“Someday this will happen to you,” Mr. Rose said, teeth clenched. “Someday they won’t want you anymore.”
“I don’t doubt it. But not today,” Hardwick said, then stood back up. “Today,
He pulled the trigger one last time.
Once he was back in his car and on the road, he called the Chairman.
“It’s done,” he said.
“Excellent.”
“Have you heard anything concrete about Morro Bay?” Hardwick asked.
“Two car bombs went off, but nothing else. It looks like your friend Quinn was able to minimize the damage. I still wonder if maybe we should have let the operation succeed.”
“No,” Hardwick said. “This was perfect. If the targets had been eliminated, the focus would have been on finding the people behind the attack and exacting revenge. But now the focus will be more on prevention, more tightening of security. Paranoia, that’s the key.”
“You’re right, of course,” Chairman Kidd said. “Excellent work, James. I believe it’s now time for that vacation.”
“Yes,” Hardwick said. “It is.”
He smiled to himself. Nothing was better than a job well done.
CHAPTER
43
MARION CAME RUNNING OUT OF THE MOTEL THE minute she saw them pull into the parking lot. She’d been watching the news for over an hour, trying to see if she could spot Iris in the group of children being ferried away from the school. Reportedly they were taking them to a nearby medical facility as a precaution.
The reporter had said none of the children had been harmed. Marion had let out a prayer of thanks when she heard that. But where was Iris?
Quinn jumped out of the car before they were even parked.
“Back in the room,” he said to Marion.
“Why?” she asked.
He walked quickly up to her. “Because we don’t want to draw any attention.”
“Iris?” she asked.
“Inside, okay?”
As she turned to do as he said, she heard a familiar voice behind her call out.
“Goah.”
She whipped around. Nate had just emerged out of the back seat. In his arms was the one thing Marion wanted to see more than anything.
“Goah,” the girl said, smiling at Marion.
Marion rushed over and took Iris in her arms.
“Goah,” Iris repeated.
“Yes,” Marion said. “Goah. Goah.”
In Marion’s room, Quinn gave her an edited version of what had happened. There was no reason to let her know how close the girl had come to dying. If Marion sensed he was holding back, she didn’t say anything. She seemed content just to hold Iris and kiss the girl’s cheeks.
“We need to get her to a doctor,” Quinn told her.
“What? Why?” Marion said, scanning the child. “Is she hurt?”
“The implant,” Quinn said. “She needs to get it out.”
Marion touched the spot where the implant had been inserted. “Right. Of course.”
“I know a place in L.A. Very discreet. And once they’re done, we’ll get you home.”
A dark look crossed Marion’s face.
“Don’t worry,” Orlando said. “We’ll make sure the papers you have for her will hold up. Iris will be yours now and always.”
“It’s not that,” Marion said. “I’m just not sure where home is now.”
In the wake of the Morro Bay attack, and the subsequent washing up on a beach in Virginia of another high-ranking CIA official—this one named Chercover—the Office was disbanded. But as much as the FBI wanted to pin the bombings and murders on the negligence of Peter and his people, they couldn’t.
Quinn didn’t want to care. He was going to be through with the Office after this job anyway. Still, he couldn’t help feeling a sense of loss. No matter how annoying Peter was, the Office had, for the most part, done some decent work.
Now there was a void waiting to be filled.
