brief email had bordered on cryptic, which wasn’t unusual considering the unique covert operations team he’d joined two years ago. One specific phrase in the email had brought David down to swim and think: lifetime assignment.
He understood commitment as it pertained to career, family and country, having completed his education and given six years to the Coast Guard. Unfortunately, the phrase reminded him too much of the matchmaking his three oldest sisters kept attempting on his behalf. They used words like stability, comfort, nieces and nephews. As if their own kids didn’t keep everyone busy enough. Curse of being the youngest and the only boy in a big Southern family, he thought. He loved them all and appreciated the buffer of distance his skills and career choices had given him. The Coast Guard had been a smart fit, and not even his sisters had ever worked up the nerve to argue about his professional dedication. Now, believing he worked a normal day job in DC, they manipulated blind dates and chance meetings every time he was home, hoping to reel him back in and settle him down near the family home.
They seemed impervious to his personal timetable. At thirty, he wasn’t ready to do the wife and kids thing. He liked the excitement and the challenge of being a Specialist on Thomas Casey’s elite team. While he understood that going out and making a difference in the world didn’t rule out relationships—plenty of Specialists had personal lives—it sure put a damper on permanence. He wasn’t ready for that. Not yet. There was plenty of time to find the right woman.
Lifetime assignment. The two words echoed through his head as his strokes sliced through the water. What kind of threat had Director Casey taking that kind of measure? He bounced around the pros and cons, despite the lack of specific information. It couldn’t be anything anonymous like witness protection. Casey knew David maintained close ties to family, despite his near-obsessive meddling sisters. Whatever prompted this type of precaution, David knew he couldn’t accept a permanent assignment in a landlocked area. Being raised on the Georgia coast, he needed the ocean as much as fresh air and sunshine.
His watch flashed and sounded another alarm, and David finished his lap. Pulling himself out of the pool, he sat at the edge, feet dangling in the water. It was silly to keep wondering. There was only one way to find out if Casey’s lifetime assignment would suit him. Hearing the slap of flip-flops, he looked up and smiled. “Hey, Noah,” he said, raising a hand. He and Noah Drake had discovered their mutual appreciation of the coast when they were tasked together on a water rescue mission. The fellow Specialist and artist maintained a house on one of Georgia’s barrier islands and allowed David to use it when he wanted to dive in the area.
“Am I interrupting?” Noah inquired, tossing the towel in his hands onto a nearby chair.
“No. Just finished up and got lost in thought.”
“It happens,” Noah said with a commiserating smile. “I know this is early, but Blue is already planning the annual New Year’s bash on the island. You’re welcome to join us again.”
“That could be good.” Depending on his upcoming meeting. “I had a great time last year.” It had been the ideal excuse to dodge the romantic trap his sisters had set in motion. “Thanks for the heads-up.”
“Sure.” Noah stepped back as David stood. “There’s been some noise about a new shipwreck discovered nearby. I thought you’d like to take a look.”
“Definitely.” Any time he could get underwater was a good thing. His parents often joked he should have flippers and gills instead of feet and lungs. He rubbed a towel over his hair again and looped it around his neck. “Thanks, man.”
“You got it,” Noah said. “Just remember your friends if you find some unclaimed treasure.”
David laughed to himself as Noah walked away. He rarely stopped to think about how much he appreciated the friends he’d made here. A lifetime assignment could mean the end of those connections. His mother’s wisdom came to mind. Much as she’d done when he joined the Coast Guard, she’d remind him that moving on was part of life and that true friends and good family weren’t limited by geography.
Pushing the questions to the back of his mind, he showered and dressed for the meeting. Director Casey didn’t waste resources, human or otherwise, and David needed to go in prepared to listen and make a swift decision. Casey would expect nothing less.
David checked his reflection, satisfied with the pressed khakis and black cable-knit sweater. He pushed his thick, dark hair back from his face, missing the military regulation cut he’d maintained during his Coast Guard service. Specialists had to be less obvious and able to blend in with civilians, so he’d let it grow a bit longer since moving to Casey’s team.
With an open mind and no small amount of curiosity, David rode the elevator to the offices upstairs. His shoes squeaked as he crossed the polished marble floor, and he grinned at the receptionist waiting for him when he swiped his key card and walked through the glass doors.
“Hey, Elizabeth. Is Director Casey ready for me?”
She nodded. “I’ll let him know you’re headed his way.”
David gave a little double tap on the countertop surrounding her like a bunker. “Thanks.”
With each step he coached himself to keep an open mind, to hear it all before he leaped in with both feet. Casey’s door was open, but David knocked on the door anyway. His boss made eye contact over his computer monitor and waved him on in. David entered and closed the door behind him. He paused at the guest chairs, feeling an unexpected bout of nerves.
“Have a seat,” Casey said. “You read the email?”
David nodded. “A few times.”
“Good. I was just going over your employment and service records. Before we go any further, remember you can always turn down an assignment.”
David had yet to meet a Specialist who’d done that. “I’m hoping for more information before I make a commitment.”
“Of course,” Casey acknowledged.
He leaned back into what David termed a leadership pose, his hands resting lightly on the padded armrests of his executive chair. The body language appeared open, but David knew better. The director had forgotten more secrets than any of his Specialists had racked up.
“How do you feel about hospitals?” the boss asked.
David bit back the immediate questions, knowing Casey would provide information in good time. “As a lifetime assignment? I’m probably only qualified to be a janitor.” He definitely didn’t want to make a lasting career of mopping floors.
“We can do better than that,” Casey promised. “If you agree to accept this post, you’ll go in as yourself, with your service record intact through the Coast Guard years. We’ll smooth over what you’ve done since.”
So far so good, David thought. He could be himself, maintain the ties to friends and family and still be part of a bigger purpose.
“You’ll be posted in Charleston, South Carolina, and we have plans to insert you as part of the staff at MUSC.”
Having grown up in Georgia, David was familiar with the shorthand reference for the Medical University of South Carolina facility. “My accent should fit right in there.”
Casey exhibited a rare smile. “Agreed.” He leaned forward, pushing a manila
