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Chapter Ten
“Willyouexplainitto me?” Carter asks, his voice a slight tremble as he stares down at the slightly crushed daffodil in the palm of his hand that he snuck inside with them.
Tomorrow is the day.
They agreed that when they wake up, they'll already be sir and pet. It's easiest that way. Safest. But… "I think it'd help if I understood how it all works."
“How what works?” Nathan asks, fingers pausing on his watch. He frowns at Carter. “The shit with Vasco?”
“That. And the case. And the undercover-secret-agent-whatever-it-is. I was so mad before. And overwhelmed. Too upset to ask questions. But now…”
“Now you want to know.”
“Yes.”
“Okay.” Nathan finishes undressing, leaving his tight black boxer briefs on. Then he crawls into bed and leans back against the headboard with a sigh. “Okay.”
And he begins to explain it all.
How lost he was as a teenager aging out of foster care. His time in basic training. The special interest one of his drill sergeants took in him. The day, a week after graduating basic training, when he was brought into an office and left there. The man who walked into that same office moments later with a file that held every detail of his life in it, down to his first kiss - with a girl named Jenny in 2nd grade - and his firstrealkiss - with his foster brother in 10th grade. The man never gave a name, and Nathan - orTravisat the time - somehow knew not to ask for it. The man said there was a project he thought Travis would be perfect for. Something elite. Something secret. They didn't want the best soldier. They didn't want someone experienced or older. They wanted someone new. Someone who could be molded. Someone who showed perseverance. Skill. Charm. Someone who didn't shy away from the dark stuff. Who had a level head. Who didn’t show emotion. Someone who could lead. Who could stand on his own. Who could give as good as he got.
Someone who had nothing to lose.
“You can die in a war that doesn't even really matter, or you can join my team and do something meaningful, he told me." Nathan's lips curl in a smile that's both fond and angry. "I was 18, not a dollar to my name, being told for the first time in my shit life that I couldmatter. I signed the dotted line without question. Two days later, I was driven to a facility in Virginia, given a new identity, and introduced to the man who was going to be my new Uncle. His name was Corbin Roarke. He was 62, the head of one of eight major regions of human trafficking in the Americas, was diagnosed with stage 4 liver cancer, and had just been caught by the head of the operation I work for. He made a deal with the devil. In exchange for getting to stay in place, continuing to live his disgusting and fucked up life while he could, he would introduce me to everyone as his heir. For 17 months, I stuck by his side. I learned the ropes. I was groomed. He got a kick out of it, I think. He liked knowing he was going to be fucking over all the assholes he was sick of dealing with, even after he was dead. And he liked forcing me to see and do things he knew I wouldn't like. He was a piece of shit, but he never flipped on us. I was terrified he would. I knew every morning that I might be walking into my own death, but he never outed me. And then he died, and I was king of all this." He lifts his hands, gesturing around him. "And the case was officially started."
Carter takes a while to consider all the information before moving on to his first round of questions. “How did he explain you showing up out of the blue? Just some random long-lost nephew?”
“Estranged sister. Druggie. Whore. Bitch. I was his nephew that cut and run when I turned 18. Wanted nothing to do with her. Wanted to make something of myself. Corbin told them all he paid for my college – he wanted me to come off educated, and also older than I was so his men would be more willing to follow me.”
“And you said he agreed to all this because he was caught by… who?”
“The head of this whole thing.”
“I thought Maison was the head.”
“No, he’s the commander of our team.”
“Team being… you, him, and Benny?”
“Sort of. The man we work for – our director - has multiple teams. Each is made up of 4 people. A team commander, an operation technician, a lead agent, and a support agent. Maison is our team commander, Ace is our operation technician, I’m lead, and Benny is support."
“Ace…?”
“He handles a lot of the logistics for the operation. He’s kind of a nerd. Good at statistics and trends and all that. He’s also the guy behind the curtain that keeps me and my business afloat. Unlike me, who pretended to go to college, he’s actually highly educated. He’s been able to keep everything looking exactly as it should on paper for all of my money laundering businesses and he helps a lot with the slave business too. I’ve only interacted with him a handful of times over the year, but Maison swears by him.”
“Okay.” Carter rubs his temples, trying to fight the impending ache. “And the man you work for – this director - he’s part of the government?”
“I’m honestly not sure. The CIA is involved in what we do, I know that much. But I think parts of the operation might be privatized. Sometimes the things I do or see… I just can’t believe that the CIA would sanction them. Who knows? Maybe some rich fucker with a good moral compass is funding us. I have no idea who is in charge of it all.”
Carter shakes his head, confused all over again. “But you just said he met you in that office after you graduated training?”
“Oh, no. No, that's just the director - that's what he told us all to call him, I don't know his real name. He's in charge of all of us. He's who each team commander reports to. But we know there's at least one person above him, if not more. I don't think the guy in charge will ever be someone we meet or see or really know a thing about. It's smart of him to work things that way. I can't blame him."
“And you’re just… okay with that?”
“It took me a while, but now, yes, I am. The less I know, the less I have to worry about. I have enough on my plate without having to worry about all the background shit.” He shrugs. “Maybe Maison knows more than me. You’ll have to talk to him about it some time.”
Carter flinches. He doesn’t really see that happening. Honestly, he can’t see himself talking to Maison about anything at all for a good long time. Unless it’s talking to him about how he can go fuck off.
