his ear.
Damien stepped forward and then shocked both Chad and Sleep when they embraced, giving each other hard slaps on the back.
“Damn, Eyes, I didn’t think I’d ever see you again. Are you still in the military?” Damien asked, seeming truly delighted to see Eyes.
“Not anymore. I’m a civilian now, living out my retirement years,” Eyes replied.
“Somehow I’m not buying that. You and I aren’t the type of men to retire,” Damien said. He looked over at Chad and Sleep for only a moment, nodding at Chad briefly.
“Want to fill the rest of us in?” Sleep asked, seeming irritated. Chad wasn’t the only one on the outside loop this time.
“Eyes, this is Senator Anna Miller. She’s here for a tour and taking the information back to DC to see if they can emulate what’s been done here for our other centers around the country,” Damien said. “Senator, this is Jon Eisenhart. We served together a long time ago,” Damien added.
Eyes introduced Sleep and Chad. “This is Carl Schwartz. He was on my team for a few years and we rolled out together after Afghanistan. And this is Chad Redington, our tour guide. We heard about the facility and wanted to check it out since we’ve spent some time in recovery centers that weren’t nearly this nice.”
Damien laughed. “I know Chad. He’s married to one of my cousins.”
“I haven’t seen you around much lately,” Chad said as he moved forward and shook Damien’s hand.
The two men with the senator didn’t seem interested in making conversation or introductions so none of them acknowledged them.
“It’s very nice to meet all of you,” Senator Miller said, a politician’s plastic smile plastered on her painted red lips. “I’m very impressed with this facility.” Then her eyes zeroed in on Eyes. “I always love meeting soldiers and hearing about what they’ve been through. It was a big part of my platform when I took office.”
Chad was the one to step up at those words. “I heard there was a special election. What made you decide to get into politics?” he asked as if he was doing nothing more than having a polite conversation.
“We’re in a hurry today, so there’s no time to get into that,” Senator Miller smoothly said. “It’s a long, boring story anyway. What’s important is what I plan to do now that I’m here.” Chad wondered if any politician ever gave a direct answer to a question. He’d bet his savings the answer was a solid no 90 percent of the time. They were so smooth at lying, they probably told you they had bagels for breakfast when they’d had a donut. He wasn’t sure they knew how to tell the truth, or if they even knew what the truth was.
“Well, even if it’s boring, I’d sure love to hear about it sometime,” Chad said.
She nodded and looked back at Eyes. “I’m sure it would be much more interesting to talk about you,” she said. “Call my office and let’s talk soon.” She handed him a card. “We really do have to be on our way now, though.”
“I’d love to talk some more later, Eyes,” Damien said.
And then as quickly as they’d run into the group, they were gone.
When Chad, Eyes, and Sleep walked away, Chad found himself confused. He didn’t know what in the hell to think of this situation. When had Eyes and Damien met? How did Damien know a senator? What in the world was going on? He didn’t like feeling as if he had no answers. They made it to their vehicles and Chad stopped.
“Did you know who Damien was before we came here?” Chad asked.
“Yes,” Eyes told him.
“I’m assuming you had a good reason not to tell me,” Chad said.
“Yes,” Eyes said again.
“We’ll have a meeting tomorrow. My next meeting is coming up so I need to roll out,” Chad said. He didn’t allow Eyes to reply. He wasn’t sure what to think right then.
“It will be okay, boss. You have a good, solid team,” Brackish said in his ear, making Chad sigh with frustration. He didn’t reply.
Instead, he climbed into his vehicle, pulled out his earpiece, taking Brackish from his ear and his head, and disconnected the cameras. He was done for the day. He had no idea what in the hell tomorrow would bring, but at least for today he was finished.
He pulled away with one thought — this was all a game changer. He didn’t know what that meant or where it was going to