“Let us know when you do,” said AJ.“In the meantime, we’ll let you know how tomorrow goes.”
The men were exhausted.They were lying around the suite, already snacking again.Anything seemed to rev up their appetites, so the mini-bars were fair game.
“I’m gonna shower and hit the bed,” said Tanner yawning as he stood.
“Same,” said Wyatt.The others followed but AJ was still staring at the ceiling.Ben and Kiel walked back to him, gripping his knee.
“Don’t get lost in this brother.We’ll figure out what happened to that young man but we need you here.Now.Understood?” asked Ben.
“Understood,” he nodded.
“Good.Now get some rest,” said Kiel.They all stood, heading to their own rooms.AJ called out to them.
“Ben?Kiel?Thanks but just know I’m going to find the man that killed that young soldier.When I do, I’m going to kill him.”
CHAPTER TWENTY
“Do we need to bring him home?” asked Luke to his brother.
“If you do, he’ll be worse than he is now.Just let us see how he does today,” said Ben.“He’s eating breakfast with the rest of the guys right now.He seems in good spirits.”
“Alright.Keep me up to date,” he nodded, turning off his screen.
“Okay, who all is going to Baltimore and the lovely jail?” smirked Kiel.
“I think Tanner, Hiro, and I should go to Baltimore,” said AJ.“Wyatt, you, and Ben should take the Internet Crime office.Maybe our girl has decided to come in today.”
“If not, we’re going to hunt her down.She could be our source for all of this,” said Tanner.
“We don’t know anything yet,” said AJ.“Only that she’s a woman and that could be half the population.It could have been any one of those young women last night.Who knows?”
“We’re about to find out.”
They found themselves once again stuck in the Baltimore traffic, unable to move more than a few inches at a time.Like a storm that suddenly clears, within a few minutes, it was as if all traffic had ceased to exist.The cars were moving and people were whizzing along the interstate.
“I’ll never understand this traffic,” said Hiro.“I almost hate driving anymore.”
“Same,” said AJ.“When I was little, Dad was nervous behind the wheel.He said he was scared that he’d have a panic attack.”
“Man, your Dad is the goat, brother.I’ve never known anyone with a brain like his, other than some of our other geniuses.I can’t begin to imagine what he went through as a child.”
“I don’t think I know that story,” frowned Tanner.
“Oh, well, he doesn’t talk about it much but he’s okay with people knowing because he came out the other side.He was found living in a dog cage in a closet.His parents would allow people to come over and poke at him.He rarely had clothing or food.”
“Holy fuck,” muttered Hiro.
“Yeah.One of their ‘guests’ had a conscience and called the police.The officer that found him, John Mills, fostered him for a while and then eventually adopted him.Dad said that he slept on the floor with him because he was too scared to sleep in a bed.He never pushed him to do anything he didn’t want to do.
“Obviously, he was always different, on the spectrum but genius.In high school, he wanted to participate in sports but couldn’t stand people touching him.That’s when he found his love of running,” smiled AJ.
“I would have neverguessed any of that,” said Tanner.“Your dad hugs you all the time and certainly is affectionate with your mom.”
“He is now.He says all the time that he owes that to Ghost and the rest of the men who took him in.Dad nearly lost his career in the Navy by feeding intel to Ghost and his team when they needed it.”
“Sounds like you,” smirked Hiro.
“I guess it does,” he chuckled.“Lots of men can say they love their fathers, but I can genuinely say that mine is my hero.”
