Divorced! Now what?
Chapter 162

Scott POV

I did not need to be told twice; when Theo said to go and find out who did the shooting, I did not hesitate. I was backing out of my car when Bob came rushing out and jumped into the passenger side.

'Go, let's see who has the balls to do this! He was as eager as I was to find out; he was talking to his people on his phone. He had left Jacko behind at the house to sort out the statements and calm everyone down. Will there be much of a reception left when we return? What a way to remember your wedding day.

When I arrived at the scene, my men had cleared the area and cordoned it off. It was all very organized; the person was still at the bottom of the tree, and one of my men had his hand on his chest, holding a cloth on the bleeding wound.

'Sir, an older man, a foreigner, appears to have a broken leg, and Mike got him in the shoulder. An ambulance was five minutes away, and the police in two. I was being updated as Bob and I walked over to the man. Someone had rolled him over, and it was clear that the man was unconscious and not going anywhere. I was more relieved because I was not in the mood for lots of paperwork; at least, it looked like we were trying to keep him alive, which was in our favor.

'Never thought I would see the day that this man would be lying at our feet bleeding. Bob said somberly.

'You know this man?' Keith, my man, asked in surprise.

'You are looking at the most wanted man in the world, top of the syndicate. He was always good at covering his tracks, so he never went to jail; top lawyers were always getting him off on a technicality. He won't be able to get out of this one, though; we have him at last if he lives. We can expect gang wars when news of him being out of action hits the streets. If he dies, who knows what will become of all his people? The word in the street is that Peter, who we have in a holding cell, was his heir, but we have no proof of that. He cannot take over while in jail, Bob replied. He sounded rather pleased that he was seeing that man bleeding out. I don't blame him. That man has caused a lot of trouble over the years.

I squatted down next to him, and with my now gloved hand, I grabbed the rifle beside him and handed it to Bob. He had put on gloves, too, and was talking to the police who had just arrived. Bob checked out the rifle before sliding it into a bag a police officer held open.

'Tag it,' Bob said, and turned to look up at the tree again. I wondered what he was looking for.

We could hear the ambulance siren in the distance, and I hoped that one would go to Nate first. That man needed a medal for what he did. He reacted so quickly and before any of us had seen it coming. Right next to Bethany, he most likely saw the red light show up on her dress and acted on impulse. I know so few who would do that; if quick enough, most would pull the person away, not cover the body with their own.

The ambulance arrived a few moments later, and the paramedics jogged over, one carrying a bag and the other wheeling a gurney. They worked together on the man. We gave the paramedics as much information as we could before they took him away, heading to the public hospital, lights and sirens blazing.

'He was fairly high, from the look of the branches, he broke on his way down. Someone said to the left of me. I looked over my shoulder at the person. It was a young police officer, most likely not familiar with what a sniper can do. This was nothing, if anything, too easy compared to what that man was capable of. He could go much higher and further away than this; it was hardly challenging for him, but he was not ready for us to have our own sniper. I chuckled at myself at that thought. I had been trying to get one step ahead of him for years, and now I have.

This one was for you, Dad. I thought as I moved over to Bob to find out what he wanted us to do.

'Bob?' He looked at me and smiled.

'This is one hell of a day. he chuckled as the sounds of the other ambulance leaving were heard.

'Do you think they will take Nate to the private hospital?' I asked, thinking it would be the best place for him; it was closer than here, and Hank would do a better job than the public hospital, as he was the best doctor around to treat him.

'Yep, Robson took off the minute they had Nate stable. He was going to get the hospital ready for his arrival. I phoned a moment ago when I heard the ambulance and asked. Hank will operate and be put in the research section where Bethany recovered. We need to beef up the security even more. We do not know if someone wants to get revenge, and though they may not know who pulled the trigger or who the bullet was intended for, they know that Nate took the bullet, and that is all they need to target him.' Bob was more or less giving me the go-ahead to put those who were on duty in the hospital with Bethany last time and will be sent again. I love this guy, and he is our best police boss yet. Before I even thought of it, he sees things and can predict what we need. I wish he had taken over years ago. We needed him.

'Look up there. Bob was still looking up the tree.

I looked up and saw what looked like a bag in the canopy.

'Looks like his bag, I will go up. Before anyone could deny me the pleasure, I was shimmying up the tree; it had been a while since I climbed a tree like that. I miss those days. I was a good sniper who worked for the government a few times on the quiet. No one knew it was me. I liked the mystery of when they needed someone to aid in a rescue. I was good at my job. Still, I am still hopeful.

The bag was a black duffle. Inside was more ammunition and two guns, and I think Bob would want to see a few things. I did not risk dropping it, so I zipped it, slung it over my shoulder, and shimmied back down.

Once down, I handed it over to Bob, who unzipped it and whistled. He pulled out the little booklet that was inside and flipped through a few pages. He whistled a couple of times before putting it in a plastic bag and sending the duffle bag back. He then asked for plastic evidence, a large one, back.

'We have some names in there that I want to look at before anyone else. Make sure it is put in my office, and I will review it first. Bob said to the police officer, who took the bag from him, wrote something on his notepad, and nodded. 'Problem?' I asked, already noting something was off.

'Yes, and I have a feeling it is going to be as welcome as it was when I found out about Wendy's involvement in this.

'That does not sound good. Will you at least wait till we have Nate's news before we go break someone's heart?' I knew the look on Bob's face and dreaded what he had to do.

'Sure, I can take my time with this evidence. Others, I am sure, would understand the delay; my son-in-law has been shot, and they would expect me to be away from the office while he is in surgery and maybe a day or two afterward. I can delay that long! 'Could you tell me what it is about?' I probed.

'Sorry, not this time, we have finished here. Can we get to the hospital now? I want to find out how my lad is doing, and he saved my daughter. He said as if I did not already know this. Or all of what has happened is starting to sink in, and it happened to him and not someone else.