Endgame (Agent 21) (29 page)

Authors: Chris Ryan

An icy wind blew against them. Zak found himself vocalizing a thought that had been his constant companion for the past few days. ‘I’m not sure I’m cut out for this,’ he said quietly. ‘People seem to die around me. I don’t want that to happen any more.’

Gabs walked up to him. She looked steely. ‘You think that if you weren’t around, people wouldn’t die? Think again.’

‘But Malcolm . . . Felix . . . Michael . . .’

‘If Michael were here, he’d tell you that everybody dies, Zak. Every single person. Some sooner, some later. The question is, what do we do with the time we have? Do we let it slip by? Or do we do something worthwhile with it? Do we make our life mean something, until the time comes for
us
to . . .?’ She nodded towards the dead bodies, and Zak knew what she meant. ‘That’s the choice you have to make, sweetie. It’s the choice we all have to make.’ She looked back at the chopper. ‘If you’ll excuse me,’ she said, ‘my brother and I have quite a lot to catch up on.’

She turned and walked back to the chopper, bowing her head against the downdraught. Raf followed her.

‘I guess she’s right,’ Ricky said.

‘Yeah,’ Zak replied. ‘I guess.’ He paused. ‘You did well, Ricky,’ he said. ‘Really well. I can see why Felix picked you out.’

‘I’d say we make a good team,’ Ricky replied. He held up a clenched fist, and Zak met it with his own.

Then Zak took a deep breath. ‘We’d better . . . you know . . .’ He nodded at the yellow helicopter.

Agents 21 and 22 moved towards the aircraft. Their shoulders were hunched, and their footfall was heavy as they carried their fallen companion home.