Page 29 of Stryker

Woodley huffed. No doubt he saw fromBrick’s posture and the dark expression on his face there was nogetting away with keeping quiet. “Fine. There were seven people onthe task force. Frank Seya, Aleksandr Popov.” Woodleyhesitated.

“We can’t help unless wehave all the information,” Brick stated.

With a nod of his head, Woodleycontinued. “Frank Seya, Aleksandr Popov, my father, Jerome Woodley,and four others. As it stands now, those first three are dead, andI’m in the process of finding the final four or their fates. AfterFrank and then my father were shot, the remaining task force wentinto hiding.”

“Shit,” Shawhuffed.

“Wait a minute. Does thatmean all the people on the task force had been Noah Project testsubjects?” Conor asked.

Woodley nodded. “Who’d be better totake them down?”

“That means if your fatherwas among them—you’re also a Noah Project survivor,” Brickstated.

Woodley looked him straight in theeyes. “Yes.”

“Well, this just took agreat big fucking turn,” Shaw said.

“Did you know about Conorbefore you got here?” Gunner asked.

“No. I figured it outpretty damn fast, though.”

Stryker had one question that remainedmost important to him.

“Why are they coming afterJohn now after two decades?”

“Popov was poisoned. Bythe time I found him, there was nothing we could do to save hislife. He’d been hiding, but they still managed to get to him. Thattask force knows something that the Noah Project doesn’t want toget out. When I asked Popov what that was, he only managed towhisper John’s name and ‘protect him, theynow know.’I can’t be sure if any otherindividuals on the task force knew what Popov knew, or are evenalive, but it’s a risk I’m unwilling to take.”

“Pretty damn cryptic,”Shaw said.

“That’s why you reopenedhis parents’ murder case so you could get information on John,where he was, and so on,” Stryker said.

“Yes. I had to get to himbefore someone else did. I used Popov as the new lead necessary todo so.”

“But protecting him isn’tyour top priority, is it?” Conor asked.

“I’m sorry to say, but no.Don’t get me wrong, I don’t want anything bad to happen to John,but my main concern is finding out what my father was killed overand making those people pay for it.”

“If you’re part of theNoah Project like I am,” Conor said, “do you have any abnormalitiesor abilities?”

“You mean like yourability to be a human lie detector and to know things other peopledon’t?”

“Yes. I mean exactlythat.”

“Yes. I can heal at anincreased pace.”

“How increased?” Brickasked.

Woodley rolled up his shirt sleeve toshow his bicep. “I was shot in my arm during an attempted robbery,through and through, less than two months ago.”

“There isn’t a mark onyour arm,” Stryker said.

“Precisely.”

“Truth,” Conorsaid.

“Whoa,” Shaw said. “Icould use that ability.”

“Yeah, well, try hidingthat little trick from the rest of the department. I have to keep afair distance from any medical professionals. Luckily, I was alonewhen it happened, so by the time backup arrived, I’d been able tocover it up.”

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