On the floor of the front seat was his wife. Slumped, motionless. In the back were little Janet and his son. Heads down. Bodies sprawled off the red seats.
Oh, Christ! Christ! It had happened! His eyes filled with tears. His body shook.
He pulled the door open, screaming in terror, and suddenly a wave of odor washed over him. The sickish odor he had smelled in his garage. He grabbed Ali’s head and pulled her up, frightened beyond feeling.
«Ali! Ali! My God! Please! Ali!»
His wife opened her eyes slowly. Blinking. Conscious but not conscious. She moved her arms.
«Where … where? The children!» She drew out the word hysterically. The sound of her scream brought Tanner back to his senses. He leapt up and reached over the seat for his son and daughter.
They moved. They were alive! They all were alive!
Ali climbed out of the station wagon and stumbled to the ground. Her husband lifted his daughter out of the back seat and held her as she started to cry.
«What happened? What happened?» Alice Tanner pulled herself up.
«Don’t talk, Ali. Breathe. As deeply as you can. Here!» He walked to her and handed her the sobbing Janet. «I’ll get Ray.»
«What happened? Don’t tell me not to …»
«Be quiet! Just breathe. Breathe hard!»
He helped his son out of the back seat. The boy was sick and started to vomit. Tanner cupped his son’s forehead with his hand, holding him around the waist with his left arm.
«John, you simply can’t …»
«Walk around. Try to get Janet to walk! Do as I say!»
Obediently, dazedly, Alice Tanner did what her husband commanded. The boy began to shake his head in Tanner’s hand.
«Feeling better, son?»
«Wow!… Wow! Where are we?» The boy was suddenly frightened.
«It’s all right. It’s all right… You’re all … all right.»
Tanner looked over at his wife. She had put Janet’s feet on the ground, holding her in her arms. The child was crying loudly now, and Tanner watched, filled with hatred and fear. He walked to the station wagon to see if the keys were in the ignition.
They weren’t. It didn’t make sense.
He looked under the seats, in the glove compartment in the back. Then he saw them. Wrapped in a piece of white paper, an elastic band holding the paper around the case. The packet was wedged between the collapsible seats, pushed far down, nearly out of sight.
His daughter was screaming now, and Alice Tanner picked the child up, trying to comfort her, repeating over and over again that everything was all right.
Making sure his wife could not see him, Tanner held the small package below the back seat, snapped the elastic band and opened the paper.
It was blank.
He crumpled the paper and stuffed it into his pocket. He would tell Ali what had happened now. They’d go away. Far away. But he would not tell her in front of the children.
«Get in the wagon.» Tanner spoke to his son softly and went to his wife, taking the hysterical child from her. «Get the keys out of the Triumph, Ali. We’re going home.»
His wife stood in front of him, her eyes wide with fright, the tears streaming down her face. She tried to control herself, tried with all her strength not to scream. «What happened? What happened to us?»
The roar of an engine prevented Tanner from answering. In his anger, he was grateful. The Saddle Valley patrol car sped into the depot and came to a stop less than ten yards from them.
Jenkins and McDermott leapt out of the automobile. Jenkins had his revolver drawn.
«Is everything all right?» He ran up to Tanner. McDermott went rapidly to the station wagon and spoke quietly to the boy in the back seat.
«We found the note in your bedroom. Incidentally, we think we’ve recovered most of your property.»
«Our what?» Alice Tanner stared at the police officer.
«What property?»
«Two television sets, Mrs. Tanner’s jewelry, a box of silver, place settings, some cash. There’s a list down at the station. We don’t know if we got everything. The car was abandoned several blocks from your house. They may have taken other things. You’ll have to check.»
Tanner handed his daughter to Ali.
«What the hell are you talking about?»
«You were robbed. Your wife must have come back while they were in the process. She and the children were gassed in the garage… They were professionals, no doubt about it. Real professional methods…»
«You’re a liar,» said Tanner softly. «There was nothing …»
«Please!» interrupted Jenkins. «The main thing now is your wife and children.»
As if on signal, McDermott called from inside the station wagon. «I want to get this kid to the hospital! Now!»
«Oh, my God!» Alice Tanner ran to the automobile, carrying her daughter in her arms.
«Let McDermott take them,» said Jenkins.
«How can I trust you? You lied to me. There was nothing missing in my house. No television sets were gone, no signs of any robbery! Why did you lie?»
«There isn’t time. I’m sending your wife and children with McDermott.» Jenkins spoke rapidly.
«They’re going with me!»
«No they’re not.» Jenkins raised his pistol slightly.
«I’ll kill you, Jenkins.»
«Then what stands between you and Omega?» said Jenkins calmly. «Be reasonable. Fassett’s on his way out. He wants to see you.»
«I’m sorry. Truly, abjectly sorry. It won’t, it can’t happen again.»
«What did happen? Where was your infallible protection?»
«A logistical error on a surveillance schedule that hadn’t been cross-checked. That’s the truth. There’s no point in lying to you. I’m the one responsible.»
«You weren’t out here.»
«I’m still responsible. The Leather team’s my responsibility. Omega saw that a post wasn’t covered—for less than fifteen minutes, incidentally—and they moved in.»
«I can’t tolerate that. You risked the lives of my wife and children!»
«I told you, there’s no possibility of recurrence. Also—and in an inverted way, this should be comforting—this afternoon confirms the fact that Omega won’t kill. Terror, yes. Murder, no.»
«Why? Because you say so? I don’t buy it. The C.I.A. track record reads like a disaster file. You’re not making any more decisions for me, let’s get that clear.»
«Oh? You are then?»
«Yes.»
«Don’t be a fool. If not for yourself, for your family.»
Tanner got out of the chair. He saw through the Venetian blinds that two men were standing guard outside the motel window.
«I’m taking them away.»
«Where will you go?»
«I don’t know. I just know I’m not staying here.»
«You think Omega won’t follow you?
«Why should it … they? I’m no part of you.»
«They won’t believe that.»
«Then I’ll make it clear!»
«Are you going to take out an ad in The Times?»
«No!» Tanner swung around and pointed a finger at the C.I.A. man. «You will! However you want to do it. Because if you don’t, I’ll tell the story of this operation and your inept, malicious handling of it on every network newscast in the country. You won’t survive that.»
«Neither will you because you’ll be dead. Your wife dead. Your son, your daughter … dead.»
«You can’t threaten me …»
«For God’s sake, look at history! Look at what’s really happened!» Fassett exploded. Then suddenly he lowered his voice and raised his hand to his chest, speaking slowly. «Take me… My wife was killed in East Berlin. They murdered her for no earthly reason except that she was married to me. I was being … taught a lesson. And to teach me that lesson they took my wife. Don’t make pronouncements to me. I’ve been there. You’ve been safe. Well, you’re not safe now.»