“Well, I’m sorry about the way all of that went down, Jack, but the political people in charge don’t approve of profiling.”
“I understand,” Jack said. “I’m not complaining. I was able to find work.”
“With the Mossad.”
Jack knew it was an educated guess. He simply shrugged.
“The Israelis aren’t perfect, either,” Angus said.
“No they aren’t, but they don’t put political correctness ahead of stopping terrorists. They can’t afford to.
“So, since I don’t have a contract with you any longer, I’m afraid that the assets I’ve developed are my assets alone. I need them in my work for those who employ me. Since your agency isn’t interested in the work I do, or employing me, I’m afraid that Angela can’t discuss anything about what she was able to do in stopping this terrorist event.”
Angus chewed his lower lip for a moment. “Jack, it’s critical that we find out what went wrong that allowed it to get this close to disaster.”
“As a professional courtesy,” Jack said, “after I get Angela safely home, I’ll fill you in on what I found out. I won’t discuss what Angela was able to do, but I will let you know what we learned so that you can understand how everything went so wrong.”
“Well,” Angus said with a sigh, “that would be helpful.”
Angela pointed at the two prisoners. Medics were tending to Rafael. “We saved you two prisoners. I didn’t shoot them so that you can interrogate them all you want. Jack’s idea.”
“What happened to that one?” Angus asked.
“He asked me to shoot him,” Angela said. “So I did. Just not where he wanted me to shoot him. His name is Rafael. He is the leader of this entire mission. The other one is Lobo. He’s a coward. I expect he will talk.”
Jack smiled. Angus stared at her in astonishment for a moment.
“Anyway,” Jack said, “Rafael, there, brought the material for the two bombs in through the Oeste Mesa border crossing during the big attack. All the rest of it, all the other attacks, all of it, was merely meant to obscure the fact that the border crossing was the one that mattered. That’s how they got the critical bomb material in.”
Angus could only stare in disbelief.
“Like I say, if you want to continue to enjoy my cooperation as your unpaid personal advisor, she is to be left out of it. If you should get any unpleasant ideas, please keep in mind my previous warning about the consequences of what I know getting out.”
Angus cast a suspicious look at Jack, then at Angela. “And what does she want out of this?”
“Nothing,” Jack said. “She doesn’t want recognition or any reward. She did this to save innocent lives. She just wants to be left alone to live her life. I think you owe her that much.
“But a great many people owe her a great deal. They owe her their lives, even if they don’t know it and never will. This government owes it to her to let her live hers.”
Angus lifted an eyebrow, then stuck a finger in his thick hair and scratched his scalp as he thought it over for a moment. Finally, he looked Angela in the eye.
“In light of the fact that you saved untold lives today, young lady, to say nothing of the damage it would have done to the government, the infrastructure, the electromagnetic pulse that would have taken out a large part of the East Coast, and the possibility this could have cascaded into global nuclear war, I want you to know that you have your government’s deepest gratitude, even if that gratitude can’t be expressed publicly—for obvious reasons. I’m afraid that in the national interest, this entire matter must be kept several levels above even top secret. Top-secret things are routinely leaked. This must never be. Ever.”
“I understand, sir, and I’ll keep it that way,” Angela said. “You have my word.”
Angus nodded his relief. He even added a grateful smile.
Jack doubted that Angus could ever comprehend her reasons for doing what she had done. It was not for recognition.
It was because she was a stone-cold killer of killers.
The United States had just been saved by a serial killer.
Angus smiled with an idea. “Well, there is one thing I am able to do for you. You have that weapons permit we gave you?”
Angela nodded. “Yes, sir, thank you.”
Angus’s smile widened. “I’ll tell you what. We’re going to upgrade it for you.”
Angela frowned. “How can you upgrade it? I was told it already allows me to carry whatever I want wherever I want.”
“Yes, that’s true enough. But now it’s going to give you access to our special armory and gunsmiths. Anything you want will be yours.”
“You mean you have a catalog of guns for spies?”
Angus laughed. “Not quite, but almost. You’ll have a personal contact who will be able to advise you and make suggestions. I realize that you know what you’re doing, but these people know a great deal about weapons. They will see to it that you get whatever you want—things you likely don’t even know exist—the best of the best.”
Angela gestured around at all the dead. “Do you think I’m lacking? I think my twenty-two worked just fine.”
“Yes, it did.” Angus arched an eyebrow. “But I think our armory can get you a twenty-two, or anything you might want, that you will find special, and just for you. It’s a small token of appreciation from a grateful government, a government with a lot of good people, despite the fools you encountered before.
“Really, Angela, considering what you went on to do here today for everyone, despite how you were treated before, that shows what a special person you really are. We have hundreds of billions of dollars invested in making sure this never happens. Yet it almost did. Only your initiative stopped it. You deserve a small token of our appreciation. I hope you will accept it.”
Angela bowed her head. “Thank you, sir, I would be glad to.”
“Now,” Angus said. “Our NEST team is right behind me. They need to get in here and dismantle this thing and make sure the plutonium is safe.”
SIXTY-NINE
Angela was glad that she had stopped to see Barry. He’d already had one operation on his face, and he would need several more, but he was in good spirits to have survived.
He was glad that those four men hadn’t managed to find Angela and harm her. He felt tremendously ashamed for telling them where she lived. Angela convinced Barry that it was all right, that no one could have stood up to what they were doing to him without talking. She told him that she was far more worried about him and wished that he had told them what they wanted to know before it had gone as far as it did.
He asked what had happened to the men. She told him that they’d gotten into a fight with someone and they had been shot and killed. He was surprised to hear it. She smiled and told Barry that karma was a bitch. He laughed a little, and said not to make him laugh because it hurt.
He knew about Angela and the rest of the girls keeping the bar open for him. They had all been visiting him. He thanked her over and over for that. She’d told him that she only did it because she needed the money, not because she was keeping it open for him. He’d laughed again, and winced in pain again.
He hadn’t been too keen on the ladies’ night thing, but after Tiffany had let him know how much money it had brought in for the bar, he was warming up to the idea, especially since Nate was there to keep things under control.
Angela turned in to the trailer park just before the MILFORD FALLS KOZY KOURT sign. The road in had once been blacktop, but very little of that paving still showed through the dirt and gravel.