Page 73 of Black and Brown

Silent and without a trace.

“We can’t trust anyone with this information,” Meridian ordered, “and I mean no one.”

They didn’t have to speak in affirmation. It was a given that they all agreed. Then, the Blacks left him and Mirage to wait for their own transport.

Left them stunned, unsure, and suspicious of the organization they’d sworn their lives to serve. One Grace trusted to send him to do what was right and just in the world.

Was the Ravens organization so secret and hidden from all government agencies because of their backroom dealings with their own country’s enemies?

Grace couldn’t help but seethe, wondering if they’d executed other missions that hadn’t been for the good of their country.

Had they killed other innocents?

Mirage was the first to speak.

“Were we just ordered to kill an American hostage?”

A charged silence hung in the air between them.

Deep down, Grace knew that nothing the master said had been deceitful. What reason would the Lion have to lie to them?

Most of all, Grace was anxious to know…who were the other Ravens created, and where had they taken Zelmir Benton?

Mirage

Mirage stayed silent for most of the flight.

There was a lot to digest, and he still vibrated with energy from the two men they’d battled.

If Meridian hadn’t come, they may have been killed. His and Grace’s skills were formidable but had been no match for the masters.

Mirage turned his gaze from the window and locked eyes with Grace.

They held eye contact for almost thirty minutes before Grace spoke in his own language.

Do you believe them?

“Yes.” Mirage had no doubts.

I do too.

Mirage nodded. He was unsure where they would go from here.

“We have to look further into this, but we don’t know who we can trust or how deep the corruption goes.”

Grace clenched his jaw and signaled their stewardess for a drink.

She poured two fingers of brandy into a snifter and brought it to him, but Grace didn’t reach out to take the glass.

“Not the usual, Amy. Bring him a shot of the Blanton’s Bourbon.”

She smiled, then returned to the bar to prepare what he asked.

“I swear to God, if Spectre knows anything about this, I’m gonna snap his fuckin’ neck.”

Grace grunted in agreement, downed his shot, then motioned for another.

Mirage didn’t worry about Grace’s mind becoming impaired. Their metabolism ran too high to get drunk.