Page 34 of Sinner's Salvation

“From the FBI?”

Evan slanted a look at Brian. “From whoever you thinkwon’tput that gun to your head again.”

The kid reached into Evan’s pocket and pulled out the phone. “It’s locked.”

“The code is one, one, one, one.”

“That’s not very imaginative,” the kid muttered.

“It’s a throw away.”

Brian paused. “Where are we?”

“This is Fort Hamilton base.”

Brian punched in some numbers. “This is Brian Stettler—” He paused. “I’m looking at her right now. We were kidnapped and...she got hurt. Can you pick us up?”

Another pause.

“Some guy from the army is helping us...at least, I think he’s helping us. He’s not doing anything too sketchy, at the moment anyway.”

Brian sighed, as if whoever he was talking to was giving him some shit. “I’d like to, but she’s unconscious right now.”

He winced. “Well, the building we were in blew up and she dragged someone out. From the state of her burns, I’d say the fire was right behind her the whole time. The place is burning to the ground now.”

He paused again.

“Yes. You’re probably right. Okay.” Brian ended the call and looked at Evan. “Her next of kin says to go with her in an ambulance to the nearest hospital.” He pointed in the direction he’d come from. “There are ambulances this way.”

“Sounds good to me,” Evan said, and they started walking.

“Stop,” one of the Homeland Security agents shouted.

“Where do you think you’re going?” another added.

“To get medical care,” Brian shouted back.

They kept walking, not fast, not slow, but with purpose.

The sound of running feet had Evan half-turning to see who was coming and how many of them there were.

One man, mid-forties. He looked like he’d kept in shape until the last year or two. “I’m coming with you.”

Evan snorted. “Somehow I think the ambulance is going to be full.”

“You can’t just take someone in our custody—”

“She can’t be in your custody, she has diplomatic immunity,” Brian said. “And you’ll be lucky to have a job once the proper authorities are notified of the crimes committed by Homeland Security today.”

“Ledger is a lying sick fuck who fabricated a bunch of bullshit,” Evan said. “His paranoid ambitions nearly got a foreign diplomat and everyone who’d been in that building killed.” He bared his teeth in a mockery of a smile. “I can’t wait to report to the Department of Justice the list of crimes he’s committed.”

The Homeland Security agent pinched his lips together and looked away.

Cowed for now.

Evan started walking again with Brian keeping pace next to him. The Homeland Security agent didn’t follow.

They rounded the corner and found a group of first responders and emergency vehicles.

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