In the Grey (6 page)

“
Like last year,” Alex
added.

“
If we do the work
ourselves, we’ll be running from place to place for at least a
year,” Colin said.

“
He does know how to keep
us busy,” Patrick said.

“
What if we missed
something last time?” Colin asked. “What if he’s using the same
kind of action because it hid what he was doing, and we didn’t
catch last time? And, what’s his endgame?”

“
Do you think you missed
something?” Patrick asked. “In the last year, we’ve been over and
over this stuff.”

“
Anything’s possible,”
Alex said.

“
We have a lot of ideas
about what his endgame is,” Patrick said.

“
But we don’t really
know,” Alex said.

“
Especially since it now
looks like he orchestrated, through the Boy Scout, the Fey Special
Forces Team chaos the last year we were in service,” Joseph
said.

Patrick frowned at the
thought.

“
What about the girls?”
Matthew asked.

“
What about the girls?”
Patrick asked.

“
I think our question is
vague,” Alex said. “The current thought is that the CIA trained a
number of children – boys and girls, mostly based in Los Angeles –
to serve as child prostitutes to important men. The interactions
were photographed.”

“
With the intent of
manipulating those men,” Patrick said. “That’s correct.”

“
Where are the photos?”
Zack asked. “I know a girl whose dad did that to her, and the
photos and videos are still around. She’s tried to destroy them,
Alex has even tried, but they’re in the world. They keep coming
back to haunt her. If there were photos or videos, where are
they?”

“
Did they ever use the
photos to control the participants?” Leena asked. “Are any of those
men in office now?”

“
They’d be too old,”
Patrick said.

“
There are eleven federal
judges over the age of ninety, sir,” Troy said.

“
Some of the men would
have been in their twenties or thirties when the program was
active,” Alex said. “And there’s always senior status federal
judges and a few elderly senators and representatives.”

“
Never thought of it,”
Patrick said.

“
Anyone come up with
anything else?” Alex asked.

The team fell
silent.

“
I guess I have one,”
Sergeant Dusty said.

“
Go,” Alex
said.

“
Why us?” Sergeant Dusty
asked. “Sure, we’ve been working on Eniac’s case, but there are
thousands of intelligence teams. The CIA has its own paramilitary
branch now. Why call up Joseph? Wyatt? Why are we involved in this
shit?”

“
Again,” Joseph said.
“It’s not our mission. Not even close.”

“
You know how this is
going to end, sir,” Raz said.

“
How?” Patrick
asked.

The team stopped working
out to look at Patrick. Used to scrutiny, he didn’t
flinch.

“
I’m serious,” Patrick
said. “How do you think this will end?”

“
With me in a box,” Alex
said.

Unsure of what to say,
Patrick cleared his throat.

“
If there are no more
questions, I’m sure the General would like to report to his team,”
Alex said.

“
Yes, sir,” her team
called.

“
Thank you,” Patrick
said.

He gave Alex an odd kind
of nod, almost a bow, and left the room. Alex shrugged and went
back to working with Leena.

F

Friday evening

November 5 – 6:07 p.m.
MDT

Denver,
Colorado

“
Wyatt,” Alex said
softly.

Sitting on the bed, she
put her hand on his shoulder, and he opened his eyes. He closed
them for a moment and then opened them again. His eyes moved over
her face.

“
Max?”

“
It’s Alex,” she smiled at
him.

“
You are not the love of
my life,” Wyatt closed his eyes.

“
I’m here,” Max said from
the other side of the bed.

Wyatt’s head turned toward
the sound of Max’s voice. He smiled at Max and patted the bed for
him to sit down. Max sat down and took Wyatt’s hand. Wyatt looked
back at Alex.

“
It is uncanny how much
you look alike,” Wyatt said.

Alex smiled.

“
Where am I?” Wyatt
asked.

“
Our basement,” Max
said.

“
How did I get here?”
Wyatt asked.

“
What’s the last thing you
remember?” Alex asked.

“
The phone ringing,” Wyatt
said.

“
Anything else?” Alex
asked.

Wyatt shook his
head.

“
You were activated,” Alex
said.

“
I . . .
was . . . activated . . .” Wyatt said
slowly. “I guess I remember that. Did you lock me in the
bathroom?”

“
No, I did,” Max
said.

“
Why?” Wyatt
asked.

“
You weren’t exactly
yourself,” Max said.

“
It’s what you agreed to,”
Alex said.

“
I did?” Wyatt
asked.

“
When we went over the
mental training you’d received,” Alex said.

“
I guess I did agree to
that,” Wyatt sat up against the headboard.

“
How do you feel?” Alex
asked.

“
Weird,” Wyatt said.
“Oddly energized and . . . did you give me
sedatives?”

“
You’ve been asleep most
of the day,” Max said.

“
I feel giddy, like too
much caffeine, and also down like I’m on sedative,” Wyatt said.
“How did I get down here?”

“
You agreed to come with
me,” Alex said. “You didn’t recognize Max. You knew me from when we
met before.”

“
When I was a Ranger?”
Wyatt asked. “With Jesse?”

“
You kept asking me where
Jesse was,” Alex said. “You’d lost all sense of your life
now.”

“
God, how horrifying,”
Wyatt said. “I’m so sorry, Max.”

“
We’ve been worried about
you,” Max said.

“
Me? I’m fine,” Wyatt
said. “At least I think I’m fine.”

“
Except for the giddy
feeling,” Alex said. “Have you felt that way before?”

“
Sure,” Wyatt
said.

“
Do you remember when?”
Alex asked.

“
No,” Wyatt said. “Must
have been around the time I met you, Alex, because it’s associated
in my mind.”

“
Were you in the program
then?” Alex asked.

“
I . . .
well . . . I don’t know,” Wyatt said. “I don’t think
so, but I might have been. Have you reached the guys on my team?
Were they activated?”

Alex gave Wyatt a small
smile.

“
I know that look.” Wyatt
furrowed his brow and looked at Max. “What?”

Alex shook her head and
looked at Max. He returned Alex’s look. In the way of identical
twins, a silent conversation flowed back and forth between
them.

“
Don’t you dare!” Wyatt’s
frustrated voice echoed in the small room. Surprised, the twins
turned to look at him. “Don’t shut me out. This is not twin time.
You don’t get to disappear anytime you want! Tell me what
happened!”

“
Your team was
eliminated,” Ben said from his position near the door. Alex and Max
turned to look at Ben. “Earlier this year, in the spring. They
appear to be a series of random accidents until you look at the
fact that everyone came from the same unit.”

“
Why didn’t I know?”
Wyatt’s lip curled. His voice held a searing indignation unheard of
in the person Alex knew. “I would have at least gone to the
funerals, visited their families. God, many of the men had young
children. How could you keep this from me?”

“
I told the twins not to
tell you,” Ben said. “It was hard for them, but we agreed it was in
your best interest.”

“
We were concerned for
your safety,” Max said.

“
Why?” Wyatt asked. “Was I
on the elimination list?”

“
We’re not sure, but your
entire team seems to have been,” Ben said. “We wondered if you were
saved for a unique purpose. Because you live here, I was confident
that we could keep an eye on you.”

Wyatt gave a quick shake
of his head. He looked down and then under the sheet. As if a
switch flicked, Wyatt’s anger inflamed. A tall, fit man, he looked
like he was ready to pounce.

“
I’m naked, and your
father’s here?” Wyatt asked. “What the hell are you trying to do to
me?”

“
Wyatt . . . ,” Max started.

“
Don’t Wyatt me,” he said.
“Get him the hell out of here. Whatever the problem is, we can
solve it ourselves. We don’t need the dark overlord of mystery
here.”

Max glanced at Alex and
she nodded.

“
There you go again,”
Wyatt shifted to get up. “I’ll tell you what. I’m not going to sit
here . . .”

“
You’re going to sit
there,” Ben’s commanding voice boomed in the small room.

Wyatt stopped moving. He
gave another quick shake of his head.

“
You’ll follow orders,”
Ben said.

Wyatt started to move
again.

“
Soldier!” Ben’s voice
rose in a drill sergeant’s threat. “You will follow orders. Is that
clear?”

When Wyatt looked at Ben,
his eyes held a vague, dreamy quality.

“
Why are you here?” Ben’s
voice was loud and demanding.

“
I’m gay, sir,” Wyatt
said. As if he was in a trance, his face was placid. “My father
isn’t speaking to me. The Army is my only family.”

Alex and Max took a quick
in breath. Alex didn’t dare look at Max for fear she would break
down.

“
If brass finds out, I’ll
lose everything – my career, my job,” Wyatt said. His face flushed
with desperation, and fat tears rolled down his cheeks. “My future.
I can’t pay for school on my own. I’m almost done. If I’m
dismissed, I’ll have to go home. But there is no home.”

“
Why are you here?” Ben
kept his voice demanding.

“
My CO, sir,” Wyatt said.
“He knows. He knows. He . . . sent me here to make
it better, make sure I could stay in. He knows how bad I need to
stay in or . . .”

Wyatt leaned forward. He
held himself in a tight hug.

“
I can’t help it,” Wyatt
whispered. “I don’t date. I don’t have a
boyfriend . . . not since I joined. I’m not involved
with anyone . . . anyone . . . but
I’m still gay. I can’t change that. If I could . . .
If I could . . . I would do it,
but . . . I can’t.”

Ben snapped his fingers
once.

Wyatt blinked.

Ben snapped his fingers
twice in rhythmic succession.

“
NOW!” Ben said in a loud
demanding voice.

Wyatt gave a quick shake
of his head.

Ben nodded to
Max.

“
Wyatt?” Max
asked.

“
Max!” Wyatt said. “There
you are!”

Wyatt held out his arms
and Max hugged him.

“
You’ve been crying,”
Wyatt touched Max’s face. “What happened?”

He looked at Alex and then
at Ben.

“
What’s going on?” Wyatt
asked. “Where am I? And why am I naked?”

“
You’re in our basement,”
Alex said. “You’re naked because you didn’t get dressed today.
You’ve been here since this morning.”

“
No wonder I have to pee,”
Wyatt smiled. “May I . . . ?”

He pointed to the small
bathroom off the side of the room. Ben nodded. Max gave him a pair
of boxer briefs. He got out of bed, turned his back to Ben and
Alex, and put on the boxers. He gave a slight shrug to Ben and went
into the bathroom.

“
How did
you . . . ?” Max asked Ben.

“
I’ve seen it before,” Ben
said.

“
But . . .
what does it mean?” Max asked.

“
It means that the program
didn’t end in 1973,” Ben said.

“
I think he means, ‘Why
Wyatt?’” Alex asked.

“
I don’t know,” Ben said.
“But I’m sure as shit going to find out. We need to debrief
him.”

Alex made a sour
face.

“
It’s the only way we can
be certain he won’t kill us in our sleep,” Ben said.

“
He won’t,” Max
said.

“
He won’t want to,” Ben’s
voice shifted to that of a kind and caring father. His eyes echoed
his love for Max. “He might not have a choice. You heard him. He
was manipulated into it.”

“
Because he’s gay,” Max
said. “Don’t ask, don’t tell.”