Page 64 of Sinner's Salvation

Brian blinked, then shook his head. “You know, he wasn’t very coherent about that.”

“What happened to you?” the agent asked. “You’ve got blood all over your clothes.”

“Ledger shot me while I was trying to stop him from shooting a diplomat from Slovenia.”

All the FBI agents reacted to that. Some shifted their weight, others crossed their arms over their chests.

“Would that diplomat be Anna Breznik?” the lead FBI agent asked.

“Yes, luckily I managed to push her out of the way, or mostly out of the way. The bullet nicked the back of her head. He got me in the arm.” Brian lifted his hands to his dirt and blood smeared suit jacket. “May I?”

The agent, the frown on his face large enough to rival the Grand Canyon, nodded. All the other agents crowded closer behind him, watching Brian closely.

He carefully removed his suit jacket, wincing when he lifted his injured arm. Then he unbuttoned his shirt and pulled that off, too. There were a bunch of large Band-Aids on his arm. They didn’t quite cover the entire bullet wound.

Some blood had soaked through the Band-Aids and around the edges.

All the FBI agents looked at his injury and began muttering to each other. Anna couldn’t make out individual words, but the tone was clear enough. None of them were happy about what they were hearing and seeing.

“I’m sorry I didn’t call my supervisor earlier,” Brian said. “But Ledger took my phone. I didn’t expect anyone from the FBI to come looking for me, since Ledger told me he toldyouI died in a car accident?”

“Goddamned Homeland Security,” one of the agents at the back of the pack muttered, louder now.

“Did he?” Brian asked, again.

“At first,” the lead agent admitted. “But he changed his story, accused you of being involved in a terrorist plot.”

Brian laughed. “To what? Shoot myself?” He shook his head again. “I may be sleep deprived, but even I know that’s a stupid accusation.”

“Where is Anna Breznik?” one of the other agents asked.

“The last I saw her was on a subway platform. She said she was going to her embassy.” Brian blinked a couple of times. “How did you know she was with me?”

“Security cameras,” the lead agent said. “She went to her embassy?”

“That’s what she said she wanted to do.” He gave the room at large a slightly fuzzy smile. “She’s a tough lady. I wouldn’t want to be in Ledger’s shoes when she goes to the State Department to tell them he kidnapped and shot both of us.”

“How did you get to this hotel?”

“I took the subway,” Brian said, with no hesitation.

“You were spotted on security cameras at a station not far from here, but only once. You don’t show up on any of the street cameras.”

Brian shrugged. “I’m sorry?”

“How did you get here?”

“Like I said, subway and my own two feet.”

“Neither of you went to a hospital,” one of the other agents said.

“How did you manage to get out of a military base unseen?” another asked.

“Where did you go once you were off the base?” yet another asked.

“Whoa, whoa,” Brian said, putting up both his hands in a stop gesture. “Maybe we should be having this conversation in a more formal setting, so it can be recorded.”

“Shit,” Evan said, between clenched teeth. “That’s a terrible idea.”

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