“I can’t leave. Not until he wakes up.”
“You a doctor or something now, Trace?” Wagner opened his mouth, and I cringed.
“No. Neither are you. Get the fuck away from that equipment, Wagner.”
I motioned to Wagner, who stepped away from the bed. He stood as far back in the dim shadows as possible, away from the bed and the window.
“Calm down, Trace.”
“I can’t calm down, Sarge.” Trace had always called me Sarge, even in civilian life.
“Buck up, soldier.”
“I don’t take orders from you any more, Sarge.”
I took in a deep breath. “I know you don’t, Trace. But you can’t help him heal or wake up. You need to take a walk. Get some fresh air. Something.”
“A watched pot never boils.” Wagner piped in again. He must be really nervous.
I turned my head to face him, and he literally sank into the darkness like a phantom.
Trace took in a deep breath and let it out slowly.
“Maybe you’re right, Sarge.”
“I’m always right, corporal.”
Trace returned a weak smile. “I think I’ll go outside. A walk around the hospital might clear my head.”
I put a hand on Trace’s shoulder until he looked up to meet my eyes. Pain was clear in those eyes. Guilt.
He felt guilty that he wasn’t driving Dirk. Signature Trace. It’s what made him so responsible and so detailed in his work. He did everything he could not to feel guilty. That made him a good soldier and why Dirk trusted him with his most important tasks.
I suppose I should have felt some guilt for setting him up with Wendy. My chest felt the slightest twinge of tightness, but it quickly passed.
Focus on the Target.
Trace moved past me to the door and exited. I counted to ten before breaking the silence.
“Do what you need to do.”
Wagner moved out of the shadows and stepped to the bed. The sweat on his brow seemed excessive. He looked like shit before. Now he looked like steaming shit.
“You okay, Wagner.”
“Yeah. Just nervous.”
“Nervous?”
“Yeah. I’ve never killed anyone before.”
“Just think of the hundred thousand dollars you’re getting to do this.”
“Yeah. But this is the LT.”
“Hurry and do it, Wagner. Roberts may be back any minute.”
Wagner pulled out a syringe and pulled the cap off of the needle. The syringe was already filled with a dosage of morphine. He checked the IV line going into Dirk’s arm at the crook of his elbow. Pulling the cap on the needle of the syringe, he inserted the needle into the injection spot on the IV line.
