Odyssey by Michael Stephen Fuchs

Author:Michael Stephen Fuchs [Fuchs, Michael Stephen]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Complete & Total Asskicking Books
Published: 2018-11-25T22:00:00+00:00

Faith

When he finally did, it was due to Sarah whispering in his ear.

“I’m so sorry,” she said.

Homer still had tear-stained cheeks, but as he lowered the kids to the floor, he said, “No, it’s okay. I’m crying because I’m happy. My kids are with me again. And my wife is with God.”

Sarah merely nodded.

The five of them, two travel-weary adults and two kids, plus Kili, moved through the long and dim corridors, deep into the interior of the giant building that anchored the Annex. There were still a few others walking beside and behind them, but giving them space, and slowly peeling away. The women and children, who were in the minority, disappeared first. The men lingered longer, like an honor guard. Now that Homer could see through tears, plus focus on something other than his children, he accepted and returned a few quiet greetings.

“Welcome home, Homer. It’s good to see you, brother.”

“Hey, Cruz,” Homer said.

The man squeezed him around the shoulders, then fell away.

“Long time, Homer. Damn sure a sight for sore eyes.”

“You, too, Mack. Missed you. Missed everyone.”

Then he, too, was gone.

“Thought maybe you rang the bell on us, man.”

Homer smiled, shook hands, and tried to look everywhere at once. There were some very old, very familiar, and very fondly remembered faces – and also a few new ones. That wasn’t unusual. Though there was something a little odd about the group that had come out, and Homer couldn’t quite work out what it was… But soon they were all gone, and only Kili was left leading Homer, Sarah, and the kids down an empty hall.

Homer finally turned to Kili. “Did you see it – the carrier?”

“The Kennedy?” Kili nodded. “Yeah. Hard to miss a Ford-class nuclear supercarrier. Especially since it kind of crashed into us.”

“So you’ve got ISR up?”

“Always, man.”

Of course, Homer thought. They wouldn’t have survived this long otherwise. And they wouldn’t have been DEVGRU. He stopped and grabbed Kili’s arm. “Is she still at anchor?”

Kili shook his head again. “No.”

“When?”

“Steamed right before sundown. You just missed her.”

“Sundown today?”

“Technically yesterday.”

Homer checked his watch, then called to mind the exact hour of sunset at this latitude at this time of year, along with the carrier’s top speed. And he started doing math in his head. “Listen, what I’m going to need—”

Kili grasped him by both arms, interrupting. “Look, brother, we’ll get you everything you need. But right now it’s the middle of the night. Let’s get your kids to bed and get you settled.”

Homer exhaled, releasing a lot of tension. But not all of it.

“Okay,” he said.

* * *

Kili swiped a keycard on a wall-mounted reader, then handed the card to Homer and opened the door, the light inside coming on automatically. “This is you,” he said. He paused, looking around inside. “Black Tom got killed a few weeks ago.”

Peering inside, Homer could see a suite that was moderately spacious but nearly bare, with two beds, a footlocker at the base of each, and an empty desk, with outlets and USB ports over it.

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