"Sit."
Mercer sat.
For several seconds, neither spoke.
Finally Mercer said:
"I thought you were dead."
"I've heard that before."
"Where have you been?"
"Places."
"That's not an answer."
"It's the only one you're getting."
Mercer sighed.
"You haven't changed."
Elias looked at him.
"You have."
The colonel smiled.
"That's what twenty years does."
"No."
Elias shook his head.
"That's what command does."
Mercer looked away.
"I heard about your retirement."
"I retired a long time ago."
"Nobody retires from what you did."
Elias looked toward the children.
"I did."
"Did you?"
Silence.
Mercer lowered his voice.
"Why did you come?"
Elias didn't answer immediately.
Instead, he watched a group of young recruits cross the courtyard.
"They remind me of us."
Mercer smiled.
"We were never that young."
"We were."
"Not in the head."
Elias laughed softly.
Then his expression changed.
"You have a problem."
Mercer looked at him.
"Several."
"The recruits."
"What about them?"
"They're being trained to win fights."
Mercer frowned.
"That's the point."
"No."
Elias looked at him.
"The point is to survive."
Mercer became quiet.
Elias continued.
"Your strongest recruit is learning how to defeat people."
"He's talented."
"He's dangerous."
"There's a difference."
"Not yet."
Mercer studied him.
"Why do you care?"
Elias looked toward the training facility.
"Because I recognize the mistake."
"What mistake?"
"Believing strength makes you invincible."
Mercer sighed.
"You're talking about Barrett."
"Partly."
"And the rest?"
Elias looked at him.
"The rest is why I came."
Mercer leaned forward.
"What's happening?"
"I don't know yet."
"Then why are you worried?"
"Because someone is watching the base."
Mercer's expression hardened.
"Who?"
Elias stood.
"I don't know."
He walked away.
Mercer followed.
"Then what do you know?"
Elias stopped.
"Three days ago, someone accessed a restricted archive."
Mercer froze.
"What archive?"
"The Night Files."
Mercer's face went pale.
Those files had been sealed for decades.
They contained operations involving soldiers whose names had never been released.
Mercer whispered:
"That's impossible."
Elias looked at him.
"So was I."
The Final Assessment
The next morning, Cole returned to the mat.
He had slept badly.
Every time he closed his eyes, he saw the same moment.
His hand reaching for the old man's shoulder.
Then nothing.
Then the mat.
He hated it.
More than losing.
He hated not understanding how he had lost.
His instructor approached.
"Barrett."
"Yes, Sergeant?"
"Final assessment."
Cole nodded.
"Who's my opponent?"
"Me."
Cole blinked.
The sergeant was fifty-two.
Smaller.
Slower.
Not nearly as muscular.
But Cole understood immediately.
This was punishment.
The match began.
Cole attacked aggressively.
The sergeant moved.
Cole swung.
Missed.
He rushed forward.
The sergeant sidestepped.
Cole fell.
Again.
And again.
Finally, the sergeant pinned him.
"Stop."
Cole breathed heavily.
The sergeant released him.
"You know why you're losing?"
Cole sat up.
"Because I'm tired."
"No."
"Because you're faster."
"No."
"Then why?"
"Because you're trying to prove something."
Cole stared.
The sergeant crouched.
"You don't need to prove you're strong."
"I know."
"No, you don't."
The sergeant stood.
"You walked into this gym yesterday believing the strongest man always wins."
Cole looked away.
"That's what I've been taught."
"Then you've been taught badly."
Across the gym, Elias Voss stood watching.
Cole saw him.
Their eyes met.
Elias nodded once.
Cole looked away.
He didn't know why.
Maybe because he was embarrassed.
Maybe because he was angry.
Maybe because, somewhere beneath both emotions, he knew the old man had been right.
The Night Files
That evening, the base went into restricted status.
Nobody knew why.
Visitors were asked to remain in designated areas.
Several doors were locked.
Security personnel appeared throughout the facility.
Cole noticed something strange.
Elias was still there.
He wasn't wearing a uniform.
He wasn't carrying visible weapons.
Yet every security officer who passed him seemed to recognize him.
Some nodded.
Others avoided eye contact.
Cole finally approached him.
"Can I ask you something?"
Elias looked at him.
"You already did."
Cole frowned.
"Why did you let me walk away yesterday?"
"You didn't walk away."
"You know what I mean."
Elias smiled.
"You weren't ready."
"For what?"
"To listen."
Cole folded his arms.
"I can listen."
"Then listen."
Elias looked directly at him.