Page 2 of Concluded
“Because you were hurt?You’ve been hurt before.”
“Exactly!”With effort, Achilles moderated his voice.“I get banged up pretty often.I’ve been clawed, bitten, punched, stomped, burned….We all have.And what about Santiago?He waskilledthis time.”The bear shifter had ripped Santiago to shreds while Achilles lay on the ground, too badly injured to help but still plenty capable of hearing Santiago’s anguished screams.
“I’m well aware of Agent Bautista’s death,” Chief Grimes said gravely.“It’s a serious loss to the Bureau.Are you quitting because you’re afraid to die?”He cocked his head as if fear of death was something odd.
“I’m not— Well, yeah, I’d like to remain alive.But that’s not my reason.It’s just… what’s thepoint?We go out to deal with monsters, maybe we get our asses kicked or we end up in a coffin.And still the world is full of monsters.We’re using an eyedropper to bail out a sinking ship.”
Chief Grimes leaned back in his chair, looking weary.Rumor had it that he was over a hundred years old, and while most of the time he looked close to Achilles’ age—early forties—right now there was something ancient about him.
“How many lives have you saved, Spanos?”
“No idea.But it doesn’t matter because?—”
“Itdoesmatter.”Grimes leaned forward, brow furrowed.“Every damn lifematters.Every human and NHS, staying safe in their homes, loving their families and friends, sharing a meme or running through the forest or dancing among the waves.And not only that.Every act of kindness matters.Every exercise of justice, of empathy, of shared joy.Every.Fucking.One.”
Achilles, who had never heard the chief give a speech, had to think how to respond.Finally, all he could say was, “I don’t have it in me.Not anymore.”
“I don’t believe that.”
“There are lots of other agents.Even with Santiago gone.Lots of them are better agents than I am.”
A soft sound came from behind Achilles.“But what if you are the one?”
Twisting around, Achilles saw that Tenrael had entered the room.He was always an imposing figure, but now his wings were spread, the glossy black feathers glistening in the overhead lights.
“What ‘one’?”Achilles asked.
“All living things—and some things which are no longer living—are connected.We are all part of a puzzle that has existed for millions of years and constantly reshapes itself.A single piece, even a tiny one, affects the whole.You may be the piece that shifts the balance in what is to come.”
Achilles had never been a spotlight sort of person.As a student, he’d always sat in the middle of the classroom, earning good grades but never exceptional.As an agent, he’d been content to follow his superiors’ orders and operate as part of a team, not as a lone hero.
“I’m not that piece.I’m not important.”And dammit, if he stood here any longer he was going to collapse, which he didn’t want to do in front of Grimes and Tenrael.Somebody would certainly drag him back to that hospital bed.
“I quit,” he said again.Firmly.
Nobody stopped him when he walked past Tenrael and out the door.
He made it all the way down to the lobby before remembering that his car wasn’t here.And even if it had been, he was in no shape to drive.At least he’d been able to keep his phone charged while he recovered.He ordered a Lyft.
A young woman in a Toyota pulled up to the main entrance a few minutes later.She goggled at Achilles—likely due to both his attire and his obviously rough condition—but didn’t comment as he collapsed into the back seat.A few minutes later, however, she couldn’t help herself.“Are you okay?”
“Don’t worry.I won’t get any bodily fluids on your upholstery.”Achilles closed his eyes and gritted his teeth against the stabs of pain caused by the car’s jostling.
“Well, I appreciate that.But do you need medical help or something?”
“I’ve had more than enough of that.I just need to get home.”
“Well… okay.”She sounded skeptical but fell silent and continued driving.
Luckily, traffic was light and his condo was only a few miles from HQ, on a tree-lined street just off Ventura Boulevard.She pulled up in front of the building, and he mumbled his thanks before shuffling toward the door.Most of the neighbors were likely at work, and he didn’t care if those who remained might be staring.
His code let him into the building, and he again had a moment of gratitude for elevators as he rose to the third floor.Normally he loved his home, which he’d chosen and furnished with care.But today it smelled stale and slightly fusty, probably because he’d been gone long enough for food in the fridge to go bad.The fact that his loft bedroom was accessed by stairs was a nice architectural feature, but today he just couldn’t face the ordeal.Instead he collapsed onto the couch and more or less passed out.
CHAPTER2
Portland, Oregon
“I can’t do it.”Dee had to speak loudly to be heard over the whir of the nearby espresso machine and the lively chatter of other customers.
