"Yes."
"Why now?"
Elias looked at him.
"Because the final witness is still alive."
Cole waited.
"Who?"
Elias answered:
"David Kane."
The Man in the Basement
David Kane was not in a prison.
He wasn't in a military hospital.
He lived beneath a small house outside Briarwood.
He was seventy-one.
Thin.
Quiet.
His left hand trembled.
When Elias entered the room, Kane stared at him.
"You came back."
"I promised."
Kane looked at Cole.
"Who's the kid?"
"Recruit."
Kane smiled.
"Then teach him something."
Elias looked at Cole.
"What?"
Kane pointed toward the table.
A photograph sat there.
Thirty-seven soldiers.
Young men.
Most smiling.
Cole recognized the insignia.
Kane spoke quietly.
"People think soldiers fear dying."
Cole listened.
"They don't."
Kane touched the photograph.
"They fear dying for nothing."
Elias remained silent.
Kane continued.
"Your friend here saved thirty-six lives."
Cole looked at Elias.
"He didn't tell me that."
"He doesn't tell anyone."
Kane smiled.
"That's his problem."
Elias frowned.
Kane handed Cole a photograph.
On the back was a handwritten note.
If anything happens to us, find the Night Watcher.
Cole looked at Elias.
"That's you."
Elias nodded.
Kane said:
"You were the only one who came back."
Cole asked:
"What happened to the thirty-six?"
Kane looked down.
"They were executed."
The room went silent.
Cole felt cold.
"By whom?"
Kane looked at Elias.
"By their own commander."
Elias closed his eyes.
Cole finally understood why the old man's expression had changed whenever someone mentioned the mission.
He wasn't simply a retired soldier.
He was a survivor.
And survival had followed him for twenty-three years.
The Betrayal
Kane explained everything.
General Hale had secretly sold operational information to a private organization.
The organization supplied weapons and intelligence to foreign groups.
When the thirty-seven soldiers discovered the network, Hale ordered their unit eliminated.
Thirty-six died.
Kane escaped.
Elias found him.
But the evidence disappeared.
The official report claimed the soldiers had been killed by enemy forces.
The truth had been buried.
Until now.
Cole looked at the files.
"Why protect this for so long?"
Elias answered:
"Because revealing it without proof would have destroyed innocent people."
"And now?"
"Now we have proof."
Kane shook his head.
"No."
Everyone looked at him.
"We have part of it."
He opened a drawer.
Inside was a small metal drive.
"The rest is here."
Elias stared.
"Where did you get that?"
Kane smiled.
"I stole it from Hale."
Cole almost laughed.
"You stole from a general?"
"I was younger then."
Elias picked up the drive.
"What does it contain?"
"Names."
"Whose?"
"Everyone."
Kane looked toward the window.
"Everyone who helped him."
Suddenly, the house lights went out.
Elias immediately grabbed Cole's shoulder.
"Down."
A bullet shattered the window.
Kane dropped.
Cole moved toward him.
"He's hit!"
Elias pulled Kane behind cover.
"Pressure on the wound."
Cole obeyed.
The old man looked at him.
"Good."
Another shot.
Elias moved toward the door.
Cole grabbed his arm.
"Where are you going?"
"Outside."
"Alone?"
Elias looked at him.
"Not this time."
Cole understood.
They moved together.
The Old Man and the Soldier
The attackers had surrounded the house.
Four.
Maybe five.
Cole's heart hammered.
Elias remained calm.
"Don't chase them."
Cole nodded.
"Don't fight unless you need to."
Another nod.
"Watch."
They waited.
One attacker entered through the back.
Cole heard him.
Elias didn't move.
The attacker stepped closer.
Cole wanted to strike.
Elias shook his head.
Wait.
The man moved again.
Then Elias acted.
Fast.
Silent.
Precise.
Cole followed.
Within seconds, the attacker was down.
Cole looked at his own hands.
He hadn't relied on strength.
He had waited.
The second attacker came through the window.
Cole blocked him.
Instead of trying to overpower him, Cole redirected his momentum.
The man fell.
Elias looked at him.
"Better."
Cole breathed heavily.
"Was that praise?"
"Don't get used to it."
The remaining attackers fled.
Outside, sirens approached.
Elias returned to Kane.
The old witness was alive.
Barely.
He looked at Cole.
"You'll do."
Cole smiled.
"Do what?"
"Become the kind of soldier who doesn't need everyone to know he's strong."
Cole looked toward Elias.
"Can I?"
Elias smiled.
"You already started."
The Commander Makes a Choice
The next morning, Mercer gathered the recruits.
He stood before them without notes.