"Five now, I think," she said, looking pointedly at Batman.
"I can"t believe Kevin is alive." He sighed. He folded his long legs under the blanket and settled to the floor beside his brother"s head. "I can"t believe he lied to me. I can"t believe he let me think he was a criminal... I can"t believe he let me think he died... I can"t believe how many times I visited him-do you know how long it takes to drive from DC to Milwaukee?"
He stared in silence at his brother. She let him have a moment. She couldn"t imagine how she would feel if Barnaby walked back into her life without warning. How did you process something like that?
"When he wakes up," Daniel murmured gently, "I"m going to punch him in the throat."
Well, that was one way to process it.
"Why did you handcuff him?" Daniel wondered.
"Because as soon as he"s conscious, he"s going to try to kill me."
Wide eyes again. "What?"
"It"s not hard to understand. All he knew when he came through the roof was that someone was hurting you. He let me live only because he wasn"t sure if you were really okay. For example, maybe I would have to give you an antidote or something. I"m pretty sure if I hadn"t gotten the upper hand for a second, the minute you woke up, he would have shot me."
She could see Daniel didn"t believe her. He shook his head, eyebrows pulling down, upset. A thatch of curls flopped onto his forehead, still a little damp with sweat. It was amazing how short a time had actually pa.s.sed, but everything had changed. And she needed a new plan.
Was it safe to go back to her most recent home, the place she"d been living when Carston had contacted her? It would certainly be easiest. There was food there, and no one would have to see her face for as long as it took to look normal again. She didn"t think she"d compromised the house...
But then what? How much of her nest egg had she blown through for this stupid trap? How long would she be able to keep going on what she had?
Carston knew about her online presence, so it would be a risk to go looking for a real job on the Internet. The department didn"t have to know where she was to tie her hands.
Something touched her leg and she jumped. It was just Daniel"s hand.
"I didn"t mean to scare you, sorry."
"Don"t apologize."
"You just look so worried. Don"t. I can talk to Kevin."
She smiled humorlessly. "Thanks, but I"m not worrying about Lazarus at the moment."
"You"re worried about your department."
She turned away, walked to her computer, and rested her hand against the s.p.a.ce bar. Hopefully it didn"t appear deliberate.
"Yeah," she said without looking at him. "You could say that."
Out of the corner of her eye, she saw a short hitch in Kevin"s breathing before it evened out again. Good thing she"d moved away. She definitely didn"t want to be within reach now.
"Is there... I don"t know... is there anything I can do to help?" Daniel asked seriously.
She stared at him, surprised to feel actual tears p.r.i.c.king her eyes.
"I don"t think I deserve your help, Daniel."
He made an exasperated noise in the back of his throat.
"And, really," she continued, "you"ve got enough problems of your own."
It was clear he hadn"t thought through the long-term implications of what had happened.
"What do you mean?"
"You"re a target now, too. You"ve just learned a lot of things that you"re not supposed to know. If you go home, if you go back to your normal life, they"ll end it."
"Not... go... back?"
He was totally stunned. Pity welled up inside her. Again she remembered how far away his kind of life was from hers. He probably thought he could fix everything by hiring a lawyer or writing to his congressman.
"But Alex, I have to go back. My team is in the championship tournament!"
She couldn"t help it. She started laughing, and the p.r.i.c.king tears turned into real drops. She saw his expression and waved her hand in apology.
"Sorry," she said, gasping. "It"s not funny at all. I"m sorry. I think my painkillers are beginning to wear off."
He got quickly to his feet. "Do you need something? Aspirin?"
"No, I"m good. I just have to come down from the high."
He walked over and rested one hand lightly on her arm. She felt the sting, the bruising there just beginning to grow sensitive. It was going to be a very rough day.
"Are you sure?" he asked. "Can"t I get you something?"
"Why are you being so nice to me?"
He looked at her in surprise. "Oh. I guess I see your point."
Finally, she thought. She"d been starting to worry that maybe the drug she"d used to kidnap him-Follow the Leader -had some permanent neurological effects they"d missed in the trials.
"Look," she said. "After I have a little chat with Kevin, I"ll get my stuff together, and then I"ll give you the key so you can unlock your brother once I"m in my car."
"But where will you go? What about your injuries?"
"You"re being nice again, Daniel."
"Sorry."
She laughed once more. The sound hitched on the end, like a sob.
"Seriously, though," he said, "you don"t have to leave right away. You look like you could use some sleep and some medical attention."
"Not on the agenda." She eased herself into the desk chair, hoping he couldn"t see just how stiff and weary she felt.
"I wish we could talk some more, Alex. I don"t know what I"m supposed to do now. If you really mean it, that I can"t go back... I don"t even know how to begin to think about that."
"I do mean it. And I"m sorry. But I think your brother can probably fill you in on the details. I imagine he"s better at hiding than I am."
He looked at his brother-wearing half of a Batsuit-doubtfully. "You think?"
"Don"t you agree, Kevin?" she asked. She was fairly sure he"d been awake for at least a few minutes.
Daniel fell to his blanketed knees next to his brother. "Kev?"
Slowly, with a sigh, Kevin turned his head to look at his brother. "Hey, Danny."
Daniel leaned in and embraced him awkwardly. Kevin patted Daniel"s arm with his free hand.
"Why, Kev, why?" Daniel asked, his voice m.u.f.fled in Kevin"s hair.
"Trying to keep you safe, kid. Safe from people like that-" And he added several quite unflattering descriptions of her; she knew all the individual words, but the combinations were fairly unusual.
Daniel jerked away and cuffed Kevin"s head.
"Don"t talk like that."
"Are you kidding me? That psychopath tortured you."
"Not for very long. And she only did it because-"
"Are you defending that-" More creativity.
Daniel smacked him again. Not hard, but Kevin wasn"t in a mood to play. He grabbed Daniel"s hand and twisted it into an unpleasant position. He got his right knee pulled up under his body and tried to yank away from the table. The locked wheels whined against the floor as the metal slab shifted a few inches.
Her eyes widened. The table had to weigh at least four hundred pounds. She scooted her chair back.
Daniel wrestled with his free hand, trying to break his brother"s hold.
"I"ll gas you again if you don"t let go of him," she promised Kevin. "The bad news is, the chemical I"m using does have a few negative side effects. It kills only a small percentage of your brain cells with each use, but it adds up over time."
Kevin dropped Daniel"s hand, glared once at her, and then focused on his brother.
"Danny, listen to me," he hissed. "You"re bigger than her. Get the keys and get me out of these-" Suddenly his face froze, went beet red, and the vessels in his forehead pulsed in time with his words. "Where is my dog?" he shouted at her. The table squealed another inch across the floor.
"Sleeping in the back room." She had to work to keep her voice even. "It weighs less than you; the gas will take longer to wear off."
Daniel was rubbing his wrist and looking confused. "Dog?"
"If he"s not one hundred percent-" Kevin threatened.
"Your dog will be fine. Now, I need to ask you a few questions."
Daniel looked up at her, wild-eyed. "What?"
She glanced at him and shook her head. "Not like that. Just a normal exchange of information." She turned back to Kevin. "Can we talk calmly for just a few minutes, please? Then I"ll get out of your hair."
"In your dreams, psycho. We"ve got unfinished business."
She raised her eyebrows over her blooming black eyes. "Can we talk for a few minutes before I put you into a medically induced coma, then?"
"Why would I do anything for you?"
"Because your brother"s safety is involved, and I can tell that"s something that matters to you."
"You"re the one who pulled Danny into this-"
"That"s not entirely accurate. This is as much about you as it is about me, Kevin Beach."
He glowered at her. "I already don"t like you, lady. You really don"t want to make that feeling stronger."
"Relax, black ops. Hear me out."
Daniel"s eyes were flashing back and forth like he was a spectator at a tennis match.
Kevin glared.
"The CIA thinks you"re dead?" she asked.
He grunted.
"I"ll take that as a yes."
"Yeah, that"s a yes, you-"
Daniel backhanded the top of Kevin"s head and then scooted out of the way as Kevin made a grab for him. Then Kevin refocused on her.
"And I"m going to keep it that way. I"m retired."
She nodded, considering. She opened a blank doc.u.ment on her computer and typed a line of random medical terms.
"What are you typing?"
"Notes. Typing helps me think." Actually, she was sure he would notice if she kept "accidentally" touching the computer to keep it awake, and she might need that trap again today.
"So what does it matter? I died. Danny shouldn"t be a target anymore."
"I was a target?" Daniel asked.
Kevin propped himself up on his right elbow and leaned toward his brother. "I worked deep undercover, kid. Anyone who connected me to you would have used you as leverage. It"s one of the downsides of the job. That"s why I went through the whole prison charade. As long as on paper Kevin Beach was away, the bad guys wouldn"t know about you. I haven"t been Kevin in a long time."
"But when I visited-"
"The Agency hooked me up with the warden. When you were on your way, if I could, I"d fly in and do the meeting. If I was unavailable-"
"That"s why you were in isolation. Or they said you were. Not for fighting."