“Nothing,” Moore admitted. “In fact, it’s my understanding that he’s come into a large sum of money. Enough to make certain that he’ll never owe anyone anything.”
Moore looked at him. “If I were you,” he said, “I’d take that money and disappear, and never work another day in my life.”
Hawker leaned forward. “And on the odd chance I don’t want to do that?”
Moore raised an eyebrow. “Then you can have a full pardon,” he said. “Or a grant of immunity at all levels, or whatever you want to call it, accompanied by the CIA’s express, written apology for the situation they put you in years ago.”
As Moore spoke, Stecker squirmed, but he made no move to refute what was being said.
“In return for what?”
“Your agreement to continue working as an agent of the United States for the next five years.”
“Undercover,” Hawker said to clarify. “For the CIA?”
“No,” Moore said. “For the NRI.”
Hawker sat back, surprised.
“You don’t have to do this,” Danielle interjected. “You can still go find that beach.”
Yes, he could still go. And where would it lead him? Out on his own again. Certainly she didn’t mention coming with him.
“There is a catch,” Moore said.
Only one? Hawker thought. Must be a hell of a deal.
Moore cleared his throat again, and it seemed to Hawker as if he were looking for the words.
“Among other things,” Moore said, “it is your particular status in the world, as a known pariah of sorts, that makes you uniquely valuable. As has been discussed among the three of us behind closed doors, you are a unique asset in all the world. You can go to places we could never get an agent; you can find your way into organizations that would be impossible for us to infiltrate or even get close to without ten years to set up a cover. For you to be most effective, you’ll need to maintain that status.”
Moore cleared his throat again. “In other words,” he said, “it must appear as if you are still on the run. Which means you will have to leave the United States within twenty-four hours.”
The words were like a dagger to the heart. He looked over at Danielle.
“Give me a few hours to think about it,” he said.
“I think we can do that,” the president said.
And with that the meeting adjourned. Stecker left immediately, muttering to himself. The president shook hands with all three heroes and then left with the Secret Service. Moore lingered, speaking to Danielle, before departing.
And then Hawker, McCarter, and Danielle were left looking at one another.
“What are you going to do?” Hawker asked McCarter. “Maybe you should join up full-time. I mean look, they want to hire me; they must be desperate.”
McCarter laughed. “No thanks,” he said. “I have a son and a daughter who both have their mother’s eyes. I’m going to go see them, and stay until I’m driving them crazy. Might even reprise my Moses Negro look.”
He laughed. “At the very least I have a couple of great stories to tell my grandkids, while they’re still young enough to believe them.”
Danielle hugged him.
“Stay in touch,” she said.
“I will,” he promised.
McCarter shook Hawker’s hand and then they hugged.
“Stay out of trouble,” Hawker said.
“Godspeed,” McCarter told him. “Whatever you decide.”
McCarter left to collect his things and Hawker found himself looking at Danielle, fixed on her eyes. Lost for a moment.
“So what are you going to do?” she asked.
“I don’t know. Want to help me figure it out?”
“Yeah,” she said.
“I got to go get my stuff before the nurse burns it,” he said.
“You have stuff?”
“A few things.”
She smiled. “All right. Meet me downstairs. I’ll wait for you.”
Danielle went back to her room, thrilled to be leaving, excited for a chance to be out in the free world again.
As she was packing up her stuff, the door opened. From the corner of her eye, she saw a huge bouquet of flowers. Somewhere behind it stood a man.
“You can give those to another patient,” she said happily. “I’m getting out of here.”
“Okay,” the man said in a surprised tone.
She recognized his voice.
“Marcus?” she said, spinning around. “What are you … what are you doing here?”
He looked good, looked fit. Serious as always.
“I blackmailed Arnold,” he said. “I wanted to make sure I came to see you.”
“Why?” she said. “I mean not why. It’s just I’m … I’m getting out. I would have come to see you tomorrow.”
She felt her equilibrium tumble. She had planned to go see him as soon as she got out of the hospital, but she hadn’t expected him here. She was unsure of how to react. She wasn’t ready. “You got your hair cut” was all she could come up with.
“A couple of times,” he said. “It’s been eight months.”
He moved toward her and they embraced and still she didn’t know what to say.
Hawker thanked the nurse for not throwing his watch and his pen away. That was the extent of his things.
“It doesn’t work,” she said, pointing to the watch.
He knew that. In fact the dial was cracked, the hands frozen at the exact time of the blast. For reasons he found hard to explain he didn’t want to let it go. It was proof of what had happened. Proof that man had done some good to his fellow man, despite what must have been a horrendous cost.
“It works for me,” he said.
She gave him a look that said he was even crazier than she thought and he stepped out of the room and headed down the hall.
—————
Danielle sat on the bed. Marcus sat beside her, holding her hand. It felt so familiar and yet strange at the same time.
“So much has happened,” she said. “I don’t know where to begin.”
“Who was it that took you?” he asked.
She was about to answer but caught the words in her throat. He wasn’t part of the institute anymore; he wasn’t cleared to know.
“Right,” he said. “This again.”
She gazed at him, her eyes asking for some slack.
He seemed to get the message. “I have something for you,” he said. “I know I handled things badly when you left but now that you’re back …”
He pulled out a small case. She knew it held a ring.
She did not reach for it.
“I know we fought about the job,” he said, “and about you going back. But now that—whatever you were doing is over—we won’t have anything to cause those arguments anymore.”
Her mind whirled. He was right about all that, but she didn’t want to do this now. She needed a minute.
“I said a lot of things that were cruel,” she began. “I was angry at you for not supporting me.”
“I didn’t want you to go, because I was worried about you and I didn’t like being left behind. So I’m sure I was just as much in the wrong as you.”
Maybe time did change things. They were finally saying the right words instead of just trying to win the argument.
“You know this can be good,” he added. “You know it was, before our egos got in the way.”
He opened the case. Of course, the diamond was perfect.
On his way to the elevator Hawker passed the nurse’s station. All smiles for him. “Having a good day?” he asked.
“You’re leaving,” one of them said. “We’re ready to party.”
He had to laugh.
He stepped into the elevator and rode it down to the first floor. From there he walked to Danielle’s room. Hearing her talking to someone, he glanced inside. They were sitting on the bed holding hands.
He pulled back quickly, surprised, stunned. He was certain that they hadn’t seen him, but feeling like an intruder, he backed away. Right into Arnold Moore.