“You haven’t mentioned my request, sir.”
“I was hopin’ you’d change your mind ‘fore I had to act on it,” Cadler explained. “But it seems to me that y’all are pretty sure about this.”
Sean nodded. “Very sure, sir.”
Cadler nodded with regret and acceptance. “We’re gonna miss your ugly ass around here.”
“I’ll drag it back once in a while so you can kick it into shape,” Sean joked.
“Can’t touch no civilians, Major.”
Civilian. That had a scary ring to it. Sean had known little other than the Army life. What lay outside the comforting walls of Bragg was alien to him. Uncharted territory. New adventures.
“You did good, Major,” Cadler said, offering his hand.
Sean took it, fighting the urge to salute. Habits would be hard to break. “Thank you, Colonel.”
“Now go find that little lady of yours and make some babies.”
“Is that an order, sir?” Sean asked with a smile.
“The last from me to you, Major.”
“Will do, sir,” Sean said, giving his commander a crisp salute before turning and walking away down Ardennes.
“God speed, Sean.”
The plot was set among a circular clearing ringed by Douglas firs, except for the section that afforded an unobstructed view of the pristine lake below. As if in deference to the man being laid to rest, the water churned with fish broaching the surface and splashing back into the deep blue lake. It could not have been planned more eloquently.
Only twenty people were gathered at the gravesite, located in the Minnesota backwaters not far from the dock where Joe Anderson had cast his last line. Most were family, but there were two outsiders, one of whom had asked to say something at the service.
“There is not much that need be said about such a man,” the President observed, concluding his words without the aid of cards or prompters. “It is sufficient, and utterly appropriate, to say that he did what had to be done when the call was made. And that he answered that call not for the sake of glory, or for any less honorable reasons. He answered it because he heard it, and because to turn a blind eye or a deaf ear was not his way.”
The President went to Joe Anderson’s widow, spending a long moment with her. Then it was time to go, to leave the family to remember without the intrusion of outsiders. Bud followed the President along the wooded path, two Secret Service agents ahead and two behind. They emerged from the trees to the waiting limousine, but the chief executive did not immediately get in. Instead, he stood still and smelled the sweet, damp air.
“He picked a good resting place, Bud.”
“Yes, he did, Mr. President.” Bud tasted the freshness himself, pulling in the scents of the forest. “If only the rest of the world was this peaceful.”
“If only.” The President still could dream, even if such musings were inevitably overcome by reality. “You know, Bud, even with the losses we suffered from this, it could have been so much worse. I hate to even imagine what could have happened.”
“The important thing is that it didn’t, sir,” Bud reminded him. “In the end you have to count your losses and pray that you’ve learned something from the ordeal that will help you avoid similar situations in the future.”
“The future.” The President studied the trees for a moment before looking back to his NSA. “What frightens me is that this all came at us from the past. I remember a professor of mine back at UCLA saying ‘History is not the study of what has happened before; it is the study of that which we know has happened before.’ ” He thought to himself briefly. “What else is out there that we don’t know of, Bud?”
The NSA considered the question in the quiet of the forest, looking skyward as the answer came to him. “You’re asking the wrong adviser, Mr. President.”
About The Author
Ryne Pearson is the author of several novels, including Cloudburst, October’s Ghost, Capitol Punishment, Simple Simon, Top Ten, The Donzerly Light, All For One, and Confessions. He is also author of the short story collection, Dark and Darker. His novel Simple Simon was made into the film Mercury Rising. As a screenwriter he has worked on numerous films. The film Knowing, based on his original script, was released in 2009 and opened #1 at the box office, going on to gross more than $180 million worldwide.
He lives in California with his wife, children, a Doberman Shepherd and a Beagle Vizsla.