Take 2, Times 2? Book 1

Part 16 Trader?

I stood stock still waiting for him to make the first move. And he did. "Bear, can I trust you?" was the first thing out of his mouth. With the number of tears falling down his cheeks, I was surprised that he could even see well enough to know it was me.

I didn't want to sound condescending, but I kinda chuckled at that. "Trust but verify is my motto. I trust you with my life. I hope, you can trust me enough to protect you, which is why I'm going to step forward and take that knife away from you." And that is what I did.

I got down on my knees so we would be at eye level with each other. The knife started shaking in his hands. I moved forward on my knees so I wouldn't be towering over him. I got close enough for the knife to touch my shirt. "I'm going to take the knife from you now. If you don't trust me, all you have to do is lean forward." I waited a couple of seconds, then I brought my hands up and took ahold of his hands. I slowly took the knife from his shaking hands. I set it to the side, and he fell into my arms.

He was a mess. He was shaking from head to toe. I sat back on my heals with him in my arms. I pulled him closer to me and held him tight. I knew something was wrong, but I didn't know what it was. I figured he would tell me when he calmed down enough. I was just worried that he had already slipped. He was holding on to me too tightly. And asking me if he could trust me, that actually hurt me more than the knife could. I wasn't expecting that question to hurt me the way it did.

After a good 5 minutes the shaking finally slowed to a stop. His grip on my shirt had loosened. The tears had stopped all together. And his breathing had slowed to a normal rhythmic pace. I thought for a second that he had fallen asleep in my arms, but no, that would have been better than what he said next. "I would have killed you and not have given it a second thought. I was ready to do it too, but for some reason I believe you. And that's why I'm going to tell you what I have found out."

While I was holding him, he told me about the letter and what he and his dad talked about. When I found out about the letter and that someone got that close to him, I almost squeezed him too tight. I actually heard his breathing and his voice change, but he didn't say anything about it. He just kept going.

Then he got to the part about why his dad didn't let it slip about him actually being a genius. "Dad and I think that either Husky or Bull is a traitor. It could have only been one of those two that could have given me that letter and I think I know who it is. I think I knew all along. And I think that is why I never got close to him." Max paused taking a breath.

"Husky was there when I got pushed or I stepped in front of that car as a kid, but he's the one that saved me. Bear, who else was there? Do you remember?"

I looked down at him not wanting to say the name knowing that it was all my fault. I hired him. I did his background checks. I thought he would be a good fit for the team. Max looked up at me. He then put his hand on my face. I could feel the wetness on my cheek from my tears.

"It's not your fault, Theodore. You couldn't have known. And please remember, I don't have proof. It's just a guess."

"But you believe you're right, don't you?"

"Unfortunately, yes. I believe I'm right, but for now, we need to keep this between us. We can't let him know that we're on to him. And that means we can't tell anyone not even Sam or the guys."

With a sad smile on my face I said "The burden of being a leader."

Max had a sad smile of his own. "Yes Theodore, the burden is all ours. Sucks, don't it?"

"Yeah, it does."

"Hey, Theodore, you're not some sort of genius that's trying to trick me, are you?"