[Quinn 02] - The Deceived

“Hurry.”

Quinn whipped the car around in a U-turn and for a moment headed away from the hawker center. It would be quicker and easier to get to Orlando if he avoided the streets in front of Maxwell. He kept a hand on his gun and had the barrel pointed in Tasha’s direction.

“If she’s got the congressman, you’re right, it is over,” Tasha said.

Quinn kept quiet.

Before anyone else spoke, a voice came over Quinn’s receiver. “She’s right, you know.”

Quinn held up a hand so Tasha wouldn’t say anything else. The voice was Jenny’s.

“Steven had no idea. Not until the end.”

“Where are you?” Quinn asked.

“Sorry, that I won’t be telling you.”

Tasha looked at Quinn, a question in her eyes. By way of answer, he moved the barrel of the gun a few inches to the side, so it was no longer pointed directly at her.

“Do you have the congressman?”

“Yes. And your friend Mr. Murray.”

“There’s no reason to kill anyone now. You’re not going to be able to blame it on anyone else. We found the weapons cache at the Quayside Villas.”

“Unfortunate, but that doesn’t change anything,” Jenny said. “The story will be spun the way we want it. That you can’t do anything about.”

“By who? The LP?”

She let out a short laugh.

“The story you told me about the congressman’s wife, most of that was true, wasn’t it? Only you’re the killer.”

“You know how it is, Quinn.”

The best lies are those hidden in truth. How many times had he heard that over the years? Not just from Durrie, but from almost everyone in the business.

“I’ll bet his wife doesn’t have anything to do with it at all, does she? Somebody else would have stepped up to take advantage of his death.”

“Will step up. But that’s not my part of the operation,” Jenny said. “Good luck convincing anyone of that.” She paused. “Thank you for helping expose those who were following me. Oh, and delivering me the congressman. That was extra special.”

“Wait,” Quinn said. “Tell me. Did you enjoy killing the man who loved you?”

“The man who loved me was going to expose me. I couldn’t let that happen. Goodbye, Quinn.”

“Jenny?” he said.

Nothing.

She had either removed her gear or just wasn’t talking. Quinn let go of the gun, and pulled his own microphone off his collar and crushed it between his fingers.

“Believe me now?” Tasha said.

“What are you?” he asked.

“CIA,” she said.

“Your presence is too small. You should have people swarming all over the place on this.”

She looked over at him. “I’m off the books. Deep. There was...a concern they would know we were onto them.”

“They?” Quinn said. “LP again?”

She nodded.

There was no time to ask another question as Quinn spotted Orlando at the curb. He quickly pulled over and jumped out of the car.

Nate was lying on the ground, unconscious. His shoulder was soaked in blood, but it didn’t look life threatening. So had Orlando reacted like it was—

Then he saw it.

His face paled and he could feel the bile moving up his throat. It wasn’t that he hadn’t seen gruesome in the past. His life was full of images that would make most people sick for weeks.

This was different. This was his apprentice.

Nate’s foot was crushed and twisted 180 degrees backward. The shin was also pulverized up to the point where the remaining bone had ripped through his apprentice’s skin.

There was blood, too. A lot of it.

“He was still conscious when I got here,” Orlando said. “Barely. I think they rammed into him. Crushed him against this car.”