Walter turned slowly.
His eyes widened.
Standing behind him was a tall man in a dark suit, rain dripping from his shoulders.
The entire bar froze.
Rex looked confused.
Walter stood up so quickly his chair crashed onto the floor.
“No…” Walter whispered again. “You died.”
The man stared at him.
Then he smiled.
“That’s what you were supposed to believe.”
Rex looked between them.
“What the hell is happening?”
Nobody answered him.
Walter’s hands shook for the first time in years.
Twenty-five years ago, Walter had watched his younger brother disappear during a secret operation. No body was ever found. No answers ever came.
Only one thing remained behind.
A silver hawk symbol.
The same symbol stitched onto Rex’s jacket.
The same symbol on the man’s black glove.
The stranger stepped closer.
His eyes never left Walter.
“You spent twenty-five years searching for me,” he said softly.
Walter’s voice nearly broke.
“Daniel…?”
The man leaned close.
Then quietly said:
“I wasn’t hiding from enemies, Walter.”
He looked toward Rex.
Then back at Walter.
“I was hiding from you.”
