Greg Rucka: The last run

"Give him back!"

"Shoot me," Chace whispered.

In her ear, she heard the gun go off.

She had just enough time to be honestly surprised that it was Zahabzeh who pitched forward, and not herself, when there was a flash of fire from the boat, the crack of a high-powered rifle. The man holding her right arm twirled away, and almost instantly she heard another shot, and the one at her left fell forward, as well. For a second, Chace thought she was going to fall herself, wobbling unsteadily on her feet.

Then there was an arm around her waist, and Caleb Lewis was holding her up, pistol in his other hand.

"You're safe," he told her.

C leaned forward in her chair, pouring for herself what Crocker thought was a self-congratulatory second cup of tea from the china pot, before sitting back and looking at him with a slight smile. Rayburn, in his chair, and Szurko, beside him on the couch, were likewise jubilant, all of them in their proper place for the traditional morning meeting.

"She'll be all right, then?" C asked.

"They operated on Chace as soon as she was aboard Illustrious," Crocker said. "As of an hour ago, she was stable, and had regained consciousness, though only for a short while. Her shoulder was badly damaged by a rifle round; will most likely require reconstructive surgery."

"And Shirazi?"

"Minders Two and Three took him out via RAF from Kuwait as of oh-four-hundred," Crocker said. "They should have him at the Farm before nightfall. Minder Two reports that Shirazi brought a goodie bag out with him: a list of all VEVAK agents working abroad, including within the U.K."

C moved her cup of tea to her mouth, but not before Crocker saw the smile. "That should earn us some favors from Box."

"I'd hope so," Crocker said.

She took a sip from her cup, set it back on the saucer, then set both on the side table and regarded him. "The Prime Minister phoned me this morning, Paul, once he'd received word of the successful completion of Icecrown. He made a point of saying to me, specifically, that I was to pass on his compliments to you for executing such a successful reversal of fortune. You not only spared the Government a humiliation, you handed them a triumph."

"The Prime Minister is being generous."

"If that's everything?" C asked.

"There is one more thing…," Crocker said.

The phone on the desk rang, the red one, bleating once, twice, then a third time, before Kate stuck her head through the open doorway, asking, "You're going to get that?"

Very gingerly, right arm still aching at the shoulder, the muscles still relearning their role, Tara Chace picked up the handset.

"D-Ops," she said.