‘The Phoenix,’ Sophia said.
‘The Phoenix. The plague. The future. The fate of the human race. Hell, even the origins of the human race,’ he said. ‘One man can know too much.’
Now she knew why the Commander had been sent in to collect Denton. It wasn’t just to stop him, he was a high value intellignece asset now. The Commander was here to cash in on both the Phoenix virus and Denton, or at least one of them anyway.
‘And how do you plan to extract this information?’ Sophia said.
‘We have various means, one will work,’ the Commander said. ‘I know you want to kill him. I know you want to kill me. All of us. But the fact of the matter is, he’s more valuable alive than dead. You’re a woman with a sense of justice, Sophia. You know the only chance you have of making all these wrongs right is to let us take him.’
‘You don’t exactly fill me with confidence,’ she said.
‘The other option is you kill him now. With that piece of marble. And me in the process. And then you and your friends die here in this place. After all you’ve done,’ he said. ‘But what of the Fifth Column, and the future of the human race? What of the people who will never know what Denton knows? Who will never know what’s coming.’
‘No one ever knows,’ she said.
‘You will,’ he said. ‘All I ask is you walk away. Pick a tunnel. I’ll hold off the search as part of my agreement.’
Desperation and sadness came off him in slow waves.
‘You mean that.’ She let the chunk of marble fall from her hand.
‘Your friend in the red jacket is still alive. She’s in the passage behind the ticketing train boards.’ He lowered his pistol. ‘We’re not all monsters.’
Sophia found the transmitter lying nearby. She picked it up.
‘Not all of you,’ she said. ‘But enough.’
Sophia found Czarina propped against a wall behind the main concourse. She’d moved around the ticketing train boards and down into a lowered passage. It dipped under a walkway. The operative was under the walkway.
Sophia followed a smear of blood along the wall, calling Czarina’s name as she ran, but she showed no response. Sophia yelled her name louder and louder. The Commander had shot Czarina. For that alone, she regretted her decision in leaving him with Denton.
Anger coiled inside her and she wanted to double back and kill them both. She would use as many chunks of marble as it would take to shatter their skulls. But the thought of doing that made her sick. And the sight of her new charge sitting against the wall, motionless, made her sicker.
By the time she reached Czarina she felt tears pouring down her cheeks, clouding her vision to the point she could barely make out Czarina’s face. She checked the carotid pulse.
It was there, but not strong.
She tried to keep her mind together. OK, what next? Check the wounds. She opened Czarina’s jacket wider to inspect her T-shirt and ran her fingers across it. She felt the hardness of a ballistic vest underneath and realized the round hadn’t even penetrated her skin. Relief washed over her.
Czarina opened her eyes and focused on Sophia.
‘You’re OK,’ Sophia whispered.
‘Request command,’ Czarina said.
More tears poured down her face. She smiled. It was probably a stupid smile. ‘You’re OK.’
‘No critical injuries,’ Czarina said.
Sophia swallowed hard. ‘Unload parapsyche Lycaon.’
Czarina stared straight through Sophia, then blinked twice.
‘Hi,’ Czarina said.
Sophia almost laughed. She rested her forehead against Czarina’s and closed her eyes for a moment.
‘Wasn’t letting you go that easy,’ Sophia said.
She heard footsteps above. She soon recognized them as their pheromones reached her. The Commander was difficult to identify but Denton was unmistakable.
‘This man needs medical attention,’ the Commander said. His voice echoed through the main concourse. ‘Banged up pretty bad, has a concussion.’
Sophia heard them draw to a halt on the walkway, directly above her. She locked gazes with Czarina and listened. She could hear a shuffle as the Commander took something from his pocket.
‘NCS,’ the Commander said.
He was referring to the National Clandestine Service, a CIA division. On the rare occasions Sophia had worked in an official capacity, she too had been issued a mask identity matching the host country.
More footsteps on the other end of the main concourse. Local reinforcements. Sophia heard them guide the Commander and Denton around the concourse, avoiding the collapsed center and west mezzanine. Once they were around the other side, she heard the Commander again.
‘No one is to enter this terminal until I say so; get everyone out now,’ the Commander said. ‘I need to speak with your commander.’
Sophia waited for them to leave the main concourse before getting to one knee. ‘We don’t have much time,’ she said.
‘I don’t feel right,’ Czarina said.
She leaned past Czarina to rest her head on the wall. She closed her eyes and focused on breathing. If the Commander kept his word, he would hold off a sweep of the terminal. At least for a short time. Either way she needed to get out now.
Sophia focused on the smear of blood across the wall. Slowly, she leaned Czarina forward to check across her back. She noticed a tear in the jacket and remembered the glass shard that had struck her while running through the MetLife lobby.
She saw movement at one end of the passage. Nasira and DC.
Without a word, they moved quickly down the walkway. DC still had his sword, sheathed. Sophia helped Czarina to her feet. She was weak but she could move.
DC and Nasira came to a stop before them.
‘Is Damien alive?’ Sophia said.
Nasira nodded. ‘Lucky son of a bitch. Everyone’s in one piece.’
‘Even the meteorite,’ DC said.
‘Where is it?’ Sophia said.
‘Still in a carriage,’ DC said. ‘Intact.’
She handed Nasira the transmitter. ‘Once everyone’s clear, blow it.’
‘You got it,’ Nasira said.
‘Where’s Denton?’ DC said.
‘His father helped him out. Agreed to give us time to escape,’ Sophia said.
‘Why?’ Nasira asked.
‘He … I don’t know,’ she said. ‘But I could feel it. He’ll let us go. I’m not questioning it, I’m just taking it.’
‘You fucking let him go? Are you crazy?’ Nasira said. ‘You had the motherfucker in your sights and your finger off?’
‘Look, there are compelling reasons,’ Sophia said. ‘I’ll explain later.’
‘Fine,’ Nasira said. She slung Czarina’s arm over her shoulder and started to help her up the passage. ‘Let’s move.’
Sophia started after them. ‘Come on,’ she said to DC. ‘About time we get off the island.’
He wasn’t moving.
She stopped. ‘You’re not coming with us, are you?’
‘I can’t,’ he said.
Nasira and Czarina had already reached the end of the passage. Nasira waited for a moment before losing her patience and moving onward.
‘Not yet,’ he said. ‘You should go. He won’t stop you.’
She shook her head and couldn’t help but smile. ‘You’ll take on highly trained operatives with just a sword but you’re too scared to kiss a girl.’
DC swallowed. ‘I am … not.’
He took a step forward but she grew impatient and closed the gap herself, her hand around his neck, drawing him in. His lips were softer than she expected. She felt the tension slip from his body. She could smell more than the blood and sweat between them. It was an intoxicating spice that dizzied her. Or that might’ve been her post-adrenal dump, she couldn’t be sure.