Page 128 of Wrecked
“I’m hanging in,” Tommy replied.
“Tell us what happened,” Cooper said.
“After we entered the home, Barry and I cleared the office together. He moved across the hall to the living room, I went into the dining room. When I moved into the kitchen, he wasn’t there. I heard a pop from a gun and I rushed toward the sound. That’s when I found Barry in the office.”
“Did you see anyone?” Cooper asked.
“The front door was wide open and I saw a guy running.”
“Can you describe him?” Cooper asked.
“No. I saw someone on the floor, thought it was Barry, so I was focused on him.”
Hawk had fucked up. He shouldn’t have paired Tommy with Barry. Tommy needed more supervision and it was Hawk’s responsibility to ensure his training period went smoothly.
Cooper asked Tommy if he needed to talk to a therapist.
“I’ll let you know,” Tommy answered. “I’m pretty shaken up. I might need a coupla days. Can I take tomorrow off?”
“Yes,” Cooper replied.
Tommy pushed out of his chair, regarded Hawk. “Sorry the mission didn’t go as planned.”
After he left, Cooper closed the door behind him, returned to the conference table.
“I’m sorry,” Cooper said, “but I’ve gotta sideline you while we run an internal.”
Hawk’s stomach dropped. Cooper had to follow protocol. Didn’t matter that Hawk had a perfect record. Barry was gone and it was his fault.
“Tommy probably shouldn’t have done the mission,” Hawk said.
“Why not?”
“He had his phone, even though I told everyone in the meeting, no phone, no ID, no jewelry. He had a few beers at lunch.”
“What did you do?”
“I told him he couldn’t do the job.”
“But he did.”
“Addison talked to him while I ran through my pre-flight checklist.” Hawk raked his fingers through his hair.
“You’re his mentor. Why wasn’t he partnered with you?”
“Because Addison and I always work together. We’ve got a system.”
“Alright,” Cooper said. “Go home and try to relax. I’m gonna need a couple of days to sort this out.”
“If there’s anything I can do regarding Barry, let me know.”
“I’ll contact his family.”
A heaviness followed Hawk all the way home. Had he changed up the partners, would someone else be dead? Had he worked with his cousin, would Addison be the one who hadn’t made it out alive?
The thought of losing her made his heart hurt.
* * *
