Seven Days

Chapter One




DAY ONE


Lieutenant Colonel Victor Sexton had to go through with it. He realized it the moment he was handed the message from Rosetta Upton, the wife of his former Delta Force Commander and now senator. He was certain she was calling to make sure he’d keep the blind date that night with her niece. A mixture of dread and anticipation bounced through him.

Victor stuffed the message in his army fatigues front pocket. His thoughts scattered, he strode through the highly polished hallway of CID. Long, smooth, and confident strides carried him to the office of Captain Jose Benitez. The room was empty.


Since it was Friday and payday, Victor had dismissed a majority of the staff, a privilege he rarely allowed, but they had done exceptionally well on their last training exercise, therefore, they earned the day off. He was tough on his personnel, but the brand of military discipline and training he enforced could save lives: theirs and his.


Shifting his briefcase to his left hand, Victor pulled out the manila folder containing a copy of his discharge orders from underneath his right arm and placed it in the box on the desk marked In. Next week he would begin his life as Victor Sexton, civilian, not commander of the Criminal Investigation Division, which conducted criminal investigation ranging from deaths to fraud, on and off the military post.


"Attention!" Sergeant Jurarez bellowed.


"At ease," Victor responded. "I hope you have a quiet night."


"So do we, sir," Private First Class Bone replied.


"Colonel Sexton." Turning, Victor stared at Sergeant James who met him before he left the building. "Sir, I’m glad I caught you," he said. "I need your signature on some promotion orders."


Victor nodded at the highly efficient soldier. "How many do we have?"


"Five sir."



"I’m happy to sign the orders. I like it when we pin more rank on our men and women. It helps keep morale up. Anyone from your section?"


"Sergeant Vivian Givens sir. She made staff sergeant."



"Outstanding," Victor answered.


Victor quickly signed each document and returned the folder to Sergeant James.


"Thank you sir. Enjoy your weekend."


"You do the same."


Victor exited through the barracks doors and made his way to his black Pathfinder, throwing the briefcase onto the passenger seat. He turned the key in the ignition on and pulled out into the late-afternoon traffic.


To keep his mind occupied, he turned on the radio, and Najee’s smooth saxophone playing accompanied him. It was hard to believe that he let himself be persuaded into a blind date. "What was he thinking?" He should have just said thanks, but no thanks. It’s not as if it was part of his military obligation, but Rosetta talked him into it. It was too late to back out without looking unsympathetic.


Rosetta’s niece had arrived two months earlier from Frankfurt, Germany. If he believed the senator's wife had been the type to set him up, he would never have agreed to the blind date. Instead, he believed she was helping her niece be acclimated to the area.


Rosetta informed him she would make reservations at Cadence at eight under her name. Victor would meet his date there. Though his family owned and operated the club, he wasn’t so sure he wanted to meet his date at the club.


Indecision was a characteristic with which people who knew Victor would never associate him. His outstanding military career demonstrated this. Commissioned in 1987, through the Army ROTC program with a Bachelors Degree in International Affairs from Howard University, Washington, DC, and a Masters Degree in Business Management, he was a third-generation soldier. Neither his father nor grandfather came close to matching his outstanding military career. The walls in his office and home were covered with awards, plaques. His uniform held ribbons for service.


Victor took pride in putting his life on the line for what his country stood for, freedom and democracy. As for his accolades and his life on the line, they way Victor saw it, he was simply doing the job he was sworn in to do sixteen years ago. Before he was the commander of CID, he served fourteen years as a member of Special Operations, one of the most elite units in the world. He had represented the United States in numerous campaigns: Grenada, Haiti, Somalia, Bosnia, Afghanistan, and the Persian Gulf where he was wounded. He was awarded a purple heart. His second for bravery during combat.


The truck eased in and out of the traffic forty-five minutes before Victor parked in front of the split-level house and surrounding acreage. Victor had moved to Gaithersburg, Maryland, two years after transferring from Fort Bragg, North Carolina. He had passed the house with a for sale sign after visiting Major Raymond Hall, a former team member who currently worked at the Pentagon. Victor had stopped and copied down the Realtor’s telephone number.


A couple days later the agent set up an appointment to show him the house; two months later Victor closed.


Victor got out of the truck and approached the front door. Shifting the briefcase to his left hand, he put the key in the lock and activated it. When the door opened, he bent down to scoop up the mail. He entered the foyer then the living room.


Decorated in tan, the room possessed enough space to include the European wall unit and bar he had purchased on an assignment in Germany three years before. Standing six foot three, Victor needed space to move freely without bumping into furniture.


He maneuvered around the La-Z-Boy chair and dropped the keys and mail on the coffee table in front of the sofa. Tossing his briefcase on one of the cushions, he looked at the telephone a few feet away sitting on the end table, and then it rang. Victor walked over to the phone. Maybe it was Rosetta calling to tell him she’d found someone else to take her niece out.


"Hello."


"It’s about time." The woman’s voice said on the other end.



No such luck. It was his sister, Tonya Sims.



"Hello to you, too, sis." Victor sat down on the sofa.



A soft chuckle came through the receiver. "Looking forward to your date?"



"I’d rather be in actual combat."



"Stephen, I told you he’d try to wimp out," Tonya yelled to her husband.


"I am not wimping out," Victor said adamantly. He began unlacing his Forced Entry Tactical Boots while he held the phone to his ear with his shoulder. He removed the boots, placing them next to the sofa. "I’m just not sure. That’s all."


Victor tried to come up with an image to match the description Rosetta had given him. Beautiful face, medium body frame, long, flowing hair, outgoing personality, and intelligent. She laid it on so thick that within seconds he visualized the opposite. Dog like features, horn-rimmed glasses, thick body, buttoned from head to toe and unsmiling. He shuddered. That’s all he needed to spend the evening with, an ice princess.


"I’m sure she feels the same way about going out with you. I mean. I can see how you would be apprehensive, but I’m sure it’s going to be fine."


Victor closed his eyes and leaned his head back against the sofa. "I thought you would understand my predicament. She could be psycho or something."


Tonya Laughed. "I don't believe the senator and his wife would set you up with someone with mental problems.


Victor became silent.


Tonya interrupted his thoughts. "Is it her emotional or physical state that you're worried about?"



"Both," Victor laughed aloud.

"Men," Tonya said grunting, before joining Victor in laughter. "It’s always the looks."



"I know you’re not talking, MS- Stephen- Is-So-Fine," Victor said in his best Tontya imitation. He was reminding her when she first laid eyes on her husband. Tonya had gone on for hours about how handsome she thought Stephen was.

Both laughed again.

"Okay, okay. So looks are a little important. Who knows? She may look like Halle Berry."

He chuckled. "I should be so lucky. If she looks like Halle Berry I don’t think she would be going on a blind date."

"You need to get back out there, Victor," Tonya said in a serious tone. "I know how you felt about Felicia, but you have to get past that."


Victor spoke to Tonya for a few more minutes, promising to tell her about the date. He knew his sister was right about one thing. He had to get on with his life. He’d been distrusting of women since Felicia Connors, his ex-fiancée, called off their wedding two years ago and knew this blind date could not turn into something serious.


He should have known better. In his line of work chances for a serious relationship, let alone marriage, was practically nonexistent. He was traveling to remote locations, sometimes at the last minute, and deployed for an unspecific time, which left him little opportunity for a social life. Felicia decided she didn’t like the uncertainty or the danger of his job. The excitement of being with a man in uniform soon wore off, reality set in and the engagement ended. Even though Victor had seen it happen he believed their relationship was different and could stand the test of time. He was wrong.


Victor headed to the kitchen. He opened the refrigerator door and grabbed a bottle of water. The liquid vanished in seconds. He headed into his bedroom. After turning the TV to CNN news, he went into his adjoining bathroom and lifted the water lever. Stripping off his uniform, he stepped into the warm, inviting downpour of the shower. He closed his eyes, enjoying the invigorating feel of the water on his physique. Rosetta never told him the name of his blind date. It didn’t matter. After tonight he’d never call her again.


*****


At five o’clock Friday afternoon, Captain Dominique Frazier floored the gas pedal and her Altima zoomed across the Connecticut Avenue intersection. New to the Washington, D.C. area, she had been out purchasing items to decorate her apartment.


She had gotten up earlier that morning to make a day of it. It was the first time in the two months she had transferred from Germany that her life had slowed down enough for her to get settled. As an officer in the Army Nurses Corp, her days were filled with long hours in the emergency room at Walter Reed Army Medical Center. It was the first time she had nothing scheduled, and she intended to take advantage of the fact.


Although Dominique was dog-tired, she had forced herself to get out of bed. She had managed to unpack some of her household goods, which had arrived from Europe and still had several boxes to go through. She let out a small sigh. She hated moving, but it came along with her career choice.


Dominique looked through the windshield. It had been raining for the past two days. Some people even complained about the absence of the sun, damp days and nights, but from where she transferred, no sunshine was the daily forecast.


She had planned the next couple of days off to include unpacking, viewing a couple of movie DVD’s she had purchased several weeks ago, still buried in a box, somewhere, visit aunt Rosetta and uncle Harold on Sunday for dinner, and attend Lieutenant Robbin Greene, her friend/ coworker, thirty second birthday party.


Dominique stopped for the traffic light then glanced along M Street aligned with shops, bars, restaurants, and nightclubs. The light changed and she pulled off. Her aunt and uncle were pleased she transferred to the area, but were disappointed that she chose to live in Georgetown, the oldest and trendiest neighborhood in Washington, D.C. instead of Virginia as they did five years earlier after Harold Upton, retired as a Brigadier General, and later serve as senator of Virginia. Aunt Rosetta and Uncle Harold were the only family she’d ever known. They had raised her since the age of two when her own parents died in a motor vehicle accident.


Everyone was surprised when Dominique joined the military. Despite her Master’s Degree in Nursing from Chapel Hill in North Carolina and a sufficient trust fund left by her parents, Dominique believed the army was the obvious choice and considered herself a military brat. She’d traveled and lived in numerous locations: Europe, Texas, Georgia, Japan, and North Carolina to name a few. Uncle Harold, a former special operations commander, commanded troops in several war and campaigns and had a great influence on her. She was proud of his military and civilian career and hoped to achieve half of his accomplishments.


Dominique was anticipating decorating her apartment as she pulled in front of her building forty minutes later. Adjusting her bags in hand, she stepped in the entryway to hear the antique grandfather clock chime the hour. Six o’clock. She placed the bags on the sofa and noticed the red light flashing on the answering machine. Wondering who phoned, she opened the top drawer of the end table retrieving notepad and pen and listened to the messages. There were two. One from a long-distance representative trying to get her to switch carriers. How did they find her? The one that caught her attention was from Aunt Rosetta.


Aunt Rosetta had called Dominique a week earlier and informed her that she was giving her phone number to a fine commanding officer whom she and Uncle Harold looked at as a son. She thought they would make a cute couple. Dominique could just imagine why her aunt and uncle would like him. He was a former special operations officer like Uncle Harold.


Dominique listened as Aunt Rosetta voice filled the air.


"Hi, sweetie. I’ve arranged a blind date for you at eight o’clock at Cadence Supper Club. The reservation is in my name. I really think you’re going to like this young man. He’s like the son your uncle and I never had. Call me tomorrow and let me know how things go. Love you."


Dominique took a deep breath and tapped her pen. Her aunt was meddling in her life again. She wondered how her date felt about Aunt Rosetta’s interference. Dominique was sure he was use to being in control, but not of this situation. He was only taking her out because her aunt has asked him to. It appeared Dominique’s aunt assumed she would be lonely at her new assignment.


Dominique wanted to make Aunt Rosetta happy, but wanted her to stop interfering once and for all in her love life. Aunt Rosetta and Uncle Harold Upton had been married more than thirty years and Aunt Rosetta felt it was her job to match up all the single-family members. Dominique agreed that she wanted a man in her life, but she didn’t need a mercy date, especially one from an unwanted arrangement.


Dominique stood, staring at the telephone. She actually felt sorry for her date. It wasn’t his fault he was in this situation. She knew how persuasive her aunt could be. Her head tilted to one side. "Why not?" Dominique said to herself. "It’s only one date." She punched in Aunt Rosetta’s number and listened as the answering machine clicked on. "No one’s home," Dominique thought and shook her head. "I can’t believe she set me up on a blind date." She left a message.


"Aunt Rosetta, I got the message and will meet," Dominique realized she didn’t know the name of her date, "my blind date tonight at Cadence."


Dominique hung up and walked into her bedroom. She slipped out of her black, low heel pumps and glanced at her watch. She had two hours. She unbuttoned her green army jacket, shirt, then and her matching slacks. Hanging the uniform on a padded hanger, she wondered if she had lost her mind accepting the blind date. She briefly thought about calling back to cancel. No one would blame her if she did. It was a blind date, and for all she knew he could be psycho. She pushed the thought away. There was another way to handle it.


Dominique sauntered over to the nightstand and pushed the numbers to Lieutenant Robbin Greene. Although married to Lieutenant Thomas Echols, Robbin chose to keep her last name, claiming it was a hassle to go through the paperwork to legally change it. Dominique hoped she did not have plans and could accompany her to the club. If her blind date didn’t turn out to be a wacko, then Robbin could make a hasty exit.


"Hello."


"Hello, Robbin." Dominique’s voice came across the line.


Dominique was an Army Captain. Robbin was a Second Lieutenant. Dominique had only been at the hospital two months, but they worked together well.


"Dominique, how are you?"


"I’m fine. You?"


"Things could be better."


"Maybe I have the answer."


"Oh?"


"Do you have plans for this evening?"


"I don’t have any plans," Robbin vented. "Lover boy got started early watching sports. He’s parked in front of the TV."


Dominique was aware of the strained marriage between Thomas and Robbin. Robbin had confided to her that she believed Thomas was involved with another woman, but she didn’t have proof. "How would you like to go out with me tonight?"


"Where are we going?"


"Cadence."


Robbin was celebrating her birthday at the upscale and classy establishment tomorrow night. Dominique was invited. She’d never been there, but her other girlfriend, Rowena Harris, recommended the club, boasting the clientele was impressive among the African-American community.


"What do you say?" Dominique prompted.


Instead of answering Dominique’s question, Robbin asked, "Maybe some fresh air is just what I need."


"Meet me at my apartment at seven-thirty. I’ll fill you in on what’s going on."


"What do you mean fill me in?" Robbin asked.


"I’ll tell you once you get here," Dominique said. "See you around seven-thirty."


*From the novel, Seven Days*
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