Still, orders were orders, and he had to comply.
But he didnt have to like it and he didnt have to make anybody comfortable.
He growled aloud.
Never mind people getting killed.
Things were going to get very ugly.
CHAPTER FIVE
As she drove Jilly, April, and Gabriela home, Riley couldnt bring herself to tell them she was heading out right away. She was going to miss Jillys very first major event, a starring role in a play. Would the girls be able to understand that she was under orders?
Even after they all got home, Riley couldnt tell them.
She burned inside with shame.
Today shed earned a medal for perseverance, and in the past shed been honored for valor and bravery. And of course, her daughters had been in the audience watching her receive her medal.
But she sure didnt feel like much of a hero.
The girls headed outside to play in the backyard, and Riley went up to her bedroom and started packing her things. It was a familiar routine. The trick was to pack a small bag with enough necessities to last for a couple of days or a month.
While she was laying things out on her bed, she heard Gabrielas voice.
Señora Riley what are you doing?
Riley turned and saw Gabriela standing in the doorway. The housekeeper was holding a stack of clean linen that she was about to put in the hall closet.
Riley stammered, Gabriela, Ive Ive got to go.
Gabrielas mouth dropped open.
Go? Where?
Ive been assigned to a new case. In California.
Cant you go tomorrow? Gabriela asked.
Riley swallowed hard.
Gabriela, the FBI plane is waiting right now. Ive got to go.
Gabriela shook her head.
She said, It is good to fight evil, Señora Riley. But sometimes I think you lose sight of whats good.
Gabriela disappeared into the hallway.
Riley sighed. Since when did Riley pay Gabriela to be her conscience?
But she couldnt complain. It was a job that Gabriela was getting to be all too good at.
Riley stood staring at her unfinished packing.
She shook her head and whispered to herself
I cant do this to Jilly. I just cant.
All of her life she had sacrificed her kids for work things. Every time. Not once had she put her kids first.
And that, she realized, was what was wrong with her life. That was a part of her darkness.
She was brave enough to face down a serial killer. But was she brave enough to put work on the back burner and make her kids lives her number one priority?
At this very moment, Bill and Lucy were getting ready to fly out to California.
They were expecting to meet her at the Quantico airstrip.
Riley sighed miserably.
There was only one way to solve this problem if she could solve it at all.
She had to try.
She took out her cell phone and dialed Merediths private number.
At the sound of his gruff voice, she said, Sir, this is Agent Paige.
Whats the matter? Meredith asked.
There was a note of concern in his voice. Riley understood why. She had never used this number except in dire circumstances.
She gathered up her nerve and came right to the point.
Sir, I would like to delay my trip to California. Just for tonight. Agents Jeffreys and Vargas can go ahead of me.
After a pause, Meredith asked, Whats your emergency?
Riley gulped. Meredith wasnt going to make this easy.
But she was determined not to lie.
In a shaky voice she stammered, My younger daughter, Jilly shes in a school play tonight. Shes shes playing the lead.
The silence that fell was deafening.
Did he just hang up on me? Riley wondered.
Then with a growl Meredith said, Would you repeat that, please? Im not sure I heard you correctly.
Riley stifled a sigh. She was sure that hed heard her perfectly well.
Sir, this play is important to her, she said, growing more nervous by the second. Jillys well, you know Im trying to adopt her. Shes had a hard life, and shes coming out of a very difficult time and her feelings are very delicate and
Rileys voice faded off.
And what? Meredith asked.
Riley swallowed hard.
I cant disappoint her, sir. Not this once. Not today.
Another grim silence fell.
Riley was starting to feel more determined.
Sir, it wont make any difference in the case, she said. Agents Jeffreys and Vargas will go ahead of me, and you know how capable they are. They can get me up to speed when I do get out there.
And when would that be? Meredith asked.
Tomorrow morning. Early. Ill head for the airport as soon as the plays over. Ill take the first flight I can get.
After another pause, Riley added, Ill go on my own dime.
She heard Meredith grunt a little.
You certainly will, Agent Paige, he said.
Riley gasped and caught her breath.
Hes giving me permission!
She suddenly realized that shed barely been breathing during the conversation.
It took a lot of effort not to burst out into uncontrolled gales of gratitude.
She knew Meredith wouldnt like that at all. And the last thing she wanted was for him to change his mind.
So she simply said, Thank you.
She heard another grunt.
Then Meredith said, Tell your daughter to break a leg.
He ended the call.
Riley breathed a sigh of relief, then glanced up and saw that Gabriela was standing in the doorway again, smiling.
Shed obviously been listening to the whole call.
I think you are growing up, Señora Riley, Gabriela said.
*Sitting in the audience with April and Gabriela, Riley was thoroughly enjoying the school play. Shed forgotten how charming events like this could be.
The middle-school kids were all dressed in makeshift costumes. They had painted flat scenery to look like scenes from the story of Demeter and Persephone fields full of flowers, a volcano in Sicily, the dank caverns of the Underworld, and other mythical places.
And Jillys acting was simply wonderful!
She played Persephone, the young daughter of grain goddess Demeter. Riley found herself remembering the familiar story as it unfolded.
Persephone was outside picking flowers one day when Hades, the god of the Underworld, rode by in his chariot and snatched her away. He took her down into the Underworld to be his queen. When Demeter realized what had happened to her daughter, she wailed with sorrow.
Riley felt chills at how convincingly the girl playing Demeter expressed her grief.
At that point, the story started getting to Riley in a way she hadnt expected.
Persephones story seemed eerily like Jillys own. After all, it was the story of a girl who lost part of her childhood to forces much greater than herself.
Riley felt herself tearing up.
She knew the rest of the story very well. Persephone would regain her freedom, but only for half of every year. Whenever Persephone was gone, Demeter let the earth grow cold and dead. Whenever she came back, she brought the earth back to life, and springtime came again.
And that was how seasons had come into the world.
Riley squeezed Aprils hand and whispered, Here comes the sad part.
Riley was surprised to hear April giggle.
Not so sad, April whispered back. Jilly told me they changed the story a little. Just watch.
Riley sat and paid close attention.
Fully in character as Persephone, Jilly cracked Hades over the head with a Grecian urn actually a pillow in disguise. Then she stormed out of the Underworld and back to her overjoyed mother.
The boy playing Hades threw an enormous tantrum and brought winter to the world. He and Demeter then fought a tug-of-war, changing the seasons from winter to spring and back again, and so on again and again for the rest of time.
Riley was delighted.
When the play ended, Riley led the way backstage to congratulate Jilly. On their way, she ran into the teacher who had directed the play.
I love what you did with the story! Riley told the teacher. It was so refreshing to see Persephone turned from a helpless victim to an independent heroine.
The teacher smiled broadly.
Dont thank me, she said. It was Jillys idea.
Riley rushed over to Jilly and gave her a big hug.
Im so proud of you! Riley said.
Thanks, Mom, Jilly said, smiling happily.
Mom.
The word echoed through Riley. It meant more to her than she could say.
*Later that night when they were all at home, Riley finally had to tell the girls she was leaving. She poked her head in Jillys door.
Jilly was fast asleep, exhausted from her great success. Riley loved the look of contentment on her face.
Then Riley went to Aprils bedroom and looked in on her. April was sitting up in bed reading a book.
April looked up at her mother.
Hey, Mom, she said. Whats up?
Riley stepped quietly into the room.
She said, This is going to seem weird but Ive got to leave right now. Ive been assigned to a case in California.
April smiled.
She said, Jilly and I both pretty much guessed that was what your meeting back in Quantico was all about. And then we saw that go-bag on your bed. We actually thought you were going to leave before her play. You usually dont pack it unless youre out the door.
She stared at Riley, her smile widening.
But then you stayed, she added. I know you delayed the trip, at least for the play. Do you know how much that meant to us?
Riley felt herself tear up. She leaned forward and the two of them embraced.
So its OK if I go, then? Riley asked.
Sure, its OK. Jilly told me she hoped youd catch some bad guys. Shes really proud of what you do, Mom. So am I.
Riley felt moved beyond words. Both of her daughters were growing up so fast. And they were becoming really amazing young women.
She kissed April on the forehead.
I love you, dear, she said.
I love you too, April said.
Riley wagged her finger at April.
Now what are you doing up? she said. Turn off that light and go to sleep. Its a school night.
April giggled and turned off the light. Riley went to her own bedroom to get her bag.
It was after midnight and she had to drive to DC in time for a commercial flight.
It was going to be a long night.
CHAPTER SIX
The wolf lay on his stomach on the rough desert soil.
Thats how the man thought of himself a beast stalking his next kill.
He had an excellent view of Fort Nash Mowat from this high place, and the night air was pleasant and cool. He peered at tonights prey through the night-vision scope on his rifle.
He thought back to his hated victims.
Three weeks ago it had been Rolsky.
Then came Fraser.
Then came Worthing.
Hed taken them out with great finesse, with shots to the head so clean they surely hadnt even known a bullet had hit them.
Tonight, it would be Barton.
The wolf watched Barton walking along an unlit path. Although the image through the night scope was grainy and monotone, the target was sufficiently visible for his purposes.
But he wouldnt shoot tonights prey not yet.
He wasnt far enough away. Someone nearby might be able to figure out his location, even though he had attached a flash hider to his M110 sniper rifle. He wasnt going to make the amateurish mistake of underestimating the soldiers on this base.
Following Barton through his scope, the wolf enjoyed the feel of the M110 in his hands. These days the Army was transitioning toward using the Heckler & Koch G28 as a standard sniper rifle. While the wolf knew the G28 was lighter and more compact, he still preferred the M110. It was more accurate, even if it was longer and harder to conceal.
He had twenty rounds in the magazine, but he only intended to use one when the time came to fire.
He was going to take out Barton with one shot, or not at all.
He could feel the energy of the pack, as though they were watching him, giving him their support.
He watched as Barton finally arrived at his destination one of the bases outdoor tennis courts. Several other players greeted him as he stepped onto the court and unpacked his tennis gear.
Now that Barton was in the brightly lit area, the wolf had no further need of the night scope. He detached it to use the day optical sight. Then he took aim directly at Bartons head. The image was no longer grainy, but crystal clear and in full, vivid color.
Barton was about three hundred feet away now.
At that range, the wolf could depend upon the rifles precision down to an inch.
It was up to him to stay within that inch.
And he knew that he would.
Just a slight squeeze of the trigger, he thought.
That was all that was needed now.
The wolf basked in that mysterious, suspended moment.
There was something almost religious about those seconds before pulling the trigger, when he waited for himself to will the shot, waited for himself to decide to squeeze with his finger. During that moment, life and death seemed strangely out of his hands. The irrevocable move would happen in the fullness of an instant.
It would be his decision and yet not his decision at all.
Whose decision was it, then?
He fancied that there was an animal, a true wolf, lurking inside him, a remorseless creature that took actual command over that fatal moment and movement.
That animal was both his friend and his enemy. And he loved it with a strange love that he could only feel toward a mortal enemy. That inner animal was what called out the best in him, kept him truly up to the mark.
The wolf lay waiting for that animal to strike.
But the animal didnt.
The wolf didnt pull the trigger.
He wondered why.
Something seems wrong, he thought.
It quickly occurred to him what it was.
The view of the target in the glaring tennis court floodlights through the regular scope was simply too clear.
It would take too little effort.
There was no challenge.
It wouldnt be worthy of a true wolf.
Also, it was too soon after the last killing. The others had been spaced out to stir up anxiety and uncertainty among the men he loathed. Shooting Barton now would disrupt the psychological rhythmic impact of his work.
He smiled a little at the realization. He got to his feet with his gun and started to walk back the way hed come.
He felt right about leaving his prey undisturbed for now.
No one knew when hed strike next.
Not even he himself.
CHAPTER SEVEN
It was still dark when Rileys commercial flight took off. But even with the time change, she knew it would be daylight in San Diego when she got there. She was going to be in the air for more than five hours and she was already feeling quite tired. She had to be fully functional tomorrow morning when she joined Bill and Lucy for the investigation. There would be serious work to do, and she needed to be ready for it.