Page 255 of Silent Target

CALEB

Three Weeks Later

Rain falls over the Alaska harbor.

Not the violent rain that followed Evie out of Langley.

This rain is soft.

Steady.

It turns the water silver beneath the dock lights and taps gently against the windows of Cutter’s converted warehouse.

The new Shadow Division base is alive around us.

Cobra and Falcon argue over whether a breaching charge can be considered subtle.

Shark insists the answer is no.

Fathom hasn’t looked away from his monitors in six hours.

Mac sits beside him, translating First Circle authorization codes and building a list of every facility he helped create.

Rook and Sarah stand near Cutter’s office, speaking quietly.

For once, no one is shooting.

No mountains are collapsing.

No one is lifting them either.

Evie steps onto the dock carrying two mugs of coffee.

She hands one to me.

I take a drink.

It’s good.

“You look disappointed,” she says.

“Frank’s was worse.”

“You miss chemical weapons?”

“No.”

She leans against the railing.

Wind catches her dark hair.

The bruises have faded from her throat. The cut on her forehead is now a thin pink line.

The sight of it still makes something cold move through me.

She catches me looking.

“I’m all right.”