Orpheus: Homecoming (The Orpheus Trilogy Book 2) by Dan DeWitt Read Free Book Online

nightmares about it, too!”
    Holt clapped them both on the shoulder. “There seems to be a lot of that going around, fellas. I'm glad to meet you both.”
    They all eventually settled in. Dinner was served, drinks were poured, and stories were shared.
    Jackie, the only one of the group who had gotten off of the island right in the beginning, was enraptured. “This stuff is just incredible to hear. Horrifying, but incredible. It sounds like it can't be real. I mean, I saw some of it firsthand, but I don't think it ever really sunk in that they were dead people. Back here, it was just so abstract.”
    Tim said, “We were in the middle of it for months, and it was still pretty hard to believe.”
    “Trager's heading to the podium,” Fish said, abnormally subdued. All eyes in the hall focused on the man on the stage.
    He cleared his throat. “Good evening, everyone, and thank you for coming. My name is Martin Trager, the former CEO of what used to be the Lost Whaler Island Hospital and Research Center. None of that matters now, if it ever really did. Rubble, all of it.” He paused and shuffled his papers.
    “Heroes. We throw that word around far too often for it to maintain its true meaning. The qualities that we used to believe in for our heroes … honor, courage, self-sacrifice … have somehow morphed into batting average and salary commanded per movie.
    “But, ladies and gentlemen, heroes do exist. I'm looking right at a table full of them. They fought tooth and nail to not only survive the worst conditions that man has ever known, but to endure. To thrive. To help others do the same. Two separate groups, only reunited near the end, did it the same way: through faith in each other, a steadfast refusal to give up in the face of seemingly insurmountable odds, and, forgive me, massive brass balls.”
    Laughter rippled through the audience.
    “They saved people. It did, unfortunately, go poorly at the end, and most were lost. But that doesn't cheapen what was done.
    “I have a confession to make. Less of a confession, I guess, than a statement of fact. The people at that table did a lot more than the old Martin Trager ever would have. He wasn't one to put anything above himself. He would orchestrate and manipulate, but he would never truly put himself in harm's way for anyone else, until he saw what true selflessness could accomplish. That man was given a second chance, and for no better reason than someone believed in him, and someone else believed in her enough to personally rescue a selfish bastard.
    “Let me tell you about the first time I met Cameron Holt. He'd fought through miles of Hell to make it to the hospital. Within minutes, I knew he was the most driven man I'd ever met. He was understandably obsessed with finding his wife and son, and I knew I could use that to get what I wanted. To be fair to myself, my motives were pure-ish. I took my responsibilities at the hospital very seriously. The people in my charge deserved care for as long as I could find a way to provide it.
    “Anyway, Holt walks into my office. I shake his hand hard, a power thing to set the tone. I mean, I'm giving it everything I've got, and I don't think he could've cared less. We locked horns immediately. After we came to a mutual agreement, do you know what that guy does? Steals a $40,000 bottle of Scotch. And not subtly. It was practically a Broadway show. And it was all to dare me to try and stop him. Do you know what's funny? Somewhere down the road, I realized that he was going to get out there and do what needed to be done regardless of whether he was asked to, solely because he knew that people were relying on him. He put aside his own agenda to pursue the greater good. And he absolutely would not fail. That's Cameron Holt in a nutshell: a man of honor, a force of nature.
    He motioned to the table. “Cameron Holt. Orpheus .” Martin Trager stood back and led the ovation.
    Holt took the podium amidst a standing ovation. He let