Page 42 of Raider Unleashed

The other man’s eyes widened. He had his hands up for real this time. “Don’t shoot me.”

“I can’t think of one good reason why I shouldn’t.” This was the man who was responsible for Piper getting shot, for Marta dying, and for all kinds of other shit, he was sure.

“Raider?” Piper’s voice reached him. “As much as I want him dead for Marta, I think I’d like him alive and in jail even more.”

The sound of vehicles approaching had Raider immediately turning sideways, still pointing the gun at Chambers but watching to see who arrived. Three cars pulled up and Raider immediately recognized Fielding coming out of the second one. Then an ambulance arrived.

Other ATF agents exited the vehicles and swarmed Chambers like ants on a hill. Raider lowered the gun to his side and turned toward Piper. She was sitting in the seat again but looking pale.

“I love you too,” he said. And then turned and walked away.

18

Piper stared out the window. They wanted to keep her in for one more night. She sighed. What she really wanted was to get on an airplane and get the hell out of there. If only she had a clue where to go. Or even where she wanted to go. San Diego was out of the question. Not only had she lost Marta there, but also Raider, and now, in a fucked up way, John. He’d been her mentor, her father-figure since her own father lived in Florida. He’d molded her into the agent she was and now he was in jail.

She admired the view. The trees here were so green and the water was magnificent. Hawaii had a nice feel to it. Maybe she’d move here permanently and…do what? She had time to figure that part out. Her bank account was healthy. She hadn’t spent any money in the last five years past food and rent. Rarely going out had its advantages. She could move to Hawaii and live on her savings for at least six months or until a job came along. Hell, she could be a barista in a coffee shop and at least get benefits.

The room door opened and Tom Fielding walked in. She’d been hoping Raider would visit her, even though she knew it was a long shot.

“Assistant Director Fielding,” she said, trying to sit up a little straighter but wincing with the effort.

He waved her off as he approached the bed. “Relax. You’ve been shot. Take all the time you need to heal.”

Piper tried not to grimace. Was that his way of telling her she wasn’t going back to work? Not that she could blame him but suddenly, even though she’d been thinking about quitting the ATF, the thought of losing her job on top of everything else made her heart hurt. “Thanks, sir.”

Fielding pulled up a chair beside the bed. “I understand you’ve been debriefed about what happened?”

She nodded. “I will sign my statement when I get out of here.”

Fielding nodded again. “I’ve read your statement. I know Chambers was more than your boss. He was your mentor. It occurred to me you must be struggling a bit with all of this.”

She eyed him but remained silent. Was this him trying to drum her out of the ATF? Get her to quit? “It’s difficult, I’ll admit. I worked with John for a lot of years, and he was the best at what he did. Or at least he used to be. I guess not so much anymore.”

“Yes, he was good. My understanding is that his debts and bitterness over his wife leaving him were what put him over the edge.” Fielding steepled his fingers. “Sometimes good men go bad.”

“Sounds like a country song,” Piper blurted and then bit her lip. “Sorry. That just slipped out.”

Fielding’s smile was genuine. “You are not wrong. It does sound like a country song.” He leaned deeper into his chair. “Agent Holloway…Piper, Chambers being crooked has left me in a quandary. I know that you, among others, thought I might be bent.” She started to protest but he held up his hands. “John Chambers was nothing if not thorough. He planted a lot of seedsof doubt. The good thing is that my name does not appear on the thumb drive and that’s gone a long way in restoring my reputation.”

Piper brushed her hair out of her eyes. “They were able to decrypt it then?”

Fielding nodded. “Yes, and there are some very interesting names on it including Senator Atlee, as Raider told us. It’s going to take Washington a long time to clean up that mess.”

Piper nodded. “I guess.” She still wasn’t sure where he was going with any of this.

“Agent Holloway… Piper, I know there were questions about how all this unfolded and you’ll have to speak to the Office of Professional Responsibility and Security Affairs to get it all straight.”

She braced herself for what was coming. He was firing her. She put her hands under the blanket and clutched at the sheet. “Yes, they’ve been in touch. We’re supposed to meet next week.”

“Good, good. Glad to hear it. As I was saying, once you’ve answered all OPR’s questions then I would like you to think about what you’d like to do next.”

Her stomach gave a lurch and sweat broke out across her palms. “Next, sir?”

“Yes.” He leveled his steady gaze on her.

Piper took a deep breath and blew it out. “I’ve only ever wanted to be an ATF agent sir. Not sure what I will do if I’m…out.”

Fielding frowned. “I think you misunderstood me. The ATF is grateful for all you did. You were a large part of the reason this operation was a success and you brought down a mole that, to be frank, we didn’t know existed. You made us look golden when we could have been badly tarnished. What you did was a huge thing for the service.”

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