“What did I do?”
Baker’s voice sounded close. His calm tone projected sorrow and sympathy. “You saved a girl from a gang rape...”
“And fucked her whole village in the process!”
Baker picked up the discarded tablet and pointed it at Trent. “You didn’t do this. Los Zetas did this. You were trying to be a decent human being. They decided to be monsters. This is why we’re trying to stop them. This is what it’s all about.”
Trent shook away the platitudes. “I let out the monsters. I am the monster. You told me not to engage. I knew what they could do, but I didn’t listen. Now they’re all fucking dead.”
Baker tossed his tablet away and leaned down towards Trent. “You did disregard the rules of engagement. And in the real world, you are a monster. So am I. So is Smoke. If either of us were in your situation, we would have done the same thing you did. It would have been just as wrong and probably led to the same consequences. But you didn’t kill her. You didn’t burn down her village…”
“I caused it. Me, my choices, my actions. I set the wheels in motion.”
“The wheels have been in motion long before we got here, my friend. It started when humanity decided sex could be taken by force. It started when people decided they could own other people and sell them on the open market. By the time you found the target site, the wheels had been spinning for a very long time.”
Trent tried to let out a sigh, but it came out a sob. “It’s so fucking stupid.”
“It is. That’s why we all need a vacation sometimes. Even monsters need a break from this shit.” Baker reached over to the table and picked up a bottle of whiskey Trent didn’t have the capacity to recognize. He poured a healthy amount into three glasses and topped them off with ice. The ritual gave Trent the strength to pull away from Chu’s support and sit up on his own.
“What are we supposed to do now?”
Baker handed the glasses to his friends. “First, we drink and let you know you’re not alone. We might not be able to understand what you’re going through, but we’re here for you anyway. Monsters need to stick together.”
The three operators toasted in silence and knocked back the liquor in one smooth burn.
“Then we bring someone in to monitor you and evaluate your state of mind. There’s no way to know how this shit will affect you, but if you start to go sideways I want to catch it early.”
Trent held out his glass for a refill. “You’re worried I might snap in the field?”
Baker poured more whiskey. “You don’t have to go back out there if you don’t want to. That’s not what the evaluation is about. I want you to be in the best shape possible no matter what you decide to do.”
Trent wiped his tears away with the back of his hand and took his time sipping the new drink. “I’m staying. Monsters like me need to fight monsters like them.”
The three monsters agreed. And then they drank.
Epilogue: Acceptance and Support
Summer 2014
“What’s it going to take for you to see this team and its actions as a liability to the company?”
Rose jumped back into her argument the moment Baker finished his story. Her languid movements and droopy eyes contradicted the sharp force of her words, but didn’t take any of the sting from them.
Baker had the same demeanor as he did when the conversation started several hours and five cocktails ago. “We can’t abandon the mission every time we face a setback, Ms. Mendoza.”
“A setback? You’re calling almost a hundred dead villagers a setback? We save a dozen and kill dozens more. How is that a fucking setback?”
“The lives of those people were already at risk, you narrow minded shit. We’re going out there and trying to give them a chance. We’re trying to make a difference, instead of hiding behind our desks and pretending our next fucking spreadsheet is going to change the world…”
Rose was so drunk even Ria didn’t scare her anymore. She looked the vigilante cop right in the eye and pointed a violent finger in her direction. “Intelligence makes a difference. Analysis changes perceptions, actions and outcomes. Sending mentally damaged burnouts like Trent into the streets with guns doesn’t fix anything. It only makes matters worse.” She turned to Baker with the same attacking gesture. “If you’re not going to rethink the program, you at least need to deactivate Trent and get him the help he needs.”
Baker only shrugged. “Trent’s status with RSVP isn’t really up for debate, Ms. Mendoza.”
“Because you won’t look past your friendship to make a prudent management decision. He consistently disobeys orders. He’s been directly or indirectly responsible for multiple civilian fatalities and he’s probably mentally unstable.”
“His psych evaluation is ongoing, but at this point the assessment reports are within acceptable parameters.”
“What does that mean?” Nikki cut in, both to diffuse Rose’s squabble and out of real concern for Harrison.
Baker shrugged again without looking away from Rose. “It means he hasn’t exhibited any signs of PTSD, or any other psychological condition, to make him ineffective in the field or a general threat to others.”
Nikki couldn’t imagine carrying around the burden of an entire murdered village on her conscience. Baker’s story put the workout she admired earlier in a new light. Was his intense activity part of a normal training regimen, or did Chu push Trent harder to take his mind off Barmeja? And if Trent could find a way to come to terms with the deaths of so many people, what did that say about him? Was it a sign of mental fortitude or a callous disregard for human life? Was it both? Nikki knew men who found a way to justify anything for the sake of their mission. She hated and feared them. Harrison Trent began to take on a darker impression in her eyes.
And Rose wasn’t ready to let the matter drop either. “This isn’t about his psych test. This is about your feelings for him. It’s clouding your judgment and putting the entire company at risk.”
“Trent is a professional with superior skills, good instincts and a strong sense of purpose.”
“Trent is unstable and every mission he goes on ends in....”
“Ends in what?” Trent emerged onto the patio with casual but silent steps. He caught everyone by surprise, but Rose’s graceless reaction was comical in its ineptitude.
“I...I was just saying...Well, Warren and I were discussing some…I just thought...”
Rose looked to Baker for help, but he let her suffer, taking his time to sip his bourbon in silence. Rose continued to stammer and Ria let out a cruel laugh. Chu slipped in from behind Trent. His flip flops beating out a silly rhythm in painful contradiction with the dark mood of the room. Rose went silent and looked away. Trent shook his head and made his way toward the bar.
“We’ve been listening to Warren amaze us with tales of your exploits.” Nikki knew the false enthusiasm she pumped into her voice would ring hollow in the tense atmosphere, but even contrived enthusiasm felt better than the deadly silence. “You boys have been through a lot together.”
“Ghost likes to exaggerate,” Trent redirected his anger at Rose to force ice into the mouth of his glass. “Don’t believe everything he says.”
“I am a spy.” Baker said with a welcomed mischief in his voice. “People aren’t usually inclined to believe me.”
Ria took Warren’s free hand and looked into his eyes with warmth and support. “I never believe a fucking word you say.”
Chu hovered over Nikki and pulled out his phone. “Aw, look at this. The whole family is here. You know what this means; group shot!”
Chu slid Nikki’s chair away from the table, dropped himself into her lap and wrapped his arm around her neck in a playful choke hold. Before she could protest, he held up his phone to capture the whole group and snapped a few selfies.
“Get off me, you freak. I can’t deal with all that right now.” Nikki pushed him away with a laugh.
Chu grabbed her drink and took a seat
next to her. “Are you calling me fat? Didn’t you see us working out for like two hours?”
“No, I’m calling you wet, sweaty and dirty. I don’t want you all up on me before you take a shower. Ew.”
“You keep acting like that and I won’t be all up on you after I take a shower.” Chu winked at Nikki as he took a sip from her glass. Nikki rolled her eyes in false rejection. Heads around the table shook in real amusement. Everyone tried to diffuse the awkward silence, but only Chu’s antics came close to lightening the mood.
Until Trent sat his glass down on the table after taking a long sip. “So what were you guys really talking about before we came to crash your party?”
Nikki offered him a smile she hoped would convey acceptance and understanding. “We heard about Congo, Karbala and The Nostromo. We talked about the women you saved in Brooklyn and Chinatown and Baker tried to explain the stress and consequences of the work you have to do.”
Rose’s sarcasm oozed over the table like slime. “Yup. He told us all your secrets…”
Chu tried to counter her venom with a playful elbow in Nikki’s arm. “Did he tell you how cool I was on the ship? I was like Batman and shit.”
Trent wasn’t amused. “Did he tell you about the dead babies and severed heads?” The anger and anguish in Trent’s voice made Nikki’s heart sink and her pulse race. The look in his eyes suggested a fragile grip on self-control. She could feel the negative energy churning from his body. The grueling workout and counseling might take his mind of his pain for a moment, but Nikki thought he might explode if he felt rejected and alone. She leaned into him, resting her hand on his forearm and holding his gaze with her own.
“He told us you’ve gone to places most people have never heard of, did things most people can’t do, and put yourself in situations no one can be ready to deal with.”
“Which is why we shouldn’t be going.” Rose found her voice at the worst possible moment.
Nikki batted her pessimism away. “Which is why we have to keep going. If we don’t do what we do, then the world becomes worse, one slave at a time. Someone has to make the hard choices. Someone has to go into the dark to fight the monsters…”
Trent looked away and shook his head. “And become monsters in the process?”
“Maybe, but we need monsters like you if we’re going to save anyone. We appreciate what you do, even if we can’t understand what you’re going through. We accept you and support you.” Nikki brushed her lips against Trent’s cheek with an ease that surprised everyone at the table. “You might be a monster, but you’re our monster and we need you.”
“Yes, we do.” Baker took a sip of his drink and cast a proud eye at Nikki. She didn’t know if he appreciated what she said or the way she said it, but the silent admiration made her look away and smile.
“Hey, what about me? I need love too.” Chu threw his arms around Nikki’s neck again and assaulted her with sloppy kisses all over her cheek. She squealed and pushed him away like an annoying little brother.
“You still need a damn shower. Warren tell your boy to get off of me.”
Baker shook his head with paternal amusement and raised his glass. “I’ll try to distract him with a toast instead. He usually falls for that.”
“True story,” Chu raised his glass to join Baker. “What are we celebrating?”
“Every person we save. It’s never easy and sometimes things go sideways, but a lot of people would still be suffering if you didn’t do what you do. Without you, none of this works. So on behalf of me, everyone at this table and all the slaves you’ve freed, I say thank you.”
“Fuck yes. Cheers.” Ria joined the toast with her signature coarse enthusiasm and Rose and Trent followed. Each of them was reluctant for separate reasons, but at least they were willing to put their misgivings aside for the good of the team. Nikki felt herself smile when she went to join the toast. Then she realized she didn’t have a glass.
“Yup,” Chu drained her drink and set the empty glass next to her. “I really did just take your drink. What kind of agent lets that happen? You need to pay more attention if you want to succeed in this business, honey.”
Nikki snatched the glass and stood up to make herself another drink. “Maybe I just need to stay away from assholes like you.” Before she walked away, Nikki bent down and kissed Chu on his forehead.
“Although I’m not sure there are any assholes in the world quite like you.”
End
The Crime and Passion Series
Thank you for taking the time to read Smoke and Shadow. If you enjoyed this book, please consider leaving me a review on my Amazon page. Your opinion counts more than you know.
http://www.amazon.com/Gamal-Hennessy/e/B008D2MPHI
While you’re on Amazon, you should also check out my other Crime and Passion novels.
The Crime and Passion Series is the story of one man’s secret war against international sex slavery and one woman’s journey from manipulated puppet to professional operator. I’ve tried to create a world of sensual suspense and tense violence I hope you will enjoy.
All the books are available on Amazon. Here’s a preview of each one:
Smooth Operator
He knows what you want…
Born into privilege, wounded by war, and skilled in the art of manipulation, Warren Baker works like a spider. He weaves plans and plots, drawing people into his web until they accomplish his goals without ever knowing he was involved.
A Taste of Honey
In the wrong hands, seduction is a deadly weapon…
Nikki Sirene will do anything for her lover Chris. She'll use her sexual charms to commit crimes for him. She'll deal with everything from the constant slut shaming of his mercenaries to the threat of sudden violence from his targets. But she wants a better life. When Chris brings her to Argentina to seduce a suspected arms dealer, Nikki hopes this will be the last job; the one that will keep them together forever.
A Touch of Honey
In seduction, control is surrender and surrender is control...
Nikki Sirene uses her sexual charms to manipulate men and steal their secrets. Desperate for protection and on the run, she agrees to a relationship of mutual exploitation with a mysterious spy named Warren Baker. He agrees to protect her from her enemies if she agrees to help take down a sex slave operation in New York.
Smoke and Shadow References
Books
Smoke and Shadow is a work of fiction, but certain aspects of the stories are based on actual events and real world concepts. This is a sample of my background research for anyone who is interested in diving deeper into these topics.
The African Slave Trade by Basil Davidson
Facing Violence: Preparing for the Unexpected by Rory Miller
The International Spy Museum Handbook of Practical Spying by Peter Earnest
The Parkour and Freerunning Handbook by Dan Edwardes
Street E&E by Marc “Animal” MacYoung
Streetwise Spycraft by Barry Cavies, BEM
Surveillance Countermeasures by ACM IV Security Services
Combatives United States Army Field Manual No. 21-150
Articles
All Links Retrieved as of November 1, 2015
Bruer, Wesley for CNN (2015): FBI Sees Chinese Involvement amid Sharp Rise in Economic Espionage Cases
Dzubow, Jason for the Asylumist (2010): Remembering the Golden Venture
Smoke and Shadow Page 19