Executive Orders: Part 2 of the Homeland Series by R.A. Mathis Page B

minute.”
    Valerie took his arm. “Let me walk you home.”
    “No. I need to be alone right now.”
    Eduardo stumbled back to his apartment, drunk with grief. Once inside, he curled up on his bed, weeping until his eyes ached and his stomach heaved. He didn’t know when he fell asleep, but was thankful for the knocking at his door that awoke him from a dreamless abyss.
    “Coming!” he said as he said up, rubbing his puffy eyes. He cracked the door open to see Valerie standing outside.
    “May I come in?” she asked.
    “Sorry, this isn’t a good time.”
    He started to shut the door but she blocked it with her hand. “You shouldn’t be alone right now. You need a friend.”
    Eduardo wasn’t in the mood to resist. “Suit yourself.” He left the door open and retreated into his quarters, sitting on the corner of his bed.
    Valerie followed him, stopping at the living room bar to make them drinks. “Here.” She offered him one.
    “No thanks.” He waved her off.
    Valerie persisted. “You need it.”
    Eduardo took the cocktail. “You always get your way, don’t you?”
    She flashed a seductive smile. “Yes.”
    “The people who killed her.” He took a swig. “We have to make them pay.”
    “We will.”
    “I want them to hurt.”
    “They will.”
    “I mean it.”
    “We’ll take care of them tomorrow.” She unbuttoned the top button of her blouse. “Tonight, we’re going to take care of you.”
    He began to protest, but acquiesced when she pressed her mouth to his, pushing him back onto the bed with the force of her kiss.
    “Let me take care of you,” she whispered as she took off his shirt, then hers.
    He kissed her back, glad to feel something other than the aching sorrow that gnawed at his soul ever since Angie got sick.
    She unfastened his pants. The rest came naturally.

6
    COLE
     
    Location Unknown
     
    Cole opened his eyes, seeing nothing but more darkness. He wondered for a panicked moment if he’d gone blind. Then he felt his own ragged breath wash over his face, pushed back onto him by the hood over his head. He knew by the rhythmic rocking and hum of tires on asphalt that he lay in the back of a cargo truck, probably a five-ton. Icy air cut into him through the fluttering canvas that covered the cargo hold. He was shivering. The truck’s cold metal floor had leeched the warmth from his bones. He tried to get up, but his arms were still bound. He felt another body next to him. He nudged it.
    “Hey, you okay?”
    “Yeah, Sarge.” It was Private Hicks. “You?”
    “My head’s pounding like a drum, but I’ll live. What did I miss?”
    “They roughed us up some more, covered our heads, and threw us all into trucks. We’ve been on the move for about an hour, best I can tell.”
    The truck slowed, then conducted a series of turns.
    Cole struggled against his restraints. “We must be close to wherever we’re going.”
    The vehicle lurched to a halt. Unseen men climbed aboard, grabbing Cole and the other unwilling passengers and tossing them to the hard ground five feet below. The landing knocked the air from Cole’s lungs. By the sounds of the others, they were in the same shape.
    They were then dragged over rough gravel and put in line, side by side.
    Cole’s blood ran cold as he considered what his captors might have planned for them. Being lined up outdoors on the ground in a secret location was not a good sign. He was suddenly jerked onto his knees. The hood was then snatched from his head to reveal a blinding flood lights glaring at him from the night sky. They were mounted on what looked to be guard towers. Armed guards surrounded the kneeling prisoners. These were not the Homeland Security agents he expected. The guards were younger, college aged at most. They all wore thick black coats with bright green armbands around their left biceps. They kept one hand on their assault rifles. With the other, they grasped leashes. The business end of the tethers were attached to