Page 21 of Garr

“Nope. He’s one of us, and his great hearing is part of what makes him so valuable to us. I’m fine with him hearing our conversations. Back to this guy. We need to know why he would be here. Who else would be with him? Did we get ID on the two dead guys yet?” asked Luke.

“We did,” said AJ, walking into the room. “And I hear everything no matter what, but I know what to keep quiet.”

“Never mind them, AJ. Who are the dead men?” asked Garr.

“Jay Royce and Leonard Holt. Both were allegedly unemployed but had ties to a few street gangs in Miami. Picked up a few times for small-time shit, nothing big.”

“They were working for someone,” said Garr. “Buzz isn’t an idiot, but he’s not smart enough to pull off something quite so organized and big. Whatever is going on isn’t by his doing. He’s a soldier. That’s all.”

“Who was his commander? The one that he didn’t like?” asked Hex.

Leif looked at all the men who’d served on his own team. Brix, Sebastian, Garr, and the others all shook their heads.

“I don’t remember,” said Garr. “Honestly, I didn’t give it two seconds of thought. Buzz never did anything to me, but I didn’t really pay attention to him either. I just knew who the guy was.”

“How did you know who he was?” asked Eric.

“What do you mean?”

“I mean, if he didn’t do anything to you and you didn’t notice anything special about him, did you just know him in passing, or was there something about him?”

“I guess it was the mark on his neck,” said Garr. “I think it’s what caught our eyes under the overpass. He’s got a large birthmark on the back of his neck. You can’t see it from the front, but you can damn sure see it a mile away from the back. It’s raised off the skin.”

“He’s right,” said Leif. “He used to keep it covered with a scarf most of the time, but every once in a while, you’d see it.”

“Alright, then we have something to look for,” nodded Cam. “Let’s find him.”

“What the fuck happened?” he yelled.

“I’m not sure. They were in a different location than I was. Jay and Arvel were taking the first sector. Next thing I knew, they were radio silent. I waited, thinking that I would hear the shots and could start.”

“Then what?” he growled.

“I tried to climb for a better view beneath the overpass. I was on the steps, moving upward with my weapon over my shoulder. Someone yelled out to me.”

“Yelled out to you? What do you mean? Someone knew you?”

“Yes,” he said quietly.

“Who? Who the fuck would recognize you from that distance?” He shifted from one foot to the other. Finally, he looked up at the older man with a stone-cold stare.

“It was Frode and Slater.”

“What did you say?” he asked, standing in front of him.

“I said it was Leif Frode and Garr Slater. They were standing beneath me plain as day, and they knew who I was. They called out my name. They know who I am. They know I’m here.”

“Well,” he said, pointing his weapon at him, “that’s a shame.”

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

“The discs worked,” said Garr, staring at hisfiancée. “In fact, they might have worked too well. Maybe we can dial down the voltage a bit.”

“Oh. Oh, sure,” she nodded. “I can definitely do that.”

Garr kissed her, holding her tight against his chest. The fireplace was crackling with the sound of fresh-cut wood, and his mother had brought over peppermint fudge earlier. He popped a piece in his mouth, letting the gooey sugar melt on his tongue.

“I think I’m going to call it the HVD gun, high-voltage disc gun,” she said, looking up at him. He smiled at her, kissing her nose and nodding.

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