Ten
Sunday, February 14, 6:19 P.M. CDT
Memphis, Tennessee
The Memphis evening sweltered, making the heat harder to handle than any dry Kansas summer. As Thomas approached the Aggressor, travel bag on one shoulder and dive bag on the other, Mel stood on the deck facing the water and practicing his Vovinam forms.
The old master chief turned. “You look like you need this sabbatical. Glad Kat let you get away. Stow your gear in the starboard cabin. That’ll be yours.”
Thomas gave Mel a small salute. He didn’t want to discuss the details of how he got away. At least not yet. And there were so many details—none of them good. After Nevaeh’s turn for the worse, the hospital CEO blamed the GTAC trial, Thomas’s contract wasn’t renewed, and his position was given to the oncology fellow who also h
