Page 37 of Troubled Water
Ten. Steady the bipod.
Nine. Lock in the magazine.
Eight. Slide my finger into place on the trigger.
Seven. Feel the callous where it nestles like an old friend.
Six. Inhale. Listen to the chatter silence.
Five. “Thorn, are you going to be able to take the shot?” is hissed through the comms link.
Four. Exhale. Come to a realization.
Three. I’m not afraid of dying. Even if I have to do it seconds after my wife.
Two. I mutter, “I’ve got it.”
One. My finger squeezes.
The familiar recoil from my rifle kicks back into my shoulder. I don’t have long to wait to find out if my life is over.
I’m just grateful as fuck I kissed her before I left the house this morning since I don’t know if either of us will see tomorrow.
32
“You’re still with us,” Fox notes.
“I’d rather be somewhere else.”
“That’s understood, sir. But on behalf of the Department of Justice, we appreciate your time today. We also appreciate this is a unique circumstance as this is not for hiring purposes, witness security, nor for you to join one of our Sensitive Investigative Units.”
I wiggle my hands. “Then are we done? I have somewhere to be.”
Deere and Pamola make their way over and begin to loosen the wires from the extremities to which they are attached. As they do, the camera recording our session shuts down, and thedoor unlocks. A friendly face steps inside even as I rub my wrists.My second polygraph in as many days,I think, wryly.
Fox takes note of the look on my face, and her own turns wary. “What’s that look for?”
“Do I get a frequent flyer card to punch?” Turning to Cal, who is standing just inside the door, I wonder, “Think I can get out of my bi-annual poly for enduring this torture early?”
He snorts. “No. Besides your clearance is held through a different agency.”
“Killjoy.” He rolls his eyes at me before I ask the trio I’ve been working with all day, “I’d ask if it would be accepted in court, except that doesn’t really matter, does it?”
Fox’s smile turns malevolent. “No, sir, it doesn’t. Whether or not your polygraph would hold up as testimony doesn’t matter since they’re all dead. The president just wanted to have it on record if there was any blowback.”
“Understood.” I push myself out of the chair and ask Cal, “Any changes?”
“Libby and Iris brought food a while ago. They said you should bring flowers.”
I can’t prevent the smile from spreading across my face. “Mind if we stop at the house?”
“Nope. Besides, tracksuits are not your best look.”
Throwing him the finger, I’m about to storm past a gawking Fox, Pamola, and Deere. Instead, I pause and offer, “Let me know if you three are looking for a job. As of yesterday, I lost a team of polygraph examiners.” Permanently. As in, they’re in a federal prison somewhere I can’t get to them—more’s the pity. “You three did a hell of a job today.”
Cal breaks in, “Despite who you were interviewing.”
I roll my eyes. “How about you shut up and take me to my wife?”
