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Ballistic(155)



Court was worried about this conversation. He could not enter into a relationship with this girl, as much as he entertained that fantasy each and every night. He knew his life was in jeopardy, and he knew that, unlike her situation for the past few weeks, his problems would not be solved any time soon. He did not know how to tell her that he would have to leave her behind for her own good. It sounded like bullshit.

But he’d have to do it.

She came to the point quickly, forcing him to prepare himself to let her down as easily as possible. “Six. I have been thinking and praying about my future.”

“Right.” He said, “I want you to know—”

“My heart is certain. I know what I want. What I need. I know what will make me happy in my life.”

Holy shit, thought Court. Here we go.

A slight pause. Then she said, “I will enter the convent. I will become a nun. It is a long process, but my heart knows it is right for me. I feel the calling. I will begin immediately.”

“Holy shit,” said Court aloud.

“I would love for you to come and visit me. I will not be able to see you. I will have to remain cloistered. But it would be nice to hear about you from time to time.”

Court fought to compose himself. He certainly did not envision this course of events. “Yeah. Sure. I’d like that.”

“And I would also like to pray for you.”

Still reeling, he said, “Knock yourself out.”

She cocked her head. “What does that mean?”

“It means, yes, you have permission to pray for me. I would like that very much.”

“The Lord works in mysterious ways. You, Six, are the most mysterious ‘way’ I have ever encountered.”

Court found himself wanting to believe God was working through him and not Satan himself. But he did not know. He did not understand.

But he did not lament the killing he had done, the measures he had taken here. He did not lament for one second one drop of the blood he had shed to save the woman in front of him.

She was beautiful. She was good. She was perfect.

And she was alive.

“Go with God, my friend,” she said, and she hugged him, looked into his eyes, stood, then disappeared back through the sacristy and into the sanctuary.

And she was gone.

Court sat for a few minutes alone, then stood and returned to the sanctuary himself for a moment more. The room felt big and empty, but welcoming somehow. He’d spent time in churches around the world but only for operational reasons, and his mind never drifted beyond the details of his work. Now he looked around, perhaps for the first time in his life, and he wondered about this place. Was there a point to all this?

His eyes turned to the crucifix. He stared at it a long time before whispering, “Thanks.”

His mobile phone rang. It was the number he’d given Hector Serna.

He walked out of the side entrance to the sanctuary, into a cool sunny afternoon. “Yeah?”

It was not Serna. It was Madrigal. He spoke in his mountain Spanish, and Court struggled to understand.

“You left Calvo alive?”

“Yes.”

“Why?”

“I think you need some competition.”

A long pause. “I should have killed you when you gave me that gun!”

“Yes,” Court admitted. “You should have.”

“I will kill you!”

“Take a number, Cowboy.”

“You are a worthless, piece of shit, motherfucking son of a whore!”

“I am an outlaw.”

Another long pause. “If men ever get to live on other planets, you should be the first man off of this one. Everyone wants you dead.”

“Yep.”

“Someone soon will get you. You must know that.”

“I know that. I find comfort in the fact that so many people will be sad that it wasn’t them.” Court hung up the phone, and then tossed it into a municipal garbage can a few blocks away.



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