by Matt Rogers
Now she was crying.
She said, ‘I’m sorry.’
‘Not your fault.’
‘It’s the life we chose,’ she said.
Slater’s gears stopped turning and he froze up in mortal horror as he thought, Why is Violetta so distraught?
Then he thought of the hypotheticals.
Under his breath, he whispered, ‘No.’
She lifted her gaze to meet him. ‘What?’
‘Is King…?’
‘King’s alive. Hurt — hurt real bad — but alive.’
Slater exhaled.
He didn’t know how he’d be able to survive if it had been the alternative.
He said, ‘What about the festival? Did anyone slip through the cracks? Did we lose?’
Violetta said, ‘There were three casualties. One gunman managed to fire into the crowd, but Ruby stopped him before it got any worse. We got unbelievably lucky.’
‘You call that lucky?’
‘Yes,’ she said, unblinking. ‘I do.’
He sank into the bed, and the numbness receded, and he felt all the pain of loss, of anguish, of despair. He remembered those glowing amber eyes, and he knew he’d never see anything like them again, and he closed his own eyes to compose himself and stared into the abyss.
But if you do that for long enough, as Nietzsche says, the abyss will stare back into you.
So he fought valiantly to open his eyes and found Violetta watching him with a keen eye.
She said, ‘You didn’t fail, Will. Did you see how many gunmen there were in total? All of them armed with weapons. Thirteen suicide bombers. There would have been hundreds dead at the very minimum.’
Slater exhaled.
Finally he said, ‘What’s the news saying?’
‘The same thing the media says every time there’s a mass shooting. We’re suppressing as much information as we can. As far as the public knows, there was only one real gunman, and he had his cronies with him to incite fear. We’re downplaying it as much as we can, and it’s working. I hate to say it, but right now everyone’s more focused on the economy.’
‘What happened there?’
‘It’s still a disaster. But we’ve been through a financial crisis before. We’ll get through another one — and, hey, maybe we’ll fix the errors in the system that allowed this to happen in the first place. Maybe it was the wake-up call we needed.’
‘So there’s no need for damage control?’ Slater said. ‘The Chinese hardliners don’t have a narrative to feed to the rest of the world?’
‘No,’ she said. ‘You stopped that. You, and Jason, and Ruby.’
‘But they’ll keep trying.’
‘Unlikely,’ she said.
‘You don’t know that.’
‘Fifteen members of the Chinese president’s inner circle have disappeared over the last twenty-four hours.’
Slater felt his jaw go slack.
He said, ‘You’re not serious.’
She said, ‘They failed. They had their chance and they blew it. This proves what we suspected all along — the government hardliners weren’t the only prevailing ideology floating about. Some of them were moderates, perhaps including the president himself, and this ploy for a hostile takeover was a test. Everything we’ve heard about China’s plan to overtake the U.S. as the economic, technological and military powerhouse of the world has been focused on the long-term. There’s always been whispers, but they’re more “survival-of-the-fittest” in nature. If China overtakes us in fifty years, so be it. But they’ll do it the correct way. This was obscene, and the disappearing officials reflect that they’ve acknowledged their failure.’
‘Because the timing had to be right,’ Slater said.
‘Exactly. It was a stunning deception, and a stunning plan, but it had to go off without a hitch. The economic failure had to lead straight into the worst mass shooting in United States history, with racially charged intentions. What little shooting occurred happened on the outskirts of the festival, and the three victims were Caucasian. Not exactly the gut punch of a news headline they were going for.’
‘It’s still awful.’
‘I know. Unforgivable. Thankfully, it seems China is cleaning up its mess for now. If it came out in the public eye, I have no doubt they would have strung the hardliners up from the rafters. Labelled them traitors, too. But it didn’t come out, so they’re doing it quietly.’
Slater struggled to comprehend the scope of the conspiracy. He said, ‘Was there anything else?’
‘We arrested General Scachi yesterday on suspicion of treason.’
Slater eyed her. ‘Why?’
‘We traced his financial records to an account in Panama. There were … a number of suspicious deposits.’
‘Of course there were.’
‘He did an impressive job of convincing us he never received word to move in. But we confiscated his communication equipment before he could protest, and tested it. It worked fine.’
‘He deliberately hung back?’
‘Money can sway any of us.’
‘Only if you’re a piece of shit.’
Violetta nodded.
Slater said, ‘So what happens now?’
‘Now, as best as we can, we keep a close eye on what’s happening in the Chinese president’s inner circle. And we pray the hardliners were a brief but violent spark in history.’
‘You don’t think it’s going to happen again?’
‘Not for a long time. That plot took months, if not years, of preparation, and it didn’t kickstart the snowball effect they were looking for. So they’re imploding. For now, we’re safe.’
Slater couldn’t believe it. He said, ‘So that’s it?’
‘That’s it.’
‘Where to from here?’
‘We don’t need to talk about that right now,’ Violetta said. ‘You need to recover. You and King both.’
‘How is he?’
‘He’s good. He’s resting up.’
‘You spending much time with him?’
She said, ‘I’m too busy,’ but her eyes revealed the truth.
Slater said, ‘You don’t think this will complicate things?’
‘You and Ruby seemed to manage okay.’
He didn’t respond.
She winced. ‘Sorry. Poor timing.’
‘You said she stopped the last truck all on her own?’
‘Yes. If you want the truth, the three of you pulled off the most impressive feat in combat history. It’s a goddamn shame she isn’t here to understand how deeply important she was to the future of our nation.’
‘I think she knew.’
‘I know she did.’
Slater went quiet.
Violetta said, ‘Bad things happen to good people.’
‘I know,’ Slater said. ‘Trust me, I know.’
‘There’s going to be a funeral service at an undisclosed location. Probably a week or so from now. It’ll be a small crowd. Certain parties have been granted … special access.’
Slater froze.
The memory came back to him, striking him like a gut punch.
The photo of…
It couldn’t be possible. Violetta said there’d been three victims. If, by some cruel twist of fate, it happened that Shien had been one of them…
Slater blinked back tears.
Violetta said, ‘What is it?’
‘Is she safe?’ he said.
‘What are you talking about?’
‘You know,’ he said. ‘You know perfectly well. One of the victims. Was it—?’
‘Shien?’ Violetta said. ‘No.’
Life was still worth living.
She said, ‘Shien was there, with Frank Nazarian, when the shooters showed up. Ruby…’
Then she trailed off, wracked by her own emotion.
Slater said, ‘What?’
Violetta lifted her gaze to meet his, and her eyes were damp. ‘Ruby died protecting her.’
S
later didn’t respond.
He stewed silently.
It was poetic, after all.
Violetta said, ‘You’ll see Shien at the funeral. You can talk to her about it then, if you want.’
Slater hesitated. ‘I don’t know about that.’
‘What do you mean?’
‘We made a pact.’
‘Will…’
‘I bring nothing but ruin to people’s lives,’ he said. ‘That’s why I’ve never been able to stay in one place for too long. I’m a leech. I can help people, but then I need to go, immediately, or things will get worse and worse. I’m a magnet for this shit. That’s why Shien was in San Francisco — I’m sure of it. It wasn’t coincidence. To anyone hoping for a normal existence, I’m a cancer.’
‘No, you’re not. You’re incredibly good at fixing problems that anyone else would shy away from, so you barrel head-first into danger. That doesn’t make you a cancer. That makes you a cure.’
‘I can’t go.’
‘Think about it.’
‘I promised her I’d stay away from her.’
Violetta got up. She put a hand on Slater’s shoulder.
She said, ‘She wants to see you.’
Then she walked out.
102
One week later…
They lowered the coffin into the grave.
True to Violetta’s word, Ruby’s funeral was a modest affair, and the small gathering had formed around an unobtrusive war grave in Calverton National Cemetery on Long Island. There was Frank and Abigail Nazarian, and their daughter Anastasia, and Shien, and Violetta, and a handful of military officials, and up the back stood a big broad-shouldered man with a couple of fresh scars on his face.
Jason King adjusted his tie and clasped his hands together behind his back.
He stayed quiet.
He wasn’t the centre of attention, and he didn’t need to be. He’d barely known Ruby Nazarian, but the impression she’d left on him during their brief period of acquaintance would stay with him for the rest of his life. He remained a stoic statue up the back of the procession as Frank stood over the coffin with his head bowed.
‘I didn’t know you,’ the man said. ‘But … what you did for us. I’ll never forget it. Thank you, my daughter. Thank you.’
He made to say more, but he couldn’t.
He stepped back, and cried silently into his wife’s shoulder.
Shien stepped forward, and said, ‘Thank you. For everything.’
She stepped back.
She didn’t cry.
She didn’t waiver.
There were none of the official procedures for military funerals. There were no soldiers or marines or sailors or airmen. There was no flag draped over the coffin. Because Ruby Nazarian didn’t exist — she’d never officially worked for the government in any capacity. She’d been a black-ops killer in a dark, secret world, much like King. Their achievements went unrecognised in the public eye, because if their efforts were revealed, the shadowy reality of the secret world would need to be revealed in turn.
King instinctively glanced to his left, but there was no-one there.
He didn’t blame Will Slater for staying away.
He understood the principle.
They attracted violence, he and Slater both. It allowed them to contribute to the world in a way they’d never anticipated in their youth, but it ruined the balance in their lives and in the lives of those around them in equal measure. Because they were never far from a fight, never far from a war.
Never far from death.
The service ended without fanfare, as an unknown military official read a statement regarding what Ruby had contributed to her country. It was suitably vague, suitably unclear.
As everything in their lives had to be.
Then the small procession dispersed.
Violetta walked up to King and whispered, ‘You okay?’
He nodded, and took her hand. ‘Will should be here.’
‘He made a pact.’
‘He told me.’
‘I can understand.’
‘There’s not many people here,’ King said. ‘He was important to her.’
‘More than either of us thought.’
‘I think they were good for each other.’
‘Like us?’
King half-smiled, then grew solemn. ‘You know — I never thought anyone would fill the void Klara left.’
‘Don’t say that.’
‘Why not?’
‘Because she changed you for the better. Don’t paste me over her memories.’
‘I never would.’
‘You understand why he didn’t come, right?’
‘I guess.’
‘Because that’s what this is for him. The void. And it’ll never get filled. Not the way he spoke about Ruby.’
King said, ‘It’ll be hard. Unimaginably hard. But that’s all our lives have been. Maybe he shouldn’t shy away from that.’
A hand came down on King’s shoulder, softly, gently.
‘Speak of the devil,’ Slater said.
King didn’t react.
He knew, all along, that Will Slater never shied away from anything.
King turned, and there he was, hunched over a walker, wearing a vest under his suit to brace his core. He was still badly, badly hurt. There’d be a long road to recovery.
But he was out of bed, and moving around.
There wasn’t just physical pain in his eyes, though.
There was something deeper.
King said, ‘Glad you could make it.’
‘Figured some pacts are worth breaking.’
They had little left to say to each other, because King saw Shien in his peripheral vision, and he knew he had no place in this equation. He gently placed a hand on Slater’s shoulder, gave the man a reassuring look, and led Violetta away through the rows of war graves.
They didn’t look back.
King put an arm around her shoulder and said, ‘We haven’t spoken about the future.’
‘In what sense?’
He paused. ‘Personally and professionally, I guess.’
‘Let’s leave the professional talk for when Slater’s finished. Personally, I think you know where I stand.’
He looked into her eyes as they walked. ‘Do I?’
She said, ‘I haven’t met anyone since Beckham was killed in Mexico. I haven’t tried. Now … now I’m willing to try.’
‘That could get complicated,’ King said. ‘If our professional lives keep intertwining.’
‘I thought you said you were done forever.’
‘That depends on what you’re going to offer Slater and I.’
She paused. ‘Let’s not talk about that right now. Let’s talk about us.’
‘What’s there to say?’
‘Where do you want to go from here?’
‘I haven’t cared about anyone the way I care about you since Klara died. You understand me. I understand you. Isn’t that all there is to it?’
She smiled, despite the forlornness of the graves on either side of them. ‘You’re a simple man.’
‘I make decisions fast, I guess.’
‘I approve of this one.’
He squeezed her tight. ‘We’ll make it work.’
‘In terms of professional—’
King held up a hand. ‘Let’s wait for Slater to come to peace with his past. Then we’ll all talk. Together.’
103
Slater felt the grass under the soles of his dress shoes as he tapped his foot nervously against the ground.
Shien stood there, quiet, observant.
Frank Nazarian spotted him. They nodded to each other.
Then the man stepped back, ushering his wife and daughter aside.
He understood the personal nature of the conversation that had to take place.
He let them have their space.
Slater said, ‘Hey, kid.’
Shien managed a sad smile. ‘Though
t we agreed never to see each other again.’
‘I had to be here. I hope you understand.’
‘I do.’
‘How are you?’
‘Should we be having this conversation?’
‘What do you mean?’
‘Isn’t it best we keep it…’
She trailed off, searching for the word.
Then she said, ‘Impersonal.’
He smiled a sad smile, too, mirroring Shien. ‘Maybe that is best.’
‘But I want to know how you are, too,’ Shien said. ‘I don’t want to play this stupid game anymore.’
‘I’m good, kid,’ Slater said, hunching over his walker. ‘All things considered, I’m good.’
‘I know you were close to Ruby.’
‘I was.’
‘I’m sorry for your loss.’
‘It happens.’
‘You seem like you’ve already accepted it.’
‘It’s not about me, or how I feel. It’s about her, and what she did. What she did for you.’
Shien said, ‘It should have been me instead of her.’
Slater stiffened. ‘Don’t ever say that.’
‘Why not?’
‘Because those thoughts lead down a dark road. Don’t do that to yourself. Ruby made her choices, and you’re here to talk about it. This is what she wanted. We can’t disrespect that.’
‘But I’m a normal kid,’ Shien said. ‘She was a warrior.’
‘And that’s what warriors do. They put themselves in harm’s way for people they think are important.’
Shien half-smiled. ‘That’s what you did for me.’
‘Yes.’
‘I still can’t thank you enough for that.’
‘You don’t have to.’
‘You’re here to pay your respects,’ Shien said. ‘Then what? Will I be seeing you around?’
Slater said, ‘How’s life been?’
‘It’s been good. It feels … normal. I’ve never felt like that before.’
‘You like Frank and Anastasia?’
‘Yes.’
‘You like your sister, Abigail?’
‘Yes. I feel like I was supposed to be here all along.’
‘Then you won’t be seeing me around.’