Page 20 of What Remains

“I’ll give you that. Butwhydid we not need to know?”

Bad blood.Although John couldn’t very well say that out loud any more than he could admit to unfinished business. If he had known that Driver was his backup or in theater or whatever jargon spooks used these days, wouldhehave agreed?

Yes.For Roni, he could do anything.

“Tell you what.” Planting his hands on his knees, Driver pushed to a stand. “I’m going to check out that van. Worthy, that thing got chains?”

“Uh.” The abrupt change of topic caught John off-guard. “Yes, it does. I’m pretty sure.”

“Great, then let’s go check it out.” When John nodded, Driver tipped his head toward the door. “Harvey, start packing things up. Check the supply stores here, see if there’s anything we can use to make up for the detour.”

“Okay,” Harvey said, “but why do I feel like I’ve been given busy work while the grownups talk?”

“Because you have.” Driver turned on his heel. “Come on, Worthy.”

2

They tookthe path to the spring’s parking lot, holding onto the guide rope and battling their way down the mountain, both men bent nearly double as they fought the wind. The air was glassy, and the wind threw fistfuls of icy grit that needled John’s cheeks and cut tears.

As they rounded a flank and the wind’s shriek dwindled, Driver straightened, put out a hand to stop him and said, “You thought I was dead, Worthy? No one told you?”

“That’s right.” John scrubbed bits of ice from his eyelashes with a gloved hand “No one.”

“Did you ask?” When he nodded, Driver said, “And?”

“The only answer I got was along the lines of DanielWho? Same for Flowers and Meeks. Everyone stonewalled. I came up empty. Even your dad couldn’t figure it out.”

That made Driver’s eyebrows arch. “You asked the old man?”

“Sure. That’s how Roni knew about you to begin with. Before Afghanistan blew up, we were both stationed at Benning …well, Fort Moore now. Asking hadn’t gotten me anywhere and I didn’t have any better ideas. So, yeah, I went to see him just as soon as I got back stateside. Poor guy couldn’t believe you were still alive or, you know,hadbeen.”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean he thought you weredead, Driver. That’s what your command initially told him. KIA was what he said. He near about had a heart attack when I told him what happened.”

Driver cursed then shook his head. “I’m sorry about that. There’s no love lost between me and my old man, but for God’s sake, that’s just cruel. How much did you tell him?”

“About what went down? Not a lot. Not about Shahida and the boys or Mac, if that’s what you’re asking. All I told him was that Roni and I had seen you.”

“How did you explain about Roni?”

“I didn’t. He didn’t ask and I never said.”

“What did he do?”

“Tried to get your records, but he came up just as empty. It was like they’d erased you and your guys completely.”

“Figures.” Closing his eyes, Davila pinched the bridge of his nose between gloved fingers and exhaled a smoking breath. “Deniability up and down the line.”

“Whatdidhappen?” He wasn’t ready to hear how Roni had died, not just yet. “After that cave-in?”

“After I rose from the dead? Mac got over his surprise and then me and the guys were tasked with different assignments.”

The guys?“Flowers made it?” When Driver nodded, he added, “And Meeks, too?” Another nod. “What different assignments? No, wait.” He held up a gloved hand. “You couldn’t tell me anyway. Or if you did, you’d have to kill me.”

“Something like that. Although I can tell you that our merry band got split up, which is why I got a new crew. I guess me and my guys caused too much mayhem for the higher-ups.”

Cryptic answers that were almost non-answers. Though he ached to know Driver’s story and sensed the desire was mutual. They were, he reflected, survivors and veterans of a very specificwar. But first things first. “Why are you in-countrynow? You know why I’m here, but what about you?”

---