The Secret Corps by Telep Peter

Author:Telep, Peter [Telep, Peter]
Language: eng
Format: azw3
Published: 2015-05-22T04:00:00+00:00

Chapter Twenty-Five

“Look at me. You think I let the past rule my life? If I did, I might be in jail or dead. You don’t look back. You keep your eyes on the road. That’s why windshields are big and rear view mirrors are small.”

—Josh Eriksson (FBI interview, 23 December)

The security guard raked fingers through his blond hair and fixed his gaze on Johnny. The kid was in his late-twenties, a baby-faced part-timer going to college at night with, perhaps, a military background that had given him a foot in the blue door, so to speak. He tipped his head at an arrogant angle, and as he neared the SUV, Johnny lowered his window and said, “Morning, Chief.”

“Morning, sir.”

And with that, the kid marched by.

Johnny exchanged a look with Josh, then lowered his head onto the seat. “I just had a heart-attack.” He checked the side mirror.

“What’s he doing?” asked Josh.

“He’s getting into his car.”

“I see him now. They have security twenty-four seven. He must be coming off a night shift.”

Johnny’s phone rang. “Silver Buick LaCrosse inbound,” Willie reported. “I couldn’t get eyes on the driver, but he’s heading your way. We got his tag, just in case.”

“Check it out,” said Johnny as the Buick rolled into the lot, the driver backing into a space about ten cars down and facing the front doors.

“Could be a client or another sales guy,” Josh said.

“Roger. Still can’t see his face yet. He’s looking down.”

Josh snorted. “Probably playing on his phone.”

Johnny squinted toward the Buick. He imagined a man getting out and hurrying toward the front doors. That man was Daniel, impossibly alive and here for some clandestine meeting with Shammas. Johnny burst from the SUV, sprinted across the lot, and seized his brother by the arm. “What’re you doing?”

“You can’t stop me.”

“How could you do this?”

“It’s not your fault, Johnny. It’s the old man’s. He made me hate everything he stood for. Love, art, beauty? They meant nothing to him. It was all about power and selling your soul to get it. You know who taught me how to be a real man? Not Dad. Allah. Only he can save us now.”

Johnny closed his eyes. “You’re wrong.”

“What?” Josh asked. “Hey, you falling asleep?”

“No, no,” Johnny said, reaching for his cup of coffee. “Just... my brother had nothing to do with any of this. Nothing at all.”

Josh gave him an odd look. “Then why are we here?”

“I don’t know.”

“Look, I get it. You want to know why Dan was killed—but you don’t want to know.”

“Exactly.”

“I’ve been going over it myself. Maybe he was spying. Maybe they forced him to work with them. Maybe he joined them, then changed his mind. Maybe they just double-crossed him. Maybe they planned to kill him for some other reason.”

Johnny nodded and sipped his coffee. “I know what I want to believe.”

“Me, too.”

“I had another dream last night.”

“Fallujah?”

“No. I saw everyone at my brother’s funeral, and they were lined up like they were waiting to get on a roller coaster.

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