Secrets of the Fall by Kailin Gow Page A

playfully. “You balance me. My total equal. What would I
do without you?”
    “Drive,”
I said. “Oh, I know what you could do without me, but it’s more fun with me
there.” I smirked, and he laughed.
    It
was the first time in weeks we’ve been able to laugh. I thought I had forgotten
how to, but now it was back.

Chapter 8
     
    Nat
     
     
                S ometimes to show love, to be loving, is to be
able to walk away from that person you love. The hardest thing in life to this
date is not dealing with my parents’ divorce, my mother’s mental illness, or
college; it was walking away from love, from the woman I loved with all of my
heart.
                Again,
it was the hardest thing I’ve ever done. I didn’t think I would; I never
thought that I could. But there were legitimate reasons why. And in the end
when I made this decision to do what I did, I did it with the best intentions
for her, for my family, for Drew, myself, and our country. It wasn’t about
me…and that was how I was able to walk away.
     
    *****
                I
was dressed just like everyone else on the team…in camouflage so none of us
stood out as we headed over to the headquarters. For weeks, they’ve prepped me
on how to fight, how to use weapons, how to pass lie detector tests, and how to
act if caught and tortured. For weeks, I’ve stayed in camps with these larger
than life ex-marines, ex-army, purple-heart-decorated veterans and even heroes,
who now worked privately as an army or Special Forces for hire. And for this
mission, I had hired them through Donovan Dynamics. These men were part of my
army. Being the youngest, the one without any military experience, and the
smallest in build although I was as muscular and fit as any athlete; I stood
out. I was the liability, but since I was the one with the intelligence and key
information needed for this mission, I had to be trained to infiltrate just
like one of them.
                “Donovan,”
Tito Reed, a brawny tattooed ex-marine who stood 6 feet 5 inches of pure
muscles including a head, bald, tough, and with a neck as thick as my torso;
gestured for me to come up to join him in front. I moved my way up to the
front, having been pushed back out of the way so the Special Forces could scope
out the location while protecting me…the holder of the key.
                “You
see that?” Tito pointed, handing me his binocular. “That’s the entrance we are
entering through. There are two guards who rotate standing guard every four
hours. They’re small guys, but they’re armed. If you get close enough to them
in a fighting situation, the first thing you do is remove their weapon, then
you have a fighting chance to take them down. If not,” Tito handed me a large
serated knife in a leather sheath. “Here are some back up.” Then he reached
into his leather vest, packed with weapons of all kinds. “You know what this
is…” he took out a MK3 revolver. “We’ve practiced for weeks on this. You a damn
fine shot now, too. It’s yours. Take it.”
                I
stared at the revolver before taking it and stuffing it into my own leather
vest. The MK3 was the revolver of choice used by and specially made for the
Special Forces, known as the SOCOM pistol, it was praise for its accuracy.
Having it on me, I felt like I was one of the guys now. I felt a little more
secure knowing that if I had to protect myself, I at least had something to
protect myself with…and gave me a good fighting chance to survive. I was going
into this mission fully equipped and prepared. There was no cutting corners for
this. If this mission failed, we would not be going home.
                “Ok,
Tito,” I said. “I’ve studied the layout inside, know which room to search, and
even know what to say if questioned. Are we ready to do this?”
                Tito
looked over at the other four guys in the group. They were