Kaspar worked on the zipper of his black top then tucked it into his black pants. The early morning sun shone through the cracked window. The light from the sunrise glistened against Krys’s bare arms. He looked down at her and smiled. She looked so beautiful while she was asleep. Love had never been a part of his life before he met her. He wondered if she would be the first woman he would fall in love with.
The smile dissipated when he looked down at the note from The Committee once more. It had three names, three mug shots, and three addresses. Those three men…they were the ones involved with Mother’s killing. Danny already confirmed the names, which was one thing, but seeing their faces…knowing where to find them. That changed things dramatically. No longer could he live in the hope that maybe one day he would cross paths with them. There was no need for that. He would force his way into their homes, just like they did Mother, and reign down her vengeance.
Krys moved around on the bed. She lifted her head off the pillow and moved the matted hair from in front of her eyes. When she caught a glimpse of Kaspar, she smiled at him. He returned the smile before he sat down on the bed next to her. He kissed her soft, wet lips. Without warning, Krys slammed the back of her head into the pillow. Tears started to run down her cheeks. The suppressed emotions from the night before attacked her with a sudden fury.
“The others…” she said.
“I know…”
“They are all dead, aren’t they?”
“Yes.”
“Do you think…maybe John got out of there? He was still breathing…”
Nothing came to mind on how to reply. For his part, Kaspar knew that there was little to no chance that Paxton could have made it out of there. He wanted to be a comfort to her, but he didn’t want to be dishonest with her, either.
“I don’t think so…he was bleeding pretty bad…”
He stopped. It was all too hard to say. He looked down at Krys who nodded her head in acknowledgment. She moved her hands away from her moist eyes and wrapped her arms around him. Kaspar kissed her on the cheek then ran his fingers through her hair. After he pulled himself away from her, he stood straight up and looked outside at the sunrise.
“What are you up so early for, anyway?” Krys asked.
“I’ve got some things to take care of.”
“Like what?”
Kaspar sighed and turned back around. He again started to have second thoughts. The woman on the bed, who he made love to last night, was tempting him to stay. It might be a trap for all he knew. The bait, however, was just too sweet to pass up. He shook away those second thoughts once again. He had to make up his mind and he did.
“That letter that Greg gave me,” he said.
“Yeah?”
“It had their faces…addresses…everything…”
“So, you’re leaving me, is that it?” Krys demanded.
“Just until I set things straight.”
“I’ve lost everyone else,” a single tear rolled down her cheek. “I can’t bear to watch you go out on some suicide mission.”
“I’ll be fine.”
“Do you think it will make you feel better? That your mother would approve?”
“It…” Kaspar paused. “That doesn’t matter at this point. What does matter is I know where to find them now. I know what needs to be done. I can move forward, with you, but not until after…”
“You don’t know, do you?”
Kaspar looked at Krys and wondered what she was talking about. What kind of secret had they been holding from him?
“Don’t know what?”
“When you stormed out of Danny’s last night, he told me something.”
“What did he say?”
“You know that poison the USR had been dumping in the water supply? The poison we destroyed last night?”
“Oh, shit,” Kaspar said. He moved back to the bed. “No, it isn’t true.”
“It is,” Krys replied. “Danny read off the symptoms and I’m infected…I’ll be dead soon, Ryan.”
She buried her head into his chest. A scowl grew on his face when she wrapped her arms around him. There was nothing else left for the USR to take from him. They already took away Mother by murdering her. He lost his fellow teammates at the lab last night. Now, soon, Krys would succumb to the poison inside of her and she would be taken away. What was left?
“What are you going to do from here?” Kaspar asked.
Krys moved her head off of his chest. “With what little time I have left, I’m going to expose this conspiracy. I’m going to spread the word to everyone to make sure something like this never happens again. And…” she looked deep into Kaspar’s frozen blue eyes. “I want you to come with me.”
“I will…after…”
“You are impossible, you know that? Have I told you that before?”
“You don’t understand, they’ve taken everything…”
“And, you don’t think they’ve taken from me?”
“I’ll be back soon.”
As he stood a sudden guilt hit him in the gut. It was the way she was looking at him. She looked disappointed. Like he did with so many other areas in life, he ignored it. He walked to the dresser and found twin Glock 17’s. The dresser drawer was also filled with mags and one of those black masks. He placed the guns in the thigh holsters. He put on the flak jacket, grabbing extra mags for it once it was zipped up. He also took hold of the mask and placed it in his pocket.
“Ryan?” Krys called from the bed.
Kaspar faced the wall. “Yes?”
“What made you come back last night?”
“It was Margie,” he replied. He turned to face her, “She told me to remember her.”
“Remember me, okay?” Krys replied. “What you are about to do is something that I can’t help you with. Promise me that you’ll come back.”
“I promise,” Kaspar said. “Meet me outside the Keystone…let’s say around nine, I should be done by then. We’ll get the hell out of here and spread the word.”
“Okay…but your ass better not stand me up.”
Kaspar smiled. “You know me.”
Kaspar turned and walked out, hoping that he didn’t make a promise he couldn’t keep.