Chapter 28 snippet (rewritten completely)

Kate ran her hands through her blood soaked hair. Stumbling down the stairway, she could feel the sniper’s blood on her face also. God, she thought, this was the biggest mess she had seen since Necko! She lifted her arm up and used the sleeve of her jacket to attempt to wipe her face clean.

As long as that dumb ass Kosloski is still alive, she thought. Then at least I’ve managed to accomplish a part of my mission.

She stopped on the bottom floor and set her head on the banister. This all had to stop sooner or later, she told herself with a sigh. She couldn’t keep on killing people her entire life! It seemed like death had been her companion ever since she was old enough to remember.

God, she told herself as she stood back up. I really think that Reyes would have been better letting me die!

The rage she kept bottled up started to bubble to the surface. Clenching her teeth, she sighed as she approached the closet. If the son of a bitch had moved, she growled, she was going to kill herself!

Relief filled her body when she opened the door. For once today, she mused, something had gone right! Thank God for that because she wouldn’t have reacted well if it hadn’t!

I probably would have had a breakdown, she thought, but I’m not sure about that!

“Can I get out of her now, Captain?” Kosloski asked, anger giving his voice an edge to it.

“Not yet,” she said.

“Where’s the sniper?”

“He was a pain in the neck,” she said. “But it’s okay now.”

“Don’t we need to move on?”

“No,” Kate said as she shut the door and locked it. “There’s still the rest of the team to deal with, Kosloski. Just stay in here like a good boy until I get back.”

She turned and made her way towards the door. Clicking on the TAC net, she pursed her lips. There was no way they could keep her off it, she reflected, now that she had a receiver. Even if they encrypted she was still able to hear them!

“Marklin,” a voice sent a chill down Kate’s spine spoke in her ear. “Come in Marklin.”

It couldn’t be, she told herself, stepping outside. I thought he was gone for good!


“Marklin, this is Benton,” the voice said. “Answer me!”

The world felt like it was closing in on her. Listening to a voice from her past, she shook her head. Graham Benton, she cursed, of all people why him? If there was anyone in the galaxy that hated her more then him, she didn’t know who they were.

Johansson found the perfect person to try to kill me, she thought.

Benton had hated her from the very beginning, she remembered. Having been a former Gladiator salve, he found her acceptance in Intelligence to be a grievous insult. Seeing the first police car, she ducked into an ally.

He had done everything he could to make her life a living hell. Back on Arlington, his cadre had tried everything they could to get her tossed from Intelligence. Once he had learned of her promotion, she reflected, frowning, he had gone ballistic. It was good enough for him that she had done what she did on Ireland; no, it was just another sign to him of how ‘weak’ the Fleet had become.

He never was smart enough to realize, she thought. That the mission to Ireland was a suicide mission; someone just forgot to tell me!

“Marklin,” Benton’s voice was near a yell. “I order you to answer me!”

“I’m afraid he won’t answer, Benton,”

“Almir,” he said, his British accent colder then usual.

“Glad you could remember me, Benton,” she said, slipping down the ally.

“I would never forget a slave like you anywhere,” he sneered.

“Just like it isn’t hard to miss a overbearing asshole with a small dick,” Kate said. “But I’m willing to forget about the small dick though.”

“You always were a bitch, Almir,” Benton said.