Agents are waiting for us up in the shed. As soon as Oliver Hayward climbs out of the tunnel, they take him into custody. They put handcuffs on him, and when I offer them the fob, tell them that it works wonders, they don’t look amused.
I follow them up to the main building. The helicopter has landed in the field. More cars and SUVs and ambulances have arrived.
Nova meets me in front of the main building. He’s talking on a cell phone, and slips it into his pocket when he spots me.
“More kids here than we expected. They kept them in the other buildings. Crisis workers are headed here as we speak.”
“Where’s Jose?”
Nova nods at one of the ambulances.
“He’s being treated.”
I look at the one side building, then the other.
“Where are the babies?”
Nova points at one of the buildings, and immediately I start moving, almost unconsciously, my pace increasing to a jog. Three of the rooms on the first floor are packed with cribs. Almost all the babies are awake and crying. A few agents move from crib to crib, taking photographs, preserving what there is of the scene before the children are taken away.
I walk up to one of the agents, incensed.
“Who’s taking care of these babies?”
The agent shakes his head.
“Nobody right now. They tell us people are on their way, but no idea how long that will take.”
I move from crib to crib, searching for Star. I find her in the second room. She isn’t crying like the other babies, but she doesn’t look happy. She stares up at me, but I’m not sure she recognizes me.
I don’t realize I’m reaching in to pick her up until a female agent steps up next to me.
“Do you know her?”
I look up, startled.
“What?”
I see the woman giving me a curious look, and shake my head.
“No, I don’t. But take care of her, okay? Take care of all of them.”
I don’t wait for a reply. I walk past the woman and head back outside. Nova’s waiting for me.
He says, “What was that about?”
I ignore the question.
“Thank you.”
“For what?”
“For everything. For being there when I needed you. For saving my family.”
“It wasn’t just me. It was a team effort.”
“I know. I need to thank Atticus and James, too. My family”—I pause, shake my head—“I guess I thought disappearing would somehow keep them safe. But they’re not safe. They’re never going to be safe, are they?”
Nova watches me for a beat, considering.
“Atticus and I actually talked about that.”
“Talked about what?”
“Your family. A way to keep them safe.”
“How?”
“WITSEC.”
“Witness Protection? Be serious, Nova. What are they witnesses to other than what happened today?”
“Your father, for one.”
I look at Nova but say nothing. Suddenly I can’t speak.
“Your father is a rogue agent. An enemy of the state. That puts your family in danger. It’s more than enough to put them in protective custody. Only Atticus says he doesn’t have the pull to do that.”
I wet my lips, manage to find my voice.
“Then who?”
“Our old boss.”
I shake my head.
“Walter and I didn’t part on good terms.”
“That may be so, but it’s still worth looking into. Otherwise, who knows when all this might happen again?”
I look away from him, not wanting to think about it. I’d heard how close the sicario the cartels sent had gotten to my sister and nephews.
Nova clears his throat.
“It wasn’t just me and James in D.C. Somebody else was with us, too.”
There’s something about his tone I don’t like.
“Who?”
“Erik Johnson.”
At first I think I don’t hear him right, but then once I realize that’s what he said, my body tenses.
“What? How is that possible?”
“We ran into him in Alden. It’s a long story, but he came out with us to D.C. because he wanted to help. And he did help, Holly. If it wasn’t for him, your sister and nephews would be dead.”
I look around the area, at the buildings and the cars and the agents, and all of it looks surreal, like it doesn’t exist.
“What happened, Nova?”
“I didn’t want to tell you anything before all of this was over. I knew it was better for you to be focused than to—”
I cut him off.
“Tell me what happened.”
“He was shot three times. One of the bullets hit him near his spine. The surgeons have been working on him all day. Atticus called a couple minutes ago with an update. He’s now in stable condition.”
I don’t know when it happens, exactly, but I turn away from Nova and start walking. He calls after me, saying my name, but I ignore him, and to Nova’s credit, he lets me have my space. Doesn’t follow me as I wander into the dark field. Moving as if in trance. Past the helicopter. Going farther and farther into the night. Until my foot kicks something on the ground. In the moonlight, I see it’s a large soda bottle, filled with water. One of my targets from the other day.
I turn and look back at the place Oliver Hayward calls Neverland, at the lights and the vehicles and all the agents moving about, and I think about Erik. About how I allowed myself to get close to him, and how because of that he almost got himself killed. Just like almost everybody else I come in contact with, he’s been marked by death.
I clench both hands into fists, place them over my mouth.
Fall to my knees.
Close my eyes.
And scream.