The Blood of Patriots

Chapter 9: Revelations

Is Maria here solely for Oz, or did the Pentagon send her?

We leave quickly. No one stops us. I guide Hannah through the exit to the parking lot. Two Army Humvees are at the curb.

"Where's your car?" I ask.

"Uber," she says.

The wind is gusty and blows old leaves around the parking lot in small spinning swirls. The clouds are lowering and thickening. I steer Hannah with a gentle hand to my car.

"Sam, I'm trying to believe you. I want to, but ...."

"That's a start. We can work with that. But I think we both need to start talking. We owe each other that much."

I hurry her along despite her limp. Now's not the time to be delicate. I need to put some distance between us and Maria.

"Not everything she said is true. I want to explain it all to you. I need to, and you deserve that. Please, Sam. I don't want you to take this the wrong way, but ... can you drive me home? Please? If you do, I'll tell you anything you want to know."

"I was hoping all morning you would ask me that, just as Maria said. But I didn't expect it to be like this."

We get into my car. I leave the parking lot by a back entrance, driving slowly and checking my mirrors. We don't appear to be followed.

"You have to be careful with Maria," I say. "She grew up in Tangier, before the Moroccan kingdom was formed. When she was a child that city was a safe-haven for Cold War espionage. Her parents ran CIA-sponsored safe houses all over the Mediterranean and immigrated to the US when she was a teenager."

"You're saying she has a habit of lying," Hannah says.

"No, she has a natural tendency to obscure the truth. You have to read between the lines. Her true intent is often hidden."

"Well, she lied about me. And the purpose seemed to be nothing more than breaking us up so you'll go back to Oz."

I take the longest possible route to get back home, passing through various back streets and intentionally randomizing my turns. I check my mirrors constantly.

I'm too paranoid, but what I read from Maria's comments was "Don't run." She gave me two options, hide under Oz's wing, or let Hannah turn me in. She knows about my involvement. She knows what Oz did, and what the Dead Beat Club is up to. If the Pentagon is aware, then this thing could be squashed quickly and violently. I need to warn Dad.

"Where are we going?"

"I need to talk to my father."

"Can't you just call him?"

I turn down my street, pass my house and go around the block.

"What lies struck you as being totally wrong?" I ask. "Something that a high-ranking officer in INSCOM would definitely know to be false."

"I'm not a tramp."

"That's an objective response."

"It was insulting."

I get stopped at a traffic light and look at the cars around me for anything suspicious. I need to calm down.

"Imagine growing up in a world with Muslims on one side and Catholics on the other. Dressing provocatively in her mind can be considered to be ... inappropriate."