“Dorothy!” Blayne and Kira said simultaneously before they both broke out into laughter that reverberated off the walls of the underground corridors.
“Why are we laughing?” Kira said, trying to catch her breath.
“Don’t worry,” Agent Harper said, patting Kira.
“Yep,” Blayne said, finally catching his breath. “It’s a coping mechanism. Many academic studies discuss how humor helps people cope with a wide range of tragedies.”
“Whatever, egghead.” Kira grinned at Blayne before busting into another fit of hysterics.
“It’s your body’s way of relieving some of the tension you’ve been holding. As I always say, ‘sometimes the only sense you can make out of life is a sense of humor,’” Blayne said as he released Ethan’s hand long enough to throw his good arm around Kira. “And let’s face it. None of the past three days makes any sense.”
The agents took them to the elevator bank and hit the fifth floor. When they exited the elevator, they were led to the conference room where they’d been earlier. Only this time, there were a few more people in it.
Ethan was immediately enveloped by a group of people. Without being told, Blayne quickly realized this must be his ZERO family. Blayne and Kira held back as Ethan was reunited. After a second, a guy with black hair and piercing blue eyes came up to Blayne and said, “You must be Blayne. I’m Zach. It’s nice to meet you,” the man said as he made to shake Blayne’s hand. When Blayne extended it, the guy brought him in for a one-handed half hug. Blayne winced at the sudden jostling of his arm.
“Dude,” Zach said. “Sorry about that. How’s the arm doing?”
“Definitely had better days. Popped a stitch when we rolled the SUV.”
“What the fuck?” Zach asked, his eyes widening.
Blayne looked quizzically at Zach before asking, “What did they tell you?”
“Not much, apparently,” Zach said, his face sobering.
“Long story short,” Blayne started, “international assassins shot missiles and guns at us, all because they wanted Ethan’s cell phone.”
“Say that again,” Zach said.
A loud whistle broke through the conversations in the room. “I hate to break up this joyous reunion,” Agent Murphy yelled. Once the room quieted, she leveled her voice to normal and continued, “But unless your names are Blayne, Ethan, Kira or one of their lawyers, I’m going to ask you to leave the room. There’s a conference room across the hall. My partner, Agent Harper, will take you over there and answer any of your questions. Assuming, of course, we can answer those questions.”
There were some protests, but the ZERO family left. Two older men tried to stay in the conference room, but Ethan shooed them away.
Once the room was empty, Murphy said, “Take a seat. Let’s make this quick, shall we?” as she pulled out a digital recorder and hit record. Over the next hour, Blayne, Ethan and Kira told Agent Murphy everything they remembered about the attack on the convoy.
“Anything else you can think of?” Murphy asked. The three looked at each other and shook their heads. “I’m sure you’ll be interviewed by several agencies over the next few days. Between you, me and the glass walls, this was a bit of a clusterfuck.”
“Tell me about it,” Ethan said before adding, “Sorry… I know this isn’t your fault.”
“Nor is it yours, Mr. Bond,” Agent Murphy added. “I can tell you’re going to blame yourself for everything, but you’re not to blame.”
“Then who is?” Ethan countered.
“I wish we knew,” Agent Murphy admitted soberly. “From the moment I stepped foot on the houseboat in New Orleans to investigate the Dunning and Hawthorne murders, none of this has made any sense. And without the data, I don’t know if we’ll ever know for certain. I can tell you people at the highest level of our government will try to figure out what happened here.”
Blayne looked at Agent Murphy and said, “So, what now?”
“Now, we get you out of here so you can have your reunion with Ethan’s band, get some food in you and, if possible, get some sleep. I will put you in contact with an FBI Victim Specialist who can help you get any kind of mental health counseling and other assistance from the federal and state governments.”
“Is that necessary?” Kira asked.
“You may not think it is now,” Agent Murphy said slowly, “but victims of terrorism and violent crimes often need support over time. I’d rather you have a support system in place and not need it than not have the system in place and need it.”
“I’ll take your word for it,” Kira said, clearly not convinced.
“I also want to ensure I can get hold of you over the next few days. I’m assuming I can get you at your regular numbers,” Agent Murphy said, gesturing to Blayne and Kira.
“Yeah, I’m supposed to teach tomorrow. Well, maybe not tomorrow. I may take the day off and sleep for twenty-four hours,” Blayne said.
