Mr. CEO(103)

Nathan smiles slightly at my joke, but shakes his head. “The pay wasn't the issue. I was only twenty-nine when I got out, and I had plenty of money. Special Forces pays decently well, even for a Staff Sergeant. I had hazard pay, special operations pay, deployment pay... I was making pretty good money for my lifestyle. No, it wasn't the money, or disillusionment with the system. I told you about my mission with the Kurds, but I didn't tell you all of it. Her name... her name was Aisha. She was a native girl, although I guess you can't call a twenty-four-year-old widow a girl. Before we met, she had a husband and a little girl, I never found out their names... they were killed by the Iraqi forces. Aisha dedicated herself to trying to kill as many of Saddam's men as she could. So of course, when my team was sent into Kurdistan to help them, she and I were paired off. She was officially our translator, a rare position for a woman in a country that is, at least culturally, very conservative.”

“You two... hooked up?” I ask, drawn in. The idea of Nathan Black ever being in love is just insane, though, and I have a problem even using the word.

Nathan though nods. “We fell in love. Or at least, that's what we told each other. My team leader, Lieutenant Edwards, didn't care as long as Aisha was effective. I was always professional regardless of our sleeping arrangements. For three months, she and I were together... until the Republican Guard came around.”

“You guys didn't take them on, did you?” I ask, shocked. “That'd be suicide. I mean, they were Iraqis, so not on your level, but they had to have had a serious numbers advantage.”

“It was. Six Green Berets and one Kurd translator against a battalion of the Republican Guard, all rolling in BMPs? No, we weren't that stupid. When Lieutenant Edwards ordered us to fall back and disappear into the desert for a while, move out of the area, we all understood. I thought Aisha understood too, as she helped us pack our trucks and get ready to pull out as soon as darkness fell. I thought she was with the LT in his truck, like normal... until the first rest stop and he got out of his truck and came back, asking for her help. She'd told LT that she was riding in my truck.”

“Where'd she go?”

Nathan swallows another mouthful of tea and sighs. “We found out four days later when we could circle back and the Republican Guard was gone. She'd hit them, and hurt them pretty badly. Sniper attacks at first, and she ambushed a patrol sent out to try and stop her. She'd taken a couple of frag grenades with her, made them pay. In the end... well, the villagers we talked to never knew for sure, but they think she took out five or six before they got her. The Iraqis were... not kind to her body.”

I look down at my tea, and take a deep breath, setting my tea aside. I don't want it anymore. “Why are you telling me this, Nathan?”

“After that, I just didn't have the heart to serve any longer. My contract with the military was up soon afterward, and I just couldn't do it anymore. You see, Aisha had a cause, one she was willing to die for, Jackson. Katrina does, too. Just... be careful. That's all.”



Nathan's words are still on my mind the next morning when Peter finds me in the dining room. “Well?”

“Well, what?” I ask, sipping my protein shake. I skipped my morning workout in our gym, my body is too damn sore, and I can barely lift my arms past my shoulders. It's got me in a bad mood, especially since I slept like hell last night.

“Have you and Nathan found the bitch?” Peter asks, rubbing at his bleary eyes. I wonder if he's started his drugs and drinking early, or if he's just still coming down from his f*cking around last night. “It's been nearly a week.”

“New Orleans is a big city, and it takes time,” I answer, drinking some more of my shake. I've already had my morning oatmeal to go with it, but I need the extra protein if I'm going to recover at all. “Besides, she isn't in town.”

“Well, where the f*ck is she?” Peter yells, slamming his hands on the table. “Or have you and Nathan been spending all that time together just sipping tea and sucking each other's dicks?”

I'm on my feet, pissed off. Seriously, this is just too much. “Shut the f*ck up, Peter. If you'd calm down and stop acting like King of the Big Easy, I'd be able to answer your question.”

I find that I'm pissed, but it's a cool pissed, if I can explain it. It's like I'm supposed to be pissed, and even though I'm pissed, I'm still under control. My body is exactly where it's supposed to be, standing up, my shoulders squared, showing him I'm not intimidated by his bullshit. My voice is loud, but not shrill, and I feel like I'm the one in control of the conversation.

Peter senses it too, and he wavers. “Fine,” he says after a minute. “So where is she?”

“We've got a lead in Savannah,” I say, pulling a city out of my head. Peter doesn't have any connections in the Savannah area that I know of, and it's far enough away that I can disappear for a few days and he's not going to suspect anything. “Nathan and I were confirming our information, and we were going to take off soon as we could.”

“Well, what the hell are you waiting for?” Peter asks. “Keep me posted. I want updates as you get more info.”

He leaves, and I chug the rest of my shake, rushing off to find Nathan before Peter can trip me up. Thankfully, Nathan's out walking his dog, and I find them in the stable again. “Road trip time.”