Mr. CEO(115)

I can see she’s not happy, but she nods in acceptance, like she expected this from me. It hurts, but I can't lie to her. Too many people have lied to her already, and I won't be a part of that.

“Okay,” she says after a moment. “Well let's finish up, and we can discuss travel plans.”



Back home, I find Nathan in his workshop, where he gives me a knowing smile as I make my way inside and take a seat. “How go the new workouts?”

“Painfully,” I groan. “Tell me you did rougher stuff in the Green Berets.”

“Doubtful,” Nathan replies, going over to his tea collection. “Remember, we weren't as motivated. Dedication and fanaticism are just a hair's breadth apart sometimes. Here, this should help. It's a blend that has plenty of antioxidants and a good shot of caffeine. And it tastes pretty damn good, too.”

He mixes the tea and brings me a steaming mug, which I sip. It's got a fruity tang to it, and I hum in appreciation. “Good shit.”

“Thanks. Technically, it's not actually tea at all, but an herbal blend. I like it enough to keep it with my others, though. So what did you want to see me for?”

“I need some misdirection,” I say, setting the tea aside. “For a trip.”

“Oh really? And where would this trip be?” Nathan's unscarred eye twinkles in good humor as he asks me, then grows serious. “I'm asking because I need to know how much of a distraction I need to provide.”

“Multiple days, maybe four or even a week. We think we've found Sam Grammercy.”

Nathan thinks, then nods. “The only way I'll be able to pull that off convincingly is if I know where you're going, Jackson. I don't need exact details, but something more than just that you're taking off for four or five days.”

I sigh, thinking. Would Katrina trust Nathan? Do I? Finally, I take the plunge. He's already risked his life just delaying and lying to Peter for this long, and if it helps Katrina, then so be it. “South Florida. We're thinking Miami, maybe.”

Nathan nods again and sips at his tea. “One more thing. For the past few days now, you keep using the pronoun 'we’. I want to caution you, Jackson. Your emotions are becoming cloudy in this.”

“This is an emotional situation, Nathan. You have to admit that.”

“I do,” Nathan says, then sighs. “You know, I never have told anyone in this family exactly why I left the military. Or at least, the real reason.”

“I figured you’d just had enough of the military life, or maybe the long hours for terrible pay,” I reply, listening carefully. If Nathan really is telling me something that nobody else knows, he trusts me as well. “You went to work for Peter for long hours but better pay.”

Nathan smiles slightly at my joke, but shakes his head. “The pay wasn't the issue. I was only twenty-nine when I got out, and I had plenty of money. Special Forces pays decently well, even for a Staff Sergeant. I had hazard pay, special operations pay, deployment pay... I was making pretty good money for my lifestyle. No, it wasn't the money, or disillusionment with the system. I told you about my mission with the Kurds, but I didn't tell you all of it. Her name... her name was Aisha. She was a native girl, although I guess you can't call a twenty-four-year-old widow a girl. Before we met, she had a husband and a little girl, I never found out their names... they were killed by the Iraqi forces. Aisha dedicated herself to trying to kill as many of Saddam's men as she could. So of course, when my team was sent into Kurdistan to help them, she and I were paired off. She was officially our translator, a rare position for a woman in a country that is, at least culturally, very conservative.”

“You two... hooked up?” I ask, drawn in. The idea of Nathan Black ever being in love is just insane, though, and I have a problem even using the word.

Nathan though nods. “We fell in love. Or at least, that's what we told each other. My team leader, Lieutenant Edwards, didn't care as long as Aisha was effective. I was always professional regardless of our sleeping arrangements. For three months, she and I were together... until the Republican Guard came around.”

“You guys didn't take them on, did you?” I ask, shocked. “That'd be suicide. I mean, they were Iraqis, so not on your level, but they had to have had a serious numbers advantage.”

“It was. Six Green Berets and one Kurd translator against a battalion of the Republican Guard, all rolling in BMPs? No, we weren't that stupid. When Lieutenant Edwards ordered us to fall back and disappear into the desert for a while, move out of the area, we all understood. I thought Aisha understood too, as she helped us pack our trucks and get ready to pull out as soon as darkness fell. I thought she was with the LT in his truck, like normal... until the first rest stop and he got out of his truck and came back, asking for her help. She'd told LT that she was riding in my truck.”