Book 23 of The Lyssa Kordenay Missions!   Lyssa has fought on almost every continent and every condition  but she's never faced a situation like this!! WARNING: The Lyssa Kordenay Missions may be hyper-violent for some readers.

 

 

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CHAPTER 1

Dannigan answered the phone on its second ring,"Yes?"

It was odd for it to ring straight through bypassing Madison.

"You're a hard man to find Branton," the voice chuckled.

"Not hard enough General; you found me," Dannigan replied easily.

General Singleton got serious, "I need a face-to-face with you. Max's coffee in twenty minutes."

Dannigan tried to acknowledge but the General had already disconnected. He looked at his watch, if he left now he'd have time to spare. He grabbed his coat and hat and left. he watched outside for a few minutes then walked in and ordered a coffee and took a table. General Singleton walked in casually and in civilian clothing; jeans, brown bomber jacket, worn cowboy boots and black stetson. Dannigan noticed the grey t-shirt with the HK logo and resisted a chuckle.

After ordering a coffee for himself he sat at the table beside him.

"How's things Major," he asked flipping open a copy of USAToday.

Dannigan glanced around casually and remarked, "Pretty quiet today for me or at least it was."

The general slid over a section of the paper, hidden inside were two sheets of paper.

"Calling yourself Dannigan now," he asked.

Dannigan grinned, "Its a name that still has uses."

Dannigan glanced at the first page and read it. A police report of an abduction then subsequent finding of the body two weeks later. The second page read almost identical except for the name and time-frame, victim still missing. Thirty-six hours had elapsed.

"Ok,I give. Who is she,"Dannigan asked.

Singleton stared out the window, "My niece. we're not sure if this is random or somebody specifically targeting me. Locals think its a budding serial but either way it makes me vulnerable and D.O.D. can't have it."

"I understand that but surely the FBI are in on this,"Dannigan remarked.

"All civilian entities are out of the loop. DIA and CID are on it but it could go sideways. Or worse; get political," he explained, "you and your people don't do politics and couldn't care less if things go sideways. I need this done Major. I need this done your way, now."

"Sir, we don't work in the open like this. I don't work in the open like this,"Dannigan said.

General Singleton finally looked at him, "a team has scrambled by D.I.A. Not an investigation team."

Dannigan's face turned to stone,"Headhunters?"

Singleton answered with a nod.

Dannigan stood up, "we're gonna have a long fucking talk after this General."

He nodded then watched Dannigan leave.

~o~O~o~

Madison answered on the first ring, "yes Major?"

He didn't waste time, "D.I.A. operation: Next of Kin. Get everything they got and send it to Kimberly message as follows: time critical find missing subject, time essential find perpetrator end message. Alert Lyssa message as follows: time critical extraction situation compromised by D.I.A. liquidation team end message."

"Yes sir," she answered then disconnected.

It took ten minutes to get enough data gathered up and sent to Kimberly then called Rodrick's hangar in the Bahamas.

After five rings the phone was picked up and a growly voice answered, "Arrrrrr matey what be ye wantin' ere wit the island of Lost pilots and planes?"

Madison giggled, "Now that's funny."

Pete stammered, "Madison. uh. Hey; sorry, we had a pirates of the caribbean marathon last night. Kinda got stuck on it, I guess."

She chuckled, "that's cool. Please tell Kimberly she has work, a packet has been sent to her. She's needed to get on that immediately."

"Will do. We sure are looking forward to christmas. Box seats at the ballet is cool stuff. Never been to one before; Kim's marking off calendar days in the office," Pete commented.

"You're in for something really special then the Nutcracker is Lyssa's favorite. I've seen DVD's of her but this will be the first time I see her dance it live," Madison said brightly.

Pete asked, "so going to the ballet. That's formal isn't it? I have wear a tux don't I?"

Madison giggled, "most of the time yes. Since this is Lyssa and she's dancing in Washington and the President will be there, definitely. Men wear tuxedos and women wear evening gowns. Lyssa made sure I have the right gown to wear."

"Wow! I guess I better make sure my monkey suit is still good. We'll see you then," Pete said cheerfully.

Madison disconnected smiling, Pete was always good for a laugh. It was kinda nice that he always made her laugh with his greetings. She doubted the Major found them as entertaining as she did. For some reason she got the impression Pete and Major Dannigan didn't get on as well as Rodrick and the Major did. Then again Pete had been a Marine. Marines didn't have a reputation for playing well with the intelligence community or anybody else outside the Corps or Navy. Lyssa on the other hand didn't have to worry, she commanded respect on many fronts. Madison wondered what he was like off the job.

~o~O~o~

Kimberly started sorting through the packet. The D.I.A. were being very thorough. Left unhindered, they'd be on top of whomever it was within the week. She launched her various programs then sifted through more. Four screens began displaying information. Kimberly saw the tasking for the Headhunter team and swore.

Those guys were as blunt and straight-forward as it got; go in, kill anything that breathes and sterilize the site by burning it to the hard-packed dirt underneath. They were like turning loose a pack of pitbulls pumped full of steroids and pcp. The effect they had was like a runaway train on fire plowing through a port-a-john.

Most Headhunter teams were platoon sized. To say they were trigger-happy was an understatement. They weren't like Delta troopers or the Team Six SEALs of DEVGRU. Definitely not like Lyssa; she was a walking example of surgical precision in black operations. Headhunters were pretty much a last resort when nobody cared how it got done anymore. They left a big burning hole in the ground.

Pete keep her coffee fresh and brought dinner and a few snacks as Kimberly worked through the night. She took a break in the morning for exercise, a shower and breakfast then got back at it. It was late in the afternoon when she found a spore. Everything outside got ignored as she fixated her searching.

Long after midnight came she had it. Kimberly quickly assembled a packet then sent it to Madison and Lyssa. The D.I.A. hounds were narrowing as well so a quick slip of black information would keep them occupied for a while longer.

Pete came in as she leaned back in the chair, "Either you just slammed through or into a brick wall."

Kimberly smiled, "I got 'em. I GOT 'EM, THOSE RAT-FUCKED BASTARDS! The rest is up to Lyssa to do what she does best."

Pete looked thoughtful for a moment, "Kim when all is said and done; are you basically going to be another Lyssa?"

Kimberly sat up, "Pete, Lyssa is a one-of-a-kind. She can never be duplicated. You know she started out in black ops? Me, I started out in Intelligence. this is what I do, I crunch the data. She's an Operator through and through, a shooter. I can do surveillance and things like that, but not like her. Honestly I don't think I can look at killing the way she does. It has to do with mentality and I don't think I could ever possess the same that she does. Its what makes her the best."

Pete thought about that then said, "I know she has some kind of Green Beret or Delta type training; otherwise she wouldn't be able to run circles around Rod the way she does and he's a SEAL. I guess that makes the difference."

"A lot more than you know. A lot more than I can tell you," Kimberly said.

Pete took that as the line not to be crossed and gave her a smile then turned to go to his room to sleep.

Kimberly said softly to herself, "A lot more than anybody will ever know. She's an unknown national treasure. Maybe one day people can know what she's done. For all of us."

---

CHAPTER 2

Lyssa stood looking out the french doors, coffee cup in hand. She and Rodrick had long since woke, ran their morning triathlon, showered and had breakfast. They had tied again, something that didn't happen often. this was her last free week before rehearsals started so she was enjoying it.

Rodrick was occupying himself consulting to a small aviation company with two projects in the works; a sport plane and a luxury plane that they hoped would rival Gulfstream.

The ringing of her phone grabbed her attention from watching the waves and listening to Rodrick talk tech with engineers.

"hello,"She answered.

"Morning Lyssa, you have a packet awaiting you. good luck," Dannigan said bluntly.

"I'll do what can be done," she replied then disconnected.

 

Lyssa worked in her basement. Building plans lay spread out on the center table, white boards on one wall displayed notes. The other walls held racks of weapons, gunsmith equipment, her desk and large plasma screen. Rodrick noticed her personality shift. Seeing her in there working reminded Rodrick that she was more than her appearance. Lyssa had been one of a limited few of Operators totally removed from the norm, now she was the likes of which the world had never known.

It took an hour to go through the packet then she planned out her incursion and extraction. Lyssa mapped it out then reviewed it several times then called a cadence of it. It felt right to her so then she looked at from the other side and started picking it apart, how would she combat such an incursion. She took a lunch break when it seemed to be foolproof and afterward came back and tried to take the plan completely apart. Finally she laid down and took a nap for three hours then had dinner.

 

Lyssa pulled on a heavier weight version of her battlesuit and her boots. Rodrick checked over her equipment as she loaded her harness. The twin Jericho.40 cal automags with detachable suppressors were first along with additional magazines, next came the Marauder knife to slide into a sheath on the back of her right thigh. It was a knife not used by U.S. military at all, she'd found one once at a gun and knife show and tried it.

Deemed the ultimate combat/throwing knife, its unusual design ensured it would lodge everytime due to its handguard and pommel being spiked. next was the Fairbarn-Sikes knife, it was from a world war two design; smooth and double bladed, it too could be thrown accurately if necessary. Some operators used an updated version, the Fairbarne-Applegate but most used an
issued knife such as the M-9 bayonet or the Ka-Bar Field Fighter or a Naval issue dive knife. Several companies had versions that had become popular over the last decade.

A small five shot 9mm automatic went into her left boot and two microsyrettes went into her right. Lyssa rounded out with her munitions; two Def-Tec 25 flashbangs, two concussion and a white phosphorous grenade. After a moment of thought four shrapnel grenades. When Rodrick raised an eyebrow she replied something about minor parking problems during late autumn making him laugh. Finally she picked up a suppressed CAR-15 and magazines to lead with.

Currently Special Operations used a version made by Barret Arms; the M-4 but that would announce "U.S. Military" louder than the Marine Corps marching band on Memorial Day. The usual lead weapon for such an operation like this would be suppressed MP-7s, but the nine millimeter rounds would be ineffective against the body armor likely worn. The CAR-15 however was chambered for 5.56 NATO rounds. It had more power than the smaller pistol round. The bonus was the fact that aside from the suppressor, it was disposable. CAR-15's were all over the illegal weapons market, unlike the M-4s and MP-7s.

Rodrick strapped a throat-mic and earbud on her along with an encrypted radio despite her protest.

Lyssa griped, "what do I need this junk for anyway, who do I need to talk to?"

"That would be me you landlubbin', mud-rollin', stumblebummed, prissy prancing ballerina," Rodrick chastised her.

Lyssa remarked snarkily, "awwwww. Such sweet pillow talk from a dog paddlin', deck swabbin', moose-lipped, cross-eyed, knock-kneed, cornflake lookin' squid; with attitude issues."

He followed her out the door to the garage remarking, "when we come back from this OP I'm gonna spank you til you squeal."

Lyssa twitched her hips sassily then got into the SUV.

Rodrick closed the door mumbling, "Maybe I should bite your ass, develop lockjaw and make you drag me to fuckin' death."

Lyssa laughed at that remark.

~o~O~o~

Dannigan sat in his office and wondered how long Madison was going to stay. She had dialed into their comms and would be able to listen after receiving the message they were heading for the building. Now they waited in silence. This time was different from all the others; instead of just waiting for the messages like usual, they would be able to listen as it happened.

Madison ran in, "They're on station now!"

Dannigan turned up the volume on his computer just to catch Lyssa come up.

~o~O~o~

Lyssa keyed her mic, "comm check."

Rodrick answered her,"five by five, green light for soft probe."

she answered him back, "five by five. Penetrating perimeter now."

 

Madison sat on the edge of the chair across from Dannigan as he nodded to the large screen on the wall with a building schematic and a green light came up along with several red ones. there were two views of the building; from the side and from above.
They watched as Lyssa's green dot slowly moved across the vacant lot behind to the building then move inside.

 
Lyssa's hushed voice came across, "entry: window two ground, black six. Extract same."

 

Dannigan explained, "she's going in through the second window from the left on the ground floor, south side. she'll get out the same way unless something prevents her."

The narration was interrupted by the phone ringing which nearly caused Madison to fall from the chair.

Dannigan slammed the speaker button, "WHAT?!"

Kimberly's voice came through in a panic,"Major! D.I.A. got a break! Headhunters on station in twenty-five minutes with a drone in-bound in fifteen!"

"OH FUCK," Dannigan roared.

Madison frantically grabbed another phone and dialed Rodrick's satphone.

He answered on the first ring, "not now!"

Dannigan snatched the phone and barked, "HAUL ASS RAMROD! HEADHUNTERS AND A DRONE IN-BOUND, FIFTEEN MINUTES!"

Rodrick disconnected and relayed over the comms. Lyssa acknowledged by clicking her mic button twice.

Dannigan looked to Madison, "Lyssa understood. She's inside the building so she's gone silent, she'll only talk if necessary now. clicks are what we'll hear from her, single means negative, double means affirmative. triple means she's taken one down."

Madison walked over and watched the screen closer, "oh god; Lyssa please hurry."

Rodrick came over the comms, "Hostile approachin, five meters. Four. Three. He's yours."

The green and red dots merged then green moved forward leaving red behind and they heard three clicks.

Madison looked to Dannigan, "hostile down?"

The spook nodded grimly, "permanently."

They watched as Lyssa moved down the hallway clearing rooms one by one then up the stairs to the second floor.

"Have you on second floor proceeding white 11 to black 5," Rodrick announced.

Lyssa confirmed with a double click. her green dot moved slowly down the corridor.

"Freeze," Rodrick ordered,"one hostile moving.....heads up."

A moment later the green and red dots merged then separated with another triple click.

"You have a single. End of hall, stationary, clear to proceed," Rodrick stated.

a double-click was heard and they saw Lyssa move forward then take station outside the doorway then move inside.

"Hi!I'm Meghan. Who are you," a small voice came over the comms.

Dannigan and Madison looked at each other then the speakers in stunned confusion.

"Two to one. Uh, what the fuck over," Rodrick asked sounding just as confused as everybody else.

"I'm a shadow," Lyssa's voice was a whisper, "aren't you supposed to be asleep?"

"If I'm quiet I can play with Dolly. Would you like to play with Dolly shadow," the small voice asked.

"Maybe later. Have you seen a lady in here? She's probably very sad and wants to go home,"Lyssa asked.

Rodrick asked,"two to one; what's going on in there?"

The small voice answered, "there's a lady upstairs. She's very loud when she cries."

"Ok thank you Meghan. I'm going up there to see her. You wait here with Dolly and I'll be back,"Lyssa said.

Rodrick came over the comms, "this OP may be blown all to shit but you have seventeen minutes."

Lyssa answered audibly, "One to two; copy seventeen mikes. OP is still a go. Be advised, hellhole three to two."

"Roger that. Copy hellhole," Rodrick answered.

Dannigan explained, "a hellhole is a hole in the floor from the third to the second usually with mattresses or so on to cushion the landing of someone jumping through the hole. an old trick used when setting up shop in abandoned buildings or a tenement entirely controlled by occupying force."

Madison nodded her understanding as they watched Lyssa's green dot hurriedly move back to the stairwell and start moving up.

"Be advised; rooftop has comms and one set of optics," Rodrick reported.

Dannigan commented to Madison, "the group on the roof have communications gear and a scope or set of goggles for low-light or infra-red."

A double click answered him as the green dot gained the third floor then moved down the hallway slowly.

Rodrick stated, "have you white 11 to black 5 on three. Two hostiles red 2 and green 8."

Two clicks again. Lyssa moved to the first. She took station at the doorway then moved to center then the other side. A triple click then she moved further down and repeated the same movements further down the hallway then repeated the triple click again.

"Third floor clear, proceed to fourth. thirteen mikes," Rodrick reported.

Lyssa moved back to the stairs and moved up.

"Fourth floor moving white 11 to black 5, four unknowns," he reported again.

A double click answered.

Madison asked,"unknowns?"

Dannigan clarified, "he can't tell which are armed or not. The objective is on that floor if Kimberly is right."

Lyssa moved room to room the first room with two red dots they heard a triple click after the dots shifted position slightly then moved down to the next. Lyssa's dot centered itself in the doorway then moved inside.

Lyssa whispered, "for is clear. Hostiles down, I found the package."

They saw the two dots merge then move back down the hallway.

Lyssa reported, "I have the package. Extracting with additional."

"Oh good christ. Fuck, why not. Seven mikes, double time it," Rodrick ordered.

The two dots moved down to the second floor and down to the end of the hallway.

"Hello shadow," the small voice chirped.

"Its time to go Meghan, follow close because I can't carry the both of you," Lyssa instructed.

"Can I bring dolly," she asked.

"Of course you can. now we have to hurry," Lyssa told her.

They watched the three dots move downstairs and then out from the lower window and slowly across the empty lot.

"Meet you at the car," Rodrick said.

~o~O~o~

Rodrick was already there with the engine running when Lyssa arrived.

Lyssa said in a voice just above a whisper, "get inside and put on the seatbelt."

The little girl did as she was told then Lyssa set the unconscious woman on the seat beside her, buckled the belt and got in beside Rodrick.

---

CHAPTER 3

Lyssa called Dannigan," we have the package plus one."

Dannigan replied, "uh. yeah. we heard. Any fucking clue as to how we deal with plus one?"

Lyssa sighed, "no idea. Meet us at Chelsea's in twenty minutes. Bring a fingerprint scanner."

Lyssa disconnected after that. She turned around and looked to the backseat, Meghan was watching the scenery go by holding up the doll to do the same.

Rodrick looked into the mirror then whispered,"is it my imagination; or something, off about her? She's too happy about everything."

Lyssa whispered back, "not sure but I think she may have developmental issues or something. Either way I couldn't leave her with the Headhunters coming."

"Shadow. Me and Dolly are thirsty," Meghan said.

Lyssa took a bottle of water from the console and opened it then passed it back to her,"be very careful not to spill it on yourself or Dolly. Here's the top."

"Thank you,"she said sweetly.

Lyssa whispered back, "You're welcome."

The girl paid no more attention to Lyssa and Rodrick's facial paint than she did the fact they were armed total strangers going somewhere unknown to her. Shortly thereafter they arrived at the dark restaurant and saw the sedan with Dannigan waiting beside it and parked alongside.

"Good job you two. The drone didn't see anything and the Headhunters are going apeshit trying to figure out what happened," Dannigan said clasping their hands individually.

"Did you bring the scanner," Lyssa asked.

Dannigan reached inside and brought it out. Lyssa took it and walked around to the other side while Rodrick carefully transferred the injured woman to Dannigan's car.

Lyssa opened the door and leaned in, "Meghan will you press your thumb on this green square for me please?"

"Ok," she replied and did.

Moments later the message came back, No Data. Lyssa took out her cellphone and asked Meghan to smile for a picture then sent it to Kimberly's email with the message:

identity please, fast.

A closer look revealed that the girl was a child with Down's Syndrome. Lyssa checked her for injuries. A couple of small bruises on her upper arm was all she found, otherwise the girl seemed fine.

She rejoined Dannigan and Rodrick, "Meghan is a Down's child she looks about nine, maybe ten. Mentally; she's probably five or six. Maybe. If we're lucky."

"So what do we do with her," Rodrick asked.

Lyssa looked at the child in the backseat and sighed, "take her home with us for now. Hopefully Kimberly can find her family fast and we can make arrangements to get her to them."

Rodrick looked surprised, as did Dannigan.

Lyssa looked at them both angrily, "what?! I'm not going to just drop that little girl off at a police station or social services like a animal at the pound, that's cruel. I may be a lot of things but I'm not like THAT!"

Both men looked at each other as if one had been about to suggest doing so.

"Well we should at least get her checked out,"Rodrick said.

They all nodded their agreement. Dannigan stepped away and made two calls then wrote down an address and gave it to Rodrick. They left and met the off-the-books doctor, a woman that looked close to retirement.

 

"Hello,"Meghan chirped.

"Hello little one. Come inside and let's have a look at you," the woman smiled kindly.

"Shadow comes too," meghan asked.

Lyssa nodded and followed them inside. an hour later they walked out and got back into the SUV as Meghan yawned. Lyssa had been speaking to her the whole time in just above a whisper to hide her voice.

Lyssa told her, "When you wake up you'll be with some friends of ours. They'll look after you for a while."

"Ok shadow,"Meghan replied sleepily.

She fell asleep just as they cleared the D.C. area heading back to the beach house. Rodrick carried Meghan inside and laid her on the couch. Lyssa rushed through a quick shower then came back after running a bath for Meghan and carefully bathed her then slipped one of her own t-shirts onto her to sleep in and tucked her into the spare bed. They both went to bed but Lyssa took a two hour combat nap then was back up washing and drying Meghan's clothing.

~o~O~o~

Rodrick woke up, threw on some jeans and a t-shirt then wandered to the kitchen. Lyssa sat at the counter drinking coffee. He slipped his arms around her and kissed her when she tilted her head back to him.

"Morning," he murmurred.

She smiled and answered, "morning. I checked on her a few minutes ago, she's still asleep."

Rodrick poured coffee for himself, "so what ARE we going to do?"

"Kimberly is running facial recognition along with her DNA and physical description trying to find her family, somebody has to be looking for her," Lyssa replied.

"Plan A. What if they can't be found baby," he asked.

Lyssa got a sad look, "We'll have to find a family for her then. I believe we can do many things but I dunno about this. She needs a lot of care, in ways we have no knowledge about. This isn't a challenge. We can't take her lightly and hope for the best. Her best interests come first, not our egos. And certainly not my ego."

Rodrick thought about that then said,"true, Meghan isn't an objective or obstacle to be negotiated. She needs the best. We can find that for her if anybody can. That's something we can do."

Lyssa nodded. At that moment Meghan wandered in looking around.

Sleepily she said, "hello.I'm Meghan."

Lyssa slid off the stool and knelt down, "hello Meghan. I'm Lyssa and he's Rodrick, welcome to our house."

Meghan looked at her for a moment then leaned over and kissed her cheek, "Lyss..a. Pretty."

Lyssa smiled, "thank you Meghan. You're pretty too. Come sit and we'll have breakfast."

Rodrick leaned down and picked the girl up and sat her on a stool at the counter and was rewarded with a kiss on the cheek too.

"Thank you Meghan, good morning to you," he smiled.

"Rod....rick....Rod....rick," she repeated as if practicing.

He chuckled and kissed her forehead,"that's right."

Meghan looked around then frowned," no shadow?"

Rodrick froze speechless.

Lyssa smiled to Meghan, "well now what would a shadow be doing in the bright daylight. Shadows need dark places don't they? Everything has to be just right for a shadow."

That seemed to make a lot of sense to Meghan as she told her doll, "no shadow Dolly. Lyss...a and Rod..rick."

Lyssa asked her, "Do you like pancakes Meghan?"

She nodded her agreement so Lyssa brought out the pre-made batter from the refrigerator and stirred it as the skillet heated.

Rodrick poured a small glass of juice and set it in front of her, "there you go sweetpea."

Meghan thanked him in a sweet voice and drank some . Lyssa made three small pancakes for her, buttered them and passed the plate to Rodrick who had already brought out a bottle of syrup and cut them into small squares for her after drizzling the thick syrup over them then took the plate of full size pancakes Lyssa made for him. Meghan chattered during breakfast and after. While Lyssa cleaned up, she watched the cartoon channel Rodrick found for her.

The doorbell rang and Lyssa let Dannigan in carrying a small suitcase.

"Madison did some shopping first thing this morning as per your instructions," he told them then passed the case to Lyssa.

"Oh good," Lyssa said, "Meghan let's go see about getting you dressed."

The little girl took Lyssa's hand and went to the spare room. Lyssa gave her a more thorough bath and dried her hair then dressed her. Meghan ran back into the living room wearing a grey dress, black tights and shiny black shoes with her sable brown hair in a ponytail.

"Look Rod...rick," she said and turned around.

Rodrick smiled," very pretty."

Meghan smiled. Lyssa came back in wearing a sweater dress in grey with black nylons herself.

Meghan took Lyssa's hand and crowed truimphantly, "Same."

Both men chuckled.

Meghan walked over and stood in front of Dannigan, "I'm Meghan."

"Hello sweetie, I'm Paul Dannigan," He introduced himself.

Meghan scrutinized him carefully then said,"all. all. puh-all.puh-all."

She didn't look satisfied with her own results.

"Dan...gig..gan. Dan-gig-gan.....Dan-gig-gan," she tried harder and looked to Lyssa.

"That's fine sweetie," Dannigan said gently.

His reassurance seemed to satisfy her so she looked back to the television and focused on the cartoon then climbed on Lyssa's lap when she sat down and continued to watch.

"Kimberly has been working since you messaged trying to find who she belongs to but nothing so far. She's going through birth records now for any girls with the same name diagnosed with Down's," Dannigan informed them.

Lyssa looked at him squarely, "Somebody has to be looking for her Major and we have to find them."

"That's just it Lyssa. Anybody that would be looking for her might not be, available; to be looking," Dannigan replied uneasily watching for a reaction from the child.

"That's a prospect that's not been overlooked Paul,"Rodrick commented.

"If that's the case Major then we'll have to find somebody for her," Lyssa added," She has needs that we have no idea how to deal with and that means that we would more than likely present more problems than solutions . We don't want that for her."

Dannigan admitted, "you had me worried that your maternal instincts were overriding practical judgement."

Lyssa shook her head, "I dunno about maternal instincts but I wouldn't just palm such a child off so casually. We're better than that. For us not to make sure that she has the best that can be is unacceptable. I don't buy into fate-karma-destiny bit. She was a Murphy nobody could have ever foreseen, much less planned about. Now we have to confront and resolve her situation; even if it means she has to be with somebody else because they are better suited to provide for her."

Dannigan looked to Rodrick who nodded his agreement.

"I even sent money to Kimberly's account for all the work she's putting into this for us," Lyssa said.

Dannigan chuckled, "that's good. that young lady is burning up every database in the country trying to find her for you."

They all couldn't help smiling when Meghan began singing along with the colorful characters on the cartoon she was watching.

---

CHAPTER 4

Kimberly had been slamming through firewalls and pillaging databases to search records for five days when finally she caught something. Evansville, Indiana; a girl matching Meghan's particulars and diagnosis. Lyssa had been clever and sent Kimberly Meghan's footprints so she compared them as if they were fingerprints. She had a match; Meghan Ashley Vancil.

Kimberly shifted her priority tasking to search for the parents. within moments her hopes fell, both parents were found murdered and Meghan had been presumed to be dead as well. Kimberly became angry then. She wouldn't admit defeat so easily and began tracking both parental sides looking for relatives. Time passed as her anger increased at the lack of results.

"Kim.....kim....KIM," Pete called from the doorway.

"WHAT," she demanded.

"Come on. You need to take a break and eat. you look ready to use those computers for target practice," Pete said.

Kimberly looked at the computer screen with outright hostility then got up, "allright."

Pete looked at her, "Kim you can do some amazing shit with those computers but face a fact; if it ain't there you ain't gonna find it. Period."

Kimberly looked down, "we can't fail that little girl Pete. We just CAN'T!"

Pete followed her across to the kitchen, "Kim just because she may not have any family left to find doesn't mean failure. It means going to plan B. And there is a plan-B. Rodrick and Lyssa wouldn't dare not have a plan-B."

Kimberly nodded and sat down to eat with Pete.

~o~O~o~

Rodrick hung up the phone and looked to the kitchen. Lyssa was cleaning the dinner dishes while Meghan on the floor close by playing with the new doll they'd bought for her.

"Sssst," he softly called out to her.

Lyssa looked over, "news?"

He shook his head sadly.

Lyssa walked carefully around Meghan and asked quietly," No family at all for her?"

Rodrick said quietly, "her dad was an orphan and the mother had been an only child, parents deceased ten years prior. Baby she doesn't have anybody to come for her."

Meghan came over and patted Rodrick's leg, "Lyss...a sad. Rod..rick, no sad."

He bent down and picked the little girl up and held her as he put his arm around Lyssa," It'll be ok sweetpea."

Lyssa leaned over and kissed Meghan's cheek, "I'll be ok."

Rodrick said, "Kimberly is gonna get some rest and first thing in the morning she'll start searching through the Army and Navy for suitable family for her. She'll focus on the Spec Ops community"

"Ok. That sounds like a really good idea," Lyssa said.

Meghan squirmed and twisted in Rodrick's arms and reached out to Lyssa who took her to hold.

"No sad Lyss...a. No sad," she said adamantly.

"ok Meghan, I won't be sad," Lyssa said.

Meghan squirmed more so Lyssa set her down only to have her hand seized by the child and led back into the kitchen. Meghan climbed up the stool and reached over the counter to pull a jar close then reached inside to bring out a cookie, offering it up to Lyssa.

Meghan said, "Lyss...a no sad. Cookie!"

Lyssa smiled, took the cookie, broke it in half and handed it back, "there. Now neither of us are sad."

She reached inside and handed another cookie to her," Rodrick looked sad too didn't he?"

Meghan clambered down holding the cookie carefully and ran to Rodrick holding it up, "Rod...rick. No sad!"

He chuckled as he picked her up then took the offered cookie and one-handed broke in half to share with her. Lyssa finished in the kitchen as Rodrick sat down on the couch and picked up the book he'd been reading to Meghan for the past few days. Within minutes he had her giggling and laughing as he invented different voices for the characters of the story. Lyssa smiled then joined them and took her turn reading the next chapter.

~o~O~o~

Three nights later Dannigan looked across from the young naval commander and his wife. His file was impressive in the SEAL community and now transferring to staff duty at the Pentagon as a SweatHog; the Navy's go-to group for answers. It was his wife that made them sought after, her younger sibling was a Down's child giving her the experience needed to care for Meghan.

"Commander this is a very delicate situation, with your background you understand this. Mrs. Haddoway certain things of this will be new to you, I can't reveal how the child came into our care only that her best interests are at the fore-front and utilizing normal channels and procedures are out of the question for her future,"Dannigan explained.

She didn't flinch, "I understand that Sir and I agree, the child's care should be the primary concern. You say her history can't be discussed; I accept that. I'm a SEAL wife Sir, I understand that sometimes questions don't always have answers."

Dannigan considered that then buzzed Madison," Send them in."

A moment later the door opened. Lyssa walked in holding Meghan's hand followed by Rodrick.

"This is Rodrick Mason. Commander that name may be familiar to you. He was on TEAM Four. He does me the occasional favor. I asked him and his fiance to take care of our young charge until my people found you," Dannigan introduced.

Amanda Haddoway did a double-take then her jaw dropped,"Oh my god. You're Lyssa Kordenay!"

Lyssa smiled,"Yes I am, hello."

Amanda smiled proudly, "I saw you dance in New York for Giselle. I used to dance when I was young."

That made Lyssa smile brightly, "well I'm glad you enjoyed it."

Lyssa then looked over at Dannigan as if he were something to found in the yard, "I may not appreciate strange calls in the middle of the night from mystery men but I couldn't say no to the circumstances. I'd prefer it doesn't become a habit. MISTER Dannigan."

"Consider it a favor I owe you Miss Kordenay. In fact I may incur another but I think you'd be happy to accommodate," Dannigan replied.

"hello. I'm Meghan," Meghan said brightly.

Amanda walked over and knelt down,"Hello Meghan, I'm Amanda."

The Commander crouched low as well, "hello Meghan, I'm Patrick."

She rewarded them both with a brilliant smile," ah-man-dah....Pat...rick."

she then looked from Patrick to Rodrick, "Rod...rick, Pat....rick."

Amanda said proudly," so very smart; and so pretty too."

Lyssa knelt down,"Meghan. Amanda and Patrick are very lonely for a girl like you. Would you like to go stay with them? They'd love to be a mommy and daddy for you."

"A new mommy and daddy," she asked trying to make sense of that in her mind.

Rodrick crouched low, "Oh they'll be great! They like to read stories and color pictures and have a yard to play in and teach you how to swim. You'll have lots of fun."

Meghan thought about that then looked at them, "Mommy? Daddy?"

Patrick smiled, "If you want us to be."

Meghan smiled then looked puzzled for a minute.

She walked around the desk and asked Dannigan, "Shadow. What about shadow?"

Dannigan looked into her eyes and smiled, "I'm sure shadow would like it if you went to a new mommy and daddy."

That answer satisfied Meghan, "ok Dan-gig-gan."

Meghan walked back around and hugged Amanda,"new Mommy."

"Let's get you home Meghan, if we hurry we'll be just in time for supper," Patrick said cheerfully.

Amanda told her,"Let's tell everybody bye and then we'll go home."

Meghan nodded then went over and hugged and kissed Lyssa then Rodrick and finally Dannigan," bye-bye."

"Miss Kordenay. That other favor; I'd like to purchase three front row tickets to your christmas performance for them," Dannigan said.

Lyssa nodded, "done. And you were right; I'm very happy to accommodate that."

"Goodbye sweetie, you'll see us again," Lyssa smiled for her.

Rodrick chimed in, "Yeah, you'll get to watch Lyssa dance in the big show for christmas."

Dannigan added,"Even Madison and I will be there little one."

Meghan clapped her hands,"Lyss..a dance!"

They all chuckled at her excitement.

"I'll make sure of the tickets personally,"Lyssa said.

They thanked her for that then both holding Meghan's hands walked out with the file holding the adoption papers and necessary background information to learn. Lyssa watched them leave from the window looking down.

"You ok with this," Dannigan asked.

"Its the right thing. They're far better suited for her than any of us. No egos, only what's best for Meghan," Lyssa admitted solemnly.

Rodrick added,"We'll miss her Paul but they'll be better for her than us. We're not ready to be parents yet, Meghan taught us that but when we are ready we'll be the best that can be for whoever we get lucky to have."

"You two are serious Alpha-types. But the fact you could take yourselves out of the equation and put that child first proves that you're the best,"Dannigan stated," you know; I miss that lil' imp already."

Lyssa turned back to the window as a tear rolled down her cheek, "so do I."

Outside the first flakes of snow had started to fall as the sun flashed its last light.