Page 29 of Dark Medicine

“It’s so beautiful, Fiona,” said Aislinn. “I feel almost at home here.” Fiona smiled at Aislinn.

“It’s yer Irish blood coming through. Your mam’s home wasn’t all that far from here, so I’m sure she came over now and again. It’s a lovely place for a hike or run. I come this way now and then and stay at the inn in the village for a long weekend. It gets me away, and I’m able to relax.”

“It’s just amazing,” said Flip. “I think I’ll hike down that way and get some photos. You coming, poster boy?”

Spook flipped him the bird and followed his friend. As he passed Adam, he raised an eyebrow, letting his friend know that he needed to speak with Fiona about what they’d found.

“I think we’ll go get a coffee,” said Kane, pulling Aislinn with him.

“But I don’t want coffee,” she said, protesting.

“Sure you do, baby. Come on.” Aislinn shrugged and followed Kane, her hand tightly laced with his own.

“So, that wasn’t subtle at all, was it?” asked Adam. Fiona looked at him and shook her head, her face devoid of any expression.

“What’s wrong?”

“Nothing is wrong, not really,” he said, shoving his hand through his hair. “Let’s sit.”

He pointed to a rocky outcropping offering amazing views and a spectacular breeze. Adam was thankful once again that he bought the jacket and extra sweaters. It was fucking cold in Ireland. He didn’t care what they said.

“So, what’s going on?” she said tentatively.

“Spook was able to trace the IP address last night for the e-mail that Roman and George sent.” Fiona stared at him intently, waiting for him to continue. “The e-mail address belongs to a Colonel Weston Moore. For a long time, he was thought dead. We are all well acquainted with him or at least his reputation.

“About fifteen years ago, he was leading a humanitarian mission in Bosnia. At least, that’s what the Washington brass thought. Young people started disappearing from surrounding villages. At first, everyone believed they were taken to serve in the military or with the resistance. About six months into his command, the UN discovered a mass grave containing body parts. There were no witnesses. No one stepped forward. However, cameras and GPS equipment showed that the colonel himself drove to the mass grave on a number of occasions.

“Although it wasn’t proven he had anything to do with the deaths, the circumstantial evidence was enough to ruin his career. The Army forced him into early retirement, although technically he was about sixty then, so I’m not sure it was all that early.”

“I don’t understand,” said Fiona, frowning, “so this American colonel that everyone thought was dead is sending e-mails?”

“There’s more. About two years ago, they diagnosed him with stage four liver cancer. He’s sought every alternative treatment known to man, but nothing seems to be working. The only reason we know that is because of Spook. He found e-mails and communications sent back and forth between Moore, his assistant, and several clinics.”

“I still don’t understand. What does that have to do with us? With any of us? Other than my ability to heal.”

“I’m certain that’s why he’s trying to get to you, but something else we know is that Colonel Moore was stationed at Sierra Depot during the time Kane and I would have been there as children.”

“That explains the two of you, but it doesn’t explain the rest of us.”

“I’m not done,” he said, holding up a hand. “When the bodies in Bosnia were found, the grave contained an odd powder substance. At first, Washington was concerned that it was some biohazard or nerve agent. They were so concerned they sent special hazmat teams to assist the Bosnians.”

“Well, that’s good, right? I mean, what did they find?”

“Nothing. By the time the teams arrived, the gravesite was burned to the very core of the earth. Nothing remained, barely even a glimpse of the bones, let alone any tissue to study or powder.”

“Jesus,” whispered Fiona.

“We think that Moore has everything to do with the powder we all were exposed to. We also believe he’s still alive, and that’s why he wants you, which is exactly why he won’t get you. The problem is that Spook says he has some powerful help.”

“Powerful?” she asked tentatively.

“Yea, powerful in the sense that they command loyalty from their troops. Sgts. Tom Cullen, Calvin Zurvel, and Uri Bellum. Captains Dan Henry, Norris Fredericks, and Major William Groome. Kane and I are familiar with Groome. We served under him in Iraq. He was a sadistic, manipulative prick.

“Kane and I were put on a team together. I was part of the medical unit heading out with his group. I wasn’t even a doctor yet. I was still in medical school, but the Army was fast-tracking me. There was no reason to put me with Kane’s team, but they assigned me as the corpsman. I didn’t know him, and he didn’t know me, but it was our first encounter together where we suspected that the other had gifts.

“The mission was simple–pick up two insurgents held by local authorities. Except there was nothing simple about it. Kane knew right away that it was a trap. No one believed him, but he was so insistent they couldn’t argue with him. I know now that he felt the evil of the local police commander. As we left the jail, the whole area went fucking crazy. Snipers were on roofs, IEDs seemed to be everywhere we stepped.”

Fiona stared at Adam as he told the story, his face a mask of pain and memory.

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