I’d disconnected and then gone upstairs to our bedroom, finding Jennifer lying on the bed mindlessly flipping through television channels.
She glanced at me, and I could see she hadn’t been focused on the television. She said, “How’d it go?”
“Okay. He didn’t believe my bullshit, but he let it slide. He’s sending an aircraft for Nicole.”
“When are you going to tell her?”
“I don’t think I am. Right now she believes that we already evac’d Dunkin and we were only staying because we needed to rescue her. It made her appreciative of our efforts. More compliant to the plan. She won’t get on the plane if she doesn’t think Dunkin’s at the end of it.”
She sat up, saying, “That’s what’s important now? Her compliance?”
I sat next to her and said, “I know that sounds cold, but what’s important is finding and punishing Dunkin’s killer, Chen Ju-Long. And we can’t operate if she goes running to the police talking about Chinese assassins and Dunkin’s murder.”
She lay back down, staring at the ceiling, saying, “Because I killed those men at the zoo. It went from a single murder of Dunkin to a mass shooting event over two different areas. The man I shot will be on the surveillance systems getting into the cable car with Dunkin, which means the police will ascertain that it wasn’t one killer running amok at the zoo, but some type of conspiracy.”
She was right about the repercussions, and I didn’t want to make her feel worse, but it might be as bad as “some type of conspiracy involving a blonde woman,” because she was sure to be on the camera boarding the next car. I didn’t think that would happen—at least not soon—because the news reports had nothing like that yet, instead focusing on the background of Dunkin and the dead Chinese.
She continued, “And they’re going to question Nicole’s sister about the maintenance worker who was killed there. Another link.”
I said, “Which is why we need to get her out of here. Nicole told Veep that her sister didn’t even know she was going there. It happened too fast. Nicole just knew that the condo was empty because her sister was out of town on business, and she had a key. Her sister isn’t even coming back from overseas for two more weeks. That’s a dead end.”
“They’re going to make a link to the import/export company, just like we did. And when they do, they’re going to make another link to the house you assaulted. There has to be some kind of rental records. The zoo and that house are going to be tied together.”
I said, “I know. In fact, I’m counting on it. If they find nothing but Chinese guys all over the place, the focus will go against Chen Ju-Long and the PRC. The Aussies are already on high alert because of the rampant spying China does here. If it puts pressure on his ass, that’s fine by me. It’ll take the heat off of us.”
She nodded vacantly, then turned to me and said, “I shouldn’t have killed those men.”
And I realized she wasn’t really concerned about screwing up the mission. She was wrestling about whether she was a murderer.
I said, “Scoot over.” She did and I lay down next to her, taking her hand and saying, “You made a call. It’s not a moral decision. It’s a military one.”
“I didn’t have to kill them. I could have simply left the zoo.”
“You didn’t kill the one that was surrendering. You let him go.”
“Yeah, that was probably a screwup too. He knows what I look like. I mean, not only did I kill those other two, but I let the last one flee. If I’m going to do wrong, I should have gone all the way.”
I chuckled and she let go of my hand, saying, “It’s not funny.”
I knew it wasn’t humorous, not the least because I had a smoldering rage at Dunkin’s death, and absolutely no regret for what Jennifer had done. I couldn’t let it out in front of her, because it would just prove she was right, given her moral compass, but the men who had killed Dunkin would all be planted in the ground. I would ensure that was the case before this was done. I couldn’t tell her that—or the team—because of how I’d acted in the past when things became personal. I’d gotten pretty good at hiding the beast inside me in front of the team, but I was going to let it out before this was done.
They were dead men walking. Period.
I said, “Well, yeah, it is a little funny. You’re the only Operator I know who can beat herself up both ways on a decision.”
“Tell me I’m wrong, then.”
“Okay, you’re wrong. What were you going to do? Make a citizen’s arrest? This is combat. I sure as shit didn’t start screaming ‘freeze’ as I cleared that house looking for Nicole.”
“That’s different. Nicole’s life was on the line. Dunkin’s was already gone.”
And her eyes began to water. I sat up and said, “That’s not fair. Dunkin’s death is not your fault. You don’t get to shoulder the blame for him disobeying instructions. The Chinese were ahead of us with the thumb drive ruse, and I’m the one that sent him.”
“Okay, okay. It still sucks, though. And I still didn’t need to murder those men.”
“Stop it. It wasn’t murder. It was combat. They’re the murderers. The first one was the man who killed Dunkin. The second drew a weapon on you. He was a threat. The third surrendered. And you let him go.”
She nodded and said, “I know, I know. I think what bothers me most is that I’m not as bothered as I should be by doing it. I’ve been waiting to feel guilty or dirty or something—especially after killing that guy with a corkscrew.”
“It’ll come, trust me, but it’s just a natural reaction. It doesn’t mean you’re guilty or dirty.”
She took my hand again and said, “I came close to killing that guy with his hands up, though. Really close.”
“Close doesn’t count. Lord knows I’ve come close to doing plenty of stuff that would make you mad.”
She scrunched her eyes and said, “Like what?”
“Like killing that damn cat of ours. But I haven’t.”
She finally chuckled and said, “What now?”
I said, “Now comes a little Pike magic.”
I picked up my phone and she asked, “Who are you going to call?”
“Amena.”
Chapter 52
As was usual, Amena was running behind trying to make it to breakfast. If she had it her way, she’d have just slept in and shown up to the morning meeting with the rest of the students at Ashley Hall. But that wasn’t to be for the small selection of boarding students.
Living across the street from the school in a renovated three-story Charlestonian mansion, she shared a room with her Chinese roommate, Flower, with the other Chinese exchange students sprinkled throughout the house. To ensure they made it to class on time and deal with any other problems, they had a live-in couple who came around checking to make sure they were awake each morning.
Which meant she couldn’t sleep in even if she wanted to.
She sat on her bed brushing her hair, waiting her turn in the shared bathroom. There wasn’t a formal structure to its use, but they’d fallen into a rhythm. The room across the hall started, then she let Flower go. She went last before trekking across the road to breakfast.