project-37

“You thinkin’ about palm trees again?”   The words echoed in Jonathan Hyde’s mind, his focus scattered between the oppressive heat of the Humvee and the city folk scattered about. “Hyde?” the voice calls out. Hyde jolts awake, his mind recovering from a constant fugue from being in combat too long. He looks to his right, recognizing Special Forces lieutenant Hans Erickson. He becomes distracted by the sight of intermittent palm trees sprouting from planters built into the sidewalk. “Yeah?” replies Hyde. “You thinkin’ about your vacation?” Hyde laughs. He flashes a smile ou

"He's late," says the mildly agitated General Stammen, seated in his office chair before a steel table in a room illuminated only by a single overhanging light. "Who?" asks Stammen's aide, a young Army officer who never thought he'd see himself doing this kind of desk work. Stammen sighs and turns toward the officer. "Will Harvey. He's behind the biggest missions you've never heard of." In an adjoining hallway, a black-haired, well-built man walks toward a set of double doors. His broad shoulders, strong enough to snap a man's neck with little effort, stretch the limits of a white polo. As he makes his way down the hallway, his Navy-insti

Noah landed awkwardly on the front lawn of his own home, his knees buckling from the g-forces of the impact. His jets hiss and the titanium air flaps seal shut the exhaust vents, releasing a small amount of steam. He stands erect, and as he takes his first step, the residual heat from the jets singes footprints into the wet grass. At almost 5:00 in the morning, the neighbors have not yet risen. A jogger hurries by, but odds are he cannot tell Noah in his RONIN armor from another human being against the dark blue backdrop from the last vestiges of night. He approaches the front door, whose threshold is covered by police tape and a notice tacke

“It’s like something’s not there,” says the android with a convincing, synthesized human voice.    Will Harvey nods in agreement, unsure of what response to give. He’s had to tell families how loved ones have died but never in the way that it really happened. The SEALS operate in the shadows and seldom talk about their exploits. He realizes, however, that Noah likely knows why his parents were targeted, and by extension himself. Harvey will not gamble trying to tell something he thought he knew that the assassination drone thought he didn’t. Harvey is already on Noah’s “Limited Trust List,R