Maggie said her farewells to the nameless driver and the rest of Ashton’s contacts. They fought well, and refrained from ending any lives like she asked, but Maggie would see the final part of her mission through alone. The less people who knew, the better.
The van drove off and out of the old shipyard, leaving Maggie and Emily in the pouring rain. Above the sky rumbled, the waves beyond the bay crashing amid a coming storm.
“Why aren’t we going with them?” Emily asked, teeth chattering.
Maggie took off her jacket and wrapped it around Emily’s shoulders. “We have somewhere else to be.”
It wasn’t too far from the warehouse, but it took longer than Maggie liked, thanks to sedatives still coursing through Emily’s veins.
They arrived at pier K with minutes to spare, and Maggie’s racing pulse relaxed once she spotted the vessel tethered and waiting for them. The captain of the RBS-11 was an ex-marine and a current member of the US Coast Guard. His face matched the photo Ashton sent along earlier that night for confirmation, a stern looking man with a weatherworn face and a thicket of salt and pepper hair. If anyone could get the Wallaces out of the city, it was him.
A woman in a dark trench coat spotted Maggie and Emily walking up the pier and ran to them.
Emily was a young clone of her mother, a beautiful woman in her forties with high cheekbones and a regal heir to her movements. She collected Emily in her arms and cried a wail into the wind
“My baby.”
“Mom,” said Emily, closing her eyes and snuggling into her mother’s embrace.
Ms. Wallace looked up to Maggie with glistening eyes. “You did it.”
Maggie cleared her throat and gathered herself together. “I promised your daughter I would keep her safe.”
Mr. Wallace arrived close behind his wife and took Emily up into his arms.
“Thank you,” he said, unable to say anything more.
“If there is anything we can do,” said Ms. Wallace, shaking Maggie’s hand, “Anything you need, just say the word.”
Maggie looked both of Emily’s parents in the eye. It was important they listened to her.
“I need you to follow through with the plans we discussed. Don’t try to contact anyone you know. No relatives, friends, and especially not anyone from work. That is your old life now, and if you want to make sure your daughter sees her next birthday, you must accept that.”
The British, the Americans, and the Russians would all be searching for Emily. A key witness such as she could not be allowed to disappear. They all needed her for their own reasons, and none of them would stop looking for her. Not for a long time.
Ms. Wallace nodded, her face serious. “It’s a small price to pay to have our daughter back.” Without warning, she wrapped her arms tight around Maggie, her rose scented perfume tickling her nose.
“Keep her safe,” Maggie whispered. She had done all she could. It was up to them now.
“We will.”
“And remember,” Maggie said, staring Ms. Wallace in the eyes, “if you go public about the assassination, not only will you endanger Emily’s life, but the lives of millions of people. You know the kind of people involved in all of this. It won’t end well.”
“I know what’s at risk,” Ms. Wallace assured, her set jaw a mirror image of her daughter’s. “And not only for my family. In this instance, the truth will help no one and must be buried.”
Maggie believed her. She had to if she was going to follow through with her plan.
Mr. Wallace was by their side now, and Emily was back on her feet, still a little unsteady. The effects would wear off soon. All she needed was something to eat and a good night’s rest.
Maggie released herself gently from Ms. Wallace’s hold, all of them sodden in the rain. “All right, you better get going.”
Emily stepped forward. “Thank you, Maggie.”
A warmth spread over Maggie and the urge to burst into tears sprung behind her eyes. She willed them back and leaned into the brave little girl who would soon be a young woman.
Emily peered over at the boat. “Where are we going?”
“Away,” said Maggie, tugging her jacket closer around Emily. She needed to stay warm. “It’s not safe for you here anymore.”
“Are you coming with us?” Emily asked with innocent, hopeful eyes.
“No, but you’ll be safe. I promise.” Ashton wouldn’t let Maggie down.
“Will I see you again?” Emily said.
Maggie smiled. “Perhaps one day.”
Emily stared down at her feet. “Can I call you once we get there?”
“It’s best I don’t know where you are.” If her colleagues or the Russians learned of Maggie’s escapades, they’d torture everything they could out of her. Maggie couldn’t very well give up a location she didn’t know about. She spoke to them all, trying but failing to keep the emotion from spilling into her voice. “Once you’re out to safety, you’ll be taken to a private airport. A plane is already waiting for you.”
“What about passports?” Ms. Wallace asked, clutching her husband’s hand. “Money?”
“It’s all covered,” Maggie assured. “A friend has arranged everything you’ll need.”
The Wallaces would soon have new names, taking on aliases like Maggie had done countless times before. It would be difficult for them at first, but they’d get used to it. They had to.
“And you trust this friend?” Mr. Wallace asked.
“With my life,” said Maggie. And with theirs. Ashton had really come through for her on this one.
Emily hugged Maggie. “Goodbye, Jane Bond.”
“Goodbye, brave girl,” Maggie said, allowing a tear to fall and get lost amid the rain. She straitened up and held out a fist. “Remember, what do fighters do?”
Emily grinned and bumped her knuckles against Maggie’s. “We keep on fighting.”
Maggie stayed by the pier as the Wallaces embarked. The boat rumbled to life and jet off into the East River until it vanished in a blanket of darkness. Life was full of gray areas and while she may have defied her government, she did not fail Emily Wallace.
Somethings in life were more important than following orders, though Maggie believed she had still eliminated any threat of war between the nations. While things didn’t go as planned, the sole witness to Udinov’s murder was gone. By the time the night was over, Emily Wallace will have vanished, never to be seen or heard from again. Her parents and the strings Ashton pulled would see to that.
Maggie didn’t make a habit of placing her trust in others, but she put her faith in a mother and father’s love. Without Emily, the Russian’s couldn’t prove anything, and Danielle and her team were in the clear. Any threat the chain of events caused had been removed and she had managed it without ending the life of an innocent.
Resolute in her decision, Maggie left the shipyard and slipped into the shadows of the night.