Chapter 7 - WHAT MY MOTHER HID
We found my mother in Monterey.
She was sitting alone on the back patio of a small house overlooking the ocean.
When she saw me, she didn't look surprised.
She looked tired.
“Avery.”
I stopped several feet away.
“Where is Michael?”
She closed her eyes.
“I don't know.”
“You've seen him.”
“Yes.”
“How many times?”
“Twice.”
“When?”
“Three years ago.”
“And?”
“Six months ago.”
I felt my anger rise.
“You let me believe he was dead.”
“I was trying to keep you alive.”
“By lying?”
“Yes.”
The answer was so simple that it hurt.
My mother looked at the rosary in my hand.
“He gave you that?”
I shook my head.
“I found it.”
She began to cry.
“Then he trusted you to find the truth.”
I sat across from her.
“Tell me everything.”
She did.
Not all at once.
Not like a confession.
More like a woman finally putting down a weight she had carried too long.
My father had indeed helped establish the network.
But he had done it believing it was a legitimate intelligence-financing operation.
The network moved money through private contractors to fund operations that Congress would never approve openly.
At first, it saved lives.
Then people discovered they could profit from it.
Vale took control.
Voss protected the political side.
Other officers protected the military side.
My father tried to leave.
That was when he became dangerous.
“He wanted to expose them,” my mother said.
“And Michael?”
“He discovered the same thing.”
“Black Harbor?”
She nodded.
“Michael found the payment records.”
“Why did Vale keep him alive?”
“Because Michael knew where the original records were.”
I stared at her.
“Where?”
She shook her head.
“I don't know.”
“You've seen him twice.”
“He never told me.”
“Then why did he come to you?”
“To make sure I was safe.”
I looked away.
My mother reached across the table.
“I failed you.”
I didn't move.
“You protected me by lying.”
“Yes.”
“You protected Michael by letting me mourn him.”
“Yes.”
“Do you understand what that did to me?”
Her eyes filled.
“Yes.”
I wanted to forgive her.
I wasn't ready.
Then she gave me a small envelope.
“Michael left this.”
Inside was a photograph.
Our family.
My father.
My mother.
Michael.
Me.
On the back were two words.
FAMILY FIRST.
Beneath them was an address.
I recognized it.
Naval Amphibious Base Coronado.
I looked at my mother.
“Why would Michael send me back there?”
“Because that's where it started.”
When we returned to Coronado, Mercer was waiting.
He looked older.
“I owe you the truth.”
I stared at him.
“Then give it to me.”
He nodded.
“Jonathan Vale recruited your father.”
“And you?”
“I was assigned to monitor the network.”
“Did you take money?”
“No.”
“Did you know?”
“Yes.”
“Why didn't you stop it?”
“Because every time I tried, someone disappeared.”
He looked at me.
“Your brother was one of those people.”
“Was?”
Mercer corrected himself.
“Is.”
I stopped.
“You believe he's alive.”
“I know he is.”
He gave me a folder.
Inside was a photograph taken four months earlier.
Michael.
Older.
Bearded.
Standing beside a military transport aircraft.
Alive.
My hands shook.
“Where?”
“Classified.”
I looked up.
“Not anymore.”
Mercer nodded.
“That's why I brought you here.”
He opened another folder.
Inside was the original Black Harbor report.
The casualty list had seven names.
One had been crossed out.
Michael Hayes.
Beside it was handwritten:
TRANSFERRED TO VALE.
I looked at Mercer.
“Why didn't you tell me?”
“Because Vale controlled the operation.”
“And you were afraid.”
“Yes.”
That honesty hurt more than excuses.
Then Reed entered.
“Admiral.”
Mercer looked up.
“What?”
“We found the source of the unauthorized access.”
I stood.
“Who?”
Reed looked at me.
“Your credentials were activated from inside this building.”
“Whose terminal?”
Reed hesitated.
“Yours.”
I froze.
“My office?”
“Yes.”
I hadn't been in my office for seven years.
Reed continued.
“The system shows someone entered thirty minutes ago.”
Mercer looked at me.
“Captain, you need to understand something.”
“What?”
“Someone has been preparing for your return.”
Then the building alarm sounded.
Reed ran to the window.
Across the parade field, a black helicopter was lifting off.
Someone was inside.
Reed shouted.
“That's Vale!”
I ran.
We reached the hangar too late.
The helicopter disappeared over the ocean.
But on the ground was a single object.
A silver watch.
Not Michael's.
My father's.
And beneath it was a note.
COME ALONE, AVERY.
May you like
MIDNIGHT.
THE OLD PIER.
