Chapter Sixteen

Chase

I felt this moment of clarity where every little piece of the puzzle was falling into place. I couldn’t get over how stupid I was not to see the signs like the back of my hand. He was the only one capable of showing this kind of animosity. His psychological conditioning had become something of a noose around his neck. The last I saw of him was an intense moment where his body was lifted clear into the air.

He left many signs including the scorpion which I had seen on his shoulder. I couldn’t see how it was possible for him to be alive.

I saw somebody in the distance with a handheld scope up to his eye. He gave a wave while wearing a white parka to blend into his environment.

“I don’t know what got into you, but maybe you should share what you know with the class. The one thing that I hate more than anything is people who keep secrets. Don’t you know secrets have a bad habit of raising their ugly head at the most inopportune time?” She had her hand on my shoulder and I was trying to concentrate.

“I don’t want to say anything. There’s no possible way and to believe it would mean I had done the unforgivable. He was caught behind enemy lines. His death haunts me every waking hour of my life.” I was envisioning his smiling face and the way that he had this ability to make people crack up with one of his dirty jokes.

“I can’t help you unless you let me in.” Gail deserved to know what I suspected.

The man in the white parka was carrying a white case and he put it down on the ground kneeling in a praying position. He was using his white gloves to clear an area to set up a tripod. He began to piece together a very powerful weapon at his disposal.

“There was nothing left of him and his eyes were wide open looking to the angels in heaven. I watched the lights go out of his eyes. His soul was extinguished leaving him an unfortunate casualty of war.” The very name on the tip of my tongue shocked me and had me staring in disbelief at what was conceivably a ghost from my past.

“You were the only survivor. I know I’m going to regret asking this, but who exactly do you think is coming after you. They have a funny way of showing their loyalty for everything you’ve done for them.” Gail had an inkling of what I was thinking, but could she even dare to wish her brother was alive carrying some kind of vendetta.

“He’s judging the wind and has set up a flag right beside him to determine the direction to shoot from. It does make sense when you think about how easily he could’ve shot you coming out of the window of the bathroom. He was purposely keeping you out of the line of fire.” Colby was my best friend and leaving him to be tortured mercilessly would have broken him mentally.

“The coffin was closed and for good reason. They told us that his face was damaged.” I wasn’t there during the main funeral in the church.

“He had some cuts and bruises to his face, but nothing that would warrant a closed casket. The mission was classified, but I can tell you enough to know there was no trauma to his body.” The bullet had gone through my rib cage and out through the other side.

“I never knew the details. I tried to find out, but the military shot me down claiming it was for National Security. Is it possible my brother survived?” There wasn’t any way that I could confirm or deny her question.

“I would love to tell you it’s not possible, but life is full of mysteries. If I did leave him there to be tortured then he really isn’t the brother you remember. His mind has been corrupted by thoughts of revenge.” I had to keep my head down and continue changing position.

“I thought there was an unwritten rule where nobody is left behind.” I was told the body was recovered, but I never did see it to say with some degree of certainty he had been returned home.

“The memory of that day was the reason why I hesitated in the field on assignment for Black Net. It was playing out exactly the same, but I stumbled on a rock and bumped into the woman wearing the bomb. The explosion threw me off of my feet and I landed in an awkward position.” The man was preparing to take the shot. The sun was barely peeking through the heavy snow-laden branches of the trees.

“Tell me what happened to my brother and don’t tell me it’s a matter of National Security. I haven’t been able to live one moment without thinking about him.” I felt like I owed her the truth.

“On that fateful day, I stood my ground, but this time the woman with the bomb wasn’t alone. I was able to defuse it with her standing there shaking like a leaf. It was a terrifying moment of my life.” I moved a few feet down with her following me on her hands and knees.

Colby had zeroed in on his target and was moving the scope of the rifle back and forth to catch sight of an exposed piece of me.

“I need to know. It has always bothered me the way they swept it under the rug.” She wasn’t angry, but she was persistent not about to take no for an answer.

“I didn’t see the ambush. There was a contingent of soldiers who appeared out of nowhere camouflaged under the sand. We returned fire, but my platoon was decimated. I threw myself in front of your brother taking the bullet where you saw my scar. My efforts were for nothing. The bullet went right through me and into his chest. It was a direct shot to the heart.” I had tried to save him, but he was already gone before he hit the sand.

“I don’t mean to alarm you, but it has been remarkably quiet out there.” I was afraid of what that might mean.

I dared to take a look and found he had vanished from his current position. I moved with one purpose to find where he was going to take the shot from next. Switching positions was a good way to keep an opponent guessing until it was too late. I had never taught Colby how to utilize that tactic.

“He’s getting closer to take out the guesswork. This doesn’t sound at all like Colby. I have no idea what is going on in his mind. I’m still trying to figure out how he found us. It’s not like we left any breadcrumbs. I made sure to meticulously wipe away our footprints and to leave a set to misdirect him.” I felt like I was missing something important but wasn’t quite grasping what it was.

“Colby will listen to me. I am the only one that is going to be able to get through to him. He’s my brother and whatever happened couldn’t have changed him that dramatically.” I wanted to believe her, but there were many cases of those disgruntled soldiers looking to exact their pound of flesh.