Roberta Radcliffe

My thanks to my two beta reader friends for pulling this apart and making it better, you are the best, thank you. To you, the reader. I did my best with an idea that seemed to take on a life of its own. Please enjoy your read.

*******

I had kissed, okay, maybe even groped a little with my wife a few hours ago. Now I'm sitting in a chair in my hotel room of all places, watching her on the television. Even now that thought amused me, I was looking at someone who a year ago was Roberta Radcliffe, Bobbie to her family and a few friends, but you had to earn the right to call her Bobbie.

My wife is a pro-golfer, and me, I work for the ATF, Special Agent Logan Hesler. Even now, sometimes we would sit together, holding hands and watching sunsets and just being so damn comfortable about it. Both of us had realized, that in a normal world, neither of us would ever meet, let alone be married, two different worlds after all. It took this very competition last year to bring us together, in a most unusual way.

*******

It was all down to that the final Putt, which clinched it all. Her nemesis, Josie Fuller had been hard on her heals all the way around the course; the bitch had been riding her ass all afternoon. The television crews around the course kept both of them in their sights, the commentators adding their own opinions on the outcome while stoking the tension already at the tournament and sharing it with the watching viewers. The whole day hinged on one of these two winning.

But today was going to be her day, she'd felt like this from the moment she got up this morning. To Roberta (Bobbie) Radcliffe, their was no feeling like watching her ball slowly inch towards the eighteenth hole and then seemingly teeter on the very edge, Bobbie let out a small growl, almost daring that fucking ball to stop like that.

Even members of the crowd that almost surrounded the eighteenth hole were yelling. 'Get in the hole' before it gave one last reluctant pause and then dropped into the hole. The crowd roared and applauded,

Josie came up and shook her hand. "That's the way to go out with a bang girl."

The competitiveness within her that had steadily built up over all eighteen holes, had suddenly dissipated and she accepted Josie's handshake. The tears in her eyes were genuine. Of all the trophies; this was the one she looked on as her crowning achievement so far. It wasn't all downhill from now on, it was more about getting even better so she could win it again next year.

The rest of the afternoon and early evening were interviews, as well as thanking her caddy and paying him off. She always had a habit of only hiring local caddies, they worked these courses, knew the lay of the land, even down to the minute details, like which way the grass bends as the sun drops over certain parts of the course. That's a goldmine of information in these people's heads.

Bobbie had visited this very course six weeks before the tournament, although to her, she didn't have much luck, finishing on three under. Not a good score and it didn't reflect on her caddy that day; she felt like she had tried too hard. She was polite and thanked her caddy, paid him and to show that she knew it wasn't his fault she had such an abysmal round, the tip made his eyes widen.

She stopped off at the golf shop, talked for a while with the club Pro about her woeful round and the dread it would stay with her come tournament day. That's when the club Pro pointed her towards Terry Hanrahan. The Pro called him in and Bobbie and Terry sat down and had a chat over a coffee. He was older than most of the caddies on this course, and his fee was steep but it reflected his experience. She felt a vibe about him, she just knew he was going to be it.

It was the Pro's suggestion that she stay until the next day since the weather forecast had predicted good weather and do a slow and casual nine holes. They would both know then if there was going to be a working relationship between them. It only took four holes to establish even that.

Come the day of the tournament she and Terry seemed to just pick up where they left off six weeks ago. It was Terry's opinion on the seventh hole that turned her from being one behind Josie to one in front, when she holed that sucker in one. She looked at him with doubt when he handed her an Iron, but it was the total conviction in his voice when he said. "I've seen it done, on this very hole and in weather conditions just like these. Trust me, it's doable."

He even reminded her that even if she did this hole in two, she would even the score with Josie, and with her spirits lifted, she could pull ahead through the rest of the course. That swayed her.

So she did, and his bonus from her as a thank you for getting them both to here, today, was going to pay for a holiday for him and his family, as well as a promise from her that she wanted him for next year. With a grin on her lips she acknowledged that her caddie had known what to be aware of, since nothing but mischief followed. He was also under threat of a long slow and painful death if he signed up with Josie next year instead.

The party that evening was fun; the husbands, boyfriends and a few girlfriends came out from behind the shadows caused by their respective partners and enjoyed the evening with said partners. Bobbie spent an awful lot of time in hugs and shaking people's hands, as well as joining in with the banter of the evening, and so, with the appropriate amount of time spent at the party to make it not look rude, she left, alone.

Some alone time was needed for Roberta Radcliffe; she had placed her personal life on hold, she had to, for the duration of this event at least. Bobbie had heard the whispers, even before departing from home to play in this event. The much needed conversation with a few select friends that evening dimmed her enjoyment; this was supposed to be her evening. Bobbie had worked damn hard, not only to get to this point in her career, but to grasp that trophy in her own hands. By right of the fact that she damn well earned it.

At the last moment, her boyfriend had begged off coming down to keep her company, not only for the week, he said he couldn't even make it for the final day. Now, thanks to a heads-up from her cousin, she knew why. The rumor mill surrounding her friends back home said that his old girlfriend was once again back in town and wanted to re-kindle their relationship and he was going to stay behind and talk to her about it.

That same cousin mentioned that on the ten trips passed his place over the last two days, the same two cars hadn't moved from the same positions, out front of his house.

This was supposed to be one of the happiest times of her young life, yet she felt like a failure. Watching the husbands and partners with their wives that night, simply reinforced her feelings.

*******

The next morning was clean-up day. The competitors were heading home or off to the next tournament, the organizers were taking down advertisement boards, Bobbie had booked to stay an extra day anyway. She planned to go home when the chaos and mass exodus of the tournament had died down. Even though her hotel was ten miles away from the event, a few of her fellow competitors, as well as spectators, were booked into this hotel, so the whole place still buzzed from the tournament.

Her alarm, as always, went off at seven. Now with running gear on, she plugged her music in and headed towards the woods at the back of the hotel. When she zoned out at times like this, it gave her time to think. Many of her best decisions were done in wooded areas and country paths like these. As her thoughts darkened over the decisions she had to make concerning her soon to be ex-boyfriend, mile after mile ticked by.

Paths didn't look familiar anymore, her mind was still divided, anger at this situation compounded the frustration that she was being betrayed by someone she actually loved pored more energy into her run. Her one lingering thought at the moment was her boyfriend, the one she now knew had been cheating on her while she was at this very tournament. It's easy to do when you know exactly where your partner is, at any given time. Just switch on the television and there she is, taking a driver to her ball on the tenth hole.

A surge of anger at his betrayal made her face go red, it also caused Bobbie to increase her pace, more adrenalin aided her efforts, but her thoughts were now divided and she realized all too late that her guard was now down. Nothing seemed familiar with this route, the morning sun wasn't coming up at an angle it would normally be in at this time in her run. The culmination of so many things suddenly made her stop, as well as open her mouth and screamed her frustration away.

Something moved out of the corner of her eye, she looked towards it. Fear gripped her, it was huge and traveling fast, it was also black and growled. With her eyes now totally focused on the bear, she ran. Literally for her life, her foot trod on a tree root that sent her off balance. Had she been on the running track that meandered along the side of the hills around the hotel she would have been fine, but she wasn't fine. Nothing looked right about this place, her focus was on her crumbling relationship and somehow she had taken a wrong turn. Bobbie knew she was in deep trouble.

Her ankle bent inwards, throwing her core balance towards the edge of the track and the ravine just beyond the track's edge, her weakened foot tried to stop what was inevitable. Her now sprained ankle couldn't carry the added weight and the speed as she was attempting to outrun the bear and her leg folded under her. She screamed in terror this time, as she rolled down the steep ravine. Her panic stricken mind not only heard her own scream, but thought she heard an even louder growl from a very angry bear and then a shot as she fell.

It was dark when she came to. Her senses told her she was moving and yet it was dark. She was being carried, she knew that much, the throb from her leg told her that she was in trouble; the headache backed that thought up. Bobbie went to move her arm and then felt the restraint, holding both arms to her side. All this spelt trouble. Deep trouble.

A man's voice said. "I know your awake, you're faking sleep until you can figure out what's going on."

Knowing she was busted she said. "So what is going on, why is it dark?"

*******

I had watched her running, she came to a stop, her hands went to her knees, her face held back so much anger, she clearly hadn't seen the bear, it was her scream that angered the bear, to it she was invading the bear's territory, something that it had tolerated with me since I had not only kept my distance, but also minded my own business, especially around the growing cubs. But the woman's scream must have come as a challenge to her. It was then I had to break cover and get involved, even in my own haste, so much had happened by the time I had raised my gun and shot into the air, I had no intention of killing the bear, she still had cubs to look after and I'm sure that's what she felt she was doing.

I looked down at her, she was a mess, blood was seeping from her damaged leg, her one saving grace was that she was unconscious. The pain her body would be emitting would have had her curled up in a ball screaming if she was conscious. Because of my warning shot into the air, the bear was already running away, so she wasn't a threat any longer either.

I knelt beside the woman, my medical knowledge took over, I knew what I could fix and what a surgeon needed to fix. It still took a while to get her ready to travel and we did have to travel. The damage to her leg alone meant I had to get her out of these woods, rather than wait for help to arrive. I could only do so much with what I had to hand. She was going to need surgery, that was a given, but, to also keep my own anonymity, I placed an eye-cover over her so she couldn't see me.

"Tango Two-Two, this is Alpha Six-One. I have a medical emergency. Request immediate medical transport to a hospital."

"Confirmed Alpha Six-One, state details of medical emergency and transport required."

"Tango Two-Two, this is Alpha Six-One, subject female, age mid-twenties. Broken leg, not known on internal injuries at this moment. Request helicopter at this grid reference, soonest."

"Alpha Six-One, wait, out."

I was still getting my kit together and packed away, bagging up and packing away the bloody cloth I had used to stem the bleeding, as well as the bits and pieces I had to use to put her back together again. Leaving me in little doubt the bear or her cubs would find them if I hadn't.

"Alpha Six-One, Helo on its way. There is a clearing two clicks to the north of your known grid reference, ETA fifteen minutes."

With a sense of relief, I acknowledge and signed off, did a double check with my own map, she was now prepped for travel. So with as much care as I could muster, we headed towards the rendezvous point. I was almost within sight of the clearing when I sensed she was awake; the pain killers I gave her would be working and now masked the true pain she should be in.

"Why do I have a mask on and why can't I move my arms?"

I sighed, now came to not so fun part.

"Because I can't afford for you to see me, as you've already figured out, your arms are taped to your waist so you can't remove the blindfold as well."

She gritted her teeth. "So you're kidnapping me."

Well, I had to laugh.

"No ma'am. To kidnap someone is to take them from somewhere they want to be. I'm taking you to a helicopter and that's taking you to the hospital, where you desperately need to be. You may not have figured it out yet but your leg needs surgical attention. The pain killers I have given you have masked the pain you really should be in."

"So I've been drugged and kidnapped."

Damn this woman was hard of hearing that was for sure. My radio stopped any further conversation, for now.

"Alpha Six-One, this is Romeo Four-Nine, I am inbound."

I stopped and placed her on the ground. She tried to wriggle around but not even the pain killers she had in her could mask that much pain, so she just lay still again. The sound of the helicopter was getting louder, but because of the surrounding mountain's bouncing the sounds around, it was difficult to figure out from which direction it was coming.

After a moment, I spotted the transport to the north and getting closer.

"Romeo Four-Nine, this is Alpha Six-One, I have eyes." I pulled a can from my belt, pulled the pin and threw it as hard as I could; it dropped slightly to the far edge of the eastern end of the clearing. "I've dropped smoke, confirm blue."

"Alpha Six-One, this is Romeo Four-Nine, I confirm, have eyes on blue."

The woman was saying something, I was too busy getting her to the landed helicopter to bother listening. The loader dropped from the helicopter and between us we managed to get the woman onboard without causing anymore damage to her. I pulled a piece of paper from my notebook and pinned it to her chest. She felt my touch on her top and tried to pull away.

I ignored her again, instead I looked towards the loader and said. "Keep the piece of paper pinned to her chest, it's to give the doctor a heads up on what drugs I've put into her."

The guy now hanging out of the open side door stuck his thumb up, I waved goodbye, turned, bent low, and ran back towards the woods.

*******

Bobbie blinked when daylight came to her eyes, it took a moment for the airman to come into focus, he smiled at her. When she looked out the door, all she could see was a bent figure in camouflage dress, with a backpack on and a rifle in his hand, running back into the tree line.

"You're okay ma'am, we're taking you to Mercy General, they have a helipad. They are standing by ready for you."

The airman cut the restraints holding her wrists to her waist, Bobbie pointed to the man now almost obscured by the trees.

"Who is that?"

The airman just shrugged his shoulders and smiled again. Leaning into her ear he said. "Damned if I know Ma'am, way above my pay grade. But I will tell you one thing, he has some serious clout if he can get my base commander to get us off the ground and here this quickly."

*******

The phone rang on the desk next to Senator Charles Radcliffe. He wasn't impressed, since he had given his secretary instructions that he wasn't to be disturbed. He was working on his speech.

He kept his voice free from irritation. This was Kathrine, she had been with him for some years and knew his moods and the way he liked to do things. She was also a goldmine of her own, Kathrine had links into every secretarial pool around the Capital, if she didn't know a specific piece of information, Senator Radcliffe believe she would know the right person that did. He had tapped into those sources from time to time during his time on the hill.

So, if his secretary was calling him, she must have a good reason. "Yes Kathrine?"

"I'm sorry to disturb you Senator. I've just had a call from Mercy General. Your daughter was involved in an accident; she's in surgery as we speak."

Senator Radcliffe was out of his chair, his speech already forgotten about.

"Get my car Kathrine. Phone home for me and tell Jessica what you just told me and that we will swing by and pick her up as quickly as we can, traffic allowing of course."

*******

Bobbie opened her eyes; two figures stood out amongst the fog in the room. She smiled, knowing that her folks were there comforted her. At the age of twenty-five she still lived with her folks, even though she held a LPGA card. Being on the road so much going to tournaments meant that from a financial point of view, had she had one, she would see her own home for a total of three months of the year. A waste of money; mind you it helped that she loved her folks with all her heart. That same heart beat a little faster on the machine next to her bed.

Her mother's hand squeezed hers, maternal instinct telling a daughter that her mother was here and wasn't going anywhere else.

As the darkness covered the shadows and would soon pull Roberta Radcliffe back into sleep and much needed rest for her body, the words, "Alpha Six-One" left her dry lips a second before the darkness came for her as her body's fatigue took her away from them once more, her mother's fingers still desperately entwined with her daughters.

Senator Radcliffe left his daughter's room and sat on a chair in the corridor. Bobbie was in surgery for close to three hours. The surgeon met with the senator when both parents arrived; his wife went with a nurse to be with her daughter while the surgeon talked about her wounds.

"It's bad Senator, it could have been a lot worse if it wasn't for the immediate medical aid she got at the scene or the swiftness of the military helicopter getting her here."

Senator Radcliffe wasn't prepared for that information. His brow creased in obvious confusion. "Military? Not a civilian helicopter?"

The surgeon shook his head. "No Senator, some of my team and I watched from the observation window, it was military."

"I know who your daughter is Senator. I was jumping up and down in my own home when she putted that last hole. Her leg is bad and I've done what I could to leave little in the way of scarring later, but you need to thank the man who stopped the damage to your daughter from getting any worse before they got her on the transport."

Charles Radcliffe mind was divided at that point; his daughter should have been having a day of rest before packing to come home, yet a military helicopter brings her to the hospital. A man no one is talking about, rescued her and treated her wounds well enough that her leg would heal to the point that she would be able to play golf again.