Chapter 4: The Man Who Ordered Us Left Behind
“Put the drive down.””
Adrian Vale's voice was quieter than I remembered.
That made it worse.
Men like him never needed to shout.
Rourke kept his pistol trained on him.
“Drop the weapon.””
Vale smiled.
“You still think this is your operation, Marcus?””
“You're surrounded.””
Vale glanced toward the empty corridor.
“No one knows I'm here.””
I tightened my grip on the edge of the table.
“That isn't true.””
His eyes moved to me.
“Isn't it?””
“The security system.””
“Compromised.””
“The message.””
“Mine.””
“The men outside.””
“Mine too.””
I felt the cold settle deeper into my chest.
Rourke shifted slightly, putting himself between Vale and me.
Vale noticed.
He laughed softly.
“You always did protect the wrong people.””
Rourke's jaw tightened.
“Tell me where Elena is.””
For the first time, Vale's expression changed.
Not fear.
Annoyance.
“Still asking about her.””
“She deserves to be found.””
“She deserved to die.””
My fingers curled around the table.
“You left her.””
“No,” Vale said.
“You did.””
Tyler flinched.
Rourke's gun hand tightened.
“You gave the order.””
“I gave an order based on information you did not have.””
“You told us Fury Ten had been compromised.””
“I was right.””
I stepped forward.
“You knew I wasn't compromised.””
Vale looked at me.
“Yes.””
The single word hit harder than a shout.
Tyler whispered, “Colonel…”
Vale ignored him.
“You were never working for the enemy.””
“Then why?””
“Because you had something they wanted.””
His eyes moved toward the black drive.
“And something I needed destroyed.””
Rourke glanced down.
“What is on it?””
Vale's smile disappeared.
“Nothing you should see.””
“That's not an answer.””
“It is the only answer you're getting.””
I picked up the drive.
Vale's pistol immediately came up.
“Don't.””
I held it between two fingers.
“What's on it?””
“Your death warrant.””
I laughed once.
Not because it was funny.
Because after eight years of lies, the sentence sounded almost ordinary.
“You should have done a better job.””
Vale's eyes hardened.
“I tried.””
Rourke spoke without looking at me.
“Eleanor, move behind me.””
“No.””
“That's an order.””
“I don't take orders from Marines.””
For the first time, the corner of his mouth twitched.
Then Vale fired.
The shot struck the metal shelf beside my head.
Books and folders exploded into the air.
Rourke returned fire.
Vale disappeared behind the shelves.
“Down!”” Rourke shouted.
I dropped behind a cabinet.
Tyler dove beside me.
Another shot cracked through the room.
Metal screamed.
Dust rained from the ceiling.
“Stay here!”” Rourke yelled.
Tyler looked at me.
“He'll kill you.””
“He's already tried.””
“No. You don't understand.””
I stared at him.
“You've said that three times.””
“Because it's true.””
“You knew he was alive.””
Tyler shook his head.
“I knew rumors.””
“Did you know he was coming?””
“No.””
“Did you know I would be here?””
His silence answered.
I stared at him.
“You did.””
“I knew you were investigating.””
“When?””
“Months ago.””
The gunfire stopped.
That silence was more frightening.
I whispered, “Who told you?””
Tyler swallowed.
“A man from the original unit.””
“Who?””
“Sergeant Daniel Mercer.””
The name meant nothing to me.
It did to Rourke.
“Mercer is dead,” he called from somewhere near the shelves.
Tyler shook his head.
“He isn't.””
Rourke went silent.
I looked at my brother.
“How many people are still alive?””
Tyler's eyes shifted.
“From Black Ridge?””
“Yes.””
He hesitated.
“Five.””
My heart stopped.
“Five?””
“Counting you.””
A floorboard creaked.
We all froze.
Then Vale's voice came from behind the opposite shelves.
“You're wasting time.””
Rourke called back.
“You've got nowhere to go.””
“Oh, Marcus. I have everywhere to go.””
A shadow moved.
Rourke fired.
Vale fired back.
Then the sprinkler system activated.
Water exploded from the ceiling.
The lights flickered.
Papers floated across the floor.
I saw Vale sprint through the aisle.
Rourke chased him.
I followed.
“Eleanor, stay back!””
I ignored him.
We reached the end of the records room.
A steel door slammed shut.
Rourke grabbed the handle.
Locked.
Tyler stumbled up behind us.
“He went through there.””
Rourke looked at him.
“Do you have a key?””
Tyler shook his head.
I noticed a small panel beside the door.
A numeric keypad.
I knew that model.
“Move.””
Rourke stepped aside.
I entered six digits.
The lock clicked.
Tyler stared.
“How do you know that?””
“Because I installed three of these.””
The door opened.
Beyond it was a narrow concrete stairwell leading underground.
Cold air rose from below.
Rourke looked into the darkness.
“This wasn't on the building plans.””
“It wasn't supposed to be.””
Tyler's face went gray.
“You found it.””
I looked at him.
“What?””
He shook his head.
“Nothing.””
I grabbed his sleeve.
“You're done saying that.””
We went downstairs.
The deeper we walked, the colder it became.
At the bottom was a corridor.
No signs.
No cameras.
No lights except a thin red strip along the floor.
Rourke crouched beside the wall.
“There are power cables.””
Tyler whispered, “This was built after Black Ridge.””
“How do you know?””
“I was here.””
I turned.
“When?””
He didn't answer.
Rourke looked at him.
“You've been down here.””
Tyler nodded.
“How many times?””
“Once.””
“You're lying.””
“Twice.””
“Tyler.””
“Three.””
I grabbed his collar.
“You knew this place existed.””
“Yes.””
“And you never told me.””
“I was trying to keep you alive.””
“You erased me.””
“I protected you!””
“You left me in the dark!””
His eyes filled.
“I was twenty-three.””
“So was I.””
“I thought you were dead.””
“You found out I wasn't.””
He looked away.
“When?””
“Three years ago.””
My throat tightened.
“You knew I was alive three years ago?””
He nodded.
“And you never came.””
“I came once.””
“When?””
“Your apartment in San Diego.””
I stared at him.
“You were the car across the street.””
He closed his eyes.
“Yes.””
I remembered that car.
For months, I'd thought I was imagining it.
I had stood behind my bedroom curtains at two in the morning, watching the same black sedan idle beneath a streetlamp.
“You watched me.””
“I wanted to make sure you were safe.””
“You could have knocked.””
“I couldn't.””
“Why?””
“Because Vale told me you'd be killed if I made contact.””
Rourke's voice cut through the corridor.
“You believed him?””
Tyler looked at him.
“He showed me photographs.””
“Of what?””
Tyler's face crumpled.
“Of people who tried.””
Before anyone could ask what that meant, a door opened at the far end.
A woman stepped out.
She was holding a rifle.
Her hair was shorter than I remembered.
Her left cheek carried a pale scar.
But I knew those eyes.
My breath stopped.
“Marcus?””
Rourke lowered his weapon.
His mouth opened.
“That's impossible.””
The woman looked at me.
Then at Tyler.
Her eyes filled with something that looked like grief.
“Elena?””
I could barely speak.
She smiled.
“Hello, Eleanor.””
Tyler stumbled backward.
“No.””
Elena raised her rifle toward him.
“Yes.””
Rourke stepped between them.
“Put it down.””
She didn't.
“He knows.””
“Knows what?””
“What Vale did after he left us.””
My hands went cold.
“Elena…”
She looked directly at me.
“I wasn't the one he was protecting.””
The corridor suddenly felt too small.
“Who was?””
She lowered the rifle slightly.
“The child.””
No one spoke.
Rourke stared at her.
“What child?””
Elena looked at Tyler.
He was crying now.
A Marine who had laughed at me in front of an entire unit was standing in a concrete hallway, shaking like a terrified boy.
“Elena,” he whispered.
She answered quietly.
“The one you swore never existed.””
I looked at Tyler.
Then at Rourke.
Then at Elena.
“What child?””
Elena's expression broke.
“The one born at Black Ridge.””
A sharp metallic click sounded behind us.
We turned.
Vale stood at the top of the stairs.
His pistol was aimed directly at Elena.
But he wasn't looking at her.
He was looking at me.
May you like
And smiling.
“Now,” he said, “you finally understand why your brother was never allowed to tell you the truth.””
