“It’s not good,” Mercury began to say, but Lee caught sight of the e-mail and a small picture of Keith along with it.
“What’s going on? Is Keith finally coming here to settle down with us?” Lee asked.
Mercury felt his own temper flaring. “Keith is in trouble. I just got this e-mail from a friend. They think he’s a traitor. They say he’s involved with some shitheads in Mexico and Brazil and planning terrorist activities.”
“No fucking way. That’s just plain bullshit,” Lee stated, raising his voice.
“There’s a lot of fucking evidence.”
“Like what?” Lee asked, running his fingers through his dark-blond hair. He was originally from Oklahoma. Tex was from Texas, Stitch from New York, and Tiek was from Hawaii. After fifteen years together, they were more than friends. They were family.
“How bad is it? Do the feds know where he is and who he’s with?” Lee asked.
“I only got this message. I’m just debating about digging deeper.”
“Why, Gunny? He was one of us. Do you really think Keith would do that? I mean, he’s got responsibilities.”
“Like what? He has no family, and he kept on working with the government even though he could have gotten out. I hate to think why he would do something illegal.”
Lee turned away, and rubbed his mouth with his hand.
“Can you dig a little deeper? Can you find out whatever you can? I know Keith, and there’s no way he’s a traitor, or went rogue as a soldier. You were there when we did that mission in Costa Rica. He wanted Montoya and his entire operation to go down, but our orders were clear.”
“You shouldn’t even be bringing that up right now.”
“I know, Mercury.”
“I’ll look into it. I’ll make the call.”
Lee walked out of the room looking none the happier. Mercury would have to tell the others at lunch about this. But for now, he would make the phone call and see what was happening. They owed Keith that much at least.
* * * *
Lee was furious as he headed toward the kitchen. He pulled his cell from his pocket and tried calling Keith. He didn’t know why he bothered. If the guy was on the run and wanted, then he wouldn’t answer. But Keith was also very intelligent and a great strategic planner. Lee left a message.
“If you get this, you know who it is, and I will help you any way I can, brother. Call me back.”
He disconnected the call.
“What was that about?” Tiek mumbled in that extra deep voice he had. It drove the women wild and made him the worst person to whisper in the fields of battle. He used hand signals more often than the rest of them. At six feet three inches tall and filled with muscles, the man was intimidating.
Lee took a deep breath, and then explained what he just heard from Mercury.
“Holy shit. I don’t believe it. Not Keith.”
“Don’t believe what?” Stitch asked as he walked into the kitchen carrying his laptop. He placed it onto the island in the kitchen and then grabbed an apple from the yellow fruit bowl and took a bite. He chewed and stared at Lee and Tiek.
Stitch was their medic in the field and was always trading stocks online, his new hobby after hitting it big over the years as a day trader.
Lee explained and Stitch appeared just as upset as he placed the apple down on the island.
“Do you think it’s true?” Stitch asked.
Lee shook his head.
“What did Mercury say?” Tiek asked.
“I asked him if he could look into it. I mean, if Keith fucked up, then so be it, but if he’s in trouble, if he worked some mission and screwed up, then I need to know. There are things that need to be done.”