The Life - Rebirth (The Life 4)

“As I said, you’re overthinking. You’re hung up on the ramblings of a young boy who didn’t know any better.” He didn’t answer, and I was afraid he wasn’t buying it this time.

MEMNON/TRACK

This is alarming, very alarming. I’d gotten so caught up in following the twists and turns in the case Nemesis had thrown in my lap that I’d neglected to see the signs. I’d convinced myself somehow that he’d outgrown that need for vengeance that had spilled out of him that long-ago day when he slipped up and told me what he wanted to do to his bio father.

I’m sure he’s regretted that moment of weakness over time, but I never once brought it up or gave him reason to regret sharing what he had. I understood even back then that we all need to vent sometimes to relieve the pressure of the burdens we carry. We’d been so young back then; it was easy to overlook certain things with time. I’d made myself believe over the years when it was never mentioned again that he’d just been blowing off steam.

Now, I’m not so sure. I thought when he sent me this case that that was the end of it, that he’d just needed some help from my end because he knew I was into this kind of thing. It never once occurred to me that this was all part of his earlier plot. I see now that he’d been biding his time. Waiting for me to find the kids that had been taken and to figure out the ins and outs of the organization responsible to put an end to the flow.

But if he’s planning to go there now, in the midst of all this, what does it mean? There’s no obvious answer, no glaring red flag that I can pinpoint, just a nagging feeling in my gut. I sometimes wish I’d disobeyed him and let the others in on what I was doing. Something in me, some urgency had me getting to my feet and heading outside where the others had gathered.

There’s nothing stopping me from letting them in now. We’ve all been waiting to make a move on the little town in Virginia and the place in New York for a while. Those, too, had taken a while because of what was at stake and who was involved. It’s not like on Television where everything happens in fifty minutes, not when lives are at stake.

Because of the turbulence in the world, weddings had been postponed, and births had been given, right here on the island, where the squad had come to the conclusion that here was as good a place as any to set up shop. The last couple of years had been spent taking care of things back on the mainland, and I’m not sure how Mancini had done it, but he’d got them all to agree that this was the safest place for us all to be for now.

My friends and I still had classes, so we weren’t always here, especially after they lifted the moratorium on face-to-face classes, but we spent more time here than there. We’ve still been going on runs because asshole traffickers didn’t stop their shit even throughout the worst outbreak of the pandemic, so we couldn’t either.

It all works out; I guess because Mancini has been using this time to prepare Lyon for his new role as head of the squad. Yes, it had taken this long for Colton to accept, though we all knew it was coming, the guy is a born leader. A bit hotheaded, but still, he has the bearing and potential of a true ruler.

I appreciate the fact that they didn’t rush us into anything and had given us the time to settle in and make sure it was a good fit for all of us. Apart from space and so many of us living together before really knowing each other, the time had been beneficial in teaching us what works and where each person’s skills did the most good.

It's not lost on me that Nemesis would fit in very well here. Not only because of his hacking skills but because of the person he is, those values that come through loud and clear can be matched with any one of the men here, from Lyon to the SEALs and my friends and I, the frat boys as we’re so fondly referred to by the others.

I’m about to drop something heavy on them, but it can’t be helped. I have the feeling my friend’s life might be forfeited if I wait any longer. Sorry Nem, this might be seen as a betrayal, but I’d rather you live. Now I just have to figure out a way to bring it up. Then I remembered what the others were doing outside right this minute, and an idea started to form in my head.