intentions."
"I 'd never think anything else." I wasn't lying. He'd always helped anyone he could. As refined as he seemed now, he'd been a tough kid but never a bully. When we had lived with the same family for four months it had been the only time I'd ever felt safe.
I felt slightly skittish even bringing up the senator, but this was my opening. "Do you like working for the senator?"
"Oh yeah! He 's great! And honest. I truly believe in him." He took a bite of his burger, not rattled in the least by my interest.
"I read in the paper he 's a local, from right here in Vegas?" Which I knew had to be total crap. Humans didn't traverse wormholes like it was a stroll in the park.
"Oh yeah," he nodded. "He still lives here with his wife and three kids." He waved his hand northward. "I can 't remember the name of the development but it's about three miles north of here.
I knew the house he was talking about, or Cormac did. The senator hadn't been there in weeks. This was a waste of time. Why did I even come? He was buying into the senator's show - hook, line and sinker. What had happened to the kid I had known, that could see through any con you threw at him? And I'd know. I'd tried a couple out on him when we first met. Was he working with him? Could he have changed that much? I finished my meal, listening to the mundane minutia of his daily routine with the senator, attempting to appear like I wasn't disappointed. As he continued, I tried to get even a small hint of the truth behind the façade, but nothing was forthcoming. He believed everything he was saying. Worse, I think he believed everything the senator said.
I 'd loved seeing Rick, even though I knew I couldn't see him again. My life was too crazy now and his proximity to the senator was too close to risk, but I lied and told him we'd do it again. We hugged each other goodbye, and I held on a little too tightly and for too long, knowing that this might be the last time I saw him. Knowing exactly who he'd be in close quarters with.
I was walking out of the gated eating area when he called my name. I turned, expecting him to tell me I had left something behind and was already feeling in my purse for my phone.
There Rick stood, about ten feet away from me. "Did I forget something?"
He stood smiling at me and when I took a step toward him he finally spoke.
"The senator says hello."
I stared at him and froze. He smiled like nothing was amiss. I was so shocked, I didn't see the gun until it was against his head, blowing his brains all over the café.
People stood screaming and crying as he lay in a pool of his own blood. I didn 't rush over to him, I just stood there. I could see the gaping hole in his skull, even from where I was. And that was all I did as the chaos went on around me. Stood there for what felt like forever, the senator's words in the alley echoing in my brain .
An arm wrapped around my waist, half dragging, half carrying me out of there. "Come on, snap out of it," I heard Cormac say.
My legs moved but I was in a trance. One of the few people that I'd ever trusted had just blown a hole in his own head. And it was because of me. The senator was trying to get at me, at us.
A new black Ferrari was waiting not even a block away and he opened the door and pushed me into the passenger side. The force of the car taking off , seconds later, pressed me further into the seat.
"When was the last time you saw him?"
"Huh?" I knew Cormac had just spoken to me but I couldn't process anything. I felt mentally frozen on the image of Rick, while my body felt sapped of all strength as I sat there limp. "I've got to go back there."
"Not a good idea."
"I've got to go back. They'll need someone to identify him. I can't just leave him there, a nameless body." I reached for the car door, even though we were moving; I was intent on getting back to do something for Rick, even if it was just the last simple deed of naming the dead.
Cormac 's arm pulled me back against
"I 'd never think anything else." I wasn't lying. He'd always helped anyone he could. As refined as he seemed now, he'd been a tough kid but never a bully. When we had lived with the same family for four months it had been the only time I'd ever felt safe.
I felt slightly skittish even bringing up the senator, but this was my opening. "Do you like working for the senator?"
"Oh yeah! He 's great! And honest. I truly believe in him." He took a bite of his burger, not rattled in the least by my interest.
"I read in the paper he 's a local, from right here in Vegas?" Which I knew had to be total crap. Humans didn't traverse wormholes like it was a stroll in the park.
"Oh yeah," he nodded. "He still lives here with his wife and three kids." He waved his hand northward. "I can 't remember the name of the development but it's about three miles north of here.
I knew the house he was talking about, or Cormac did. The senator hadn't been there in weeks. This was a waste of time. Why did I even come? He was buying into the senator's show - hook, line and sinker. What had happened to the kid I had known, that could see through any con you threw at him? And I'd know. I'd tried a couple out on him when we first met. Was he working with him? Could he have changed that much? I finished my meal, listening to the mundane minutia of his daily routine with the senator, attempting to appear like I wasn't disappointed. As he continued, I tried to get even a small hint of the truth behind the façade, but nothing was forthcoming. He believed everything he was saying. Worse, I think he believed everything the senator said.
I 'd loved seeing Rick, even though I knew I couldn't see him again. My life was too crazy now and his proximity to the senator was too close to risk, but I lied and told him we'd do it again. We hugged each other goodbye, and I held on a little too tightly and for too long, knowing that this might be the last time I saw him. Knowing exactly who he'd be in close quarters with.
I was walking out of the gated eating area when he called my name. I turned, expecting him to tell me I had left something behind and was already feeling in my purse for my phone.
There Rick stood, about ten feet away from me. "Did I forget something?"
He stood smiling at me and when I took a step toward him he finally spoke.
"The senator says hello."
I stared at him and froze. He smiled like nothing was amiss. I was so shocked, I didn't see the gun until it was against his head, blowing his brains all over the café.
People stood screaming and crying as he lay in a pool of his own blood. I didn 't rush over to him, I just stood there. I could see the gaping hole in his skull, even from where I was. And that was all I did as the chaos went on around me. Stood there for what felt like forever, the senator's words in the alley echoing in my brain .
An arm wrapped around my waist, half dragging, half carrying me out of there. "Come on, snap out of it," I heard Cormac say.
My legs moved but I was in a trance. One of the few people that I'd ever trusted had just blown a hole in his own head. And it was because of me. The senator was trying to get at me, at us.
A new black Ferrari was waiting not even a block away and he opened the door and pushed me into the passenger side. The force of the car taking off , seconds later, pressed me further into the seat.
"When was the last time you saw him?"
"Huh?" I knew Cormac had just spoken to me but I couldn't process anything. I felt mentally frozen on the image of Rick, while my body felt sapped of all strength as I sat there limp. "I've got to go back there."
"Not a good idea."
"I've got to go back. They'll need someone to identify him. I can't just leave him there, a nameless body." I reached for the car door, even though we were moving; I was intent on getting back to do something for Rick, even if it was just the last simple deed of naming the dead.
Cormac 's arm pulled me back against
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