Page 15 of Locke

I set my weights down and sit up straight on the bench.“You leave and I’ll tell Van you’re afraid of a one-hundred-and-thirty-five-pound woman.”

A combination of irritation and a hint of amusement move across his face, immediately wiped away by indignation.“That’s—”

“Blackmail,” I agree pleasantly.“Effective though.”I pick my weights back up.“I’ll make you a deal.You stay, do your workout, and I won’t say a single word about sessions or mandates or performance optimization for the entire time.Scout’s honor.”

He looks at me with those pale eyes, and I can see the distrust.It’s a complete lack of faith in anyone representing this organization and I intend to find out why.

But not today.

Locke huffs out a breath of resignation and moves to the weight rack.I refuse the smile that wants to come and return to my last set of flies.

He sets up at the bench press on the rack, his movements efficient and automatic.I stay on my side, keeping my word by maintaining my silence.We’re just two people working in parallel, the clink of weights and the controlled exhale of effort.It’s almost companionable and I wouldn’t have predicted that.Van has yet to make an appearance and I wonder if he canceled or decided not to show.I had mentioned I’d probably see him, so maybe he purposely stayed away to give me some alone time with Locke.

Seven minutes pass before I finally make my move.Locke is in between sets so I seize the moment.I move to the dumbbells and choose a twenty-pounder to do biceps curls.

“Eisenhower in War and Peace,” I say out of the blue and his head jerks up, eyes landing on me with a frown.“You had it on the plane yesterday.Hard to miss the cover.”I settle onto my bench across from him, resting the weight temporarily on my thigh.“Any good?”

His expression shifts, almost like confusion as he tries to figure out what to do with me.“You were watching me?”he asks, trying to sound offended.

I lift a shoulder.“I observe people.Occupational hazard.What drew you to it?Military history specifically?”

His frown deepens, and he shakes his head a tiny bit as if he can’t believe I’d ask such a thing.

“Strategy,” he says finally.“Decision-making under impossible conditions.”

“The same fundamental problems that keep coming up across a few thousand years of human conflict,” I muse.

Locke blinks in surprise, and instantly, I see him relax a fraction.“When you take into account terrain changes and weapons evolving, but the core problems still exist.”He positions himself on the bench under the barbell.“It’s definitely worth understanding.”

I peel off a set of curls while he does his chest presses and the minute he racks, I say, “So… is the book any good?”

Locke pushes up into a sitting position and grabs his water bottle to take a swig.“Are you a history buff?”

Hmm… he asked me a question, and that shows interest.I run with it.“Somewhat, but I really enjoy learning about ancient times.The further back you go, the more clearly you can see the patterns.”

“The Romans,” he says, like that’s a complete sentence.Which for him, I’m learning, it basically is.

“The Romans,” I agree.“Though I’d argue their greatest skill wasn’t warfare.It was infrastructure—roads, aqueducts, administrative systems.The army was just how they protected their investment.”

His face softens fractionally, not quite a smile but the possibility of one, though it never quite breaks through.“The army was how they built the investment.You don’t lay roads through territory you don’t control.”

“Fair point,” I concede.“Conquest first, civilization second.”

“Conquest first, civilization as the justification.”He reaches for his barbell.“They were very good at making expansion look like a favor to the people they invaded.”

“Every empire tells itself that story,” I say.“That’s not unique to Rome.That’s just what power does with its own narrative.”

He looks at me directly then, the way he looked at me once in my office before he stood up and walked out—like he’s recalibrating.“You sound like someone who’s read more than justsomewhat.”

“Well, let’s just say I watch a lot of documentaries and I know a little bit about a lot of stuff.”

Locke stares at me briefly before settling back down onto the bench to do another set of presses.It feels as if the conversation is over, but I’m not ready to let it go.I’m actually setting a foundational block and it’s far too flimsy to abandon just yet.

“Do you think Eisenhower would have understood the Romans?”

“What do you mean?”he asks as he pumps iron, a slight grunt to his words.

“Well, he had the same problem… holding a territory taken by force without becoming the thing you fought against?”