The Hard Way

off?” Reacher asked. “Not who did the tipping. I think that would be the more important answer. And I think that’s what you want to tell me.”
    Burke said nothing. Just walked on in silence.
    “You as good as dragged me out here,” Reacher said. “Not because you’re worried if I’m getting enough fresh air and exercise.”
    Burke stayed quiet.
    “You going to make me play Twenty Questions?” Reacher said.
    “That might be the best way to do it,” Burke said.
    “You think this is about the money?”
    “No,” Burke said.
    “So the money is a smokescreen?”
    “Half the equation at best. Maybe a parallel aim.”
    “The other half of the equation being punishment?”
    “You got it.”
    “You think there’s someone out there with a grudge against Lane?”
    “Yes.”
    “One person?”
    “No.”
    “How many?”
    “Theoretically there might be hundreds,” Burke said. “Or thousands. Whole nations, maybe. We’ve messed with a lot of people, here and there.”
    “Realistically?”
    “More than one person,” Burke said.
    “Two?”
    “Yes.”
    “What kind of a grudge?”
    “What’s the worst thing one man can do to another?”
    “Depends who you are,” Reacher said.
    “Exactly,” Burke said. “So who are we?”
    Reacher thought:
Navy SEALs, Delta Force, Recon Marines, Green Berets, SAS from Britain. The best in the world.
    “Special Forces soldiers,” he said.
    “Exactly,” Burke said again. “So what don’t we do?”
    “You don’t leave bodies behind on the battlefield.”
    Burke said nothing.
    “But Lane did,” Reacher said. “He left two bodies behind.”
    Burke stopped on the north curve of Columbus Circle. Traffic roared all around. Headlight beams swept wild tangents. To the right, the tall silvery bulk of a brand-new building. A wide base blocking 59th Street and twin towers rising above.
    “So what are you saying?” Reacher asked. “They had brothers or sons? Someone’s come out of the woodwork looking for revenge? Finally? On their behalf?”
    “Doesn’t necessarily take brothers or sons,” Burke said.
    “Buddies?”
    “Doesn’t necessarily take buddies, either.”
    “So who?”
    Burke didn’t answer. Reacher stared at him.
    “Christ,” he said. “You left two guys behind
alive
?”
    “Not me,” Burke said. “Not us. It was Lane.”
    “And you think they finally made it home?”
    “I’m sure they would have tried hard.”
    “Hobart and Knight,” Reacher said.
    “You know their names.”
    “Evidently.”
    “How? Who have you been talking to? There’s nothing about them in those file cabinets you were looking through. Or in the computer. They’ve been erased. Like they never existed. Like they’re dirty little secrets. Which they are.”
    “What happened with them?”
    “They were wounded. According to Lane. We never saw them. They were in forward observation posts and we heard small arms fire. Lane went up the line and came back and said they were hit bad and couldn’t possibly make it. He said we couldn’t bring them in. He said we’d lose too many guys trying. He flat ordered us to pull out. We left them there.”
    “And what do you suppose happened to them?”
    “We assumed they’d be taken prisoner. In which case we assumed their life expectancy would be about a minute and a half.”
    I think Lane made sure they didn’t come back.
    “Where was this?” Reacher asked.
    “I can’t tell you,” Burke said. “I’d go to jail.”
    “Why did you stick around afterward? All this time?”
    “Why wouldn’t I?”
    “Sounds like you’re unhappy with how things went down.”
    “I obey orders. And I let officers decide things. That’s how it always was and that’s how it always will be.”
    “Does he know they’re back? Lane?”
    “You’re not listening,” Burke said. “Nobody
knows
they’re back. Nobody even knows if they’re alive. I’m just guessing, is all. Based on how big of a deal this all is.”
    “Would they do it? Hobart and Knight? Hurt a woman and a child to put a scare into Lane?”
    “You mean, is it justified? Of course it isn’t. But would they do it? Hell yes, they would do it. Pragmatic people do what works. Especially after what Lane did to them.”
    Reacher nodded. “Who would be talking to them? From the inside?”
    “I don’t know.”
    “What were they?”
    “Jarheads.”
    “Like Carter Groom.”
    “Yes,” Burke said. “Like Carter Groom.”
    Reacher said nothing.
    “Marines hate