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friend started to laugh.
"You are so full of shit."
     
    The statement caught him off guard.
"What are you talking about?"
     
    "You saw Popanjar
abusing that kid and decided to save him. That's all. That's why
you dragged him out of that apartment. Maybe it was a setup from
the beginning, but you didn't know that when you took the shot. You
didn't care about all that. You saw something wrong, and you
decided to do something about it. ”
     
    Baker
didn ’ t respond and
Chu wasn't finished anyway. “ You're giving the whole thing an
operational spin now to make yourself feel like a tough guy. Maybe
you're trying to dull the pain of losing the kid. I get it. Maybe
you're trying to convince yourself you can be like Shaw and ignore
the fucked-up shit people like us do to get our job done. But I
don't think you can. In spite of the image you're trying to push,
you actually care. That's all this is about."
     
    Baker rubbed his wounded leg and
smirked at Chu. "You have an opinion of me that can't be healthy in
the long run."
     
    Chu stopped the Hummer in front of
the terminal and shut off the car, scanning the other vehicles for
trouble. "I know you've got your shit together, unlike our former
employer."
     
    "Trident is my former employer. You
still have a place in Nightwatch if you want it."
     
    "I'm not sure I want to work for a
shop that needs to support perverts and scum to make things
happen."
     
    Baker shook his head. "Kevin and
Chris have a point. It's hard to get away from the reality of who
our assets are. Not everyone is going to put a bullet in the head
of a child molester."
     
    "I know. That's why I've decided to
follow you around."
     
    Baker chuckled. "That might not be
a wise career path. There might not be a lot of work out there for
a cripple."
     
    Chu chuckled
along with him. "Bullshit is your default setting, isn't it? We
both know you're not getting out of the life. You don't know
anything else, and you're not the retiring type. I'm willing to bet
you already know your next landing spot. All I ’ m asking is you keep me in mind when
you need boots on the ground. Even if you do get out of the life,
you'll still need someone to drive your crippled ass around for a
while."
     
    They both laughed. "I appreciate
the support, but this doesn't change anything. I'm still not going
to let you fuck me."
     
    "Don't flatter yourself. I don't
want you. I'm just trying to get close to your hot
wife."
     
    "You wouldn't know what to do with
my wife, kid."
     
    "I'd do better than
you."
     
    Baker eased
himself out of the car gingerly and reached for his bag with a free
hand. “ Trident is getting desperate. The Iraq accounts
won ’ t last
forever. It might be better for me to move to a command and control
position in a new shop now, before everyone here is out on the
street looking for work. ”
     
    Chu shook his
head and smiled. “ I knew you had an angle. Part of me thinks getting shot was
part of your master plan. ”
     
    “ Nope. ” Baker
closed the door and turned toward the terminal. “ But plans change.
We ’ ve got to adapt
or die. I ’ ll reach
out in a few weeks. Try not to get killed while
I ’ m gone. I really
need someone to drive me around now."

Interlude: Going Solo
     
    Summer 2014
     
    Nikki tried to
change the subject to keep herself from screaming. “ So did the whole team
leave with you to join RSVP? ”
     
    The somber
darkness left Warren ’ s face as he shrugged his shoulders. “ Not all at once. Chu left Trident a
few weeks after me. The other one tried to set up his own team, but
that didn ’ t work
out so he came running back to me for help when his freelance work
went sideways. ”
     
    Nikki appreciated
Warren ’ s reference
to “ the other
one ” . They all
knew he meant Chris Carpenter, but Baker also knew Nikki had no
interest in hearing any more about her former lover. She kept the
discussion moving to make sure they didn ’ t linger on the
subject.
     
    “ What