Choke Point

NINETEEN

As they humped back through the jungle toward the trucks, minding their steps and the booby trap markers they’d set in place, Kozak asked Pepper to go back over the intel they’d received from Adamo:

‘So the guy who died was the cabdriver.’

‘Correct.’

‘And the guy we let go was really the package.’

Pepper sighed. ‘There it is.’

30K, who was standing beside Kozak, said, ‘That sneaky little runt. He was right there all the time. Son of a bitch!’

Pepper closed his eyes. ‘I’d like to get my hands on him for just ten seconds.’

‘Hey, it ain’t all bad,’ said Kozak. ‘Mission accomplished. The package was rescued. Our cover remained intact. And the Colombian special forces guys get credit for bringing down a cocaine lab, a narcosub, and the dry docks. Woo-hoo.’

‘Yeah, woo-hoo,’ said Pepper darkly. ‘But this ain’t over. I just hope the major agrees with me.’

‘Oh, he will,’ said 30K. ‘And when we’re done with that little lollipop kid, he will definitely believe in Ghosts.’

Kozak had heard enough of the chest drumming, so he drifted back toward the captain. ‘What do you think, sir? You think we’ll be going after him?’

‘Not sure yet,’ said Ross. ‘No word back from Guardian. For now, we deliver the cabdriver’s body.’

‘Do we know what really happened?’

‘I’ve been playing it over and over. We’ve got the FARC, Los Rastrojos, and some new Islamic terrorist group in a possible alliance. We’ve got a missing CIA agent who was either trying to expose this alliance or was part of it. We have a connection via the sub’s parts to a port city in Libya.’

‘Man, it all sounds very actionable to me.’

‘Me, too.’

Kozak braced himself. ‘You mind if I ask you something?’

Ross gave him an odd look.

‘Oh, it’s nothing personal. Just curious. How’d I do?’

‘What do you mean?’

‘Out here.’

Ross almost smiled. ‘Let the After Action Report reflect that Staff Sergeant John Kozak performed his duties admirably and in the best interests of the United States Army.’

Kozak didn’t hold back his grin. ‘Thank you, sir. Just want you to know that I, uh, I really believe in this. You know, what we’re doing. I’m always thinking about all the people who came before us, the guys who died for our country. What we’re doing is important — even if we’re getting screwed over by the CIA.’

Ross finally beamed. ‘I appreciate that, buddy. I really do. And I’m glad you’re not too pissed off having to take orders from a Squid.’

‘No, sir.’

‘You think I’m a Squid?’

‘Sir, I didn’t say that, sir.’

‘Relax, I’m just messing with you.’ Ross lowered his voice. ‘Only guy I’m worried about is 30K. He’s got an issue with me, doesn’t he?’

‘He’s cool, sir. I wouldn’t worry.’

‘You don’t sound like you believe that.’

Kozak hesitated. ‘He’s got some trust issues with everybody. Sometimes I think he’d rather operate alone. Funny because he’s one of those guys who’s always had a problem with authority figures, and he winds up in a place full of authority figures. Ironic, huh?’

‘Yeah.’

Kozak thought a moment. ‘You know what? You should ask him about his nickname.’

Ross chuckled under his breath. ‘Are you serious?’

‘That’ll get you talking.’

‘Okay, but I have to be honest. I figured you guys already had a name for me.’

Kozak shrugged. ‘Not that I know of.’

Once they had reached the Hummers and the M35, Ross told Pepper he was riding with 30K, and that drew the man’s curious stare.

‘It’s not that you smell, but I want to talk to him,’ Ross whispered to Pepper.

‘Ah, gotcha. Good idea.’

Ross climbed into the passenger’s seat of the lead Hummer, settled in, then looked over at 30K. ‘What’s wrong?’

‘You’re riding with me?’

Ross nodded. ‘Yeah, Pepper smells.’

30K smiled. ‘He does, doesn’t he?’

‘Seriously, I thought we should talk.’

30K swore and said, ‘What’d I do now?’

‘Nothing. Start the engine. Let’s go.’ Ross leaned back and tapped the leg of the Colombian SF guy manning the fifty. ‘Stay frosty, big guy. They get another chance to ambush us, they will.’

‘No problem,’ said the gunner.

30K led the convoy of vehicles out of the clearing and back down the jungle road, the potholes now filled with water, the cab rattling like Ross’s father’s old ’68 Ford pickup. The once gray sky had washed off into streaks of gray and white as the storm’s feeder bands passed through.

They sat in silence for a few minutes, then Ross cleared his throat and asked, ‘Why don’t they call you Jimmy?’

‘They could, but everyone calls me 30K.’

‘Where’d that come from?’

‘If I tell you, sir, you have to promise you won’t share the story with anyone — and you won’t turn me in.’

‘Are you about to confess to a crime?’

‘Sort of.’

‘Maybe you shouldn’t tell me.’

‘No, I think you’ll like it. It involves the CIA. See, when I was in Afghanistan, this CIA ops officer I knew was paying off this warlord to get intel. But the warlord was a real dick and screwing everyone over. He was storing all this cash — I’m talking about American dollars — in his compound. So me and a few guys were out on patrol and got wind of this. We broke in there one night and stole the money. We split it up. We each got 30K. It was my plan, so the guys started calling me 30K. And ever since then, the name stuck. Later on, I felt bad about it. I was telling myself that the CIA was wasting American tax dollars and we were doing a service by saving the money and pumping it back into the economy. But that still didn’t feel right. I spent about a thousand bucks on booze, then I gave the rest to charity.’

‘Wow, that almost sounds like a plot from a movie.’

‘I know, right? But that’s how I got my nickname.’

‘So how elaborate will the story be this time?’ asked Pepper, who was behind the wheel of the second Hummer.

Kozak shrugged. ‘He’s a pretty amazing bullshit artist.’

‘Maybe he’ll tell Ross the truth.’

‘The truth? I wonder if he even knows the truth. Every time someone asks him about his nickname, he comes up with a different story. He told Ferguson he won 30K in the lottery so his friends started calling him that. He told me an old girlfriend gave him the name, that it was also the name of a mom and pop bar where they’d met.’

‘And he told me his father said he’d never amount to anything, that the most he’d ever make in his life was 30K a year, which you told me is bullshit because his father left when he was a baby, so he never met the guy.’

‘Yup. So who the hell knows why they call him 30K. But there it is …’

Pepper nodded. ‘So, you had a little talk with Ross.’

Kozak nodded.

‘And how’d that go?’

‘Very well.’

Pepper’s voice softened. ‘I want to share something with you, just so you don’t get into trouble with him.’

‘What is it?’

‘I found out some stuff about Ross through a mutual friend. Before he joined the Ghosts, I’m talking about a couple of years ago, there was an accident. His little boy was killed. Broke up his marriage. Nearly ruined his life. You know it’s hard, but if you try hard enough, you can get past the deaths of your buddies in combat. We all know what we signed on for. We know the risks. We go on in their name, their memory.’

‘That’s right,’ said Kozak.

‘But losing a child … how do you let that go?’

Kozak pursed his lips. ‘You don’t. So what’re you saying? You think Ross is messed up?’

‘No. I just get the feeling that he’s still torturing himself over it.’

‘You said it was an accident.’

‘I don’t know the details, but I just got that feeling. Anyway, I think he jumped at the chance to become a Ghost so he could get away from it all. New job, new people, you know, not be around everyone saying, “I’m so sorry.” Trouble is, I screwed up. I told him I knew. I told him I’m sorry, and he really locked up.’

‘Then don’t talk about it.’

‘Damned straight. Don’t bring it up.’

‘Unless he wants to talk about it.’

‘Yeah. Leave it up to him.’