He sat up on the edge of his bed, his face buried in his hands. He thought back to the folders that were spread out before José Sanchez and the officer that was questioning him. What could they possibly contain? What kind of vile human being would murder his own cousin for an exchange of information? Who were these people? What was their end game? How could he stop them? All Xavier had was questions, and the only one who could possibly have any of the answers was David.
The team reconvened. Captain Stanley shared with them that he was under a great deal of pressure to get answers from David. Xavier looked up. “Maybe I could talk to him…”
Laurence shot him down quickly. “You lack the experience. Let Rubis get the information.”
Captain Stanley sighed. “He’s right, Lieutenant. Kira is the best interrogator we have.”
He looked at her and nodded. She nodded back and took a few minutes to get herself ready. She entered into the room with Stanley and Violet. She conversed with David on several topics and led him where she wanted him to go like a pro. David was significantly more responsive than the day before, largely due to Kira’s communication skills, but he would shut down every time they reached a certain point in the conversation. Hours passed and Kira could never seem to lead David to the place she needed him to go. She grew increasingly annoyed. Stanley shut her down and the three of them stepped outside.
“We are going to allow you to talk to him,” Stanley said.
“Good luck!” Kira responded, obviously irritated.
“Can I have the room to myself, Captain?” Xavier asked.
Laurence snarled at him. “Listen rookie, we have been—”
“Absolutely, Lieutenant,” Stanley said cutting him off.
The two nodded to each other as Xavier closed the door behind him.
“It’s just you and me now, bro.”
Xavier focused on checking on David, seeing how he was doing physically, mentally, and emotionally. David was very responsive and broke down crying a number of times. He felt like a complete and total failure. It was his duty to protect his family and he failed. That is what made Xavier and David such close friends, that’s why they were brothers. Xavier didn’t get it before. They felt bound by duty to protect the ones they loved. Xavier spent a good amount of time encouraging him, just as David had done for him on so many occasions. After a few moments of silence and just feeling each other’s pain, Xavier opened up to him.
“Hey, bro…I need you to do me a favor.”
David sat upright, suddenly very interested in what Xavier had to say.
“These guys…this Santiago…this team, whoever they are. They slaughtered my old squad. Only you have the information that can help us get our revenge and bring justice to the fallen. Your siblings and my brothers at arms, we need your help. We can’t do this without you. We need to know what you told them.”
David began to sweat. His breathing sped up, he closed his eyes, and he exhaled, and then he began to talk.
“Somehow, they were able to get a hold of the only set of blueprints for a bomb. I do not know how he did it, but the drug dealer and black market dealer, José Sanchez, Santiago’s cousin, sold them to him. Then he killed him. They had the blueprints, but they did not know what materials they needed and where to find them. I told them. I had to…”
He began to stutter.
“They were supposed to let Ava, Lila, and Asher go once I told them. I refused to at first, but then they started torturing them, and I was forced to watch. I could not stand it. I broke down, and I told them…” He started to bawl. “I told them and they killed them anyway…”
He gathered himself and steadied his voice again. “After I told them what I knew, they passed the information along to someone else. An Asian woman. I do not know who she is, but that is all I know. Once they killed Asher, I blacked out. The next thing I remember is you injecting me with adrenaline and us killing Santiago. The materials they need are separated and heavily guarded by Crimson Force operatives. They are always on the move between various locations and they are never together. It is impossible for them to get a hold of them.”
Xavier’s mouth fell agape, and he rubbed his forehead. He was in shock and trying to comprehend all that he was just told. He touched David’s arm. “Thank you for the information, David. You are gonna be okay. We are gonna be okay. We will get justice for Ava, Lila, and Asher. Now rest up. We have work to do.”
After a few more minutes, Xavier left David to rest. He huddled the team together and repeated the information David gave him. Stanley was in awe and couldn’t believe it. He massaged his head, trying to regain his composure.
“I must inform the President of all of this. Good work, team.”
Kira crossed her arms and looked at Xavier coyly. She nodded to him and walked off.
Laurence stepped to him. “I am sorry for underestimating you. Good job.”
Violet playfully punched Xavier in the arm. “Not too bad, rookie,” she said, smirking as she walked away.
The research and development team went to work the moment they received the news. Team Alpha was unable to make a move until they had a location. A couple of days had passed and David was physically cleared, but he was prescribed counseling for the emotional scars he now bore. Captain Stanley took the team out to celebrate the two new recruits, and they had a moment of silence for all of those that were lost on their mission. After dinner, David made a vow in front of his team.
“This will never happen again. I will train harder than ever before. I will never be held hostage or caught off guard again.”
Xavier sat back and enjoyed the scenery. David was laughing again. Xavier recalled everything that had happened. He left the SEALs to become the best, and he was now honored as one of the best in the entire world. When he arrived, he had never felt more alone than he did during training. Now, he had a brother and new friends.
The real work was about to begin. Training was over, and their enemy had a name. They called themselves 10th Dawn. Everything else was a mystery, but the greatest unit in the world was on the case, and they would not rest until the peace in the world was successfully defended. Together they would discover all they needed to know about in order to bring them down.
TO SUBSCRIBE TO MY EMAIL LIST AND GET THE LATEST UPDATES ON THIS SERIES. FREE PROMO MATERIAL AND ANYTHING ELSE I MAY BE WORKING ON CLICK THE LINK BELOW.
http://eepurl.com/dzCS8n
Dawn of a New Era (Crimson Blue Book 1) Page 22
