Midnight Sun (94 page)

His
own
impression
of
himself
was
something
different.
His
eyes
no
longer
sparkled
the
way
they
did
in
days
long
past,
pasted over
instead
by
a
dull
imitation of life,
de
void
of the joy that had once marked his personality
.
His
trademark
toothy
grin
had
faded.
When
he
tried
to
smile
these
days,
he
felt
that
he
looked
more
like
an
animal
bearing
its
fangs.
Inside
he
was
cold
and
empty.
Since
the
loss
of
his
precious
Leila
,
nothing
had
been
able
to
bring
him
back.
At
the
thought
of
her
,
a
lump
formed
in
his
throat.
She
had
been
beautiful.
She
had
trusted
him.
He
would
have
rescued
her
out
of
the
prison
of
her
life
and
they
would
have
settled
to
a
wonderful
new
world
of
peace
and
happiness.

At
least
,
that
’
s
what
he
kept
telling
himself.
The
reality
,
of
course
, was
that
she
may
have
reacted
opposite what he hoped
when
he
revealed
his
true
identity.
But
now
there
was
no
way
of
knowing
, b
ecause
his
true
identity
had
caught
up
with
her
at
the
same
time
that
it
caught
up
with
her
father
and
the
terrorists
Kharzai
had
infiltrated.
The
CIA
had
tracked
him
and
exterminated
the
target
with
extreme
prejudice.
In
fulfilling
his
mission,
they
killed
the
only
woman
he
had
ever
truly
loved.
He
had
unselfishly
given
them
every
ounce
of
his
own
life,
faced
death
nearly
every
day
for
sixteen
years,
then
when
he
thought
of
calling
it
quits
,
they
stole
from
him
the
one
life
that
offered
him
a
chance
at
redemption.
He
could
never
forgive
them
of
that
crime.
Never.
A
knock
at
his
door
snapped
his
thoughts
back
to
the
present.

“
Snake
and
Blue
are
here
.
”
Leka
’
s
voice
carried
through
the
door
panels.

“
Tell
them
to
go
behind
the
garage
and
wait
for
me.
I
will
be
right
down.
”

Leka
’
s
bare
footsteps
slapped
against
the
tile
floor
and
back
down
the
stairs
toward
the
foyer.
A
moment
later
,
Kharzai
came
out
and
walked
through
the
hall
to
the
side
door
of
the
garage.
He
entered
and
retrieved
a
duffel
bag
from a shelf on the back wall
,
then
walked
out
the
rear
door.
Snake
and
Blue
waited
for
him,
smoking
cigarettes
in
the
shade
behind
the
garage.
The
sun
had
dipped
several
degrees
into
the
west
and
now
cast
an
increasingly
lengthening
shadow
to
the
east.

Snake
adjusted
his
stance,
holding
his
arms
in
a
casual
manner
that
tried
to
say
,
“
I
ain
’
t
scared
of
nothin
’
you
got.
” 
The
attempt
at
a
tough,
‘gangsta’
look
fell
way
short
,
due
in
in large
part
to
the
swollen
purple
bruise
from
the
blow
Marcus
had
laid
across
his
temple.
The
day
after
the
slap down,
it
was
swollen
and
framed
by
a
jaundiced
-
looking
yellow
tinge,
the puffiness reaching to to his mouth
making
him
look
like
he
was
pouting
and
about
to
cry.
Kharzai
dropped
the
bag
on
the
ground
as
the
two
men
cautiously
walked
toward
him.