Chapter 10 - The Unseen Shield
Six months later.
Spring had arrived in Seattle. The cherry blossoms around Green Lake were in full bloom, covering the walking paths in soft pink petals.
Brody stood on the aluminum ladder outside a local bakery, his tool belt slung over his hip, adjusting the digital thermostat on a commercial walk-in cooler. The compressor hummed smoothly, settling into a steady, efficient rhythm.
He wiped a smudge of oil from his sleeve, snapped the electrical panel shut, and stepped down off the ladder.
"All set, Mrs. Gable," Brody told the bakery owner, a kindly elderly woman who was wiping down the counter. "Secondary seal is replaced. It'll stay at thirty-six degrees without any trouble now."
"Oh, thank you, Brody!" Mrs. Gable smiled, handing him an envelope with his payment and a warm paper bag filled with fresh cinnamon rolls. "You're a lifesaver. Every other technician told me I needed a whole new ten-thousand-dollar system!"
"They were trying to sell you parts you didn't need," Brody smiled, taking the bag. "Have a good weekend, Mrs. Gable."
Brody walked out into the warm afternoon sunshine, carrying his metal toolbox in one hand and the bag of pastry in the other.
He walked down the busy sidewalk, enjoying the simple noise of the city—the chiming of bicycle bells, the laughter of tourists, the distant rumble of the ferry boats on Puget Sound.
He was just a guy in steel-toed boots. A repairman. A single dad.
Nobody looking at him saw the former Navy SEAL who had saved a billionaire CEO, dismantled a paramilitary strike team, and brought an international mercenary syndicate to its knees in a single afternoon.
And that was exactly how he wanted it.
His phone buzzed in his pocket. He pulled it out.
It was a text message from Owen's teacher: Owen completed his volcano project presentation today! He got an A+ and said his dad helped him build the smoke module.
Brody smiled, a quiet warmth filling his chest.
He slipped his phone back into his pocket, unlocked his old Ford truck, and set his toolbox in the back.
May you like
The world outside would always have its storms, its corporate battles, and its dangerous men in dark jackets. But here, in this corner of the world, a quiet shield stood between those shadows and the bright, hopeful future of a seven-year-old boy.
Brody started the engine, pulled out into the afternoon traffic, and drove home to make his son's dinner.
