George was going to say something, but just then, a vulture landed on King’s shoulder and ripped his ear right off his head in its massive beak. George screamed. King screamed. They ran to George’s car. King leaned in and started the engine.
“Get in, quick!” King ordered, saving George before himself. “The only way you can disperse them is to drive toward them. Do it! Do it now! Hurry!”
King was pleased George didn’t hesitate. He watched as the senator floored the accelerator. Dirt spun out from his tires. He weaved about, as if running off the imaginary vultures conjured by the LSD trip. As he neared the ravine’s edge, he had to be going close to ninety. His pretty Mercedes soared into the air, then nose-dived to the bottom with a loud explosion. A black ball of smoke shot up from the rim of the canyon.
*
Remi followed Greer into the den. She sent him a nervous glance, wondering why Owen had summoned them. She’d been away from the team for most of her quarantine, and she’d forgotten how intense the bosses were. Kit nodded to Owen, silently giving him the floor.
“I wanted to bring Dr. Chase up to speed,” Owen said. “Your help in uncovering the hidden reality inside the Friends Community has been invaluable.” He looked around the table. “As you know, most of the people we discovered in the Quonset huts were the missing teenagers from the community, though some were Jane and John Does, taken from the streets elsewhere. There were forty-five in all, twenty dead, twenty-five very close to death.”
“What were they doing to them?” Remi asked. She’d heard some of this news from Greer, but not the official version.
“The investigators found evidence of slow-and fast-acting bio agents, from brucellosis to hemorrhagic infectants in the labs and in the dead in the mass grave. They were testing bio weapons.”
“On the kids?”
Owen nodded. “Seems the nature of their tithes changed from committing crimes to being victims. The living patients have been moved to Denver, the dead to special labs for analysis. DNA from each corpse is being matched to those in the Community so that their families can be notified.”
“Will the ones who survived pull through?”
Owen lifted his shoulders. “Time will tell. They are receiving the very best care now. I don’t know whether you’ve heard, but Senator Whiddon has evidently committed suicide.”
“He killed himself?” While it was a relief he was no longer a threat to her, Remi had a hard time getting her head around that news. Men as arrogant as the senator rarely felt remorse for their crimes.
“It appears he was overcome by guilt. He enumerated his crimes in a detailed suicide note.” Owen gave Greer a penetrating look.
Greer shrugged. “I can’t say that’s much of a loss. He and his son had been under FBI scrutiny for some time.”
Remi couldn’t help the shiver that ripped down her spine as she remembered his whispered promise, I will end him. Greer was smiling at her.
She shifted her gaze to Owen. “Do you think the WKB will leave me alone now?”
“The WKB have their hands full dealing with the FBI and the CDC and various other agencies. You’ll be the last thing on their minds for a long time,” Owen told her.
Remi reached for Greer’s hand, realizing what the other side of the coin meant; she was now free to go. Free to return to her old life. She looked to see if Greer had made that connection yet. If he had, it didn’t show on his face. Her heart hammered uncomfortably in her chest as they left the den.
She was quiet as they walked down the hall. “I never thought I could open my heart the way you’ve shown me to. Now that I have, if you aren’t in it, I’ll just feel broken.”
He smiled and stopped to face her. “Go on.”
“I need you to be with me. Here. At my place. Whatever.”
Greer touched her cheek. The humor slowly slipped from his face. “I wouldn’t have it any other way, Remi. I love you.”
“I love you, too.”
He caught her hand and pressed it to his chest. “Marry me.”
“We have complicated careers. How will we make it work?”
“I think my team’s going to be here a long while. And it sounded like your university’s never going to let you go. I’ll put you first. You’ll put me first. We’ll make it work.”
She smiled at him. “I like that.”
“I do, too.” He laughed and kissed her. They walked down to the living room, where everyone was gathering for supper. Kelan’s phone rang.
Greer smiled as Kelan said, “Hi, babe. What’s up?” There was a pause. “Fiona? Fiona?” Another pause. The guys went quiet, hearing a note in Kelan’s voice that set them on edge. Remi felt the tension that rippled through the room.
Kelan straightened and frowned. “Who is this?” He lowered the phone slowly, then looked at Greer. “They have Fiona.”