"What did he say?"
"Just six words."
Thomas waited.
"He remembers what you did."
Thomas looked toward the window.
Nathan continued.
"And he wants to see you."
"No."
"Tom."
"No."
"You haven't even—"
"I said no."
Briggs stood.
"You've been waiting twenty-seven years for this."
Thomas turned.
"I've been spending twenty-seven years trying not to wait."
Nathan studied him.
Then his expression softened.
"You still think Ross was your fault."
Thomas didn't answer.
"That's why you disappeared."
"Leave."
"Tom."
"Get out."
Nathan remained still.
Thomas's voice dropped.
"I brought eleven men into that operation."
Briggs knew the numbers.
"I brought ten home."
"Calvin made a choice."
"I made the plan."
"The intelligence was wrong."
"My plan."
"We were compromised."
"My team."
"Ross ordered you to go."
Thomas hit the table.
The coffee jumped.
"You weren't there when he said it."
Nathan stopped.
Thomas stared at him.
"I was holding him."
His voice broke for the first time.
"I could feel the blood coming through his vest."
Briggs said nothing.
"He told me to take the others."
Thomas looked down at his hands.
"I did."
Nathan waited.
Thomas whispered, "That's what commanders do, right?"
"Sometimes."
"They leave one man so ten survive."
"Sometimes."
Thomas looked up.
"Then why did I hear him screaming after we left?"
Nathan's face tightened.
Thomas had never said that before.
Not to him.
Not to Rachel.
Not even to his wife.
Nathan slowly sat again.
Thomas stared at the table.
"The helicopter was lifting. The building was burning. I heard something over the radio."
"Tom—"
"I knew his radio was damaged."
"Then it might not have been him."
"I know what I heard."
Nathan closed his eyes.
Thomas continued.
"Three weeks later they told us nobody found a body."
"Because the site collapsed."
"That's what they told us."
"You think they lied?"
Thomas laughed without humor.
"I think governments call things classified when they don't want people asking the second question."
Nathan looked at him for a long time.
Then he said, "Calvin Ross wants you to ask the second question."
Thomas refused.
For two days.
Then the story got worse.
The viral video reached national outlets.
Journalists began digging into Thomas Hail.
Most found nothing.
That made them more curious.
A retired special operations commander who disappeared from public military records shortly after a decorated career was more interesting than an old man throwing a black belt onto a gym mat.
A reporter came to Rachel's house.
Thomas found out after Eli called him.
"They're outside."
"Who?"
"News people."
Thomas was in his truck before the call ended.
When he arrived, a woman with a microphone stood near the sidewalk while a cameraman filmed Rachel asking them to leave.
Thomas parked.
He walked toward them.
The reporter recognized him.
"Commander Hail?"
Thomas stopped.