And I’d look him in the eye, man-to-man, brother-to-brother, and without saying a word, he’d know I was going to ignore him and go right ahead and tear this world apart to have my vengeance anyway. And he’d help me without question.
I take a deep breath, which hurts more than it should, and place my hand on his right shoulder.
“Thank you,” I say. “For everything. And when all this is over, and you’ve stopped being a big girl and woken up and got over your little cuts and bruises, we’re gonna go out and buy you a brand new Winnebago, with all the trimmings.”
I wait for the inevitable retort, but it never comes. He just continues to lie there, eyes closed, breathing slowly.
I pat his shoulder and turn to leave the room. Agent Chambers is standing in the doorway, leaning against the frame.
“You been there long?” I ask.
“Long enough,” she replies, turning back into the hallway and waiting for me to follow. “You alright?”
I stagger out of the room and we walk slowly down the corridor side by side.
“I’ll be fine.”
“You need to rest up and let us handle this.”
“Well, seeing as you’ve done such a sterling job so far…”
She looks at me with an expression that’s half resentment and half sympathy.
“I’m sorry,” I say, immediately. “That was uncalled for.”
“Damn right it was, asshole,” she replies.
“I deserve that.”
We fall silent for a moment, the sound of her heels echoing down the corridor as we approach the nurse’s station by the elevators on our floor.
She takes an extra step and turns, stopping in front of me. She puts her hands on her hips and cocks her head slightly, asking a million unspoken questions. I look her up and down, somewhat obviously. Even with bruises and cuts on her face and neck and hands, she looks amazing. Her fitted trouser suit clings to the body I figure she spends every spare hour working on in the gym.
I shake my head and look away, slightly embarrassed. I haven’t looked at a woman like that in years… Must be the concussion.
“What?” I ask.
“You gonna tell me what the hell’s going on then? You were quick enough to tell your friend, and he can’t do anything to help you. I can.”
“Actually, you can’t. From what I’ve seen, you’re a damn good agent, Grace. But thanks to the Oath of Office you took when you joined the FBI, if I told you anything about this you’d be obligated to arrest me immediately.”
“I can imagine,” she says with a raised eyebrow and a disapproving tone.
“I’m not under arrest, and aside from apparently being a person of interest to everyone, we both know I’m not going to be any time soon. It’s probably best to leave it at that. You have my word I’m going to sort this. I’ll help you with your investigation as much as I can, but please just step back and let me finish this. He won’t stop until he’s got me, so I’m going to give him what he wants.”
“You’re going to turn yourself over to him?”
“I’m going to use myself as bait, yeah. If I can see him with my own eyes, I can stop him.”
“And how are you going to do that?”
“Don’t ask me things you don’t wanna know the answer to,” I say with a smile.
“Then don’t do things that make me want to arrest you,” she replies with the same look on her face.
Grace Chambers. I like her. One of the good guys.
I gesture to my gown. “Let me slip into something less revealing, then we’ll talk, okay?”
“I’ll wait for you here,” she says, gesturing to the front desk. “I assume you’ll be doing the stupid thing of checking yourself out of here?”
“The thought had crossed my mind, yeah.”
“Figures,” she says, shaking her head.
She walks off, taking out her cell and dialing a number.
I walk back to my room and sit down on the edge of the bed, resting my elbows on my knees and my head in my hands.
I might be a full-time killer and part-time idiot, but I’m not stupid. I need help, and with Josh out of the picture, the list of people willing and able to give me a hand is narrowed down to one.
The FBI.
If I don’t ask for their help, I’ll be flying blind with no clue how to stop The Shark from carrying out more of his attacks. If I do ask for their help, I’m going to implicate myself in more crimes than I care to count, which would quickly lead to my incarceration and still wouldn’t stop The Shark.
Either way, I’m screwed.
I finish getting dressed, pulling my jacket on as I walk out of the room. I head down the corridor to the waiting area and see Chambers sitting patiently on the end of a row of chairs, among the patients. In addition to the three nurses working behind the desk, there are six patients scattered around the waiting area.
I imagine she’s grateful to get a few minutes to rest — it’s been a hectic day.
As she sees me she stands, and we both walk over to the front desk.
“So you’re definitely checking yourself out?” she asks. “Despite the advice of everyone who works here?”
I smile humorlessly.
“I’m no use to anyone lying in bed in here,” I say, turning to one of the nurses and taking a clipboard from her with some forms attached. “I need to be…”
I trail off as I look across the waiting area toward the lifts at the far end of the floor. The doors have just dinged open and four men have just stepped out and are walking toward us. Three of them are wearing black suits with blood-red shirts and black ties. They’re all oriental guys with jet-black hair in different styles. They’re walking purposefully behind the fourth man. He’s short and wearing a dirty white vest and brown pants that aren’t long enough, finishing just above his ankle. He’s bald on top, with his long, scraggly gray hair starting at the sides and falling down to his shoulders.
It’s the old guy from the pawnshop last night… and these guys with him look…
They open their jackets, revealing guns in shoulder holsters that they immediately draw.
Yeah, they look like trouble!
“Grace, get down!” I shout, grabbing her shoulders and pushing her to the floor.
She doesn’t get chance to respond before gunfire sounds out around the waiting area. People scream and start running and alarm sounds. I duck down in front of the desk, instinctively reaching behind me for my Berettas.
Nothing.
Shit, where are they?
I look over at Chambers, who’s confused but quickly coming to her senses. She reaches for her gun and her badge, preparing to stand.
I grab her wrist and hold her down. She looks at me and I shake my head.
“Grace, that badge isn’t going to do shit besides get you killed. Give me your gun.”
She shakes her head at me as bullets continue to splinter the desk around us.
“No chance, Adrian! If you fire my weapon, it’s a federal crime.”
“Only if I take it from you first,” I counter. “If you hand it to me willingly, it’s fine.”
“No, it’s really not!”
I sigh and peek over the desk. The three men are fanning out across the waiting area, taking it in turns to reload. The old guy is standing with a wicked smile on his face, pointing in my direction.
I have to get them away from here — there are too many innocent people and there’s already been too much loss of life on my account. I won’t accept any more.
I look back at Chambers.
“Fine, if you’re not going to give it to me, will you at least start shooting these bastards?”
She readies herself, straightening her right arm and tightening her grip on her weapon, then clasping her right hand and the butt of the gun with her left hand. She looks at me quickly.