John clapped Jack on the back and started up the stairs ahead of him. “You did real good today, Jack,” he said over his shoulder. He didn’t need to see the young man’s face to tell that the praise had an impact on him.
“Hey, John?” Jack said as they got to the landing at the top of the stairs. “I just noticed something. Actually, I have noticed it before, but this just reminded me of it.” Jack was stammering a bit. He took a breath and got to the point. “I was wondering... How do you move so quietly? I mean, we just walked up”—he pointed back at the stairs—“and I could hear every one of my steps, but none of yours.”
John snorted. “It’s easy to move quietly when you’re not loaded down with sixty pounds of gear.”
He smiled, and Jack could see he was dredging up some memories. John stepped away from the stairs and leaned on the balustrade of the landing. The view was majestic, as there were windows set high in the opposite wall, above the front door. Jack moved to stand beside the ex-soldier, and they admired the scenery for a moment.
“Training. It was really just lots and lots of training, Jack.” He looked over at the young man. “Your question — it reminded me of one of my instructors.” He smiled softly and looked out through the window once more. “Harrold Conrad...” John seemed to savor the name as he stared into space. “We called him ‘Hard Core.’ Mind you, never to his face.” John chuckled quietly.
“He knew that’s what we called him though. Maybe he felt like he had to live up to that nickname. The guy was a psychopath and a sadist, but you know what? Every one of us that made it through the program, we loved him for it.” John’s expression turned serious. “He’s the reason a lot of us survived our missions.
“I was a kid — probably about your age when I got selected for Special Ops. Proud as a peacock and stubborn as a mule.”
He laughed then, the sound coming from deep down in his belly. In the living room, Abi and BB looked up at the unexpected noise. John gave them an embarrassed wave. Abi smiled back at John, then stepped out of the door to start her watch.
“Proud as a peacock, stubborn as a mule,” he repeated. “I remember that, because that’s exactly what Hard Core told me on the day I arrived.” He chuckled some more under his breath.
“Probably the first thing Hard Core taught me was to be humble and attentive. By the time he was done, there was nothing left of that peacock, or that mule!” His eyes lit up at the memory. “The second thing he taught me was that in our line of duty, it’s all about getting to places fast. That’s what I meant with the gear. He would make us lug sixty pounds — at least! — four or five days a week, on ten mile runs through all kinds of shitty places. The shittier the better.”
“Ah, anyway...” John drifted off for a few seconds. Jack waited patiently, knowing he had a lot more to say.
Sure enough, John snapped back to reality a moment later. He regarded Jack standing beside him. “Truth is, this stealth thing is really not my bag. We did our stealth training later on in the program, and Hard Core made sure to tell me that I was terrible at it, every day. We’d have to run laps around his cabin, and if he heard you, you’d be doing squats or lunges.
His eyes grew wide with the memory. “I must have done a million squats and lunges!” He smiled at Jack. “And I’m not even exaggerating!”
They shared a good-natured laugh, after which John leaned over the handrail once more.
“I heard Mike call you a ‘snake eater’,” Jack said.
“Ah, he did, did he? Well, that’s pretty much bullshit, Jack. The only reason they call us that is because of some publicity stunt some guys pulled a bunch of years ago. We’re just folks that have had a lot of training and have to take a lot of risks.” He added wistfully, “Had to.”
“Had to, anyway. Those days are long gone.” John added with a wistful expression.
They let that hang in the air for a while and turned their attention back to the scenery. The moon had risen, even though it was still light out. The ghostly pale blue orb was perfectly framed in the window, and for a moment it took their breath away.
“Whoa,” John muttered as he admired the impossibly large silver orb. Jack agreed. It was impressive.
“Hey John.”
“Yeah?”
“I wanted to thank you. For looking after me.” John was about to reply but the young man swallowed and continued quickly. “I needed this. To do this... Or, to do something. Anyway, I think that my dad would have been grateful to you.”
John’s expression sobered and he nodded slightly. “He would be proud of you. You’re doing great.”
“OK.” Jack smiled, knowing that nothing more needed to be said. He nodded in parting before turning and walking to the bedroom.
John hung out at the railing for a few more minutes, watching the moon rise higher. He drifted, lost in his memories. Memories of the program and the missions. Memories of meeting Melissa and learning to rely on the woman — to trust her with his very life.
His thoughts finally and inevitably drifted to the end of his career in the Special Forces as he subconsciously rubbed at the place where his arm met the hard metal of his prosthetic.
Chapter 40
Rosa
November 8, 9:30 P.M., The Ren
The sun had gone down hours ago. Most of the residents of the Ren gone to bed. Emily stood alone in the hallway, guarding the classroom door to Ben’s improvised prison. She looked over as she heard somebody coming up the stairs and
