Section 8

CHAPTER 20

Vaughn sat in the stiff plastic chair next to the hospital bed and stared at Tai. She was unrecognizable in the casts and bandages that swathed her body. She had not regained consciousness in the twenty-four hours since they'd been plucked out of the water. The doctor had been by a while ago and told him they would have to take her back into surgery soon. And the prognosis on full recovery was not good. But she would live.

The door to the room on the secure floor of Tripler Army Medical Center swung open and Royce walked in. Since being hustled off the helicopter at the hospital helipad, Vaughn had not seen his recruiter.

Royce grabbed another chair and sat on the opposite side of the bed. The two men stared at each for several minutes without saying a word. Royce finally broke the silence.

"You should be dead."

"I should kill you," Vaughn replied.

"It was nothing personal," Royce said.

"It wouldn't be personal either when I kill you. Just a job."

"And then?"

Vaughn didn't say anything. Royce leaned forward.

"Listen. This whole thing. I got brought in at the last minute. It's dirty work, and – "

"Who gives you your orders?" Vaughn asked, cutting him off, not wanting to hear the bullshit excuses.

"I don't know," Royce said.

"That's a question I've begun to ask myself."

"A little late for that perhaps?"

"Better late than never," Royce said, "which is trite, but true in this situation. I thought for many years I was working for Uncle Sam. Just deep, deep cover. But…"

"But?"

"Now I'm not sure. This is all so big and so secret. I can go anywhere in the world and make a phone call and get support."

Vaughn gestured at Tai.

"She works for Uncle Sam. And she was trying to figure this unit out. Section Eight. What the hell it was."

Royce nodded.

"My best friend was killed when the Organization – which is what we called it – found out about her having infiltrated the team."

Royce paused.

"That's not exactly true. I think it was part of it, but he was retiring. And retiring from this Organization obviously means permanent retirement from life."

Vaughn realized there were two sides to this coin and that everyone was being played – and the playing field was brutal, with no quarter given.

"You have no idea what this Organization is?" Royce shook his head.

"I get everything via text messaging. The only person above me I ever met face-to-face was my boss – and friend – David. And he told me very little."

"Some friend."

"That's the way the Organization operates. Compartmentalized and covert."

"And now?" Vaughn asked.

"Since I – and Tai – are supposed to be dead?"

"You are dead," Royce said.

"What do you mean?"

"I've reported everyone from both teams KIA."

"So we're free?"

"No."

Vaughn had known that was going to be the answer.

"So what – "

"I want you to work for me."

"I tried that," Vaughn said.

"Then you tried to kill me and I barely made it out alive."

"But you saved Honolulu. We saved Honolulu. That was good work."

"We were lucky," Vaughn said.

Royce nodded.

"All right. We were lucky. The Organization – while most of the missions I've run for it have been illegal, they've always had a goal that made sense in terms of defending the United States. But…" He trailed off into silence.

"But you want me to work for the Organization?"

Royce shook his head.

"No. The Organization thinks you're dead. I want you – and her," he added, nodding at the body lying between them, "to work for me. To find out who and what the Organization is. It's going to be very hard and very dangerous. And I'll still be working for the Organization while you're doing it. So things might get confusing at times. But I want you two to be my ace in the hole."

"And if we find out the Organization is really our government, trying to do the right thing, via shady means?"

"Then I'll cut both of you loose and you can start new lives with new identities."

"And if we find out the Organization is bad, doing the wrong thing?"

"Then we take it down."