"You were the experienced profiler eight years ago, and while I had completed my training, no one was going to listen to me.If you thought I was at all right in my assessment, you would have said something.You thought you were right and that I was wrong, and it’s as simple as that.You want to blame me and everyone else around you, but you won't blame the person who deserved the blame: yourself."
"Is that it?"Carver shrugged."Are you done?"
"At least admit it before you kill me," Alison said."At least be brave enough to acknowledge that you’re the one to blame for everything that’s happened to you."
"You need to shut your mouth!"Carver warned.
"You talk about Sterling not changing over the years, but you’re exactly the same," Alison pointed out."After all those years, you still can't accept the truth.Sterling hasn’t changed, but neither have you."
"Okay, that’s enough," Carver warned."I was going to make you watch as I killed him, but a few minutes won't make much difference to forensics.It’s time for you to go, Alison.You gave it your best shot."
Carver made sure the gun was pointed directly at Alison’s forehead as she strode forward with purpose.
Alison closed her eyes.Perhaps she hadn’t delayed enough after all.
The gunshot exploded through her head.
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
Alison’s heart stopped.
She opened her eyes, and it began beating furiously.She looked down at Dr.Carver on the ground, blood pouring from the gunshot to her neck.She opened her mouth as she looked up at Alison, trying to say something.Only a gurgle came from her lips.Her fingertips gently scraped the ground as she tried to reach the gun that had fallen from her grip.
Two, three, maybe four tactical officers walked into the room, their legs pushing them forward while their torsos remained tight.They all carried assault rifles and converged on Carver from three different directions.One of them kicked her gun away.
Alison caught the flash of light again and looked up and to the left to see a gunman through the broken window above.Alison stared at him as he lifted his gun, then backed away from the opening.
"Medic!"one of the tactical team shouted.
More people rushed in, one of them going straight to Carver and placing a hand on her neck.Carver gasped for breath, blood spluttering from her mouth.Across the room, another team treated Sterling.Alison continued to look into Carver’s eyes as they dulled.
Then someone took Alison’s arm, and she jumped.She turned to see Hartley by her side.The Special Agent didn't say a word, but pulled her from the room.
Alison took a deep breath as soon as the fresh air outside the building hit her.The sun felt far brighter than it had before, and her knees felt like jelly.If she didn't keep moving, her legs might fail her.
"Are you okay?"Hartley asked."Are you hurt?"
"I’m not hurt," Alison said."She didn’t hurt me.I think she’s…" Alison thought it instead of saying it.The look in Carver’s eyes was like the lights going out.Sterling wouldn’t make it."It’s over," Alison muttered.
"It’s over," Hartley agreed."We came as quickly as we could."
"You made it just in time," Alison said."Help me over."She pointed to the outside of the building.
Hartley took Alison’s arm again and led her over to the building, where she dropped down onto the ground as her knees finally gave way.Hartley crouched down beside her.
"I had no idea what to expect when you got here, so I brought everything we had," Hartley said
"You did well," Alison confirmed."If she’d heard you coming, she would have killed.Sterling, too.Perhaps herself, I don't know.She was the one behind it all along, and I didn't see it."
"Not at the start, but you saw it before she had time to kill you and frame you for all of the murders," Hartley pointed out."I’ll take that win."
"Sterling’s still alive," Alison said."Carver must have kidnapped him days ago.That’s why we couldn’t find him.She’s not going to jail for this, but she has received her punishment.It’s still justice."
"It is," Hartley confirmed."She won't be able to kill any more people, and she won't get away with her crimes.If it wasn’t for you, we wouldn’t have figured this out.I would have believed it if you had been framed, and I would have fought it, but if she planned it well enough, she could have gotten away with it."
"I think she might have," Alison acknowledged."And all because she couldn’t handle her own guilt.We thought the killer was trying to make the world a better place, and perhaps she was, in a way, but that wasn’t her primary motivation.She wasn’t selfless, but selfish."
"Come on, you must be in shock after what you went through, and I want to get you checked out," Hartley said as she grabbed Alison’s arm again."The rest of the team can deal with this.We get you checked out, and then we go back to the office for a debrief."
