“This isn’t about me, Poe. They aren’t after me. They are after you.”
In that moment, it was clear he wasn’t expecting that. The look on his face said it all. He was hella confused. Gamble knew he was going to ask more questions.
He’d do the same thing.
“What do you mean?” he asked. “Why would they be after me? I lead the most normal life. I’m a doctor. I help people. What did I do that called this atrocity out on me, and you?”
Gamble felt nauseous.
“Please know that if I could not tell you any of this, I would. Only, you’re going to find out at some point, and I want to be the one who tells you, so you have a little gentleness with this. As the person who loves you, it should be me to do it.”
Poe was so confused.
“What?” he asked.
“This is about Hemmingway, not so much you,” he began.
Poe sat there.
He hadn’t been expecting that.
Not.
At.
All.
“My brother? He died three years ago. What could he have possibly done? He was a hero. He flew Apache helicopters and saved people.”
It was time.
“The people chasing you are mercenaries, Poe. Back in Afghanistan, your brother stole a crypto code.”
As soon as it was said, Poe was horrified.
“My brother was not a thief! He was a good man!” he said, getting upset.
Gamble touched his leg.
“Let me finish. I’m not saying he’s a bad guy. He found out that a military contractor was going to use the money in a cryptocurrency account to bribe Taliban fighters to kill American and British soldiers. He stole the code so the military group couldn’t do it. He was protecting innocent soldiers on the ground.”
Poe’s heart was thumping.
What had his brother done?
Gamble kept going.
“Also, Poe, Hemmingway didn’t die in a helicopter that went down. The bad guys made it look like it to cover their tracks.”
Oh, holy shit.
Poe was gobsmacked.
He didn’t expect that.
Not.
At.
