Chapter 21 - The Other Wolf Returns
Silas looked older than he had beneath Mirror Lake.
A scar crossed his temple from the transport crash.
Two armed men followed him.
Evelyn did not appear pleased.
"You were told to remain outside."
Silas laughed.
"You have been telling me where to stand for thirty years."
Emily understood immediately.
They were not partners.
They were two predators who had finally run out of common prey.
Silas looked at Brandon.
"You should have let the archive burn."
Brandon answered, "I considered it."
"You still can."
Evelyn raised her weapon.
"No."
Silas's men raised theirs.
For several seconds no one moved.
Then Silas looked at Emily.
"Your mother spent her life pretending truth was sacred. Now you see it. Truth is simply the weapon no one has confiscated yet."
"No."
Emily looked around the archive.
"Truth is evidence."
"Same thing."
"Only to people who intend to use it against someone."
Silas smiled.
"You sound like Margaret."
A voice came from the upper walkway.
"She sounds like herself."
Abraham stepped into view.
Silas froze.
The brothers faced each other across the chamber.
Decades disappeared from their faces.
Evelyn whispered, almost happily, "There you are."
Abraham ignored her.
"Belgrade was altered."
Silas looked toward the screen.
"I know."
"Then you know I didn't betray you."
Silas's jaw tightened.
"You believed the report."
"I did."
"You left me there."
"I thought you had killed our people."
"And afterward?"
Abraham's voice softened.
"Afterward I spent twenty years wondering if I had been wrong."
Silas's eyes became wet.
For one heartbeat Emily saw what might have been repaired.
Then Silas raised his pistol.
"Wondering isn't enough."
He fired.
Abraham moved.
The bullet struck the railing.
Gideon returned fire from the darkness.
Lights shattered.
Emily pulled Brandon behind the console.
Evelyn ran toward the archive controls.
Silas shouted to his men.
Somewhere inside Palisade, explosives armed.
A mechanical voice began counting down.
Five minutes.
May you like
Silas smiled at Abraham through the flashing red light.
"If neither of us gets the truth, no one does."
