by Dee Davis
“I played with your computer records.” Danny met his gaze, regret still reflected in his eyes. “Made it look like the money had gone missing. Just a matter of changing numbers here and there.”
“But it was all for nothing—I didn’t die.”
“No. You didn’t. And whether you believe it or not, I was glad. You’re my brother, for Christ’s sake. I wouldn’t have ever even considered the idea if things hadn’t gotten so desperate.”
John ignored the platitudes, choosing instead to face reality head-on. “And since my memory was shot to hell, there was no need to follow through on the botched attempt. Only, then Miller’s body surfaced.”
“It still might have been all right. But you started digging again. You and Flo. She figured it out, Jonathan. I don’t know how. But she figured it out.” Another flicker of regret crossed Danny’s face. “She came to me that night. Confronted me with the truth. Our Flo never lacked courage. I didn’t know what to do. She thought she could get me to turn myself in. But I couldn’t. I knew too much. They’d have found me and killed me. I didn’t have a choice. Surely you can see that.” Tears glistened in his eyes. “I loved her like a mother, but I had to kill her. I had to.”
The door creaked as it opened, and Kim stepped back into the room, his gun trained on the two of them.
“Where have you been?” Danny snapped.
“There was a complication, I was detained.” The man wasn’t exactly a font of information. “Time is running out. We need the documents.”
“Jonathan hasn’t exactly been forthcoming.” Danny’s tone was harsh, all evidence of remorse gone, and John realized that the man he knew as his brother was gone as well.
“Give me the codes.” Kim’s voice was as cold as the barrel of the gun in his hand.
“I don’t have them.” John narrowed his eyes, his gaze unflinching.
“Then you’re of no use to me.” Kim raised the gun, the metallic click of the hammer echoing through the room.
The air duct was narrowing, which meant forward momentum had slowed to a crawl. Katie inched forward, using her elbows and knees to propel herself, careful to keep from banging against the metal walls.
She’d stayed above the computer room long enough to determine that getting help was their best alternative. Leaving John had been wrenching, but she hadn’t seen another choice. Now, however, she was beginning to regret the decision. Having crawled fifty feet or so without so much as a vent, she was becoming more and more convinced that the airway served only the computer room.
She bit back a curse as her T-shirt snagged on a weld, the material holding her back as she tried to move ahead. Reaching back with her right hand, she struggled to dislodge the shirt, but only succeeded in getting it more tangled. Gritting her teeth, she used her legs to push forward, the material straining and finally ripping free.
With a surge of irritation, she conceded defeat. The duct was simply too narrow for her to continue, and even if she could manage it, odds were that she wouldn’t find a way out anyway. Which meant that instead of providing the cavalry, she’d only managed to waste precious time.
Wriggling her body, and using her toes, she began to inch her way backward. It was too dark in the duct to see her watch, but she estimated about ten minutes had passed, which meant that it would take at least that long to get back to John.
John.
Just the thought of his name sent her heart racing. He was back there dealing with God knew what. Her stomach twisted as guilt washed through her. She should never have left him alone. If something had happened to him . . .
Panic gripped her, threatening to cut off rational thought. Breathing deeply, she forced herself to calm down. To think clearly. She’d taken a chance and unfortunately it hadn’t panned out, but that didn’t mean she was out of the game. There had to be something she could do. Something to help John. She just had to think of it.
And in the meantime, she had to get back to the computer room.
Inch by inch by inch . . .
“Wait.” Danny eyed his brother, his expression shrewd. “Even if he doesn’t know the codes, he’ll have left a back door. My brother is nothing if not thorough.”
“Is this true?” Kim’s voice was calm, almost dead, but his eyes were alive, watching, planning.
“Even if it were, I wouldn’t use it to help you.” John spit the words out, anger giving him courage.
“Brave words.” Kim’s smile was a poor imitation of the gesture. “But I do not think you’re a fool.”
John’s courage evaporated. It had been a foolhardy thought anyway. Danny could most likely figure out the way in. And his death would have meant nothing. Better he stay alive and try to stall things. He sat at the computer, and began to type the appropriate codes. “I’m in, but I’m not certain I’ll be able to find what you want. And even if I do, I sincerely doubt it’ll fit on a disk.”
“Just find the schematics. I’ll take care of copying them.” Kim moved so that he was watching over John’s shoulder.
“I’ll try and find the phoenix file.” Danny was sitting at another terminal, typing commands at a rate faster than John’s injured fingers could follow.
“You know about it?” John looked up at Kim, unable to contain his surprise.
“Thanks to your brother.”
John looked to Danny for an explanation.
“Miller was more than happy to tell me all about it when he tried to blackmail me. Except of course I couldn’t get the bastard to tell me where the file was hidden. So for six long months I’ve known the damn thing was out there, I just didn’t know where.”
“And you think it’s here?” John strove to keep his voice level, disinterested even.
Danny continued to type, his smile lacking humor. “Oh, I know it’s here. It took me a while, but I finally found Miller’s trail. That, compounded with the fact that you’re here, makes it pretty damn certain. Besides, we’ve looked everywhere else.”
“You’re the ones who ransacked Miller’s house.” John looked from Danny to Kim, helplessness mixing with anger.
The older man nodded once.
“Too bad you missed the zip drive.” Despite the absurdity of the notion, he felt as if he’d won a point.
“I wondered how you figured it out.” The man’s calm was becoming annoying. “I thought perhaps your memories had returned.”
“No such luck.”
“There’s nothing here.” Frustration, laced with anger, colored Danny’s voice. “Nothing called phoenix. I’ll bet he renamed it.”
“I think perhaps you’d better tell us the name.” Kim moved closer, and John felt the cold muzzle of the gun against his neck.
He considered not telling them. Just throwing shit to the wind, and letting the chips fall where they may. But a tiny noise from the ceiling reminded him that he wasn’t alone in this. And that miracles were indeed possible.
He looked over at his brother, and making no attempt to conceal his animosity, told him the name of the file.
Katie stared down through the vent, her heart pounding. Danny was typing furiously now, forcing the computer to yield its secrets. He was going to delete the evidence and there didn’t appear to be a damn thing she could do about it.
Without a weapon, the odds were not in her favor. Damn D.E.S. and their security. This is what she got for acting without backup. Again. But it wasn’t like she’d had a choice. She’d tried to tell Roswell, but he’d refused to listen.
With a shake of her head, she abandoned her regret, focusing instead on the scenario playing out beneath her.
“I’ve got it, Kim.” Danny hit a key, his voice triumphant. “I’m deleting it now.”
“Excellent.” The janitor moved away from John, his interest centered on Danny and the computer monitor. “Now perhaps you can speed your brother’s search along.”
Holding her breath, she slowly began to inch the vent aside, trying to estimate the distance between her and Kim. If only he’d move back a
bit, she’d have a clear shot at him. As if he’d read her mind, John stopped his typing, pointing at the screen. “I think maybe I’ve got something.”
Kim turned, the movement placing him almost directly under the vent.
Launching herself with her feet, Katie came flying through the hole, taking part of the ceiling with her, she hit Kim with the full force of her body, knocking them both into the wall, the gun clattering as it spun from his hand to the floor.
He was strong, but she had the element of surprise, and with a swift elbow to the chin, she knocked his head against the wall, his body slumping forward as he lost consciousness. She swiveled, eyes to the floor, searching for the gun.
It lay in the corner, only the muzzle showing, the rest of it underneath a bookshelf. Danny and John were already in motion, the two of them colliding in their effort to reach it. She started forward, then stopped as Danny’s hand closed around the steel cylinder.
He rolled to his feet, his eyes wild. “Get back.”
Despite the command, she took a step forward, her eyes locked on John, his body sprawled on the floor.
“I mean it. Get back.” Danny waved the gun at her, panic making his voice sound hoarse.
She held up her hands, feigning agreement, years of training kicking in to keep her steady. The rise and fall of John’s breathing meant he wasn’t dead. Which meant there was still a chance.
“It’s too late for escape, Danny.” She kept her voice low and even, trying to remember everything she’d learned about negotiations. It hadn’t been her strong suit. She’d never had the patience.
“There’s always a way out. I just have to think of it.” His gaze careened wildly around the room, finally landing on Kim. “Is he dead?”
“No. But he won’t be waking up any time soon.” She held her ground, keeping her voice soothing. “Which means you’re on your own.”
“I’ve managed to turn things around before. I’ll just have to do it without Soon Hee.”
Soon Hee. Kim Soon Hee. Katie shot a look at the janitor. Roswell had been right. The Koreans were behind everything. Mind spinning, she shifted her focus back to Danny. “It won’t work. Even if you do get away, you know too much. Which means that sooner or later Kim’s men will find you.”
“And I suppose you think you can protect me.” The words were meant to be sarcastic, but his hand was shaking, the gun swaying with the motion.
“I can’t, but the FBI can.” She edged a little closer, and he waved the gun, shifting away from her, his back to John now.
“If I testify. But that would mean incriminating myself. I can’t do that.” He backed away from her, his eyes darting around the room, looking for an out.
“We’re not interested in the little fish, Danny. We want the Koreans. And you can deliver Kim.”
He considered her statement for a moment, then shook his head. “It’s too dangerous. You said it yourself, I’d never be safe again.”
Behind Danny, John shifted silently, slowly rising to a crouching position, his eyes cutting toward his brother, signaling her. She caught her breath, praying that he had the necessary strength, and deliberately stepped forward. Danny jumped, trying to cock the gun, but John was faster, ramming into his brother from behind. Danny twisted, so that they were facing each other, bodies locked together, the gun jammed between them.
They struggled, first upright, and then rolling on the floor. Katie edged closer, grabbing a folding chair, waiting for a moment when Danny was turned toward her. The two men broke apart slightly, and with a deafening clang she brought the chair down, the metal crashing into Danny’s back, sending him sprawling, the action dislodging the gun.
It slid across the floor and Katie dove for it, but Kim was awake and faster, scooping up the gun, aiming it directly at her. With a cry to rival a banshee, John launched himself toward Kim, the momentum of the hit sending the two men across the floor, John sprawled over Kim, the gun’s report reverberating through the room.
Time seemed to slow to a crawl, her heart pounding like a drum in her head. Hardly daring to breathe, she took a step forward, her eyes locked on John. A low moan preceded motion as he pulled himself off of Kim.
Blood stained his shirt, but the lifeless eyes of Kim Soon Hee were testament to the fact that it wasn’t his blood. Relief washed through her so powerfully it weakened her knees, and she reached out to steady herself on the computer console.
“You’re all right?” The words were no more than a whisper, but he heard her, his blood-spattered face cracking into a weak grin.
“I’ll live. How about you?” His eyes covered the distance between her head and feet, not once but twice, as he searched to make certain she was unharmed.
“I’m okay.” She reached out and touched his face, if only to make certain that he was indeed standing in front of her. She wanted to wrap her arms around him and never let him go. But there was still Danny to deal with.
She turned to find him sitting up, rubbing his head, his expression dazed, almost vacant. “What happened?”
“Kim is dead.”
Danny’s face crumpled then, as if the enormity of what he’d done had finally hit home. He looked like a little boy lost, and John hesitated only a moment before he crossed the room to his brother’s side, just as D’Angelo and Haskins burst into the room, guns drawn.
D’Angelo’s gray eyes calmly took in the battered computer room, the dead man, the two brothers, his gaze finally settling on Katie. “What happened here?”
“A war, of sorts, I suppose.” She couldn’t tear her eyes away from John’s anguished face.
“And the winner?” D’Angelo asked.
Katie swallowed back her tears. “No one. Absolutely no one.”
John fought against fatigue, concentrating instead on the sounds of activity around him. Danny had been sedated and taken away, and Kim’s body had been removed. D’Angelo and Roswell were talking to Katie, questioning her about everything that had happened. He knew he should be participating, but he simply couldn’t seem to summon the energy. Every muscle in his body hurt.
Despite all that Danny had done, some bonds were not easy to sever. He knew that Danny would recover from his shock, and most likely try to rationalize all that had happened. And he also knew that his own emotions were stunted, shock taking precedence over the anger and hurt that were certain to follow.
But right now all he was concentrating on was the soft cadence of Katie’s voice. Like a lifeline, he held on to the sound, knowing that as long as they were together, he could handle anything.
“But I told you, we found proof.” Katie’s tone was indignant.
“Yes, but that proof has conveniently been destroyed. So we’ve only got your word that it ever existed. And frankly, Agent Cavanaugh, at the moment your word doesn’t mean shit.”
Roswell’s slam against Katie was like a bucket of ice water. John’s lethargy dissipated in an instant, leaving red-hot anger in its wake. “Her word means more than yours, Roswell. She doesn’t use innocent citizens as bait.”
“I certainly don’t have to explain my motives to you, Brighton, but for the record, I believed you were guilty.” Still believed it, if John was reading him right.
Which made it all that much more pleasant to burst the bastard’s bubble. “Sorry to disappoint you, Roswell, but I am innocent. And even better than that, I can prove it.”
Roswell’s nostrils flared, a definite sign of displeasure, but he made no comment.
John suppressed a smile. Obviously Edmund Roswell had severely underestimated his opponent. “You see, in my business, backups are everything, and so I made a copy of Miller’s file. It’s right there on the computer.”
D’Angelo was already moving toward the keyboard, Roswell close on his heels. In the end, it seemed, Roswell was interested in truth—as long as it got him where he wanted to go. “What’s it called?”
John’s smile was slow, the gesture meant for Katie alone. “Kaitlin. I called it Ka
itlin.” His gaze locked with hers, and he waited for her reaction, everything but the two of them seeming to fade into the background.
“My name.” She whispered the words, her breath warm against his cheek.
“I thought it was symbolic. A new beginning.”
“You and me, together?” He heard the trembling in her voice, and realized that even Katie had fears. The thought was comforting. And liberating.
“Two halves of a whole.” He pressed his lips against hers, the kiss a covenant. “Always.”
Epilogue
Rain fell in buckets, filling the rivers and streams until they were bursting, threatening to break through their boundaries and swallow everything in their path. But safe at the top of their canyon, Katie and John didn’t care. It was all a part of living in the hill country. Nature taking and then giving.
Opposite extremes.
John stretched in the warmth of their bed, listening to the sound of rain against the roof. It was a magical sound. One they’d always cherish. Katie sighed, and curled into him, his wife still craving his warmth, the feel of her burrowing against him kindling a depth of emotion he’d never dreamed possible.
Life was good. He’d probably always have headaches, and he’d always walk with a limp, but overall he was healthy, inside and out, and building a future with Katie was far more important than dwelling on the past.
Her eyes flickered open. “You’re not sleeping.”
He pulled her even closer, his body already responding to the proximity of hers. It was a wonder he ever got any sleep at all. “I was listening to the rain.”
“Our song.” He could hear the sleepy smile in her voice.
“So you don’t regret moving to Texas? The bride of a reinvented businessman?” Guardian had perished with the revelations of Danny’s deceit, but from its ashes, John was building a new company, Phoenix. It catered to law enforcement. A way for them to stay on top of technology. Sort of a detective agency on disk.
“You’re doing what you always do, John. Finding a path to the top. This is just a new challenge, and if you’d admit it, you’d rather be forging a path than sitting on your laurels.”