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Not having his head in the right place while training was a recipe for disaster. They were doing room clears in the kill house. Shark was going on little sleep, and he was just behind Easy. They were moving through, clearing room after room when Easy stopped and leaned heavily against the wall. The team moved on, but Easy didn’t budge.
Shark moved around him and found Easy’s eyes closed. He was breathing hard. “Brother?” Shark said and reached out.
Easy stiffened and his eyes popped open. “What?”
“You okay?”
“Yeah, I’m okay.”
Shark gritted his teeth at Easy’s obvious lie. Shark stared at him, the churning in his gut getting stronger, his chest feeling tight. “Let’s move.”
Easy started down the hall and out of nowhere, an enemy combatant jumped Easy, slamming him against the wall. Shark saw red, and the next thing he knew, the tango actor was down, and Shark was punching the shit out of him. Flash and Dagger showed up, pulling Shark off him. The simulation was halted, and Twister was down on the floor, seeing to the injured guy.
Shark lost it again. He leaned down, his fists clenched, blood glistening on his gloves. “Yeah, Twist, at least this guy is on our side.”
Twister looked up, his eyes narrowing, his mouth tightening. Shark could see that every street instinct in him bristled, but he maintained his cool. Shark wished he had come up swinging.
Before he could throw out any more insults, Tex strode into the tense space and roared, “What the fuck is going on here?”
2
No one spoke.Everyone looked at Shark, and before he could open his mouth, Tex had him by the back of the uniform and dragged him into an adjacent room. “Why is everyone looking at you? Don’t lie to me. It’ll be on the tape.”
“I wasn’t going to lie to you.”
“Good.”
Shark clenched his jaw.
“Tell me your beef, Shark. There’s no room on this team for dissention.”
“Easy almost died,” Shark said, his voice hoarse. “And Twister is saving some fucking pirate.” He choked up, something kicking off a renewed fury in Shark’s chest. “He risked his life for those people, and we helped some monster to live.” His face contorted into disgust. “Do you know what kind of void that would have opened up?”
Tex stood there, his hand braced on his hips, his head bent, the muscles across his shoulders thrown into sharp relief, the tendons in his arms rigid. Even from a few feet away, Shark could sense the barely controlled fury in him.
“Yes, Shark. I know that void. I’ve lived with that void when men have died carrying out my orders. You know leadership, but you don’t understand the mantle of command. So, I’ll explain it to you.” He shifted and looked at Shark, a hard, cold expression on his face, his jaw set. Annoyance flicked through Shark for pointing out that he did have a heavier burden to bear. He didn’t want to be rational. He wanted someone to pay for Easy.
“We have protocol in the field, and we can’t just let someone die because they’re a monster,” Tex continued. “I ordered Twister to take care of the pirate. He had life-threatening gunshot wounds. He’ll live to pay for his crimes.”
Shark scoffed and looked away. “So, he’s the one who gets the best treatment?”
The air sizzled with tension. Finally, Tex exhaled sharply, his tone now heated. “No. He got Twister’s treatment. I expected and relied on your life-saving training to save Easy. I trusted you.”
His breath suddenly wouldn’t come. His anger was fragmenting on him, but he hung on to it, using it to block out the pain of the truth. Shark had always been able to rely on his LT, and Tex never let him down. He pressed his thumb and middle finger against his eyes to try to stall the ache that kept spreading.
Tex’s tone softened. “This isn’t about Twister or my decision, Bale. What is it about?”
It took a moment before he was able to frame the words, his voice numb when he whispered, “Did we fail him?”
His rib cage expanded and contracted as a taut silence suspended between them. His voice was raw and strained when he finally said, “He’s alive, Shark. Second-guessing ourselves isn’t going to help.”
But Shark wasn’t convinced. He heard the agony and felt his LT’s pain, and something cracked inside him. His throat cramped so much his jaw ached. He took a deep, unsteady breath, nodding. “We take the win.”
Tex turned away. “Yeah, we take the win.”
He left the room and Shark followed him out. Easy looked neutral, but Shark saw the flash of awareness in his eyes.
Pointing at Easy, Tex said, “Go, pack your stuff and head home. Go see your parents and relax on the beach. You’re done for now.”
