“I won’t stop until I make him pay——”
Paul suddenly twisted to the side, and I barely managed to hold on to him as he flew –oh my Gaea, where was his broom– us away from Tamara. “What—-”
And then I saw it: a thunderbolt finding its mark as it raced down from the heavens, and even though I knew there was nothing I could do, and that if our positions had been reversed, she probably would have let Zeus’ murderous bolt spear its target –
I could never wish a person dead.
“Tamara, look out!”
But it was too late.
Tamara’s lips parted in a soundless scream of agony as the bolt tore through her body.
Fire claimed her in the next second, and I knew the exact moment she died.
We all knew.
Impossible not to, when the stormy skies vanished at her last breath, and the wind gods fell from the skies, released at last from Zeus’ orders of pillage and destruction.
Apparently, the antidote we were looking for was nothing more than Agent Tamara Gries’ death.
Chapter Thirteen
WHY ARE YOU DOING THIS? Did Zeus dump you? Is that it?
You bitch!
Uh, no, that would be you, I think?
I’ll kill you! I swear I’ll kill you!
And you’re psychotic, I swear, I absolutely swear you are.
Dike hit theStopbutton, and the screen froze just as I fell out of the window. “And that, ladies and gentlemen, is hownotto negotiate with a potentially psychotic opponent.”
I wanted to shrink in my seat as every CSI agent of the department turned to look at me.
“Then again, Agent Vavrin was a huge help in preventing the end of the world so all’s well that ends well. Let’s give her a round of applause.”
The other agents started to clap.
“Okay, that’s enough.” Our division director waved towards the doors, which again flew open under her command. “Dismissed.”
I stood up with the others, but I had only taken a few steps when I heard the Daughter of Justice say coolly, “Except you, Agent Vavrin.”
Brooms and sticks. Was I in trouble?
A week had passed since Agent Tamara Gries’ death, but the mood in headquarters remained somber. Many of us, myself included, remained shell-shocked at the deceased agent’s crimes, the full extent of which had been revealed by a memory post-mortem conducted on her remains.
Zeus’ refusal to make her immortal had been a serious bone of contention between the clandestine lovers, and the thunder god dumping her for another woman had been the last straw. The Craigslist posting had allowed Agent Gries to hire Amanda to poison Zeus, but when the siren had come to collect her money, Tamara had paid her off with a bullet to the temple and buried Amanda in her own backyard.
After that, she had pulled several strings to ensure she was the one Dike would approach to represent CIA in handling Zeus’ case. She had planned to provide misleading evidence from the start, which was why it had angered her greatly when Paul had pulled rank on her and insisted on working only with me.
Tamara had also been the one who shot at Paul, hoping to discourage his interest in the case, and when that didn’t work she had sought to befriend me instead.
As for Zeus, the dosage Tamara had Amanda administer wasn’t lethal or designed to permanently impair him, after all. It was only enough to last for a week, a period of time that Tamara believed was sufficient for the Olympian to lay wreck to most of New England. By the time the poison’s effects wore off, thousands would have long died in Zeus’ hands – the perfect revenge for the god who, despite his many weaknesses, had always loved mankind best.
“Now, Agent Vavrin...”
