But as my eyes lock on the screen, that’snotwho it is.
“Finally,” I breathe out, immediately answering it and putting it to my ear. “What the hell, Knight? Where the fuck have you been?”
“Bradford, how are you? Saw you called. Been a little busy.”
I sigh a little louder than I should, just to fucking make the point. “A lot going on right now, but I’ll manage. I don’t seem to have any other choice.”
“Hmm.” Ben chuckles, but his tone is dead. “There is lot is going on. That's what I called to talk about.”
“Expand.”
“Well,” he continues, “So we had our weekly commander’s brief earlier. Our brand-new idiot S2 Alpha decided to add a slide about the issue of Kellan. I was really irritated about that. It doesn't need more attention on our side over here. We have plenty of other shit to worry about.” Knight goes off, his tone poisonous with contempt. “Nonetheless, the battalion Commander had us set up a SIPR VOIP call after the brief. I wouldn’t even know about it except they couldn't figure out how to set up the damn call. Anyway, they had a fucking chat with NCIS.”
I straighten in the chair. “And?”
Knight doesn’t miss a beat. “The investigator mentioned a team following a promising lead in Colorado. The conversation was pretty short. They refused to comment on most details, and it seemed more like they didn’t know the answer to the questions rather than withholding information.”
My jaw ticks, my mind pulling up the dark gray SUV in the parking lot of the police station. “So you don’t know how close they are?”
“No, but they clearly got their noses deep in your side of town. I wouldn’t be surprised if they start tapping fucking telephone lines.”
“Thanks for the heads up.” I reach for the coffee cup, still halfway full on my desk, and take a sip of the lukewarm liquid. It’s its own flavor of disgusting, but I need something to deal with this information overload.
“Yeah, I don’t know how much of aheads upthis really is.” Irritation oozes from his words. “There’s…something else.”
I set my coffee back down, my stomach knotting up. “And what’s that?”
“Look,” Ben exhales, “Cade is an outstanding war fighter. We need more men willing to output his intensity and training. He handles the job a lot of kids would say no to or at least hesitate on, and I could always count on him. He was like a brother, but…”
“But you’re getting paranoid about your loose end.”
“I’m not going to discuss the details,” Ben snaps, and then sighs again, as if correcting himself. “Anyway, he’s been involved in too much, and I know about the Ridgecrest fire. The more that kind of shit happens, the riskier this is going to get. I’ve been considering the reality of all this.”
I wait patiently for him to admit to the conclusion that should’ve happened in the first place.
“I owed Cade,” Ben suddenly sounds almost nervous. “But there’s way too much at stake, if he is still acting hot. Cade needs to go. He’s crossed too many lines, he’s not taking your orders, and therefore, he’s no longer fighting the good fight.”
Ah, there’s his fucked up, twisted code of ethics rising to the surface.
And Knight doesn’t stop. “Cade’s a vigilante committing atrocities under your watch, and there is no telling what he’ll destroy next. I hate to do this to you after everything, but you have my permission to do what needs to be done. No more games, no more rehabilitation, and I should’ve never put this on you in the first place.”
I drum my fingers on my thigh, mulling it over. “You want him put down. Yeah?”
Ben is silent for a few beats. “He’s a lost cause. I gave him the benefit of the doubt, but he fucking blew it. I’ve heard rumors he’s pissed off someone in the underworld.”
I chuckle. “Like Satan?”
“No, like the goddamn cartel.”
I roll my eyes at the rumor. “Yeah, okay. You need to get that paranoia in check. The only gang activity around here is some low-level bullshit. Cade’s not mixed up in anything like that.”
“Still,” Ben urges, something abnormal for him. “He knows too much. He will take you down with him, if they get him. He’s not mentally strong enough to take that kind of heat. He’ll want to skip the lethal injection.”
I mull that over, my mind flashing back to Cade pointing between his eyes. “I don’t know about that. He masks like a manic coward, but I don’t know that he is one.”
“He’s not redeemable. Whatever attachment you’ve got to him, let it go. Put him down.”
“Hmm.” My fingers still. I fucking hate taking orders from someone beneath me. Even if it’s the right call. Even if it should’ve been done a long time ago. Even if it’ll back NCIS off my doorstep.
