They waited.
Finally, a black suburban pulled into the lot. It advanced slowly, lights blinking out as it pulled up and the engine stopped.
He watched as the driver’s door of the vehicle opened and Karina Thorne climbed out. Jarvis waited for the others to climb out of her vehicle, but nobody appeared.
‘What the hell?’
Jarvis waited, staying out of sight as he watched Karina approach Donovan’s vehicle, and was plagued by the knowledge that Ethan had lied to him. Jarvis knew with utter finality that he had lost the trust of his most valuable asset.
Karina walked slowly toward the parked vehicle and saw Donovan and Glen sitting inside. The two men opened their doors and got out, both squinting against the gusts of drizzle sweeping the lot.
‘Where are they?’ Donovan demanded as he shut his door. ‘You said we would meet them all here.’
‘Change of plan!’ Karina snapped back. ‘We know, Donovan. We know everything that you’ve done.’
Donovan said nothing in reply. Karina switched her gaze to Glen, who shook his head.
‘You’ve got it all wrong, Karina,’ he said quickly. ‘This was all supposed to be…’
‘Shut up!’ Karina shouted. ‘We’re done, asshole.’
Donovan chuckled bitterly and shook his head. ‘You can save the theatricals, Karina. We’re all done here now, so we might as well figure out a way to resolve this situation. What’s your cut?’
‘What?’
‘Your cut?’ Donovan repeated. ‘How much do you want?’
Karina shook her head. ‘That’s all this is about for you, isn’t it?’ she uttered. ‘Money and how much you can get out of it. I’d rather die than get a single dollar of your blood money, Donovan.’ She leaned closer to him, her eyes boring into his. ‘You’re done. Whatever happens now, there’s no way that you can get out of this. Warner and Lopez aren’t here because they’re already in police custody, having solved the mystery of what you did on that bridge. They’re filling in your superiors on how it was done.’
Donovan’s eyelid twitched as he ground his jaw in his skull.
‘Warner and Lopez are history,’ he murmured. ‘The CIA is hunting both of them. They’ll be apprehended within hours and that’s the last you’ll see of them.’
‘Their boss at the DIA is protecting them from…’
‘He’s protecting them from nothing!’ Donovan roared back. ‘There’s a CIA man who is operating outside his agency’s jurisdiction. He doesn’t give a damn about who lives and who dies, just as long as his mission is complete.’
Karina’s eyes narrowed as a chill ran down her spine. ‘How do you know that?’
Donovan smiled cruelly. ‘We had a little chat the other night.’
‘You sold them out,’ Karina whispered in horror. ‘Is there nothing that you won’t stoop to?’
‘Nothing,’ Donovan replied without remorse, ‘just as long as it keeps my back clear. So now, Karina, you need me because I’m the only one who can identify the agent before he strikes.’
‘Jarvis knows who he is,’ Karina shot back. ‘He’ll ensure that no harm comes—’
‘Jarvis is out of the loop and of no concern,’ Donovan interrupted her again, and jabbed a thumb in the direction of the black SUV parked across the lot. ‘They don’t give a damn about him or his two little helpers. As soon as this is resolved to their satisfaction, he’ll be out on his ear. This is already over, Karina. We’ve won. All the CIA wants is Tom Ross and some woman called Joanna Defoe, God knows why. We hand them over, then this is finished.’
Karina peered at Donovan. ‘And what happens when the sun goes down?’ she asked.
Donovan grinned again, a brittle smile that conveyed no hint of warmth. ‘I don’t give a damn, because the first thing I’m going to do is board a flight the hell out of here, until it all blows over.’
Karina looked at him for a moment longer and then shook her head.
‘We both know that won’t happen,’ she uttered. ‘You’re here to kill Tom, aren’t you?’
Donovan inhaled deeply, looked at Glen, and then shrugged. ‘Have it your way, Karina.’
Donovan yanked a pistol from beneath his jacket and whipped it toward Karina with incredible speed.
‘No!’
Glen whirled and stood between Karina and the pistol. Donovan glared down at the younger man.
‘Time to choose sides, Glen,’ he shouted. ‘This is it. Are you going to waste your time watching out for Karina or are you going to get a grip on your life and start looking out for yourself?’
‘This isn’t the way to do it,’ Glen said, raising his hands. ‘We start shooting people, we’re screwed for life.’
‘We’re already screwed for life!’ Donovan yelled at him. ‘They know, Glen. We don’t make our way out of here, it’s twenty to life in a security-max facility. You made your choice, son, when you started working with the rest of us on this. You didn’t care about Karina then and you shouldn’t now.’
Glen’s features twisted in a fury of regret and indecision as he glanced over his shoulder at Karina.
The gunshot snapped out over the wind and Karina flinched in shock as she saw the back of Glen’s jacket flutter as the bullet whipped through trailing a fine spray of blood. Glen whirled and stared at Donovan in disbelief, and then his legs quivered as he fell sideways onto the cold, damp asphalt. Glen’s eyes flew wide and he looked down to see a thick, dark stain spread across his shirt as blood spilled from his fractured heart.
‘God, no!’ Karina shouted as she leaped forward and dropped to her knees alongside Glen.
Glen’s mouth hung loosely open and the light in his eyes flickered away. Karina felt tears spill from her eyes as she held him. A faint, breathless whisper fell from his lips.
‘I’m sorry.’
A rush of air spilled from Glen’s lungs and his body fell slack as he died.
Karina felt the hard, uncompromising barrel of Donovan’s pistol stab into her side, and turned to look up into his cold eyes as the chief glared at her. With his free hand, he pulled a cellphone from his pocket and dialed a number. When a scratchy voice answered, he spoke angrily.
‘It’s a bust,’ he said. ‘They’re not here.’
‘I know,’ came the response. ‘Use her to find out where they are.’
Donovan looked up, scanning the lonely parking lot for any sign of the CIA agent, but he could see nothing. He shut the line off and dropped the cell into his pocket, and then yanked Karina to her feet as he kept the pistol pressed against her side.
‘Get in your car, Karina!’ he snapped. ‘We’re going for a ride and you’re going to tell me where.’
‘You can go to hell,’ Karina snapped.
Donovan grinned cruelly down at her and jammed the pistol up underneath her jaw.
‘I’d say that’s for certain, so I’ve got nothing to lose. You going to join me, or are you going to lead me to where Warner and Lopez are hiding?’
55
The cathedral glowed with a galaxy of candleflames as Ethan hurried between the pews toward the altar. Lopez followed behind him, with Joanna shepherding Tom Ross along at the rear.
Monsignor Thomas was waiting for them, his expression etched with deep concern.
‘Where is Karina? he asked.
‘Acting as a diversion,’ Ethan replied sharply. ‘We don’t have much time.’
The monsignor looked at Tom Ross, taking in his darkened eyes and haggard appearance, and then he appeared to take a step back in fear.
‘This,’ he uttered, ‘this is the one?’
Ethan nodded, and looked back at Tom. The young man he had once been was swiftly vanishing, as though he were physically being drained of life by every passing moment. His shoulders were slumped, his skin pale and sheened with a clammy sweat and his head hung low as though too heavy for him to bear.