Page 62 of Agent Zero
THIRTY-EIGHT
She smelled fine—alittle feverish, a little tired, that metallic yellow tang a little deeper, but still delicious.The next moment she was on the floor, and the bolt of smoke-sick through her scent twisted Reese’s own stomach, hard.As soon as he ran back to the range to get the goddamn bacon set aside, she tried to get up from the couch again.She didn’t thrash when he eased her back down, but she was sweating even worse now, her half-lidded eyes glassy and her smell flaring unpredictably.
Penicillin?Hospital?He flicked through the alternatives, desperately, and almost didn’t notice the subtle change in the sounds outside.
Once he did, though, it was impossible to ignore.
Damn.
“Holly.”Soft and inflexible.“Holly, sweetheart, I need you to listen to me.”
It could be a deer, wolf.Coyote.Nothing else would be out in this goddamn weather, right?Any animal with sense would stay inside.He could get out to the shed, get the snowmobile fixed up—but if he left her, what was she likely to do?
It wasn’t wildlife.He knew what it was.
Holly subsided.Glittering eyes, the fever burning her—he’d have to do something to bring it down.The shock of rolling her in snow wouldn’t help.The shower, then.
First he had to take care of outside.
“I have to get something for you.”A lie, but a good one if it kept her stationary.“I need you to stay here.Right here, okay?”Two guns, the knives and his wits.The hiking boots were all right, and he shrugged into his coat.“Stay on the couch,” he told her.Maybe she’d even listen.
The only reply he got was a slurred mutter that might have been his name.
Jesus Christ.
Reese didn’t move right away.Instead, he closed his eyes, listening.Smart was the way to play this one.Advantages were on his side—he knew the ground, so all he had to do was outwait and outthink.The curtains were all drawn, both to save heat and discourage someone with a high-powered rifle from solving a long-range problem or two.Any agent out there had to know he’d hear, and might also know...what?
Holly made a restless movement, and Reese heard the footsteps.Deliberate crunching, breaking icy crust.Sounded like cleats—not a bad choice for this goddamn weather, but savagely tiring and would make him lose on agility.
The bastard was aiming right for the front door.Making no goddamn attempt to be quiet, even.
What the hell?
The tiny strip of porch shuddered as the visitor clumped up.Crunch, crunch, crunch on the ice, right to the door.
Knocking, then, light and authoritative.Shave and a haircut, two bits.
So he’s got a sense of humor.
Then, a voice.“You gonna pretend you don’t notice me?”Male, about Reese’s age, and the pulse was perfectly even.Nice and controlled, no bloodlust.“I’m here to help.You might as well let me in.”
Here to help?That’ll be the day.
It was a ballsy move, walking right up.Reese could admire the sonofabitch, even if he had to kill him.
Holly cried out, weakly.Reese still hesitated, barely even breathing.There was no good tactical or strategic reason for the other agent to come right up to the front door and announce himself, for God’s sake.
“I won’t touch the girl, I swear.I just want to talk to you.You’re a hard man to catch, you know that?”Amused now.No change in pulse or respiration.
Reese ghosted across the cabin—a calculated risk, but he already had the 9mm free.The temperature outside would keep a body from rotting right away, should it become necessary.If all else failed he could rifle the other agent for cash and spare supplies before?—
He jerked the door open, gun leveled, nerves stretched tight.
Standing carefully back from the door, gloved hands raised, the other agent peered out from under a thick knitted cap.He took a deep sniff and nodded slightly, keeping his empty hands up and stock-still.Sandy hair, bright pale blue eyes, the wispy beginning of a beard.Looked as though he’d been roughing it for a few days.
Reese’s senses strained.He could hear, smell, sense nothing behind the man save pines, deep snow, dry-oily animals hidden in burrows, a hint of smoke from the cabin’s stove.
“I’m alone,” the other agent said.“Been offgrid for a few days now.No tails I can make out.”
