Read Online Aftermath by Sandy Goldsworthy - Free Book Online Page A

room and ran my hand along the thick wood trim of the armoire. It was heavy and masculine, yet full of details in its trim with dents and scratch marks that made it looked loved. I pulled open a drawer, checking what was inside. There, beside a clean set of sheets, was a dark gray t-shirt. I touched it gently, as if it would break. Tips of letters in navy-blue ink peeked from around the fold. I didn’t need to open it to know. The words read Just Do It . Dad wore it with swim trunks almost every time we visited. It was his favorite shirt. He had it for years. The band on the neck was frayed and the letters were starting to fade, but he didn’t care. I suggested he get a new one. He didn’t listen. He probably didn’t realize he left it behind.
    Suddenly, I didn’t feel so alone.
    “I’m running to the Inn for a minute,” Aunt Barb called from the stairs. “I’ll be right back. Will you be ready?”
    Her voice snapped me back to reality, and I quickly shut the drawer. “Yeah… yeah, sure,” I answered, stepping back into the hall. “Aunt Barb?”
    “Yes?”
    “I want to stay in my dad’s old room. Is that okay?”
    “That’s fine, honey. That’s completely fine.”
    I fought back tears, as Aunt Barb gave me a hug.

Chapter 17 
    Ben's Story
     
    My phone hummed on the counter in a low pitch no human could hear.
    I glanced in its direction and tilted my head. A transparent hologram appeared, hovering over the island in the gourmet kitchen where I sat.
    “Good morning, Commander,” I said out of respect, and then sipped my morning coffee. I glanced at the time on the microwave. 8:42.
    Benjamin . I heard a voice in my head and saw the dark-skinned man nod in the hologram image above me. Ezekiel Cain was smoking a pipe. His feet were propped up on a mahogany desk with a wall of shelves behind him. The room didn’t look familiar to me. “I trust you’ve settled well and are fully prepared for today.” His spoken voice was deep. Freshly polished auburn-tanned shoes reflected the light from his desk lamp.
    “Yes, sir, I am.”
    “Cut the protocol. It’s me,” the commander said. His casual, relaxed tone didn’t fit with his formal white suit with black pinstripes. He was an odd character to say the least, always in disguise, changing appearances regularly because he could. He preferred generational periods, reflecting on past eras and lives he lived or visited.  “Are you ready?” His voice turned from rigid military tone to friendship. He was a century older than I was, if not more, though he rarely spoke of age.
    “Yes, I am.” I nodded, glancing up at him, my nerves a bit on edge. “I’ve been briefed… staff’s in place. I’m ready.”
    “Well, you’ve had time to monitor and train. I suppose the soccer camp was nothing compared to The Farm.” Commander E, as he was called by his direct reports, chuckled. His mind filled with combat exercises I endured under his training program, and then turned to images of me in a soccer uniform. He had a subtle way of pushing recruits to be the best agent they could be. Not everyone succeeded, but everyone respected him. A few called him the agency’s filter because he weeded out those incapable of handling difficult situations.
    I laughed. “No, nothing by comparison!” Even though he was known as one of the toughest officers The Farm ever had, he was like family to me.
    “Seriously, seventy years is a long time, Ben.”
    “I know.”             
    “I’m sorry you were on assignment when Elizabeth surfaced.” Commander E’s eyes looked droopy, as if the topic aged him twenty years. “Off the record?”
    I nodded.
    “I was torn about pulling you. I knew how much she meant to you. The officer in me couldn’t do it. You were making such progress in your mission… more than any other operative was. I couldn’t jeopardize that.”
    “You did the right thing.” I could read his thoughts, and I knew he was sincere. It wasn’t