Smoke and Shadow (5 page)

Carpenter was
clearly confused. "What about us? Who
’
s going to run
Nightwatch?"

It took Baker a moment to slide out
of his chair and up to his feet. He still wasn't used to the new
cane. "You've been waiting for your chance for a field command.
This might be your time to step up."

Carpenter looked up at him in
bemusement. "I didn't want it like this. I didn't want my shot to
cost you your career."

Baker was quite
sure Carpenter didn't care if he lived or died, as long as he got
more power in the end, but he gave Carpenter the same warm smile he
offered to Shaw. "It's a cutthroat business, Silence. We do what we
need to do. Let
’
s
go. I
’
ve got some
time to kill before my flight and I need some liquor for pain
management. I
’
ll
let you boys buy me some farewell drinks and tell me how much
you
’
ll miss me."

"Bullshit," Trent said to everyone
and no one.

The four operators spent the rest
of the afternoon drinking and mocking each other with the affection
men reserve for their true friends. When it was time for Baker to
catch his flight back to the States, Chu drove him in the Hummer.
The two men rode in silence for a while before Baker spoke, almost
to himself.

"Trent was right. Popanjar was a
setup."

Chu looked torn
between keeping his eyes on the road and looking over at him. "What
about what Silence said? Why would he put himself in
harm
’
s way like
that? Why not just have us ambushed from a safe
location?"

"Popanjar wasn't
the mastermind. He was the bait. Kata
’
ib al-Karbala probably found out
about his fetish toward young boys and blackmailed him with it.
They force him to find a Western devil and entice us with promises
of intelligence. He gets us to the location and we're so
preoccupied with the kid we don't even notice the AKs pointed at
our heads."

Chu sighed like a world-weary
fighter. "And they told Popanjar if he did what he was told, he
would get to live?"

“
Probably, but
deep down he might not have believed it. That would explain the
nervous sweat and the desperate tone. He was looking for a way out
and he couldn
’
t
see one. I didn
’
t
see one either, not for him. He was dead as soon as
Kata
’
ib al-Karbala
found him and the boy. I was just the instrument of his
demise."

"So Carpenter
walked us right into a shit show?" Chu
’
s hands gripped the wheel tighter
than necessary to make the next turn.

"Maybe, he was so blinded by the
promise of a high-value asset that he might have ignored the
warning signs. But there might not have been any signs to see. I
didn't put it together myself until I saw how insistent Popanjar
was to rape the boy in front of us."

"And that's when you shot
him."

"That's when I shot
him."

They drove for a moment, then Baker
saw Chu smile. After a few seconds, his friend started to laugh.
"You are so full of shit."

The statement caught him off guard.
"What are you talking about?"

"You saw Popanjar
abusing that kid and decided to save him. That's all. That's why
you dragged him out of that apartment. Maybe it was a setup from
the beginning, but you didn't know that when you took the shot. You
didn't care about all that. You saw something wrong, and you
decided to do something about it.
”

Baker
didn
’
t respond and
Chu wasn't finished anyway.
“
You're giving the whole thing an
operational spin now to make yourself feel like a tough guy. Maybe
you're trying to dull the pain of losing the kid. I get it. Maybe
you're trying to convince yourself you can be like Shaw and ignore
the fucked-up shit people like us do to get our job done. But I
don't think you can. In spite of the image you're trying to push,
you actually care. That's all this is about."

Baker rubbed his wounded leg and
smirked at Chu. "You have an opinion of me that can't be healthy in
the long run."

Chu stopped the Hummer in front of
the terminal and shut off the car, scanning the other vehicles for
trouble. "I know you've got your shit together, unlike our former
employer."

"Trident is my former employer. You
still have a place in Nightwatch if you want it."

"I'm not sure I want to work for a
shop that needs to support perverts and scum to make things
happen."

Baker shook his head. "Kevin and
Chris have a point. It's hard to get away from the reality of who
our assets are. Not everyone is going to put a bullet in the head
of a child molester."

"I know. That's why I've decided to
follow you around."

Baker chuckled. "That might not be
a wise career path. There might not be a lot of work out there for
a cripple."

Chu chuckled
along with him. "Bullshit is your default setting, isn't it? We
both know you're not getting out of the life. You don't know
anything else, and you're not the retiring type. I'm willing to bet
you already know your next landing spot. All I
’
m asking is you keep me in mind when
you need boots on the ground. Even if you do get out of the life,
you'll still need someone to drive your crippled ass around for a
while."

They both laughed. "I appreciate
the support, but this doesn't change anything. I'm still not going
to let you fuck me."

"Don't flatter yourself. I don't
want you. I'm just trying to get close to your hot
wife."

"You wouldn't know what to do with
my wife, kid."

"I'd do better than
you."

Baker eased
himself out of the car gingerly and reached for his bag with a free
hand.
“
Trident is getting desperate. The Iraq accounts
won
’
t last
forever. It might be better for me to move to a command and control
position in a new shop now, before everyone here is out on the
street looking for work.
”

Chu shook his
head and smiled.
“
I knew you had an angle. Part of me thinks getting shot was
part of your master plan.
”

“
Nope.
”
Baker
closed the door and turned toward the terminal.
“
But plans change.
We
’
ve got to adapt
or die. I
’
ll reach
out in a few weeks. Try not to get killed while
I
’
m gone. I really
need someone to drive me around now."

Summer 2014

Nikki tried to
change the subject to keep herself from screaming.
“
So did the whole team
leave with you to join RSVP?
”

The somber
darkness left Warren
’
s face as he shrugged his shoulders.
“
Not all at once. Chu left Trident a
few weeks after me. The other one tried to set up his own team, but
that didn
’
t work
out so he came running back to me for help when his freelance work
went sideways.
”

Nikki appreciated
Warren
’
s reference
to
“
the other
one
”
. They all
knew he meant Chris Carpenter, but Baker also knew Nikki had no
interest in hearing any more about her former lover. She kept the
discussion moving to make sure they didn
’
t linger on the
subject.

“
What happened
to Harrison?
”

Warren shrugged
again.
“
He tried
to stay in Trident for a while, but he ran into some complications
in the Congo
…”

Book Two: Toy
Soldiers

Fall 2008

“
There is no
part of this operation that makes any fucking
sense.
”

Trent leaned over
his untouched whisky in an attempt to keep his voice low. He sat
across from his operations officer in the back of the small bar.
Trent positioned their discussion close to the bathroom and away
from both the bartender and the front door. They shared the dark,
dank room with only six other men who all watched a riot breaking
out in the middle of a regional soccer league match. All the other
men yelled at the TV and argued with each other as if they were
caught up in the melee. No one paid attention to
Trent
’
s rant,
least of all his conversation partner.

Norman Tolbert
drained his Primus and motioned the bartender for another. He only
turned back to Trent when he realized the man
couldn
’
t be pulled
away from the television. His generous consumption of beer, and his
lack of interest in Trent
’
s concerns made his eyes glaze
over.
“
You
’
re not
really in a position to question mission details, marine, but
I
’
m
feeling generous. Why don
’
t you tell me why
there
’
s a stick up
your ass and I
’
ll
give you complete and detailed reasons why I don
’
t give a fuck.
”

Trent fought the
urge to break the beer bottle over Tolbert
’
s sweaty misshapen head and focused
on his complaints instead.
“
First, you haven
’
t allocated the proper resources for
the job. What you
’
re asking for requires at least a fire team maybe two. If I
go in alone, it increases the risk and lowers the probability of
success.
”

“
Ok
…”

“
Second, your
intel is suspect. You don
’
t have any agents on the ground to
direct me to the exact location. I
’
m going to be wandering around in
the dark with my dick in my hands trying to find this
cache.
”

“
True
…”

“
Third, the
entire command and control element is unprofessional and negligent.
Shaw doesn
’
t have
any area expertise or field experience. He
’
s basing his plans on hopes and
dreams, instead of facts and analysis.
”

“
Is there
anything else?
”

“
Only that we
shouldn
’
t be
having operational briefings in a fucking bar!
”
Trent banged his fist on the table
in spite of his attempt at control. No one turned around to see
what happened. They were too busy arguing over the latest riot
footage.

Tolbert busied
himself by peeling off the label from his empty bottle.
“
You know, Shaw told me
you were going to be a problem. He said you had issues with
authority. He said your time with Baker made you forget the chain
of command.
”

“
I remember what
bullshit looks like.
”

“
Do you remember
how it feels to be unemployed and on the run? Are you looking
forward to being homeless when you get back to the States, or are
you planning to go straight to prison and cut out the
middleman?
”

“
Trident isn
’
t the only company paying shooters. I don
’
t need you to find
work
…”