“I would go myself, but I knew you would never let me,” he says, looking over at Scott. That’s when it clicks, Riley is right, she needs to be there when it happens. Not just for Riley, but for her own closure. “I don’t want them involved. This is hard enough on everyone without this weight on their shoulders.”
“I’m glad you realized I wouldn’t let you do this alone. Let me gear up and we can go,” Liz says, placing a kiss on his temple before releasing him to go find Lauren. If she is going to hikethrough the snow again, she will need a jacket free of bullet holes.
No one tries to stop them as Riley slices through the tape holding Scott to the chair. Liz follows Riley as he leads them to the door. Holding up one finger, she rushes back to where Matt is sitting with his head hung.
“Hey. I can’t imagine how much this sucks. No one will judge you if you want to say goodbye,” she says, offering him a small smile.
“No,” he says, barely meeting her gaze. “I said goodbye to the man I remember a long time ago. The man he is today, that’s a monster who deserves exactly what Riley is going to give him,” Matt says. Liz turns“Thank you, Liz. For checking on me, for giving me the chance to say goodbye if I needed it. I don’t deserve that level of kindness, especially from you,” he says. She turns back to face him, unsure of how to feel.
“You saw him for who he really is and changed the path you were on because of it. You fucked up and did some awful things for him, but when you saw his true colors, you risked everything to stop him. I may not be able to forgive you yet, but you do deserve kindness,” Liz says, keeping her tone soft. “If you change your mind, Riley has an earpiece. And if you need to talk, we are all here,”
Matt gives her a small, forced smile. She doesn’t push the matter. Liz rushes back to Riley’s side, quietly filling him in on their conversation. Snatching a small chainsaw from the floor, Riley opens the door, shoving Scott out into the cold. Once outside, Riley takes the lead. Liz flanks them with her gun ready should Scott try to attack. The cold bites into her nose, making her eyes sting. The hike is short, just a few miles from the airstrip. Liz hadn’t been told the plan before leaving, but seeing the frozen lake in the distance, she can imagine what Riley has planned.
The ice is solid under her feet. Liz stands guard while Riley cuts a hole in it. She had pressed him about the chainsaw he carried, and the pry bar strapped to his back. The only answer he gave was Tyler found it in the shed and made it run.
Her arm is on fire when he is finally done cutting the large square. Using the pry bar to push the block down, Riley tucks it neatly under the rest of the ice. Liz pokes the barrel of her gun into Scott’s back, urging him to step toward the hole.
“This is how you’re going to do it? Throw me to the bottom of a frozen lake? Drown me?” Scott stammers, spinning to look at them with wild eyes.
Riley finally lets his anger show, kicking the back of his knees to make him drop onto them.
“You’re fucking monsters! Both of you,” Scott screams.
“Shut the fuck up. Everything you have done to us, to all those fucking men and women who were under your command…” Riley yells, pacing behind Scott, looking as if it’s a fight to keep himself in check.
“If I had my way, you would spend the rest of your life suffering. But we have a plane to catch, so you get off easy,” Riley shouts, cocking the pistol in his hand as he walks away.
Knowing Scott can’t go anywhere, Liz slings her rifle onto her back and goes to him. She may not be able to be there for him the same way he was when she killed her brother, but he won’t be alone.
“Princess, close your eyes. You don’t need to see this,” Riley orders.
“Not this time, Ry. I hid from my brother, I won’t hide from him, too,” Liz says, holding her ground.
A soft click sounds from beside her. There, in the center of Scott’s head, is a small green dot. The very same dot she last saw sitting between her brother’s eyes. One hand drops from the gun,instead sliding into Liz’s. He gives her a squeeze, and she sucks in a sharp breath, mentally preparing for what comes next. She has made a lot of comments about ending his life over the past year, but she never pictured actually doing it. The sight of death in such a brutal way still makes Liz queasy, she can only hope this time will be different. Riley stays perfectly still, like a towering statue of an executioner. The only movement comes from his lips, silently counting, just loud enough for Liz to hear.
One. Two. Three.
The deafening crack rings out, sending the birds in the trees fleeing. Scott falls face first into the snow. A thick pool of red already forming around him, staining the pristine snow.
Silent tears form a steady stream down Liz’s face. She refuses to let go of Riley’s hand, even when the sight of the golfball sized hole of mangled flesh threatens to make her sick. She fights past it, knowing this is what they fought so hard for. The fight may not be over, but they finally took a major threat out of it.
Snow crunches under her boots when she finally drops Riley’s hand, walking to where Scott lies dead. She pushes him with her foot, sliding the weight of his body across the blood-soaked ice. Once he reaches the edge, she gives him one final kick, hard enough to send him splashing into the frigid water below.
Her eyes don’t leave his body until he sinks so deep into the black water he disappears. In one smooth motion, Riley pries the ice block from where it rests under the water. Forcing it back into place, he seals Scott in his icy tomb.
CHAPTER 47
Walking off the plane is surreal. There is no more running and hiding while they fight to stay alive. No longer are they being hunted.
Liz steps onto the tarmac with a weight lifted off her shoulders, one that has been threatening to crush her for months. Her peace is short-lived. No more than four steps off the plane and the team is being herded across the base.
They file into the long conference room where General Langford is already waiting, perfectly organized files placed in front of each chair. Liz slides into the open seat next to Riley, waiting to tell him everything.
“Was your mission successful?” Langford asks, making eye contact with Riley.
“Yes, sir, it was,” he responds.
“Good. If you will all open your folders.” Langford pauses to give everyone a moment to do as he orders. “You will find everything we have gathered for you. I have had a team building a case since the day you arrived. That case is now in the hands of every general across the country. Paula has gotten relevant information,including satellite images of the disgraced General Murphy, hand delivering a shipment of U.S. missiles to Dmitri. Any and all information regarding each of you deserting and being brandished as domestic terrorists has been redacted. As of now, you are all free and re-instated to your positions,” he explains.
