Inescapable History, Inescapable Fates

Treason

Henry was committing treason again. He was supposed to be editing notes on the last meeting he had sat in on, but instead, he was breaking into his boss, Brooke's, computer with stolen clearances. He had to. He was missing something. What was he missing? Alex was at Sandhurst to find evidence. He must be.

Henry searched Bolivia. Nothing came up. He went to image downloads and searched for all media data tagged to Bolivia. Bingo. And there he was. Arthur Fox. A grinning twenty-year-old in army pants, shirtless against a blue beach background. He stood next to Joel Brooke, Jeffrey Richards, and someone else. Henry looked through the images. He found a recording, somewhat garbled. It was his father's voice,

"I am recording this tape to mark the day Leo officially announced his love for Eleanor AKA Juliet as in Romeo and Juliet AKA the general's daughter..."

"I meant I love THAT ABOUT her. THAT ABOUT. I love THAT ABOUT her. I didn't mean to say that! FOX," Another man (or boy... man-boy) shouted in the background.

Alex's stepfather. Henry just knew.

"You... are not supposed to be in here." Henry looked up at Brooke. Shit.

"Sorry... sorry... I was just..."

"Looking at old photos," Brooke smiled sadly at the computer. "Can't charge you with treason for nostalgia." Henry released a breath. "But I am going to need my key card back. If you weren't Arthur's son..."

"I'm so sorry," Henry handed back the ID. Brooke nodded and took it. He squinted at the photos.

"These are from our first assignment. We were just runts back then, yet we all became top commanders. Crazy how sometimes you meet the right people so early. Blood brothers from the start."

"All of you?"

"Yeah."

"What about him." Henry motioned to the mystery soldier. "I know everyone else."

Henry's boss looked visibly uncomfortable. "Leo. He became a commander but retired in the early 2000s. We didn't stay in touch."

"When you were in Bolivia the second time."

Brooke blinked in surprise, "What?"

"When you were in Bolivia the second time, when I was really young. My mom told me about it."

"Yeah, around that time." Henry made a move to leave but Henry's boss stopped him. "Henry, you know a lot of classified information. Because you work here but also all the things you picked up when your dad didn't realize you were listening. Make sure it all stays within the agency, yeah?"

Henry squinted, "I know. Why is the second trip to Bolivia special? The first trip was also a classified mission."

Brooke looked at him for a long moment, choosing careful words, "Some information is classified in that people outside the agency can't find out. And some information is classified in that no one can find out."

Henry could hear the computer's vent whirling.

He left the office, let the thick wooden door click shut.