Page 13 of The Reaper
"Didn’t have much choice," I said. "Pentagon calls, Agency echoes, and suddenly I’m on a plane. Not exactly optional."
Ryker tilted his head like he was studying the edges of a blade. "There’s always a choice."
I dropped my pack to the floor. The sound echoed.
"Sure. And what happens if I walk out that door right now?"
"Nothing," he said. "Except you miss the biggest opportunity ever dropped in your lap."
I didn’t buy it.
Men like him didn’t move pieces like me across continents for nothing.
I leaned in. "I don’t do vague. What’s the play?"
Ryker’s voice stayed calm. "You’ll have to prove yourself first."
That lit a fuse.
"Prove myself? I’m not some cherry out of boot. I’ve bled for every op I’ve touched. Don’t insult me."
We locked eyes. His gray stare didn’t flinch. Mine didn’t either.
But he didn’t push. He smiled, slow, like he’d just confirmed something.
"You’re right. Maybe this was a mistake.” He paused. “But what if I told you I could give you every resource you ever needed?"
I narrowed my eyes. "Prove it."
He leaned back. Smile gone. Voice colder.
"Operation Nightshade. Tibet. You led a six-man team on deep recon. Requested drones. Denied. Armor-piercing rounds. Denied. Two men dead. You carried one out yourself. Three miles. Under fire. Still haunt you?"
The room went silent. Cold.
Nightshade had been buried. Redacted. Sealed away so deep I couldn’t even access it. And he’d pulled it out like it was a file from his desk drawer.
Jensen’s blood on my chest. Baker’s eyes going dim. My voice on the radio, begging for assets that never came.
My fists clenched.
"How the fuck do you know about that?"
Ryker didn’t blink. "Because I need men like you. Not just killers. Survivors. Leaders."
I stared at him, chest tight, mind racing.
"What is Dominion Hall?"
He leaned in, voice low. "We call ourselves a family."
The word cut deep.
Family was the firepit back home. Seven boys under the stars. Mom’s voice calling us in. My brothers’ laughter in the dark.
"Family," I said, testing the word. "Is that loyalty? Or just branding?"
Ryker’s gaze didn’t waver. "It means we have each other’s backs. It means we build. We protect. We win."
