Shocked, I stopped reading. I must have made a noise, since the man running the café gave me a disapproving look before going back to his paper.
It pains me. These boys fought and died thinking they did it for their country. I was the same way once. But most of these boys were dead before they left the States. They didn’t even know it. It was Gordon’s suggestion to our superiors when this mission started to go off the rails. Anyone who might talk about our operation was to be eliminated. The control staff especially knew too much. Gordon decreed that they were to be on that boat, no matter what. I disagreed, but he outranked me. Too dangerous, he said. Deniable and expendable, he said. Then, when command agreed with Gordon’s plan, I knew for sure that this outfit had gone straight to hell.
I’m amazed that command went along with this. I’m fighting to get the order rescinded. I volunteered to stay, to try to force their hand. Majestic used to mean something. I can’t let this stand.
Majestic? Was that who I’d been working for? I’d heard the name before, but only on From Sea to Shining Sea. I thought they were just some ridiculous conspiracy theory. It seemed less ridiculous now that I’d ridden in a few stealthy black helicopters.
But there it was, in black and white, right in front of me. I had worked for Majestic. And not only had Gordon Willis betrayed us, but he’d apparently betrayed them as well. More importantly, he had personally and deliberately orchestrated Sarah’s death. If the Zubarans hadn’t killed her, then Majestic would have.
I sat there staring at the screen. My heart began to pound so hard I could feel it in my chest. My hands were shaking. A pit formed in my stomach. I felt something well up inside of me that I hadn’t felt since the morning my mother was murdered. My eyes narrowed slightly, and I scrolled back through the documents to confirm something I’d seen. Yes, there it was. Gordon Willis’s home address.
I stood up from the computer and shoved the thumb drive back into my pocket. I left to find Ling; I needed to talk to her. It was time for me to go home.
Ling was teaching children to fight.
I found her near the docks, working in a large structure with corrugated steel walls and a dirt floor. It had been a storage building once, but it had been turned into a training dojo. Ling was standing in front of twenty kids, boys and girls, the oldest maybe sixteen, the youngest approximately twelve, while she yelled at them in Chinese. Though I hadn’t made any noise, she turned when I entered, giving me a small nod, as if to say give me a moment.
Turning back to her class, she continued shouting. There was nothing gentle about her commands. I only knew a handful of words in Chinese, but I gathered that she was not pleased with their efforts. The children were all barefoot, wearing shorts and T-shirts, and every last one of them was drenched in sweat. At Ling’s command the kids broke into pairs and immediately set about trying to murder each other. It wasn’t the sort of sparring you’d expect from children being taught martial arts. They fought each other viciously. The soft dirt floor had seemed odd at first, but as I saw a teenager go bouncing across it on her head, I could understand the logic.
“Shen?” Ling asked. “Would you continue the lesson?”
There was movement in the doorway I’d just come through. A short Asian man wearing green fatigues passed by. I had not heard him at all. He dipped his head, giving me just the briefest acknowledgment as I jumped in surprise. He took Ling’s place in front of the class as she approached.
“How long has he been following me?”
“Since your arrival,” Ling explained. “Shen is very good at what he does.” Shen caught one of the teenage boys by the wrist, mid-punch, and began to berate him for something in Chinese. He proceeded to demonstrate by putting the kid in an arm bar and then tossing him on his face until the kid desperately tapped the dirt for mercy. “We meant no offense, but you are a stranger here. Some were nervous about your presence. Your status has allowed some leeway, but I needed to placate others. My apologies. You are looking well,” she said, sounding slightly less serious. “Are you feeling better?”
“Much.” My health was improving, but my mood wasn’t. Shen kicked a girl’s legs out from under her. “He was in Mexico with you, wasn’t he?”
“Yes. He is alive because of you. All of us from that day are.”
I shrugged. The attention made me self-conscious. “I just did what anyone would have done. It was nothing.”
Ling shook her head. “No. It is the reason you are here. Your actions in Mexico earned our gratitude. You alone risked your life against impossible odds to ensure our survival. Exodus does not take its debts lightly. You are a bit of a legend in some circles.”
That explained some of the odd looks I’d gotten while I’d been here. These Exodus people were a strange bunch. “Hey, how is . . . you know, the girl? The one we rescued? Is she here?”
Ling smiled at me. “She will be disappointed to learn that she’s missed your visit, assuming that she doesn’t already know. I’m afraid she’s not here. She is well.”
I had about a thousand more questions about the mysterious girl we rescued in Mexico, but the look on Ling’s face and the tone of her voice told me she wouldn’t answer any of them. My thoughts were interrupted when one of the kids screamed when a punch landed way too hard. “That’s pretty rough,” I suggested. “Aren’t they a little young for this?”
Ling thought about it for a moment. “And how much older were you when you killed the men who murdered your mother?”
How the hell had she known that? I was sick of everyone knowing more about me than I did about them. It was none of her damn business. When I didn’t respond, Ling continued. “It takes dedication to become a member of Exodus.”
“You’re teaching little kids to kill.”
“I’m teaching them how to survive. They are all volunteers. These children have seen horrors that even you cannot imagine. Yes, we teach them to fight, to kill, and when they’re older, someone like me will lead them into battle. Several of these children have already seen war. Others, like that young man there, were forced to watch as their family was murdered by the agents of a genocidal tyrant. That girl was abducted from her home and sold into slavery. They were all forgotten by the world and survived their ordeals only by the grace of God. We teach them the skills they need to not only survive, but prevail. They will go from being helpless to being able to help others.”
This was very personal for her; I could hear it in her voice. “You went through something similar yourself once, didn’t you?”
The look she gave me was cold. “I’m assuming you did not come here to judge my organization or my beliefs. So, what is it that I can do for you, Mr. Valentine?”
“I need transport back to the States.”
Ling studied me with her dark eyes as she thought about my request. “There is nothing for you there now.”
I answered without hesitation. “There’s one thing.”
“Of course.” Ling thought about it for a moment. “Walk with me, Michael.”
There was a rocky path down the shore. Ling led the way. Walking was still difficult, and after a few minutes of exercise, I’d developed a terrible headache. Ling sat on a big chunk of volcanic rock and gestured at a spot for me to sit. “I apologize. I just wanted someplace private to talk. It is easy to forget you recently underwent surgery.”