Maden Mike - Tom Clancy Firing Point

“Are you feeling all right, son?” She touched his bearded face with her palm. The gesture was equal parts motherly and medical. “I hope you’re not coming down with anything.”

“Nah, I’m fine. Just tired. Smells good in here. Let’s eat.”

Jack helped his mom set the table and serve the food. Senior said grace. The three of them dug in.

Cathy worried about her son. Renée Moore’s star ceremony had been that morning. Her husband told her earlier that Jack took it harder than he expected.

“They must have been closer than I thought,” Ryan said.

Cathy wanted to take her son’s mind off the memorial.

“So, I never did hear about your trip to Spain,” she said. “Tell me about it.”

Jack perked up a little bit. “Amazing country. Wonderful history. Fabulous food. I can’t wait to go back. Maybe someday we can all go there together as a family. I mean, later, of course.”

“Sounds like a plan,” Ryan said. “I always wanted to see a bullfight.”

“You meet anybody interesting?” Cathy asked.

Jack’s faint smile vanished. He took a long, slow breath, thinking of Brossa.

“Yeah. I did.”

“Anyone you’d like us to meet?” she asked hopefully. She was antsy for grandkids.

“Honey . . .” Ryan said, frowning.

“Probably won’t happen.” Jack’s voice fell away. He set his spoon down, lost in thought. It had been a rough day.

“I’m sorry, Jack. I shouldn’t have asked.”

Jack shrugged. “No, it’s fine.”

He took a sip of water, then sat up straighter, gathering himself. The shadow on his face passed away.

“So good,” he said with a smile to his mother as he picked up his spoon.

He shoveled a heaping bite into his mouth and chewed a chunk of succulent beef with gusto.

Cathy studied Jack’s face. Senior hadn’t told her what her son had been up to recently, only that he was one helluva kid. But the pride in her husband’s cracking voice when he said it spoke volumes. Jack must have risked everything to accomplish something that really mattered. Just like her husband had so many times in the past.

She’d seen the expression on Jack’s face before. It was the same one her husband wore after he’d come home from long trips he couldn’t talk about with her. She knew in her heart that behind the hard, confident mask they both wore in public lay an inexpressible grief for things and people lost.

She ached for her son’s sorrow.

But her heart skipped a beat as she glanced first at her husband and then her boy. Pride washed over her. The two of them were so alike.

Jack was truly his father’s son.

ABOUT THE AUTHORS

Tom Clancywas the #1 New York Times -bestselling author of more than eighteen books. He died in October 2013.

Mike Madenis the author of the critically acclaimed Drone series. He holds both a master's and Ph.D. in political science from the University of California at Davis, specializing in international relations and comparative politics. He has lectured and consulted on the topics of war and the Middle East, among others. Maden has served as a political consultant and campaign manager in state and national elections, and hosted his own local weekly radio show for a year.

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