Page 69 of Call Sign: Thunder
“Don’t touch that!” Gopher cried out. “Don’t touch anything!”
“It’s okay, man. I wasn’t going to steal it.”
He watched Gopher shake his head a little as he whispered something to himself too softly for Zach to hear. The guy was super eccentric.
“Sorry I yelled at you. I’m trying to work on not doing that. If you don’t mind, can we keep it between ourselves? I don’t want Doc to know I’m still unable to control some of my urges.”
“Em… sure, but really, it’s no big deal.”
The odd guy chuckled a sad laugh. “You just met me. You’ll see… most people think it’s a big deal.”
Zach was confused, but knew he didn’t have time to figure it out so he followed Gopher deeper into the room until they hit multiple racks of military grade uniforms — minus the American flag and any other identifying patches.
“This row has the flight suits. As you can see, the crew mostly wears all black, unless there is a specific reason to deviate. I’m guessing with your height and shoulders, you’ll need a large.” Pulling a brand new flight suit from the rack, Gopher then spun around and started picking up additional gear.
“How do you know what I’ll need?” Zach asked, impressed that the small guy was picking out exactly the helmet, mask, and tool belt he would have picked out for himself.
“It’s my job to know.” He paused and looked at Zach for the first time. “And I’m good at my job, no matter what the other guys say.”
Zach started undressing while Gopher finished gathering up the things he’d need.
“Why would anyone say you’re not good at your job? You seem proficient to me,” he said truthfully as he pulled his dress shirt off.
“You’ll see,” was all Gopher said.
The way he said it told Zach there was a story there.
“We have a few minutes while I change. Why don’t you tell me yourself?”
Gopher’s eyes widened. Zach suspected the guy wasn’t used to anyone paying him much attention.
“I have a few diagnosed disorders that make it difficult to work with me. Most of the time I don’t blame the guys for getting impatient with me because I know at the end of the day, they depend on me for a lot and I’ve never let them down… at least not yet.”
Zach couldn’t help but notice what an odd group Ryder had put together. From Bing, Harvard, Lou, and Doc in DC to Axel, Torch, and Gopher here in Texas… it was an eclectic group to say the least. He wasn’t entirely sure how he’d fit in with them all, but then again, he’d liked everyone so far, even if they were each strong personalities.
Less than a minute after he returned to the main floor of the Command Center they were all headed toward another tunnel headed in the opposite direction from which they’d come. On foot, they were almost out of ear shot when he heard Doc calling out, “I’ll be here waiting for you when you get back, Wrath! We can chat more then.”
After they were out of the earshot of the doctor, it was Torch who teased Axel this time. “I’m glad she has you in her crosshairs instead of me this time. She flew over to Turkey a few months ago to check on me after the Yemen incident. She crawled so far up my ass I didn’t think she was ever gonna clear me for duty again.”
Wrath and Torch nodded in solidarity, but Ryder shut them both down by adding. “I asked her to fly to Turkey. I was worried about you. In fact, I still am, which is why I’m glad we’re gonna get this chance to work together. I need to make sure you’ve got your head on straight again.”
The previously good-natured Torch suddenly dropped the flight bag he’d been carrying and grabbed Ryder by the scruff of his shirt, shoving the slightly older man against the wall much too hard.
“Are you fucking kidding me? You’re the reason I was put through the ringer?”
Ryder didn’t flinch, despite Torch’s anger.
“The reason you were put through the ringer is the same reason I’m about to bench your ass again. I suggest you let go and step back, soldier.”
Ryder’s tone was stone cold. They may not be in any formal branch of military, but The King had just given an order. Zach held his breath to see how Torch would respond.
It took the angry man a full thirty seconds to let go of Ryder’s shirt and another long ten seconds before he stepped back — but he did step back. Axel, Gopher, and Zach watched silently as the two alpha men glared at each other.
It was Ryder who broke the silence.
“Don’t forget, I know what you’re going through. I had thirteen years go up in smoke in one night. Hundreds of hours of linguistic training… thousands of hours infiltrating hell, doing deals with the devil… all down the drain in one fucking hour.
“But here’s the thing. Even knowing how it would turn out, I know in my heart I made the right decision. I’m at peace with that. But you? Don’t tell me you’re not still torturing yourself with second thoughts.
