Page 15 of Brax (Voodoo Guardians #36)

“I don’t know, Thomas,” said Suzette and the others on the medical team, shaking their heads. “His handwriting is atrocious, and I’m struggling to understand what he’s written.” Thomas looked up at the others.

“Don’t look at me,” said Lucinda. “I can barely read my own handwriting, let alone that chicken scratch.”

“Hi,” said Hayes as he walked toward the small group of people.

“Oh, hi, honey,” said Riley.

“What’s wrong?”

“We’re trying to read these notes and struggling. The boys took great photos, but I swear it’s not English,” frowned Gabi. Hayes looked over her shoulder and nodded.

“No. It’s not.”

“It’s not what?” asked Riley.

“English. It’s not English. It’s German.”

“Holy shit,” muttered Thomas. “We were so focused on thinking it was all in English, we didn’t think that it was actually another language.”

“It’s actually three languages,” said Hayes. “He wrote his notes in a mix of German, English, and Danish. It’s fascinating, really. Like he was thinking in three different languages. It’s random. I don’t think he meant to do it. It just happened that way.”

“We need to get these translated,” said Thomas.

“Send the photos to Victoria, and I’ll help her to get them translated for you. It shouldn’t take the two of us very long.”

“Thank you, Hayes. When do you have to leave?” asked Suzette.

“Four days,” he smiled. “It’s alright. I love being a SEAL, and I love my team. I’ll be back soon.”

“You come and say goodbye before you leave,” said Lucinda. “Take care of yourself.”

“Yes, ma’am. I will.” They watched as he left, headed to the offices where Victoria was working.

“He’s turned into a wonderful young man,” said Riley. “I just hope he really does come back to us.”

“He will,” said Thomas. “He’s got it all. Brains, brawn, and a keen mind that sees things that all the smart people in this room didn’t see.” They all laughed, nodding at Thomas.

With the rain still coming down, albeit lighter than the last few days, they ran toward the cafeteria, splashing water and mud along the way.

“Did you figure it out?” asked Stephanie.

“Not yet, honey,” smiled Riley. “Hayes figured out that it was written in three different languages, which was why we were struggling with it.”

“Oh. That’s interesting. I wonder why he did that?”

“Confuse other people?” shrugged Lucinda. “It definitely confused all of us.”

“I don’t think that’s why,” said Suzette. “Hayes thought it was random, like he was doing it and didn’t realize he was doing it. If that’s true, he had a brilliant mind. I’ve seen people move from one language to another easily. Trak does it, Ivan does it, even Mama and Pops will slip from English to French now and then. Your brain has to completely understand both languages thoroughly.”

On the televisions in the cafeteria, the news was showing horrible photos of a business in Houston that had been bombed by a disgruntled employee. The business was GTR Genetics.

“Hey,” said Brax, “turn that up.”

“ It’s a tragic scene here. GTR Genetics conducts research into rare genetic disorders and diseases. According to the police, preliminary interviews indicate that an employee who was recently let go returned, demanding access to the files that they were working on. When her manager refused, she shot him in the leg and walked out. Before authorities could arrive, she’d driven her car through the front window and tossed three explosive devices into the business.

“Fortunately, there were timers that allowed two full minutes for the remaining staff to get out. It seems the employee didn’t want to kill anyone, just destroy GTR.”

“Anyone feel the warm fuzzies when you hear that?” asked Brax.

“I damn sure do,” said Saint. “This can’t be a coincidence. We know that he was from Houston, and his daughter still lives there. Does she have any connection to the business?” AJ shook his head.

“Not that I can see,” he said, scrolling through his tablet. “It was owned by a private equity group out of California. Has a great reputation in the medical community, and they do what the reporter said. Their specialty is researching and trying to find cures for rare genetic diseases and disorders.”

“Anything on there about clones?” asked Stephanie.

“Nothing on their information pages, but that doesn’t mean anything.”

“Well,” said Saint, “looks like we’re going to Houston.”