“Cream or sugar, Mr. Riggins?” she asked.
“You think you could toss a little bourbon in there?”
Sibby’s face knotted with confusion. “Bur-what?”
“Daddy will handle that part,” Dark said, pulling himself out of his chair. His hearing had returned slowly, though it wasn’t a hundred percent. Never would be, most likely. Dark took the bottle of Knob Creek from the counter, paused, then grabbed another tumbler. Might as well join him.
Riggins had come here straight from the hospital, no warning, no call. He simply knocked and planted himself on the couch. Dark didn’t question it. He knew they had unfinished business.
But he didn’t get to it—at least not right away. Not until Sibby had finished serving her tea, then kissing Dark and Riggins good night. Dark refilled their glasses. They drank bourbon until it was only a few minutes before midnight.
“I’m retiring,” Riggins said finally.
Dark knew better than to feign surprise or confusion. Very few people lasted very long at Special Circs; Riggins’s quarter-century tenure qualified as an outright miracle. He suspected that Riggins would have retired at least ten years ago if it hadn’t been for the Sqweegel case—and the nightmarish effect it’d had on Dark.
Dark nodded.
“They’re in serious need of fresh blood,” Riggins said. “If you haven’t noticed, the world’s kind of going to hell. I have a feeling Special Circs is going to be busier than ever, and they’re going to need someone good in that top spot.”
“They’ll find someone, I’m sure.”
“I told them they should consider you.”
“Me? You’re kidding, right? I’m the furthest thing from fresh blood.”
“Look,” Riggins said, “I’m not going to sit here and blow you. Even though you have poured an obscene amount of fine bourbon down my throat. You and I both know you’re the best manhunter going. You should be training agents, passing on the wisdom. And if anyone could get Constance to return to the fold, it’s you.”
“Could you honestly see me sitting behind your desk?”
“Hell yeah I could.”
“Really? The brother of a Level 26 killer, running the very department trained to catch them?”
“Fuck you,” Riggins said. “That doesn’t matter, and you know it. You were meant to do this.”
“I know. The question is whether Special Circs can really get the job done. Or is it too bound by bureaucracy and red tape?”
“We all need boundaries, Dark,” Riggins said. “Speaking of which—Labyrinth. Think he’ll ever come out of that coma?”
Dark turned to his mentor, to the man who made him what he was. Dark knew he would never go back to Special Circs. Global Alliance provided everything he needed to catch killers. He had already spoken with some of Damien Blair’s benefactors and they seemed interested in continuing the fight. Dark could do what he needed to do, not what he was allowed to. And that made all the difference. If Dark was at Special Circs, Labyrinth would be in a cell somewhere, waiting to get off on a technicality. Dark was going to make sure that Labyrinth would no longer be a threat to anyone.
And so Dark looked at the closest thing to a father he had and—as sons are sometimes forced to do—he lied.
“I don’t know.”
Much later that night, after Riggins had taken a cab back to his hotel, and all was calm and still in the house, Dark received the call. He listened, then grunted a brief thanks.
He stood up.
Finally—it was time to end it.
[To enter the Labyrinth, please go to Level26.com and enter the code: revolution]
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acknowledgments
Anthony E. Zuiker would like to thank: First and foremost my kids: Dawson, Evan, and Noah. You mean more to me than you could ever know. To the cast and crew of Dark Revelations, thanks for sending us out with a bang and helping us finish this series strong. To Matthew Weinberg, Orlin Dobreff, Jennifer Cooper, and David Boorstein, thanks for helping me see this trilogy through from start to finish. Once again, major thanks to Duane Swierczynski, bringing it home with our third book. Thanks for the continued support of Team Zuiker: Margaret Riley, Kevin Yorn, Dan Strone, Alex Kohner, Nick Gladden, Shari Smiley, and Jonalyn Morris.
Thanks to Brian Tart for taking a chance on a series like this; our fearless editor, Ben Sevier, for his continuing support; and everyone else at Dutton who helped make the digi-novel possible, including: Jessica Horvath, Melissa Miller, Stephanie Kelly, Erika Imranyi, Christine Ball, Lisa Johnson, Rachel Ekstrom, Carrie Swetonic, Kirby Rogerson, Susan Schwartz, Leigh Butler, Aline Akelis, Sabila Khan, Hal Fessenden, and Adina Weintraub.
And last, but not least, a very special thanks to Joshua Caldwell. We’re proud to hand the directing torch over to him. I know he’ll make us shine.
Duane Swierczynski would like to thank: My wife, Meredith, son, Parker, and daughter, Sarah. My partner in crime, Anthony E. Zuiker, for an intense and always-wild ride through Dark Country. The entire team at Dare to Pass—especially Josh, Matt, Orlin, and David—for their support and guidance and collective brainpower. The kind folks at Dutton—especially Ben Sevier and Stephanie Kelly—for bringing everything together. And finally, David Hale Smith (and the entire Inkwell team), for pretty much everything else.
dark revelations
STARRING
Daniel Buran as Steve Dark
Hal Ozsan as Labyrinth
ALSO STARRING
Dave Baez as Detective Perez
Tom Ohmer as Detective Largent
Marlon Gazali as Homeless Man
Andres Perez-Molina as Cruz
Voltaire Sterling as Dre
Garret Davis as Sergeant Smith
Tiffany Brouwer as Faye Elizabeth
Daniel Probert as David Loeb
Alan Brooks as Charles Murtha
Jesus Ruiz as Lisandro
Thomas Mikusz as Alain Pantin
Bella Dayne as Maria
Christopher Frontiero as Johnny Knack
Jared Ward as Shane Corbett
Nathalie Fay as Andrea
Haley Strode as Lisa
Jennifer Holland as Simone
about the authors
ANTHONY E. ZUIKER is the creator and executive producer of the most-watched television program in the world, CSI: Crime Scene Investigation , and a visionary business leader who speaks regularly about the future of entertainment. Zuiker currently lives in Los Angeles, California.
DUANE SWIERCZYNSKI is the author of several thrillers, including Fun & Games, and writes for Marvel and DC Comics. He lives in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
also by anthony e. zuiker
LEVEL 26: Dark Origins
LEVEL 26: Dark Prophecy
Dark Revelations Page 25