In the year 2184, the US is divided. Half the country has moved on with the rest of the world, while in middle America, the survivors of the terrorist biological attack that split the country struggle just to stay alive. Though a century has passed, few people brave going behind the borders meant to contain the danger. Even the privatized military is reluctant to do so.<br><br>But that doesn’t stop recently discharged Sullivan Eberle. Only one thing drives him anymore -- the need to find Raphael Hamada. He doesn’t know why. He only knows he must. If that means a lifetime behind the borders, then so be it.<br><br>Rafe Hamada ran away from the real world when he was still a kid. The last thing he wants is to be found, especially by a soldier who can’t even tell him why it was so important to locate him in the first place. He’d like nothing more than for Sullivan to leave, but turning his back on a man alone and friendless is against everything Rafe stands for ...

Penny Candles

“Why did Corporal Escobedo think I was stationed here? My records should have shown him I was discharged.”


“I changed them after you left.” Hamada reached for something offscreen. A second console came to life, revealing Sullivan’s file. “I was afraid you wouldn’t be taken seriously if you were listed as ex.”


“What special op am I supposed to be on?”


“Recon regarding the reintegration. You can embellish it with whatever details you like. Nobody knows about this except me and whoever might look it up in the field. Your base records look exactly the same, so you’re not getting any wages or resources that might call attention to you.”


He almost asked how he could get away with that, but then realized if Hamada had made it to brigadier general, he had more than a few resources up his sleeve.


Chapter 63