“Just come over here. We’ll provide you with all the details.”
Kira disconnected the call. Sarah caught the driver’s eye in the rearview mirror. “Change of plans. We’re heading to the suburbs.”
* * * *
Blayne
Blayne searched Kira’s face as she hung up the phone. He couldn’t figure out what was going on inside her head.
“That was the local contact Cleo Barnes promised to get us.”
“Wait a second. I thought you were talking to Sarah,” Blayne said.
“I was,” Kira replied.
It took a second to realize what Kira said to hit Blayne. “Oh, fuck.”
“The shit’s about to hit the proverbial fan,” Kira agreed.
“Well, this is an interesting turn of events,” Hennigan said. “I don’t think a big gathering is necessary. Denzili, Richardson, I want you to conduct a brief reconnaissance mission on campus. We know the rally is to be held in the quad area. Please go scope it out. Look for choke points and areas where a sniper could set up shop. War-game every scenario you can come up with.”
“Understood,” Denzili said. Without hesitating, Denzili and Richardson left the apartment.
“And then there were three,” Blayne said as the front door closed. Blayne walked into the kitchen and sat with the other two women at the table. “On a scale of zero to one hundred, how pissed off will Sarah be?”
“Oh, pissed off will not come close to what Sarah will be when she finds out what’s happening.”
“How will you explain everything?” Hennigan said. “Remember… If you tell her everything, she can’t unlearn it. She should have the right to walk away before being drawn into this.”
“We both know that will not happen. Sarah will be pissed that I didn’t tell her yesterday when I found out about you.”
“Blame me,” Hennigan said. “Tell Agent Murphy I threatened to kill her if you told her anything.” She downed the last sip of Malbec in her glass. “I’m used to playing the villain. I’ve gotten quite good at it over the years.”
“But you’re not, are you?” Blayne asked. “A villain, I mean,” he clarified.
“I am many things to many people. Some see me as the boogey-woman who goes bump in the night, the one they warn their kids about. For others, I’m a superhero who swooped in at the last second to save their lives. You want there to be a world of black and white, Mr. Dickenson. I live in a world of grays, more grays and nothing but grays.”
“Would you like a refill?” Blayne asked, gesturing toward the empty wine glass.
“No, I should keep my wits about me. I’ll use the ladies’ room before Agent Murphy arrives. Don’t worry. I remember where it’s located.” Hennigan pushed herself up from the table and crossed through the living room toward the guest bedroom.
Blayne needed something to do, so he set about straightening the apartment. He started a stack of empty pizza boxes.
“Apparently, the band thought they would feed an army. Little did they know,” Blayne said. He opened a drawer next to the fridge and pulled out a box of generic resealable bags. He took the remaining pizza and shoved the leftovers into the plastic bags. When he was done, half the bags he put in the fridge and the other half in the freezer.
He then filled the dishwasher with empty glasses and mugs.
“I’m going to take the empty boxes out to the trash. I’ll be right back,” he told Kira, who had barely paid him any attention while Blayne had been straightening the apartment. Kira was clearly lost in her own world. Blayne sat the stack of boxes on the table before reaching down and patting her shoulder. “It’s going to be okay.” Kira reached up and grabbed his hand before looking at him.
Tears were trying not to escape from the corners of her eyes. “Thanks. You don’t know that, but thanks.”
Grabbing the stack of pizza boxes, he walked toward the door. He turned the boxes sideways and squished them against his side as he fumbled with the knob. Blayne turned the door handle then snaked around the door with the boxes into the night air. The night sky was clear. He could see a few pinpoints of light in the sky, but none like he’d seen growing up in West Texas, where light pollution didn’t block the majesty of the stars in the heavens. He walked over to the dumpster. The last user had forgotten to close the lid, so he quickly threw the stack of used boxes into the bin. He closed the cover then leaned against it. He lightly bit his lower lip as he took a second to take stock of the insanity that had been his life.
“Dear God, help me out here,” he said, gazing up at the sky. “I don’t know what I’m doing. I know I don’t pray that much anymore, but for fuck’s sake, how much can one man take before he breaks? Sorry about the cursing.” He paused briefly before asking, “Do you even care about cursing? I mean, you created humans, and we sure like to cuss up a shit storm. Hell, maybe you invented cussing. I don’t know. I don’t know how you could sit in heaven and not look at us humans and say, ‘what the fuck?’ at least a million times a day.” Blayne let out a huff, and for the first time that season, tendrils of his breath were visible in the cold air. A rumbling sound caught Blayne’s attention, causing him to turn his head. A black SUV entered the parking lot. “If you could do me one quick favor,” Blayne said, praying into the night, “just keep Sarah chill enough so she doesn’t hurt Kira tonight.” He waited for the SUV to pull into a parking space before he added, “Amen.”
The back door opened, and Sarah stepped out of the vehicle.
“Well, fancy meeting you here,” Blayne said, feigning enthusiasm.
