Fury whipped around, his eyebrows arched in surprise. “They dischargedyou?”
Cord sliced a hand through the air. “Isn’t that what this is about? My commanding officer greased the wheels to get you to offer the cripple a job so he won’t feel so bad about medically discharging me? Mack could’ve had the balls to tell me to my face instead of sendingyou.”
“Cord, I think there’s some confusion happening here,” Fury began withhesitation.
“What’sconfusing?”
“Mack Grey did ask me to hire you, but the situation’s temporary. It’ll be your final test before he puts you back in the team full-time.”
A dull roar began in Cord’s ears. His chest constricted and then expanded in a confusing mix of worry and hope. “A test? You mean they’re not kicking meout?”
He’d get to hold his sweet Lenore again? He’d get to go back to that hellhole in the desert with camel spiders big enough to swallow a cat and blinding sandstorms that scraped the skin off hishands?
Fury broke into a huge grin. “You know, I think you’re one of the only crazy bastards that actually likes to be over there. Yes, I’ve had a rancher in Texas request assistance from my firm, but my whole team is out on assignment. I need an addition to the team—someone I can trust—and you need a fieldtest.”
A niggle of hope started in his chest and flared down his arms and his legs. Even his fucking prosthetic trembled with excitement. “What about my doctor? Doesn’t he have to sign off on this?” After all, his evaluation for medical clearance wasn’t supposed to happen for another severaldays.
“Your primary care doctor agrees this is exactly what you need. He’s the one who made the recommendation to Mack. You’ll have to see your CO this weekend before he gives you the final clearance to join the op, but I think you’ve been green lighted.” Fury jingled the change in his pocket again, but this time it didn’t grate on Cord’s nerves. He felt so relieved, he was sure nothingcould.
“Then what the hell are we standing here for? I can be ready to go infive.”
Fury chuckled. “What about that cafeteriafood?”
Cord half walked, half sprinted down the sidewalk toward the entrance of his building, the muscle spasm miraculously cured by the good news. “Forget that shit. Tastes like dirt. You can buy me some Mexican food and tell me about thegig.”
