Read Online Against All Enemies by John Gilstrap - Free Book Online

the hill that’s filled with kids who show an amazing ability to adapt to adversity,” he said. Resurrection House—the place up the hill—was a school Jonathan had founded anonymously as a residential facility for the children of incarcerated parents.
    “Point taken.” A few more keystrokes. “She’s still in Fayetteville. She rents an apartment.” Fayetteville was the home of Fort Bragg, which was the home of the Unit headquarters.
    “Is she working?”
    Venice shot him a look. “Give me a minute.”
    “Take your time,” Jonathan said. “I don’t mean to rush.”
    She rattled off a few more keystrokes, and then punctuated her work with a triumphant finger-poke to the keyboard. “Time!” she said. She pointed to the big screen with her forehead. “There it is. She’s got a job at a lawyer’s office.”
    “Really?” Boxers said. “She’s not with the Unit?” The elite Special Forces organizations had a long-standing tradition of protecting their own. Many an administrative job was held by a son or daughter or wife of a fallen or retired operator.
    “Sad, isn’t it?” Venice said. “She moved off-post about three months ago. Ryan is in a public high school down there.”
    Of all the news Jonathan had heard that contradicted his memories of Dylan Nasbe, this was the most damaging. It took a lot to reach the status of persona non grata within the Unit. The only cases he knew of personally were assholes who took secrets public—and with one notable exception, all of those assholes had been Navy SEALs.
    “Is it a good job?” Jonathan asked.
    Venice laughed. “Good Lord, I wish I had the skills you think I do,” she said. “I will send her apartment information to your GPS.”
    “Thank you.”
    Venice stopped typing and stared at her screen for a few seconds before giving Jonathan a scowl and leaning back in her Aeron chair.
    “What?” he said.
    “What makes you think she’s going to tell you anything?” Venice asked. “What motivation could she possibly have to help you close the loop on her husband?”
    “We’re kind of her best bet,” Boxers said.
    “Silence seems like a very viable option,” she countered.
    “Only at first glance,” Jonathan said. “I believe Roleplay when he talks about the Agency wet-work yay-hoos breaking their necks to kill him. If Christyne stays silent, she only helps the killers.”
    Venice wasn’t buying. “That’s what you say. I don’t doubt that you’re right, but how will she know that? The last time she saw you—”
    “We damn near died saving her,” Boxers said.
    Venice went back to her keyboard. “I’m just saying that if I were her, based on what you shared about that night in the mountains, any vision of you is going to be pretty hardwired into bad times. I don’t see that as a basis for great trust and sharing.”
    “Then I just need to be convincing,” Jonathan said.
    Venice looked back to him again. “I can see it now,” she said. “Hi, Christyne. Last time I saw you, I was pulling you out of a river of blood, but now I want you to help me save your husband from a different river of blood.”
    “I think I’ll use different words,” Jonathan said.
    “Of course you will,” Venice said. “But will she hear them? And what about that boy? How are you planning to deal with his trauma?”
    Jonathan saw the precipice of his patience approaching. “You’re treating this as if it’s a social visit, Ven. It’s going to be an awkward visit. Our past history notwithstanding, there’s the inherent awkwardness of Boomer betraying the nation he was sworn to protect.”
    “If that is, in fact, what he did,” Venice said.
    Jonathan conceded that part of her point. He still could not wrap his head around the notion that Dylan would do such a thing, but neither could he ignore the evidence that had been presented to him.
    “Let me throw something into the debate,” Boxers said. “Suppose Roleplay is just friggin’ lying to us?