Hawk, page 34
part #6 of Will Slater Series
‘I can’t stop thinking about what almost happened.’
Slater didn’t respond.
King said, ‘If I didn’t show up in time, what do you think you would have become?’
‘We’ll never know.’
‘Does it scare you?’
‘I’m sure it’ll haunt my sleep for years to come. Right now, I couldn’t care less. Right now I’m alive. And happy to be here.’
King bowed his head. ‘Hawk put a hit out on Klara just to lure me here.’
‘Yeah.’
‘It was my fault.’
‘It was Hawk’s fault.’
‘I told her early on that she shouldn’t be with me. I told her something would happen. I shouldn’t have let it slide so easily.’
‘I should have done a lot of things, too,’ Slater said. ‘You think you’re the only one who didn’t manage to save someone? Everyone in Black Force has blood on their hands. Simply because we’re genetic anomalies, which means every second we spend refusing to help people is directly contributing to their deaths. I mean, if you look at it that way, we’re all monsters. But you can’t look at it that way. We’re just doing our best.’
‘That’s why you vowed to do this until the day you die?’
‘Exactly.’
‘I got the same feelings when I was retired.’
‘Then I think we both know the answer to that question,’ Slater said. ‘There’ll be another Ali Hawk. There’ll be dozens of him. There’s no limit to the depravity of certain individuals. All we can do is try our best to keep up. And if we fall short, then at least we tried.’
King looked across at Slater, their features shrouded by the darkening sky. ‘Is that what this is now? A recruitment mission?’
‘You tell me.’
King surveyed the landscape.
He took a deep breath.
He let it out.
He said, ‘I think I’m back.’
Slater nodded, and let the ramifications of the statement sink in.
Slater said, ‘I mean, really, what else would we do?’
King smiled. ‘You’re right. I think I’ve been neglecting what I do best.’
‘What we both do best.’
‘Seems you do it slightly better than me.’
Slater thought of the fight between them in rural Hungary. He remembered avoiding King’s hardest punch with ease, slicing around behind him, locking in the choke, forcing him to tap.
He understood how drastically that could demoralise someone widely considered the best warrior on the planet.
Slater said, ‘You single-handedly did all of this. You got through all Hawk’s men. I was strapped to a bed the whole time. I was useless.’
‘If the roles were reversed, you would have done it even easier.’
‘That wasn’t a fair fight,’ Slater said. ‘Back in Hungary.’
‘It was enough.’
‘You were angry. And irrational.’
‘Remember when we first met?’ King said. ‘You beat the shit out of me in an airport.’
‘I got the jump on you there, too.’
‘Can’t be luck if it keeps happening the same way.’
‘We’ve never fought a fair fight. Not yet.’
King raised an eyebrow. ‘Are you suggesting something?’
Slater smirked. ‘While we’re both semi-conscious and beat to hell? I don’t think so.’
‘But maybe one day.’
‘Maybe. We’ll see.’
‘So what happens now?’
‘You’re back, but that could mean many things. Now you need to narrow it down.’
King sighed. ‘This wasn’t the way I wanted it to go, Slater.’
‘Why?’
‘I expected more closure. Now I’m stuck in limbo. I don’t know where to go from here.’
‘But you know you need to go back to helping people.’
‘Helping people is a funny way of putting it. Really, it means sacrificing our health and our lives, eventually.’
‘I’m doing it forever,’ Slater said. ‘You can go down your own path, or we can stick together.’
King stared at him. ‘I know you like your solitude. What would you prefer?’
‘It’s not my decision to make.’
‘It is, partly.’
‘You decide whatever you’d like.’
King sighed again.
Then he went through the same motions.
Deep breath in.
Deep breath out.
He said, ‘Let’s do it.’
Slater said, ‘Brothers in arms?’
‘Brothers in arms.’
There was little else to be said. They hadn’t discussed specifics, but they didn’t need to. The resolution was enough. They were born and bred to do this. There was endless suffering everywhere, and they’d never be able to tackle all of it, and the consequences would likely ruin their lives at some point — either when their bodies broke down or they were caught in the heat of combat. But despite all the misery around them, and the losses they’d both taken over the last few months, at that moment all was right in the world.
King and Slater got up and walked out of the ruined mansion.
They reached the side of the highway in a few minutes, stuck their thumbs out, and were picked up by a farmer heading into town to lend assistance to the injured and try to help clean up the mess. They didn’t speak on the drive in. They looked out at the scenery, trying to digest what they’d been through.
Slater knew he was failing to grasp the big picture. He was only happy to be alive. Perhaps King was more morose after learning what could be done to the brain, but Slater didn’t think he could take any further tension right now.
The farmer asked them if they were okay, and they both nodded.
They were bloodied.
Bruised.
But the earthquake made an effective cover story.
They made it to Tapanui, and climbed out of the car, and looked once at each other. There were a million unanswered questions lingering there in the silence.
What would they do moving forward?
How would they operate?
Were they a unit?
An army of two?
There was no clear answer.
Not yet.
For now, they were simply blood brothers.
So they nodded to each other, and surveyed the damage all around them, and got to work doing what they did best.
Helping people.
Together.
MORE KING & SLATER THRILLERS COMING SOON…
Visit amazon.com/author/mattrogers23 and press “Follow” to be automatically notified of my future releases.
If you enjoyed the hard-hitting adventure, make sure to leave a review! Your feedback means everything to me, and encourages me to deliver more novels as soon as I can.
Stay tuned.
Join the Reader’s Group and get a free 200-page book by Matt Rogers!
Sign up for a free copy of ‘HARD IMPACT’.
Meet Jason King — another member of Black Force.
Experience King’s most dangerous mission — action-packed insanity in the heart of the Amazon Rainforest.
No spam guaranteed.
Just click here.
Books by Matt Rogers
THE JASON KING SERIES
Isolated (Book 1)
Imprisoned (Book 2)
Reloaded (Book 3)
Betrayed (Book 4)
Corrupted (Book 5)
Hunted (Book 6)
THE JASON KING FILES
Cartel (Book 1)
Warrior (Book 2)
Savages (Book 3)
THE WILL SLATER SERIES
Wolf (Book 1)
Lion (Book 2)
Bear (Book 3)
Lynx (Book 4)
Bull (Book 5)
Hawk (Book 6)
BLACK FORCE SHORTS
The Victor (Book 1)
The Chimera (Book 2)
The Tribe (Book 3)
The Hidden (Book 4)
The Coast (Book 5)
The Storm (Book 6)
The Wicked (Book 7)
The King (Book 8)
The Joker (Book 9)
About the Author
Matt Rogers grew up in Melbourne, Australia as a voracious reader, relentlessly devouring thrillers and mysteries in his spare time. Now, he writes full-time. His novels are action-packed and fast-paced. Dive into the Jason King Series to get started with his collection.
Visit his website:
www.mattrogersbooks.com
Visit his Amazon page:
amazon.com/author/mattrogers23
Matt Rogers, Hawk
