Revelations: Roads to Redemption

3 / I'm Ready

"Se aprè batay nou konte blese."

[It is after the battle that you count the injured.]

(Cap-Haïtien – 15 years ago, 2003)

     Deep in the wilderness of some of the mountains in Cap-Haïtien, a unit of special elite soldiers was led by Grayson Goodman, an asset recovery specialist. With their eyes on a residential compound, the unit was on standby for the Majors' instructions.

     From a temporary base not too far from the special forces' present location, Major Benjamin said in a fierce voice, "Show no mercy. We are here to recover an asset. Your mission: Take down and acquire the valued target alive." He said, "Grayson, shoot with your usual precision. I know you've never missed a target. Let's keep that hot streak going, soldier."

     The soldiers moved stealthily, like ninjas, surrounding the home, while Grayson remained on top and on the ledge of the forest hill, a steadfast look on his face. The other soldiers moved into their assigned positions to secure the exits. Major Benjamin provided more instructions.

     He said, "The client needs him alive, Grayson. You tag him, and one of your teammate drags him."

     "I'm ready," Grayson responded. From where he stood, in the distance, he looked into his Nightforce B.E.A.S.T. "The asset is in sight and this sweet baby Jesus is locked and loaded."

     Grayson fired in a blast!

     As the bullet cut through the air, the target picked something – or someone – up, and the bullet sliced through the upper right shoulder of the target and right through a smaller individual. From one bullet two bodies fell. OH, MY GOD! There was a white flash.

     (Present Day, Philadelphia)

      On a bed far from the mountains of Cap-Haïtien, drowning in cold sweat and gasping for breath, Grayson Goodman violently woke up in the night. But he wasn't in the bed alone. Jade, a light sleeper, rose like a hawk, as the slick sheet that once covered her revealed her bare back. She faced Grayson with her eyes and mouth wide open. "Are you okay?" Jade hugged him. "It was just a nightmare, G. It's not real."

     Grayson was drenched in cold sweats. Even though he knew that he'd been dreaming, what he had just experienced was all too real. He was thankful for Jade's presence, as he was comforted by her words.

     He looked at Jade. "There were moments spent in the Haitian special forces that still haunt me."

     He heard a buzzing sound, and for a moment he was brought back to the wilderness, but it was Jade's cellphone.

     Jade was a DEA agent. She had just received a text message, which she chose not to read out loud. "Your skills are needed. Now. Incident at Club Escape" Jade looked at Grayson as she put on her clothes. "I gotta go!"

     Grayson noticed a few missed calls on his own phone, along with a text that read, "9-1-1. Meet me at Dominique's place. Something happened at Club Escape. I can't find Troy."

     Grayson got up and put on his pants in a rush too. "Gotta go too." He grabbed his navy sport coat and hurried out the door.