Cole's smile disappeared.
"Or what?"
The old man looked directly into his eyes.
"Or you will learn something your instructors should have taught you already."
Cole shoved him.
It happened so quickly that most people didn't understand what they had seen.
The old man moved half a step.
Cole's hand suddenly passed through empty air.
The old man caught his wrist.
Twisted.
Stepped.
Cole's enormous body turned with the movement.
Then his knees buckled.
He hit the mat.
Hard.
The entire gym froze.
The old man released him immediately.
Cole stared upward.
He couldn't understand what had happened.
The stranger stepped back.
"Your strength is impressive."
Cole struggled to breathe.
"But you don't know what to do when strength stops working."
At the far end of the gym, a door opened.
A senior officer walked in.
Colonel Daniel Mercer.
The base commander.
He took one look at the old man.
His face changed.
He whispered a name.
"Night Watcher."
And for the first time that afternoon, the old man's expression changed.
Only slightly.
But enough.
Cole saw it.
The stranger knew exactly who the commander was.
And the commander looked as though he had just seen a ghost.
The Name Nobody Used
Nobody moved.
Colonel Mercer remained at the doorway.
The old man stood beside the mat.
Cole was still on the floor.
His pride hurt more than his wrist.
"Sir," Cole said.
Mercer didn't answer.
His eyes remained fixed on the stranger.
The old man finally spoke.
"Daniel."
The colonel swallowed.
"You're alive."
The old man gave a faint smile.
"Last time I checked."
A murmur spread through the room.
Cole slowly stood.
"What is this?"
Mercer finally looked at him.
"Barrett."
"Sir?"
"Step away."
Cole hesitated.
"But he—"
"Step away."
Cole obeyed.
The old man turned toward the exit.
Mercer followed him.
"Wait."
The stranger stopped.
"You shouldn't be here."
"I was invited."
"By whom?"
The old man looked over his shoulder.
"People who remembered."
Mercer's expression tightened.
"That doesn't answer my question."
"It wasn't meant to."
Then he walked away.
The entire gym watched him disappear through the doors.
Cole looked at his instructor.
"Who was that?"
The instructor didn't answer.
Cole looked at another soldier.
Nobody spoke.
Finally, one of the older sergeants said quietly:
"You really don't know?"
"Know what?"
The sergeant shook his head.
"Forget it."
That only made Cole angrier.
He followed the colonel.
He found Mercer standing in the corridor.
The old man was gone.
"Sir."
Mercer turned.
"What?"
"Who was he?"
"Nobody you need to worry about."
Cole stared.
"He dropped me."
"I saw."
"Without even trying."
"I saw that too."
Cole rubbed his wrist.
"Who is he?"
Mercer stared at him.
Then said:
"His name is Elias Voss."
Cole waited.
Nothing else came.
"That's it?"
Mercer looked toward the empty hallway.
"No."
"What was his rank?"
Mercer remained silent.
Cole's irritation returned.
"Sir, with respect—"
"Don't."
The single word stopped him.
Mercer's expression had become unusually serious.
"Some men earn ranks."
He paused.
"Some men become something the rank no longer matters."
Cole frowned.
"What does that mean?"
"It means you should be grateful he only put you on the floor."
Cole looked back toward the gym.
"What did he do?"
Mercer lowered his voice.
"Twenty-three years ago, he was sent into a place where thirty-seven soldiers had disappeared."
Cole listened.
"He went in alone."
"And?"
"He came back alone."
"What happened to the thirty-seven?"
Mercer stared at him.
"Thirty-six were found."
Cole's expression changed.
"And the last?"
Mercer said nothing.
Cole swallowed.
"What was his unit?"
"Classified."
"Special operations?"
"Beyond what you're cleared to know."
Cole stood silent.
Mercer turned away.
Then he stopped.
"And Barrett?"
"Sir?"
"Never challenge him again."
Cole looked at him.
"Why?"
Mercer didn't turn around.
"Because the last man who did had to relearn how to walk."
The Man Who Watched the Night
Elias Voss sat alone outside the heritage museum.
He had found a bench beneath an old oak tree.
Children ran between exhibits.
Veterans talked nearby.
Music played from a distant courtyard.
Nobody paid attention to him.
That was exactly how he preferred it.
He watched an old armored vehicle being demonstrated to visitors.
A young boy climbed inside.
The boy's father laughed.
Elias smiled faintly.
"Still watching?"
He turned.
Colonel Mercer stood behind him.
Elias looked at the empty space beside him.