CHAPTER THIRTEEN

“Who the fuck was that guy?” asked Luke, staring at the table of men. He looked along the walls, seeing the men who had been runners. They all had medals around their necks, finishing in the top twenty runners, with Clay, Hiro, and Trak finishing in the top ten.

“Congrats to you guys, by the way,” he smirked. Trak shrugged.

“Would have finished first, but that guy distracted us,” he frowned. “I’ll let you kids figure this one out. Gray Wolf needs me.”

They all chuckled as the senior left the room. He probably would have won the race, which would have been an interesting conversation with all the other runners as to why a man that old beat them.

“Ricky Busbee,” said Garr. “He was in Ranger school the same time as all of us.”

“He obviously didn’t make it,” said Cam.

“Oh, no. He made it and then was asked to leave for suspicion of selling weapons to our enemies. Seems Buzz had a habit of interfering in deliveries meant for our troops and somehow getting them to the other side,” said Garr.

“Shit,” muttered Luke. “Beyond the obvious of money, why?”

“He wanted his own unit,” said Leif. “He got through Ranger school, barely, but he made it through and was placed in another team. He wasn’t happy because his unit commander was a by-the-book all-the-way kind of dude.”

“What happened to him?” asked Luke.

“Not sure. We finished our last mission, and when we all showed up at base for our exit, his unit was in deep shit. Seems Buzz had walked off with everyone’s weapons and several crates that had been placed in storage,” said Garr.

“So, he’s got a few dozen weapons unless he’s sold them. That still doesn’t answer the question of why he’s picking off innocent citizens in our city,” said Luke. “Did he know you lived here?”

“Judging by the look on his face, he didn’t,” said Garr. “He was genuinely shocked to see us. So much so he dropped his weapon and bag. We gave it to the tech team to make sure there wasn’t anything inside that we needed to worry about.”

“Nothing!” yelled AJ from down the hall. All the men raised their eyebrows, shaking their heads with a smirk or grin.

“Thanks, AJ,” yelled Luke back to him.

“Doesn’t it worry you that he can hear you all the way down the hall?” frowned Ben.

“Nope. He’s one of us, and his great hearing is part of what makes him so valuable to us. I’m fine with him hearing our conversations. Back to this guy. We need to know why he would be here. Who else would be with him? Did we get ID on the two dead guys yet?” asked Luke.

“We did,” said AJ, walking into the room. “And I hear everything no matter what, but I know what to keep quiet.”

“Never mind them, AJ. Who are the dead men?” asked Garr.

“Jay Royce and Leonard Holt. Both were allegedly unemployed but had ties to a few street gangs in Miami. Picked up a few times for small-time shit, nothing big.”

“They were working for someone,” said Garr. “Buzz isn’t an idiot, but he’s not smart enough to pull off something quite so organized and big. Whatever is going on isn’t by his doing. He’s a soldier. That’s all.”

“Who was his commander? The one that he didn’t like?” asked Hex.

Leif looked at all the men who’d served on his own team. Brix, Sebastian, Garr, and the others all shook their heads.

“I don’t remember,” said Garr. “Honestly, I didn’t give it two seconds of thought. Buzz never did anything to me, but I didn’t really pay attention to him either. I just knew who the guy was.”

“How did you know who he was?” asked Eric.

“What do you mean?”

“I mean, if he didn’t do anything to you and you didn’t notice anything special about him, did you just know him in passing, or was there something about him?”

“I guess it was the mark on his neck,” said Garr. “I think it’s what caught our eyes under the overpass. He’s got a large birthmark on the back of his neck. You can’t see it from the front, but you can damn sure see it a mile away from the back. It’s raised off the skin.”

“He’s right,” said Leif. “He used to keep it covered with a scarf most of the time, but every once in a while, you’d see it.”

“Alright, then we have something to look for,” nodded Cam. “Let’s find him.”

“What the fuck happened?” he yelled.

“I’m not sure. They were in a different location than I was. Jay and Arvel were taking the first sector. Next thing I knew, they were radio silent. I waited, thinking that I would hear the shots and could start.”

“Then what?” he growled.

“I tried to climb for a better view beneath the overpass. I was on the steps, moving upward with my weapon over my shoulder. Someone yelled out to me.”

“Yelled out to you? What do you mean? Someone knew you?”

“Yes,” he said quietly.

“Who? Who the fuck would recognize you from that distance?” He shifted from one foot to the other. Finally, he looked up at the older man with a stone-cold stare.

“It was Frode and Slater.”

“What did you say?” he asked, standing in front of him.

“I said it was Leif Frode and Garr Slater. They were standing beneath me plain as day, and they knew who I was. They called out my name. They know who I am. They know I’m here.”

“Well,” he said, pointing his weapon at him, “that’s a shame.”