He lifted his head and looked Young in the eye. “I just want to go home now. Denise must be worried sick. Just let me go home and I’ll help with the investigation anyway I can. I swear. My loyalties lie with the State. You know that, Brother.”
Young sighed and nodded. “You really don’t know anything, do you? You’re being completely honest?”
“Of course,” Carter smiled.
Young rose to his feet and nodded at the mirror. Seconds later, the door opened and two men entered, one holding a syringe.
“What’s going on?” Carter looked to his director for answers.
“I’m sorry to see you go, Raptor. You’re a good operator with big shoes to fill. Take solace in the fact they decided to let you fulfill your final patriotic duty to the State.”
Carter barely noticed as one of the men stood behind him and placed his hands on his shoulders, preparing for resistance. He barely felt the prick of the needle as it pierced his skin. Tears silently fell down his cheeks, finding their way into the many cuts and fissures on his face.
“Denise,” he said. “Keep an eye out for her, would you? Make sure she’s okay.”
Young put his hand on Carter’s shoulder. “Don’t worry, Brother. Your girlfriend is fine. As a matter of fact, she’s in another room just down the hall.”
The drug was quickly having an effect on Carter. The corners of his vision grew dark and his hearing was starting to fade. “What?” he managed to say.
“I just spoke to Denise before I came to see you,” Young said, his warm smile gone. “I can’t make any promises, but I think I’ll be able to get you two assigned to the same boiler room. Maybe your pod will be right next to her.”
Carter tried to lunge at Young. The man behind him grabbed him and slammed him back into the chair. “You bastard!” Carter fought to stay awake and resisted the overwhelming urge to let the sedative take him under. “You’re not here to help me at all. You’re just another part of the game.”
Young crouched down so he was face to face with Carter. “Don’t take it so personally, Brother. As you know, tradition says operators are cremated straight away after retirement as a sign of respect. But in your case, we needed to make an exception, and the FDR needs warm bodies more than ever.”
Carter found his anger slipping away as Young stood and went for the door. He muttered something to the other two men in the room, but Carter didn’t hear it. It wasn’t so bad. His pain was gone and a pleasant numbness washed over him. The game was over, and he allowed himself to close his good eye and let the warm darkness take him.
Young closed the door behind him, surprised to see Rebecca Devlin waiting for him in the corridor. He’d only seen the director of the agency in person twice during his twenty year career. The last time was over five years ago when he was promoted to district three supervisor. Devlin was one of the most powerful people in the UFN. She was one of the handful that reported directly to the Father, and therefore was excused from retirement. Devlin would be allowed to serve the State until her natural death, something that wasn’t too far off, judging by her appearance.
“Victor.” She smiled, revealing unnaturally white teeth. “So good to see you again.”
“Sister Devlin, what a surprise it is to see you, Ma’am.” He pointed to the door behind him. “I was just finishing up with one of the men connected to the traitor.”
“Yes, I watched the whole thing from the next room. Good job in there. Just as I would have handled it myself.” Devlin erupted into a coughing fit, covering her mouth with one hand, holding up her index finger with the other. The coughing tapered off and she wiped her mouth with the back of her hand. “Let’s sit down for a moment, Victor. Have a little chat.” She motioned at the interrogation room door across the hall.
“With all due respect, I think we’d be more comfortable in my office, Sister. It’s just on the other side of the building.” Young turned around and realized the interrogator who had cut off Raptor’s fingers was standing behind him.
“More comfortable, perhaps. But I think this particular room is a more appropriate setting.” Devlin entered the room and the goon behind Young placed a hand on his shoulder, guiding him through the entry before closing the door.
Chapter 24
Viper knocked on the door and shifted his weight to his other foot. He swallowed and wished he’d taken a swig of water before getting up from his desk. He was about to knock a second time when the voice from beyond the door beckoned him in.
He opened the door and hoped his attempt to hide the shock on his face was successful. It hadn’t even been a full day, and every trace of Victor Young was gone from the office. From the artwork on the walls to his personal mementos and knickknacks. Gone. Even the lingering smell of his cigar smoke that haunted his office long after he’d gone home for the day was absent. Scrubbed clean and replaced by the subtle odor of disinfectant.
“Viper, please have a seat.” Rebecca Devlin sat behind Young’s desk. She looked especially small and frail behind the massive mahogany desktop dominating the room. A man he’d never seen before sat in the corner behind her. He regarded Viper with cold eyes and a face devoid of all emotion. Viper sat down and cleared his throat, wishing more than ever for that sip of water.
Devlin cracked a smile and looked around the room. “I know it must seem strange, me sitting in your supervisor’s office. Trust me, these are temporary accommodations for me. I have no intention of running this district myself. I just want to be sure everything is squared away here before I head back to Washington.”
She blinked at him and kept smiling. Was he supposed to say something? He cleared his throat again and nodded. “Yes, Sister.”
She finally looked away and picked up a tablet from the desk, the only thing on it. She swiped her finger across the screen a few times and sat back in her chair. “Rickard Hugg. Call sign Viper. Twenty-four years old, earned operator mission status three years ago. Two commendations in the line of duty despite receiving four disciplinary demerits for reckless behavior and taking unnecessary risks.” She looked up at Viper for a moment before returning to the screen. “It’s noted here that it was Brother Young’s opinion you showed too much aggression and emotion in the field.” She set the tablet down and clasped her fingers together. “I do believe he was considering suspending your mission status so you could receive additional training.”
Viper could feel the man in corner staring at him and he risked a glance into his cold eyes. It just made him more nervous. “Yes, Sister. I mean, I wasn’t aware of that, but if you say so, then I believe it.”
“I understand you worked several times with Razorback, is that correct?”
“Yes, Ma’am. We didn’t work too well as a team so it was only a couple of times.”
She scrolled through a few screens. “It says here, he assaulted you during a mission several months ago?”
“Just a cheap shot, Sister. Punched me in the nose. It was this operator’s opinion he wasn’t showing the proper initiative, given the mission. He hesitated in neutralizing the package and I called him on it.”
“Yes.” Devlin hissed and looked back at the screen. “So the two of you weren’t on friendly terms in or out of the office?”
“No, Ma’am. I don’t care much for Sanderson. And if I’m allowed to speak freely, let me just say I’m not surprised he betrayed the State. There’s no room for somebody like that in this organization.”
“Is that right?” Devlin sat forward. The man in the corner stiffened slightly. “Are you saying you had reason to believe Razorback was going to break his father-in-law out of Windigo and you did nothing?”
“No! No, of course not, Sister. I just…you know, we never got along, that’s all I’m saying.”
The smile returned to Devlin’s face. “Relax, Son. I know what you meant. The reason I called you in here today is because I want you more involved in this investigation. As you know, we’ve lost track of Razorback since his tracking device went offline. But we have reason to believe he might be back in the city. I want you to take over monitoring his wife. It may be our best chance of apprehending him. Sooner or later, he may make contact.”
Viper’s pulse slowed. “Absolutely, Sister.”
“Victor Young didn’t care for your aggressive nature, but I find myself in disagreement,” Devlin said. “I think you’re the perfect man for this job.”
“I won’t let you down, Ma’am. If Razorback so much as thinks about getting within a mile of his wife, I’ll get him.”
“Excellent.” She waved her hand at the door. “Don’t let me keep you, then. You have a lot of work to do. Consider the entire district at your disposal. Whatever resources you need to take down Razorback.”
“Thank you, Sister.” Viper got up and closed the office door behind him.
The man in the corner finally spoke up. “Well, what do you think?”
Devlin swiveled the chair to face him. “I think if Sanderson is back in the city and anybody can kill him, it’ll be that little weasel.”
“I hope you’re right.”
“Me too. I need something substantial to report back to the Father soon. Now take me back to my hotel. I need a drink.”
Chapter 25
The high pitched beep from the coffee maker in the kitchen snapped Sara out her of daze as she looked out the living room window. She poured herself a cup and got the bottle of milk out of the fridge. Before putting a splash into her cup, a sudden craving hit her and she held the bottle to her lips. She wasn’t much of a milk drinker, but it tasted good. Really good. She paused after a swallow to catch her breath and a wave of intense nausea hit her so fast she almost dropped the bottle. She barely made it to the sink before the milk came back up, still cold, which made it worse for some reason.
She hit the faucet and washed the mess down the drain as her retching eased. She wiped her mouth with the back of her hand and rested her sweaty cheek on the cool kitchen counter. There was no sense in trying to ignore it anymore. Throwing up, missed period, sore breasts. Why now? They weren’t even trying anymore. With her parents retirement looming it didn’t seem appropriate and she’d secretly given up hope for good. Looked like God was just waiting for the baby’s grandparents to die first.
Sara poured the coffee down the sink. She probably shouldn’t be drinking it away. It was the synthetic stuff but they still added caffeine so it couldn’t be good for the baby. She returned to the living room window and looked through the hazy glass, wondering where her husband was. John had been gone suddenly for days at a time before, it was part of his job, but he usually checked in. Even if it was just a quick text or email saying goodnight. She knew he was probably fine, but she had a bad feeling anyway.
She pulled herself away from the window and decided she couldn’t spend another minute moping about the house. She’d allowed herself to settle into a funk ever since her mom retired and if she wasn’t careful, she’d end up spending all day in bed too. They were getting low on groceries so she would go to the market and pick up a few things. She knew just getting out and moving would help her feel better. She’d splurge and get something nice for dinner. Maybe some fresh veggies and a roast so when John finally did come home, they could have a nice meal together. Her parents were gone and it was time to focus on her marriage. Things had been pretty rocky lately, but now that a baby was on the way, she needed to make things work with John. She’d break the news to him over dinner and hope for the best.
*****
“Start the car back up, would ya? I’m sweating my balls off over here.” Viper arched his back and enjoyed the brief relief as his damp shirt pulled away from his sweaty skin.
“What’s the point?” Buzzard shoved his cigarette butt into the overflowing ashtray and immediately lit another. “AC doesn’t work for shit and the last thing we need is a cop to give me some chicken-shit ticket for idling.”
“Dammit, this sucks.” Viper rubbed his face. “How much longer?”
Buzzard checked his watch. “Two hours left in our shift.” He blew a plume of smoke into the windshield and glanced over at the front door to Sanderson’s building.
“I didn’t take this job for this stake-out shit. I’m bored out of my skull.” Viper turned and scowled at his partner. “Doesn’t help I have to sit next to a goddamn chimney. How ‘bout you take a break with those things?”
“Hey man, you don’t hear me complaining about you dropping ass all day, do you? You pollute the air your way, and I’ll do it mine.”
Viper sat up suddenly and slapped Buzzard’s shoulder with the back of his hand. “Check it out! Is that her?”
Buzzard watched as a young woman emerged from the building. She glanced in their direction for just a second before turning away and walked down the sidewalk. “I think so, but I didn’t get a good look at her face.” He flicked his smoke out the window and fired up the car.
“Finally.” Viper rubbed his hands together. “Quick, get up to the stop sign.”
Buzzard drove to the end of the street and Viper watched in the mirror as the woman got closer. Her long brown hair and body type were a match, but he still couldn’t get a clear view of her face through her mask.
“Come on, it doesn’t look right just sitting here,” Buzzard said. “Is that her or not?”
Viper risked turning around for a direct look. “Go. That’s her. I’d recognize that pretty face anywhere.” He tugged on his ear as Buzzard turned right. “Command, this is Viper. Package has left the building and is walking westbound on Juneau. How copy?”
“Solid copy, Viper. Drone is inbound to your location. Maintain visual contact.”
“Bird’s in the air but we gotta keep our eyes on her,” Viper said. He pointed down the street. “Pull over there and we’ll follow on foot.”
“Rog.” Buzzard pulled over and killed he ignition. They got out of the car and Viper took his time studying the instructions on the parking meter as Sara walked in their direction. He glanced at her as she walked by, eyes on the sidewalk and in her own world. That was good.
He wore new jeans and a bright orange t-shirt, his partner in cargo shorts and a short sleeve western. Nice clothes for a twenty-something year old guy and his friend well off enough to afford a private car. The operators and their modest sedan fit right into the neighborhood and Sara didn’t give them a second glance.