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The bar was crowded when they arrived and Alina instinctively scanned every face in the crowd as they moved through it. Angela was forging a path to the bar and Alina followed. Stephanie brought up the rear, fighting to keep the grin off her face as they moved through the throng of over-worked attorneys and feds. Men had discarded their jackets, loosened their ties and ordered one too many Manhattans. The women still had their suit jackets and stilettos on, making a valiant effort to keep up with the men. All around them the conversation flowed in waves, and Stephanie watched as people unconsciously moved out of Alina’s way without even noticing that she was passing. She watched the back of her old friend’s head as they moved toward the bar and wondered again what she had been doing all these years. She moved with a confidence and precision that Stephanie had never seen before, almost as if she were untouchable, and people naturally responded to that forceful energy coming from her without the slightest realization that they were doing so.
“Stephanie, there’s John,” Angela called back over her shoulder, motioning to the back of the long room. Stephanie followed her gaze and picked out her partner in the back corner, his back against the wall, surrounded by a mix of co-workers and women.
“Typical,” Stephanie returned.
Angela came to stop before the crowded bar.
“I’ll get the first round,” she announced, pulling two bills out of her purse. “What are you drinking? And Alina, I do mean alcohol.”
“I...”
“No objections!” Stephanie interrupted her before she could speak. “This is a homecoming celebration. You can have at least one drink!”
“But I....” Alina opened her mouth again.
“No buts!” Angela retorted. “If you don’t pick something, I will!” she added threateningly.
Alina sighed.
“I was trying to say that I would have a vodka tonic with lemon,” she finally got out.
Angela and Stephanie stared at her, then started laughing.
“Ok then!” Angela motioned the bartender. “This lady will have a vodka tonic with lemon!”
Alina watched as the bartender leaned forward to hear the rest of the order before turning away to make the drinks. A heavy-set man next to her with sweat marks at his arm pits and a side-holster that had seen better days looked at her and nodded with a smile, moving out of the way so that she could take his spot at the bar. Alina smiled slightly in thanks and moved seamlessly into his spot. She watched as the bartender made their drinks, taking her attention from him only when she sensed, rather than heard, a presence behind her.
“And what brings you lovely ladies into this disreputable establishment?” a long forgotten voice spoke behind them, causing Alina’s spine to stiffen slightly. She felt like she had been knocked in her sternum with the thicker end of a baseball bat, a feeling she hadn't felt in years.
“John, you aren’t the only one who gets a night out once in a while,” Stephanie retorted.
“I would never claim that I was!” John replied. “Hello Angela. How are you?”
“Same as always, John, awaiting your imminent demise,” Angela retorted, accepting her drink from the bartender and reaching for Stephanie’s.
“You’re warming up to me. I can tell, you know,” John answered with a laugh.
Angela turned to hand Stephanie her drink.
“Whatever lets you sleep at night, darling,” Angela shot back.
Alina bit back a grin and reached out to accept her vodka tonic from the bartender. Then, with a deep sigh, she turned to face her past.
John Smithe stood before her, looking a little older and a little more solid than the last time she saw him. There were new lines on his face, and he had a certain grimness about the mouth that she recognized instantly as the habitual crease of a law enforcement agent. He still had the same sandy blond hair and the same pale blue eyes, but Alina noticed with detached interest that they no longer pulled a responsive twinkle from her. In fact, Alina was rather stunned to realize that she felt absolutely nothing for the tall man standing before her.
The man she had once been engaged to marry.
“Hello Alina.” John smiled his best ‘I’m-not-sure-how-I-should-act’ smile and stepped forward to attempt a hug. Alina stopped him simply by looking at him.
“Hello John,” she greeted him with a slight smile. “It's been a long time.”
“Too long!” John agreed, motioning to the bartender for another beer. “Where did you disappear to? One day you were just “POOF” gone!”
“Now why does that sound so familiar?” Alina murmured, just low enough that John was the only one to hear. He looked down at her, his blue eyes inches from hers.
“Oh, now that wasn’t very fair,” he murmured back. “Don’t tell me you’re still holding a grudge over a boy's mistake ten years ago?”
Alina studied his face for a moment. He was standing close enough that she could feel his body heat and, at one point in time, that would have been enough to make her consider her response, and maybe even flirt a little. But not anymore. Alina saw before her a part of her past and nothing more. She smiled into his eyes.
“I’ve moved past that,” she murmured. “And lucky for you that I have,” she added thoughtfully, lifting her glass to her lips.
A brief look of surprise flashed across John’s face before an emotionless mask slid into place.
“Well, now that THAT’S over....whatever that was....” Stephanie pushed between them. “Can we play nice while she’s in town, or will I have to keep you two separate?”
“You’ll have no problems from me,” John answered, handing the bartender some bills for his beer. “The past is the past.” He glanced once more at Alina and smiled. “More’s the pity,” he added for her ears alone.
Alina made no response and he took his beer and disappeared back into the crowd.
“Well, that went well, I think,” Stephanie said cheerfully, holding her glass up. “To new beginnings.”
“New beginnings.” Angela laughed, raising her glass up and Alina smiled with grudging humor, touching her glass to theirs.
As she lifted her glass to her lips, her eyes scanned the crowded bar again. Suddenly her breath paused as she sipped the drink and her body stilled. There was that familiar feeling, one that always served her so well in the past. It caused a tingling at the base of her skull and the fine hairs on the back of her shoulders rose up as a chill coursed across them. Her military comrades had called it her sixth sense, but she always just thought of it as her instincts.
And they were all screaming now.
Alina lowered the glass and scanned the bar again, seeing nothing different since the last time she had looked. But something was very different.
Someone was watching them.
“Oh for God’s Sake!” Stephanie exclaimed, setting her glass down on the bar and reaching into her shoulder bag. “You would think that they could leave me alone for at least one night!” she added, hauling out her cell phone.
Alina glanced at Angela, who was shaking her head.
“You better drink up,” she advised Alina before doing just that herself. “I’m actually surprised we went this long before a call. Our friend is a workaholic and everyone in her department knows it and takes advantage of it.”
“What about her partner?” Alina nodded toward the back corner where John was laughing at something the stocky man next to him was saying.
“John?” Angela snorted. “He ignores his phone until she calls him.”
It was clear that Angela’s opinion of John had not improved over the years. She never had cared much for him, even when Alina had been about to walk down the aisle with him.
“I’m sorry, girls.” Stephanie dropped her phone back into her bag and quickly drained her martini. “There was an accident at one of the train crossings and the senior agent in place thinks it may be related to my floater.”
She set her glass on the bar and reached into her bag to pull out her keys. Alina tossed back the rest of her drink, waiting for Stephanie to remember that she had driven her to the bar.
“Why don’t we set something up for next weekend?” Stephanie suggested. “Is everybody free? Maybe dinner at my house? I feel bad, but I really have to run.”
“I think I’m free next Saturday. I'll double check my schedule when I get home,” Angela replied.
She watched with a grin as Stephanie nodded distractedly and turned to leave, keys in hand. Alina raised an eyebrow and glanced at Angela. The two women stood there, watching as Stephanie started to make her way through the crowd.
“Ok. Alina, let me know about next week!” Stephanie called over her shoulder. “Bye!”
And the crowd swallowed her up.
“How long do you give her before she remembers?” Alina asked, leaning back against the bar.
“Not until she gets outside and tries to find her car,” Angela replied with a laugh. “You really could save her time by meeting her outside, instead of making her come back in.”
Alina sighed.
“Yes, but it's not nearly as fun!” she replied, and realized with a shock that she meant it. She was having more fun tonight than she had in years.
“Lina!” Angela nudged her. “Come on!”
“Oh fine.”
Alina straightened up and began moving toward the door. She still felt someone watching them and took one final look around. But the only person she saw was John, watching them leave from his back corner.
Alina got out of the car, taking in the scene of controlled chaos before her. They were at a railroad crossing in Palmyra along River Road, a few miles down from Riverside. Police cars were angled everywhere and large spotlights were trained on the intersection where a freight train hauling logs and metal containers was stopped. A crowd of emergency personnel was clustered in front of the train and Alina didn’t have to look too closely to know what had happened.
“I hope they got the body out already,” Stephanie said, walking to the front of the car and joining Alina. Although they couldn’t see the car, there was no doubt that one was there. “I get light-headed when they have to pry them out.”
“Understandable,” Alina murmured, leaning back on the hood of her car and crossing her arms over her chest. “Does this happen often?”
“No.” Stephanie sighed. “This is only my second.” She straightened her shoulders and turned to head toward the crowd. “You don’t have to stay. I can get a ride home from one of the others.”
“It's ok,” Alina answered. “I’m kind of curious.” she added with a grin.
Stephanie shook her head.
“Morbid,” she retorted. “Let me see what the story is and I'll be back. I’ll let them know not to bother you.”
Stephanie disappeared into the crowd of officials.
The track crossing was in a fairly busy section of town, with restored businesses lining Main Street on one side of the tracks and restored Victorian homes on the other. This intersection had a bank and an antique store on the corners of one side, and a pastry shop and dry cleaners on the corners of the other side. The streets were well lit on either side of the tracks and brick sidewalks told the story of restored elegance. Palmyra had worked hard to restore the town to its historical brilliance, and Alina was surprised at the success. When she had left ten years ago, Palmyra had been a worn out and tired town. Now, it appeared to be making a valiant effort to clean itself up.
Alina straightened up and wandered toward the sidewalk. She noted the clusters of residents that were standing along the sidewalk, watching the drama being enacted on their doorstep. They were all chattering in low voices, trying to determine if anyone had actually seen the car get hit by the train. Alina moved into the crowds silently, observing everyone and getting another look at the accident from different angles. The right guard that came down to block the tracks when the train was passing had been ripped off its anchor, and one of the red flashing lights was shattered. Thick tire marks on the road led up to the tracks, and Alina paused to glance back and see where they started before continuing to move past the small pockets of residents.
“I was sitting drinking my tea with Harry when I heard what sounded like a backfire,” a woman was telling her neighbor, “and then the most awful screeching.”
“I thought it was Victors darn movie that he had cranked up so loud,” the neighbor responded, shaking her head. “I yelled at him to turn it down, but he had already muted the TV.”
“I hope there were no children in that car,” another woman was saying.
Alina moved away and back towards her car. Some teenage boys had walked up to it and were peering through the windows. She moved up behind them silently.
“It doesn't really transform,” she said dryly. The three boys jumped and swung around.
“We know that,” one said with a nervous laugh. “It’s a sweet ride.”
“It would be sweeter without your paw prints all over it,” Alina answered.
The boys shuffled out of her way and away from the car. Alina leaned against her car and looked around.
Someone was still watching her. She could feel it.
“Well, they have an initial confirmation on the body.” Stephanie joined her a few moments later. “Looks like it's someone who has been on my watch list for quite some time.” She leaned back against the hood and the two of them watched as the coroners’ van came to life and slowly pulled away from the collection of emergency vehicles clustered around the tracks.
“And?” Alina asked.
“I have to wait for the official confirmation, but if it's him, this case just became a huge headache of red tape and supers breathing down my neck,” Stephanie muttered. She glanced at Alina. “Are you sure you don’t want to leave? I want to wait for some of these people to clear out of here so I can get a better look at the scene.”
“I have nowhere to be right now,” Alina assured her with a grin. “And if I did, I would leave. Did you see the shattered flasher light?”
“Yes.” Stephanie followed Alina’s gaze to the broken red light and guard rail.
“My guess is you’ll find a bullet went through it, probably a .308 or NATO round,” Alina said. “Probably fired from the roof of the antique store behind us. You'll find that two of the street lights are out too.”
“What makes you say that?” Stephanie glanced behind them and followed the trajectory from the roof to the crossing with her eyes.
“Because it's what I would have done.” Alina straightened. “This was a professional hit. It was clean and quick. The neighbors all heard the same version of the same thing in a very small space of time. There were no mistakes and no clumsiness.”
“I leave you alone for ten minutes and you already have a theory for me.” Stephanie shook her head. “What did you say you did in the military?”
Alina grinned.
“I didn’t,” she replied. “You also might want to take a good look at the tire marks. I think you will find that they were made by two vehicles, not one.”
“Where are you going?” Stephanie demanded as Alina began to walk away.
“The roof of that antique store.” Alina winked at her. “I’ve made myself curious as to the probability of my theory.”
“Not without me you’re not!” Stephanie followed quickly. “This is my investigation! And you don’t know anything about investigating.”
“No,” Alina agreed congenially, “but I love a good mystery.”
Stephanie glanced at her suspiciously, but Alina’s expression was concealed by the darkness as they moved quickly away from the bright flashing lights of the accident. She followed Alina as she moved across the street and down the sidewalk, along the side of the corner antique store. Alina was moving steadily, her eyes scanning the building and the roof in a single glance. They rounded the corner of the building and started up the road until Alina found what she was looking for: the fire escape ladder lowered from the roof.
“Are you afraid of heights?” she asked Stephanie, reaching out for the ladder.
“No.”
“Good.”
Alina grabbed the ladder and went up quickly and silently. Stephanie followed and Alina winced at the sound of her clanking and huffing up the ladder. Stealth was apparently not Stephanie’s strong point. Alina cleared the roof and moved to the side to allow Stephanie access. As soon as she joined her, Alina held up her hand to signal silence. Without really knowing why, Stephanie obeyed.
The roof was a massive expanse of inky darkness stretching before them. The lights from the road didn’t penetrate this far above, and the sounds of the commotion below were a distant memory. Up here, it was silent and slightly ominous. They had only the light from a half moon and a few straggling stars that had fought their way through the pollution-laden sky to shine faintly above. Alina scanned the darkness, still and listening.
“Here,” Stephanie whispered.
Alina felt something thin and heavy touch her hand. She looked down in some surprise at a Maglite.
“Thanks.” Alina switched on the light and angled it down at their feet.
The flat rooftop had been covered with a black tar coating fairly recently. It was smooth and not weathered yet. Alina raised the light a little and played it over the roof toward the front of the building. There was an air conditioning box midway between them and the front of the building. Over to the left was a ledge where this roof ended and the connecting roof of the building next door began. Alina noted briefly that the roof next door was much older and had gravel and debris covering it before she turned her attention to the right. A few yards to their right was another ledge where the roof ended. She stood for another moment, listening. The silence was almost oppressive.
Stephanie began to move forward toward the front of the building, examining the rooftop as she moved. Alina followed slowly, lighting her way with the flashlight and concentrating on their surroundings. She was confident that their shooter had long since disappeared, but Alina still felt something in the silence. It was that something that made her move into a protective position at Stephanie’s back.
“There.” Stephanie paused and pointed. Alina directed the light over her shoulder to the front corner of the antique store where Stephanie was pointing. “If you're right, that's the only clear shot from up here.”
Alina nodded. That corner was the only spot that a shooter could take out both the crossing light and the street lights. The two women moved forward together, and then separated to skirt a wide area around where they imagined the shooter must have positioned himself. Alina played the light along the edge of the ledge, looking for the telltale scraping of a rifle barrel. She knew it had to be there. The roof was too new not to have allowed some sign of a high-powered rifle being fired repeatedly off the edge. On her second pass over the edge, the light paused and then went back. She held it steadily on the spot and heard Stephanie’s intake of breath.
“Well, I’ll be damned,” she breathed. “You were right.”
Under the light was a half-inch wide gouge in the ledge, positioned in direct line of sight with the crossing intersection.
Alina moved forward carefully and squatted down a few feet away to gauge the trajectory. There was a perfect shot to both the intersection and two dark street lights, one on each corner.
“You better get your boys up here,” Alina finally spoke, standing up. From this height, the commotion at the crossing intersection looked very inconsequential and far away. “I doubt they’ll find anything, but it will help with a profile.”
Stephanie nodded in agreement, staring out over the scene below.
“Why take out the street lights and the flasher?” she asked suddenly. “Why not just shoot the driver?”
“Too many unknown variables,” Alina answered. “No way to control where the car goes. If you take out the lights, you can impair visibility, create confusion, and allow someone else to direct traffic until you shoot the driver at the last minute.”
Stephanie glanced over to Alina.
“The second car,” she said.
Alina nodded and turned to go back across the roof while Stephanie followed thoughtfully. As Alina passed the air conditioning unit, she caught a whiff of a familiar smell, one that she had smelled recently, and that she suddenly also remembered from her past. She paused with a frown and turned toward the unit, playing the light over it thoughtfully.
“What is it?” Stephanie stopped beside her, following her gaze curiously.
Alina’s lips curved into a slight smile in the darkness.
“Nothing,” she answered quietly. “Just a sense of déjà vu. Nothing important.”
Alina sat in the silent shadows on the deck, enveloped by the darkness. The night sky was clear and the stars were bright out here, the breeze carrying the scent of late spring. An owl hooted off to the left and the song of tree frogs filled the air. She watched the darkness, breathing deeply.
Stephanie had been confused tonight. Two bodies within the space of twenty-four hours and no leads was a Federal agent's nightmare. Alina shook her head slightly and lifted a cold water bottle to her lips. She had made things worse by pointing out the shooter and the second pair of tire prints. Stephanie would have found them eventually, but Alina discovered that she didn’t have the patience to sit and watch the agency bumble around, even for a few hours. Stephanie was quiet on the drive home, and Alina knew that she had been processing her involvement at the crime scene. Stephanie would have questions now, but Alina didn’t have time to humor her. She was Alina’s main source of information at the moment, and Alina couldn’t afford to have her miss a thing. She needed Stephanie to lead her to her quarry. She wanted to get her mission over with and get out of Jersey. The old friendships and memories were reminders of her old life. She didn't want to remember that life.
Alina didn't know that girl anymore.
A movement in the darkness caught her attention. It was more a shifting of light and space, and she knew someone was there. Alina watched silently, her body still and her breathing slow. For several long moments, she sat silently waiting. When the man appeared out of the darkness, she slowly relaxed. Alina remained immobile as he moved silently across the yard toward her. She had no doubt that he knew she was there, even as she blended with the shadows around herself.
“Viper.”
The quiet word drifted in the breeze and Alina felt the hair on her neck and arms rise at the name she had not heard herself called in over two years.
“I knew it was you,” she said as the man stepped onto the deck. “This evening, on the roof, I knew you were there too.”
He was tall, with broad shoulders, and dressed in black SWAT pants and a black t-shirt. His black combat boots made no sound on the wooden deck. He moved with the silent stealth and grace of a jungle cat, and Alina knew that he was just as dangerous.
“I hope I wasn't that obvious,” the man replied, his low rich voice surrounding her like a warm towel. He moved across the deck to stand before her chair and Alina smiled slightly, standing.
“Not at all,” she assured him, reaching up to wrap her arms around his shoulders in a hug. “Hello, Hawk.”
Alina brushed her lips across his cheek in greeting and stepped back to smile at him.
“It's been a long time,” Hawk said with an answering smile.
“It always is.” Alina picked up her water bottle and turned toward the sliding doors. “Come inside where we can talk.”
Hawk nodded, then froze as there was a whoosh of large wings and Raven swooped down out of nowhere. Alina grinned as Hawk instinctively ducked. Raven skimmed over his shoulder and came to rest on the back of the chair she had just vacated.
“Now, Hawk...you’re not afraid of a real hawk, are you?” she asked dryly.
“Yours?” Hawk asked, straightening and glancing at the bird watching him with shiny black eyes.
Alina tilted her head and considered Raven for a moment.
“Raven seems to think so.” She opened the back door. “Come on. He won’t hurt you unless you threaten me.”
She stepped into the dark living room and began walking toward the kitchen, not waiting to see if Hawk followed. He did, stepping into the house silently. He glanced back at the hawk sitting on the chair and closed the door.
“You certainly haven’t lost your knack for surprising me, Alina,” he said, following her.
“I’m glad I don’t disappoint, Damon,” she retorted with a laugh. “Would you like something to drink?”
“Water is fine.” Damon glanced around the kitchen as she flipped on the light. His eyes took in the black granite counter tops and the matching island and bar in one glance. “Nice place.”
“I would thank you if I didn’t suspect that you had seen it already.”
Alina opened the fridge and pulled out a bottle of water, tossing it to him. In the light of the kitchen, she examined him. His dark hair still fell over his forehead in a soft wave and his eyes were still just as blue. Damon Miles stood six feet two inches high and had shoulders as broad as a barn. His arms were muscular and his body was solid strength, a testimony to a healthy and very active lifestyle. He raised a dark eyebrow as he caught the bottle with one hand.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
He opened the bottle and took a long sip, moving to a stool at the bar that separated the kitchen and living room.
“No?” Alina leaned against the island and watched him. “A few nights ago there was a breach in my security system when I wasn’t here. A circuit that I carelessly left exposed.”
“Really?” Damon looked surprised. “I hope you fixed the weak spot.”
“I have.” Alina moved over to sit next to him. “But next time, you may want to take care not to trip the sensors in the floors.”
Damon leaned his arms on the bar top and looked sideways at her.
“How do you know it was me?”
“Because you still smell the same,” Alina stated. “What were you doing here?”
“Just taking a look around.” Damon grinned. “I wanted to see if you had changed at all. Aside from one weak circuit, which took me an hour to find, you’re just as thorough as you always were.”
“I took a sabbatical. I didn’t lose my mind.”
“There are some that would argue that, I’m sure.” Damon winked. “Did you really go to South America?”
“I can’t imagine you came all this way to discuss my whereabouts for the past two years,” Alina replied.
Damon grinned.
“No. I came to help you,” he said simply.
Alina raised an eyebrow.
“And why would you do that?” she asked politely.
“Because I was sent here.” Damon drank some more water.
“I should have known this looked too easy,” Alina sighed. “How much do you know?”
“I know that they tracked you down to South America and invited you to complete a mission that you unaccountably failed two years ago,” Damon answered bluntly. “They think you had a breakdown. I know you better than that, so I'm open to suggestion on what really happened two years ago.”
“Keep going.”
Alina drank her water and turned on her stool to face him. His rugged profile was cast in shadows from the light behind them and she took note of the short scar running from behind his ear to the beginning of his jaw-line. It hadn't been there the last time she saw him.
“London, two years ago,” Damon said, without turning his head.
“Pardon?”
“The scar. It happened in London two years ago.”
He looked at her, his blue eyes dancing, and Alina's lips curved into a reluctant grin.
“Still a mind reader, I see,” she murmured.
Damon raised an eyebrow.
“It doesn't take much mind reading when you were staring at it,” he retorted.
“I wasn't staring.”
“You were staring,” Damon reiterated, sipping his water.
“So you know they pulled me back in from South America...” Alina prompted him back to the original conversation irritably.
Damon laughed and turned to face her.
“Two years ago, you were supposed to take out a known terrorist named Johann Topamari, who has ties to the terrorist cell called Mossavid. For some reason known only to yourself, you failed. It was the first time you ever failed and, quite frankly, I would love to know what happened. But I accept the fact that I probably never will, so moving on...” He recounted her own past to her matter-of-factly. “Following that, you dropped off the grid. Disappeared. Turns out you were on sabbatical, destination unknown, until one month ago when they found you. They pulled you back in because after two long years, Johann has finally resurfaced, minus his security, and in the United States. You tracked him once. They’re giving you a chance to do it again and redeem yourself. Did I miss anything?”
“Yes.” Alina set down her water bottle. “Where do you fit into my continuing story?”
“Operating on US soil is more complicated than operating in Europe or the Middle East. The powers that be are concerned about containment.”
“You are containment?” Alina’s lips twitched. “How refreshing!”
Damon grinned.
“I knew you would appreciate the irony.”
“I work alone,” Alina said.
“So do I,” Damon retorted. “So it’s a good thing that you have your assignment and I have mine.”
“Since when did baby-sitting become part of your job description?” Alina demanded. Damon smiled. Alina stared at him, trying to intimidate him, and Damon simply stared back. “If there is something else going on here, I need to know,” she finally said.
Damon shook his head.
“Nothing that will interfere with you,” he answered. Alina studied him, trying to determine if she believed him, and Damon sighed. “We’ve known each other a long time. Are you going to tell me that, after all this time, you don’t trust me?”
“It's not that I don’t trust you.” Alina picked her words carefully. “I just question why, if operating on US soil is so sensitive, they now have two of us doing it.”
Damon was silent for a moment and the sparkle that had been in his eyes ever since he stepped foot into the house faded.
“As I said before, you have your operation and I have mine,” he finally said. “Our goals are temporarily joined.” The sparkle leapt back into his dark eyes. “I have every confidence that we'll find a way to rub along together.”
A reluctant laugh escaped from Alina.
“Oh absolutely!” she agreed. “As long as you stay out of my way.”
“My dear, I would never dream of getting in your way.” Damon stood up and smiled down at her. “I have seen you work before and it truly is a thing of beauty.”
Alina nodded in acknowledgement and looked up at him.
“Where are you staying?” she asked.
“Not far.” He grinned. “I’m sure you will find it.”
Alina smiled.
“Absolutely,” she murmured, watching him move back toward the sliding door. A few seconds later he was gone and Alina picked up his empty water bottle, moving to put it in the sink. She switched out the lights and went up to bed thoughtfully.