Reckoning (18 page)

She stood up with the syringe in her hand. He looked at her desperately, straining with all his might to break the ropes, and she was sure he was feeling at least some of the symptoms. She stepped closer. Smiled. And let the syringe drop.

It shattered at Leland’s feet, but he didn’t see it. He’d already passed out.

She took off her helmet, tired of being hot and sweaty. Nate had had to convince her that the dry ice would work. It really didn’t look anything like the actual gas. He’d never have been able to see that or smell it.

Nate said he’d be so scared they could have shaken a can of Coke and sprayed it on him, and he would have believed he was about to die.

She spit, although it didn’t reach him. Then she turned and joined her friends in the clean room. The moment she heard they were going to try to beat the troops, she was all for it. This was a private victory, one they more than deserved.

“WHAT ARE YOU STOPPING FOR?”

Nate pulled the truck over to the side of the road. They weren’t even close to a town and they’d been watching a steady stream of vehicles, most with red lights and sirens, flash past them on their way to the plant.

“Look up there,” he said, pointing to a mountain in the distance.

Tam didn’t understand. “What am I looking for?”

“There’s a cell tower. In our line of sight.”

“Okay?”

“Honey, you can call your folks now.”

Tears sprang to her eyes. “Really?”

He nodded, handing her his cell. “I charged it on the generator. It should last as long as you need it to.” He opened his door.

“You’re leaving?”

“I want to tell the others. They all have people to call. I’m sure our pictures are all over the news.”

“What about you?”

“I’ll talk to my mother after Christie’s done. But you go ahead. If you need me, I’ll be right out there.”

He closed the door behind her. She had to call information to get the number at the San Francisco hospital, and then when she did, they didn’t want to connect her to her parents’ room. At least she knew they weren’t dead, or she’d have been switched to the morgue. Finally, she convinced them to put the call through.

“Hello?”

It wasn’t her mother’s voice. “Is this Mrs. Chen’s room?”

“Yes, it is. May I tell her who’s calling?”

Tam hesitated. She didn’t want to scare her mother if she hadn’t been watching the news. “Are you a friend?”

“I’m her nurse.”

“Good, then you can tell me. Has she been watching the news?”

“No, her television is off.”

“Oh, dear.”

“Who is this?”

“I’m her daughter.”

“But—”

“I know. She thought something had happened to me. That I’d been killed.”

“I see,” said the nurse, hesitantly.

“Have you been watching the news?”

“Yes.”

“You know that chemical plant? The one that was a secret government plot?”

“It’s on every station.”

“I was working on that. Undercover. So I couldn’t tell them—”

“Okay, I’m getting it now. Hold on. She’s just getting back from her shower.”

“Wait. Please, is she going to be all right?”

“Yes, she is. And so is your father, although his injuries were a little more severe.”

Tam had stopped trying to wipe the tears away. “Okay, I’m ready when she is. Just, would you stay with her, make sure she’s okay?”

“Sure thing. One minute.”

Tam shook as she waited, excited and desperate to hear her mother’s voice.

“Oh, my God. Tam? Is it really you?”

She couldn’t say anything. Not for a full minute. But finally, she said, “Yes, Momma. It’s really me.”

The technical aspects of the mission had run like clockwork. The faxes had been received with outrage and hope, and the Times’ crew had shuttled the video feed to news sources around the globe. But finally—as was the plan—the story had taken on a life of its own.

CNN had given it a name and a musical theme. So had FOX. They’d taken to calling Vince and the others heroes and investigations were sprouting like weeds.

The suicide of Senator Raines was huge, but now that he was gone it seemed as if every other politico in the country had something horrible to say about him—especially the ones being arrested.

It was going to take years for this to be resolved, what with court cases, international inquiries, evidence gathering and then there was the disposal of the gas. That worried him the most. They were still debating how to get rid of VX, and that had been going on since the seventies.

It was all of it terrible and wonderful, and he had thanked Corky Baker a hundred times today. He hoped, wherever he was, he knew that his story hadn’t ended with his death.

The oddest thing though were all the requests for interviews. World renowned journalists were fighting each other to get at him. He supposed it was a compliment, but he’d never wanted to be part of the story, just to report it.

The boss, and not just the editor but the publisher, president and CEO, had given him the exclusive. After the story had run in the Times, then he would be free to discuss the particulars with other reporters. Hell, he had his own assistant whose sole job was to make sure he wasn’t disturbed.

Of course, his parents had called, kvelling like he’d cured cancer. He hadn’t, but damn it, what he had done was important. He’d helped save countless lives. He’d taken down an evil man, way before he’d become President. And he’d helped clear the names of nine incredibly brave people.

It was hard to hold all of what happened in his head. He was just a cub reporter. Someone who had to pick up the trash of those even slightly up the ladder. So, yeah, it made sense that he was stunned.

But the real shocker was he was still alive. With all the guns and weapons and clandestine phone calls, and the equipment and meeting forgers, he’d been convinced he wouldn’t have lived past yesterday. Of course he’d carried on as if no one was after him, but damn. He was alive. And he was in debt up to his eyeballs.

How the hell was he going to pay for the goddamn Porsche? Or that stupid apartment, with the slippery sofa? He’d bought a watch he didn’t need, clothes that made him uncomfortable. He’d bought silverware that cost a hundred and thirty dollars a serving.

His parents were going to kill him.

“Eli?”

He turned to his brand-new assistant, Gretchen. She was even greener than he was, but she was nice. “Yeah?”

“There’s someone here to see you.” She nodded toward the waiting room.

There were lots of people there, mostly reporters, but Gretchen couldn’t mean them. They’d been around since the moment the story broke. “Who?”

“See that woman? The blonde? She says she knows you. That you went to high school together.”

His heart sped up as he considered that it might be Janice. That she’d seen the news and suddenly her boyfriend wasn’t looking so hot. But the only blonde out there was a little on the round side, wearing a skirt that was way the hell too short. She turned around, and he swallowed really hard. It was Janice. Only, she wasn’t anything like he remembered.

She appeared about ten years older than she should have, and the hair he’d dreamt about for years looked like straw. Her lips, those perfect lips, were painted a bright, bright red.

She saw him and started waving hysterically, pushing the reporters away so she could come his way.

It was like one of those commercials, where the two lovers run together in slow motion across a field of daisies. Only there weren’t any flowers. And they weren’t lovers. And it might have been better for everyone involved if he had been shot.

IT WAS ALMOST THREE WHEN they reached the Renegade. The calls had been made, tears had been wept. The most painful thing of all for Nate was talking to Cade’s parents. He wasn’t ashamed he’d cried bitter tears. Cade shouldn’t have died.

He’d also called Corky Baker’s wife. He wanted her to understand the role her husband had played. She’d asked if he’d like to come to dinner so he could tell their son. He told her he’d get back to her and that he’d like to meet her son. And that Vince would be with him.

He’d also spoken to the director of the FBI. As he’d expected, the director wanted all of them in Washington ASAP. Nate wouldn’t tell them their location, but he gave his word they’d be in Las Vegas by eight o’clock that night. There would be a plane waiting.

Nate informed him that one member of the team would be delayed. He explained about Tam’s parents. The director wasn’t thrilled, but he could see there was no room for negotiation. He told Nate that Tam would have a plane ticket to San Francisco waiting for her at the terminal.

The bar was pretty empty, but he still looked around to see if Rodney was there. It was a dump, but he didn’t give a damn. There were cold beers, a pretty decent television above the bar and his team was free.

He’d never been so proud of any unit he’d commanded. These people had shown fortitude and honor and a determination that was outside of most people’s experience. He hoped each one of them wrote a book and got a million bucks for it. He didn’t want them to experience any more hardships, financial or otherwise.

The real miracle of all of this was that in the midst of hell, almost all of them had found something great. Something bigger than Omicron, than politics. Love.

They sat at a big long ranch-house table. Vince asked if they had any chilled champagne, but he’d just gotten a look from the bartender that said loud and clear he’d be lucky to find imported beer.

Everyone ordered, and when the beers came, Nate stood. They all got quiet when he lifted his bottle. “It’s been an honor serving with you,” he said. “All of you. You were handed a lousy deal, but you played it out till the end. And you won. To the heroes of Kosovo.”

They touched each other’s bottles, going purposefully around the table. And when it was time to drink, Seth said, “To Cade. I hope to hell he had a front row seat.”

“Amen, brother,” Boone said.

“Hey, check it out.” Kate was looking at the television.

“Today’s suicide of Senator Jackson Raines, and the disclosure of the manufacture and sale of illegal chemical weapons has caused shock waves not only in Washington, but around the world.” Behind the reporter was a helicopter shot of the manufacturing plant. Next was a wide shot of Leland Ingram being led out of the plant in handcuffs.

“Raines is dead?” Christie asked.

“Coward.” Nate had to tamp down his urge to shoot something as he watched the news unfold. “The bastard should have had to fry along with everyone else involved.”

“I just hope the Feds got the pricks who did this to me,” Seth said, touching his bandaged eye gingerly.

“I do, too.” Harper kissed him on the forehead, about the only place he wasn’t bruised.

“Personally,” Boone added, “I want to know once and for all who okayed our participation in this whole goddamned thing. Someone had to know. Someone in Delta.”

“We’ll find out.” Nate had already decided that was going to be his first piece of business in D.C. “I won’t rest until it happens.”

“Did anyone call Eli?” Vince asked.

When no one stepped forward, he swore, then got out his cell phone. Vince had to shout to be heard, so he walked out of the bar, telling Eli to hold on.

Kate watched him leave, and Nate wondered how the two of them were going to make out now that the mission was over. Not the work part, that he knew. But the relationship.

He looked around the table at the men and women he’d come to know so well. All of them had found someone important, someone who made the fight bearable, but now? Would it all last past the hearings?

He looked at Tam and he thought about all they’d been through together. And how he’d come to need her. He didn’t believe for a minute that time away would change a thing, at least not for him.

“Hey,” he said, touching her arm.

She turned and smiled at him. As always, that smile alone was enough to knock his socks off.

“Come outside for a minute.”

She didn’t ask why, she just went with him, and when he touched her on the small of her back, she leaned into him to let him know his touch was more than welcome.

It was quiet outside, except for Vince shouting into his cell phone. Nate led her around to the side of the building. The view sucked. A small grocery store, a bunch of old cars and a billboard advertising the Virgin River Hotel in Mesquite. But he didn’t look at any of that. All he wanted to see was Tam.

“So what are you going to do when you get home?” he asked. “Aside from taking care of your folks.”

She sighed and rested her butt on the hood of an old Chevy. “Try to make sense of this. I’m not the person I was when I accepted that job offer. It feels as though it’s been a hundred years since then.”

Nate nodded, understanding perfectly.

“I’m pretty sure I still want to be a biochemist. But I’m terrified that I’ll make another horrible mistake.”

“First of all, it wasn’t a mistake. You were lied to by people you had every right to believe would tell you the truth.”

“Ah,” she said, “but you’re forgetting that I didn’t go to Kosovo for some noble cause. I went because I wanted the money.”

“That’s not a sin, either.”

“Maybe not in your book.”

“Not in anyone’s. Besides, you did some incredible work once you did find out what was going on. I doubt there’s another scientist out there who could have put together those notes and come up with an antidote. Okay, maybe Stephen Hawking.”

She laughed. “He’s a quantum physicist.”

Nate touched her chin. “But I got you to laugh.”

She looked into his eyes, and he wondered what she saw there. Did she get that he had fallen for her? “You know, I’m not the guy I was, either.”

“I know,” she said. “You’ve got gray hair now.”

“What?” He touched his head. “I do not.”

She laughed again. “Uh-huh. At the temples. But don’t worry, you look very distinguished.”

“I don’t want to look distinguished. I want to look hot.”

That really cracked her up. She laughed so hard he couldn’t help but join in, and it took them both a good while to calm back down. “Don’t sweat it, soldier. You’re still a hottie. I’m sure all the women in Washington will be lining up to show you the sights.”

“I don’t want that. Not anymore.”

Her smile got a little crooked. “We’ll see.”

“Tam, you don’t get it. I’ve found what I want.”

“I know you believe that. For what it’s worth, I hope it’s true. I hope we go back to the real world and find out we’re a match made in heaven.”

“But?”

“It’s only a hypothesis. We’ll just have to wait and see the evidence.”

“You brainiacs always have the most crackpot ideas.”

“I’m right, and you know it.”

“You realize they’re not going to let you go. You will have to testify in Washington.”

She nodded. “I know. I just want to get my folks settled. I’m hoping I don’t have to leave them too soon.”

“Will you stay with me? When you come?”

“I’d like to say I don’t know, but I’m so weak when it comes to you. So yes, I probably will.”

“Good.”

“I don’t want to make another mistake, Nate. Frankly, I couldn’t handle it.”

“All right. I won’t push it. But don’t be surprised if I call you every night until you figure things out.”

“I’ll be sad if you don’t.”

He leaned over and kissed her. “Don’t be sad. I don’t want you to be sad ever again.”

She cupped his face with her small hands. “We’ve been through everything but the real stuff. Let’s both focus on that, and then we’ll know.”

He nodded. “Whatever you say.”

“I say let’s get back to the others. We need this bit of downtime, don’t you think? To be all together?”

“So smart. And so pretty. How do you do that?”

She blushed. “Kate was right. You are a charmer.”

“Hey, you guys.”

They turned to find Vince standing at the corner of the building. “Eli’s famous.”

Nate gave Tam one last private look, then he put his hands in his pockets as they went to join Vince. “Yeah?”

“He’s getting his own byline and an exclusive first shot at the story. It was a very big deal at the Times.”

“I’ll bet,” Nate said, grinning at how pleased Vince was.

“And all the other reporters want interviews with him. He’s going to be on CNN tonight.”

“Well,” Tam said. “I hope this gets him laid.”