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She pulled up short after a few steps, because soht of a street la her

Patrick McCallister

The damp had matted his hair down in a sleek cap around his head, but she’d know hi else, nobody she’d ever met had that quality of coiled stillness to their posture He earing dark clothes and a loose Windbreaker that wouldn’t have looked odd if it caency letters on it, but this one was un closer He shrugged and put his hands into the pockets of his dark jeans

"Where you’d park? It was tactically the sht you’d find it"

That spoke voluht of her … and made her ask, "So where did you park?"

"Someplace not as tactically sound, but unexpected," he said He pushed away fro his tio," she said Without conscious decision, she was also walking toward hiht I really don’t knohat he’s going to do Maybe he’d knock her out and put her back in the van and go do thehimself That would be typical McCallister

"How bad was it?"

"Ever seen Night of the Living Dead? Like that," she said "Only you’re right I wasn’t craving brains"

"At least that’s a bright side"

And then he was right there, a foot away, in her space, with only the gently drifting ht, He’s going to do it now; he’ll strike, and she was ready for that, ready to block a punch…

But not, as it turned out, a hug

She stiffened for a second, then relaxed into the embrace "I’m sorry," he said "By the time I found out they’d taken you, they already had you inside Pharmadene I didn’t have a chance to intercept When you didn’t co to let you …"

"Decay," she said, very quietly "I have to face it I’ and looking alive, it’s just … just cosmetics" She pulled back and stared at hi for me, can you? Because I’m not really here Underneath, I’m … that"

"Underneath, we’re all that," McCallister said "Everybody’s dying, Bryn You’re justit better than most people--that’s all"

"You can’t actually believe that"

"I do," he said "I believed it frohter I knew you’d break my heart"

He stepped forward, put his hands on either side of her head, and kissed her His lips were cool, daent on hers, and suddenly Bryn felt wildly out of control, but safe Safe It felt like such an a relief

"I’m sorry," he whispered, and pulled her into his arms "I said I’d never let that happen to you, and I couldn’t … I’one ood as new" She felt a flashback to that awful place, the white room, the sound of priht in the staring eye of a ca; she could tell froers traced daentle way his lips brushed hers "I kno you are," he said "It’s in your eyes They’re darker now"

He didn’t mean in color; she knew that Her eyes were haunted She’d seen that herself, in the scratched mirror of the safe house as she’d showered off the reain It was hard to feel clean now Hard not to remember how little separated her froht now," she said "I’m sorry; I just can‘t I have to think about Annie I have tointo her face, and then nodded and stepped back "Let’s do it But, Bryn, let ree, just walked with him into the darkness

The house was halfway up the block, dark just like all the neighbors There was a play set in the backyard visible through the chain link, and a doghouse, but no dog cahborhood seemed eerily silent Bryn would have expected to see at least one light on, even as early as it was… Early risers existed everywhere, didn’t they?

This felt almost like a movie set--dressed, but vacant of human habitation

McCallister mounted the porch steps and held out a hand to keep her on the sidewalk The front door was open; she could see the black gap from where she stood She hadn’t seen hiun was at his side, primed and ready to fire