Free The Nostradamus File by Alex Lukeman Page B

done?"
    "I don't know."
    "Think back. You were taking heavy fire."
    "Yeah. Then this kid comes out of the doorway."
    "And you hesitated."
    "He was a kid."
    "With a grenade."
    Nick was silent.
    "Where was the rest of your unit?"
    "Taking fire. There must have been twenty Tallies on the roof. My sergeant was down, three of the others."
    "How many died?" Milton asked.
    "What do you mean?"
    "How many of your men died?"
    "What's that got to do with it?"
    "How do you feel about the men that died?"
    "How do you think I feel?"
    "I don't know unless you tell me. Do you feel responsible?"
    Rage.
    Nick stood. "Fuck you."
    He walked out.
     
     

 
    CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
     
     
    "Are you going to tell me how it went?" Selena said. It was late in the afternoon. Nick was making coffee. They were in his apartment.
    "You mean the counseling thing?"
    "You haven't said anything about it."
    "There isn't much to say."
    "What happened?"
    "I told him about the dream. He wanted to know how I felt about what happened."
    "And?"
    "I don't want to talk about it. You want coffee?"
    "You're changing the subject. Yes, I want coffee. Why don't you want to talk about it? That's the whole point. Talking about it."
    "I've talked to you."
    "I'm not a therapist."
    "I don't see the point. Talking won't change anything." He brought her a cup. "That kid is still dead. So are my men."
    "That's not your fault."
    "Damn it!" He slammed his cup down on the table. She jumped. Coffee slopped out over the clean surface. "It is my fault. I was in command. So stop with the platitudes."
    Selena looked at him. "You walked out, didn't you? You didn't finish the session."
    He was silent.
    "You need to go back. For yourself. For us. I can't keep dealing with this."
    She was wearing a long sleeved blouse. Selena pulled it up along her ribs. Her side was turning black and blue.
    "That's from last night. You didn't even wake up. You yelled something and started thrashing around."
    He stared at the bruise. "I did that?"
    "Now do you see why you have to go back?"
    He sat down, let out a long breath.
    "I'll think about it."
    Selena got up. "You do that. You think about it."
    She walked to the door.
    "Where are you going?"
    "Home. While you think about it." The door slammed behind her. Her untouched coffee steamed on the table. He stared at the door. It had nothing to say.
    He decided to go for a run. Running helped him clear his mind. Nothing to think about except the feel of the pavement under his feet and the movement of his body. He changed into sweats and put on his running shoes. He tucked a Colt .380 under his sweatshirt and took the elevator down. He stepped out of the entrance and saw a black, armored limousine waiting by the curb.
    Adam , he thought. Damn.
    Adam was an unknown quantity. Every time he showed up things got difficult. It always meant trouble.
    The driver held the rear door open. Nick wondered how Adam managed to time his arrivals to catch him when he was coming out of his building. He got in the car. The door closed and he heard the click of the lock going home.
    The car was a Cadillac Presidential Model, several hundred thousand dollars worth of armored protection and luxury. The protection part was handled by run flat tires, 5 inches of armor plate, a turbo charged engine with over 500 horses, bullet proof glass and for all Nick knew, rocket launchers. The seats were covered in smooth black leather. The carpet was dark blue. The windows were completely blacked out. Halo lighting on the padded roof cast a soft glow over the interior.
    The driver was invisible behind a partition of black glass. A floor to ceiling panel of black glass divided the entire rear compartment straight down the middle, making it impossible to see who or what was on the other side. There was a speaker grill at head height in the partition and a slot where things could be passed back and forth.
    "Hello, Nick."
    The voice was masked with electronics, as if it were underwater. The sound was