“Target leads us to Cochrane. We kill Cochrane.” Scott watched the vehicle door open, his expression focused. “And the boss has given us complete authority to clear a path if anyone gets in our way.”
Marsha Gage stepped out of the car, greeted her family, and walked with them into their home.
TWENTY-FOUR
Catherine Parker kissed her nine-year-old daughter good night, went downstairs, and was pleasantly surprised to see her husband sitting at the kitchen table. He’d warned her that he might have to work late because the fugitive Will Cochrane was now on U.S. soil. Her surprise turned into concern as she watched him down his Scotch, pour another, and rest his head in his hands while staring at the drink. Outside their Arlington home, it had started to rain hard, and ordinarily that would have been perfect for Ed. After a long day at work, he loved sharing a drink with his wife, and doubly so if he and his family were all toasty while the outside world was chucking everything it could at their sturdy house. But tonight he seemed oblivious to the weather and the presence of Catherine.
“Home early, my dear. Everything okay?”
Ed looked up, tried to smile but failed, and rubbed his hand over his fatigued face. “Just glad to be here.”
“Now, now, darling.” Catherine grabbed a bottle of Sauvignon Blanc from the refrigerator and poured herself a glass. “You can’t fool a spook’s wife that easily.” She sat opposite him, pulled out the knitting needles that held her long, raggedy gray hair in place when she was gardening and doing other chores, and placed a hand over his. “What’s happened?”
Ed took a swig of his whiskey and huffed. “I got overpromoted, that’s what happened. Should never have been made director.”
Catherine squeezed his hand. “We’ve spoken about this before.”
They had, many times. Though a capable Agency operator, deep down Ed hated the additional responsibilities attached to being in senior management.
Catherine eyed the whiskey, wondering whether she should tell her husband to switch to a softer drink. She decided to let him get his worries out of his system by finishing the Scotch, but after that she’d take the tumbler away from him. “Just a wobbly day?”
Ed sighed while gripping his forehead with the tips of his fingers. “Not just any wobbly day. Things are escalating, and I’m damned if I like the direction they’re going in.”
“You have a voice and a say. Speak your mind to your peers, if you don’t like what they’re doing.”
“Peers?” Ed looked bitter, swirled his drink, and downed it in one. “Technically, Jellicoe and Sheridan are my peers. But I’m not their equal. At least they don’t treat me that way, and they do what they darn well like.”
Catherine knew she had to tread carefully on the rare occasions when Ed was like this. Not that he could be a threat to her — on the contrary, he was the gentlest of souls — but he was a sensitive man and always liked to feel that Catherine was his closest ally. Saying the wrong thing could make him doubt that, and therefore give him anguish. Trouble was, sometimes Ed also needed to be told he was wrong. She was sensing that now could be one of those times. “How are things escalating?”
“Marsha Gage is putting together a task force. The Bureau manhunt’s about to kick off.”
“So?”
“So when she gets Cochrane, we’re authorized to take him off her hands. What the Bureau doesn’t know is that we’re then going to put Cochrane out of his misery and dump his body somewhere it’ll never be found.”
“You told me days ago this might happen. What’s changed things for you?”
“I just… just keep thinking that this could be me or one of my officers. Cochrane disobeyed orders in Norway in order to rescue Ellie Hallowes. Sure, he should get a reprimand and be told to keep his mouth shut. But I don’t know if I’d have done any different if it was me with a rifle in my hand watching men coming to kill one of our own.”
Catherine smiled sympathetically. “I think you’re a bit old to be in a situation like that. Plus you were never one for the guns-and-glory stuff.”
“Yeah, and look where it’s got me: promoted because I spent more time in a suit, mixing with the Capitol Hill folk, than I did out in the field.”
Catherine had to snap Ed out of this mood, because he was spiraling. She got an extra glass, filled it with wine, moved the whiskey tumbler out of his reach, and gave him the drink. “Wine always makes you happy.”
“Can’t promise you that tonight.”
Catherine leaned forward and kissed Ed on the cheek. “You trust me, my love?”
“Yeah, always.”
“Know that I’ve got your back?”
Ed smiled, though his eyes were moist. “Sure thing, Mrs. Parker.”
“And know that I think Sheridan and Jellicoe aren’t even worthy of wiping your ass?”
That comment cheered Ed up. “Now that’s an image I don’t want stuck in my head. But, yeah, I know what you think of them.”
“Then you’ll also know that there are times when you should listen to your wife, because she just might get some sense into that head of yours.”
“Sense?”
Catherine nodded. “You’ve always had to make tough decisions, haven’t you?”
“Nature of the job.”
“It is. And I know for a fact those decisions have to take into account the greater good.”
“Doesn’t mean the process of getting there’s all cherry blossom.”
“It doesn’t, and I can see you’re in that place right now.”
Ed was about to speak, but Catherine held up her hand.
“Maybe you’ve told me more about your work than you should; maybe not. Either way, I do know that if Cochrane does anything to unsettle Ferryman, then it is probable that you’ll lose access to Antaeus and in turn will fail to get an exact time and location for Cobalt’s meeting in Afghanistan. You may have one window of opportunity to kill Cobalt and save thousands of lives by taking him off planet Earth. Cochrane’s in danger of blundering into something he knows nothing about and shutting down that window. I know you don’t like it, and I have to say that as your wife I hate the idea of what needs to be done to Cochrane. I hate it. And I love you for the fact that you hate it. But I also love you because you’re helping people.”
“I’m not helping Cochrane, though, am I?”
“Oh, come on, dear.” An idea came to Catherine. “You told me Cochrane had saved lives during his career.”
“A lot of lives.”
“Presumably that means he’s the kind of guy who’s willing to sacrifice his life for others.”
“For sure.”
“How many women and children has Cobalt’s terrorist funding killed?”
“Can’t be exact, but certainly thousands.”
“Do you think Will would lay down his life to ensure a similar number or more won’t be killed in the future?”
“Without doubt, but…”
“Hello, Daddy.”
Ed swiveled around and saw his daughter standing at the bottom of the stairs, wearing pink pajamas and clutching her teddy bear while rubbing her sleepy eyes. He beamed. “Hey, sweetie. What are you doing up?”
She came over to him and nuzzled her head against his chest. “I heard you and Mummy talking about things dying. I was worried something bad had happened to Fred and Ginger.”
Her pet hamsters.
Ed rubbed her head. “Don’t be silly, pumpkin. They’re fine.” He pretended to look stern. “But they won’t be fine if you don’t clean out their cage tomorrow.” He smiled. “Want me to read you a story?”
Crystal nodded.
“Okay. Deal is, you take yourself back to bed and give me five minutes to finish up down here.”