington and works in the Building right behind you."

"No shit? She works in the Annex? Again, if it wasn't for Ellie..."

Jernigan stopped talking, got up, shook hands with his long-time friend then wished him well before showing himself out.

The only other part of the interview Patterson heard was the reporter signing off from some podunk town outside of Seattle. He didn't quite catch the name but it had looked a lot like 'summer' and after sitting there thinking about it for awhile, he decided to see where it was.

In less than two minutes, his cell phone told him the town's name was Sumner as well as how many people lived there and how far it was from an actual city. The population was a tad under 10,000 which wasn't exactly a one-horse town, and it wasn't all that far from the Seattle-Tacoma area and SeaTac airport, one Patterson had flown into a couple of times before. The area was amazingly green and he'd heard the hunting and fishing up there were pretty good.

After another hour of mulling it over, he pushed a couple of buttons on his phone and the search engine turned into an actual telephone. He hit the 'redial' number for the airline he'd planned to take to Ohio and asked if he could fly to Seattle instead. He was put on hold for a several minutes and nearly hung up before a supervisor came on the line to confirm he was the same Barton Patterson who'd been on television.

Bart reluctantly admitted that was him and before he could turn it down, he was informed he'd be flying round-trip from Reagan National to Seattle-Tacoma first thing in the morning. Oh, and he'd be flying first class there and back at no charge two days from then.

*****

"Dad? Can I ask you something?" Ashley asked her father early the next morning. He'd been up since 5am Pacific Time which was 8am to her body which was still on East Coast time.

"Sure thing, hon. What's on your mind?"

"Well, I was wondering if you'd mind if I stayed a couple more days. Here. At the house."

"Ashley. I can't believe you'd even think you needed to ask. You're welcome to stay here as long as you like," her father told her.

He smiled then said, "Well, as long as you don't plan to move back home and stay here forever. Although if your mother heard me say that, I'd be persona non grata in my own house!"

His daughter didn't laugh but she did smile.

"No, nothing like that, Dad. I was just thinking maybe this isn't such a bad place after all."

"The house or Sumner?"

"Both?"

"Are we tellin' your mother this?" he asked.

"Maybe not just yet, okay? I really just need some time to think and clear my head. What I saw really shook me up, you know?"

"I've never seen anyone killed in front of me, but I did watch a car accident happen and when I got to the vehicle that took it head on, well... So no, I can't say I do, but I can certainly imagine the kind of impact that might have on someone. It's the kind of thing that gives soldiers PTSD. So take all the time you need, honey," he told her.

"For what?" they heard Ashley's mother ask as she walked into the kitchen with them.

"Not every conversation is about you, Susan," Edwin told her in no uncertain terms.

"When it comes to my daughter, they most certainly are!" she snapped back.

"I uh, I was just telling dad how hard it's been to get the images of what I saw out of my mind," Ashley offered, telling her mom part of the truth.

"Oh, honey, that's something you're never going to get out of your mind. All you can do is learn to compartmentalize it and tuck it away somewhere you can avoid."

"Sounds a lot like denial to me," her husband grunted.

"And you sound like an idiot!" Susan told him. "People need to talk this kind of thing out but not dwell on it."

"In my day we just dealt with it," Edwin said knowing there was no use arguing with her.

"Well, then your day was as idiotic as your comment," his wife said ending the 'discussion'.

"Why don't you stay with us for a while longer?" Ashley's mother suggested.

She managed not to smile then said, "You know what? I think I just might do that."

"And if you're going to be here a few extra days, maybe you could give Ronnie...Ronald...a call, too!" she added.

Ashley glared at her before saying, "Don't push it, Mom."

"Okay. Okay. I'm not being pushy. I'm just trying to be helpful. That's all."

Her mother smiled warmly feeling very good about having her daughter home for any additional length of time. Susan knew Ashley had to make her own life, but sometimes she missed her so much she thought long and hard about moving to Virginia just to be near her. But she also loved her husband, even with all of his many faults, and he'd never leave their home let alone their hometown. So Susan did her best to cope with the loneliness and spent time with her friends from church as the days slowly ticked by.

The following morning Ashley decided to look into the possibility of finding a job in the local area even though she still hadn't decided she wanted to stay there for the long run. Under normal circumstances there was no way on earth she'd even consider it, but having been through something as traumatic as she'd experienced at the airport, a part of her craved the safety and security that came from living in a smaller town. No, there were no guarantees no matter where one lived as the recent shooting at a church in a small town in Texas had proved. But the odds were overwhelmingly better in Washington AC than Washington DC, and that included both Seattle and Tacoma.

And there was the added benefit Ashley couldn't appreciate before of knowing a large percentage of the people who lived there. That alone made living in sleepy Sumner so much different than living in the crowded, impersonal DC area. For the first time in her adult life she could she that difference as an advantage, although she wasn't sure she wanted to live in Sumner or just live near it.

With that in mind, she began her search online and was surprised to see how many pharmacists were needed within a 25-mile radius of where she'd grown up. There were drug stores, WalMarts, Targets, hospitals, and even a Veteran's Affairs facility all advertising for help.

The salaries varied, but all were more than enough to live very comfortably even in a high-cost area like the King and Pierce County areas of Western Washington.

Because of her very positive experience with the Navy, the job with the VA intrigued her so she called the number listed on the job advertisement and spoke to someone who wanted to see her in person.

"You have to apply through the normal process, but if I decide I want you, it's pretty much a done deal," the man explained. "Oh, and I did not just tell you that."