Page 67 of Cast in Shadow
“You wanted answers. You’re going to get them.” Sean One slid a Bowie knife smoothly from the sheath. He sliced through the bindings with two quick swipes, freeing Zeke’s hands and feet.
Zeke fumbled with the harness—his fingers weren’t cooperating fully—and attempted to lunge out of the chopper. He fell promptly on his face. Apparently, his legs weren’t fully cooperating yet either.
“Jesus. How much did you give him?” said Sean Two, sidestepping out of Zeke’s reach in an easy glide.
“Enough to get him here. Grab his arm and help me get him inside.”
They half-dragged, half-carried Zeke toward a cabin. The sun was just coming over the horizon, and Zeke tried to get his bearings, but there was nothing remotely recognizable. They appeared to be in the middle of nowhere.
Zeke was taken inside and strong-armed into a seated position on a sofa.
“Here, drink this. It’ll help.”
“Nix,” he said, recognizing the face of the woman holding out a tumbler.
She smirked. “Aw, you remember. Seriously, drink this. Mick’s hangover cure will do wonders for that headache you must be feeling, and you’re going to want a clear head for this.”
Zeke’s hands flexed. Sean One and Sean Two watched him carefully. Sean One shook his head ever so slightly in warning. In his current state, he couldn’t fight off a little old lady with a walker, let alone the Seans and Nix, who was probably the most dangerous of the three.
“For what?” Zeke ground out.
“Why did you walk away from Robin?”
“None of your fucking business.”
“I thought so. You’re spooked, right? She trusted you enough to give you a glimpse into her life, and it scared the shit out of you.” Nix tilted her head thoughtfully. “I expected more from you, Raguel.”
“She doesn’t trust me. She didn’t tell me anything.”
Nix’s eyes flashed. “No, she didn’t, because she’d rather die than betray us. But she does trust you. Otherwise, she never would have brought you with her to meet us. She would have ditched your ass, gotten the information, then met up with you again outside of Parryville. She could have done it, you know. Easily.”
He blinked. Nix took a swig from the tumbler, presumably to demonstrate that it wasn’t drugged, and then held it out to him again. This time, he took it. Within minutes, his headache disappeared, and clarity returned.
“It was a test?” he guessed.
“She had to know if you could handle it.”
“Handle what exactly?”
“Her life. No doubt you’ve put enough pieces together to figure out she’s no ordinary woman.”
Yeah, he’d figured that out pretty quick.
“Listen, what we do, it’s important. It requires trust and faith and absolute secrecy. I don’t think you understand the risk Robin took in bringing you with her. She wouldn’t have taken the risk if she didn’t believe in you.”
Sean Two handed him an envelope.
“What’s this?”
“Open it.”
He did. Inside were satellite photos. Financial records that showed huge transfers of money into offshore bank accounts. Shipment records of highly classified weapons that had been re-routed. Satellite surveillance images of a man meeting with rebel leaders, a man Zeke knew all too well.
It was proof. Proof that he hadn’t done what they’d said he did. Proof that his team’s commanding officer, Shelton MacNamarra, had.
“How did you get this?”
Sean’s lips curled. “It’s what we do. Except for the financial stuff. That was all Robin. She followed the money trail and gave us the names we needed to get everything else.”
