Page 18 of What is Lost

Davila shook his head in a curt, crisp negative. “I can’t believe Hank would do that.”

“Patterson probably doesn’t even know.”

“But he went along with you going and me tagging along to get you into position, I guess. Which means you’re special in a way I’m not. Hank may not even have been read in.”

“Yeah,” he drawled. “Sucks to be in the dark, doesn’t it?”

“Don’t get cute. Are you saying you knowwhy? Like whyyou, specifically?”

Oh, I’m starting to have a really good idea.But no way he was telling Davila just yet. Even Roni had not known.

That particular story needed stay in the deep, dark past of another kid who was not John Worthy.

He settled for a half-truth. “I think you said it.” John turned his gaze to the yellow plane, which was high above the mountains edging the highway. “Things go south, I’m deniable.”

“But doing what?”

“You’re not a stupid guy, Davila. I don’t know Patterson, but I bet he wouldn’t trust you if you were.” The smokejumper plane banked, and a black rectangle suddenly appeared on the plane’s otherwise pristine exterior. Belatedly, John realized someone on the plane had opened a door. A moment later, a tiny figure stepped from the plane and into thin air. Within five seconds, the smokejumper’s parachute deployed, rocketing straight up before unfurling into a dazzling orange rectangle.

“Take a wild guess.” He turned back to the other man. “Tell you what. I’m feeling magnanimous, so you gettwoguesses.”

“Give a body to get a body.”

“Bingo. He hits it on the first try, ladies and gents.” No other explanation he could think of. Besides, if he never came back, anyone who wondered...he just bet that all official records pertaining to John Worthy, no matter how long he’d lived that legend, would have evaporated.

“And you’re okay with that?” Davila asked.

“Are you?”

“Depends on you, doesn’t it? I’m just the chaperone.”

“Yeah, you keep telling yourself that. We get on that plane, you’re in it up to your eyeballs. So, think hard. You’ve got a wife. A life. Me, I’m picking up pieces. Maybe this is where I start, by bringing Roni home. Wasn’t that the point of Brighter Days?”

“True.” The airport exit sign flashed past, and Davila put on his blinker. “I just want to be sure you don’t trip into the hole. Be nice if we stayed on the doughnut.” Another pause. “Mind if I ask you a question?”

“Sure,” he said as Davila took the exit ramp. “What’s on your mind?”

“Just how good a shooter are you?”

“I guess,” John said, “that depends on which side of the bullet you’re on.”

ZOMBIES

AUGUST 2021

Kabul Airport is ownedby the Afghan government. Located north of the city, the airport is surrounded by concrete walls reinforced with coils of concertina wire designed to slice and dice. A single, four-mile-long runway divides the airport in two: north and south.

The civilian side is south and has three gates. Abbey Gate is tucked into the southeast corner. Nearby and east of Abbey is the aptly named East Gate. To the west of Abbey Gate is an access road leading from the city to South Gate, the airport’s main entrance.

Access to the north side is limited. This is because that side is “hardened,” meaning that that the barracks, buildings, hangars, etc., have been designed to withstand conventional weapons. Until the evacuation, Camp Alvarado, a complexmaintained by the U.S. State Department, was located there. On that side, the only way in is through North Gate.

At least, that’s what it says on paper.

No one slepton August 15th, the day their battalion arrived. As in, seriously, no one’s head hit a pillow or sandbag; no one got to stretch out for a quick forty winks. This was because, as with so much else about this operation, no one had thought to really set up a secure perimeter or provide enough Marines to keep order.

Which meant thateveryone, he and Roni included, stayed up all night doing what they could to secure the airport with what they had. A CO called itNight of the Zombies.

He wasn’t wrong. Even John, who was used to staying up all night on-call, was so wrecked, he could’ve lurched around as an extra in a low-budgetWalking Deadspinoff.

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