Chapter Six

Gray woke up hard, his back pressed against the cold steel wall of the restaurant’s food cooler. He groaned as he lifted his arm to wipe away the blood from his face. He’d apparently passed out at the end of the fight after barricading himself in the cooler.

Linda had proved to be a much tougher opponent than he’d figured. He had known it would be a tricky affair but her ferocity had taken him aback. Damnit, he thought. I got my ass kicked by an old girlfriend.

He slowly stood up and limped to the door. Looking down at the lock he realized how lucky he’d been. It hung on only by the slimmest margins, its energy meter showing a charge barely above critical mass. If Linda had more time she would have knocked the door down, and then he would have been finished.

He sat there a minute, still amazed at the events over the past couple days. Determining that it had been Linda who’d alerted the Station to their visit hadn’t been difficult. The traces that Warner had installed a week before had turned up her transmission.

The strange thing had been that she apparently hadn’t tried to hide her betrayal. Gray had stared at shock at the monitor when the machine told him the news he didn’t want to hear, but after a couple minutes he’d realized that he’d known it all along. The remarks about the Agency’s secrecy, the unexplained absences and lackluster job performance, the frayed relationships with others in the office.

Warner.

Ah Warner, he thought. Do you even realize?

Gray hadn’t told Warner of his thoughts before they’d separated after the attack. There hadn’t been time. He had quickly decided to divide their attention and to arrive at the Station separately, not only to provide better security but to address the Linda issue himself. Warner, he knew, could be trusted with the information but Gray hadn’t wanted to do it to the younger agent. He’d known about Warner and Linda for a few weeks. He hadn’t been angry when he’d realized the two were together. At least he wasn’t admitting it to himself yet.

Gray had been sure of his next steps after he had determined that it was Linda who’d betrayed the group. He’d been certain that his next move would be to kill Linda, that he would end her life as surely as she had tried to end his and Warner’s. He’d even followed her home one night, stayed outside her window watching as she’d prepared dinner. But his training took over and he realized that there was still a chance he could turn the betrayal, so damaging to the Agency and to him personally, to his advantage.

He had stopped her on the light train the next day, moving close to her. He still remembered the conversation, brief though it was.

“No Gray, I don’t know how they found out about the trip to the Station. I guess it had to be from someone in the group,” she had said, her eyes nervous and telling him more than her words had.

“You don’t know Linda?” he had asked. “You have no idea? You’re there with them everyday.”

She had done a curious thing then, he realized now in hindsight. She had looked quickly to his left, behind him, and had brushed hair away from her face.

She had signaled somebody, he realized now.

“Let me look into it. Let me get back to you. Stay in hiding for now,” she had said, once again looking into his eyes and giving a reassuring smile.

He had returned a small smile, and had left the train. He hadn’t realized at the time that she was working with somebody else on the train, but it was obvious now. Linda had either had him followed or he had by happenstance interrupted a meeting. Either way, he had been fortunate that day to escape without a fight.

That thought brought into focus again the sharp pain in his face and legs. The fight with her had started before he’d been ready. His plan had been to surprise her with his visit and then to confront her, try to gain information into her activities. Her work as a dancer at the club had been yet another surprise in the unfolding list of things he hadn’t known about her. Gray had thought that she would be so overwhelmed at his sudden appearance that she would quickly break down.

I was wrong, she was ready for me, he realized. She had fought with a deadly quickness and vigor, quickly disarming him and spinning around into the hall again. He’d fought back, kicking out her legs and regaining his breath. He’d spotted his saber on the ground and had jumped for it, but again she was quicker. She grabbed the saber and fired off a shot, hitting him in the left leg as he rolled away. Screaming in pain, he’d somehow managed to grab a food cart to his right and hurl it at her. It had connected, sending her to the floor. He had jumped then, falling on her to attack with his hands. She parried well and delivered several blows to his face and finally pushed him off. She then pulled a thin, scalpel-like knife from her sleeve and pounced again. It got a bit blurry then for Gray. He remembered finding the food cooler and triggering the lock. He’d seen the maniacal smile in her eyes as she kicked at the lock. At some point he’d given up, passing out from exhaustion and the wounds he’d suffered.

His memory of the last week was interrupted by the appearance of a very nervous Mr. Smithson, the club director. The man was shocked to see Gray covered in blood and leaning against the door to the cooler.

“Mr. Gray, what’s happened? I’ll have the police called immediately,” Smithson said, his voice quivering from shock.

Gray shook his head, “No Mr. Smithson, thank you. I’m sorry about this, but we’ll need to keep it quiet for now.” He took a step towards the shaking man, trying to give an air of confidence and calmness.

Smithson looked even more nervous. He placed his hands in front of him, palms out, backing up slowly. “Mr. Gray, I’m calling the police. This doesn’t look good. Please let me help you sir.”

Gray realized he had a problem. If the police were called he’d have to explain his actions, and he wasn’t keen to do that now. The police were technically aware of the Agency’s mandates, but it took quite a bit of time to find the right person to talk to about issues like this one.

He’d have to be more direct.

“Mr. Smithson, you aren’t calling the police. I need you to go out to your club and go about your normal night’s business,” he said in a louder voice now, taking a quick step towards Smithson.

Smithson breathed in quickly and turned to run.

Gray had anticipated it, and kicked out to catch Smithson squarely in the back. The man cried out in pain and fell into the wall. He spun around and put his hands up in defense. Gray moved in and hit the man with a sharp hit to the jaw. Smithson’s head crashed against the wall and he fell limply to the floor.

Gray cursed and kneeled down beside the man. He hadn’t wanted this to happen. He hadn’t wanted to have anybody else hurt in what he still considered the Agency’s internal issues. Looking down at Smithson now, with his eyes rolled back in his head and blood dripping from a cut above his ear, Gray felt as if Linda’s betrayal was now affecting the entire planet.

Of course it is, he thought. Time to wake up Gray.

He pulled Smithson into the food cooler and relocked the door. The man would wake up shortly and would cause enough noise to be rescued. Gray took a step back and looked at the exit at the back of the room.

That door led to a new world where he’d essentially be on his own. He couldn’t trust others now. He’d be without Agency assistance, without the warm feeling of home in the office, without the comfort of other agents when conditions were tough. He’d be without Linda. He’d be without—

Warner! He’d let his partner slip from his mind. The plan had been to stay out of touch until they joined each other on the Station, and he had no way of getting in touch.

But Linda does I bet, he thought. Goddamnit!

He took a last breath and stepped through the door, out of the restaurant, out into the uncertainty of the new world.