Red Cell Seven (31 page)

T
RAVERS STOOD
on the very top of Mount Gannett’s narrow peak, a thousand feet above Bonny Pass. The weather had been good the last few days, and he’d made the climb with relative ease. It was frigid up here, but the view was incredible. It felt like he was literally on top of the world—which was far from the truth. He’d never been lower.

He’d trusted his instincts. He’d allied himself with Stewart Baxter and President Dorn because that was what his instincts had told him to do. But he’d been wrong. Hadn’t he?

He’d come up here to get away from everyone and everything and try to decide. And he’d come up here to conquer the mountain. He hated being so close to a great challenge and not completing it. At this point he’d conquered the challenge—but not the decision.

His cell phone rang, and he chuckled wryly as he pulled it out. He had reception all the way up here. In a way, that was kind of disappointing.

He gazed at the number flashing on the tiny screen. What choice did he have at this point? “Hello.”

“Hello, Major. You know who this is, don’t you?”

It was Stewart Baxter. “Yeah, I know.”

“Come in from the cold, Major.”

Travers thought about the irony of the remark as he looked out over the snow-laden landscape from the top of the mountain. Baxter couldn’t know where Travers was. No one did. Baxter was referring to “cold” in the sense of a spy coming home.

“This is silly, Major. You did the right thing. And there’s still more to do.”

“I don’t know.”

“If you don’t come in,” Baxter sputtered angrily, “I’ll assume you’re staying with them, and then you’ll be an outlaw. We’re going to destroy that organization, Major. It won’t be good to be on their side when we do.”

Travers glanced at the screen on his phone. It was ringing again. “I’ll call you back.” He switched lines quickly. “Hello.”

“Major.”

“Yes.”

“Do you know who this is?”

It was Bill Jensen. “Yes.”

“Have you made your decision yet?”

“M
R
. J
ENSEN
.”

Troy and Jack looked up at the same time, but Troy quickly realized that the doctor was speaking to Jack.

“Yes?” Jack asked.

“You’d better come with me.”

Jack rose unsteadily from the couch. “Is she…I mean, should I—”

“Just come with me,” the doctor said gently but firmly. “And please hurry.”

Troy watched as Jack followed the doctor into Karen’s room and the door shut behind him. That hadn’t sounded good. He kissed Little Jack on the forehead and carefully handed the baby back to Cheryl. “Could you take him for a few minutes, Mom?”

“Of course.”

“I’ve got to make a phone call.”

“Fine, but I think you better hurry, son. I’m afraid your brother’s going to need you in a few minutes.”

Troy quickly found a quiet corner of the floor not too far away, pressed the digits on his cell phone, and listened impatiently to the ring. Watching Jack go into Karen’s room had been awful. Life was too good and short not to live it to the fullest every day with the people you wanted to live it with.

“Hello.”

“Jennie?”

“Yes?”

“It’s Troy.”

“Hey there, I’m so glad you called. I was worried you weren’t going to when—”

“Can we have that lunch we talked about?”

She laughed softly in his ear. “Of course, but let’s make it dinner instead.”

“Great, I—” Troy stopped when he happened to look up. Jack was standing right in front of him. “I’ll call you right back, Jennie.” He couldn’t tell from Jack’s expression what was going on. He hoped it wasn’t what he feared. “What happened, Jack?”

Jack swallowed hard and then broke into a relieved smile. “Karen’s gonna be all right. She just opened her eyes. The doctors wanted a few minutes with her.”

The brothers grabbed each other and hugged hard.

“That’s awesome,” Troy murmured when they finally stepped back from the embrace. “Just awesome.”

“Yeah, it is,” Jack agreed, shutting his eyes for a few moments as the relief washed over him. “Thanks for being here, Troy. I can’t tell you how much it helped me to know you were.”

“Of course.”

“I’m going to marry her as soon as she’s well.”

Troy smiled. “Good for you, Jack. Good for her, too. She’s a lucky young woman.”

Jack grabbed Troy and hugged him again, even harder this time. “You’re going to be my best man.”

“I’d better.”

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

T
O THE
PEOPLE
who have helped
so much
with my writing career and have always been willing to listen: Cynthia Manson, Kevin Smith, Kevin “Big Sky” Erdman, Matt Malone, Pat Lynch, Andy and Chris Brusman, Barbara Fertig, Steve Watson, Jeff Faville, Walter Frey, Mike Pocalyko, Jack Wallace, James Abt, Jeanette Follo, Louise Burke, Peter Borland, Mark Tavani, Marvin Bush, Scott Andrews, Dr. Kurt Butler, and Baron Stewart.

Specifically, to the Amazon team that I’ve worked with very closely over the past few years, I couldn’t possibly have asked for more. It has been a tremendous experience. Thank you again: Andy Bartlett, Jeff Belle, Jacque Ben-Zekry, Daphne Durham, Terry Goodman, Victoria Griffith, Larry Kirshbaum, Danielle Marshall, and Alan Turkus.

And to my daughters, Christina, Ashley, and Gabriella—I love all three of you so much.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Photo by Diana Frey, 2008

S
TEPHEN
F
REY
has spent twenty-five years working in investment banking and private equity at firms including J.P. Morgan & Company in New York City and Winston Partners in Arlington, Virginia. He is the author of eighteen novels, including the first book about Red Cell Seven,
Arctic Fire
. He lives in Leesburg, Virginia, where he writes full-time.