“I need information. I need to know about an American operation being conducted in Zubara called Dead Six. At least, the operatives I saw were American. I believe they have the box. If any of Eddie’s people hear anything, I need to know.”
“But of course,” the Fat Man said. “Is that all?”
“That’s all. Is this the part where you randomly threaten children to keep me in line?”
“Good-bye, Mr. Lorenzo.” And he was gone.
Chapter 9:
The To-Do List
VALENTINE
Fort Saradia National Historical Site
April 16
0900
I opened my eyes to the sound of someone pounding on my door. My head throbbed with each blow. Using the wall to prop myself up, I struggled to my feet and answered the knock.
It was Conrad, Hunter’s security man. Next to him was another guy I’d seen before but whose name I didn’t recall. They were dressed like twins in 5.11 vests and Oakley sunglasses. “Valentine, come with us,” Conrad said bluntly.
I looked at my watch. “What’s happening?”
“Just come with us.” Conrad put a hand on my shoulder and pulled me out of the room.
“Hey!” I protested, groggily. My left hand reflexively reached for my S&W .44; it was still in its holster.
“Hold it right there!” Conrad’s partner shouted, immediately producing a pistol from under his vest. He held the Sig 220 in a tight two-handed grip, pointed at my right ear.
“Whoa whoa whoa!” I said, raising my hands, head pounding with each word. “Everybody calm down! What the hell’s going on here?”
“Put your hands behind your head!” Conrad’s partner demanded.
“Do it,” Conrad said. He yanked my .44 out of its holster and stuffed it into his waistband. I had little choice; I slowly laced my fingers behind my head. Conrad then shoved my face into the concrete wall. Pain shot through my skull at the impact. They kept me pinned as my hands were pulled behind my back and roughly zip-tied together. Conrad spun me around, and his partner punched me in the stomach,
I doubled over, gasping for air. Conrad was holding my zip-tied hands and wouldn’t let me fall. “Hunter is waiting for you,” he said. The two men shoved me toward the stairs and marched me across the compound. Conrad had his hand on my shoulder while his partner stayed a few paces away, ready to shoot me if I ran.
It had been a long time since I’d been that hung over, and I wasn’t handling it well. The morning heat was oppressive. Once we cleared the shade of the covered hallway, it felt like the sun would burn my hair off. I squinted in the light, and my head ached with each step.
Other Dead Six personnel watched quietly as I was paraded across Fort Saradia. I was furious. Beyond that, a small pit was forming in my stomach. As we grew nearer and nearer to the admin building, I began to wonder if Hunter was going to have me shot.
“Wait, wait, we gotta stop.” I leaned forward and threw up.
“Heh, looks like our boy doesn’t feel so good,” one of the security men said. Conrad and his partner had a good laugh at my expense before dragging me along again.
As we approached the administrative building, Sarah stepped out into the morning sun, putting on sunglasses as she cleared the door. She froze when she saw me being pushed along by Hunter’s men, blood trickling down the side of my head, hands tied behind my back. Her mouth opened, but she didn’t say anything. I just looked at the ground.
A few minutes later, I was sitting outside of Hunter’s office, being watched by one security guy while Conrad was inside talking to the colonel. After a short time I was marched in and pushed into a chair in front of Hunter’s desk.
Looking around, I realized I’d never actually been in the office before. It had once belonged to Fort Saradia’s commanding officer. It was under new management now. Several screens were mounted in various places, and bundles of wires were strung along the floor and ceiling. Maps of the city, of the CGEZ, and of the entire Middle East were hung on the walls. The air stank of cigar smoke. The two security men loomed over me as I sat there.
Hunter regarded me quietly. His gaze was hard and unsettling. He had only one eye, but it could look at you twice as hard.
“Colonel?” I began, choosing my words carefully. “What did I do?” I struggled to think clearly; my head felt like it was full of peanut butter.
“Gentlemen, take a walk,” Hunter said, dismissing his two men. As they left the room, he turned his attention to me. “Miss McAllister informed me that you were drunk off your ass last night and seemed unstable. And now Conrad tells me you went for your weapon when they woke you.”
Hunter paused for effect. “Mr. Valentine, we’re having this little chat to determine if you’re still fit to go on missions. So tell me, son, what the hell is your problem?”
“It was . . . bad . . . last night, sir. I did things I regret. I was under a lot of stress. I took it out on Sarah, and I shouldn’t have. But I don’t understand why I got dragged in here at gunpoint.”
Hunter studied me for a moment before speaking. “I know all about you and McAllister, by the way. I know you’ve been diddling each other like a couple of high-school kids. I don’t give a damn about that. I’m only telling you so you’re not under the impression that anything happens around here without my knowledge. What I do give a damn about is one of my best men trying to drink himself stupid after a mission, especially given the operational tempo we’re dealing with. I seem to recall telling you no alcohol until further notice. As a matter of fact, you’re supposed to go out again tonight.”
“But sir!” I protested. “I’m—”
“Hung over?” Hunter interjected. “I can see that. You look like hell, Mr. Valentine. You reek of alcohol. What the hell were you drinking, Av-Gas?”
“I . . . don’t really know, sir. I don’t remember much.”
“I bet,” Hunter said. “I’m asking you again, now, what’s your problem?”
“There were some things we left out of our report, sir,” I said quietly. “About what we found in Umm Bab.”
“Oh?” Hunter asked, raising the eyebrow above his eye patch. I spent the next few minutes recapping the grisly scene we discovered in Adar’s bedroom. My voice broke a few times as I talked about the mutilated girl.
Hunter quietly let me finish. “Well, that makes sense now,” he said at last. He thought about it for a long, uncomfortable moment. “I guess you’re lucky.”
