Duncan wondered if he was the only one on Capitol
Hill wearing something other than a business suit.
"Good
morning, Kent ," Duncan said as he neared the group.
Allard
looked up at the sound of his sobriquet and squinted at Duncan . An instant of confusion, Duncan could almost hear him thinking Who the
hell? and then recognition.
"Doc,"
He cleared his throat. " Duncan ! What are you doing up here? Welcome to the
Hill." His expression was wary instead of welcoming.
Doesn't
want to call me Dr. Lathram. Probably afraid someone will recognize the name
and want to know what fixups I performed on him.
Duncan stuck out his hand and delivered his lines
smoothly.
"Waiting
for some relatives from out of town. Promised to show them the sights . . .
tour guide for a day. You know the drill, I'm sure."
Chicklet
caps flashed. "I sure do." Casually, Duncan reached into his blazer pocket and gripped
the oblong bulk of his pager. He felt the sweat collecting under his arms. He
was close now, but he wanted to be closer still. Just to be sure.
"You're
looking good, Kent . The cameras down there are going to love you." But nowhere near
as mach as you love them.
The
smile faded. The wariness reemerged. "Thank you."
Don't worry, Congressman, Duncan
thought. I'm not going to say anything about the liposuction.
But
he couldn't resist turning the screw a little tighter.
"How
do you stay so young looking?"
Allard's smile returned, but looked
forced now. "Clean living." You son of a bitch.
"I
must try that sometime.
They
both laughed. Duncan flipped the ON switch on his pager and it began to beep. He pulled it
from his pocket. A vintage model, considerably larger than the new ones. He
stared at the blank message window, trying to still the ague tremor of his
hand.
"Looks
like my service wants me. I'd better find a phone and see what they want."
He edged past Allard and his aides, coming within a few inches of the
congressman.
This
is as close as I'm going to get, he thought.
His
finger found another button on his pager. The special button. But he hesitated.
No turning back once he pressed it.
Old
questions assailed him again. Isn't this going too far? Is it really worth the
risk? What if I'm caught? And the most disturbing of all, Is this something a
sane man would do?
Then
he remembered what Allard had participated in five years ago . . . and today's
clean-living remark.
Duncan pressed the button.
This
time the pager made no sound, but he felt it vibrate against his palm.
Allard
winced and rubbed his right thigh.
"Good
luck with the TV folks, Kent," Duncan said. "And think of an
eighteen-year-old named Lisa."
"Pardon?"
Allard said.
"Her
name was Lisa. Keep that in mind." I want it to be your last coherent
thought.
He
turned and almost bumped into a dark-haired young woman.
Gin tried to speak but found her voice
locked. Not from the shock of seeing Duncan on the Capitol steps, but from the look on
his face as he'd turned away from Congressman Allard. His eyes, arctic cold,
cobalt hard, full of rage and hatred so intense she thought they'd leap from
their sockets. Never in her life had she seen an expression like that.
For
an instant she thought she was facing a feral stranger.
And
suddenly it was
Lyn Brittan
Imari Jade
V. Vaughn
Ben Trebilcook
Christine D'Abo
Frankie Love
James Hunt
Brigid Kemmerer
Spencer Quinn
Scarlet Hyacinth