Silent Assassin(87)

“Spartan? You were supposed to be on that chopper!”

“You didn’t think I’d really abandon you, did you?”

“You were supposed to run away!” he said, grinning.

“Yeah, right,” she said.

“The others?” he asked.

“Gone. Come on, champ. Let’s get out of here before the rest of the family shows up.”

They ran through the maze, away from the chopper’s landing point, until they reached their van. Morgan got in the driver’s seat and Spartan in the passenger’s. He found the key, which Diesel had hidden in the visor on the driver’s side. He peeled out, leaving the port’s unloading docks behind as dawn’s first light appeared in the sky.





CHAPTER 49


Andover, February 23





Morgan arrived home late the next day to find Jenny alone in the house. It was a Saturday, and Alex was out having fun with friends. Jenny was sitting alone at the kitchen table, eating tuna salad and reading a decorating magazine, with a Sharpie sitting next to it. She always had it with her to circle pictures that inspired her.

“Hi, Dan,” she said dryly as he walked into the kitchen. “How was your trip? Do I even want to know?”

“I don’t think you do,” he said.

“I didn’t think so,” she said. “Look, I think . . .” She trailed off, looking into the middle distance thoughtfully.

“What is it, Jen?” he asked.

“Nothing,” she said. “Never mind. But I did have something to talk to you about. Did you know that Alex has been out shooting a gun?”

Morgan winced. “How did you find out?”

“She had it in her purse,” said Jenny. “I didn’t snoop. She left it out and I could see it. So you did know about it.”

“Yeah,” he said. “I caught her in the act. She was sneaking off to the woods to practice on her own. I told her I’d teach her.”

“Why on earth would you do that?” asked Jenny. “Are you crazy?”

“She wanted to learn, and I didn’t see any harm in it,” said Morgan. He didn’t see a need to tell her about their daughter’s career plans.

“No harm in our teenage daughter going off and shooting a gun God knows where? What if she hurt someone? What if she hurt herself?”

“I taught her to be safe,” said Morgan. “She knows how to shoot without hurting herself and others. It’s something she likes and she’s good at. I learned to shoot a gun when I was years younger. She’s seventeen already. If she had been a boy, she’d have learned it as early as me.”

“And I still wouldn’t have liked it,” said Jenny. “I hope she’s not getting any ideas from you. I hope it all really is harmless fun. But I see her training martial arts and working out like crazy, and I’m afraid there’s something else going on. I’m afraid she’s learning to shoot because she thinks she’s going to use a gun someday.”

“Is that really a problem?” Morgan asked.

“Yes!” Jenny exclaimed. “She’s moving into your world, which is a dangerous world, and you’re letting her because you want a way that you can connect with your daughter.”

“I’m letting her because it’s what she wants!” he retorted. “If I don’t let her, she’s going to do it anyway! I might as well teach her to be as responsible as she can while I still have some kind of say over what she does.”

“Well,” said Jenny, pushing away from the table and leaving one third of her uneaten sandwich on the plate. “I hope you know what you’re doing, because I sure as hell don’t. But I guess it’s just one more person in my life who’s going to be keeping secrets from me.”

“Jen, please understand . . .”

“I do understand,” she said. “I understand why you do what you do, and I understand, I think, what Alex is doing here. What I don’t understand is why you need to lie so much to me. Good night, Dan.”

She walked out of the kitchen, upstairs to their bedroom.





Morgan went into Zeta the next morning. He took the elevator down from the garage and found Bloch waiting for him there as the doors opened.

“Welcome back, Morgan,” she said with a measure of warmth, which for her was uncommon. He almost thought he had seen a smile form on her lips. Almost.

“I really hope you weren’t standing there all morning waiting for me.”

“I knew you were coming,” she said. “I’d just like to congratulate you on your performance during this mission.”

“We didn’t get Novokoff,” he said. “I don’t think that’s cause for congratulations.”