Page 20 of Sinner's Salvation

His grandfather had told him about an incident during the war when a German collaborator was caught by the resistance. The collaborator wouldn’t talk, until Anna entered the room. She didn’t say anything, just stared at the man. Gramps said the look on her face was the scariest thing he’d seen in the entire war.

The collaborator must have thought the same thing, because he told them everything he knew without her having to say a single word.

Now Evan understood what his grandfather meant. It was like looking into the eyes of a cobra about to strike. Cold, hungry, and pitiless.

He needed to get her out of here before she massacred them all.

Evan heaved a slightly dramatic sigh, rubbed his chin with his left hand again to flash the ring, and nodded. “Perhaps I’ll leave you two to think things over for a bit.” He went to the door, but paused before he opened it. “Get some rest. When I come back, it might be a while before you’ll have the opportunity to relax.”

He left as quickly as he could, before she decided to rip out his throat.

Chapter Four

“If I hadn’t seen withmy own eyes how fast she recovered from getting shot in the head, I would have said you’re crazy for thinking she’s dangerous.”

Gerry turned his head to glare at Congressman Leonard Bell. He hailed from Arkansas, where they trusted what they could put their hands on and little else. He was up for re-election in a few months, and his campaign hadn’t gained much traction. The man running against him was all the things Leonard wasn’t: Young, energetic, and a war hero.

“I still don’t understand how all this works,” the man on the other side of Gerry said.

Not a surprise. Senator Stanford Caper from Arizona couldn’t figure out how to get out of a paper bag by himself.

If he hadn’t needed their political support and the threat of an investigation by congress or the senate to give what he was doing legitimacy, they wouldn’t know a damned thing about his operation.

But one must use the tools at hand.

“We’re keen to understand it ourselves,” Gerry said. “We plan to run medical tests to determine how she does it.”

“Yes, but,” the Senator continued. “Is it just her, or is it some kind of vaccine or serum?”

“Well, it certainly isn’t a vat of radioactive material like Spiderman, Stan,” Leonard said, with a sarcastic bite to his voice.

“However she does it,” Gerry said, raising his voice above theirs. “We’re going to study it and replicate it. Creating super soldiers is no longer just for the comic books.” He grinned, showing his teeth.

“Speaking of soldiers,” Leonard said, after a moment. “That one doesn’t look like any kind of interrogator to me.”

Stan snorted and screwed up his nose. “He was polite and...nice.”

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