Age of Blood

EPILOGUE

Walker and Jen were about as off duty as they were going to get, sitting in the second floor banquet room of The Wharf restaurant on the east end of King Street in Alexandria, Virginia. He leaned over and kissed her, something they’d done a lot more of since he’d finally popped the question in front of the Welcome Home statue in San Diego. She still had some scars from the pebbling during the temple battle, but the dermatologist said that they’d disappear in time. He pushed a lock of hair back from her forehead just as Laws returned to the table with some drinks, a white zinfandel for her and Smithwicks for the two of them.

“You two are going to make me want to settle down and have little Christmas SEALs,” Laws said as he sat back and admired the pair.

“You’re never going to settle down,” Walker said. “You’re the eternal bachelor.”

“Me and Steve McQueen.” Laws patted his heart. “Eternal bachelors.”

Jen exchanged a glance with Walker. “Live fast, die young is for the movies. I want you all staying with us for a while.”

“I haven’t been called young in ages. Thank you, dear.”

“Okay, grandpa,” Walker said. “Next time you need help crossing the street, I’ll see if I can’t get a platoon of boy scouts to help you across.”

Yank came up the steps. He looked as fresh as he had as a new recruit, but he stood somehow straighter. “The rest are on their way up.” He pointed at the drinks. “Where’d you get those?”

“See Brian downstairs. We’re running a tab under the senator’s name.”

Yank hurried back down.

“Did you deliver the arm to Madame Laboy?” Walker asked. When Laws nodded, he added, “I’m curious to learn what the hell it was.”

Laws put his glass down on the table. “She’s not sure. It’s old. She’s seen them before. She called it an obour for lack of a better term. No one knows what it is exactly. It’s a piece of something older than humankind. It lives in the forests. Some animals recognize it. Birds will flock toward it. She said she saw one once. She knew to look for it because all the birds in the same tree were acting exactly the same way, as if they were one creature.”

“Any reason why it only stayed in YaYa’s arm?”

“None, except maybe it’s hard for one to get a hold of a person. Animals are far more easier.”

“Seemed pretty easy for it to get YaYa, if you ask me,” Jen said.

Walker nodded. “Where’s the arm now?”

“Usual place,” Laws said, meaning the Salton Sea facility.

“I heard they took one of the Los Desollados corpses there to study, too?” Yank said with a shudder. “That was some sick shit.”

Walker took a long slow drink of his beer. “At least they gave Jingo a proper military funeral. Hard to believe he ended up that way after we met him on his boat.”

Yank turned to Jen. “You guys figure out what they had in mind for him?”

Jen shrugged. “All supposition, but we think they were going to use him to channel a god, while Ramon had made a deal with the Leprosos to be a high priest in exchange for delivering the Zetas sacrifices. According to what we’ve learned about Aztec theology, the high priests were the ones with the most power. They ran the cults, the people deferred to them, and they communicated directly with the gods.”

“I guess we fucked that plan up.” Yank slugged Walker on the shoulder hard enough for the SEAL to spill some beer. “Ain’t that right, Walker?”

Before Walker could respond in kind, Holmes came up the stairs with YaYa behind him.

“Speak of the devil,” Laws said, standing.

They all stood. Walker grinned from ear to ear when he saw YaYa, who now sported a brand new forearm thanks to DARPA researchers. It was sweet combination of metallic artistry that looked like it could just as easily fit on the arm of a twenty-second-century robot.

“I knew you all were talking about me,” YaYa said.

“Some people will do anything to get attention,” Walker said, leaning over to slap the other SEAL on the back. “Glad you’re back, brother.”

“Glad to be back.”

“So what’s the word, boss?” Laws asked Holmes.

Holmes looked from one to the other. “They want me to move into the Sissy and work with Billings. It means a promotion.”

The other SEALs glanced at each other, wondering what to say. Everyone wanted to be promoted, but there were times when you could promote yourself right out of the field and behind a desk. For those who were field capable, this was akin to exile.

“You all don’t have to look like someone died. I told them to ask me in another year. You kids need adult supervision and this old snake can’t even supervise himself,” he said, squeezing Laws’s shoulder.

Everyone released their breath just as Yank returned with a new round for everyone, including a tall strawberry drink with whipped cream and a straw. This he passed to YaYa, who nodded and smiled.

They all sat at the table. A Secret Service agent popped up at the top of the stairs. “Everything prepared for the senator?”

“All clear,” Laws said.

“Do we have to do this?” Walker asked.

“Cost of doing business,” Holmes said. “He wants to thank all of you and since he controls our budget, we’d better be nice to him.”

Walker and Laws gave each other a look. Holmes saw it.

“What’d you do?”

“Can you call the strippers off?” Walker asked.

“Not sure. I think they’re en route.” Laws pulled out a cell phone. “Oh shit—they’re downstairs.”

“What the hell?” Holmes ran to the window.

Everyone began laughing.

Holmes spun. For the first time in a long time his face turned red. But behind his glower, they could see laughter trying to come out.

Then Senator Withers crested the stairs, holding the hand of Emily. Billings stood prim and proper behind him. Senator Withers took in the scene. “Am I interrupting something?” Although he was in a blue power suit, everyone remembered him half naked and on his knees.

Walker couldn’t help it. Neither could the rest of them. They busted out laughing. Eventually, the senator and his daughter joined them. Then they sat and talked, just them, no reporters, no witnesses, just the people who’d been in the shit, bonded together forever by the events that had so recently made them.