40
Wednesday, June 15th
Port Townsend, Washington
The sleepy little scenic tourist town was certainly wide awake up on the hillside now: City police, firemen, deputies, and most of the neighbors all stood in the glow of headlights and emergency flashers, trying to figure out what was going on. It was noisy, bright, and hectic.
It didn’t take all that long to get it sorted out. Michaels explained who he and Toni were, and when their Net Force/FBI identification checked out valid, that made things a lot less tense.
There were two dead men in Morrison’s backyard, and their IDs indicated that they were members of some paramilitary group based in Idaho.
The shotgunner was alive, with a fractured skull, and it seemed he was the leader of that same group, a general. He had been hit twice by bullets from Ventura’s pistol, both of which had been stopped by his body armor.
Bubba the bodybuilder had a broken neck.
And Ventura? He had taken two blasts from the general’s shotgun, and unfortunately for him, he hadn’t been wearing body armor. The first shot apparently hit him in the chest, the second in the face. Either would have killed him, the fireman-paramedic said, the head shot faster than the one in the pump.
Michaels and Toni went through Ventura’s personal property. He had the gun, extra ammunition, flashlight, lock picks, car keys, and, inside what was left of his windbreaker pocket, a DVD disk inside a plastic case. Both had been shattered into tiny bits by the shotgun blast, some slivers of which had been driven into the dead man’s heart by the impact.
“Want to bet that disk is what he stopped by Morrison’s to find?” Toni said.
“No bet,” Michaels said. “You think the FBI lab could put this thing back together?” Some of the bloody pieces were the size of needles.
She shook her head. “Enough to retrieve whatever was on it? I doubt it. If the secret to the crazy ray was on that disk, it’s gone.”
Michaels nodded. “Probably just as well. I’m not sure I’d want our government getting its hands on it any more than anybody else.” He looked at her. “You’re the one who got the good car from the rental place, aren’t you? Just before I got there?”
“Yes.”
“How did you know where to find me? Was it Jay?”
“No. You left a public trail. You weren’t trying to hide. I’m not totally inept on the net.”
“Why did you come?”
She looked at him. “Are you sorry I did?”
He shook his head. “I’d have to be a fool to say that, given the circumstances. I can’t remember the last time I was so glad to see somebody as when you knocked Bubba down. Thank you.”
“I was acting in my capacity as liaison, you know.”
“Uh-huh.”
“Why are you so pigheaded, Alex? You know that I love you. And you love me just as much.”
“Yeah.”
“It was going bad for us. And work was the problem, you know that, too. I’d rather lose the job than the relationship.”
He nodded. “Yeah. Me, too.”
She looked at the firemen hauling away Ventura’s body. “It’s going to be a long night before we’re done here. Do you have a place to stay?”
“No.”
“I’ve got a room at a bed-and-breakfast at the far end of town. What say we go there and take a long nap when this is done?”
He thought about it for a second. She was right. He did love her, and he would rather save their personal relationship than either of their jobs. He gave her a small grin. “Okay,” he said. “You twisted my arm.”
EPILOGUE
Friday, July 29th, 2011
Washington, D.C.
Michaels walked into the condo, saw that the snail mail was on the table in the kitchen. “Toni?” he yelled. “You home?”
“In here,” she called back.
“Where is ‘here’?”
“The living room.”
He walked into the room. She was sitting on the couch, folding towels.
“I dried the laundry,” she said. “You mixed the dark towels with the light ones again.”
“What can I say? I’m evil through and through. Shoot me.”
He moved to where she sat, bent, and kissed her. “How was your day?”
“Not bad,” she said. “I had to do a presentation on what a wonderful job Net Force is doing for Senator Bogle’s staff.”
“Sounds easy enough.”
“Balancing a dozen spinning plates on the end of sticks sounds easy, Alex. Since I left, Net Force has trouble finding its ass with both hands.”
He laughed. “Got any plans for supper?”
“I could microwave some burritos,” she said.
“How about I order Chinese takeout? My treat.”
“Fine by me.”
He took a deep breath. It had been on his mind a lot lately, how to do this, and he was nervous about it.
“Listen,” he began, “things have been working out okay for us lately, haven’t they?”
“You have to ask?”
“No, no, I mean, I think they have, but I don’t want to take anything for granted. We’re okay, aren’t we? I mean, we’re doing all right on a personal level, right?”
“Except for you mixing the darks with the lights in the wash, we are terrific.”
He nodded. Here was the hard part.
She stopped folding the towels. “What is it, Alex? Something’s on your mind. Tell me.”
He sat down on the couch next to her. “Okay, look, I’m not the most romantic guy in the world, but—do you want to get married?”
Her eyes got wide and she grinned. “Yes, of course.”
He blew out a big sigh. “Good.”
“You thought I would turn you down?”
“I hoped not. I didn’t want to think too much about that.”
She grabbed him and hugged him, and they kissed. She broke it and leaned back. “Anyways, it was about time you got around to asking me,” she said. “Yeah? You could have asked me, you know?”
“Nope, I’m an old-fashioned girl. That’s the man’s job.”
“ ‘Old-fashioned’? You?” He laughed. “You’re a butt-kicking, hardheaded woman who looks over my shoulder at work.”
“Oh, well, you won’t have to worry about that much longer.”
He looked at her. “How come?”
“I’m going to quit work.”
“What?!”
“I intended to keep the job when I took it, but something better has come up.”
“A better job? It’s not too far away, is it? I was just getting used to having you around.”
“Oh, don’t worry, I’ll be around.” She put her hands over his shoulders, then slid them up to behind his neck. “The job is going to be something completely different.”
“Yeah? What?”
“I’m going to become a full-time mommy.”
He stared at her, stunned. “You ... you’re ... ?”
“Yep,” she said, grinning like a fool. “I’m pregnant.”
Then they were both grinning like fools.
Other titles by Steve Pieczenik
THE MIND PALACE
BLOOD HEAT
MAXIMUM VIGILANCE
PAX PACIFICA
STATE OF EMERGENCY
HIDDEN PASSIONS
MY BELOVED TALLEYRAND
For more information on Steve Pieczenik,
please visit www.stevepieczenik.com and www.strategic-intl.com.
Books by Alexander Court
ACTIVE MEASURES
ACTIVE PURSUIT
Tom Clancy, Breaking Point
(Series: # )
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