Kaplan was fully dressed, sitting in a chair holding Annie’s cross. He closed it tight in the palm of his hand. “It’s fine. In no time, I’ll be back on the dance floor.”
Jake looked at Kaplan’s closed fist. “You miss her?”
“I have mixed emotions. We were together a long time. Of course, I’ll miss her. Annie and I had a lot of good memories. But she kept her past a close secret. She never let go. Everybody has baggage in life, it’s always there. But most of us put the baggage in the trunk where it belongs, not in the front seat where it gets in the way.”
“Damn, Gregg. That’s some pretty deep shit. Where’d you come up with that? Is it some of that Army psychobabble?”
“Nah, I think I heard it on Dr. Phil. It didn’t make sense then either.”
“Well, are you going to be able to put her behind you? Can you put this in the trunk?”
“How about I start with my back pocket and go from there?” Kaplan leaned forward and slipped the cross into his back pants pocket.
Jake smiled. “Let’s go see Isabella.”
“Okay.”
He rapped on Hunt’s hospital room door as he opened it. “Isabella, it’s Jake, can I come in? I brought Gregg with me.”
“If I say no, will you go away?” Hunt laughed.
He walked in, with Kaplan two paces behind him on crutches.
She smiled. “The doctors said I can leave tonight as long as the Company puts me in the hospital as soon as we arrive in D.C.”
“I figured as much when Bentley said he would see all three of us tomorrow morning,” Jake replied. “What did they say about your leg?”
“Two were flesh wounds. Physical therapy for the other. When the doctors retrieved the bullet they said it was a clean wound with minimal damage to muscle tissue. It lodged against the bone, but didn’t do any damage. He said I was lucky, another centimeter and the bullet would have hit an artery and I would have bled to death.” She paused. “Thank you, Jake. Thanks for saving my life. Thanks to both of you. I couldn’t have done this without you.”
She looked at Kaplan. “What about you? How are your injuries?”
“The shoulder’s nothing but a scratch. My leg hurts like hell, but the doctor says it’s not that bad. Certainly nothing like yours. I’ll be as good as new in no time.”
Hunt’s brow furrowed. “Have they cleaned up the mess in the chamber?”
Jake looked at her. “The housekeepers came and the place is spotless. Everything’s gone. Weapons, files, wires. It’s like the friars left it — dusty. All the entrances have been closed and permanently sealed. Orders are ‘nothing was found.’ You were shot trying to stop an assassination attempt. The assassin fled the scene.”
Hunt smirked. “My, my, isn’t SIS efficient.”
“It was our housekeepers, not theirs,” Jake replied. “There will be a news release about it later today.”
“What about Sterling? How’s he doing?” she asked.
“He was in bad shape,” Jake replied. “They already flew him back to London.”
“And Collins? Did they pick up a trail?”
“No,” Jake lowered his head. “Shamrock seems to have vanished in thin air.”
“I hate to hear that. What about Beth? How’s she doing?”
Jake smiled. “She’s doing great. She came out of the coma. She’s weak and anemic from blood loss but she’ll recover now. They moved her out of Intensive Care and put her in a private room. I talked to her last night.
“She sounded good. I can’t wait to get home and see her. I was so worried she wouldn’t make it and I was going to be way over here.” His voice wavered. He paused. “I don’t think I would have ever forgiven myself.”
“Don’t be so hard on yourself, Jake. You and Gregg saved a lot of lives — maybe even hundreds or thousands by keeping those weapons out of Al Qaeda’s hands. Look at the bright side, you killed the man who shot her.”
”Yeah, Jake. You turned into a regular Dirty Harry.” Kaplan smiled.
Hunt grinned and held up her thumb in a victory gesture.
Kaplan laughed and patted Jake on the back.
Jake’s eyes felt scratchy from the lack of sleep and he was sore, as well as tired, but he smiled at both of them.
It felt good.
CHAPTER 77
Beth hung up the phone beside her bed. Jake had just called from the flight phone on the jet to say he was coming home. He would be in Langley, Virginia, early the next morning where he’d undergo a debriefing with DCI Admiral Scott Bentley. Admiral Bentley promised to fly Jake down to Savannah the moment they were finished so he could be with her.
She was happy now. Jake was coming home. When she had come out of her coma, she was scared and angry that he was gone. After her father had explained Jake’s decision and told her that he supported Jake’s move, she understood but still wished he was with her.
Jake had promised to fill her in on all the gory details when he arrived. He told her to watch CNN tonight to get a glimpse into what had transpired. She grabbed the remote control and flipped through the stations until she found the channel. Just as she did, she caught the announcement for the upcoming news segment.
And coming up on CNN News, Amber Larsen brings us up to date on the death of Laurence O’Rourke.
At eight-thirty, the floor nurse came into her room. She picked up the clipboard from the foot of the bed. She checked Beth’s pulse and blood pressure, then took her temperature with their new digital thermometer. After noting all the vital signs on the clipboard, the nurse handed Beth a tiny paper cup holding three pills. The same three pills she’d taken the night before, two painkillers and a sleeping aid. The nurse left her room just as quickly as she entered.
Beth saw the introduction for the news segment beginning and turned the volume a little louder. She readjusted her pillow and rolled onto her side.
Laurence O’Rourke is dead. I’m Amber Larsen. Just over a week ago I reported the bizarre and bloody story of Irish peace activist Laurence O’Rourke. At that point the death toll had reached eleven. Well, now the death toll is up to fourteen and some sources believe as high as seventeen.
The bodies of Laurence O’Rourke and his brother, Sean O’Rourke, were found in an abandoned home jointly owned by the two O’Rourke brothers in Dromahair, Ireland, last night in an apparent assassination. One SIS agent was found dead in his car parked outside of Demon’s Lair Bar and Bistro in Enniskillen, Northern Ireland, a pub owned and operated by Sean O’Rourke, and another agent was shot and seriously injured here in Dromahair near Creevelea Abbey. Authorities believe the death and the shooting to be attributed to the assassin Shamrock, whose true identity is now known as Ian Collins of Londonderry, Northern Ireland. Interpol has initiated an extensive manhunt for Collins.
A week ago I reported that Laurence O’Rourke declared he had earth-shattering news that would destroy the New Northern Ireland Assembly. Well, now we may never know what that news really was.
When asked her opinion on this whole O’Rourke episode, Sinn Fein President Mairéad Brady said, “Although we had our differences, Laurence O’Rourke was a true fighter for the peace process. He will be missed.”
An unnamed source had a different theory altogether, claiming that Laurence O’Rourke killed the Northern Ireland Secretary of State, his assistant, and his bodyguard. The same source claimed that Laurence and Sean O’Rourke were killed by an agent of the U.S. Government. The informant also claimed that Collins was wounded in a shootout and is now seeking refuge elsewhere in Ireland.
SIS authorities had no comment on these allegations. The United States Government authorities denied any involvement whatsoever. I’m Amber Larsen reporting live from Dromahair, Ireland.