by Matt Rogers
Yet — when Corsica had finally fell into his sights after an eventful trip through Australia and Venezuela — he’d come up against a mental and emotional roadblock, the likes of which he’d never experienced before. Every time he got close to meeting his father, he backed out. Terrified of what his old man would think of him. Hesitant to even let his father know that he still existed.
He had cut himself off emotionally from the man all those years ago, when he’d left for the military. The two had never been overly close. His father hadn’t truly understood why he was committing himself to a life in the armed forces, but he had let him go all the same. In the small town of Green Bay, Wisconsin, the two had hugged in front of a plain weatherboard house that King had spent his childhood in — and then he had left forever.
Now, fifteen years later, he was back.
At first, Ray didn’t respond. His mouth flapped open and closed, akin to a fish out of water. He stared across the doorstep at the hulking, six-foot-three, two-hundred pound ball of muscle that was Jason King. King imagined he would be trying to draw parallels between the man standing in front of him and the lanky teenager who had run off to the military all those years ago.
King held out a hand and opened his fingers, splaying his palm out. The watch rested within. ‘Remember this? You gave it to me. Twenty years ago. I’ve still got it.’
Ray looked long and hard at the timepiece, his eyes misty. He still said nothing. Then he launched through the doorway and threw himself into King’s arms.
King held his father for the first time in over a decade, and cried.
They wept together, riding out the waves of emotion. King remembered breaking down at the scenic lookout near Aregno the previous morning, frustrated that he would never be able to overcome the first hurdle. The simple act of walking up and greeting the man in front of him.
Now he had.
His father pushed him away and held him at arm’s length, looking him up and down, shaking his head in wonder. ‘Jason…’
It was the first word he had spoken. He still had the same deep, booming voice that King had grown up with. When Ray King spoke, people listened. He talked with confidence and bravado even when he tried not to. People trusted him. He trusted them.
King wondered why he had moved all the way here.
He wondered many things.
But he smiled knowing he had all the time in the world to get answers.
Ray ushered him inside, noticing his bumps and bruises all at once. He closed the door behind him and hurried him through into a quaint living room. The carpet was thick, the decorations were plentiful, and the sofa was soft. It had the unmistakeable aura of home. King threw himself down at one end of the sofa, thoroughly exhausted, both physically and emotionally. The mere act of facing his demons and knocking on the door had taken more strength than he cared to admit.
He was so tired.
Ray sat down at the other end of the sofa. For a long while, neither spoke. They looked at each other with fascination and wonder in their eyes. King could tell his father was in a state of shock. He must have thought his son was dead…
King felt the tears coming on again and choked them back. He stared at his old man … and felt a warm smile creeping over his face. ‘It’s been a while.’
‘It has, my boy,’ Ray said. ‘It really has.’
‘I can’t believe it’s really you.’
His father chuckled. ‘I must say, I’m having a hard time processing it myself.’
‘How are you?’
Ray fixed his eyes on King and reciprocated the same warm smile. ‘I’m happy, Jason. I’m truly happy.’
‘So am I, Dad.’
‘Military?’ Ray said. The Kings had always been men of few words. His father shared the same straight-to-the-point, no-nonsense type of sentence structure that he used himself.
‘Yeah.’
‘This whole time?’
‘Ninety-five percent of it.’
‘You got out?’
‘I did.’
‘Was it your choice?’
‘It was.’
‘So you’re done.’
King stopped in his tracks. ‘It’s complicated.’
Ray waved a hand. ‘Ah, don’t worry. We have plenty of time to talk about that. The only thing that matters is that you’re here.’
‘You’ve been here?’
‘Coming up on five years,’ Ray said.
‘Any particular reason?’
The man shrugged. ‘Green Bay carried a lot of bad memories. I’d walk around and see places that your mother and I had been…’ He trailed off.
‘Fresh start?’ King said.
His father looked up and smiled. ‘Fresh start.’
‘Enjoying yourself?’
‘More than anything. What the hell are you doing here, in any case?’
‘Retired,’ King said. ‘Got a place up in Calenzana.’
His father raised his eyebrows. ‘Didn’t know the military paid that well.’
King smiled. ‘They don’t. Only certain … sections do.’
‘Were you…?’
‘Special Forces.’
‘Oh my God.’
‘Turns out you raised a goddamn deadly son,’ King said with a chuckle.
They both laughed.
‘I don’t think I had any part to play in that,’ Ray said.
‘Good genetics, I suppose. They help.’
‘Are you fast?’
The question took King by surprise. ‘What?’
‘You react quick? On top of things before anyone else?’
‘Yeah…’ he said. ‘How’d you know?’
Ray shrugged. ‘Had it my whole life. Not sure if it might have helped you in your … endeavours.’
King blanched in disbelief. ‘So that’s where I got it from…’
‘It helped?’
‘It did more than help, Dad. Turns out I’m an outlier in reaction speed. Close to a hundred milliseconds, or something like that. They tested me years ago.’
‘I’ll be damned,’ Ray said, shaking his head. ‘That’s probably why you’re here today.’
He rose off the couch and entered the small kitchenette attached to the living room. ‘Can I get you anything? Water, tea, coffee?’
King smiled. ‘I’m good, Dad. Just glad to be here.’
Ray returned the smile. ‘Glad to have you.’
CHAPTER 44
By the time they finished talking, the sun had risen outside.
King was hesitant at first to open up about the true nature of his career, but it didn’t take long for the walls to come crashing down. Truth was, he’d been looking for someone to talk to for years about what he’d done. First he thought Slater might be able to fill that void, but the man had clearly been struggling with his own demons — and disappeared accordingly.
He began with his introduction to the Delta Force and his subsequent promotion to a secret division kept entirely off-the-record. He told tales of hunting drug gangs in the Amazon Rainforest, stalking enemy outposts in the freezing mountains of Siberia, waging war with the cartels in the bowels of Mexico’s slums…
As he delved further and further into the past he’d tried so hard to forget, he couldn’t help but struggle to believe his own stories. They seemed so unreal … so fake. Yet he knew they had happened, because he carried the memories. He would for life. The things he’d been through would not be easily forgotten.
Not now.
Not ever.
Ray listened with intense concentration, rarely interrupting, letting King unload the various experiences that had been swirling through his mind for years, haunting his dreams. The thing that bothered King the most was how close he had come to death hundreds upon hundreds of times … and how hard it was not to dwell on those experiences.
Every night, he flashed back to those close calls, the narrow encounters where a split second determined whether he lived or died. He replayed them over and over aga
in in his mind until he broke out in cold sweats, and stumbled into the various kitchens he’d lived in gasping for water.
He feared it would never go away. But now he had someone to talk to about it.
As birds cawed outside and daylight crept through the living room’s small window, King finally brought his tales to a close. He sat back in disbelief, surprised that he had opened up so easily. He hadn’t intended to tell his father any of the more harrowing encounters over the course of his life.
He hadn’t wanted to trouble the man.
But now — looking at Ray process the load of information with calmness and sincerity — he realised he simply hadn’t wanted to bring the scariest memories back to the surface.
‘How do you feel?’ Ray said after King had finished.
‘Free.’
‘How many people have you told what you just told me?’
‘Zero.’
Ray whistled softly. ‘You know you’re a brave man for opening up, right?’
‘I don’t feel that way. I feel like it’s best if I don’t burden anyone with what I’ve been through.’
‘You needed to talk about it. And now you have.’
‘What do you think?’
‘About what?’
‘Everything. All of what I just told you.’
Ray shrugged. ‘What’s done is done. I couldn’t stop you leaving for the military and I expected to never see you again in the first place. At least that’s in the past. You’re done now. You can move on with your life. You helped countless people and now we can move forward.’
‘About that…’
Ray froze. ‘Jason…’
‘Something’s come up, Dad.’
‘What on earth are you talking about?’
‘I’ve been made aware of a new situation.’
‘And that is?’
King paused, wondering if he should bother revealing this information too. ‘Not even Black Force knows yet.’
‘Something that happened here? In Corsica?’
King nodded.
His father frowned. ‘Spit it out.’
‘The only other Black Force operative who is anywhere near my level has gone AWOL.’
‘You’ve met him?’
‘I have.’
‘He’s like you?’
‘He is.’
‘And they have no-one else? You’re sure of this?’
‘They have others. This man was adamant that he was the only thing holding the operation together. Without him, the inexperienced operatives will have to take on the toughest tasks.’
‘And he walked away?’ Ray said. ‘Willingly? Even though he knew this?’
‘He’d burnt out,’ King said. ‘Just like I did. I could see it the entire time. He couldn’t go another day living the way he was. So he dropped everything and ran.’
‘Like a coward.’
‘I did the same, Dad.’
‘At least you told those in charge. You did things the official way. The right way.’
‘It makes no difference. When we’re done, we’re done. This man had to pick up the pieces when I left, too. Now I assume others will try to do the same.’
‘But you don’t think they can?’
King shook his head. ‘No, I don’t think they can. What happens when they can’t pull off the missions? What happens when a nuclear device falls into the hands of terrorists and there’s no-one there to stop it?’
‘It doesn’t matter,’ his father said. ‘It’s not your responsibility.’
‘It is,’ King said. ‘They need me. If only for a little while. Until someone takes my place.’
‘Who?’
‘I don’t know.’
‘Jason…’
‘I know this isn’t what you want to hear. Your only son resurfaces after fifteen years of waging war. You’re thrilled that he made it out alive. And now he’s throwing himself straight back into it?’
‘Those are precisely the thoughts I’m having.’
‘And I’m sorry.’
‘You don’t need to apologise to me.’
‘No, I do. This wasn’t my intention. I wanted to build our relationship again. But all this has happened in the last day. I know what I need to do.’
‘You believe in it?’
King nodded.
Ray let out a deep sigh, releasing years of pent-up emotion with it. ‘Then go.’
‘Dad…’
‘Jason, it’s your choice. I’ve never managed to influence your decisions, and look how that ended up. You turned out to be the greatest combat operative in history, by the sounds of it. If I had my way you never would have left Green Bay and maybe we all wouldn’t be here today. Who knows where the world would be if you didn’t do the things you did.’
King found himself taken aback by the comments. No-one had ever put it to him that way before…
‘I couldn’t be more glad that you left,’ Ray said. ‘It’s harsh, but the things you’ve accomplished… who am I to get in the way?’
‘You’re my father.’
‘And I’d like to continue to be,’ Ray said. ‘I’m so happy that you came here. It feels like that’s what I was waiting for the entire time — I just didn’t know it.’
‘I’m never going to just leave again,’ King said. ‘You know that.’
‘I know.’
‘We’ll stay in touch.’
‘I know.’
‘But I’m needed. You know I am.’
Ray sighed. ‘I know.’
‘This probably makes it worse. Now you’ll know I’m out there.’
His father leant over and rested a hand on his shoulder. ‘At least I got to talk to you. I would much rather know you are in danger than not know anything at all.’
King wrapped a powerful arm around his father’s back and pulled the man tight. They embraced for a long while. He lost track of time. When they parted, both men had tears in their eyes.
‘I’m proud of you,’ Ray said.
It was all that was necessary. It was all King needed to hear. He got off the couch and crossed to the kitchen. Snatched up a tall glass and filled it with tap water. Downed the whole thing. Refreshed and rejuvenated after a night of outpouring emotions and rest, he outstretched a hand.
‘I hope you understand why I can’t stay for long,’ he said.
‘I do.’
His father seized his palm in an iron grip. They shook. That was the one thing Ray had taught him at the earliest age — have a firm handshake.
King strode down the length of the hallway and opened the front door. He stared out at the quiet residential street in the heart of Aregno and paused. It might be the only pause he would get for the next while. Especially if things went as he anticipated.
He was sure they would.
He didn’t exactly attract the calmest types.
He spun and saw his father standing behind him, watching his every move.
‘I’ll come back,’ King said. ‘I promise.’
‘Another fifteen years?’ Ray said with a wry smile.
King chuckled. ‘I’ll aim to make it fifteen days. See where they need me, and put the boot in their asses to get moving on finding replacements. How’s that sound?’
‘Sounds pretty damn good, soldier.’
‘Bye, Dad.’
‘Bye, son.’
King started down the street, but at the last moment turned back again. ‘No good luck?’
Ray raised an eyebrow. ‘If you needed luck, you would have died years ago. You’ve got something else. You don’t need a single wish from me.’
King laughed. That was the Ray he knew.
He left the street feeling like an enormous load had been lifted off his shoulders. He walked, accompanied by a sensation he hadn’t felt in decades.
Inner peace.
CHAPTER 45
He walked thirty minutes out of Aregno, strolling absent-mindedly until the village shrank away and was replaced by scrubs and arid plains
and clusters of dense forest. The Corsican landscape was something to behold. He let everything out of his mind as he put one foot in front of the other, focusing on nothing more than the road ahead.
Ten minutes into the hike, a beat-up old hatchback coasted to a halt directly alongside him. A middle-aged man with a deep tan stuck his head out the window.
‘Hey!’ he cried. ‘You want ride?’
‘I would. Thank you.’ King smiled at his friendly nature and broken English. He skirted round to the passenger seat and ducked inside. ‘You going to Calvi?’
The man threw his hands in the air in an exaggerated gesture. ‘Ah, yes, of course! Calvi! Lucky day, my friend!’
The journey didn’t take long. King let the wind pour in through the open passenger window. He relished the sensation, feeling the salty seaside air against his cheeks, aware that some third-world hellhole more than likely awaited him next. He would enjoy every moment of Corsica while he had the opportunity.
As they drove, the man talked the entire way in French, supporting his tales with animated hand gestures and actions. He knew that King didn’t speak the same language.
Maybe he just wanted someone to talk to…
King listened and nodded along, occasionally joining the man in laughter when he let out a gut-wrenching bellow after sharing a particularly hilarious anecdote. King didn’t fake it. He was truly happy, and found the laughter effortless. After months of stalling, he had finally found the nerve to meet his father.
And he was intensely glad that he had done so.
He gave the man the address to the hotel he thought Klara was staying at. She had mentioned it off-hand during that night in the villa. It felt like an eternity ago. In reality, it had been a little over twenty-four hours in the past.
When shit hits the fan, it happens fast, he thought.
It seemed his life had become long periods of nothing with intense bursts of action and chaos dotted throughout.
He wondered if he would survive the next outburst…
It was a beautiful day in Calvi. The old man dropped King off on a street corner with a cheery wave and a smile full of missing teeth. King returned the gesture and stepped away from the vehicle. He found himself surrounded by daily life in Corsica. Tourists and locals went about their business with an air of happiness that came with living in an exotic paradise.