Page 17 of Trigger Discipline
There was a beat of silence between them. Blake could practically hear Gabriel thinking, trying to figure out what to say. He spun and jabbed a finger in his chest. Blake doubted he could feel it under the armor.
“Don’t treat me like some hysterical civilian. I don’t need a bunch of bullshit.”
Gabriel stared down at him. “What do you need?”
Blake tightened his lips to keep them from trembling. “The truth.”
Light eyes studied him. They were hard, but not cruel, and Blake didn’t know what to do under their scrutiny, but herefused to back away from them. Refused to let a pair of eyes, out of everything, make him back down.
“The truth is that no one has any idea what’s going on,” Gabriel finally said, his voice low. “Every military installation within three hundred miles has been destroyed. What’s left of our government is scattered. We don’t know who is dead and who is alive. By the time the National Guard arrived, the DC police were wiped out, and the city was lost. There are pockets of resistance, but they won’t last long. We’re fighting against a force we don’t understand. One with greater firepower and the upper hand.”
Blake’s mouth went dry. He couldn’t look away from Gabriel.
“We weren’t deployed. We weren’t ordered to be here. My men were the only ones who volunteered for this mission—and if it weren’t for you, we would be dead right now.”
Blake found that hard to believe, but his thoughts came to a screeching halt when Gabriel dropped a heavy gloved hand to cup the back of his neck. He squeezed.
“The truth is, I’m terrified I’ve brought my men to their death for the sake of a mission that was doomed from the start. That I’m somehow going to have to live with the knowledge that not only did I fail as a soldier, I failed as their commander.”
It was dizzying. Blake had asked for the truth, and Gabriel gave it to him. Without reservations, without ego. The ugly world faded away and for a suspended moment, it was just the truth lingering between them. Ugly, raw, and powerful. Gabriel’s hand on Blake’s neck was the only thing keeping him present.
“Out of all the promises I can’t make, being honest with you is one I can.” Gabriel’s hand squeezed again, holding him firmly.
Blake nodded, transfixed.
Gabriel seemed to realize how close they were. He stood,taking a step back. The lingering warmth of his hand on Blake’s neck was the only evidence he had been there at all. Gabriel looked out over the city, squinting.
“We need to regroup. Figure out what our next move is.”
Blake found himself nodding again, inhaling shakily.
The station was a one-story building situated behind a dry cleaner’s and a nail salon. Faded, but structurally sound. It was a small industrial building with a large garage on the right.
Phin and Blake had to get out to manually pull the rolling garage door open so Tommy could expertly back the ambulance into its spot. Blake met Tommy at the front of the truck, their heads bowed as they talked about the state of the vehicle.
Phin and Gabriel went about clearing and securing the station. The station was a gloomy place with few windows and wood paneling on the walls. While Gabriel wasn’t a big fan of the 70s décor, he could appreciate how the lack of windows made things easier.
The door from the vehicle bay led to a narrow hallway. Gabriel popped his head in to check each room: an office, a storage room, a small bedroom with several narrow twin beds, and a bathroom. The kitchen took up the most floor space at the end of the hallway. It had a dingy linoleum countertop, a big industrial oven, and a heavy-set farmhouse table in the center of the room with close to ten chairs around it.
Past the table was a small living room with shag carpet. A sliding door on the far wall led to some kind of backyard, but Gabriel couldn’t see anything out there. A sagging velvet couch and two La-Z-boys were huddled around a large flat screen TV.
Phin finished clearing the rooms. Drawing the curtains onthe sliding doors, he turned back to his commander. “What are you thinking?”
Gabriel paused, not sure how to answer just yet. They had gotten lucky running into Blake and Tommy. It was hard for him to admit that he had led his team into a trap, but he had. Were it not for good timing and a lot of bravery on the part of the medical professionals, they wouldn’t be here right now.
As much as he wanted his priority to be getting all of them to safety, he had to think of the mission. Of the greater good.
“Did you see the radio?” Gabriel asked.
“Yeah, they’ve got a bunch of stuff in the office there. But I can’t make heads or tails of any of it.”
Gabriel nodded. “I’ll take a look at it.” It was hard to stomach that he was the most qualified for the job—they really could have used a communications expert. But Irving had been clear that they couldn’t risk anyone that valuable.
He tried not to take that personally.
Judd walked into the room stiffly. He looked rough, with sweat dripping down his face. He was holding his arm awkwardly, like he was afraid to move it, but trying not to draw attention to it.
“Where do you need me?”